The Hootman Family Blog

Harmonica!

2012-02-05T22:15:00.000-08:00

Beo's great aunt Mary gave him this harmonica for Christmas. Until now he was a little too shy to try it himself, but tonight he decided to give it a go.

OH, THE SHAME!

2012-01-29T22:56:00.000-08:00

The other day Beo ripped a page out of one of his books. I think it was an accident, since he obviously knew it was the wrong thing to do and was distressed until I repaired it with tape.

That sets up today's events. Kelson and I both thought Beo had gone down for his nap, since he was very quiet. What he was actually doing was reading himself his copy of Max Paints the House. And at some point, he ripped a page. Given the situation we eventually found, Kelson and I can only surmise that Beo's thought process went something like this:

Oh, no. I ripped my book! This is bad! Okay, hold on. Maybe I can fix it. If I just-- oh no! I ripped it even more! What if I-- no! No no noooo! My book! I love this book! Mommy reads it to me-- MOMMY! OH NO! Mommy is going to kill me when she sees this! But what else can I do? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. What's the point of even trying? I might as well just rip and rip and RIP!

This is the worst thing I have ever done. I am so ashamed. I cannot live with myself for what I have done. Mom and Dad will hate me forever. It would have been better if I were never born! Yes... yes, that's it. I should leave. The window! I'll throw myself out and never have to face what I've done. Oooooh, the shame! The SHAME!

At this point Beo was obviously overwhelmed with guilt, since he started crying. Kelson walked in and found him straddling the back of the futon, the window open, frantically attempting to escape. This is what Kelson found on the floor:

When I got up from my own nap, Beo wouldn't even look at me. When I told him I was sad about his book, he hugged me and buried his face in my chest. OH, THE SHAME!

How I Found Him

2012-01-23T16:12:00.000-08:00

This is how I found Beo napping today.

Yes - he is holding that book up, resting against his face, and he is completely asleep. After I took this I carefully removed the book from his fingers and covered him up.

Mommy's Big Boy

2012-01-19T15:28:00.000-08:00

This has definitely been a month of independence for Beo! He spent two nights in a row at Grandma B's, complete with pottying and napping (neither of which has happened on previous visits). He unlocked and unbolted both doors and let himself outside, resulting in a quick trip to Home Depot to get some chain locks. And finally, today, he went to day care for the first time!

First day of day care: SLEEPY!

It took Kelson a while, but he convinced me to look into some day care time for Beo. Once I started investigating, I discovered a little place just on the other side of our block. They take a maximum of 14 kids at a time and run a sort of dual day care and preschool program. Right now most of the kids are Beo's age, so they do a simplified preschool program aimed at that age group. Today we tried it for the first time. Beo was completely comfortable having me leave, and when I went to pick him up he simply offered me a toy and tried to get me to come play.

Thanks for the Harley shirt, Uncle Duane!

The teachers were pretty amazed that he didn't have any kind of meltdown... he was a happy guy, ate a ton of food at lunch, and played away. I guess that means we've done our jobs producing a content, secure kid... Mommy and Daddy, on the other hand, were a bit emotional!

Beo has finally learned how to ride piggyback.

Beo's also doing much better playing with other kids. He seems to have learned how to express himself a little bit better - instead of hitting, now when he gets excited he will yell or hug or run around.

Nap hands

He continues to add more words to his vocabulary, many of them from Kipper, the show he watches almost every morning before breakfast. The show comes from Britain, so he's also started picking up an accent, which is kind of hilarious. "Push" and "pull" are "poosh" and "pool." I do really like Kipper, however, because it portrays so many real-life activities in a very simple manner. Beo has learned about boats, ice cream, fish, ducks, the park, and how to interact with friends. Often some new word will pop out and I'll think, where did that come from? Only to realize that Beo learned it from Kipper!

"Daddy, make Mario move!"

One funny example... I got out my origami paper the other day. I'd forgotten that this appears on Kipper, but Beo didn't! He knew instantly what he was supposed to do. He grabbed his paper, "folded" it up (ahem, crumpled), and ran around with it yelling "BOAT BOAT BOAT!" He then tried to take it in the bath with him, since Kipper and Tiger took their paper boats to a stream. That didn't work out so well.

My little naked fireman!

Birthday Boy!

2011-12-31T22:37:00.000-08:00

Beowulf is now two! Just for the sake of posterity, I thought I'd make a little list of what he likes and does.

Favorite movie: My Neighbor Totoro

Favorite book: Green Eggs and Ham

Favorite food: CAKE!

Favorite toy: Cars

Knows: The colors green, blue, and yellow. Numbers one, two, and three. Letters O, P, and B.

Favorite phrases: Oh, no! Oh DEAR! Stuck!

Favorite cell phone game: Pocket God

Does not like: Clothes, Indian food, people laughing at him.

Beowulf's birthday was on Christmas Eve, but we waited until today to celebrate. Kelson and I began the night before, making Beo's Totoro birthday cake. We were up late and there was a last-minute trip to Target fifteen minutes before closing time, but it came out great.

In the morning, Beo got up to find the table covered with a party monster plastic tablecloth and a pile of presents. Having become a pro at Christmas, he immediately picked up one of the packages and wanted to open it, but we told him he had to wait!

Instead he got to eat waffles while watching... Totoro. What else?

Unfortunately Grandma B came down with a bad cold - thanks to our Christmas visit - so my folks couldn't come. But Grandma and Grandpa C showed up! We played with balloons and silly string for a while.

Then - presents! At Christmas Beo would open one present and immediately want to play with it, but now that he had gotten the idea he wanted to open all the presents at once.

He got lots of awesome stuff, like books, more play-doh, new trains for his train tracks, a movie, and TRUCKS!

Next it was time for the cake! Beo was pretty impressed that Totoro came in cake form as well. I was a little worried he wouldn't want us to cut it up, but he knew exactly what it was and wanted some immediately. I gave him one of Totoro's ears, which was almost solid frosting. He gobbled that down and demanded more. The second piece went down a little more slowly.

Since we were all full of cake, we decided to walk to the park. It was a nice sunny day and Beo had a great time trying out his trucks and chasing his new nerf football downhill. (A brilliant present!) There was a girl a little younger than him at the park, too. Beo walked up to her and drew back both hands. You could see the little wheels working in his head, thinking, "I know I am not supposed to hit. But I want her attention! What should I do? I KNOW!" And with that, he threw his arms around her and gave her a big bear hug. After that she followed him everywhere.

When we came home, we had some lunch, and played with trains until naptime. Beo said goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa C and passed out much quicker than expected, given all the excitement. When he got up again, I was zonked out myself, so Kelson played with him until I got up. Then we watched his new movie, Ponyo, and ate dinner.

At bedtime, Beo didn't want to go to bed! He finally had a little meltdown - the first real upset of the holiday season, but pretty minor. Everything was all better when we got the flashlight Great-Grandma gave him for Christmas and turned out the lights to enjoy the present from my aunt, uncle, and cousin - a glow in the dark Dr. Seuss book! We had to read that a couple of times.

All in all, a very successful birthday! We were sad that my folks couldn't be here, but I am sure we will enjoy having fun with them another time.

This whole week that Kelson has been off has been so fun. It is such a blessing as a parent to be able to do things with our kid and really enjoy our time. We've tried to do things at his pace and in a manner that he could handle, and it's been great. Yes, we have to discipline him here and there, but there have been no major tantrums and for a two-year-old he's really very good at minding. Overall he's just a happy, energetic kid and we love him to bits!

Christmas and Dinosaurs!

2011-12-29T17:02:00.000-08:00

Christmas was really fun this year! Beo is finally old enough to understand the concept of unwrapping presents, and he was really excited! We left Totoro sitting unwrapped for him to find on Christmas morning. Beo was very cautious, unsure whether Totoro was real or not, and needed Mommy to hold Totoro a while before he made friends!

Beo also got... play-doh! Daddy has tried a couple of times to show him what it's about, but so far it's not really clicking. But it's fun to stack the cans!

We did Christmas with Kelson's parents on Christmas Eve, and also went over to his Aunt Mary's house to hang out with the family. After our Christmas morning at home, we went to Healdsburg and celebrated with my folks. It actually worked well to draw things out like that because it meant Beo only had a couple of presents to open at one time and didn't get overwhelmed. So, fortunately, there was no post-present meltdown!

Stocking stuffer from Grandma B - a duck timer that quacks!

Beo had an absolute blast with my cousins, Spencer and Stewart. I got them all little nerf dart guns, and Beo was in absolute heaven having a shootout with the "big kids!"

Kelson gets the week off between Christmas and New Years, so we've been having a very exciting week! Wednesday was the Zoo with Grandma C.

This time Beo finally got to go on the people mover, which takes you for a relaxing little ride over the lions, elephants, and bison. He was a little worried about the height, but it was okay because Daddy was there.

Thursday we went for our first visit to the Lawrence Hall of Science. It's hideously overpriced, but worth at least one visit for the animatronic dinosaur exhibit they are currently running. Speaking of running...

Look, Mom, it's DNA!

OMG a TRICERATOPS!

Checking out the t-rex...

Mom and Beo, doin' science...

Checkin' out the air tubes...

On the lower level they had this random phone booth set into the wall. As I was taking this photo, a kid walking behind me said, "Whoa! A PHONE BOOTH!"

This is Beo's "fake smile" as he pretends not to be terrified of the giant t-rex.

The actual t-rex...

And finally, Beo and Daddy next to the first particle accelerator.

Next up: Beowulf's birthday! He actually turned two on Christmas Eve, but we decided to push his party back until New Year's Eve.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-18T21:31:00.000-08:00

Mommy and Beo by the tree.

Diaper hat!

Kelson made Nikki an Oreo birthday cake!

...Which Beo was more than happy to eat.

The viking eating his pants.

Beowulf the viking chillin' out before our Christmas walk.

We discovered that El Cerrito has its own little Christmas tradition. In 1921 a man named Sundar Shadi immigrated to the US from India. He went to school at UC Berkeley, where he met and married his wife. They settled down in El Cerrito, and in 1950 he decided to celebrate Christmas by creating a couple of paper mache figures for a nativity scene. Every year he added a few more figures, and by the time of his death at age 101 the display was large enough to cover an entire hillside. He was not a Christian, but this one of the ways in which he expressed his love of the community. Today the display is set up every year on an open space up on the hill overlooking the bay.

Tonight, we decided to go on a Christmas lights walk that would end at the nativity display. We hadn't exactly anticipated how far it was up the hill, so it turned out to be quite a trek to Bethlehem! But the scene is really quite charming. In the foreground is an entire pasture of sheep with shepherds, with an illuminated angel bringing them the good news. A little further back are wise men traveling with camels. Then up on the hillside is a bright star hanging over a miniature city of Bethlehem, with the smaller figures of Mary and Joseph trekking towards the city. So actually, there is no baby Jesus yet in this nativity scene! Next to it all is the passage from Luke that talks about the Angel coming down and proclaiming peace and good will to all men. The whole thing is set perfectly on the open hillside.

Next time, though, we'll probably drive.

Learning Stuff!

2011-12-12T15:54:00.000-08:00

Beowulf is kind of blowing us away. He can now count to three. Genius, right? Okay, maybe not. I guess it's just the process of watching him acquire knowledge that's truly amazing. And actually, what's cool to me is that he actually seems to understand the concepts behind the memorization.

He can say one-two-three, but he won't just say them if you ask. He will only do it if there's something to count. It started with counting the number of "O's" in a particular word. Now if I line up three kernels of popcorn, he will count them. If there's more than three of something, he'll make up some "numbers," but he'll point to each in turn. So he gets that we're quantifying items in a set.

He also seems to understand that letters make words that can be read. I started by running my finger underneath the words as I read them in some of his books. Now he will do the same thing when he sees words in other contexts, pointing to them and wanting me to read what they say. He can identify the letter O and is working on S, P, and B.

This morning was Beo's 2-year well baby checkup, where he clocked in at his usual 85% on everything. He's now 35 and one quarter inches tall, which means he can go on the Matterhorn at Disneyland!

As for us, we got a tree this weekend and put up decorations! Kelson and I have finally experienced that strange reversal of parenthood - we're now super excited for Christmas not because we'll be getting presents, but because we get to watch Beowulf open the gifts we got for him! His favorite movie continues to be My Neighbor Totoro, so I found him this wonderfully soft stuffed Totoro at the Asian mall in town. I cannot wait to see his reaction when he gets up and finds Totoro sitting in his chair on Christmas morning!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-26T11:04:00.000-07:00

This is Beowulf's first year to dress up for Halloween! He is going as Link from the Legend of Zelda games; specifically, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Here's Link:

And here's the finished costume:

The costume is just the right colored jammies plus boots and then a vest and hat I made out of fleece. The shield on his back was the hardest part, since the faux suede was non-ironable and fairly hard to work with. I made the shield stiff but still bendable by putting a manila envelope inside.

And a couple of videos just for good measure...

Ta-dah! Beo wasn't terribly thrilled about wearing the costume but once he got outside and running around he started having fun. I imagine once he figures out it will get him candy he'll be even more enthusiastic.

Vernor Vinge!

2011-10-16T19:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I discovered that Vernor Vinge was doing a signing at Borderlands Books in San Francisco... today. Yes, short notice, but he's one of my favorite sci fi authors and he just released a new book set in the same universe as my other two favorite books by him. Even though it was during nap time, I convinced (read: wheedled, cajoled, and begged) Kelson to pack up the baby and make the trek with me. My hero actually waited outside and entertained our cranky, impatient baby while I got to listen to the reading and then the question and answer session, which was really interesting! Vinge, a former mathematics professor, is credited with coining the term for the singularity. People asked a lot of different questions and he'd sort of go off, like one of those great teachers who are the best when they just ramble. Afterwards he signed books and I worked up the nerve to ask for a photo!

Yes, this is me geeking out. And yes, this is also me wearing this batgirl shirt, which I figured was okay since it's October, right? I was so nervous all I could say to him was "Thank you," and then he asked what my kid's name was. I told him. He blinked. As we walked out of the store I said to Kelson, "Sometimes I wonder how crazy we must seem to other people." Then I looked around at the other people on the streets around us, and I said, "Actually, I guess we're pretty normal."

