Justus

  

I can't believe this guy is almost a year old.  I have woefully under-documented his life compared to Elise.  He doesn't seem to mind!  He is still our sweet little Juster Buster, Jus Bus, Bus, Big Jus, etc.  Whenever Elise hears a newscaster mention justice on the radio she is always so happy that they are saying Justus's name.  I was  trying to explain the difference between Justus and the concept of justice to her the other day and ended by saying, "Justice is a good thing."  She smiled at Justus and said in her best googly baby voice, "Justus, are you a good thing?"  He is a good thing!

He loves his Mama and his very eager to be where I am, trying to crawl up my legs, wanting me to pick him up.  He loves his Daddy too.  Loves getting snuggles with Daddy, riding on Daddy's shoulders, getting any and all attention he can from Daddy, and he says his name all the time.  He and Elise get along great, most of the time.  We're working on the concept of sharing, now that Justus is being more assertive.  She's sometimes a little over the top rough with him but he'll let her know when that happens.  Overall he doesn't mind wresting with her.  I love it when they really get laughing at each other while they're playing.  It makes me laugh.  I think he said her name for the first time today.

Justus wakes up with a smile, ready to face the day, every morning.  He points at things and does an inquisitive, "uuh?" as he's trying to figure out the world.  He's walking around by holding on to things, but prefers to crawl.  He loves to be outside and makes a beeline for the door every time it's open.  Bath time is fun time for him.  He's learning to play on his own.  He sticks his tongue out when he's concentrating.  He waves.  He can find your nose and I think your mouth.  One of his hobbies is making loud noises by banging on things.  He enjoys looking at books.  He eats table food and is still nursing quite a bit.  Sometimes instead of using his hands to get food from the high chair tray, he just dives down, mouth open, and gets a bite.  I guess it's faster that way.  He's fascinated by animals.  When a dog starts coming toward him he closes his eyes and opens his mouth wide, anticipating some doggy kisses.  When he's excited he kicks his legs.  He loves to swing and to get tossed up in the air.  He can give kisses.  The open mouth slobbery kind.  Peekaboo makes him laugh.  He's ticklish.  He recognizes the names of people in our family.  He has a great fake laugh.  He has four teeth, with two more on the way.  Those are a few of the things that come to mind when we think of Justus.