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It was a great vacation, but I’m glad to be home.  So many awesome firsts for Titus and for us as well.  More information to come, but for starters check out this fantastic picture!

 

If pictures are worth a thousand words, maybe these will save me some time on updating the blog

Time flies when you’re having fun – or when your child is just about to turn one, has the will of his mother AND father, and is mobile and able to keep mom busy all day.  So suffers the blog.

Quick update. Titus turns ONE YEAR OLD on MONDAY!!! YIKES!  To celebrate, “we’re going to Disneyland!”  (only because it coincides with a family wedding in Pasadena). I will do my best to post photos from the birthday party and California trip as soon as possible – at least before Titus turns 2.

Here are a few photos to fill in the gaps of the last few months.

First trip to the zoo. Bubbles

Encounters of the Furred Kind

First, a comment:  I feel like my lack of imagination for most titles on this blog are excused when I come up with one like this that knocks the rest of them out of the ballpark.

Next, Titus has met the kitties and pet the kitties, but yesterday was his first real encounter with them without me being as much of a vulture. Since he can sit well on his own and is more in control of his body, I felt like I could easily observe him with the cats.

I say cats, but it was Annie, although Dinah did grace us with her presence for a few seconds. The Contenders:

 

The investigatory pass (just like sharks): 

The Faceoff:

The Kitty Whisperer: 

Gentle…

Wrong End…

Not happy that Annie decided to lie down so far away.

Taking a Break-

Dinah showed up to check things out, never getting closer than this:

Then immediately turned around…

and walked off…

and rolled in the dirt.

First Family Trip to the Beach April 2010

We finally took Titus on his first trip to the beach. We spent the weekend at Lincoln City, which was a much needed getaway for all of us. Also, it was the first weekend with Titus fully weaned, so it was very relaxing in a number of ways.

The weather on Saturday was a mixed bag. It seemed like every time the sun was out and the clouds cleared off, Titus was down for a nap. When Titus woke up, we’d head out to the beach, and after five to ten minutes, the clouds would move in and it would start raining.

Sunday was beautiful all day long. We had a great time on the beach and wandered around Lincoln City and Depoe Bay.

We took a ton of pictures, but here are just a few of the highlights:

Baby Godzilla

Today I put Titus in the dragon sweatsuit that I wore when I was a baby.  Here are a chunk of the gazillion photos I took today of my favorite little dragon.

^How did I survive childhood with strings on my hoodie? Titus LOVES to play with my sweatshirt strings and seemed to be quite taken with having some of his own (don’t worry, I took the sweatshirt off before putting him down for his nap and I wouldn’t leave him unattended…just in case).

< Terrorizing the animals in the zoo as all good, over-sized lizards do.

The following is a sequence of shots to show Titus’s latest milestone that he’s working on. Amazingly, he has decided that crawling IS something that may be beneficial. Currently, he’s most successful on the hardwood floors. His current locomotion includes rolling, wiggling, and sliding. I would have video taped this, but the battery died. Once we get it juiced back up, we’ll post something.

wiggling… rolling… crying…  Success! Anyway you can get it done…

Gargling Baby Boy

Titus has stopped making his "sick dolphin" and "baby pterodactyl" noises. Luckily, he replaces each noise with a new noise. His newest one makes me want to shout "Areba!" It sounds like he's working on "RRRRuffles have RRRidges" or gargling water to get rid of hiccups.

Eight Month Update

I mentioned last month that I can’t believe how fast the time is going and my sentiments continue this month.  Titus is as happy as ever and never fails to crack me up. I believe I laugh more now than I did a year ago.  Titus’s laugh is one of the sweetest sounds in this world. I wish he could laugh like this for the rest of his life, but I guess that would be a little odd when he’s 18. Praise the Lord for video cameras!  I’m trying to pull it out on a regular basis so I can accurately document him as he grows.

The Inches & Ounces

Titus hasn’t grown much in the last month, but I’m sure that’s due to his extra wiggling.  I’ve been stocking up on 12 month clothes and they seem to be so long, so I think he’s going to stretch out soon.

The Thinks & Things

Titus is getting better and better at balancing while he sits.  He can even bend all the way forward and put his face on the ground (I tried this with him the other day and could not do it).  He is still not interest in crawling and is perfectly content on his back or sitting.  When I put him on his tummy, he whines for a second and then rolls over.

Titus is continuing to explore his surroundings and will study his toys and anything he can get his hands on.  He will now contemplate each item BEFORE immediately putting it into his mouth.

The Dreams & Blankies

Titus continues to sleep well…most of the time.  Sleep disruptions we’ve had seem to be due to teething, extra awareness or a combination of the two. In the past week, he’s started taking longer naps, so we’re prepared for a growth spurt!

The Eats & Chompers

On top of the longer naps, Titus has been eating a TON this last week.  He has started on finger foods.  Funny thing about finger foods – Titus puts everything in his mouth EXCEPT finger foods.  In the past week, however, his finger food percentage has increased, but my floor is still covered with Cheerios. 

