A new week, a new baby!

I love the fact that Chase is constantly changing and growing. I know that this won't last forever... I think it's really just during the first year of life that we change SO much. So many books and websites are devoted to explaining what your baby "should" be doing each month, but it seems to me that Chase changes weekly! In his first few days of life, he would even change overnight. We'd wake up in the morning and say, "Chase looks different today!" I loved that. No wonder we took so many pictures! But even now, it amazes me how he's someone different than he was last week. Last week he could ride in his Chicco infant carseat; this week he's in his new Evenflo Triumph seat. Last week he was mostly saying "aaahhh" and this week I've been hearing a lot of ba, ga, da, and ma's. Last week he had two teeth; now he has three (and working on number four)! And this week it seems that he's turned into Curious George. We've given him a lot of freedom to roam around the house and check things out. I love to watch him discover his world. We're learning as we go... for example, always close the lid to the toilet to insure that the baby doesn't stick his hands in (or drown)! Make sure the trashcans are either empty or up on the counter. And check to be sure the dogs have finished eating their food before allowing the baby crawl over and try some (which he did this morning... and he liked it)!!! I try my best to stay behind him but sometimes I'm just not fast enough. Like the time he decided to do a little indoor gardening:

I was mortified while I was rinsing the dirt out of his mouth! The only thing that kept me calm was to keep repeating that old elementary school rhyme: "God made dirt, and dirt don't hurt!"
Here are some more pictures from his adventures around the house this week...
He found the tupperware cabinet:

And the dogs' water bowl (this was a few days before the food incident)...

"Wow, the tape deck opens and shuts when I push on it... and I can do it over and over and over again!"
We always threatened to lock him in the dogs' crate if he misbehaved, but I never thought he'd go in there voluntarily!
He used to go straight to the back door, but for some reason now he crawls straight for the front of the house and ends up in the "formal living room," which is pretty much empty right now. I'm working on making it into a little playroom... and maybe Chase knows that because he loves to play in there already. He'll spend forever just standing at the window and staring outside.