All By Myself

Mama & I waited in the car while Papa went to the paint store today. I can hold my own bottle and feed myself now. Look at all these photos Mama took! (Don't forget to click on the photo to see a bigger version!)

Ah, the paparazzi is back. Surprise, surprise.

Let me show off those baby blues!

Now a close-up!

Oooh, check out my lashes!

Alright, enough, I'm exhausted! (Check out my hand though. I can almost "palm" a basketball!)

Me & My Girl Mia

My girlfriend Mia was at the coffee house playdate today. She had to leave early to go to swim lessons, but Mama and I met up with her and her mama at the pool afterwards. I showed Mia how I can go under water now. Mia tried it, but didn't like it too much.

Here's a picture of the two of us and her Mama, Lindsay.


Mia was showing me all the things you could do with this play cake pan. She is one smart cookie!


We stayed close to each other the whole time.


Mia thinks Mama is so funny and is always giving her big toothy grins! Mia is a ham!

Very Busy Boys

Today Mama & I went to an "impromptu" playdate at the Mosaic Coffee House. Turns out that 6 Mamas & their babies were able to make it.

In this video my friend Elliott & I are very busy working on the train set. We needed to test out each piece of the track and train to make sure it passed "quality control" & a general taste test. The train set passed with flying colors!


Here's a still shot of Elliott & me:

Slippery Apricot

Lately I have been quite adamant about "feeding myself" and throw an absolute fit if I'm not allowed to handle my food myself (and I really enjoy handling Mama & Papa's food too when they're not looking - hee! hee!). Sometimes, as in the case of apricots, bananas, and nectarines, I actually put the food in my mouth. Most other foods I just prefer to mash around with my hands and squish into the floor.

Here, Mama gave me an apricot to snack on in an attempt to "re-stage" my first apricot experience last week at the picnic we went to. This second time around was considerably more "civilized" and Mama hopes we get the still shots from the first time when my face and chest were almost 3/4 of the way covered in apricot shrapnel. However, this 2nd apricot was almost too ripe and I had a heck of a time keeping track of it.

8 Months Old Today

So today was my 8 month birthday. Mama & Papa sang happy birthday to me first thing this morning and it made me laugh. Mama tried to be sneaky and take some videos while I was playing, but I'm too darn smart. I totally figured out what she was doing and immediately headed for the camera. So, believe it or not, no videos or even pictures from today. Papa had the day off because it was raining, so we all ran errands together - went to the library, the grocery store, the gas station and the bank. Not much of a birthday...hope they get better than this! :)

Some of the things I had to eat today:
Some of Papa's toast & dippy eggs
Pureed pears & raspberries
Blueberry whole milk yogurt
Finely grated mild cheddar cheese

Something I did NOT have to eat today:
GrandSmoky's Chocolate Birthday Cake

Crabby Daddy

Last night, after a long day at work, Papa was in the kitchen trying to fix some dinner. It must've been a very long day because he was a little loopy! Totally pulling all the stops to get me to laugh...and playing ball with Jack too! Check this out:

Then he saw Mama with the camera...hee! hee!...

...and kept right on playing with Jack and cracking me up! Oh man, but my Papa is hysterical!

Bongo & Jack In Action

For Uncle Dan's 40th birthday, Papa made this really cool DVD of video clips of all of Dan's friends honoring him and saying nice things about him and wishing him a happy birthday. Mama held out so she could make her clip with the help of the Bongo & Jack and a song that Uncle Dan himself made up while I was being born back in November.

Bongo & Jack performed PERFECTLY! This is a typical "romp" for them...it cracks Mama and me up!

BBQ for Uncle Dan's 40th Birthday

Our whole family of friends got together on Friday night at Uncle Doug and Aunt Andrea's house to celebrate Uncle Dan's last day at 39 and hang out with Uncle Mark & Aunt Amy who were in town just for the evening.

Here I am hanging out with two of my best girls, Beth and Elly.




Uncle Dan's brother Timmy was in town from Maryland as well. This was the first time I ever met him and I just knew he was "good people". I pretty much leapt into his arms when I met him...I was just adorable!