It seems Titus is about ready to wean from nursing, so I have been busy trying to get myself up-to-date on the process. I have always intended to wean him around one year, but for some reason the abruptness of the timeline has “Sunrise, Sunset” playing on repeat in my head.

The Snaps and Flashes

Earlier this month we had family pictures taken by Jessica Kroger.  We absolutely LOVED all the pictures (and Titus was a professional looking at the camera and smiling).  Here are just a few:

MMMM-AAAHHH-MMMM

So, this is my favorite new sound that comes from Titus's mouth. I'm not sure if he really associates it with me or if it's coincidence, but Nathan said he didn't do it at all the other night while I was at Bible Study, so you be the judge. This video also features his newest sound: the screech.

Month 7 Update

I can’t believe that Titus is already seven months old. I have no idea where the time went.  I am blessed to stay home to raise our son,  but it’s harder for me to see how much he’s grown because it’s happening right before my eyes – like watching the tide go out. One moment the water’s breaking at your feet and before you know it, there’s 15 feet of sand between you and the surf. I remind myself daily to treasure the time with him because he will only be this age for a short time, but I had NO idea just how fast the time would go! I feel like my life is playing out in fast forward and I just want to pause it for awhile.  

The Inches & Ounces

Titus is now 29 inches and 20 pounds, which means we need to move him to his new car seat soon. I will miss the convenience of being able to keep him in his car seat and lug him around, but at the same time, it’s nearly impossible to lug him very far in that thing (graciously, at least. I think I look like  an idiot attempting to carry him around in it).

The Thinks & Things

Titus is more aware of his surroundings than ever before.  At my parents’ house this weekend, he kept looking around like he’d never seen the place before (even though we’ve been here a lot since he was born).  You can tell that he’s seeing everything in a new light.  He just realized that the cats existed in the last month and enjoys watching them outside the window while he’s eating.

Titus has been sitting on his own for about a month now and is getting better at balancing himself. Titus LOVES doing his baby Luge (see previous post).  Tummy time and crawling, however, is NOT on Titus’s list of priorities. He HATES when I put him on his tummy (though occasionally he’ll flip himself over which he seems fine with – but it has to be on HIS terms). He would rather sit or stand – so we’re prepared to skip crawling all together.

Titus loves playing with his toys – he has a ball that rolls and sings that Nonny and Papa gave him for Christmas, which he really likes.  He loves his just about anything he can throw around or put in his mouth. George (below) is just one of his favorite things to throw around and put in his mouth.

 

Titus’s favorite noises to make include what we’ve called his “fishy” and “sick dolphin.”  With the fishy, he smacks his lips open and closed, which reminds us of a fish.  The sick dolphin is really him clearing his throat – it also sounds like an old car engine that won’t turn over.

The Dreams & Blankies

Titus has been sleeping through the night since he was nine weeks (resulting in a much more energetic mommy) and continues to do well as long as he doesn’t kick off his blankets in the middle of the night. Currently, we put Titus down between 8:30 and 9:00 and he sleeps until 8 am (Praise the Lord!).  He takes two and a half naps during the day, which allows me to get work done around the house.

The Eats & Chompers

Titus has cut his first two teeth. His first came through at 6 1/2 months and his second just cut through in the last couple days.  Teething has been hard on us all, so we’re glad to have something to show for all the hard work!

Titus is a good eater, which shouldn’t surprise anyone. He has been introduced to avocados, rice cereal, oatmeal, green beans, sweet potatoes, squash, peas, carrots, pears, applesauce, bananas, prunes, pumpkin and peaches. So far he seems to like everything EXCEPT avocados, bananas and prunes don’t agree with his body, so we’re backing off those for awhile. On one hand, he’s got a lot of food, on the other – it seems like we’re running out of food to cycle through!

We made several shopping stops to get one of these formed scoop bibs, and when I finally found one at Babies ‘R Us in Portland, they only had pink. In essence, we succeeded…sort of. We found the bib, just not the right color. We did eventually find a blue one, but he just wasn’t wearing it on this day.  Besides, he can pull it off just like his daddy.

The Snaps and Flashes

Here are a few more recent pics of our seven month old Boy Wonder!

One of the rare moments he CHOSE to be on his tummy…and seemed to enjoy it.

 

 

 

Disneyland – Here we Come! (In 5 Months Anyway)

Just wanted to share this pic taken at my parent’s house earlier this month. Got us all thinking about our trip to California in July for my cousin’s wedding and how exciting it will be to take Titus to Disneyland for the first time (even if he doesn’t really remember it). We’re excited anyway and can’t wait to buy him his very own first pair of Mickey ears!

The Olympics: Baby Luge

Titus has been doing little baby crunches for the past few weeks, which we decided looks like he’s doing the Luge. He has even started to do it on command of “Baby Luge!”

So – in honor of the 2010 Winter Olympics, enjoy!

Note on the above pics - that stain was fresh green beans from dinner - don't know if I pushed him to the luge too soon or what. Needless to say, the blanket's headed for the wash.

Here's the video - of course - he wasn't as cooperative once the camera was rolling, but I at least caught him doing it once.