Garden Beauties

2011-10-13T21:33:00.000-07:00

After we got a bunch of rain last week, the exterior of our house exploded with huge, absolutely gorgeous spiders building these incredible webs. It's actually hard to walk around outside without running into webs! Appropriate for October, no? Yesterday when I had a spare moment I grabbed my camera and took some shots.

My first discovery was that these spiders are shy! The orange beauty pictured above was dead center in her web, but the moment I approached she scurried up to take cover under the leaf at the top.

I have no idea what kind of spiders these are, although the generic is I think "orb-weaver." Although the type in our yard are all the same shape, they come in a variety of colors and patterns, from brown and white to brilliant orange and yellow.

Their webs are huge! I'd say we had 15 or more in our front yard, most of them on a single bush. They seem to be building right now all over El Cerrito, but a couple of people have actually stopped to admire the profusion in our bush.

I'm not great at photography, so getting these close up shots involved me attempting to trick my camera's "automatic" mode into focusing the right way. It probably wasn't the best way to go about the matter, but it actually did "teach" me how to find the right lighting. If I didn't get it right, the camera would focus on whatever was beyond the web and the spider would turn out as a big blurry dot.

The photo below, which Blogger is for some reason turning sideways, is really cool if you can see what it is. The spider is in the center of the web wrapping up one yellow jacket, while a second snack has already been neatly stored in the bottom right corner. Nice!

Here's a close-up of the snack...

The spider below was my favorite. She was an absolutely gorgeous orange.

The up-close-and-personal shot I got of her took forever, and, in my opinion, is the absolute best:

I may have to get that one printed out to hang somewhere. As for the industrious lady below, she anchored half of her web on our wind chimes. I've been watching her for a few days because this has been a challenge. Her first web was destroyed as soon as the wind came and blew the chimes.

The second time around, she wrapped the chimes in webbing to keep them stabilized. It's paid off, I think; she now has the perfect spot to retreat from danger. And look at those markings! How cool is that?

It's good I grabbed the camera when I did. Beowulf and I went out this afternoon to check on the spiders and about half of those I photographed have up and gone - webs dismantled and vanished as if they were never there. There were also some newcomers, though, so I'm hoping the bulk of them will stick around until Halloween.

Full House!

2011-10-04T22:48:00.000-07:00

This is what it looked like in my house Thursday morning:

I think I count nine babies in this photo, and that's not including Beo or the kids in the kitchen and his bedroom! The moms group I started here in El Cerrito has exploded and we now have over sixty members, so having an in-home gathering is pretty hectic! I was surprised to discover that I actually loved having a ton of kids in the house, although I am sure my opinion might be a little different if their mothers hadn't been there as well! Beo was a little upset about sharing his toys with the first kid to arrive, but when there got to be so many that he couldn't keep tabs on all his toys he loosened up and had a great time.

I do not know why I can't get some photos to show up the right way, but if you turn your head...

You can see that in Beo's quest to get my soda, sitting on top of the washing machine, he got his stool from the bathroom and then climbed from the stool into the bucket on his diaper pail. I found him standing in this precarious position, sipping a few drops at a time from the soda straw he'd pulled out and was dipping in and out of the cup. (He's into dipping right now.)

This shot was just so perfect I had to run and get a pacifier for Kelson.

And this is how I now find Beo most days at naptime:

Since his bed is now a mattress on the floor, he tries to play and read books instead of napping. I usually wait until it gets quiet, then sneak into his room and move him to his bed.

Baby Away!

2011-09-25T09:29:00.000-07:00

I have no photos of Beo from this weekend's big event... because the big event is that he spent his first night away from home! I am, right now, writing this from a house devoid of babies, wherein Kelson and I just spent the morning lounging in bed. Grandma Biggers reports that he has been a very good boy; Grandpa would like us to know that Beo doesn't miss us at all! I think the future holds more sleepovers for Beo...

We chose this weekend, however, because yesterday afternoon we went to Joe and Ngoc's wedding! Joe was Kelson's roommate in college, and Ngoc is the woman he has been dating for longer than any of the rest of us have been together. So it was about time! All of my photos of the event turned out terribly, so all I've got is the getaway car:

And some goofy pics of us:

Oh well.

The other thing I missed blogging about happened back on September 11... While everyone else was commemorating the World Trade Center attacks, Kelson was getting baptized! Another "about time" event!

And I'll wrap up with some of the usual cuteness. The guys reading together.

Videos!

2011-09-11T15:26:00.000-07:00

I finally got a couple of videos where Beo isn't just screaming for the camera! In this first one, he says "no" and nods and then identifies a couple of body parts.

In this one, he's playing on my computer. It's a little hard to tell, but the first thing he says is "I see!" Then "Hey!" After that he goes into the "alphabet," which for him is just vowels. We are not really sure how he just picked up A, E, I, O, and U!

So Beo is officially a little boy now! The other day he realized he could climb out of his crib quite easily, so I took off the front of his crib and put on the toddler bed rail instead. The first night, he got up six different times. He spread his books all over the rocking chair, then all over his bed. He turned out his night light a couple of times and got scared. He fell out of bed. He stayed up playing until he passed out on the futon.

The second night, he got up twice, and one of those was a fall. In the morning I opened the door to find him sleeping in the rocking chair.

Third night, he slept all the way through and when he got up at 7:20 I changed his diaper and told him it wasn't quite time to get up yet. I put some books in bed with him and he stayed in there quietly until I came and got him at 8.

We are quite surprised by how well he's handling this newfound freedom. Since he can also open doors, I really thought he'd be out and running all over the house in the middle of the night. I also thought we'd have a huge issue with nap times, but he's gone down without protest for every single one. Of course, that might just be because he's so tired from playing at night!

We've been continuing to do his Baby Dinos class at the martial arts studio. I was hoping after he started "getting it" he'd be more inclined to participate... but it seems Beo is just not much of a participator. We go to class, and I spend the entire half hour running after him and pinning him down so we can do the activities. Sometimes he'll just lay there, other times he'll get into it a little, and mostly he just writhes around and tries to run away. Nobody who saw him would think he was getting anything at all out of it.

BUT... then we come home... and suddenly he starts doing all the moves. He won't do it if I try to coach him, of course. No, I'll be doing dishes or laundry and suddenly he goes by doing the "bear walk." Or he's laying on the floor and suddenly he starts "shrimping." Or he falls down and does the "sea turtle." So in spite of all evidence to the contrary, he is totally paying attention in class and absorbing everything. Go figure!

He does almost the same thing at any group activity. I take him to toddler story time at the library and he'll either sit on my lap and refuse to do any of the activities, or walk up to the front of the room and stand right in front of the librarian, staring all all the kids doing hand motions as if to say, "What is WRONG with you weirdos?"

The exception is when any physical item is involved. At Baby Dinos, it's when they get down the giant exercise balls or the punching shields, suddenly he's RIGHT THERE. At story time, it's felt stars and shaky eggs. He looooves getting something he can play with, and he's also fine when it's time for them to go away - he loves to go up in front and put them where they belong.

As always, getting to know and understand his unique little personality is both fun and challenging! He's definitely marching to the beat of his own drum. Is anyone surprised?

My little weirdo

2011-09-02T23:27:00.000-07:00

Little Farm!

2011-08-22T22:23:00.000-07:00

We went to Little Farm on Saturday. On previous visits Beo had been a little freaked out by the prospect of feeding the animals, mainly because he was not really digging getting slimed by a tongue as big as his arm. This time... it was cool.

A little vacation

2011-08-19T22:33:00.000-07:00

If anyone was wondering what that last blog post was, Beo somehow found the blogger function on Kelson's cell phone and started writing. Sooo yeah.

Thanks to the generosity of my aunt and uncle, we spent this past weekend at our old college stomping grounds - San Luis Obispo! We love going back there to hang out, eat at our favorite restaurants, and try some new things. This time we found Petra and the Giant Grinder Shop.

As it turned out we didn't really do a whole lot. Because Beo was sick and hadn't slept for two nights straight we drove up on Thursday afternoon and didn't get there until bedtime. I spent Friday gobbling Airborne and trying to entertain Beo while Kelson took his turn being miserable in bed. We went to the park and then downtown to hunt for some food. Every single person we encountered in SLO, parent or not, guessed that Beo was about two and a half. Yes, he's a big boy, but statistically he's not THAT big!

Saturday, our college friends came! Hooray! I don't think they like having their names on the internet, but most of you know who they are. :-)

We basically just hung out and played board games whenever both the kiddos were asleep. They were on a pretty similar schedule, so it worked out well! Beo mostly ignored the little one, as she was a bit too young to really interact, and stole all her fun electronic toys instead.

Trying to get both kids together for a photo was like herding cats.

Little pixie girl!

Note the progression here. In the photo above, Kelson has just removed Beo's nuk. His foot is in the air...

Foot goes in mouth.

We give him back his nuk. Little one watches. And then...

Are feets good to eat?

Somebody hold me!

At the very end of the day on Sunday, they finally started to warm up to each other, but then it was time to see them off! Oh well, it was great to see you guys, even if for just a little while!

We hung around until Monday morning and then took off. We timed our drive home to coincide with Beo's nap, except it turns out he can't sleep in the car anymore, so he spent most of the ride crying.

All in all, not the most vacation-y vacation ever, but it was still fun!

And what post would be complete without a potty picture?

Note the interesting design work on the legs.

New haircut, and a new outfit from Grandma B!

Beo's first post

2011-08-14T08:00:00.001-07:00

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone vvvvvvcvn

Mm mm mm

Mm

Nmm
Nnnn

Nnnnnnnbbbbnbbnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnngff

Fairyland and the Beach!

2011-08-07T16:07:00.001-07:00

Last week Beowulf made his first trip to Fairyland! This is a toddler-sized theme park next to Lake Merritt in Oakland. It's been around since 1950, so both Kelson and Grandma Jan played there when they were little! This time it was Beo's turn. Although he doesn't know any fairytales yet, he had a great time running down the rabbit hole, playing in the old west storefront, watching a puppet show with Grandma, and riding the train!

This weekend, we finally made a trip to the beach at Pacifica. Beo hadn't been since he was only a few months old, so he didn't remember it at all. It wasn't the warmest day ever, so we didn't break out the swimming trunks, but the sand was nice and warm. Kelson and I both assumed we'd spend most of our time trying to keep Beo out of the water, but we were wrong! I took Beo down to the waterline to get his toes in the surf and he decided that was NOT FUN! I think it was a combination of freezing cold water and the unpredictability of the waves - he knew if he made a mistake he'd be soaked! He spent most of his time up on the dry sand, digging holes with Daddy, finding big rocks to carry, feeding seagulls, and just wandering around.

Afterward we stopped at McDonald's, his first visit ever. I don't think he was impressed with the nuggets or the fries, although he did try to straight up just drink the katsup. He got a smurf toy, which turns out to be pretty good for teething.

Other stuff...

Kelson got a new phone from his work, so he gave his old iPhone to Beowulf, who was already obsessed with it. Now the guys can hang out without fighting over phones. Beowulf is kind of scary-good with this thing. He can unlock the phone, pick out the icon for Angry Birds (or whatever other game he wants) and start playing. He doesn't have a very high score, though. Yet.

The photo below isn't very well-lit, but this is Beo's second black eye. This one was unfortunately my fault - I pulled the car door open right as Beo ran past and he slammed into it so hard he bounced back and hit the back of his head on the cement. And yes, if you were wondering, I did feel really, really bad.

Where did this little boy come from, and can someone tell me where my baby went???

Mommy and Beo hamming it up.

Every day I think how very blessed we are. We have family nearby, a wonderful house to live in, and access to soooo many fun activities nearby. I am so thankful that I get to be Beo's mommy and that we have so many opportunities to make his life rich and exciting and fun. I know he is still small, but I hope he understands that we love to spend time with him and do all that we can to teach him about the world because we love him so very, very much!

Oh, the cuteness!

2011-07-26T21:36:00.000-07:00

Mommy doesn't have lipstick or makeup to play with, but she did buy some clips the other day. Which Beo was veeery curious about! So we both had to put clips in our hair. He is not at all sure what they are.

Peanut butter and jelly lipstick!

Shortly after these pictures were taken, I stepped out of the room for a minute.

When I came back, the piece of bread pictured above was gone. Beo was pointing at his shirt over and over and saying "Suh suh suh!" I said, "Yes! Big Bird is from Sesame Street!"

Whereupon he pulled up his shirt and proudly showed me that he had stuck the peanut butter side of his bread to his belly button.

I am still not really sure what "suh" means.

The other day a fire truck parked down at the end of the block, so Daddy took Beo down to check it out. They gave Beo a fireman hat and a fire truck pin! They invited him into the truck but he was TOO SHY. Maybe next time. :-)

Today Beo obtained my camera and sat in my rocking chair playing with it for a while. This is the only picture that came out in focus. I believe that is a knee and a foot.

So, Beo's gaining a few more words. He doesn't really seem to like nouns, although "car" is a recent addition. He likes action words and descriptive words. Go, outside, and cool are his new favorite expressions. Outside is technically a noun, but he uses it to mean WE WILL GO OUTSIDE NOW.

His language understanding is getting more complex. It's interesting to see his comprehension slowly evolve. At this point it's apparent that he's mostly listening for inflection (like questions or reprimands) and key words. He doesn't understand the concept of "tomorrow" or "later," which can sometimes create problems. For instance, if I talk about Daddy when Daddy is not home, he'll run to the door and look for him. Last night I told him we would go see "elephants at the zoo tomorrow" and he pointed to the door, indicating that yes, he would like to see them now!

My mom got him a couple of books where things with similar sounds were compared, and I could see him begin to grasp the difference. At first he recognized no difference between "soup" and "soap," but after a couple of repetitions he got it.

Likewise, his "sign language" is getting more complex. Today he came to me and pointed to his hair. I asked him if he wanted to put clips in his hair, but he shook his head and kept pointing. I told him I didn't understand and asked him to SHOW me. He walked to the bathroom door and pointed. I opened it, he walked in to the tub, pointed to the tub and to his hair. I said, "You want to take a bath and wash your hair?" He nodded emphatically and said "Mm-HM!"

