October - January in 2 minutes

Maybe someday I will get around to blogging about all the fun details of the past 5 months - Halloween pumpkins, Cincinnati, Christmas, etc... but just in case that doesn't happen, here are some favorite pictures that we just finally uploaded from the camera.

At the Pumpkin PatchWhistling for the band

"No, YOU look ridiculous wearing all those clothes!!"

Learning to use a straw. Note the mullet.

"You are coming with me. Now. And we are going to drink Cokes."

Sippin' on water and juice...laid back.

Dinner with Emma

Drooling on a Ralph Lauren sweater.

There is nothing like seeing the joy on a child's face on Christmas morning.


Lola!!! Bappa!! Hat!

Hangin with Bappa.

"Look Uncle Pete, Lola lets me play with chewing gum."


The Haircut.

theo in portland (in hat)

Proof he was in Portland?

Not so sure about bull riding, Dad

But very sure about blackberry banana pancakes.

Steps! A reward upon returning to our hotel (and after sitting in his stroller longer than desired).

Not in the red light district but an interesting composition none-the-less.

obsessed with balls again

Theo has a renewed interest in balls. It is basketball season now and while I don’t think he likes it quite as much as football he does often sit on the couch, point at the TV, and repeat Ball Ball over and over. We think this means “turn on the tv and find a game for me dad.” So we humor him from time to time and turn on a game. Now that he has some bball games under his belt he likes to pretend he is dribbling a basketball. He might do this in his car seat, high chair, or anywhere else he is not able to actually play bball. He sticks out his arm very straight and stiff and then bounces it up and down – more like a rapper leading a crowd to jump. He also practices a throwing motion. This he seems to do regularly in the high chair and sometimes with food in his hand and sometimes he actually throws the food which is not good and usually results in a reprimand and poorly disguised laugh from Mom or Dad.

It all came to a climax this weekend in Portland. We went to the Nike employee store and there was a container of foot, basket, and soccer balls in different colors at the front of the store. He quickly got obsessed with the balls. He would point at the compartment of pink footballs and say ball ball over and over again until we handed him one. Then he would point at the green ones until we gave him one of those. He generally held one for a second and then threw it down and then pointed at the next one until he got one. He then settled in and decided he really liked the soccer ball. So he walked around the store for 20 minutes with it. Occasionally he would stop and throw it toward me or drop it and kick it. And on a few occasions a friendly store employee would coax him into throwing the ball to them. A group of about 4 guy employees wanted to see him throw it. He got stage fright and never did. But a minute later he did for one of the cute girls who wanted him to do the same thing. A natural ladies man. In the end we bought him a small basketball and soccer ball. He was still obsessed with them when we got home and had to sleep with the basketball in his crib. He got so worked up every time Penny took it away that she finally conceded and let him sleep with it and Dougie.

Counter-Blog

Here is my favorite of Theo's indoor hat wearing photos. I would also like to add that I think it was Bappa's red hat that really sealed the deal on the hat interest.


And, I think I need to dispute John's claim that maybe his attempts to make hats look cool were a factor. Here is photographic evidence:

theo the hat lover?

For a long time Theo refused to wear hats. Hat on head meant crying, fussing, and throwing a fit until it went away. Things changed in early December if I remember right. It might have been the cold in Cincy or the snow in Seattle or Theo seeing me wearing one and thinking it was ok. Regardless, hats are now the coolest thing since sliced bread. Most mornings he requests to put his hat on before 11:00 am. Usually it is because he wants to go for a walk but sometimes he's content wearing his hat around the house. I must say that he looks much better in a hat than his daddy does. A few "proof points" as they say in the business world:

happy belated valentine's day

Make a Smilebox greeting

beep beep

I think there is an adage about having kids and your perspective on life changing. The other day I realized how true this is. Chris, our neighbor to the south drives a school bus. She routinely parks the school bus in front of her house during the day. Penny and never liked this much. It seems trashy to have a bus parked outside your house. But recently Theo started to notice the bus and one day it beeped when he was looking at it. Well now he calls all busses “beep beeps” and gets excited every day when he sees it. And now Chris will beep the horn when she sees Theo and he loves it. So now I actually sort of like the bus. Who would have thought.

taming the mullet

Theo's first hair cut in early January

astrotheo

Theo would probably be in space by now if NASA recruited based on cute. We went to the Museum of Flight today. As has been the case lately, he seems most amused walking up and down steps or running up and down ramps. He enjoyed the "brrrrrrrrs" too.

Wide eyes