Cruisin'

Everett has made several very important accomplishments this week, and we are very proud of him.  First, he is absolutely 100% pacifier-free, and it was actually quite painless for all of us.  I think we needed the pacifier more than he actually did.  Second, we finally found a solution to his sippy-cup-protest, as Kyle posted below.  We got him a new cup with a straw, destroyed the no-spill valve with a pair of nail scissors and voila, he loves it.  Lesson learned: if your child screams at all 4 varieties of sippy cups as if they're torture devices, stop forcing it and move on to something else.  And third, we think he may have taken his first steps, sort of.  Kyle and I both sat on the floor and one of us would get Everett standing and balanced, and then see if he would walk toward the other parent.  He did manage to take a couple of steps without someone holding on to him.  As he got more tired, his "walking" became more and more like controlled falling into our arms, but we'll take it.  He seemed to enjoy it, so we'll keep practicing.  I think he can actually walk more independently than he is doing right now, but he just doesn't know he can yet, so he's still really cautious.

We've also been reading Toddler 411 in preparation for the Terrible Twos, which, according to this book, actually start around 15 months.  There were 7 ways to determine the temperament of your child, which you can usually determine by age 1.  Based on these results, you can predict your fate during the toddler years.  Here's what we think about Everett's temperament:
1) Adaptability: pretty adaptable, goes with the flow
2) Regularity: not terribly regular; case in point: today we put him down for his afternoon nap and after he sat up there talking to himself for half an hour, we thought he must not be tired, got him up and went to the grocery store, and when we got home he had a total meltdown because he was tired...hmmm...
3) Mood: Everett is pretty good-natured
4) Persistence: VERY persistent
5) Intensity: VERY intense
6) Sensitivity: not overly sensitive, but also not oblivious
7) Energy: VERY high energy

So, what are we in for?  Only time will tell...