I think I am probably partially at fault if he's slower to learn words - mainly because I find the nonverbal communication interesting and am willing to take the time to figure out what he means. The other day all three of us were at the park when Beo came up to me. I said, "Oh, you want my keys" and handed them over. Kelson was like, "How did you know THAT?" I explained that Beo had gestured to my pocket, which is where keys are usually kept.

And in fact Beo does use more words and attempt speech much more with other people. He gets very chatty when Daddy gets home at night. I'm not really worried, though. He'll learn to talk at his own pace, and in the meantime nonverbal communication is an incredibly important part of communication.

Beo now also now does this:

...Which I find hilarious. And the whispered "Hi" and big grin at the end just melt my heart. It's a good reminder that there are things much more important than sweeping the floor or getting the laundry done.

Martial Arts and Movies

2011-07-16T23:26:00.000-07:00

Today was a big day for Beowulf... so many new things! This morning Beo and I got up bright and early (well, 8...) and headed into Berkeley for his first ever martial arts class. Modcom is a mixed martial arts studio headed by a woman who earned her black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at the age of sixty-one! She is also a child counselor, so her passion is helping kids be healthy mentally and physically through martial arts.

We participated in their youngest class, Baby Dinos, which takes kids from 18 months to 4 years. Their website says their kids programs are play-focused, so I assumed this would be just a bunch of fun, active things for Beo to do. I was quite surprised and impressed when I saw that all the fun activities the kids do are actually basic, foundational moves for Jiu-Jitsu and other contact martial arts.

Beo had SO MUCH fun! As I expected, he was shy and clingy at first, but by the end of the half hour he was running all over the place. And since it's parent-and-child oriented, it turns out I get a great workout too! We'll definitely be doing this every week from now on.

I know it might seem a little silly to be putting Beo into martial arts this early, but it's something we decided we wanted to prioritize as a family. I don't want it to be "Oh, do you want to do jiu jitsu class this year?" I just want it to be something we DO. Like, we go to church on Sundays, and on Wednesdays we go do martial arts. So with that in mind I think starting early is good.

It will also be nice to give Beo a place where he can take out some energy and aggression. I found myself in a couple of physical contests with him lately, and I can see that it won't be long until he can overpower me. I'd like to get all that energy channeled into something before it becomes a problem! :)

Winnie the Pooh

In the afternoon, we took Beo to his first movie in the theater! All three of us enjoyed the new Pooh movie. Beo was definitely riveted by what was happening on screen, and he didn't make a peep the entire time. When it was over he didn't want to leave the theater! We asked him if he liked the movie, and he nodded VERY definitely and said MMMMM! (That means YES!)

Shark Smiles

2011-07-16T14:50:00.000-07:00

This is what you get when you ask Beowulf to smile. His expression always strikes me as cute and kind of menacing at the same time. Perhaps because I have suffered the wrath of those teeth personally...

Fourth of July!

2011-07-10T22:16:00.000-07:00

On Independence Day, we started by walking to the fair at the park near our house. Tons of booths, games, music, and some little rides! Beo went on two of the rides and was a little worried at first, but then decided to have some fun. We ate some batter fried veggies and ended up buying him an adorable Viking hat from an older woman who crochets them. She has a website!

When the rocket went up in the air Beo said "Uh-oh! Uh-oh!"

After naptime, we headed over to Grandma and Grandpa Caros, where we ate yummy hamburgers, steak, and corn and then had some blueberry pie. The pie was a bit sour because Kelson put a little too much lemon in it, and Beo really couldn't decide whether he liked it or not. But he kept eating!

Then it was time for fireworks. We did a bunch of little fireworks out in front of the house. Beo was cautious at first and needed to be sitting in Grandma or Mom's lap, but he really liked them. (Although he is not a big fan of the screaming ones.) By the time we finished up our fireworks, Beo was so into it that he wanted to go down the block and watch everyone else do theirs. It was a long night, and he was up until after 10!

Grandma got me glow sticks!

Am I scared or excited or both? I don't knowwwww!

All in all, a very successful Fourth.

Since I haven't posted much lately, here's some more photos for good measure. I got a little waste basket at Target and left it by the side door. Next time I turn around, this is what I find.

What? WHAT?

OMG I NEED that camera!

Corn kiss!

Check it out! I got both dimples in one shot!

Catching Up

2011-06-14T22:17:00.000-07:00

Somehow I've let an entire month go by without posting! Yikes! I even missed doing a "Happy 17 Months" post. Oh well, probably about time to stop counting months and round to the nearest half-year. Beo is now about one and a half!

I have almost all my teeth!

Word acquisition mode seems to be in full swing - Beo now occasionally tries to say words we use, such as "shoes" or "strawberry," and has three regulars he uses all the time: "Mama" (or Mami) "Uh-oh!" and "NO!"

My hand is dirty! Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

No, no, no, NO! Such a beautiful word, isn't it? Actually, it's pretty darn cute. Beo is reveling in the discovery that he can refuse things and answer questions negatively, so just about everything is "No," even when it's yes. When he finishes his food I will ask if he is "All done?" He will shake his head and say NO! and even go so far as to grab his tray if I try to slide it off. So he's spending about twice as much time in the high chair as usual.

I really hate to admit this, but that's mayonnaise.

He's also realized that he can JUST SAY NO TO NAPTIME! Actually, no, he can't. But he likes to try.

Beo thinks he needs Mommy's car keys to use this toy.

Since the discovery of NO, he's also decided he's so grown up that he doesn't need Mommy to read him books. He'll do that by himself, thank you very much. Oh, and those baby books? Please. He can read Mommy's novels. And his favorite, the Plain English Handbook.

Beo's favorite thing to read right now is my old Sesame Street Sign Language book.

Frustration meltdowns have decreased. I WANT MY WAY tantrums have increased. I figure we're about even.

Joking aside, we are really proud of our little man. He is soooo demanding (especially of Mommy, when we're home alone), but somehow he's growing into a very nice little boy. He is always kind and considerate with other kids. He never grabs or hits and he respects other kids' property. If he wants something, he will get very close and look and point at it, but never touch. He gets concerned when anyone else cries, and he loves it when everyone plays together. He will even try to give things to other children to include them in play. He's exceptionally sweet and kind. I honestly don't know if that's anything we've done or if it's just who he is. Either way, we love him to pieces!

Family portrait at Giorgi Park in Healdsburg.

Let's see... stuff we've done recently. We went to my parents house for Memorial Day so we could take Beo to the annual Future Farmer's Fair. This was like the biggest event of the year for me growing up, so I really wanted to share it with Beo.

Beo does not trust cows.

Although he enjoyed seeing the animals and all the people, I think he'll appreciate it more next year when he'll be old enough to go in some of the bounce houses and play some of the games. And is not afraid of cotton candy. Still, it was really special to introduce him to one of my home town traditions.

Cotton candy is clearly not food.

I also took Beo to the Habitot Children's Museum in Berkeley a couple of weeks ago. It was... fantastic. I'll be getting a membership the next time we go. It's located in the basement of a big office building next to the public library, and has a series of alcoves or open rooms with different themes. One area, for example, is a grocery store and diner.

Beo loves to be pushed around in the laundry cart.

Everything is small and hands-on, so they have little shopping carts, little plastic food, a little counter, toy cash registers, etc. There's a water area where you can do a car wash, an art room with a different project each day, a veterinarian area with stuffed animals, a face-painting station, etc. etc. etc. Basically it's everything from daily life, all toddler-sized and safe. It's enclosed, so you can just let your kid run around and touch EVERYTHING. It's perfect for hands-on learning, and the best thing is you don't have to clean anything up!!!

Beo loves to watch Daddy play Donkey Kong. When Daddy dies, Beo says "Uh-oh!"

Mother's Day!

2011-05-14T08:12:00.001-07:00

I had a great Mother's Day this year. Beo and I went to my folks' house on Friday, where we joined my parents, my aunt and uncle, and Grandma and Chuck to celebrate the ladies in our family. True to form, none of us brought our cameras, so I have no photographic evidence of this event.

On Saturday, Beo confessed he'd gone a little overboard for the holiday and gotten a tattoo. What a thoughtful child!

That afternoon, my mom came over and babysat while Kelson and I went to a welcome-home party for a friend in SF. The next morning, Beo decided to get up early, so he, my mom, and I went to church while Daddy slept in. For Mother's Day, our church offered free family portraits, so after the service we went and took a picture! As usual, we all came out looking like complete dorks.

Catching up on other stuff... One day last week, Beo whacked his head on the edge of the coffee table. I was in the other room and it was one of those moments where you just know it's bad. I rushed in to find a gigantic blood blister forming on the side of his left eye. For a minute or two I thought it might be time to pack up and go to the ER, but he calmed down quickly (thank you Sesame Street) and seemed to be okay. By the next morning the lump had gone away, but all the blood had moved into his eye socket, giving him a really spectacular black eye.

Beo is talking more now, but most of the time I can't understand a thing he says. Given a few examples of some very strange pronunciation - "pah-bah" for "water" - I realized he's so busy he never looks at us when we're talking. I think most babies and toddlers spend time looking intently at adult faces, but Beo is almost always focused on some sort of activity, even when he's eating. So lately I've been trying to get him to look at me directly when I speak. We'll see if that helps. Anyway, his current vocabulary now includes:

"I see it," "I did it," Mama, Daddy, Pea, Kitty, Go, Grandma (Grah-bah), Read Book (Wee-buh), Water (pah-bah), Hi, and Up.

On Monday we attended our first "First Five" class, Gymsters. It is a short class - 45 minutes - with a bunch of kids around Beo's age. The guy teaching the class goes really quickly through a bunch of things, from singing songs with hand and foot motions to telling stories to doing puzzles to some basic tumbling and balance activities. Beo loved it and was also completely overwhelmed. The activities, especially seeing a bunch of other kids doing the same things, was incredibly stimulating for him! He spent the rest of the day chattering nonstop, waving to people in the neighborhood, and generally just being outgoing. Since then he has started trying to imitate some of the activities on his own. The dancing with hand motions even inspired him to dig out his two rattles and perform a lovely little interpretive dance to some music. He's done it several times now, and I wish I could get it on video! It's hilarious. I did get this video of him in my shoes, though:

On Friday my mom came over again and we went to see the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park. The last time either of us was there was when I was in Girl Scouts, so I was probably about 8 or 9. It was much smaller than I remembered - but I think I appreciated it much more! The whole design is incredibly well done, so no matter where you go in the garden you're presented with a picture-perfect view. We tried to have tea at the tea house, but I managed to dump an entire pot of boiling water on my lap, and after that catastrophe Beo fell off of his chair.

After that, we left the garden and hung out in the Music Concourse, which is a huge open area with trees, benches, and a giant half-shell stage. There was a middle school band playing, so Beo enjoyed listening to that and running around while I sat in the sun and dried out.

Then it was lunchtime, so we headed over and met up with Daddy. We got some delicious sandwiches from the American Grilled Cheese Kitchen and ate on the grass in South Park.

On Saturday, we went hiking at Coyote Hills with Kelson's mom, then left Beo with Grandma and Grandpa Caro while Kelson and I saw Thor. I give it a solid B; Kelson says B-. We got home at Beo's bedtime and he slept long enough for us to watch one episode of Star Trek. Then he got up and went nuts. He spent hours running laps around the house like a madman... and finally pooped. We all got to bed a little after midnight.

Which is why this morning, we all got dressed and ready for church... and then Beo went to sleep. C'est la vie.

Chalk Plus Zoo

2011-04-30T22:48:00.000-07:00

We ended up being able to break out the sidewalk chalk on Easter afternoon.

Beo understood the concept immediately and wanted Kelson and I both to draw pictures, which he would then correct with his own personal annotations.

Mommy had some fun with shadows after Beo wandered off.

Although Beo had previously objected to hats of any sort, he now finds it very entertaining to put on Daddy's hat. He will even wear his own hat for short periods at a time.

This weekend, we had planned to go to the beach but ended up at the Zoo instead. There's a little playground just outside the lower entrance, so we checked it out.

Finally! A photo of Mommy and Beo!

Cool dudes with hats.
I am tall enough to ride this stump!

It was a great day for seeing animals up-close! Every other time we have gone, the alligators have just been basking in the sun on the ground, up where nobody can see them. Today it was warm enough for a bath!

The zoo membership is sooooo worth it. Beo loves going there, not just for the animals, but for all the other people and kids. Since it's enclosed and traffic-free, he can basically run around as much as he likes. I think we've gone about four times now, and we'll definitely be returning again.

Easter Sunday! (And 16 Months)

2011-04-24T13:40:00.001-07:00

Thanks to some advance practice at egg hunting, Easter morning was a great success!

The Easter Bunny brought Beo some egg-shaped crayons for little hands and a set of sidewalk chalk.

It was too drizzly out for the chalk, but Beo wasted no time breaking in the crayons.

Then it was time to go egg-hunting with Daddy!

It was so cute to see him "get it." A couple of times in the last week or two I scattered eggs around the living room and asked him to put them in a paper bag. He would get maybe three or four before deciding it was boring. But this morning, as soon as he picked up one egg and discovered there was a TREAT inside, he was ready to go! We pointed him in the general direction of the eggs and he was able to find all but one or two on his own. Way to go!

Today also marks Beo's 16th month! Last time we went to the doctor's he had dropped down a bit on his height and weight, but this time he had shot right back up to about 85% on all counts. He's still somewhat behind on his talking, so we'll be taking him in at 18 months just to make sure he's still making progress. He now says "Hi" and "Bye bye" pretty regularly, and now and then we get other words popping out, like "Hi Kitty!" (to the neighborhood cat).

Personally, I think he's just not much of a talker because of his stupid teeth! He's been teething almost constantly since he was about six months old, and having a pacifier in his mouth most of the time makes him feel better. Right now he's cutting three molars and another regular tooth, all at the same time. The other day he was eating and I could actually see his gums bleeding. Poor guy. Here's his "My mouth hurts!" sad face:

It's no longer safe to put my finger in his mouth, but I think he has about ten or twelve teeth now. It's rough right now but hopefully this just means we get the whole teething thing over with faster and then we won't have to deal with it anymore!

