Milestones

OK, so we're 364 days in now and just before certain important days happen tomorrow, I figured I'd do a quick review of what Max has and has not done, as per Dr. Sears' list of milestones (taken from The Baby Book). Let's see...at 9-12 months, a baby is supposed to do the following (successes in green, coming attractions in red).

Master skill
cross-crawling and cruising (Looks like the next step is walking and I probably give Max a month, given that he's not even really standing much on his own yet.)

Gross motor skills
Goes from crawling to sitting.
Scales and climbs furniture. (we love watching him climb the car seat)
Crawls up stairs not down. (yeah, he can go down stairs just fine)
Cruises around furniture.
Stands without holding on. (this is still a little dodgy, but it does happen)
Walks with assistance.
First solo steps, stiff, unsteady, wide based, frequent falls. (Grandma claims she saw a step. I certainly haven't)

Hand skills and self-help
Well-developed pincer grasp.
Points and pokes with index finger. (haven't seen him point yet)
Changes hand to accommodate shape of objects
Stacks and drops blocks. (he likes to stack nested cups, but doesn't show a lot of interest in blocks right now)
Shows hand dominance. (I'm pretty sure he's right-handed at this point)

Language and social skills
Two-syllable sounds ("ma-ma, "da-da") and associates the right sounds with the right person. (touch-and-go on this last part - he's been pretty convincing at times, but never consistent)
Understands "no". (I think it's more understanding the tone of "no", but whatever...)
Imitates sounds: coughs and tongue clicks.
Understands gestures: waves bye-bye. (this is our favourite; Max is now at the point where we can say bye sometimes and he will wave)

Cognitive skills
Shows memory of recent events (this one's blue because I don't even know how to assess this one. He sees one of us walk around a corner or through a door and then follows. Does this count?)
Cue words trigger mental picture of action to expect. (When we say "up" or "arms up", he knows he's about to be picked up and lifts his arms.)
Remembers where toy is hidden under one of two covers.
"Mama's coming" triggers mental picture of mama - stops fussing. (Not sure. I think "X is coming" alerts Max to the fact that someone can hear his crying and so he ramps it up. Does that count?)
Shows separation anxiety. (Not to speak ill of the dead, but Max is getting clingier than Bella. Unless he's thoroughly engrossed in toys or food, he just has to be around a parent)

What babies like
Container play: pouring, filling, dumping
"Pickpocketing" dad's shirt. (Umm, if dad ever wore a shirt with pockets, maybe we'd know...)
Flirting with self in mirror. (and anything that walks)
Banging and matching lids on pots and pans. (Not sure about pots and pans but definitely with Tupperware!)
Stacking 2 or 3 large blocks.

So aside from all of these 9-12 month skills, he has also skipped ahead a bit and tackled backing down stairs, opening cabinets and removing contents, co-operating (a bit) in dressing, holding a bottle (still working on that cup though. However, the straw thing is awesome) and enjoying a ride on daddy's shoulders.

We have a newborn next door and it's amazing to me that Max has gone from that stage, essentially capable of nothing) to where he is now in a single year. I can't wait to see what the next one holds!!