saturday hiking with gramps

Hmmm, let's see how this mallet tastes...good?

Warming up to Grandpa Cooper

Checking out the rapids at Wahclella Falls

waiting

uncle matt lucks out

What a lucky guy to get such a sweet cuddle!

peekaboo zebra

(please forgive the blurry, shaky video)

state of the union

We watched the State of the Union during dinner tonight & Xavier was mesmerized by the television. It was actually his first experience with TV (we are not big TV fans around here) & as the photo below attests, I think his mind was sort of blown by the whole thing:
And while it may be purely coincidence, I was unable to get him to sleep that night until nearly midnight. He was just totally jacked up: babbling, squirming, sobbing -you name it -anything but sleeping. Needless to say, we won't be watching any more television in the near term.

hanging out with peekaboo zebra

One of these days I will get a video of Xavier freaking out when Mr. Zebra plays peekaboo with him. It is hilarious.

blueberry lipstick

supper time

We don't really say "supper." That's a mid-west thing & we're left coast;)

Do I really have to eat all that?

The usual smorgasbord of supper time options (I said smorgasbord!)

ol' blue eyes

la musica

Xavier has added the glockenspiel to the list of instruments at his disposal. I keep waiting for him to poke his eye out with one of the hammers.

He loves to strum the guitar, although more often than not he mistakes the guitar for a drum (he mistakes everything for a drum!). And I'll admit it sounds pretty cool when he hits the strings:

hooray for dry diapers!

cuddlebug

It is a rare thing for my squirrely, squirmy, & insatiably curious 10-month-old to relax in my arms unless he is sound asleep. These pics caught him just after nap in rare cuddle form:

digging in the dirt

The rain held off for a bit today & the weather was delightfully warm for January, so we went to the park for some swinging. Afterward we hung out on the front sidewalk for a while & played in the dirt. I have been noticing that Xavier doesn't really put things in his mouth like other babies, as a general rule. I was vigilant all the while that he played with pine cones & wood chips & needles, but he never once attempted to stuff them in his face (he doesn't put food in his mouth either, incidentally?!). I think this is partly owing to the fact that, unlike most babies, he's already got 8 teeth & probably isn't teething all that much of late. But I really have no idea?! Hey -not that I'm complaining! -It could explain why he's only been sick once in his entire (but short) life.

in with the new

Hello, Nikon D90! -I know we only just met, but I think I love you!


Oh, and did I mention it takes HD video as well? (although, annoyingly, the camera will not autofocus while filming, so forgive the occasional blur- come on, Nikon! -you can do better than that!):

out with the old

It is time to say goodbye to the old & trusty Olympus E-300. It has served us well since we bought it, way back in the early days of the consumer-level digital SLR (2004). But we felt it was time to upgrade to something with a little more manual control & a better sensor, & therefore, better image quality. After all, we've got the greatest subject of all time sitting in our living room every morning.

So long, old camera! You weren't half bad.

basket of blocks

Xavier loves to play with his alphabet blocks. He dumps the basket out & with a little help he'll put them back, but usually he just throws them wildly around the room.

brew time

Our good friend's Vic & Kim came over Friday night for a little beer brewing (extra hopped up IPA is on tap for this week!...mmmm...). Xavier loves his Aunt Kim, mostly because her eyes are so big she looks like a cartoon character. And she laughs like one too:

what is this big floppy thing in my mouth?

Guess who suddenly realized he has a tongue?!

swinger

We scored a tiny break in the rainy Portland weather & visited the park pronto. There is nothing like a little swinging to bring a smile to a kid's face.

the string cheese incident

peas & carrots

Xavier still hasn't figured out how to feed himself. I encourage him frequently -I put little bit of sweet potatoes, or peas, or carrots or whatever in front of him & I ask him: "Can you pick it up with your fingers & put it in your mouth by yourself?" -and he totally knows what I am talking about, because he giggles & gets all shy & happy & weird. And then he tries, and I guide his fingers to his face. And he even opens his mouth & tries to eat the bit of pea or whatever off his fingers. Sometimes he gets it. Most of the time he fails to release the food from his little pincer grip and then drops it somewhere on the floor or into his bib. But that doesn't stop him from chewing, however, as if he has actually fed himself. It is painfully cute.

And then other times when I ask him to try to do it by himself, he whimpers as if to say: "come on, Mama! I'm hungry! -you do it!"