Mmm, broccoli! Beowulf is currently a vegetarian. He refuses all meat, although I think I got him to eat some heavily sauced rib meat one time. Another kid we know his age won't eat meat either, so apparently this is fairly common. What I want to know is how he can tell what's meat and what isn't! I give him some vegetarian sausages and he loves to eat those! But then when I made Sloppy Joes, he put a handful of ground beef in his mouth, sucked off all the sauce, and spit out the beef! Weirdo.

I asked Beo to show me his feet, and this is what I got:

It's really cute to see him developing socially at this point. We do play dates with a little girl the same age as Beo, and they are now starting to play together. They jabber and yell together, and then copy each other's behavior. Oh, and they eat each other's food.

Beo is also getting really good at understanding and remembering... I guess I would call it "processes." Like the other day, I was showing him how garbage went in the garbage can. The next day, he found a piece of fuzz on the ground, took it over to the can, and threw it away. Last night around bedtime, he went and got the kitchen towel, which I always use to wipe the condensation off his warm bottle, handed it to me, and then waved good-night to Kelson. Bedtime! Today, he pooped in his diaper, and when I took it off he walked over to his potty and sat down. We're still working on the timing for that one!

Happy Easter, big guy!

First Haircut!

2011-04-16T20:33:00.000-07:00

Today was the day - Beo's first haircut! The "before" picture:

There's a barber shop about two blocks away from our house, so we all went in this morning. Daddy went first, and while he was getting his hair cut another chair opened up so it was Beo's turn. He had to sit on Mommy's lap while a very brave lady very, very quickly cut all of his golden locks off!

Needless to say, he was not happy about it. He was nervous the moment we walked in, and I think he was scared by all the buzzing and blowing and everything else going on! Nothing worked to keep him still until I pulled out my cellphone, opened up YouTube, and started playing Sesame Street videos! Thank the Lord for cell phones, the internet, and Cookie Monster!

Mommy is quite happy with the result, however:

I think it's adorable, and he looks like such a little boy now! It looks all straight right after his cut, but actually he's still got a lot of curl in his hair. Now it's all over his head instead of just at the back because his hair is all different lengths.

Here's some more pics of the new 'do:

...And some more pre-haircut cuteness.

I noticed you had some food between your teeth, Mom.

Beo in his cute Hawaiian shirt and overalls!

So THAT'S what those holes are for!

My little Buddha!

Happy 15 Months!

2011-03-29T13:54:00.001-07:00

Yeah, Mommy is a little late on this one. Oh well, it gave me time to get some nice photos.

Beo is now... let's see. Well, he's still not talking. But he's definitely getting to the point where he wants to communicate more than is possible with grunting and pointing, so I have a feeling words are not far behind.

He is, of course, learning new things every day. He now loves to brush his own teeth. Every morning after breakfast I say, "Is it time to brush our teeth?" and he runs to the bathroom!

Yesterday he also discovered (with a little help from Mommy) that he could stand on his stool and reach the sink. Now every time he gets in the bathroom we have to do this for 10 or 15 minutes. It cracks me up because the only way he can get himself up high enough is to stand on the stool on his very very tippy toes and stretch as hard as he can!

He loves to read, but he has definite opinions about books. And sometimes he only likes specific pages. For instance, the Very Hungry Caterpillar never gets to turn into a butterfly, because he insists on shutting the book and ending the story as soon as the caterpillar has eaten all the junk food. No green leaf, thank you.

We've now been to see the farm animals at Tilden Park a couple of times. Beo is not sure he trusts any of them, but he sure likes to stare!

Beo is also starting to interact with other kids. So far he's been very nice, although sometimes he will just take things. To Mommy's relief, he hasn't hit anyone or pulled anyone's hair. The other day we had a tea party with some mommies and babies and Beo actually played very gently and nicely with an 8 month old crawler. Oh, but he did get very, VERY upset when Mommy tried to old the other baby! I had no idea he was so possessive!

We've also transitioned from two naps a day to one. So far this has been pretty rough on Mommy, who really liked having two breaks! Beo is still getting used to taking one longer nap, so most days he wakes up early and spends the rest of the day being cranky. Teething doesn't help, either! Oh well, eventually we'll figure out this new routine.

Happy 15 months, my sweet, cranky little man!

Just Stuff

2011-03-19T20:32:00.000-07:00

Nothing super special happening lately, just some cute. Our kitchen was seriously lacking in counter space, so yesterday we went to Ikea and got this island and put it together. As you can see, we will no longer be keeping the step stool in the kitchen.

Grandma and Grandpa Caro came over this afternoon and after some Indian food Beo enjoyed some fun in the bath. Daddy doesn't let Mommy post nekkid pictures on the interwebz, but this one was too cute to pass up, so... censor bar!

Beowulf is currently going through a little bratty phase where he melts down every time something is taken from him or kept out of his reach. He will hold his breath and then cry like it's the end of the world, or he'll go all limp and sink down on the ground wherever he is, face up or face down. It's actually pretty funny, but I try not to react much one way or the other so he won't think he can get extra attention by flipping out. :-)

He seems to go through something like this every couple of months or so, where he is upset by our authority and tries to challenge it. Once he figures out (again) he can't win, then he goes back to being a nice little guy. This time the extra twist is that he... well, he doesn't FORGET. We used to be able to take something away and then distract him. Nope, not having any of that. When I took away a little hand-rake in the back yard, he spent half an hour walking around in circles, sobbing angrily. When I dropped him off in the nursery at Bible study, apparently he spent the entire hour and a half making a break for the door I'd gone out of every time he was free. Likewise, we went to the book store and he spotted the kiosk in the middle of the store with a computer. He remembered the route around all the shelves and spent the rest of our visit running from the kid's section toward that kiosk every time I let him go.

Since Mommy and Daddy both have rock-hard heads, we're currently wondering what sort of monster our combined ultra-stubborn genetics have unleashed upon the world.

On a distinctly non-Beo front, they have WEATHER up here in the Bay Area! Whoa! Last night we had a thunder storm, but it had calmed down a bit so I told Kelson I was going to run some laundry to the dryer, in the garage. I opened the side door and discovered it was raining pretty heavily, so I closed the door again and went looking for an umbrella. When I opened the door again, the sky suddenly went SKSHHHHH! And this is what I got:

Hail! There was so much of it the ground was all white, almost like snow! The photo above was the hail that made it onto the little porch, under an overhang. Cool! :-)

His Newest Obsession

2011-03-08T13:02:00.000-08:00

Who needs a shovel when you can HAMMER?

Plus some more cute:

Fourteen Months

2011-02-26T20:55:00.000-08:00

Whoops, I missed the actual day! But Beo is now 14 months old! My big boy has learned a lot in the past month.

He's definitely talking now. What he's saying, nobody knows, but he's certainly saying SOMETHING. The problem with deciphering Beo's vocabulary is twofold. One, he does nothing on command, so prompting him to say something gets you nowhere. Two, he refuses to repeat. So basically if you happen to be paying close attention when he says something, you might get it. Words he's said so far include "bye-bye," "up," "did it," and several attempts at "avocado" on one specific occasion. We're going to say "bye-bye" is his official first word since we've heard it two or three times now.

His newest physical accomplishment is learning to stomp. This was a little tricky and the first time he tried to copy me (stomping to the beat of music) he simply launched himself into the air frog-style and landed on his face. Now he's got it down - he does a series of five or six little stomps, back and forth, almost like he's running in place. This happens whenever he gets really excited or really upset.

Snugs with Daddy are the best!

This month we got him a little wooden ride-on toy, which we call "Scootie." He likes to get on it and scoot around the house, but he still doesn't understand how to use the handles to steer. Generally he gets on, pushes himself forward until he runs into something, then slides back until he hits something else, goes forward again, and so on.

Watchin' Kipper.

Something I wish I'd done a long time ago... I bought a Hip Hammock, which I highly recommend for anyone who has a "hip baby." It's a very basic, simple baby carrier that lets you put a toddler on your hip without having to support him with your arms. Oh, man, this is a lifesaver. My arms and shoulders were killing me! Especially in the mornings, Beo really, really likes to be held so he can watch me fixing his breakfast and doing anything else I have to do in the kitchen. I can't do everything with him in this thing, but I can sure get a lot more accomplished with him in it than I can either holding him myself... or not holding him at all and trying to deal with the winy, angry ankle biter he becomes:

One bit of sorrowful news, at least from Mommy's perspective. Beo's big fat baby belly is disappearing! I am fairly sure I see a six-pack developing there. Sigh.

Beowulf has also formed his first serious attachment to a toy. Personally, I was sorta hoping it would be Pengie, the penguin he sleeps with at night. But no, it's a plastic yellow shovel. We got him a little bucket with a shovel, rake, and sifter because he kept stealing them from another boy at the park.

Could this kid possibly get any chunkier?

Since he's had them he's learned how to actually scoop and put bark or sand in his bucket... and shovel has become a fairly permanent attachment throughout the day. Beo likes to walk with shovel, climb with shovel, eat with shovel... you get the idea.

You can't see it in this photo, but he is holding shovel while he climbs. He can get all the way up and down these block steps now.

Fortunately he doesn't really miss shovel if it's gone, but he does get upset if anyone tries to take shovel away. You sorta have to sneak it away when he's not looking. Interestingly, although shovel is the favorite, rake is also acceptable. Sifter is just okay.

Pottying, Take Two

2011-02-01T16:59:00.001-08:00

So that Elimination Communication thing I tried to do when Beo was born? It ended around month six, when he got mobile and was no longer interested in being in one place for more than two seconds. Also, he's a boy, and he couldn't care less if he was covered in poop and pee from head to foot.

So here's round two. Beo is 13 months old, and I realize that's fairly young in our culture, but Beo is very physical and very strong and he's decided he DOES NOT WANT HIS DIAPER CHANGED EVER. Which means constant kicking and flailing throughout the day, poop all over both of us, and so on and so forth.

So I thought, as long as we're fighting over this, why not just try cold turkey potty training? It really couldn't be any worse, right?

So it turns out it could be worse. Day one involved peeing in undies, peeing on the floor, pooping on the floor, poop smeared all over the floor, poop on Mommy's clothes... and finally, right after nap #2, FINALLY, one pee in the potty.

Day two was slightly better. After reading this extreme potty training article, I decided undies were better than commando, so Beo spent the day running around in Wall-E and Toy Story underoos. He peed on the floor once and tried to clean it up, which seemed like a good sign... at least he knew it didn't belong on the floor. Later, he peed on the floor again and was actually upset about it, making little whimpering noises as the puddle formed beneath him.

Now we're on day three. I sorta realized he isn't sure what "The Potty" is, so I've spent most of the day going, "Beo! Where's the POTTY? Do you see the POTTY? HERE's the potty! Let's SIT on the potty! Yay!" I also give him a little animal cookie every time he sits on it. So far no pee or poo in the potty, but he did pee while walking TOWARD the potty, and then later peed in his undies while sitting on the potty.

I'm starting to wonder if maybe I should just switch him to pull-ups and continue having him sit on the potty periodically throughout the day, until he gets the idea. The article I linked above says you have to give it at least three weeks. Three weeks?! I'm not sure I can hang on that long. Being without clothes puts Beowulf in high gear and he just goes crazy running around all day. In the past two days he's learned "chase" (Mommy chases Beo, that is) and "horsie" (Mommy is the horse, naturally).

But actually, the whole thing isn't too bad. Aside from being exhausted, cleaning up after him is still better than caretaking (yeah). Also, I know one of the reasons experts say you should wait until your kids is "ready" to use the potty is because they don't want kids getting all anxious about it. Fortunately I think my caretaking experience allows me to have a cool head and a sense of humor about the whole thing, so I'm not upset when he goes on the floor. Having wood floors also helps!

Even more than that, it seems to be a very good bonding experience. I expected Beo to resist sitting on the potty, but it turns out he loves sitting there while I crouch down and give him some really focused, one-on-one, uninterrupted play time. He gives me these "I love you, Mom!" looks that just melt my heart. I think it also gives him a little chance to rest in between racing around the house like a maniac.

Now if I could just get him to PEE while he's sitting there, instead of two seconds afterward.

13 Months Today!

2011-01-24T18:12:00.000-08:00

Beo currently weighs in at 25 lbs and stands 30 inches tall. He's fallen from 95th percentile in everything - he's now in the 70th percentile for height and 50th percentile for weight. Oh, no, sorry... he's still in 95th percentile for head size. This is not surprising if you've met his dad.

But... my baby is a little boy! You can just see the difference in his behavior... he's definitely starting to become a little man. In addition to the walking, he's now attempting to run (yeah...) and becoming very insistent about feeding himself with a spoon, even though he totally doesn't have the coordination.

Today we "celebrated" his 13th month by washing the Honda in the driveway. I would like to say Beo attempted to help but he totally didn't. And he actually did start out in clothes, but he got really unhappy when his jeans were so heavy with water that he could barely walk. Once we got down to the diaper everything was copacetic. And then we got into the bark and mud.

Other recent firsts - I finally cut his hair. While my mom was over, we put him in the high chair, turned on Kipper, and I used Kelson's beard trimmer to take off the hair that was covering his ears. He lost a couple curls, but he definitely looks more like a boy! I also got him a magna-doodle so he could start learning how to draw. So far he totally doesn't get the novelty of it, and shows about as much interest in drawing as he does in books. Is this REALLY our child? I'm starting to think Beowulf might be a changeling.

Life in El Cerrito

2011-01-19T18:11:00.000-08:00

So we've been living in El Cerrito for almost two months now, and I thought I'd post a little update on how we're doing here.

If Kelson is awake, he's working. He likes his new job but his company is currently in a push to get a new game out, so the hours are brutal. He gets up at 7 and goes to work, and gets home sometime between 8 and 10 at night. Lunch is catered so they can continue to work while eating and they're now working Saturdays as well. Needless to say it's been pretty rough on him.

I can touch hots now?

When it's not raining, Beo is loving the new house and neighborhood. It's been warm this week so he's had fun exploring our property, including our huge back yard. He loves to pick up bark and sticks and slugs. There is a park nearby with a big-kid area and also a toddler play area, so we go there often. He loves watching the other kids and has made tentative friends with a little boy who comes daily with his Chinese-speaking grandparents. I'd guess he's about three.

