Been Around the Block

Justin and I just went for a walk around the block. He pushed his new fire engine walker all the way. When we got home he was pretty tired so he went to take a nap.

Busch Gardens

Justin visited Busch Gardens yesterday for the first time. He seemed to have a great time, and despite taking a nap at the park, he was still pretty tired when we got home. Chris posted a bunch of new pictures in the gallery, some of the theme park, some of Little Gym, some miscellaneous.

Mr. Body

Two pics from the Halloween party are up.

Bubbles

I've uploaded nine new pictures to the gallery. I don't have time at the moment to add captions, so you'll have to imagine your own captions for the time being.

Drinking and Drawing

Justin has started drinking from his sippy-cup all by himself. You can tell that he is very pleased with himself between sips. We should be completely weaned off of the bottle in a week or two.

Also, I got him a ball to play with that will not roll under the furniture. He chases it around, then grabs it and hugs it as if to say "My Ball!" or "I love you ball."

We got crayons at the grocery and he did his first drawing. He prefers red.

Pictorial proof of all these things is available in the gallery.

There is no picture to be had but we think he has started saying "da-dy" on purpose. I think we're going to officially call it his first word.

Boy meets dog

I've uploaded four new pictures of Justin meeting Rachel and Jeremy's dog Duncan. They had a good time together.

Hot off the wire

OK, here is the Justin news.

He's weaned off of the breast and is drinking cow milk exclusively now. He doesn't seem to mind and we haven't had any problems.

Yesterday he had his one year well baby checkup. Everything looks good. He got 3 shots and was cranky today, but I expect he'll be over it by tomorrow. He is now 30 1/4" tall (62%), 19 lbs 13 oz. (9%), and 17 1/2" head size (7%).

He is able to pull up on the coffee table or his toybox. He's more willing to do it if I spot him, but I think in a few more days he'll be doing it with no problem.

We've added brushing his teeth to the nightly routine. So far, he hasn't been complaining about it.

I've added a new link to his new gallery. The first one was for the first year. From now on, new pictures will go into gallery 2.

How Now Brown Cow

Last night Justin had his first bottle of cow's milk. He didn't seem to notice anything unusual and drank almost the whole bottle without complaint. He also didn't break out in hives or have any other kind of allergic reaction. What this means is that, because of Jenny's hard work and dedication to nursing, we made it to 1 year without having to use any formula (not that there's anything wrong with formula). Whoohooo!

He is the easiest baby ever. I played tennis on Wednesday and he happily sat on the side of the court in his stroller watching us play for an hour and a half. I'd go over to him every few minutes and tickle his feet or bob the tennis ball on his head and he would laugh and giggle, then we'd go back to playing and he just hung out. Unheard of.

I think he's starting to get the idea that he can make sounds (other than crying) to communicate. He says "Da do da da deh de ga da guh buh meh da Da DA DA DA" now.

Environmental Exploration

Justin is getting better at manipulating his environment every day. He's always figuring out how to open cabinet doors or pull things off shelves or flip the plantation shutters open and closed. last night he was wired. He was in his crib, not sleeping, so we got him up and let him crawl around for a while. He kept it up until eleven, when we decided it was time for bed.

I uploaded 11 new pictures to the gallery, in case anyone was interested. . .

Baptism and Theme Parking

On Sunday, Justin was baptized, along with a few other babies, at Espiritu Santo Church. He was very good and didn't even cry when the deacon poured water over his head (though he made a very unhappy face).

Yesterday, we went to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. Justin actually had a great time because he got to touch lots of different video screens, sit on Daddy's shoulder, and have his head bopped by large hanging pieces of foam. He laughed and laughed and waved his arms like mad. There are pictures of Justin with his favorite screen and Daddy trying to feed him to a large carnivorous dinosaur in the gallery.

Big Day

Yesterday was a big day for Justin. In the morning he had his 3rd haircut (getting ready for his baptism). It makes him look so different, especially with his four front teeth.

In the afternoon we met Denis and Stacey at the beach. The water was much warmer than when we were on Anna Maria Island so we took him out. He got splashed in the face a few times, which he didn't like, but he looked like he was almost having fun some of the time. It took a few minutes for him to get used to it, but he likes playing in the sand and was crawling around.

Overall it was a much better beach experience than last time and we think that after one or two more trips he will have the hang of it.

Red Beans & Rice

Justin is eating more and more real food. Tonight he had 15 or so bites of red beans and rice. He seems to really enjoy eating, but still gets that confused look when he has solid food in his mouth.

Tonight while he was crawling around he got tired and let his head drop on the wood floor. Bonk! He was ready for bed after that.

