Toddler Days

With as much calm as I could muster, I asked him to please give mama her smoothie. And then he chucked it at me.

Some Walking and Talking

Fourteen Months

This post is being written in quick, furtive bursts while the possum is otherwise distracted. In the last month he’s become way too adept at climbing and walking. This gives him the ability to seemingly be in all places at once. And there is nothing he loves more than to come pound on my keyboard while I’m trying to type, so we have to be fast here.

Watch Out, He's a Hugger

We were at a party, and because we’re in that stage of life, there were babies and toddlers everywhere. Plus, balls and firetrucks and pushcarts galore. Agustin was in heaven.

There was one boy who was a little bigger and a few months older than Agustin, and Agustin was totally in awe of his mad walking and toy playing skillz. And as I mentioned in my last post, Agustin loves to hug family, animals, inanimate objects, etc.

So when the little boy, in hot pursuit of another toy, went to walk past Agustin, Agustin intercepted him with a bear hug and they both toppled over.

I love that my son is accustomed to frequent hugs and doles them out with such unabashed exuberance. Hope he never loses it.

Unpacking

Agustin helped us unpack and prioritize at our new apartment.

Hugs for Kona

Lucky Thirteen Months

The boy continues to grow and delight.

Balloon!

Balloons are currently Agustin's favorite thing. He's the first to spot one any where we go, and "balloon" is his first two-syllable word.

Freestylin'

He's about to earn his toddler stripes...

Step, Step!

Agustin figured out his walker today. Guess he decided he'd better get on that whole walking thing now that he's one.

First Birthday Party

You've Come A Long Way, Baby

6X his birth weight;
16 planes; 3 countries;
1 amazing year.

Happy Birthday, Agustin!
(it's already September 5 in Melbourne)

Dog! Ball!

Smoothie!

Where is Pointer?

Agustin found Frere Jacques on his piano--which he knows as the Where is Pointer song.

Almost One

We have a budding talker on our hands.

Pictures

Being behind on things is how I roll these days. Which is why we just ordered some pictures that we took back in December with Pitter Patter Potraits in Melbourne. Agustin was so tiny he wasn't even awake for the whole thing! Here are some favorites.

Gone Fishin'

Moira's Baptism

We were in Portland for the baptism of Adam's goddaughter. We had a great time and it was also fun to see some friends from our church in Palo Alto who are also up there now.

Portland Zoo

Portland Zoo

We were in Portland last weekend visiting some friends and had a chance to go to the Portland Zoo.

Agustin at Nine Months

Supposedly most babies' eye colors are set by this point. Which means I might always be confused about Agustin's eyes. They're brown. Ish. I think. But sometimes they seem like they're dark blue. Sometimes they seem dark green. Or light brown? My sister calls them chameleon eyes, and that's pretty much what they are.

Happy Birthday, Grammy!

Papa

Ah Choo! Ha Ha Ha!

Agustin seems to think that people cough and sneeze for his personal amusement. And, well, sometimes they do.

Crawling!

New Toy

We got this xylophone today, and Agustin loves it! Concert tickets are going on sale soon...

Auntie Annah's Graduation

Florida - May 2010

The Agustin Report

He is cutting a tooth! How many times have I blamed things on teething, thinking that any day now I’d see one… And now here is the tooth, and … he’s really not acting any different. I just noticed a bump on his lower gum when we were in Florida, and now you can see/feel the tooth surfacing. If you give him a glass to nom on, you can also hear it clinking now.

He’s started doing what my family calls “Hulking out,” where he scrunches up his face and breathes through his nose. Apparently it’s a pretty classic baby move since all four kids in my family did it, and there is also photographic evidence of Adam doing it.

The Boys

Agustin and Kona are forging a tentative friendship. We hope they'll be the best of friends eventually.

New Zealand

Berth

Our last breakfast at our favorite spot in the Docklands.

Eureka Tower

Adam enjoyed the views from the Eureka Tower - the Tallest Building in the Southern Hemisphere! Agustin was not as impressed.

Banana

He liked banana better than avocado. It ended up on his eyebrow.