(This video is Beo waiting for his show, Kipper, to start. He LOVES Kipper.)

As for me, I'm discovering that the social landscape here is very different from Camarillo. In Camarillo, we tried a number of good, Christ-centered churches and chose the one that seemed to suit us best. I got plugged into a Bible study and, when I got pregnant, into MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers). That was my support network right there.

Too sexy for my... colored rings?

El Cerrito is completely different. We're having a hard time even finding a church in the area, because, well, to put it frankly, there's a lot of weird crap here. Up the hill we've got a Swedenborgian church, then there's the Unitarians and various other denominations who call themselves Christians but as far as I can tell, mainly they just like to celebrate holidays, do nice things for other people, and not really get into that messy Son-of-God-Salvation thing. If trying to figure out who the "real Christians" were wasn't hard enough, even the genuinely Biblical churches are a little... unusual. My guess is it's the Berkeley effect... everybody here is supposed to be doing something new and revolutionary, and even if you do believe something traditional, you have to make sure you go about it in a new, unique way. And there's no MOPS or anything like that.

But you know what? It's perfectly okay. Camarillo was a wonderful little bubble and in a sense I anticipated stepping outside. Kelson and I had such a wonderful, loving, nurturing experience with other believers at Camarillo EV Free, I feel like moving to the Bay Area is our opportunity to turn around and give that love to those who haven't experienced it.

Una-baby. Thanks for the hoodie, Wilcoxes!

Since the church we join will likely not be in town, I'm not going to rely on it for friends. Instead, I joined a mom's group on Meetup.com and will be attending my first playdate on Tuesday. I'm also starting to make some friends with other parents who go to our local park... I've discovered I meet more parents in the afternoon (after work) than in the morning. And in general, I'm just trying to be friendly and chat with anyone who happens along. The barista at the local Starbucks, for instance!

Although networking here is challenging, on the other side of the coin there are tons of opportunities for activities to do with Beo. We have already gotten a membership at the Oakland Zoo and I plan to take him there frequently. Berkeley also has a children's museum geared specifically for tots and preschoolers. The moms group I joined should help us discover new parks to visit as well.

(This is Beo waking up - he's in a pacifier-hoarding stage, whatever that means...)

I never really thought about having a "parenting style" before, but now that we've been to the park and seen so many different parents I realize I do have one. Almost all of the parents with toddlers follow them around very closely, guiding them from one thing to another, narrating for them, steadying them when they totter, suggesting things to do, and enthusiastically affirming them in their actions. I think this is great - I love that the parents are so into their kids and willing to be "kindergarten teacher" for them, but I guess it's just not me. I would find that completely exhausting.

Mostly, I prefer to hang back and let Beo do his own thing. I spot him if he's in a precarious position, but otherwise I let him fall on his butt and grope other kids and pick up gross stuff. Rather than showing him things to do, I hang back and let him find what he wants and then maybe I'll tell him what it is or note what he's doing.

I think this means he's behind other kids his age in terms of being able to perform certain actions and definitely in speech, mainly because he probably doesn't hear half the words out of me that other kids hear from their parents! I don't prompt him over and over to do things like wave or clap or whatever, although if he does start doing it I'll play along and encourage him. In this video, he discovered stacking all by himself, so then I encouraged him to do it again.

I guess I feel like he's so intensely fascinated with the world already, I don't want to be always interrupting him. He's got plenty of time to learn everything he needs to know... I just want him to be free to explore whatever his little mind is interested in. Which, currently, appears to be Nature.

What English Sounds Like

2010-12-27T22:50:00.001-08:00

...to a one-year-old.

Some stills of the great cookie grab. This is what happens when mommy leaves the gingerbread cookies in the wrong place.

Beowulf is a little obsessed with light switches right now. His main reason for wanting to be picked up is so you can take him to one. Which leads to today's other adventure...

Whoops!
I ALMOST got the shot where the leapfrog table had slid out all the way and he was completely horizontal, hanging on by fingers and toes. But alas, I was too slow...

Oh, I dug Beo's mirror out of the garage. It helped him learn to smile so I thought it might help him with his words, too. :-)

Video Glut

2010-12-24T19:13:00.001-08:00

I took a bunch of videos recently so I thought I'd just throw them all up here for the grandmas.

Here's Beowulf walking... at first he had to "conduct" with his hands to keep his balance. He's past this now. :-)

I showed Beo how to use a whisk...

When I tried to sweep the other day, Beo grabbed the broom and decided he wanted to do that, thanks.

For Beo's birthday we got some of those party blowers. Turned out they didn't make noise, but he thought the unrolling "tongue" was hilarious.

And last but not least, Beowulf eating his birthday cake. Apparently we wore him out beforehand because he was so sleepy... :-)

Happy First Birthday, Beowulf!

2010-12-24T00:01:00.000-08:00

My baby is one year old today! Maybe I shouldn't be calling him a baby anymore since he's technically "toddling," but I don't care! He's still my baby. No denying he's grown, though!

Beo and Fuzzy Bunny watch Kipper together.

In the past year he's gone from being a tiny little bundle of sleep to a walking, not-so-talking little man who knows what he wants and how to get it. His defining personality characteristics are stubbornness, determination, and humor.

Beo likes bath time so much we have to keep the bathroom door shut or this happens.

This year he's learned how to sit up, crawl, clap, wave, point, shake his head, climb, and most importantly to walk!

The Point. Cut the crap, Mom, you know what I want. Now go get it.

Beowulf doesn't talk yet (not even close), but he clearly recognizes his own name as well as "No," "Mama" "Daddy" and probably a few other words.

This ornament looks like a cookie!

His favorite place in the whole world is the park, and he would be happy to spend all day there. Rainy days are torture, but whenever the sky is clear and he's gotten to go to the park he's a happy guy for the rest of the day.

But it does not taste like a cookie!

Our little rascal is also quite the extrovert. How did that happen? He loves people, especially other children. He is absolutely in heaven when there are other kids at the park, and he follows them around and tries to copy them. He also does very well with adults. As long as he sees that Kelson or I are friendly with someone else, he isn't at all timid. He does great in the nursery at church.

I wonder why I keep putting it in my mouth?

In the evening when Beowulf is tired, he watches Kipper the Dog. He also likes the movie Wall-E. Then he goes to bed and - Mommy's favorite - sleeps through the entire night! Hooray!

This is Beowulf "smiling" for the camera.

Most recently, he's learned to show affection. We're getting some very good hugs, and he's starting to hug his stuffed animals. Today he walked around hugging his bear, and then when we went to B&N tonight he went straight for a stuffed penguin and insisted on carrying him all around the store, which made everyone he saw smile. Man, I swore I wasn't going to get him any more stuffed animals, but what could I do? He slimed it!

Much better. And no, Mr. Gingerbread ornament did not survive unscathed.

We are so blessed to be Beowulf's parents, and this first year has been a wild, wonderful ride. I can't wait to see what 2011 brings! (Potty training, anyone?)

Beo plans to be the first Viking in space.

This is why...

2010-12-16T13:56:00.000-08:00

We don't put milk in the sippy cup.

After an unfortunate incident with a ceramic cup, I bought Beo some plastic dishes and have started giving him food in them. My little barbarian decided this was the correct way to use a bowl:

Hmm, a little inconvenient. Let's try hands, shall we?

Oh yeah! That works!

As demonstrated in my last post, Beo is quite good at unscrewing things. There are some little silver posts in the stand we put his lamp and sound machine on in the bedroom, and he likes to unscrew those. I believe it all started when we got him a little plastic baby walker from Target. The "arms" are attached with big green screws, and Beowulf's favorite way to "play" with this toy is to take them off.

Possibly because they look like giant pacifiers.

Yesterday we went to Grandma Caro's to bake some cookies (yum!) and picked up this giant bin of duplos her friend had passed on. Beo is in heaven!

And just for good measure, some more creative dinnerware usage.

Christmastime!

2010-12-12T13:30:00.000-08:00

Beo's first encounter with a Christmas tree!

Our new house has a lovely front window, perfect for a Christmas tree, but we were pretty sure if we got a regular tree we wouldn't be able to keep Beowulf out of it. So instead we got a little 3' tree from Home Depot and set it up on top of the end table, which we moved in front of the window. My mom brought a bunch of my old ornaments and I put the most unbreakable ones on the bottom. So far Beo has investigated, but not actually tried to pull anything over. I'm surprised, since one of his favorite things to do now that we've got a wood floor is push all the furniture around.

It's been a while since I posted, so I'll try to give a quick rundown of what's going on in the Hootman household.

Beo and Mommy and LOTS of boxes!

First, we're pretty much moved in. We're still missing some key pieces of furniture (like a chest of drawers for our clothes - closet space is very limited) but we'll add those over the next few months. However, the house is looking really good - and clean! It's bigger than our old place and it feels really spacious.

Beo got this piece off the shoe rack... I thought he just pulled it but then I realized he had unscrewed the nut that held it on the back. Just like his dad...

The neighborhood is great. Doesn't seem like there are a whole lot of kids, but we put lights up last weekend and since then everyone else has been doing the same. It's so cool to live in an actual neighborhood where people get into the spirit of things. Yesterday everyone in the family across the street got up on the roof to hang the lights!

I'm an angel!

Just kidding!

Kelson's new job is going really well. He's working very long hours and that seems to be the norm, but his work is very much appreciated, which is nice! He bikes into the BART station and takes the train to SF every day.

Beowulf finally meets Great Grandma Caro!

Beowulf and I are a bit lonely during the week, but we've been exploring the area and discovered the local parks. The only thing lacking here is swings, which are his favorite, so we are going to have to find some for the back yard.

Chillin'

Speaking of Beowulf, he's learned so much in the past month! He's now toddling around, which is pretty cute. He can walk the length of the living room, but he's still a bit unsteady and falls on his butt if he's not paying attention. About two days ago he started shaking his head "no." He also likes to point at everything - either to tell you what he wants or get you to say what it is.

Thank you for the fuzzy bunny, Aunt Wendy! I love him!

I've had to crack down on the discipline a bit, because he's now to the point where he intentionally does things he knows he's not supposed to. Most of the time he's a very good boy, but sometimes temptation gets the better of him! In the beginning I disciplined him by giving him a smack on the hand and saying "no," but that didn't work... mainly because he thinks getting smacked on the hand is pretty funny!

Let me show you my new trick... dropping food I don't want on the floor to make it disappear!

It turns out that what really gets to him is the tone of your voice - which is not surprising because we knew he was very sensitive to sound. A stern, low "NO" results in instant sobbing, which breaks my heart! I wish I could tell him it's not THAT big of a deal... that he just needs to behave! But I guess for babies it's kind of all-or-nothing. He'll get the hang of it, as will I.

PEEKABOO!

And he's off!

2010-11-30T20:05:00.000-08:00

Grabbed the camera for something else and caught this.

Beo can go about four or five steps now, but only when he thinks he's alone. Otherwise he gets too excited and just falls over. :)

Where My Heart Is

2010-11-12T22:32:00.000-08:00

As of November 20 or thereabouts, this is where we live. It's a house, with a front yard and a back yard, in a nice neighborhood in El Cerrito. The town is located in the east Bay Area, squished between Richmond to the north and Berkeley to the south. It's a cute little town and Kelson and I knew it was where we were going to live as soon as we drove down the main street. Sometimes you just know. :-)

It's not news to anyone at this point that Kelson lost his job almost 2 months ago now. That in itself was an answer to our prayer that God would show us clearly what Kelson should do with his work situation - clear enough?! :-) After that, a job basically landed in Kelson's lap. So many people in this country are desperate for work right now, and Kelson didn't even apply for this position.

Beo unpacking his toys again. Thanks, Dude!

This past week we went up to the Bay Area to look for a place to live. Again, we were praying God would show us where we were to live as clearly as he had provided a job for Kelson. The first day house-hunting was a bit of a bust, although when we arrived in El Cerrito we knew it was the place. All the good properties I'd had on my list were rented by the time we drove up. We ended up considering an apartment, although what I really, really wanted was a house.

At first Beo was anxious when everything in our house started moving around.
But then he decided moving is fun!

The next day, when it seemed we had exhausted all options, we were going in to turn in our application for the apartment when I saw this listing pop up on Craigslist. We went by, met the owner, and handed him our application. Three hours later he called and offered us a place to live. Not only that, but when we went to deal with the paperwork we discovered that the couple who owns this house are two of the nicest people you could ever meet. Windsurfers, too! Apparently they were "sold" on us as tenants when they found out we had a ten month old son! They have three grown children but no grandchildren... but they really want some!

Beo HATES being in his car seat. For six hours.

As a Christian, I know we have no right to peace and safety in this world. We're being prepared for the next. However, that also makes me incredibly thankful when we do receive exceptional gifts from God. It makes me ask why we have been given such things. What purpose does He have for us in El Cerrito? How can we use the gifts He has given us to bless others? We will see.

Beo figured out how to play peekaboo himself. (He's in front of the mirror.)

Thank you to everyone who has prayed for us during this tough time. Right now it seems as though God has prepared everything in advance for us and is just waiting for us to step in and begin this new phase in our lives. We are so very thankful!

Some Vidyas

2010-10-31T16:59:00.000-07:00

Turns out Halloween is kind of a bust this year. I was going to make Beo a costume, but the only event we were going to take him to was the trick-or-treating at Kelson's work. Of course, Kelson no longer works there, so... no costume. Then we were going to go hang out at a friend's house and hand out candy (nobody comes here to the apartment). Beo actually has a little ninja outfit, so we were going to put that on him. But our friend got sick, so... well, now we have several big bags of candy. So not a total bust I guess. I could go all wacko-mom and freak out about how we're not celebrating Beo's first Halloween, but he's not even going to remember it-- and I wouldn't let him eat the candy anyway. Oh well. There's always next year. :)

Anyway, here's a couple of cute videos.

Beowulf is getting so... I don't know how to put it. Conscious? You can see him constantly putting everything together in that little brain of his. This is kind of a long video but it shows him figuring out how to climb down from the couch. :)

10 Month Bears!

2010-10-24T17:41:00.000-07:00

Our little bear is 10 months old today!