Special treat for me that night, Daddy fed me mango for the first time...or should I say we "co-fed" me...because I helped! (I hope Papa washed his hands!)

I'm pretty animated when I eat...got a couple sour bites!

My Girlfriend Mia

On Friday, Mama & I met up with our new friends, Lindsay and Mia. They moved up to Seattle from San Francisco about 6 months ago and we met them at the Sitters & Rollers picnic last Saturday. The four of us went for a walk around Green Lake. (Mia's a little bit older than me, she's 9 months old today, the 27th.) The two Mamas stopped to buy chocolate peanut butter bars from a youth theater group that was doing a fund raiser...and all we kids got was the paparazzi! We didn't mind too much. But next time we plan on demanding some of the goods!

Here's Mia doing her imitation of Cindy Loo Who from The Grinch Who Stole Christmas! She's good, huh?

That Mia, she cracks me up! I love when she squinches her nose like that!

Eating Pizza!

On Wednesday we were all pooped out and decided to get a pizza delivered instead of cooking dinner. It was me, Mama, Aunt Lydia, and Papa...Jack and Bongo were around and really wanted to have some pizza...but I was hogging it all up. Mmmmmmmm Pizzzzzzzzaaaaa!




Here are some cute still shots you can download and print:
Yummm!

Can't get it in my mouth fast enough!

Oh, you want some?

My winning-est smile! Adorable, huh?

I Get Frustrated Sometimes

Last Tuesday Mama was trying to get video of me pulling myself up to standing (which I've been doing for quite awhile now, but which we were informed we hadn't caught & published on the blog yet - OOPS!). But everytime she tried to catch me in action, something happened and all she got was video of me getting frustrated.

Here my foot got stuck in my little romper outfit which Mama hadn't snapped up again after my last diaper change...very upsetting because it makes it looks as if I can't pull myself up...and I can, I really can...I'm really good at it! Really!

Here I'm showing off quite a few tricks (though none of them are pulling myself up to stand), but I really want to play with the strap on Mama's camera and she won't let me have it and I keep trying for it and she keeps backing up...it made me mad!

Monday Mornings at Mosaic

So Mama & me have been real busy this week, and Mama seems to be real behind on the blog...but we started the week meeting up with a couple of mommies & their babies at the Mosaic Coffeehouse. Mama is trying to set up the Monday Mornings as a regular Mommy Meetup.
This past week we got to play with Lindsay and Mia (Mia is 9 months old):

and also with Amanda & Matthew (Matthew is 10 months old):


After all my friends had to leave, Mama & I hung around for awhile and I discovered a new "friend" in the window of the playroom door.

Hey this guy looks like he might be fun!

Mama, look at my new friend...pretty handsome, huh?

Sitters & Rollers Picnic

Today, Mama, Papa, & I went to a Picnic at Golden Gardens Park. It was for all the kids around my age in the Raising in the Rain group and their Mamas and Papas. It was so fun! At first it didn't look like there would be many people there (we got to the picnic a 1/2 hour late and were the first attendees besides the organizers). Anyway, by the time we left there must have been about 15 - 20 little families...it was so fun! And not only for me, but for Mama and Papa too. They met TONS of really nice new people for the first time and also are getting to know a couple of the other parents a little bit better every time they meet up. It's really good for Mama and Papa to be having as much fun as me...when they are happy, I'm happy! Did I tell you how much fun it was?

Oh, get this...we got to the picnic and weren't even there 20 minutes before the batteries on the camera died...so she was only able to take a few still shots.


Here is me, John Henry, and Elliot checking out each others' toys.


After visually examining all of our options, we then moved on to the "taste test".

Good news is, quite a few of the other mommies had cameras (what a surprise!) and took some really amazing photos of me eating my first apricot! Those mommies promised to email the photos so Mama could post them. Mama says she can't even describe it, you'll have to see it with your own eyes.

"Brushing" My Teeth (I've got 3 now, maybe 4!)

Ok, ok, so they tell me that this really is not the way to go about brushing my teeth. But, if you were having the dental experience that I've been having the last couple of weeks and chewing on this brush made you feel better, you'd be doing it too! Only problem is that it takes quite a bit of toothpaste to cover all those bristles!


