Backward Motion

It is official. Baby Paul can push himself backward. Way to go, Paul! This is, of course, amazingly frustrating for him because he is looking forward at the world, but moving away from everything interesting. Don't worry, buddy. You will get there. Here are the pics!

Waving as he scoots backward. Okay, that's my interpretation. But still cute.

Totally annoyed

Asking me, "What am I doing wrong?"

Busy Mommy

I don't know what I've been doing lately, but it hasn't been blogging. I can tell you that Erik swept me away for a romantic mid-week getaway to glamorous Eugene. Grandma and Grandpa took the kids, an even more appreciated fact considering both children had colds and neither can blow his nose. Erik and I enjoyed our night away and look forward to the next...no big hints being dropped there!

Yesterday I attended a scrapbook event with about 1900 other women. I worked on Paul's baby book nearly the entire day and finished twelve pages. This is a record for me in one sitting. I was pleased. Luke looked over the pages this morning and liked them, pointing out each picture of Baby Paul, himself, Mommy, Daddy, Oma, Grandma, and Grandpa. It took awhile to get through all the pages.

This week is quieter and next weekend is dead silent, other than the Superbowl. It's a good thing. The laundry called and said it missed me and thinks we should spend some quality time together soon. Good times.

And now for the reason you visit the blog...the pictures! Enjoy!

I'm not sure if there has ever been a happier baby. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that he's sitting in the place where he eats. He likes to eat.

This guy is also pretty happy. He likes to wear his blue Thomas the Tank Engine boots while riding on his Thomas toy. I had to take this picture really fast because he zooms right through the room and doesn't stop for much.

Six Months Old

Paul turned six months old yesterday. It has gone by very quickly. I can hardly believe that the baby I brought home from the hospital weighs 20 pounds and is 27 inches long. Here are the chair pics. He is really starting to understand the camera now! As soon as I put him in the chair and picked up the camera, he instantly grinned. Adorable.

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin' in the Playroom

Is there anything cuter than a chubby baby in a coordinating sweatsuit? I think not. Three cheers to Aunt Krista for picking this up. Paul spent about an hour working out in the playroom this afternoon. He rolls from one end to the other and sometimes stops to chat about his views and opinions. But if you want him to roll back you have to change his direction because he gets into the groove and can't figure out how to roll back the other way. I think his aerobic ability will increase when he can actually crawl. I'm not really a proponent of him crawling, mind you. I like that he sort of stays where I put him. Although those days are definitely over with the advent of Rollin' Paul. I was busy reading my notes for Bible Study and looked up to find him over by the basketball hoop. I seriously had no idea he was on the move. He could not have been more pleased with himself.

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

Today was Grandma's birthday, but we celebrated yesterday with cake and presents. About two weeks ago I explained to Luke that Grandma's birthday was coming up. I asked him what he wanted to give Grandma for her birthday. "She wants a cake and a candle. And we will sing Happy Birthday. And there will be smoke." I'm pretty sure the smoke is connected with the blowing out of the candle. So, we celebrated and took some pictures. She was a pretty happy Grandma.

Luke is pointing out that those pictures are of Baby Paul and Luke.

Luke is showing Grandma her birthday poster. In each picture one of the boys is displaying an item that stands for a letter spelling out the words, "Happy Birthday Grandma." It was really fun to make and Grandma REALLY liked it.

Paul really wanted some of Grandma's cake, but he will have to wait until next year.

Luke helped Grandma blow out the candle. He could not have been more pleased with the entire event. Nice planning, Luke!

Nearly Unexplainable Nudity

Luke woke up this morning around 6:30am, but I let him chat to himself in his crib for about a half hour while I finished my Bible Study. Around 7am when I went in to get him, it was still quite dark in his room. He was standing up in his crib and I reached out to give him a hug and touched bare skin. I laughed and asked him what happened to his pajamas. He replied that he wanted new ones. I figured he had stripped them all the way off, but turned on the light to discover something distinctly more unique. Look at that picture closely. The zipper is still zipped. The little snap at the neck is still snapped. That black band around his waist is the NECK HOLE! I'm thinking he has a future in the circus or maybe Vegas.

In sleep news, all four of us slept soundly through the night last night. Praise God for earplugs. We discovered that if Mommy wears earplugs and can't hear every little peep from Baby Paul, everyone sleeps more soundly. Beauty.

Sleepy

Paul has been getting up at 5am recently. I used to get up that early when I taught school. I also went to bed before 9pm and slept completely uninterrupted every night. I've tried to explain to him that I would be happy to spend those morning hours with him if he would refrain from the 2am crying session. His comprehension of the English language is somewhat lacking and he just smiles at me. To add insult to injury, Luke and Paul are in cahoots and have decided to adopt opposite napping schedules. Please send Starbucks cards.

Here are the pictures to prove they are mostly still cute. No pictures of the Mommy will be provided until the application of make-up and styling of hair occur on the same day. Probably a decade or so from now.

Paul and Daddy playing the hair game, one of Paul's favorites. He doesn't care if it's styled or not, although Daddy's usually is...no hair dryer required.

Luke and the Animals. He's actually talking to Ed the Dog in this shot. I can't remember what he was saying...probably something like, "You just need to sit there." He's our little Cruise Ship Activity Dictator, I mean Director.

Teething and "Guitar" Playing

Baby Paul is definitely teething. He has developed that oh so attractive chin rash, the result of copious amounts of drool cascading from his mouth. He also chews on everything. Today after lunch I checked to see if all this slobber was producing anything. Sure enough, the little guy has a bumpy spot on his lower gum. This was an absolute shock to me. Luke teethed for five months before getting his first tooth at the late age of ten and a half months. They say every kid is different. Who knew? :-)

I like to chew it, chew it.

Meanwhile, Luke announced this afternoon that he was going to play his guitar. A live action picture of the concert can be seen here. There was singing and banging, but sadly not much strumming. Maybe his next guitar will have strings.

Party Animals!

Ed the Dog and Kitty were more willing to wear the hats at our New Year's Eve celebration than the toddlers in attendance. Regardless, a good time was had by all as we counted down to 2008 at approximately 7:33 pm last night with good friends and their two boys. Why that particular time? The children looked like they were about two minutes away from crashing. Sounds like a good time to yell "Happy New Year!" The party was over by 7:45 pm and we decided that was an okay thing.
This morning I slept in until 11am, having been up with Baby Paul from 3am to 5am. Did I mention that we are going to start being very serious about sleep training in 2008? It's more than a resolution, because those never come to fruition in my experience. This is a vital requirement for our survival (and his). I'm pretty sure he can learn to fall back to sleep on his own. Most of us do. :-)

Luke was more willing to wear the hat earlier in the day. Such a sweet boy.

A little unsure about the hat, but cute nonetheless.

Looking completely terrified...but Mommy looks pretty.