9 Month Doctor Visit

Justin had his 9 month well-baby appointment today. He had his third hepatitis shot and had blood drawn for the first time (to check for anemia). He is in great health. For those keeping score at home, His length is now 90%, weight 25%, and . . . head size . . . 4%! It can't get much smaller.

He's pulling up to a kneeling position now. It won't be long before he's pulling up to standing and cruising around holding onto the furniture. When I put him on the floor by his tent, he'll crawl into the piano room, back to the tent, into the kitchen to the other side of the kitchen table, back to the tent, under the dining room table, etc. . . We have to keep a close eye on him because now he sees things that he's interested in and goes after them. We let him explore as much as possible without getting into danger.

He's started eating adult food. We've given him bits of donut, tortilla, rice, and watermelon. He seems to like eating. When we put food in his mouth he makes a face like he's concentrating really hard, then makes a big smile and says "a-Gaa!!"

Back From the Beach

We got back from our mini beach vacation today. I've uploaded 11 new picures from the trip and 1 from his 8 month birthday.

We waded out into the surf with Justin, but the water was too cold for him to enjoy getting wet. He did like the wind is his face a lot though.

We had a great time.

New Teeth and Rolling Around

Justin's two top front teeth are coming in and he's cranky about it. He wakes up in the night sometimes now crying and will not be consoled until he gets a teething ring fresh from the refrigerator.

He's really rolling around now. He can get up on all fours for a few seconds at a time, but he still has problems making much foreword progress. We're having lots of tummie time sessions so he can practice. That works out really well except that I have to keep cleaning the carpet after he spits up squash or sweet potatoes or whatever he's last had to eat.

Also, he's making a lot more different sounds and is getting more talkative. He seems to make 'da da da da da da' sounds when he's happy and 'ne ne ne ne ne' sounds when he's upset. He blows lots of raspberries too.

Diet expansion and 9 New Pictures

I've uploaded nine new pictures, including some pictures of trying to introduce peas to Justin's diet. As you will see from the pictures, he is a big fan, NOT! Jenny started him on prunes yesterday. He seems to like them a lot, but Jenny said that I probably won't like them very much due to their look and smell.

He's sitting up real well now. Yesterday he was sitting in the piano room playing with his peek-a-block train and he spit up and I felt comfortable going into the kitchen to get a paper towel and letting him sit up without any help nearby for ten seconds or so. He's already fallen over a bunch of times on the carpet and it doesn't seem to bother him. He just rolls over toward whatever toy/pet/person/shiny thing he was trying to get at that made him fall over in the first place.

He's been sleeping a lot the last few days. He's probably going through another growth spurt. Maybe his head will get bigger. Stranger things have happend.

P.S. For Rosa: There is nothing wrong with his head. We just keep bringing it up as a running joke now. Everything is fine. :)

6 Month Doctor Visit

Justin had his six month appointment yesterday (Monday). His numbers are Height: 27.5in (80%), Weight: 18#12oz (75%), and Head: 16.5in (10%). His head continues to shrink at an alarming rate. The good news is that his weight % is still lower than his height %, which means he is not overweight, despite his large thighs.

On Easter Sunday we gave him the toys that the great grandparents gave us when we went to Shell Point. He loves them. He has tasted them all and found them acceptable.

I uploaded five new pictures, two from when I was playing with him on the couch, and three of him getting his new toys.

Sit Like a Man

Justin can sit up on his own now. Not for very long, but Thursday I sat him on the floor with his train toy in front of him and he sat up playing with it for 4 - 5 minutes without falling over. I still have to stay next to him because if he gets too excited, he throws his head back and tips over backwards.

His solid food eating is still going well. Yesterday we introduced sweet potatoes and he seemed to like them too. Maybe next Friday we will try something green.

The most exciting new development is that yesterday he started babbling. He lays in his crib now, awake, going "ga bwaa haa da da. . ." etc. . . It's very cool, and very cute.

To commemorate these momentus milestones I have uploaded eight new pictures to the album. In the pictures where he is eating, he's having rice cereal.

New Picture

I uploaded one new picture from the shell point trip to the gallery. It's of Jenny's grandparents, Jenny, Justin, Haydee, and myself.

Six Month Birthday and Red Poop

Justin loves carrots. He eats them up yum (my vocabulary may be deteriorating). After a bit of a rocky start with the rice cereal, he took to the carrots like a fish to water. Next weekend we'll start with the applesauce.

Today he was flailing his arms and I mimicked his motion. He stopped, looked at me, and flailed his arms twice. I flailed my arms twice. He flailed once. I flailed once. Then he laughed, and we played that game for a minute or so. It was the first time he has really been consciously interacting with us and it was pretty awesome.

Today is his six month birthday so I have uploaded nine new pictures to the gallery. Enjoy!