An amazingly patient child.

No offense intended for any other babies, but I have to say, I think we have the cutest, sweetest baby ever. He's also spectacularly patient. We've had a bit of an adventurous day today. Upon arising we decided we wanted to go out for breakfast, but we hit a bit of a snag, we couldn't find Jason's keys. They have a hook by the door where they normally go but last night Peter ended up playing with them after we got home from the park. We searched and we searched and we searched. We were almost ready to go dumpster diving as we'd taken the trash out last night but luckily after 45 minutes of hunting Jason found them. I can't believe we didn't find them earlier as he's stashed stuff in that drawer before but oh well, live and learn.

So we finally made it out to breakfast. Peter entertained himself with a glass of ice and the lids off our coffees while they took a rediculously long time to make our breakfast. Once the food arrived he proceeded to demonstrate with his little plate of scrambled eggs that he has mastered the proper use of a fork. He repeatedly speared a bit and maneuvered it into his mouth! I've gotta say I'm pretty proud of that. Of course he ate a good bit with his hands too but still, he's got it figured out. We stopped at a garage sale and the storeafter breakfast, by this point we're well past when he normally takes a short morning nap but he wasn't complaining. He fell asleep in the car on the way home. Apparently that cat nap was enough for him as he was running the rest of the afternoon.

We had our first adventure with crayons today. He scribbled a bit but had a blast just playing with the crayons. He'd pick up a handful and offer some to me (I was coloring) and pick up some more and put them in the box. Then he'd dump the box out. Then he started chewing on them. He broke the tips off several of them and had orange teeth. It was pretty cute but he wouldn't oblige me and open his mouth so I could get a picture, oh well.

Still running on only the short nap late this morning when it was time to leave to meet a coworker of Jason's for dinner. I was a little concerned that he might end up cutting the trip short but he seemed to enjoy himself. He entertained himself with his whisk, matchbox car and another cup of ice. He ate a respectable bit of parts of our dinners and seemed quite content while we chatted and ate. At the very end he started making his tired talk but when Daddy picked him up he was content to continue hanging out. He stayed awake in the car for the ride home but while I was getting some water and getting ready to settle he passed out in Jason's arms (for the record, he hasn't fallen asleep for Jason since he was probably 3 months old).

Pretty precious huh? I love my boys!

A squirrel at the park! The squirrel apparently really wanted some of our lunch as Peter kept going after him and he never actually ran away, just stayed out of reach.

Fun toys, ride em cowboy!

A budding engineer? He loves turning the gears.

I love the dirt on his forhead. The poor tomato plant is still trying so hard to grow but he's making it tough!

Rice is delicious, but also quite a lot of fun dontcha know?

Kookoolan Farms

We had a fun adventure out to Kookoolan Farms today.  They raise happy chickens, cows, pigs, sheep and veggies.  Yum!  But what really brought me there in particular was the fact that they sell raw milk.  I've been doing a lot of reading and I've decided that that is the best way to go assuming we can get our hands on a safe supply which I believe I have found here.  The lengths they go to to ensure the milk is safe is awesome and the respect they show all of their animals makes me feel pretty incredibly lucky to live so close to them.   The raw milk is gonna take some getting used to, it's really nothing like the stuff you get at the grocery store.  It's not even white!  Apparently cows that actually eat grass make milk that's a creamy off white (huh, guess that's where the color descriptor 'creamy' comes from, duh).

The other exciting thing is they sell everything you could need to make cheese out of that fresh milk.  I can't wait to begin those experiments, I just can't decide where to start.  Tomorrow is the day we pick up our CSA share so we'll see what we get in the basket this week but I'm gonna have a ball making dinner tomorrow with all my new goodies.

Peter had fun at the farm store, lotsa stuff to look at and they had a fun wood farmhouse in a corner that kept him occupied for quite a while.  While I'm thinking about Peter, I forgot to share that he got his first molar last week!  He was laughing and I saw white.  At first I thought he had something in his mouth as we hadn't had any teething fussiness but nope, he cut a molar.  He's got such a mouthfull of teeth now!

Jason growls a lot.   It's not loud or anything but when he first wakes up or when something isn't right he growls (I suppose there isn't much right about getting up in the morning when you're a night owl huh?).  It's completely unconcious and I often don't even hear it unless I'm thinking about it I'm so used to it.  Well, Peter apparently has been listening.  When he woke Jason up from a nap after work he started growling too!  I just busted up laughing it was so cute and he did it a few more times before he went to sleep.  I hope he keeps it up.

What a boring post with no pictures but I've got Petey sleepin in my lap and I forgot to bring the camera over before we settled so too bad!

musings on a baby boy

Before I had Peter I think I kinda wanted a little girl.  Of course I always knew I would love and adore my child no matter their sex but part of me thought little girly stuff might be just a little more fun for me.  Well, now that I have a little boy I had to say I really do find the dirt eating munchkin moments to be fantastic fun.

He has absolutely zero interest in stuffed animals or books.  But if it has moving parts, lights, or buttons, he's ALL over it.  He studies things and likes to figure out how to make it do everything it can do.  He'll keep turning and pulling and poking until he's satisfied that no other parts open up or activate anything else.  He pulls the batteries out of the remote and then tries to put them back again. 

I really don't know much of anything about little boys, but boy, I'm having fun learning!

 This was just after he came in from playing in the rain (and my tomato planter... again).  The water and the mud made for a very happy boy.  And then bathtime was a blast as usual!

