Six Months Old!

David is becoming more and more fun every day. He is getting very good at sitting up which has made everyone happier. He seems content to help me with various chores and to play with whatever is nearest.

We do the laundry together-he rides in the basket up and down the stairs.

Cook together--this big spoon and a top ramen package are his favorite toys right now.


Mailing packages, and babies.
Going to the store.

Tracking the neighbors' activities.

Playing with my shoesHanging with the Dad.

Big thumbs up for sitting up!

Adventures in Cooking

This week we learned that sleep deprivation and cooking do not mix. On Thursday I thought I would try a new recipe: "pineapple chicken". It was the first time all week I had a dinner fixed before Stevie came home from studying. After congratulating myself on a job well done I turned on the burner for some rice and left the kitchen to tend to the boy. About forty seconds later "CRASH"! The pyrex full of dinner exploded in a sizzling, drippy mess. In my sleepy haze I turned on the wrong burner and caused culinary mayhem. We decided that shards of glass do not make a good garnish--dinner once again became cereal.


Later that night I decided to make some Ovaltine before heading back to bed for the third time. I poured a tall mug of cold milk and set the microwave for 2:30 (the perfect ovaltine setting). When the timer went off I opened the door to find nothing inside and a mug of cold milk still on the counter. Yikes! I put the cold milk into the microwave and two minutes and thirty seconds later pulled out a still chilly mug. Farewell 40$ microwave.

Despite kitchen disasters things are great--the weather has warmed up again and we have spent some fun days at the park:

What is with this crazy weather?

Also, on Halloween we finally figured out how to keep him occupied and happy.

Ladybugs attack!

For the past several weeks ladybugs have been everywhere and on everything. They adhere to us when we walk outside and sneak into the house--perhaps they are attracted to the green walls. Stephen escorted several out yesterday only to have them cling to the back of his shirt and come back in. This morning I went to kiss him to find a ladybug crawling up his neck! I don't know what happens to ladybugs--but I hope they fly south for the winter.

He doesn't seem to fazed by his close encounter of the speckled kind.

He loves to watch them walk around the windows

This tree was covered with hundreds.

Also, thanks to Claire for the awesome coat jacket, he has just grown into it!

We had a great time with mom here. We went to the art museum, the botanical gardens, and took some nice walks in the park--all with a small disgruntled baby. David has been in a "nothing you do pleases me" stage, but since we have tried to make him take better naps he has done better. We also took some fun family photos when mom was here and the baby wasn't crabby.

Large stolen borrowed leaf!

Stephen calls this the "baby vogue" picture.

I am not sure what he is worried about in this one.

Fall is here!

David really enjoys time on the porch so we get all bundled up to go out.
I am not sure if the rolling over milestone counts when it is unintentional. He does not seem to think it is a big deal. We have been going for a lot of walks because the boy demands constant motion. He has finally grown into his baby carrier and seems to like to be chauffeured in it.

Along with rolling over, baby has also developed tree climbing skills. If we turn our backs for just a minute, there he is up in a tree.

Pretty impressive huh.

Busy Days

Baby and I have been busy playing lately. We play a wide variety of games but most of the time we play the noises game--which means I make as many different sounds as I can possibly think of and he stares at me. Sometimes he condescends to laugh and smile but mostly he just looks. I think he looks like Alex in the first picture. Something about the eyebrows.



The leaves are just beginning to change and the weather with them. That is a great excuse to wear a multitude of cute hats. Surprising--I know!


It seems less shocking when you get used to the idea.

Then it is positively boring.

Just to let you know--our baby is a genius. He spends a lot of his free time reading. His favorite classics include: "The Crinkle Book" and "Ducks". David has taught me the best way to fully appreciate the book is to suck on the corners.

He is also starting to not despise "tummy time". He is getting pretty good at holding up that heavy head.

Even at the end of the day he still has time for big smiles; that is, until bedtime.

recent pics

David does not always appreciate the cuteness of his sunday outfit.

coos to crisis in 4 seconds or less

We purchased this neat baby Einstein gym for David on Craig's list. He loves to sit under there and play with the toys that hang down. The gym features a singing sun that flashes with the music. David likes this part immensely for about 4 seconds--then his joy becomes too full and he demands to be removed.


Approx 4 second later:



He is also starting to look more like a boy than a blob and has a few characteristic looks that he gives us. This one is "mildly impressed"

I am pretty sure he is asking, "okay, what tricks are you going to perform for me next?"

Small Green Apartment

This week officially starts our Med School adventure. Stephen's "white coat" ceremony was last Sunday and he attended his first class Monday. He is starting with anatomy and has found that quote: "bodies are complicated". We will see if he ever comes home from school. The white coat ceremony took place in a neat Cathedral on campus. We were happy that Marci could fly up and stay with us for that weekend.

Meanwhile, hey look--I am two months old!

We have been really happy with our apartment. It is located pretty close to the school and near a couple of cool parks. It is also two different shades of green. The apartment is pretty cozy and we have liked everything about it except the dead mouse behind the fridge.

Blessing

This last week has been really fun--David has started to look at us and objects dangled in front of him. It is a great achievement to progress from a small blob to a small staring blob. He nows spends his days checkin' stuff out.

(note: our child is not bleeding--it is tie dye.)

We blessed David in Arizona just two days before we moved. It was great to have family at the meeting with us.

He was looking pretty good in a tie and a onesie.

Fun in St. Louis!

We are all moved in and loving St. Louis!

We live close to downtown and have found there are tons of fun things to do for free. So far we have visited the zoo, the science center, the botanical gardens, and heard free concerts in the park. Our favorite concert featured the "champion whistler" who whistled away under a gazebo in the park with a full band behind him. Unfortunatly, Stephen would not let me challenge him to a whistling showdown.

The Botanical Garden is about a mile from our house and has an amazing japanese garden. It puts the phoenix botanical garden to shame; however, it had the most pathetic prickly pear cacti we have ever seen.

This was my favorite part of the St. Louis history museum. It is a plaque of WWI heroes. It also proves I'm a big nerd.

Here is David all ready for a day of fun--which means sleeping in his carseat.

He put up with the hat for a while...

But eventually decided the hat was not as cute as we thought it was.

David has also started to give us semi-genuine smiles. Since his usual facial expression is either suspicious or mildly disgruntled, the smiles are a nice change--even if they are fake. This is either a smile or an impression of a pirate.

He has also started using stealth to sleep longer.

Our new bedroom is not nearly as dark as our room in mesa, and Stephen likes to sleep in absolute darkness. I made him a sleep mask which has been effective. The look I was going for is "insane fox".

Dad also mentioned he would like a statue for the Secret Garden. We will be sending this one to him shortly.