Toilet Bowl!

Well, that was a pleasant surprise.

Oh yeah. Coach Wulff? Worst. Celebration dance. Ever.

... ADDED:

Food: It's What's For Dinner

As you can see, Adam has taken to solid foods. He'll eat most anything, including vegetables, fruits, yogurt, cheese, etc.

At first, we focused on the classic baby foods, i.e., pureed peas, carrots, etc. with an occasional foray into oatmeal or similar. However, when we went out to Washington, Grandma Beth began pushing all sorts of new foods Adam's direction, and there was no turning back.

Cheerios quickly became a favorite. He wasn't likely to choke on them, and he could work on his manual dexterity by practicing his "pincher" motion. Sadly, we've created a monster with the Cheerio thing. He's gone through approximately three pounds of Cheerios in the last three months.

I'm not kidding.

And, as an added bonus, we find stray Cheerios everywhere! We're such lucky duckies!

Apple makes him happy. Fruits in general tend to be big hits. Mmm, natural sugar.But not everything agrees with him.

I think the pickles are as much for our amusement as for his benefit.

This is what happens when the apple finally does make it in. He just keeps chewing off more bits until his face is stuffed like a chipmunk. Then he tries to swallow.

(It's a pineapple core. Like I said, mmm, natural sugar.)

Eventually, it will be all people-food all the time, but for now it's a combination of milk and food. At least we know that there are few foods he's not interested in when the time comes to make the switch.

Laugh And The Whole World Laughs With You

Cry and you're mom's problem.

Washington, My Washington: Part Four: Denouement

The return from Anacortes included Adam's first ferry ride. He was impressed with the pulling-away-from-the-dock part but was so hungry he immediately demanded food after this picture was taken and spent the entirety of the short trip attached to mom.

He enjoyed his short time in Centralia before heading back to KC. First, by reminding his toys who's boss:

Some blackberry pickin':

A trip to Borst Park:

A stop at the Chehalis Kiddy Park spray pool:

A chance to torment grandma's doll:

Feeding apples to the neighbor's horses:

A visit to Grandpa Ted and Grandma Mary's to try on dad's old baby hat:

Helping Grandpa Ray play the guitar:

And then it was off to the airport, where grandma and grandpa found a way to carry Adam without carrying Adam.

The flights home were "interesting." In deference to your appetite, I will spare you the details of the Seattle to Dallas leg, as you really don't want to know. Suffice to say, it was unpleasant, especially for Jean. But the Dallas to KC leg was fine, the highlight being that we sat across the aisle from Cesar Millan (the Dog Whisperer guy) and his wife. They were quite nice, and he probably didn't mind sitting near the two people on the flight who didn't have a clue who he was (it was only later that we found out).

All-in-all, it was a good trip, and we're glad we got to see so many family and friends. Unfortunately, it will be a while before we make it out again. I guess that means people are just going to have to visit us.

I'm subtle, aren't I?

Is That Mom's Musical Ability Or Dad's?

They say Mozart began composing at the age of five. They never say if what he wrote was any good.

Washington, My Washington: Part Three

Anacortes was fun. Adam enjoyed the beachhouse, even if he couldn't quite appreciate the view of Deception Pass. We did lots of walking, mostly on and around the beach. On the down side, his top two teeth decided that would be an excellent time to come in. He wasn't feeling great, but we got him one of those vibrating chewy thingies, and that helped.

Thoughtful, Cogent Election Analysis

As the "political scientist" of the fam, I guess it's up to me to explain the election results. Here is a summary, from the Democratic perspective (h/t L, G, & M):


And for the Republicans:

Sorry for the low quality of the video. They're in a bit of a state right now.

Boo at the Zoo... and other places

(also posted by Jean)

Adam has been quite the social butterfly lately. He has been to two Halloween parties (and counting), and also attended the "Boo at the Zoo" on Saturday. Luckily we have 4 different Halloween outfits for him, so by the time we actually get to the big night, he will have occasion to wear them all.

Outfit # 1: Frankenstein. Worn at Tegan's Halloween party on the 19th.

Outfit # 2: Pumpkin. Worn both for the Pumpkin Run and for the Boo at the Zoo.

Outfit # 3: Leopard (there was some conjecture as to whether it was cheetah or leopard, but thanks to the internets, we know the smaller spots equal leopard). Worn at the "Give what you Got" Halloween party and fundraiser.
Outfit # 4: Skeleton. Adam is going to debut this look on Halloween - probably covered up by a big coat, if the weather stays cool.

What are Adam's mom and dad dressing up as? Frazzled parents of a small child. Not very original, but a true depiction.

Look at the size of that Noggin!

Adam had his 9 month appt on Weds, and here are the stats:

(imagine announcer voice here)

"Weighing in at 22 pounds, 12.8 ounces, standing at 29 inches tall, with a head circumfrence of 18 1/2 inches..."

Which means that he is 75th percentile for height, 85th percentile for weight, and 90th percentile for head size. He might have a Claus head after all.

And Ted says I have to say that this was posted by Jean.

Washington, My Washington: Part Two

After the birthday party in Woodinville on Saturday, we went back to Centralia/Chehalis for the second first birthday party for Charlie and Logan on Sunday. The heat wave finally broke that day (the cooler front moved in during the party, actually), but it was still warm enough to enjoy ourselves. As you can see, Adam was hardly overdressed.

The twins enjoyed opening their presents... well, eventually. They required a little convincing, but they got into it after they realized they were supposed to be making a mess.
Adam watched. He liked the paper.
And grass. Grass is fun. For mom and dad, it was nice to be in an area where we didn't have to worry about chiggers.

And then it was time for the cake. After the experience of the first party (which involved both boys vomiting chocolate cake on themselves and their parents), Amanda and Aaron were careful not to overdo it on the cake. But, after starting carefully, the boys decided that, while cake is probably fine, they weren't entirely sold on frosting.

The next day, we set out for Anacortes. Of course, it would have been nice to be there during the heat wave and down south when the weather was cooler, but you don't always get to make those choices for yourself when you're only visiting for a short time. On our way north, we stopped in Federal Way and said hi to our friend Elis and met her two little ones. We hadn't seen her in about a year, so it was nice to catch up a little.The next update will cover our time in Anacortes.

Note: We've had a little computer hiccup here. That is to say that our old computer is in the midst of dying a horrible, lingering death. I'm typing this on the newly purchased super-duper computer, which does not yet have the pictures from the old one transferred to it. That is one of my projects for this weekend. We'll see if I can get that done and get the next update up before Christmas. I doubt it, but I'll try...