Mommy helped him celebrate the occasion by sending him down the big curvy slide at the park, which gave him a bloody mouth! :-( No permanent harm done, thank goodness, although we were worried about his teeth at first. In Mommy's defense, Beo climbed up to the top all by himself and loved going down the straight slide. Apparently he's not coordinated enough for those turns yet, though.

Speaking of climbing, he's climbing onto EVERYTHING now. A couple of days ago he discovered how to climb up on the seat of his stroller and the seat of his little chair... and after that there was no stopping him. Now he's climbing on the couch and trying to leap from one piece of furniture to the next.

Anyway, happy 10th month, little bear! Here's a song for you.

Some folks say there ain't no bears in arkansas
Some folks never seen a bear at all
Some folks say that bears go around eating babies raw
Some folks got a bear across the hall

Some folks say that bears go around smelling bad
Others say that a bear is honey sweet
Some folks say this bear's the best I ever had
Some folks got a bear beneath their feet

Some folks drive the bears out of the wilderness
Some to see a bear would pay a fee
Me I just bear up to my bewildered best
And some folks even see the bear in me

So meet a bear and take him out to lunch with you
And even though your friends may stop and stare
Just remember that's a bear there in the bunch with you
And they just don't come no better than a bear

The Unbearable Cuteness of Being

2010-10-19T21:18:00.001-07:00

Yes, sometimes it's all we can do not to explode with the cuteness around here.

First off, enchilada night:
Got a good shot of the teeth:
Beo prefers to be nekkid. Nekkid and in the kitchen. What, you gots a problem wif dat?
He also likes glasses. Grandma is the only one who lets him grab them.
Okay, if anyone has seen a cuter face, let me know. Cuz I'm pretty sure this is it, right here.
Beo hangin' with Dad.
Grandma's job was to wear out Beo, but Beo convinced her to pull him around on this blanket. So who got worn out?
A HAT? WHO WOULD PUT A HAT ON A BABY? WHO WOULD DO THAT???
Okay, so maybe I was wrong. THIS is the cutest face ever.
Grandma brought Beo a new toyyyyyy. He loooooves crawling through his tube!
This is the looks Mommy gets when she tries to vacuum. Clean house? The nerve!
Today was a rainy day, but Daddy really wanted to go to the park, so we headed out during a break in the showers.
This is about 60 seconds before the thunderstorm hit.
This is about 60 seconds after. Beo's jacket and the blanket I put over his feet were soaked, as was his face and hands, but he was nice and toasty inside! Mommy and Daddy were a little less prepared, but the thunderstorm was still fun!
Okay, that's all the cute for now. :-)

If you're happy and you know it...

2010-10-09T14:57:00.000-07:00

Yay for clapping! This is the first thing Beowulf has really "learned," in the sense that it's not something he'd just do because he wants to get somewhere or get his little paws on something. It's a purely social interaction he does to please us. :-)

It's interesting what we mean by "learned behavior" at this point in his development, though. I think it's impossible to "teach" a baby anything - it's all about positive reinforcement. For instance, I tried to teach him to clap about two months ago, by clapping in front of him and taking his hands and putting them together. I think he was capable of it then (some kids do it at that age) but he just didn't care. I finally gave up and stopped trying.

Then last week we were at a friend's house and he was sitting on the floor and just spontaneously started clapping. Since then, we have reinforced it - when he starts to clap, we clap. It only took a couple of times doing that for him to figure out it goes the other way too - now when we clap, he claps. I think he might even understand the word, too, since as you can see in the video he kind of raises his hands and puts them together when I say the word, like, "Ummm, not sure what you mean... is this it?"

Other new stuff is not as fun... but equally important, developmentally. Beo is becoming much more possessive. Previously, if he had something I didn't want him to have, I could just take it away and he'd move on to something else. Now? I take it away and he starts crying. Which means now I have to start modeling good behavior, darnit! If I just yank it away he's going to learn to do that so I have to ask "please can I have that," etc. When you look at it the right way it's actually kind of neat, though. A book given to me by a friend (which I highly recommend - Trees Make the Best Mobiles) talks about how possessiveness is part of a child's sense of self. He has to learn what is "his" and what is "mine" before he can learn to share!

He's also familiar with each room in the house now, and sometimes he gets upset when we close a door so he can't get into a room. I was leaving them open so he could travel, but he learned how to lift the toilet seat this week so now the bathrooms are off-limits. (And yes, all he wants to do is shove his hand into the water.)

And finally... NO. We have now begun to use this word, because he clearly understands the concept (if not the word). So far just two things are off limits. One, Daddy's keyboard and mouse (Beo likes to reach up and type mysterious messages to people), and two the kitchen stove (he is now obsessed with turning the knobs! Gah!). The first few times we did it he was pretty upset to be told "NO" and to be firmly blocked from access. Now he's still trying, but just acts a little frustrated and grumpy when he's turned away. Hopefully he'll catch on soon enough.

If it takes much longer we'll have to get a second baby gate to block the kitchen off completely because we had a little incident this morning... he somehow managed to turn the gas on without me knowing... I took him into his room to put him down for a nap... fifteen minutes later I came out to a house smelling like gas. Ugh!!! Yucky and not safe. So we have to be extra vigilant about that. Fortunately I don't think there are too many other real dangers in our apartment.

Sorry there's no pictures in this post, Beowulf has been a teething nightmare for the past week and I've been slacking. :)

Hamming it up

2010-09-27T22:21:00.001-07:00

Beowulf was being a total goof tonight at dinner so I snapped some photos.

Whoa, look at those teeth! Five now, and more on the way! This is why he never wants to go to sleep:

Beo has started sitting on his knees now and then and it's really cute. I love his little toes. It's also hilarious when he forgets he's sitting like that and tries to get up... he lurches forward flat on his face.

We went to his 9-month checkup today and found out that he only weighs 22 lbs and 3 oz! We totally thought he was way bigger than that. However, he's now 29 inches long, so he's grown about an inch a month since six months. After I snapped this photo I realized how long he's gotten:

Incidentally, that's his "I'm mad at you, Mom!" face.

Here's some more dinner goofing off. Just FYI, the cup is totally empty. It had some peas and carrots in it and when I went to dump them all out on his tray he grabbed the cup and wouldn't let go.

Nine Months Old!

2010-09-24T10:14:00.001-07:00

Beowulf is now three quarters of a year old! Wow!

This month he started doing a couple of new things. He is now babbling. Not very much, but he's gone from "aaaiiieeeoooouuu" to "ba" and "ga" and "da." The other night I got him to say "Dada" a couple of times. As I said, he doesn't do it very often... mainly because he's usually got his nuk in his mouth. So far this is the only babbling I've been able to catch on video:

Beo is also starting to stand up by himself, without hanging onto anything. I thought he'd be eager to do this but the funny thing is it turns out he's kind of scared of it! As long as he doesn't realize what he's doing, he can basically stand up indefinitely. The other night my arm was resting along the side of his calf and he thought I was holding him up - and he just stood there quite happily with a toy in his hands. When he's playing, he'll sometimes let go without thinking about it. But the moment he realizes he's standing free? He squats right down on his bum. The funny thing is, he doesn't even fall. He squats very carefully and slowly, which has to take a lot more balance than just standing!

As it turns out, he's decided there's something better than walking. CLIMBING! Yes, he is now attempting to climb everything. I don't think he's really sure what his legs are doing, but he knows if he keeps picking his feet up really high sometimes he can get places. He will stand on whatever is available.

Beo also now has four teeth! The two on top still aren't very far out but you can kind of see them here. :)

Happy ninth month, little guy!

Guaranteed to brighten your day :-)

2010-09-16T16:59:00.000-07:00

New Stuff

2010-09-13T18:38:00.000-07:00

Now that Beowulf has teeth I try to brush them... Mommy forgets a lot, though! Beo just loves it. I think the bristles feel good on his gums... plus there's that super yummy sweet toothpaste!

We also finally broke down and bought him this little chair we've wanted since before he was born.

It's adorable and yes, he will sit in it for short periods of time, although this is what inevitably happens next...

I also finally got a sleeping shot of Beo. Sometimes he sleeps way too late in the afternoon and I have to try to get him up. Not even the flash made him stir!

Time For More Cute

2010-09-08T11:39:00.000-07:00

Just thinking I hadn't posted any cuteness for a while. There's no big news on the home front, just enjoying days of sun, teething, and going to the park. Anyway, today we begin with Real Tears (tm).

Beo's also been exploring some non-traditional methods of nuk useage:

What? This is how all the cool kids do it. No wait, I know even cooler way:

We ordered diapers online and got them in this huge box, so I've slowly been using it to introduce a little novelty into our living room. (I find changing things around keeps Beo more interested.) First I just left the whole unopened box in the center of the room, and he had fun walking around it. Then when we needed the diapers I emptied the box and put stuff in it. Now and then I'd stick him in it and he'd explore.

Finally, I turned it upside down and cut a hole in each side. Now he likes to crawl through it. For a while I put his baby laptop in there so he'd crawl inside his little cave and punch buttons. :-)

Of course we're always trying new foods. Lately I've started trying to give Beo more of whatever we're eating. Last night was spaghetti:

These next photos are for Grandma Jan. :) This is a little knit sweater Kelson had when he was little:

I was trying to get him to turn around so I could take a picture of the front, but he wouldn't do it. :)

So finally I just rolled him onto the floor.

One of Beo's favorite things to do is suck on bottles. Not baby bottles, just bottles. The one in the photo above his his baby Orajel.

And one more cute photo to top it off:

Eight Months Old!

2010-08-25T17:28:00.001-07:00

Yep, it's here. Beo is now 2/3 of a year old. Doesn't that make you feel ancient? :-D

Yarrrr!

I'm gonna eat you, Teddy!

Just kidding!

So let's see. This month involved a LOT of traveling, which stretched Beowulf pretty thin - but he did good! I have hope that he will continue to get better in the near future. :-)

He's obviously very mobile now, which mean's he's been getting himself into some predicaments. Getting stuck under the dining table is a popular spot, since he's a bit taller than the edges so as soon as he gets under he can't get out without bumping his head repeatedly. This one he discovered this morning:

He also has NO FEAR of heights or of injuring himself. We took a video of him (it's on Facebook) climbing up the stairs, turning around, and then simply diving off. Fortunately I was there to catch him. We're not sure how to educate him other then letting him injure himself.

As you can see in the following photos, this month's new thing is a pacifier. Quite suddenly, Beo decided not just that he liked NUKs, but that he actually can't live without them. So I expect we won't be seeing his mouth again for another four years. Such a cute mouth, too!

And, hallelujah, wonder of wonders... he has slept straight through the last three nights. All the way. Completely. Without waking us up. I still don't really believe it... I'm still programmed, so I'm getting up even if he's not! HOPEFULLY this will last!

Other than that, not too much to report. He can stand up by himself now with no support for a few seconds at a time... instead of falling, he'll just squat down and sit. I'm pretty sure he can balance - but he's not!

More Summer Travels

2010-08-23T18:14:00.001-07:00

The past month has been full of travel! I already blogged about the first Bay Area wedding we attended... Then last weekend we met my folks in Ojai for the Biggers family reunion, where the only people we knew were my parents and my aunt Sue and uncle Jim. Beowulf was totally overwhelmed by all the people and started crying! It didn't help that he was teething and I'd forgotten his Tylenol. After a while he felt a little more secure and decided maybe people were OKAY.

While my parents were here Kelson and I stepped out to see Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, which was awesome as expected. I was a little worried that Kelson would find it lacking since he's memorized every line in the original comics, but they did a great job on the adaptation.

This weekend we made the long trek up north again for another wedding! This time it was Matt Johnson, one of Kelson's groomsmen at our wedding, getting married to his lovely fiancee Yen Cu. Using what we learned from our first trip to NorCal, we broke the trip up by staying overnight in SLO. This made the trip SOOO much easier!

We got in to Kelson's parents' house at noon on Thursday, put the baby down for a nap, and then ran off to pick up Kelson's tux, since he was a groomsman. After that we hung out with Matt, Yen, and Trung (another groomsman). We got home quite late.

Friday morning, I took Beo and went to visit Connie, my teaching partner from China... who just had a little girl! Seraphina is just three weeks old and super cute in spite of (or because of?) still having major conehead!

In the afternoon, we went to the wedding rehearsal and then the delicious rehearsal dinner at Il Fornaio, a very authentic Italian restaurant.

Bride, groom, and father of the bride.

Saturday was the wedding, which we got to just in time even though we left late and our GPS died halfway there! It was a lovely outdoor ceremony at a golf course, which was thankfully short because it was so cold! The reception was inside the club house, so it was much warmer! Sadly I have no photos because I misplaced my camera, but hopefully we'll get some from the wedding photographer. This one I took at the rehearsal before anyone got there:

Kelson and I had to sit at different tables since he was with the wedding party, but I had a great time with Bavani and Charlie (whose wedding we attended last month) and the person sitting next to me - Nicole, who happened to be getting her PhD in literature. As it turned out I was much happier discussing 18th century lit... while Kelson spent his time talking about MMO's. :-P

After the wedding, we picked up my friend Holly at the BART station. After she met Beo, we went out to dinner and she gave me the scoop on her new tall, super-handsome Asian boyfriend.

As I was dropping her off at the station, I accidentally pulled into the bus lane... realizing what I had done, I tried to get out as fast as possible, and apparently drove through a crosswalk. And this is why, for the first time in my life, I got pulled over. The policeman gave me a hard time and then let us go. Whew. I'm pretty sure that in the Bay Area, they have better things to do than harass someone with no record for making a wrong turn. Like shooting people instead of tazing them.

Sunday morning, after having essentially left Beo with Kelson's parents the entire weekend, we packed up and drove off. This time we drove straight to SLO without stopping, hung out for a few hours, and then drove the rest of the way home. We ALMOST made it without Beo crying, but we got stuck in the stupid, maddening, frustrating, infuriating Santa Barbara parking lot. Beo basically gave voice to what Kelson and I were feeling inside. Eventually, however, we made it home!