Last Ride

Today was Agustin's last ride in the enormous capsule we rented from the City of Melbourne (we went to our last Mum's Bible Study). This capsule is a pretty typical Australian infant seat.

Avocado

Agustin's first official food was avocado (mama snuck him a little pear the day before). He looks like he loved it in this picture, but in reality, it required quite a bit of coaxing.

First Highchair

Agustin had his first go at a highchair at the Bluefire Steakhouse. The novelty of the experience allowed mommy and daddy to enjoy appetizers without an extra set of hands grabbing for them.

Bloggy Baby Book

He’s sitting!

[insert precious pic of him sitting unsupported here]

He got used to having the nursing pillow behind him though, so now when he’s engrossed in a toy or just getting tired he’ll pitch himself straight back, expecting a cushion. Usually mama is there to catch him. Usually.

Except for Sunday night in church when I took my eyes off of him for ONE SECOND and he went straight back onto the hardwood floor. He actually kind of rolled back, so his noggin’ didn’t hit too hard, and the SHRIEKING that followed was more surprise than pain. I got to do the Mommy Walk o’ Shame out of the sanctuary, and then he immediately stopped when I stepped outside.

April 22 is his adjusted six month birthday, and I’ll be attending a class on “baby-led weaning” that very day. I wish I had a highchair for him. I wish we weren’t going to be moving right smack in the middle of this milestone. But life goes on. Oh blah dee, oh blah dah…

He is a force to be reckoned with at the table now. Since we realized that he could actually handle a high chair, none of the restaurants we’ve been at have had one. So far he’s managed to overturn a plate of sushi, fling scrambled eggs onto the white carpet in our new place, almost make off with a dumpling, and knock several forks and spoons out of my hands. Yes, mom has been slow to learn that he just can’t be trusted at the table these days…

A couple weeks ago he found his feet.

[insert pic of his hands and feet sticking out of bath tub]

Now he helpfully holds them up when I go to change him. They also come in handy whenever he finds himself without a toy. Yesterday he found his ear—I was cleaning it out when he reached up to see what I was fooling with, and to his great delight he discovered something new to grab at!

Everything goes straight into his mouth these days (the feet have had their turn at it—the ears would be next if he could), which occasionally makes me wish that he would take a pacifier (so that his mouth would already be occupied).

[insert video of me trying to give him a pacifier; he spits out, shoots me a dirty look, picks up pacifier, inspects it, proceeds to munch on all other parts of the pacifier…]

It’s so much fun discovering the things that make him laugh (see Hilarious Blocks). I just love his big joyful smiles.

[must get pic of his newest, wide, close-mouthed smile]

It’s also fun to watch his wonderment at this new world. This morning he was entranced by Adam shaving. His eyes widened as Adam smeared the white shaving cream all over his face, and then his head turned to watch the razor to sink to face and back.

Adam takes him down to get coffee in the morning and says he loves to watch the barista. I hope he’s taking notes so that he can start making mommy’s espresso soon. I need it these days—his sleeping is getting progressively worse. My fault, I think, and I’m working on remedying the situation, and yes, I have cut out caffeine. Except this morning when I knew my placebo decaf just wasn’t going to cut it because I basically haven’t had a solid night of sleep in…oh, let’s not talk about it.

I can tell that he understands certain words now and he definitely knows routines (smiles when I start to tie the sling on).

He’s experimenting with sounds and volume—sometimes at inopportune moments. Though who can resist a cute baby finding his voice?

Hilarious Blocks

Wasn't going to post pics or videos until we're back on regular internet, but this is worth every expensive MB. As you can see, he's getting really good at sitting--until he collapses with laughter.

360

Agustin just rolled over from his back to his tummy. He's been doing tummy to back for a while now, but as soon as he figured out that he could go this way too, he started 360 degree rolling around on the bed. I don't think he's realized yet that he can get places by doing this. Shhhhhh!

EDITED 5:20 PM: Nevermind...he just rolled over to me... clearly on purpose...

Sitting!

Gettin' Our Learn On

Enjoying the classical music station and learning the alphabet...okay, mostly nom-ing the alphabet...