And here are just some "still" photos that Mama liked:

All Sorts of New Tricks!

Friday night we were all hanging out on the floor in the living room and I was showing off a couple of my newer, more entertaining tricks. Here in this video I'm sitting with my Aunt Lydia and first I show off my "nose crinkling" abilities, but just for a quick moment so don't blink...then, for my main performance I show how I can act like a kitty swatting at my toys in a frenetic fashion. If you've ever seen a kitty do this, I think you'll agree, I'm pretty darn good at it! The adults seemed to enjoy it!

Afternoon Playtime

So I'm getting very creative in how I keep myself occupied these days. Friday afternoon I was hanging out with Mama and she was trying to catch up on some emails or something like that on the computer. So I decided to clear all the cushions, blankets and assorted toys off of the rocking chair and see what kind of fun I could have. It turns out the smooth, hard surface of the seat is perfect for using as a drum! My hands make this cool slapping noise when I hit them on the chair. Cool! Then, just as I planned it, Mama saw what I was doing, thought it was adorable (naturally), and was lured over, camera in hand, and we played some "peek-a-boo" with the camera and stuff...Mama and I have so much fun doing the simplest stuff.

I'm So Big!!! (Height & Weight Update)

So no pics related to this post (as I think Mama is posting more than enough otherwise), but on Thursday (July 17th) Mama took me to get weighed and measured (purely out of curiosity, nothing is wrong).

I am 20 lbs 9 oz (putting me in the 75th percentile for kids my age. Aunt Lydia helped put this in easier terms...it means that only 25% of the kids my age are heavier than me.)

I am 28 and 3/4 inches tall (which is 80th percentile).

And Mama couldn't remember the measurement, but I am 50th percentile for head circumference.

This all together means I am one healthy boy! And from the rest of the blog, you can see I am one really happy boy too!

Rockin' Out to The Who

So it's been a few days since I've given Mama a chance to sit down at the computer and post anything to the blog, but we really have been doing fun stuff and keeping busy.

On Thursday night, even though we all know that TV isn't the greatest thing for babies (or adults for that matter) there was this cool show on VH1. It was called VH1, Rock Honors, and the band they were honoring was this band called The Who. Mama REALLY likes this band a lot and Papa likes them pretty ok too. ANYWAY, Mama said because it was Rock N Roll history, it was totally cool for me to watch for a little while. Here I am, with Papa helping me out, Rockin' Out and having tons of fun!

Raising in the Rain Playdate

So the Sitters and Rollers group created a sub-group called Raising in the Rain so that the mom's and kids could meet more often than just once a month. Well, Mama and me had such a fun time at the Sitters and Rollers meeting that we could not wait for an RnR playdate...and today we finally were able to make it to one. Right after my swimming lesson we headed up to Mama Kristin's and Zachary's house to play with the gang. Here are some of the pics Mama took.


So Elliott and I were working on this very important project you see...


...and then Cassie came up and wanted to help, but there really was not enough "project" for three pre-toddlers, so Elliott had to run interference...


...then, Elliott explained to us all exactly what the project was all about and how we could take turns (we all listened very intently)...


...and then he backed up gave Cassie a turn to work on it. He's a great guy that Elliott is.

Here is Zachary and below is the fabulous diva Miss Isadora.

Little Explorer

This evening Mama finally let me crawl out the back door and explore the porch a little bit. It was really cool. There were all sorts of neat things out there - a box of painting supplies, Mama's water shoes, the weather stripping that Opa helped Papa install when he came out to visit in November, a bag of baby wipes that Mama uses to wipe down the doggies sometimes (yum! very tasty!)....







... and some red plastic party cups. I have one of my very own red cups inside that I get to play with often. They are so smooth and shiny and RED! And they roll around and make a cool noise! No wonder Mama didn't want me to come out here! I'm talking real treasures here. Oh, and the kitty, Pacino, was out there, but he left real quickly for some reason...





And here, in this final video, I show off some of my crawling "flourishes"...yes, I'm not only a confident and adventurous crawler now, but I like to add artistic "flair" and make it my own. (Mama says that this is one of her favorite videos of me...she just loves my flair!)