Beo went to bed at 8:30... and didn't get up until 9:30 the next morning. AT ALL. Not even to eat. We figure he must have been really tired from being on the go all weekend! Actually, he did really good at the Caro's. He slept well in spite of not getting his usual bedtime routine. Because I was utterly exhausted (it took me about a week to plan and pack for this trip), Kelson took over on putting him down and getting up to feed him at night, and it went great! So hopefully we can start switching off a bit more. (Right, Kelson? Right?!)

I has a teefies!

2010-08-10T15:18:00.000-07:00

And not afraid to use dem!

Beowulf is SO fun right now. You know, aside from the insane teething (refuses food, refuses bottle, refuses sleep) and all. He's finally gotten to the point where he's not just trying to GET somewhere or GET something - he's actually interacting and learning from us. In the past couple of days he's learned how to wave! Supercute. Gonna try to get a video.

A Momentous Discovery

2010-08-09T17:47:00.000-07:00

Also:

Ch-ch-ch-changes

2010-08-04T21:48:00.001-07:00

I'm a little late on this, but here's the "official" seven month old photo.

And here's the super cute daddy-reading-to-Beo shot:

Kelson must have read him that duck book fifty times on the way back from our trip.

Daddy is fun in other ways too!

Daddy, what's goin' on in there? Whatcha lookin' at?

So forgive me if I'm kind of random here, but we're back to sleep deprivation so I'm a little out of it these days. Beo seems to have good days and bad days with teething... speaking of which, he now has two little bottom teeth! One is actually visible... the other one has just poked through his gums.

Some days he's just fine and sleeps well. Other days he can't sleep even with Tylenol. He was up for something like four hours in the wee hours of the morning on Monday. Two days this week he hasn't napped all day. He's okayish during these times, but you have to basically sit right next to him and be with him the entire time or he breaks down. Trying to get him to nap can get really frustrating as well.
On the other hand, he's really starting to explore now, which is tons of fun. He's a much better sport about falling down now-- he's actually gotten pretty good at the art of falling! Sometimes I see him tumble around wildly, but he'll still keep his head up off the ground.

Here's Beo with today's new item-- a teething biscuit. Warning, Moms, these things are incredibly messy. Blech. Click the picture to enlarge it and you'll see the grossness. That isn't even all of it, either. The onesie beneath his sweatshirt is just covered in brown goo.

The kitchen seems to be especially fun!

I've also started taking him to stuff at the library. They have a summer program going on right now with storytellers, magicians, etc. We've gone to two shows so far. Obviously it's for children, not babies, and Beo doesn't understand anything, but it's something to do. He loves watching people and I don't think it's ever too early to introduce your child to storytelling. I figure Beo's going to be delayed on his speech anyway, so I might as well give him some extra exposure. :)

Okay, that's it for now. Time for bed. I hope.

Beo in the Garden

2010-07-28T15:46:00.000-07:00

People have been commenting lately on the fact that Kelson and I don't really take the "first time parent" precautions. You know, for example, we let our kid do stuff like this:

I don't usually wipe of the table when we go out to eat. I let Beowulf eat grass and leaves and sand. (Although in the photo above, I believe he's sampling a stick.) We also let him suck on the bars at the park where tons of children had gone before him. If Beo drops something and it looks reasonably clean I'll still let him eat it. And I guess I'll also confess that he's pulled himself up on the garbage can and started sucking the lid a few times, and I haven't stopped him.

I know, right? But seriously, who ever heard of a kid dying from licking a grocery cart handle? I know God's in control... if He intends that something bad is going to happen, all the worry in the world won't stop it.

Also: the hygiene hypothesis. This is a pretty well-established line of thought in medicine. Children in developing nations and large families have far fewer allergic diseases. The current belief is that when we're young, we're exposed to organisms which essentially "teach" our immune system how to behave. But since the advent of sterilization and hyper-cleanliness in the developed world, kids get less exposure. Their immune systems don't get "taught" correctly, so as adults their systems go into overdrive trying to protect against things which are harmless. Hence, allergies, eczema, etc. Kids in big families are better off because they are more likely to pass things around and just be dirtier in general. So - yes, current medical knowledge suggests letting your kids get dirty and exposing them to other children actually promotes a healthy, allergy-free immune system.

Kelson and I are also both very tactile people. He likes to take things apart. I like to make things. We both went to Cal Poly, where the motto is "learn by doing!" :-) Personally, I think the entire world is a baby's best teacher, and I want Beowulf to learn everything he can! He needs to touch, feel, taste, fall, drop, bang, tear, and throw! How else will he learn physics? Chemistry? Music?

So I try to make the world as accessible to him as possible. I don't want to restrict him by always trying to wipe his hands or keep him away from things or telling him he can't have or do something. I've known too many kids who hear "no" so often it's meaningless; I want Beo to know that when I say NO, it's important, so I'm saving that word for true safety issues. If he wants to get at something valuable, like my camera or the computer, I'll mostly just keep it out of reach. But everything else is up for grabs. I mean, after all, a remote is just a remote. A window can be cleaned. Broken dishes are easily replaced. We've done some minimal childproofing just for the sake of safety, but otherwise - he's free to bonk his head and pinch his fingers wherever he wants. Doing that will teach him what's wise far more effectively than anything I could say.

Anyway, I love Beowulf's natural curiosity, and I love helping him discover the world, dirt and all!

Seven Months Old!

2010-07-26T22:05:00.000-07:00

So this post is a few days late in coming, mainly because on Beowulf's actual seven-month-day, we were in San Francisco attending the wedding of one of Kelson's friends. But yeah! Beo is now seven months old!

This has been the month of mobility. He learned to crawl and pull himself up on furniture. At first, he stayed in his play area and only crawled far enough to get to something he could stand at. Then, over the course of about a week, he realized that his boundaries are no longer limited! First he investigated the entire living room, and now he's branched out into the kitchen and bathroom.

Everyone told me to "watch out," that when he became mobile it would be a lot harder. Not true!!! Both Kelson and I are loving it, and Beowulf certainly is too! He's SO SO SO SOOOO much happier now! Not only that, but he no longer needs constant attention when he's awake. For instance, right now, I am sitting at the kitchen table typing this while he is playing happily behind me! Now that he can get around, when he gets bored with one thing... he just moves on to the next! I love it! The other day I actually COOKED A MEAL in the kitchen while he played.

We think one of the coolest things about this phase is that Beowulf can now show us what he likes to do. He crawls over to whatever he is interested in. And then sometimes he crawls over to one of us, to be held or snuggled-- but not too much!!!

He's also started flapping his arms, banging on his tray, when he wants to eat more. And he holds out his arms to things. He's also increasingly fascinated with the world. I think it's interesting that at first, when he was very little, nothing surprised him - because EVERYTHING was new. Now he's had time to get a sense of what the world is like and what is usual. So now he's noticing balloons at the supermarket, or a wind up car. He's also just started noticing animals, which I have been looking forward to!

Also this month, our "baby friends" came to visit! Aslynn and Ezri are both two months old now. I remember when Beo was that old, I loved him so much and I never wanted him to change! But now, I look at Aslynn and Ezri and think, wow, so cute, but I am so glad to be past that!

Beo did pretty good with all the people in our apartment. At first he got cranked out and seemed kind of overwhelmed by everyone, but by the end of the evening he had decided they were "okay" and came out of his shell.

Then... the big trip!!! This past weekend was our first overnight trip with Beowulf. We drove up north to Healdsburg to stay with my parents for the weekend so we could attend the wedding of Bavani and Charlie Kehoe. (Kelson went to high school with Bavani.) Driving up, we took it pretty slow, stopping about every two hours or so to let Beowulf out of his car seat.

Our last stop before Healdsburg was the Golden Gate Bridge, where the weather was, predictably, cold and windy. Beowulf LOVED it!

He wasn't as thrilled about the riding-in-the-car part. Poor guy, the only way he can sleep in his seat is with his head hanging forward on his chest. It's obviously uncomfortable for him and he kept waking up.

But we made it! Finally! And once we were there, Beowulf had a fantastic time exploring my parents house, checking out Kitty, and playing with all the people who came to visit him!
He also did really well when Kelson and I went to the wedding. We were gone until after his bedtime and he went down and everything! I was worried we'd come home to find him still up and screaming. :-)

The wedding was really sweet and we both enjoyed it a lot. Everyone kept making jokes about how unemotional the groom was, in general, but then when it came time to say his vows, he started crying!
Then... came the trip home. We made the mistake of taking off about an hour late, and then we stopped off in San Leandro to have lunch with Kelson's parents. About two hours later was when we discovered it's best to travel with Beowulf as early as possible, because he just gets crankier and crankier as time goes on.

He spent the last 5 hours of the ride screaming bloody murder, with occasional pauses when we pulled over at a rest stop or something. Then, of course, we ran into traffic. By the time we got home at 9, Beo was finally just passing out. Overall, we spent 11 hours in transit.

I'd say this is something I never want to do again... except that we're going to do it again next month for Matt's wedding! We'll be staying at Kelson's parents' house, so that will knock an hour or two off the overall trip. But... yeah. Yeesh. All I can do is hope that Beowulf will be slightly better at traveling at 8 months than at 7.

...Okay, so, he did manage to have a little fun on the road. (Yes, that is my son hanging from the back of the car seat.)

Some Cute

2010-07-15T10:31:00.000-07:00

Just some Beo bein' cute.

Oh, and his latest thing is wanting to be bathed standing up. :P

Traveling

2010-07-10T23:21:00.000-07:00

So... it's getting a little scary here at home. :-O Beowulf learns to crawl, and like two days later he's up and traveling all over the furniture.

Really, it's kind of freaky to watch how quickly he's getting this stuff. The past few days, it's almost been like he's in fast forward mode. One day he's kind of tottering as he pulls himself up... the next day he's confidently climbing up everywhere... the day after that, he's walking along the furniture.

Needless to say, today we did some cursory baby-proofing. Kelson put child safety hooks on the cupboard doors, and I put padding on the corners of our coffee table. Obviously we've still got more to go, but that should hold us for... a few days?

I'm kind of scared that he's going to start walking soon. He's totally obsessed with getting on his feet... really, he always has been. And I mean, normally I'd be thrilled with his progress, but this afternoon I started thinking... he really doesn't understand ANYTHING yet. Nothing. He doesn't even recognize his own name. And... do I really want a small creature who understands so very little... running around wherever he wants? Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!!!

And off he goes!

2010-07-07T22:05:00.000-07:00

Well, sorta. His technique could use a little work.

Independence Day

2010-07-06T15:46:00.000-07:00

This was an emotional weekend for me! I made the decision to stop breastfeeding. It was (and continues to be) really hard, but I've been debating this for a while and now that I've made the break I know it was the right thing to do.

Beo loved this poster so much he wanted to eat it. :P

Breastfeeding Beowulf has never been easy, although it has gotten better over the past couple of months. Basically, he's just too active to want to sit through a feeding unless he's halfway passed out. So if he's hungry while he's fully awake, he just screams. He also gets very upset about nursing and having teething pain at the same time. And I have never been able to feed him in public, because he's so squirmy and distracted he'd just pull off the covering and refuse to eat. I've tried to pump and use a bottle, or have other people do it, but he'll hold out until he can get me. Essentially, since he's been born I haven't been able to go anywhere or do anything for more than two or three hours at a time.

So. Yeah. Feeding has been the hardest thing for both of us. And yet, it's also one of the most enjoyable things. I love nursing him at night as he goes to sleep, snuggling with him and watching him nod off in my arms with milk dripping down his chin! No matter how the day went, or how frustrated I might be with him, that never fails to melt my heart.

But in the past week or two... even the bedtime nursing became a huge struggle. With teething pain and whatever else he'd just squirm and flop all over the place and refuse to latch on until he got really upset and exhausted.

My goal has always been to make it to six months. Back when the whole thing was a huge ordeal, that was how I got myself through it - just six months! The pediatrician told me that the major benefits for the baby are mostly in that time period as well, so if I could make it that far I'd be good. So, I did that plus a couple of weeks.

This is what happens when you rock a teething baby.

Still, it was really hard! I kept wondering if I was just wimping out or being selfish. Because let's face it, I really want my body back. I'm tired of huge saggy boobs, tired of being hot all the time, tired of the ten extra pounds my body insists on keeping, and really tired of wearing shapeless baggy clothes. But then Kelson pointed out, it's also important that Beo has a mom who is content and not stressed out!

So anyway, I made the choice. I went and got some formula, then started out mixing half formula and half my milk.

This is Beo's teething expression. Fish face!

The first day, Beowulf held out for... oh, maybe 6 hours? And then all hell broke loose. HE WANTED MOM!!! NO BOTTLE! NO FORMULA! And boy did he let us know! Kelson and I took turns just sitting in his room with him while he had a huge raging tantrum, rolling all over the place and wailing until his voice gave out. And then wailing some more. We started to wonder if we were doing the right thing. Maybe this was a big mistake!

Eventually, though, he wore himself out. I rocked him... and he instantly took the bottle and drank the whole thing. I put him down for his nap, came out, and looked at the clock. The whole screamfest had lasted only an hour! Man, it felt like forever, though. After that, he took the bottle, no problem.

And this is Beo's new expression. Arrrh! Sometimes he adds "evil eyebrows!"

I knew we had done the right thing on Sunday. Beowulf made it through the entire service in the nursery, no tears... and then in Bereans he took the bottle and went to sleep on my shoulder. All of this would have been unthinkable just days before. Until now, we've had to choose either the service OR Bereans, and even then we rarely made the whole time.

Now, he's happier, I'm happier, and it's so much easier to tell what he wants - whether he's tired or hungry or what. He's also doing much better with the teething because I got this bottle that has a hard inner core, which is satisfying for him to chew on.

Me, I'm still pretty uncomfortable as my breasts adjust to the change. I had no idea Beo was eating so much until I started measuring it out in a bottle! Anyway, my body is a little confused about why it's going from full production to zero in just a few days.

I feel like we've suddenly been liberated! Now we can go places, do things! Before, I was dreading the two trips we'll be making this summer... but now I'm looking forward to them!

And... I confess, I have continued nursing Beo during his 4 AM wakeup... he doesn't know the difference then. But my milk has gone down enough that I probably shouldn't if I want it to go away, so last night was the last time for that. SNIFF!!!

