Big Longhorn!

Mom's not quite sure...is it a cow, is it a steer, or is it just a big ol' longhorn? Just in case your curious, it's not a real one. It's a big, bronze statue by the park that mom and I go to. I thought it was pretty cool to see the longhorn up close and personal. Maybe one day I'll be a Longhorn at UT. Then again, I could be an A&M Aggie, a Mizzou Tiger, a Michigan State Spartan, or I could be like my dad and be lots of things (an Indiana Hoosier, a Fighting Illini, and a GMI Bulldog).

I'm Such a Ham

This is me new favorite face. It's a little bit of a smile and just flat out opening my mouth as wide as I possibly can. (I'm sure I won't do this for my mom when she's trying to get a shot of my first tooth. Which, as you can see in this picture is not visible yet.) So, when mom tries to get a picture of me I either give her this huge, open mouth, all gums smile or I stick out my tongue. Mom prefers the big smile since it makes her smile just as big. Hopefully you all will get just as big a grin from these pictures.

Here we are playing peek-a-boo around the couch. I'm so smart now and inquisitive with the camera, that mom has to distract me to get the good shots. Otherwise, I just crawl, really fast, towards the camera.















Here I come mom, you better watch the camera!










Mom's catching me in the act. On my way to put away my shape blocks. Actually, I'm just going to go chew on them. Remember, I don't have teeth yet so I'm chewing on everything. Mom says I have an oral fixation. I actually do with an Oral-B kids toothbrush. It's one of my favorite toys. Especially when I flick it and give mom so much love with all that drool.

Another Pool Day

There are so many things I'm learning when I go to the pool. I've learned about my shadow, and how no matter how many times I hit the water in an attempt to touch it, nothing ever happens. It stays there just the same as it was before.
















I've learned about drains and how they make my book go round and round. I've learned to splash and get my face all wet. This has also translated to splashing at bathtime which gets me and my mom all wet!































I've started to learn how to sit up. At least almost sit up. I like to practice here because when I loose my balance, mom catches me and we make a big splash.





















And more than anything, I just love the pool. It's my favorite activity with my mom, a good way to get my daily Vitamin D allowance, and it helps my mom relax since I get tired and always take a nap afterwards.

Sitting Pretty

I'm getting better by the day at truly sitting up on my own. Mom practices with me every day. Here I am at the park. This is truly an accomplishment for me, two things at once. Sitting up and drinking! Just after this picture was taken, I tried to take an even bigger gulp and tumbled backwards! Good thing we were at the park and in the grass! Guess I need some more practice to work on something mom call balance. 

Swingin' High

Well, not too high! Mom took me to the swings today and I loved it. Yes, I'm still a little small for the toddler swings at the park, but I manage. Although, if mom's not careful when she put's me in, I think my whole body would fit through one leg hole. Check me out as I enjoy the swing at our neighborhood park.

Playgroup

Every Thursday (well almost) mom manages to get me to playgroup with all of my friends. I can't really talk about them a whole lot yet (because all I can say right now is "Ba"), but I thought you might like seeing all of them!

Here I am with my friend Laura.















Here I am with my friend Haley. We walk together every Wednesday morning as well.















And here is the whole gang. Kudos to all of the mom's for getting me and all of my friends in the picture at once. That was quite a feat!

My Inner Geek

One of my favorite things to explore as of late has been the computer. I love the cords and all of the little spots I can try to poke my fingers into. I especially like the back of the computer where everything is plugged in. Thankfully, I'm not strong enough to yank the cord out of the computer, this would be a major issue of mom was working. Mom tries to restrict my access to this area by placing the garbage can in front of it, but it's not working. I'm so strong now that I just push the garbage can out of my way. Nothing can keep my inner geek from coming out! 

6 1/2 Month Stats

Another trip to the doctor yielded two more shots. Well, I guess that's better than the three shots I had got the last time! I also found out that I am growing like a weed! Yes, like a weed, tall and skinny. I weighed in at 14lbs. 3oz (15%, I dropped quite a bit from the 40th% last time) and measured at 26 and 1/2 inches tall (60%). So, in the last two months I've grown 1 1/2 inches (and they wonder why I'm so skinny) and gained 1lb. 3ozs. Overall, not too shabby.

The doctor also checked how I was doing developmentally and mom got the thumbs up! They felt that I am currently measuring right around a 9 month olds abilities. Yep, that's right. It could have something to do with the fact that I'm army crawling, constantly saying "Ba", pulling up on people, taking steps when someone helps me stand, and almost sitting up completely on my own.

My palette has also expanded quite a bit since we had our last checkup. I'm now eating oatmeal, apples, pears (my favorite fruit so far), blueberries, apricots (yuck!), sweet potatoes, squash, and carrots (my favorite veggie so far). Mom's preparing to introduce green vegetables soon, we'll see how I like those peas!

