It's June?!?!

Yes, it is. Wow! It's hard to believe that Luke is steadily approaching his first birthday! My little baby boy is almost one year old! I felt that as we draw to the end of this first year, I certainly should add an update as to what Luke is "up to" in these days of his eleventh month. So as not to bore anyone, I'm going to do it in bullet form, rather than narrative. If you want more details, ask me, or come see for yourself!

• Going up and down stairs reliably (knows how to turn around before going down). He has also carried this strategy (turning around and going feet first) over to other places where he needs to get down from a high or steep place (getting down from the sofa or Mommy's bed, crawling down into a ditch in our yard, etc.)
• Communicating by showing, such as placing goldfish on the edge of the chair where he wants me to put them for him, or pointing to something to distinguish what he is talking about when he makes the "more" sign. In the grocery store the other day, we were headed through the produce section when he saw the bananas. He very clearly pointed to them and made the "more" sign. So, Mommy bought some. Was that a bad habit to start?
• Eating bigger things (like pieces of bread, crackers, etc.) that he has to take bites of himself (instead of Mommy breaking everything down into pieces for him).
• "Cleaning up." When prompted and guided, he can put duplos back into the truck, Peek-a-blocks back into the bin, shoes back on the shelf, plastic rings back onto the stacker, silverware back into the tray, etc.
• One-finger tasks. Instead of slapping randomly at buttons on toys or light switches that need to be turned off, he is more able to use one finger or his finger and thumb to accomplish tasks.
• Walking assisted. He loves to walk along pushing the duplo cart, a laundry basket, kitchen chair or any other mobile object. We had to make the glass-top side table in the living room off-limits after he pushed it all the way down the hallway.
• Pointing to things and hearing them named. He especially likes to point to the animals and shapes on his wallpaper boarder, which is right beside his changing table. He also likes to point to parts of the face (eyes, nose, etc.) and hear what each is called. No sign yet that he is actually remembering the names (when asked "Where is the turtle?" he doesn't seem to know which one is the turtle).
• Laying on pillows. This one is kind of random, but very cute! If he comes across a pillow on the floor (while I am making my bed, one tossed down from the sofa, etc.) he will crawl right over to it and lay his head down on it, making a kind of sighing sound (probably because whenever he does this, I find myself saying "Awwww")!
• "Nuzzling" and "loving." When I ask him to "love mommy" he will lay his head on my shoulder and/or place his cheek up against mine (depending on how I am holding him) and make the same sighing/"awww" sound as with the pillows. "Nuzzling" is technically (or at least how I introduced it) rubbing noses (i.e. an Eskimo kiss). His version, however, involves opening his mouth and licking and/or sucking on my nose as I try to nuzzle him!
• Feeling the warmth of a coffee cup. When Daddy or Mommy is drinking coffee, he loves to feel it with his face. He looks up to the coffee drinker and makes the "more" sign. When the cup is lowered, he places his face (either his cheek, or his mouth and nose) up against it. Recently, he has been doing this with his mouth open to feel with his tongue.
• Waving "hello," good-bye" and "night-night." He's pretty reliable about this with people he knows. It's hit or miss when asked to say "hi" to kind strangers in the grocery store who have tried to strike up a conversation with him.
• Playing outside. I can't believe I didn't mention this one earlier in the list. He is VERY fond of playing outside. He loves to crawl all over the yard and touch and explore everything (grass, leaves, sticks, rocks ... especially rocks). We have already started to find rocks around the house that he has brought in with him from his adventures. He's very independent while outside. He'll crawl quite a ways away from me and then, occasionally, turn and look around to make sure I'm still there. I'll say "hi" and wave to him, he'll wave back and then continue his explorations. I have to put socks and shoes on him because he will crawl until (and even after) his little toes are scratched and bleeding.
• Big-boy baths. He loves to play in the bath tub, especially now that I give him free range of the tub, instead of confining him to a baby bath tub. If I need to take a shower while he is awake, I'll plug the drain and he'll play in the water while I shower. When he gets a bath, he will stay in until he is taken out. As a matter of fact, the last time we had a nice long stretch of time for bath tubbing, he stayed in fifteen minutes after the last of the water had drained (he played in the tub with water for a good half an hour).
• "Dust-busting." He has discovered how to turn on the dust buster, and knows how to move it back and forth across the floor. I don't think he actually accomplishes anything yet, but it is a skill I am encouraging him to develop!

OK, so I guess that turned out to be bulleted in format, but narrative in content. Sorry! Also, I know I haven't included many pictures recently. I'll try to be better about keeping the camera at hand. Usually all of the things that are so worth capturing are completely out of the blue and over before anything can be done about recording it!