Food food food

So have I ever mentioned that I love food? The fresh stuff especially! Jarred baby food is not too bad…the fruit mostly, ‘cause I’m not too fond of the jarred veggies, but give me a fresh baked potato with cheese or some homemade cheesy grits (basically anything with cheese), fresh green beans or even peas – something that you’d have to force feed me if it were from a jar – and I’ll eat that stuff up like there is no tomorrow! My finicky fresh veggie-eating days are over…even when cooked by Mom! Honestly, I’m just tired of the same old jarred food. Ms. Ruthia at school says that I’m the best eater of the bunch and she loves to feed me…and I usually get second helpings, when other babies are pushing theirs away and crying. I’ve been able to eat the school food the last few weeks and it is pretty darn good!

Yesterday, on Mom’s day off from work, she made me breakfast. Not the typical instant rice cereal with fruit, but the good stuff. Homemade 3-Cheese Grits and also a mashed banana (a regular for me these days…I typically eat two a day!). Then for dinner, Dad came home and fed me applesauce and some nasty jarred squash. Mom had a baked potato in the oven for me, but it wasn’t ready in time for my dinner. So, Mom wanted me to have something fresh with my jarred stuff, so she put these blue fruit things, called blueberries, on my tray. Dad fussed at Mom for buying off-season fruit, but Mom says that if it’s for her little Chubbymunch (me), that she’ll buy over-priced fruit…so take that, DAD! He tried to eat my over-priced blue fruit things and I said, ‘Back off! They’re mine!’ I really liked them and because Mom would only give me the small ones (so I wouldn’t choke on them), some of them were sour! But I still loved them and gobbled them up. Then, ‘DING!’ My baked potato was ready. Dad told Mom there was NO WAY I’d be able to eat any more food. OH, IS THAT A CHALLENGE, DAD??? Cause I’m up for it! Mom mixed in some cheese and I ate the entire thing. I even made burping noises, like I was going to explode, but still wanted to eat more. If I want to be a strapping boy, I’ve got a lot of work to do…I lost an entire pound from being sick a few weeks back…

So back to bananas…I love those things. When Mom is mashing them up, I get really really fussy because I see her preparing it and she can’t get them to me quick enough. I start kicking my legs, whining, and sometimes I’ll even bang on my highchair. Hurry up already, Mom! I've eaten two in one sitting before. Impressive, right?

Chomper Update: My 8th tooth started coming in at 8 months! It's finally starting to break through...Lots of drool and lots of fussing as the result...

Skills Update: I've been sticking my tongue out A LOT lately...it's pretty cute and I get a lot of reactions out of it...

Baby Talk Update: I’m ‘talking’ a lot these days…I said ‘Bye Bye’ on Tuesday when I was leaving school and I’ve been babbling ‘Bab bab bab’ a lot. Ever since I first said it, Mama, or Ma ma ma ma is my favorite word…I say it ALL day long and it makes Mom very happy…and I’ve only repeated Da da once since I learned how to say Mama. Lately, I’ve been saying everything in my ‘gobblin’ voice, as Dad calls it. A very low, scratchy, demon-sounding voice…It even scares me a little! It’s pretty cool…

Thunder Down Under...

I have to share what I did yesterday at my parents closing...they went to meet with the Bank to refinance their home and they had to tag me along. Mis-take, Mom and Dad. I had already gone to the doctor earlier to get this darn cold looked at one more time, stopped with my Mom at the pharmacy to pick up my Meds, gone home where my Mom put me down for a quickie nap (a whole 30 minutes...gee thanks Mom...why bother) and then was rudely awakened to get lugged to a meeting that I didn't want to go to in the first place. Mom had given me my medicine before my nap, so by this time I was cranky and sleepy but strangely wired at the same time (what's in that stuff??? Can I get some more?) I was sqealing and wiggling and fussing and laughing and tooting...all while this old banker guy was trying to explain to Mom and Dad what they were signing. The tooting definitely got laughs out of everyone...especially Mom, who was trying not to laugh and remain focused, which made her laugh even harder. Oh, is that funny? There's plenty more where that came from!

You Want a Piece of This???

Want tickets to the Gun show??? 20 pounds of hunk right here...

Beach Bum...

