11 months

Krew crawls properly now, and it isn't just his weird Army crawl.  When he first started, he would crawl with one straight arm and lean on his right forearm, but that only lasted a few days before he realized that it was faster to crawl with 2 straight arms.  He can get into the sitting position from both the crawling and standing position, and he has no problem getting down from standing.  He can stand up when there is nothing to grab onto - such as the fridge and (closed) doors - and is now tall enough to reach the door knob.  Lucky me.  Krew falls less often now, which is a bonus, and just the other day he stood independently for a couple seconds before he sat down.  I almost think that he sat down on purpose, so maybe he'll start standing on his own more often.

Krew has started chattering now and making word sounds, not just grunts.  Although they sound identical, he repeats "kitty" and "get down."  He will also try to repeat "cookie" and "good boy."  He isn't too keen on trying to repeat anything else yet, but I guess we'll just work on improving the words that he will repeat. 

He is utterly fascinated with the cats.  Krew and Link have a game where Krew will chase Link down the hall, but Link will stop so Krew can catch up again.  Isis likes being around Krew more, but hates being cornered by him, whereas Link will always stay out of reach.

I was super excited a couple weeks ago when Krew slept through the night until 7 a.m., but that only lasted 3 days before he went back to waking up a few times a night.  He is definitely a once-per-day napper, but if he has a particularly rough night he'll go for 2 naps. 

Krew has started playing shy, but I think it is worse when he is tired.  It is also hit-or-miss when it comes to the person talking to him.  Some people will make him cry and others won't.  It doesn't take long for him to warm up to the person either.

Krew turns 1 in a month, and I'm uncertain about what to do.  On one hand, I do want to throw him a party, but on the other hand I don't want to make a big thing out of it since 1st birthday parties seem to be more for the parents than for the actual kid.  It isn't like he will actually understand the significance of the day.  Maybe just have a late lunch at a restaurant?  Looks like I have some thinking/planning to do.