I'm losing that, but... since Beo's been taking the bottle, it's funny... he's actually become more snuggly. He never wanted to snuggle before, but now about half the time he actually wants to be held and snuggled while he eats, like he's nursing. He lays there and stares at my face. I totally thought he'd be grabbing the bottle from me (he did the first time, and held it himself), but he seems to want me to hold it for him. Does Momma mind? No, not at all. :)

Okay, Seriously

2010-07-01T10:46:00.000-07:00

Exactly WHAT about this picture says "GIRL?"

We were coming out of CVS this morning when an old man stopped to admire Beo. This is how the conversation went:

"Oh what store did you get this sweet one in? What a cutie she is! It's a girl, right?"

"Uh, no, it's a boy."

"Oh, sorry!"

"It's okay, everyone thinks he's a girl!"

"Well she's just so cute! Uh, I mean HE!"

Ay yi yi. Thank goodness we gave Beowulf a manly name.

Weekend With Grandma

2010-06-30T14:54:00.000-07:00

Grandma Caro was able to come down and visit this weekend - thank GOODNESS, because Kelson and I were a little tired of our teething monster. And Beowulf was thrilled to have Grandma entertain him as soon as he got up in the morning!

For Beo's six-month "birthday," I wanted to do something a little special, so on Saturday we went to Underwood Family Farms. This is a local farm where you can take your kids to see animals and pick your own fruits and veggies.

Since Beo's two favorite books have ducks in them, I thought he'd like to see the real thing. He didn't recognize them at all!

It's a fun place that would be great for field trips (they have little educational animal shows) but I was personally kind of disappointed. It's fairly expensive - not only do you have to pay admission, you then have to buy tickets for any of the little rides or activities - and you can't actually get up close and personal with the farm animals. Except for a little petting zoo, all of the animals are behind double fences. You can buy feed but you can only pour it into a pipe that leads to the opposite side of the double cage. When I was a kid, I remember going to the annual FFA Fair and being able just to walk down the rows of stalls of cows and pigs and sheep, and touch them if you wanted to. Oh well.

Anyway, I think Beo was a little young to appreciate the animals, especially since we couldn't get closer than three feet away. He was, however, quite fascinated by the myriad HUMAN animals to be seen. He charmed another mom sitting next to us, who told me "Ohhh, she's SO cute!" I can't understand why random people always think Beo is a girl. He totally looks like a boy to me, but even so, I dress him in blue, people!

See? Blue hat! I is a boy!

On Sunday morning we went to Valle Lindo park, which is where Beo and I go almost every afternoon. His new favorite thing is eating grass. He used to just feel it with his fingers and toes, but now he's discovered he can pull it out. He doesn't even LIKE having it in his mouth, it's just that everything in his hands goes in his mouth.

What? I'm not eating grass. I swears.

He looooves the swing, and of course just sitting on the picnic blanket under the trees.

Then we had to say good-bye to Grandma. See you soon!

Dirty boy hands!

On Monday, we went to the doctor for Beo's six-month checkup. He now "measures" 26 1/4 inches long. I am absolutely sure he is longer than that, but Beo doesn't like to lay down. So first he just held his head up in the air, and then when I pushed him down he scrunched his neck up tight. Anyway, he grew at least an inch! I thought he was looking longer. Oh, and he didn't want to lay on the scale, either, so the nurse finally let him sit on it. 20 lbs even! Of course that's minus the 4 days worth of poop he expelled about an hour beforehand. :P

Tuesday, we went out to lunch with Daddy. I had Beo in a cute new outfit so I brought the camera to take a couple of shots. He's in 9-12 month clothing now... I had been saving this outfit because I thought it looked way too big. But it's not. Ooops. I keep doing that.

I can't get over how much Beo looks like a little boy now! Where did my baby go? I just organized all the videos I have taken since he was born, and it's amazing how much he's grown. Kelson and I were talking last night about how we thought he was insanely cute when he was first born, but now he's so much cuter than that! How is that even possible? Little old ladies stop us in the grocery store to oooh and ahhh over how adorable he is. I told Kelson I'm getting to the point where I'm insulted when they don't. Like, excuse me?! You have just seen the cutest child in the universe. Don't you have something to say? :-)

And now, for the grandmas... some more videos. These aren't super exciting, but they're cute.

We tried Puffs for the first time this weekend. These are little rice snacks that just dissolve in your mouth. Watching Beo try to eat these for the first time was hilarious, because he doesn't have the fine motor coordination he needs! He's working hard on it, though, and getting better every day. Nevertheless, this always ends with him covered in sticky puffs.

This one's just my baby bein' cute. :)

This one's kinda long, but it's cute and you can see how very close he is to crawling.

Last but not least, it's tickle-me-Beo!

You Named Him WHAT?

2010-06-25T20:06:00.000-07:00

Even if you didn't say it, I know you were thinking it. :-)

Now that Beowulf is six months old, I suppose it's about time to explain ourselves.

First page of the Beowulf manuscript

You may think the idea originated with me, the English major, but actually Kelson was the one to suggest it - several years ago, back when having kids was just something we'd do "someday." For a moment I balked, but then I let it sink in and I said, "Yeah! If we have a boy, let's name him Beowulf."

Since this is me posting, I'll explain why I decided Beowulf was the perfect name for our son. (Kelson may have his own, totally different reasons.)

Obviously, I like the source material. Beowulf is an Old English heroic epic poem and is considered not only one of the finest pieces of English literature, but one of the very first pieces ever written in what was to become the English Language. It was written sometime between the 8th and 11th centuries - a good thousand years ago - and passed down to us through only ONE manuscript, which was rediscovered in the 16th century. So it's quite providential that it even exists at all!

So that's pretty cool, but doesn't really illustrate why we chose the name. In short, it's not just that we love the source material, but that we think it conveys exactly the values, expectations, and wisdom that we want to impart to our son.

Based on the story alone, that might seem kind of nutty. If you don't know the plot of Beowulf, here it is in a nutshell:

A Viking king builds a great hall, but cannot use it because it is attacked every night by Grendel, a demon-spawned monster. Across the sea, Beowulf, a minor Geat noble, hears of their problem and decides he's the man for the job. He defeats Grendel in hand-to-hand combat, tearing his arm off and sending him to his death. Everyone celebrates... until Grendel's mom shows up.

Beowulf and Grendel's mom have an even bigger fight, but Beowulf wins again. Everyone rejoices and Beowulf is sent home with many gifts. Time passes. Beowulf ends up king of his own land, where he rules for many years until some idiot steals a piece of treasure from a dragon's horde.

The dragon terrorizes the land. Beowulf knows he's old and probably not up to the fight, but he's the king, so he takes 12 men and goes to fight the dragon. All of his men but one, Wiglaf, run away. Beowulf deals the dragon a mortal blow, but receives a wound that will kill him. In his last moments he passes the torch, as it were, to Wiglaf. Then he dies and is given a great funeral. The end.

Okay, so Beowulf is a big strong heroic type - the "original superhero," as some have said. But it's not so much the story itself as HOW the story is told.

1. God is in Control
Many guess Beowulf was written by a priest, who was in turn writing down a much older story passed through oral tradition. The author states that although the characters lived before Christ was introduced to their people, God Almighty was still overseeing everything that happened. The author even has the characters give glory to God - assuming that if they did know God, they would acknowledge Him.

King Hrothgar, after Beowulf's triumph:

"First and foremost, let the Almighty Father

be thanked for this sight. I suffered a long

harrowing by Grendel. But the Heavenly Shepherd

can work His wonders always and everywhere.

Not long since, it seemed I would never

be granted the slightest solace or relief

from any of my burdens: the best of houses

glittered and reeked and ran with blood.

[More stuff] ...But now a man,

with the Lord's assistance, has accomplished something

none of us could manage before now

for all our efforts. Whoever she was

who brought forth this flower of manhood,

if she is still alive, that woman can say

that in her labour the Lord of Ages

bestowed a grace on her. So now, Beowulf,

I adopt you in my heart as a dear son."

2. Honor, Honesty and Respect - Not Pride

Beowulf, the hero, is straightforward and honest about his abilities. He is not falsely humble. He doesn't allow others to put him down - and he doesn't put others down, either. When Beowulf arrives, a man named Unferth scoffs at him and says something to the effect of, "Excuse me, you think you can kill our monster when the rest of us couldn't? What about that swimming race you lost?" Beowulf rebukes him - yes, technically he lost the race, but it was because he was busy killing sea monsters! And yes, he will kill Grendel. But after he does, Beowulf does not mock Unferth or shame him. Likewise, he honors the king of the hall and pays him every respect, even when he's the one saving the guy's butt.

3. Excellence and Loyalty, Not Ambition

Although Beowulf is a hero, he's not a king or directly in line for a throne. He could easily have made himself king, but he does not. There is much discussion about others who did so in the past, and the various blood feuds that broke out as a result. Instead, Beowulf serves as a loyal retainer. In time, kingship does come to him, but he doesn't seek the position out for its own sake. He respects the authority placed over him, and the will of God in appointing rulers. Beowulf conducts himself like a king whether the title falls to him or not.

"I have never heard

so young a man make truer observations.

You are strong in body and mature in mind,

impressive in speech. If it should come to pass

that Hrethel's descendant dies beneath a spear,

if deadly battle or the sword blade or disease

fells the prince who guards your people

and you are still alive, then I firmly believe

the seafaring Geats won't find a man

worthier of acclaim as their king and defender

than you, if only you would undertake

the lordship of your homeland."

4. Bravery

This one's pretty obvious. Beowulf's basically the bravest guy around. He never flinches in the face of evil, even when he knows it will mean his own death.

I could probably name a bunch of other things but I'll stop there. In short, we wanted our son's name to be a reminder of what a man ought to be. A goal for him to aim for. We hope that when he gets older, he will first be drawn to the story, because it's pretty darn cool, and then strive to be like his namesake not just in action but in heart.

Six Months Old!!!

2010-06-24T10:47:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it, my baby is half a year old!

Look! Dimples! And I smile now!

This has been the month of TEETHING. I had no idea teething got this bad. We've had many nights where he couldn't fall asleep at all unless he had tylenol, and then he'd wake up as soon as it wore off and I'd have to give him some more. He spent quite a few nights in the swing. I try not to give him tylenol during the day, which means we've also had many days where he was just cranked out and wouldn't nap. (Yesterday, for instance, he napped a total of 1 hour and 45 minutes. Maybe.) Sometimes he breaks down and starts sobbing uncontrollably, and I'll give him tylenol then. Of course he's biting everything he can.

And yet still - no teeth! I think they'll be here soon. You can see and feel little while bumps under his gums, and now his gums are SO hard! (As I know firsthand... Mom's fingers are the best teethers.)

The whole thing seems to go in waves... he has four or five days of complete misery and then he's fine for two or three. We did have three or four blessed nights this month when he slept all the way from 9 PM to 7 AM, so once his teeth start popping through I'm kind of hoping for more of those!

Blarg! I'm the green pea monster! (And yes, my eyebrows are green.)

Actually, sleep is getting a lot better in general. About a week ago, I started doing a longer bedtime routine. Feed him till he drifts off, then wake him a bit for a story (Goodnight Moon - he laughs at every single line, I have no idea why), feed him some more, turn on his night light, and then put him to bed. This works like a charm! He seems to be okay even if he's not passed out when I put him down. I guess it just lets him know it's bedtime and he should tank up on all the food he needs for the night. (I actually tried doing a "routine" when he was younger but he just didn't get it. I think he's old enough to understand now.)

Cream of wheat plus blueberries. Mmm!

I thought for sure this would be the post where I reported Beo was crawling all around. Well, not yet! He's getting much better at getting himself into a sitting position, so he has been practicing that. He also gets up on his hands and knees, lunges forward, gets on his hands and knees, lunges forward, etc... but I don't consider that crawling! So he can get around pretty good, but can't usually make it exactly where he wants to go. For instance, he'll be facing one way on his tummy, but if he sits up, he's now facing the opposite direction. This is pretty frustrating for him so there's been a lot of whining and crying lately! Oh, who am I kidding? There's always a lot of whining and crying!

In the past couple of days, he has started to pull himself up on things. He's been able to stand and hold himself up for a long time - if you get him there. But now he's doing it on his own. This has resulted in a couple of face-bonks, but nothing too serious yet! And, as usual, he's no longer satisfied by being able to reach anything he wants by rolling and sitting. Nope, now he's frustrated that he can't get up and walk. This morning I had him on my lap... he scooted forward until his feet were on the ground and just stood up. Without holding on to anything. Of course he has no balance, so he pitched forward immediately. But yeah, he thinks he can walk.

Pure, unadulterated blueberries! I'm intoxicated!

Beowulf's also got some definite favorites now.

Favorite place: The Park! We started putting him in the baby swing this month and he loves it. We go to the park almost every single day, usually in the late afternoon when he's crankiest. He plays on the blanket in the grass for a while and then we go on the swings until he gets tired and we head home.

Favorite book: The duck book! He LOVES this little board book shaped like a duck - just opening it produces a smile.

Favorite food: Corn and sweet potatoes. MMMMMMMM!!!!!!!! We've started trying a couple of fruits and so far the big hit there is the blueberries we picked at the Gerry's farm. He's not so keen on bananas. Apples I sort of screwed up so we'll be trying those again.

Favorite toy: We've finally gotten off the purple-wheel obsession. Now his favorite toy is a wind-up chick that plays "It's a Small World." It has little wings that go up and down and eyes that look back and forth as the music goes. This was actually Kelson's toy when he was little!

Favorite show: Nothing, at the moment. We don't watch TV at all during the day and only if he's really cranky at night, so he's kind of indifferent. Which is probably a good thing. We did watch Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs over a couple of nights - that entertained him, but it was less the movie and more because Mommy and Daddy were laughing.

Favorite person: Daddy! Beowulf realized this month that the strange dude who appears on nights and weekends is actually the coolest guy ever. He loves to watch Kelson, no matter what he's doing! Daddy gives Beo his bath, so that is their special time together. Beo is learning how to splash! Daddy is also awesome because he always does stuff like this:

Happy half-birthday, Beowulf!