Helping Daddy clean the lint out of the dryer. 

Sesame Street and Gymnastics

We have discovered Sesame Street.

I'll often watch Food Network as Peter nurses and drifts off to sleep in my lap but yesterday I thought I'd turn on Sesame Street. I've offered him various kids shows before, including Elmo, but he never paid any more attention than he did to my shows so I just kept watching what interested me. Yesterday was different though. He was fascinated. The sprawl in the recliner is exactly how I set him when I got up to get the camera, he didn't move a bit, while usually when set in the recliner he tries to climb over the back immediately. The spell started wearing off a little so I put him a bit closer in his rocker and he went back to glued for a little while. I love the different expressions I caught in those shots.

We finished swimming lessons a couple weeks ago and decided not to continue for a while.  The classes are in the evening and Peter just wasn't happy going out at that time.  He'd had fun the first few weeks but his nap/sleep schedule shifted so we'll just have to go play during free swim or when his sleep schedule shifts again.

Parent/child gymnastics started this morning!  The age group for the class is 1-3 years, most of the children were 2 1/2 - 3 with one 2 year old and then Peter at not quite 14 months.  Despite the age gap, Peter was pretty comparably sized.  He was just a touch shorter but most of the kids had lengthened out into lean little kids as is normal so Peter looked like a little tank in there.

The class started with the teacher asking everyone to sit on a colored spot on the floor she'd put down.  Peter, not too interested in following directions yet, started trying to collect them.  I managed to keep him entertained with one while she walked the other kids through some stretches and when she had everyone run around the room in circles for warm up Peter mostly stood in the middle and stared with occasional forays into the flow of traffic going the opposite direction.

It was fun to see the other kids actually doing little things like somersaults and hanging on the bars and walking on the balance beam.  Peter seemed to enjoy walking on the squishy mats and was enthralled by himself in the big mirror and had a blast checking out the equipment (most particularly the stands and knobs for adjusting height.)  The class ended with the teacher blowing some bubbles and all the little kids crowded together popping bubbles was adorable.  It took Peter a while to realize what was going on and to wander in the midst but he did eventually. 

I think the class is a bit beyond him and I don't think I'll sign up for more until he's a bit older but we'll keep going for this session.

Grandma and Grandpa come to play!

Grandma and Grandpa came and had a wonderful visit yesterday. We had a blast playing in the park and Peter had so much fun showing off his walking and talking skills. We got a new word too! "Catch" Last week I played catch with him for quite a while and he had a blast but I forgot all about that until he started throwing his ball yesterday and every time he threw it he said "gah-sch!" The two parts of the word were very distinct and oh so cute.

He walked all around the place holding Gramma's hand and had a grand old time, she still wasn't allowed to actually pick him up though. He was also very helpful when she wanted to try to take some pictures of him. I think he ended up taking more pictures of the grass and her jacket than she managed to get of him. I rather love the shot I got of the two of them taking a picture though.

Grampy was there and played with us a bit but he kinda melted in the sunshine and slept for most of it. I love the picture of him sleeping on the hill, it reminds me so much of when I was a kid and we'd be playing around him and he'd be trying to stay awake but just not succeding convincingly.

My mom also brought Peter the ferret and Peter had a ball playing with him but that play is really hard to photograph. I tried but I mostly got little blurry flashes and butts sticking in the air as Peter peers under whatever the ferret is checking out. They seem to enjoy playing together though and it is such fun to watch.

Momma's little helper

I just can't get enough of that sweet little grin.  In this shot he's been 'mixing up' my poor tomato plant with a whisk and periodically trying to get at Thomas in the planter on the table.  I'm SO happy we got a place with a south facing balcony so I can grow plants and let Peter and the kitties play in the sunshine!

Here's some random cuteness from this week: Peter was watching me sweep and when I set down the broom he picked it up and tried to walk around with it but kept getting it stuck on things so I got out the little broom I found while I was pregnant and he LOVED it.  He was 'sweeping' chairs, the floor, the cats...  it was so much fun to watch.

Snapshot - 13 1/2 months

What he is saying:

•  Still lots of Mamama and Dadada
• Ghee Ghee! (seems to be his attempt at kitty!)
• A whole lot of other sounds
• While he's not saying them yet he's signing "hi" and "bye" with two distinct waves even when he just hears the word so it isn't just him copying our wave!

What he loves doing:

• Touching the kitties!
• Digging in the planter on the balcony, sad for the tomato plant trying to grow in it but oh well, we'll see how many make it to ripeness.
• Playing with water.  Whether it's water in the sink, toilet, tub, watering can, pool, puddle... you name it.

What I am loving about him:

• His ADORABLE drunken sailor walk.  I just adore it!
• How easily he adapts to different situations.  He did amazingly well at a crowded conference for three days.
• How intense he can be.  He is very expressive and he lets us know when things are and aren't going as he would like them to.

Some of his quirks:

• He likes kalamata olives but not black olives.
• He holds anything remotely cellphone shaped up to our ears for us to talk into (and he enjoys it when we talk then hold it for him).  But if there's someone actually on the phone talking to him it fascinates him and he wants to stare at it.

What I want to remember from today:

• His obvious delight at all the different toys our first time to Tiny Tots.  
• How happy he was to play with a new kid and how willing he is to share.  He doesn't mind when another child takes a toy as long as there's something else for him to have instead.
• The way he feels sleeping snuggled in my lap after a long day of play.