Well, we’re back from the beach and despite the chilly and sometimes dreary (& rainy) weather we had, it was a nice little break for all of us. Dad was still battling his cough and head cold pretty bad and I still had the never-ending-snot problem and cough, so we didn’t do any swimming this time around, even though the indoor pool was pretty warm. Mom was too worried about it making my cold worse…and I was sooo looking forward to showing off my snazzy swim trunks! Maybe next time…
As usual, I was the celebrity baby everywhere we went…Mom and Dad got a lot of comments from strangers on how they’ve never seen a baby smile at strangers unprompted before! I was pretty happy this weekend, and why wouldn’t I be? I was on vacation, living the good life! We spent most of the time relaxing, going to Souvenir City to buy me stuff, shopping at the Outlet Mall to buy me stuff, and eating. We went to my parents favorite restaurants in the area, The Original Oyster House (twice) and The Crab Trap and I got to eat fresh peas, fresh cut up green beans, baked potatoes with a little cheese, and best of all, cheesy grits, which I’ve never had before! Man, did I eat those up! Cheesy grits rocked the house…I guess you could say I’m a true Southern Boy, because I can do some damage to a bowl of them! (Mom read that I need to have some cheese in my diet at this point, so she worked hard to make sure that I got some!) I also ate tons of fresh mashed bananas, fresh mashed avocado, organic applesauce, etc. this weekend... No jarred baby food for me, which was a welcome change...if I see another jar of sweet potatoes or squash, I’m going to go off on my Mom! But Mom realized that I’m much like my Dad…if I have good food to eat and eat on a schedule, I’m a happy camper…

I was once again the perfect travel baby…no car meltdowns or anything…I slept the ENTIRE way to the beach and only required one milk-stop on the way back and I slept the rest of the way. This could mean more car trips to come in the near future!

***Everyone say a little prayer for my Aunt Alison today, who had her third invitro egg transfer this morning. She's had a difficult time trying to get pregnant (2 miscarriages with the first two IVF's) and we hope and pray that the third time is a charm!

My Sunday Best For A Wheelbarrow Ride!

Valentines Trip To The Beach

My parents and I will be taking a trip to the beach this weekend for a little family Valentines R&R…I’m very excited! This will be my second beach vacation, (thanks to the Roger’s, who are gracious enough to share their awesome condo!) We will be leaving late this afternoon and I will unfortunately miss my school Valentines party…shucks, I won’t get to give my girlfriends a smooch on my first Valentines Day! However, I’ll be scoping out the sandy shores (or maybe just the indoor pool if its too chilly) for a couple of bikini clad cuties, so that should be a good time. Who could resist me in my smooth black and green turtle swim trunks? I’ve been practicing my lines too…”Do know where the weight room is?”…as I casually flex my bicep…

Dad’s still really sick…Mom thinks it is because he chugs Mountain Dew and eats hamburgers instead of having hot soup and herbal tea when he’s sick, like Mom does…He’ll learn one day! But he’s decided to keep the trip as planned and we’ll keep it low key and relaxing and hang out on the porch looking out over the water. That will be the best therapy!

So check out the final proofs and slideshow from my photo shoot! They turned out great and Mom and Dad will be buying pictures of me for their Valentines gift to each other…

...Mom's making the 'NO LAPTOP!' rule for the beach, so we'll post beach photos and Christening photos on our return...

Hope everyone has a Happy Valentines Day tomorrow!!!

Operation Christening: Success!

Yesterday was my big day and it went better than expected. Before the big show, I got to hang out in the church parlor and Mom changed me into my white christening jumper and bonnet. I sure looked cute! Mom and Dad brought my blanket, laid it on the floor, and I got to lounge around and chew things for a while until my family showed up for a quick visit before heading to take their seats. I met with the minister, learned my cues, and then we made our way to the sanctuary. I was very fascinated by the lights, music and interesting noises. My Uncle Todd, sitting next to me, also entertained me and kept me smiling until it was time for my shining moment.

The minister gave us the cue and we walked up to the front of the church. Aunt Alison and Uncle Swede (Chris), my godparents, stood behind my parents. Mom took off my bonnet to reveal my bright orange hair to the masses…”OOOoooo…” said the crowd…well, not really, but you know they were thinking it. So then Mom handed me over to the man in the robes. The minute the transfer took place, the show began: POUTY LIP…SCRUNCHED UP NOSE …MY FACE LIT UP A VIBRANT SHADE OF PINK…AND THEN CAME THE PITIFUL BABY SOBS. ‘Waaa ah ah!’ Oh yeah, and I even kicked the minister a few times with my white baby booties for added effect. (That one I pulled out of the hat at the last minute!) I looked back at my Mom and Dad and threw them a quick wink; mom stifled her giggles as much as she could. Then they put water on my head. LOUDER pitiful cries from me. I got immediate “Awwwwws…” from the congregation. Success! Then the minister walked me down the isle of the church and back up. I was doing the best lip quiver I could muster, as all eyes were adoringly on me as we marched down the isles. That was the most interesting part because I was fascinated by the shiny cross bobbing in front of me and all of the people, colors, and sounds around me. When we made our way back up to the front, Mom took me back into her arms and then my glorious moment came to an end. It was good, I can’t deny it. I was a show-stopper. And all my family watching would agree, I think…

