Lots of Firsts

We have had a lot of firsts this week. So many exciting things have been happening around here! So, in chronological order....

• We made it to IKEA (not a first... but exciting none the less because while eating a $1 soft serve ice cream, you can watch the planes come in low to the airport 1/2 a mile a away and watch the light rail go by every 10 minutes or so. It is hard to beat that.) which meant that Martin got a new bed! Here he is in it on his first night.I figure I ought to report on what I did to transition him into it since I asked the Internets for their advice. His bed is a basic crib converted to a toddler bed. (I was going to show a linky, but for some reason, the crib - a Gulliver - is only listed in a non-white color, is more expensive than we paid and isn't linking through on their website... how strange.) And I decided to try it without a bed rail. I decided to go that route because he isn't the best at sleepy transfers (so the crib notion wasn't so hot) and we nurse before he falls asleep laying down. Because I'm pretty short, I can lay down with him in it for short periods of time (it is 52" and I am 61") which serves to block him in until he falls asleep. The Ikea cribs are the lowest to the ground in the market... 12" at most. So, if he falls out, it isn't a big deal. But, so far, he has been sleeping most naps and the first 2/3rds of the night in it with not a single fall. This might be because he is a bit more aware of the edge and doesn't roll a ton in his sleep due to cosleeping all this time; a 9 month old used to the hard edge of a crib on 4 sides might not do so well, I don't know.
  

• That same day, before we got the bed set up, I was nursing Martin on our bed. All of a sudden, he flopped on his tummy, pulled his legs up underneath him and sat up! Like it was nothing! Laid back down and then did it again. Previously, he could sit from a crawl hands and knees position; but seeing as he couldn't get himself to his hands and knees from his belly, sitting required screaming at me. I am thrilled to have one less reason for him to scream at me.
• Today, Martin crawled. Being able to get to your hands and knees from your belly consistently definitely was the key. Yesterday, Justin and I both thought we might have seen him do it. And he has been mobile for a while (Justin likens it to a glacier... if you watched him, you wouldn't see movement, but turn away and he was across the room). But by the end of this evening, he was crawling in a forward motion across the room. Of course, now that he is crawling, he thinks he should be able to climb and stand up as well. I was kind of hoping he could just be satisfied with crawling for a day or two, but no such luck.
• I posted this, went and brushed my teeth and realized I forgot a very important first....Today was Justin's first day at class at his new job! Hurray for being in one city this year!
  

Also, not in firsts, Martin now has his 4th tooth! Hurray. That also came this past week. Finally, I cannot in good faith wrap up without showing his Sunday outfit... one of Justin's (and maybe Jason's) from their childhood. He looked too cute.