So, as you can tell, I'm giving mom and dad a run for their money in all areas!

I'm Back

Well, I've returned home and am now trying really hard to get used to my bed, my food, my bathtub, and mom's hectic schedule. But, I'm coping. As lonely as I might be without all of those friendly faces like my Papa, Nonni, cousins, Aunts, Uncles, Nana, Granddad, and the list goes on. My travels were so much fun and I was so glad that we could keep you sorta updated on the fun things we did.

Nothing spectacular though in regards to new developments. I'm still not sitting up, I still have no teeth, and I am still not crawling. However, I am talking like crazy (if you can call it that) and am army crawling with much more ease now. I have been getting my share of solid foods. We started with sweet potatoes, apples, and carrots while I was in SC. Since returning home, I've branched out to Avocado. Mom is definitely being more gourmet now that she's back in her own kitchen.

I hope all is well with everyone and I look forward to seeing all of my loyal readers soon!

1/2 Year Birthday

Wow, am I getting old! It's hard to believe that I'm already 6 months old. (I know this is especially difficult for my mom.) So many things have happened and life is so exciting. I know now that there is a huge world out there for me to explore and I'm just getting a taste of it, literally. I've so enjoyed sharing all of my news with all of you and look forward to recounting the exciting moments to come in the next 6 months of my life! I've been told I grow and learn by leaps and bounds during this portion of it.

Who is This? Please Help

Well, I'm not talking yet and that's a good thing because we're still not sure what to call my... Here I am with ... having much fun jumping on her countertop. (I highly doubt that I will be allowed to do this next time that I visit.) So, please cast your votes and offer suggestions for what my ... should be called.

Grandma (Although, my Aunt Trish isn't real excited about this one.)
Gram (Slightly better)
Nanny
Nonni (Italian word for Grandmother)

Now, we are aware that despite our best efforts some other endearing term may come out, but we'd like to give something specific a try first. ... better watch it though, she's been saying YaYa to me a lot, I might just call her that.

Swimming

I said it was hot in my last post and it sure is. So, we've been going to the pool every other day
while we are here. I love the water, of course, we all already knew this. But now, I've taken to extreme swimming for babies. Yep, I'm out of the floaty and dog paddling it on my own here in the water.






























Living dangerously on the edge for mom. She keeps trying to keep my head out of the water,
little does she know that I keep purposely dipping it in.

I've gone to the pool now with my Aunt Trish, my Papa, and my ? (see next post for details). I know that mom would enjoy getting a tan here and swimming laps, but she's been a real sport in getting her work out just with me. (Unfortunately, it's just a work out, it doesn't come with post workout recovery time!) Oh, and don't worry, my mom has been very diligent about keeping me in the shade and I have sunscreen on. The hat that mom insists I look so cute in...I'm not really liking it while I'm in the water, the brim gets in the way.

Playing with PaPa

Me and my PaPa have been playing a lot together. He is trying really hard to help me build muscles so that I can crawl or sit up. But so far, I'm just getting better at squirming and wiggling to where I need to go. Man the carpet is hard on the knees! Good thing that mom brought this blanket, but it is definitely not large enough to contain me.

My Papa, he growls at me and does something similar to the Jim Carey "The Claw." He also eats my feet and my stomach. This makes me squeal like a taradactile, (I'm still not laughing quite yet but getting closer every day) which makes him laugh like snagglepus. Regardless, we both smile a lot when we are together.

This picture is just for my dad. I wanted him to see me up close and personal since I know he misses me so much! I miss him a lot too, especially our morning playtime on the weekends! But my mom has given me kisses and hugs from him every day, possibly more than he gives me when he's around. I know he tells her to give me those kisses and hugs, he must miss me a whole lot!

Signs of Sitting Up

Yep, I'm tripoding it. Hopefully, in the next couple of weeks, mom will get a picture of me unsassisted and fully upright. Who knows, maybe PaPa and Grandma will get lucky on my upcoming trip and see a whole bunch of firsts. Maybe a tooth, first crawl, and a first time sitting up. I'll keep you posted as always on any new developments.

Happy 4th of July

What a 4th! I started the day in Kansas City, we had lunch, went to the bookstore and then started our trip to Joplin where we ended the day with some big fireworks. Here I am in my star spangled baby outfit and loving the fireworks. They're very similar to when mom and dad clap their hands for me and it makes me smile big.

Hope you all are having a great holiday weekend! We'll be back in Texas on the 7th so mom and dad can spend some time together and I can rest up for another big trip. Yep, I'm a travelin baby. I'm off to South Carolina on the 11th to see my other set of grandparents! I'll continue to keep you posted with the places we go and the new things I get to do away from home!