So we went to celebrate at the Village Tavern for a lovely brunch. I ate a delicious plate of puffed cereal and a bottle of milk, while others dined on omelets, waffles, and big people food. They even had a beautiful cake with my name on it from Edgars. I got to try a little taste of frosting but didn’t care for it and I cried. I was getting sleepy at this point because I had already skipped two naps! But I was very well behaved despite the lack of sleep and Mom constantly praised me for being the ‘perfect’ baby. That’s what I’m best at…being perfect.

So overall, it was a great day and a great weekend (pictures of my previous day outside at the ranch with Bobpy and the farm animals to come soon!)

Sticking Out My Tongue

New skill, new skill! Yesterday, I learned to stick my tongue out and I've been doing it to my parents ever since. Man, the cool things I learn at 'school' from my friends! Maybe I should to that to the congregation tomorrow at my Christening? That might get a reaction out of them!

Do You Hear The Words Coming out of my Mouth?

Now that I know a few words, whenever my Mom or Dad says them, I turn my head immediately to look at them because I hear something familiar. Mom noticed me whipping my head around quickly to look at her as she said ‘Mama’ (my new favorite word that I like to repeat over and over!) and she recognized that I was comprehending what she was saying…I’m making progress with my words and especially when I come home from 'school' when I’ve been around other babies. That’s when I’m the most chatty or vocal!

My New Moves...

So I have a new thing as of 2 days ago. I’m so impressed with myself and have to share my latest accomplishment. Now that I’m good at getting up on my feet and skirting along the sofa taking baby steps (literally), I’ve also started bopping up and down. Its a lot of fun and a great way to build muscle in my meaty thighs! (They’re back to their usual form, now that I’m eating hearty portions again…but less chub rolls). I’m working on choreographing a few hot moves to take with me to school...

I did ‘turd in the tub’ at the end of bath time yesterday (see baby tip of the day from 01.17.09 if you’re unfamiliar with this phenomenon). It didn’t exactly work out as it normally does. Mom had me in the shower all cleaned off and lying in my plastic baby tub as I was waiting for her to get my towel. When she came to get me, she lifted me to wrap me up like a baby burrito in my towel and SURPRISE!, there it was waiting for her. No little ‘turdling’ as Dad likes to call it. The whole she-bang. Normally, Mom would give me another bath, thus, prolonging bath time and making more fun for me, but this time the water had gone cold by this point and she had to swish the ‘cheeks’ with chilly water…in the winter! I was not very happy…and fussed up a storm…and it may make me rethink doing that again. Well, for a little while, anyway, until the weather warms up.

I have my Christening this weekend at my church and I’m really looking forward to it…Talk about an audience! I will REALLY be the center of attention this time and I’m trying to decide what I want to do to captivate my audience. I could squeal and make cute baby cooing noises…or maybe give the pouty lip and maybe a few pitiful little whimpers to get the ‘Awwww’ reaction from the congregation…or maybe even the full-on cry complete with water-works…or lastly, the bright-eyed and tooth-flashing smile that always seems to work its charm. I have a tough decision to make the next two days, but will of course update you on my decision after the fact! Not meaning to keep you on pins and needles…but it should be good whatever course of action I take!

Groundhogs Day

Mr. Groundhog, we need to have a little chat, you and I. I must say I’m not too happy. Must you really demand 6 more weeks of winter??? I’m tired of the cold…tired of snotty noses and the colds that come with it…tired of not being able to cruise around outdoors in my pimp stroller without freezing my cheeks off…tired of those crazy greyhounds being hyperactive because they won’t go outside and burn their energy because they freeze into 'pupsicles'…and tired of my Mom bundling me up like the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man every time we take a trip to the car. Enough with the cold weather…BRING ON THE SPRING SUNSHINE! I’m ready to sport my muscle tanks and flip flops, like Matthew McConaughey, for the ladies…

...but I do like your style, Mr. Groundhog...man are you one big dude...You're chubbier than I am...and that's saying alot...I bet the other rodents and ground dwellers don't mess with you!

We did a reshoot of my photos this weekend, despite the fact that Mom and Dad were still recovering from their colds. The pictures are going to be awesome (even though Mom says she LOOKS like the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man in the pictures). Check out Sneak Peak of Heston… and the adorable proofs from our first session!

A very HAPPY 32nd BIRTHDAY to my old Man!!! I'll be sure to make it extra special and wake hourly tonight to give you birthday kisses...