travel & food

Well our little monkey has been keeping us so busy we haven't had time to post!

At the beginning of March, Gregory and I traveled to Cincinnati, OH, to visit Michal and Jonathan. What a fantastic trip, but it was an adventure traveling alone with an 8 mth old. We endured some delays to say the least, and killed a lot of time in the airport. Greg kept himself entertained by practicing his crawling and pulling up on furniture. We made the best of it, and it was totally worth it for the visit - I hadn't seen Michal in almost 2 years!



We finally got a picture of all four of those new teeth!


Even though he has teeth, my impression is that Greg is not really ready for solids, but Dan seems to think that his behavioral "issues" (waking up so many times a night) are because he needs to eat food. So in spite of my reservations, I went ahead and offered him some banana. First we tried small pieces. Greg was happy to mash them up and smear them on the table, but didn't really attempt to taste any. You can see what happened to them!


So I thought there would be a better chance of mouth contact if I gave a bigger piece...

Mommy was right again! We are definitely going to just wait until he actually starts asking for food. He is growing and developing just fine as he is, so we do not need to be in a rush to push it on him.

Been a very busy boy!

It has been bitterly cold here lately, but Gregory has been keeping himself and us very busy! In addition to finally figuring out crawling, as you can see below, and getting all 4 front teeth at once (though it is virtually impossible to get a glimpse of them, especially the top ones), he has also been learning how to say a few new sounds: ya, da, and ba. I'm trying to convince him to try "ma" to no avail... But it sure is fun to hear him say more than just AAAHHHH! He also learned to clap, but he hasn't figured out how to keep his hands flat, so its kind of a sloppy clap - all the more adorable! Through all of this growth, he continues to show his charming personality and sense of humor... He lets us know exactly how hard it is to move himself from here to there, and also exactly how much he dislikes the taste of Baby Motrin! He has also had a bit of a runny nose, but stronly protests the use of Kleenex. We are really enjoying him and just love all the funny new facial expressions!

Crawling!!

Here are some delightful videos of Gregory finally learning to put one hand in front of the other! He is still pretty slow, which is good for us, since the living room is not baby-proof! Guess we have to (read: finally get to) go shopping for basement furniture...

First Tooth!

The sharp little tip of Gregory's first tooth, the bottom one on the left, has finally cut through this week, and the second, the other bottom one, is not far behind. Frankly, it appears the top two are also coming in soon! He has been taking teething like a trooper, with the help of his amber necklace, homeopathic teething tablets, and a little baby Motrin when all else fails...

We also took a trip up to Sioux Falls, SD, this weekend for a visit with Grandma Bonnie and Grandpa Rod. We went shopping and went to a cool Brazilian steakhouse that was an absolute steal of a deal - $15/person for a huge all-inclusive Sunday brunch - a similar meal (without the breakfast foods) cost about $70 each when we went in Chicago a couple years ago! And that didn't even include drinks or dessert! The fact that there even is a Brazilian steakhouse in South Dakota is amazing enough and definitely was the highlight of the trip. We'll have to do it again sometime...

Otherwise, Dan and I are keeping busy with work, studying, and volunteering and Greg is happy to come along for the ride. Unless the ride is in the car... ;) But he is very social and is perfectly happy once we get to wherever we are going! He is beginning to enter the typical clingy stage that is normal for his age, but so far it has not extended to fear of strangers... He is crawling every direction except forwards - he still can't figure out how to put one hand in front of the other...but he gets around! We decided we'll have to use our tax return this year to outfit the basement as a proper playroom because the living room is basically impossible to make childproof. That will be nice when our friends with toddlers want to come over too...

Well enjoy the pics!

Mr. Personality

That's Greg - he is really expressing his sense of humor lately! He plays with things in the funniest ways - and he makes ridiculous faces! He and I have also been having screaming contests - he screams, then I copy him, and he busts up laughing! Then he goes again and I go again, and it continues... Another new antic is pinching me, though - I don't find that so funny... But the good news is that he's been sleeping quite a bit better at night, so that is a big relief, and restores my patience for the pinching a little!!

7 months!

I can't believe our little guy is already working on his second semester! He is growing so fast, learning new things every day! We have been having some struggles with getting back into his sleep and nap routine since we came back from CA, but he slowly seems to be getting back on track. Dan and I have been suffering a level of exhaustion we have not previously encountered, even in the newborn phase. It has forced us to contemplate a variety of coping strategies (like kicking him out of our bed and night weaning!) that conflict with our fundamental parenting style, but so far we haven't actually acted on anything yet. Just when we think we can't take it anymore, he has a good night so we give it another chance. But its alright - he's a good kid and you just can't stay upset with him!

Lion from Godparents Patrick and Keri for Christmas - isn't he the best Lion you've ever seen!?!


Push Ups! Still hasn't figured out how to move forward yet though!


Next fall we'll have to get him a hat that actually fits!



Well you know he's not happy all the time, but he IS cute all the time! And no, no teeth yet...

An upright perspective

Greg is really enjoying learning to sit up, and is getting pretty good at it, though he still tips over frequently! It gives him a whole new perspective on the world and playing with toys!





Also I don't think I ever posted a pic of Dan using his custom mei tai!