Aunt Lydia's in Town

My Aunt Lydia got into town on Sunday night and last night we got a chance to play for a little bit before I went to bed. Here's a tiny bit of video of Aunt Lydia making funny noises with her finger and my lips. Mama says she promised to take more video of me and my Aunt Lydia and post it on the blog real soon especially for my cousins, Rose and Ezra.

Summertime Fun

So this weekend Papa blew up my new baby pool with the fabulous sun shade. I've been in it every day since! On Saturday, while Mama was at a concert with her friend Andrea, Papa let me try strawberries for the first time!!! Yum! Papa told Mama later on that I would eat a strawberry, mashing it all over my face and body, then he would dunk me in the pool to rinse me off and we'd start all over again! What fun! Here is some video of me and Papa from Sunday afternoon.

Man-Time with Papa

Later on after my afternoon snack, Papa and I went out to the grill to cook up some viddles for Mama and him...Ballpark Franks, baby...and they were grilled to perfection, if I do say so myself.


Mama is so silly when she's playing paparazzi...such a silly voice she uses...oh well, she's pretty entertaining for the most part. Here, I wanted to get just a little bit closer to the grill and make sure our hot dogs were cooking evenly.

Kickin' Back with a Beverage

Late afternoon yesterday was the perfect time to kick back in Papa's lap and have myself a bottle. Two funny things that you might notice I like to do while drinking is tap my right foot on the bottle as well as spinning the bottle round and round in my mouth. I also like to pose with my cutest smile for the camera. See?

"Feeding" Myself

This morning Mama gave me the opportunity to feed myself for the first time. Bananas were on the menu. It's funny, even though everything else I get in my hands goes immediately into my mouth, I did not seem to carry on this pattern with the bananas...I guess because they are actual food. Instead I preferred to mash it into the little tray and swish it back and forth like wipers on a car...THEN, the bananas smelled so good I decided to just eat them right of the tray. Look Ma, no hands!


Here I have Mama playing "goalie".

Papa & Me, Chattin' with Aunt Debra

Last evening Papa & I were chattin' with Aunt Debra on the phone. Aunt Debra is Papa's sister. While she was on the phone I was working on pruning the big Mullen plant in the yard. It's taller than both Mama & Papa...but I was just pruning it around the bottom.

In this 2nd part, you can see a big spider crawling on my face while I work. Mama didn't even see the spider while she was filming. I didn't mind it at all...but Mama was totally grossed out when she looked at the video later on...Papa and I laughed at Mama for being so silly.

Little Birdy

Today I went to my swim lessons and learned again about floating on my back and kicking my legs. After class, my hair seemed to have a mind of it's own and a little puffy "bird tuft" formed on top of my head. Of course, Mama chased me around with the camera so she could show you all.


Hee! Hee! I like to chase Mama and her camera right back...we have lots of fun together.

Alki Beach Walk

Yesterday, Mama and I went to Alki Beach to take a walk with the "80's Ladies With Babies" group. Somehow, we miscommunicated and ended up at the meetup location an hour before everyone else. So, we just went for a walk and took some pictures on our own.

If you click on the picture above you might be able to see the Ferry in the background. There were quite a few boats for us to watch go by.


Pinkies up...I'm such a proper boy!


Mama and I try to take a picture of ourselves...it wasn't easy and we cracked ourselves up!

King Tutankieran

Mama was being silly again - here I am with a washcloth on my head.

I do look a little like King Tut, don't I?


Even though my teeth hurt a lot of the time these days, I do still have lots of smiles to share. Here, I'm playing with my wooden teething ring and an assortment of other diversions.

Bedtime Songs????

Last night, after Mama made her post to the blog, I was being a very fussy baby and did not want to go to sleep. My new teeth are really hurting me. So, like the silly lady that she is, Mama sang me some of my favorite songs. They're not quite the perfect "bedtime" songs, but they sure make me laugh and forget how much my teeth hurt! Papa was on paparazzi duty and laughing along with us!

Wheels On The Bus




Hokey Pokey

Dental Update - We've Got TWO!

So again, no pictures, but on Sunday afternoon, Mama discovered my 2nd tooth...right down there next to the first one. I'm getting a little extra gretzy these days (Pennsylvanian for "fussy" for those who have never heard the term). I'm not quite ready to do my big reveal yet, but as soon as I do, I'm sure my Mama will be right on top of me with the camera. I call her Mama Paparazzi.

Balsamic Baby

Last night Mama and Papa were eating dinner and I clamored and begged so much that they finally let me have a taste...mmmm....balsamic vinegar...I'm a baby gourmand.

Playtime

Making Noise with My Toys

Sitters and Rollers Group

Yesterday, Kieran and I attended a meeting/support group for moms of babies between the ages of 6 and 9 months, the "sitters and rollers". Our friend Amy told us about the group and we are so thankful as it was just absolutely fabulous! There were approximately 25 moms all with their smaller, droolier counterparts in tow. It was like a village of mini people all skooching around and chewing on each others' toys. Above the din of the very active babies, the moms discussed, or tried to discuss, parenting issues and shared tips and advice regarding childrearing.

Here's Kieran's buddy Quinn in action with a few of the other babies.

Here Kieran finds a mommy to use as a "jungle gym." He also tried using another little girl as a support to pull himself up...luckily the other mommies thought it was quite entertaining.

The group meets once a month and Kieran & Mama are very excited already for next month's gathering.

We've got Tooth!!!!

Oh my gosh! Mama forgot to tell you. Thursday night she and Papa felt my first tooth coming in. All the drooling and slobbering really was a sign! On Friday, just before my afternoon nap, Mama laid me on my back and I let her pull my bottom lip open just enough for her to see the little white bumpies of my bottom right front tooth!!! There are no photos or video of this amazing object as of yet, I'm keeping it kind of private for now. But stay tuned...I'll be unveiling it in the very near future!

Sweet Potato Spa Treatment Anyone?

This morning Mama and Papa let me try and feed myself some sweet potatoes...I think it went rather well. I not only got a bit of nourishment from Papa's stealth moves with the spoon, but I am so soft and silky now...those taters do wonders for the skin!

Yeah, yeah, Papa forgot to turn the camera back to horizontal (that's usually Mama's trick)...but it was still worth watching, wasn't it?


Just a quick (very) close up of my enthusiastic panting...


We all knew those feet were going to be useful for something.

4th of July

So our day started out pretty much like any other day...I hopped on Papa's back. Jack and Bongo fell in step behind. And Mama, followed us with the camera. We took a walk a couple blocks down the street to Gas Works Park where we visited the head of the Statue of Liberty?!?!?!

...hmmmm...I don't remember that being here before. I wonder if New York knows it's missing.

BEING SILLY WITH MAMA
Later on that morning Mama put a hippo on my head while I was playing (I'm still trying to figure out why) and started taking pictures. (This was just a hint of what was to come.)


My Mama is very silly and she makes me laugh all the time.


MAMA PLAYS "PHOTOGRAPHER"
The hippo on my head wasn't enough for Mama. She had some better ideas for photo opportunities. So, she got Papa to (reluctantly) help dress me up for a little photo shoot in the driveway. Props in place on my head and feet, here are the results of our game:

Why am I wearing a rain hat and boots again?


Maybe I should give Mama an "action" shot.


How's this for a pose, Mama?


Huhhhh...I can crush this daisy with my bare hands.


Are we quite through yet, Mama?

THE BIG SHOW
So our friends Dan, Cheryl, Elly and Oz came over to watch the fireworks that they set off just down the street at Gas Works Park (remember the Liberty head from above). This view is from the street right in front of our house...literally...the whole neighborhood set up lawn chairs and blankets in the middle of the street and watched the most amazing fireworks.


These were my first fireworks. Here you can see the ones that were synchronized to go with the song, "We're an American Band" by Grand Funk Railroad. While the fireworks we're quite fascinating, the entertainment was mostly provided by Mama and her friend Cheryl (also known as Aunt Choo Choo) who tried to sing along with the song. (Did you see the smiley face fireworks at the end of the video? Cool, huh?)