our little GLOWWORM

Here is Blue and our friend Corie getting a little snuggle down in Wimberley this weekend.



We decided to let Blue lead the way in terms of swaddle weaning. Various things I have read seem to indicate that babies will start to tell you when they are ready to be free, either through "verbal communication" or physically breaking out. Here you can see Blue has his hands poking out which is a more and more common occurrence. More often than not though he breaks them free at the top so he can suck on his fingers.

go team BLUCY

Blue is much more aware of the world around him these days and chief among those receiving extra attention is Lucy. He will smile and track her around the room with his gaze. And if she comes within reach he will reach out and give her a pat. For Lucy's part, I think she mostly enjoys the soft blankets that we lay down on the floor but seems to be a good sport about all the eye poking and fur pulling.




Looking over these pictures though I might have to reassess Lucy's mood. She looks alternatively desperate or ticked off. But hey, no one is forcing her to get close!

rolls times THREE

He did it. He rolled over. Three times now. The first time I was two seconds away from capturing it on video. But I got the second one. The third one only Graham witnessed but he says it was better than the first two... I kinda thought he would roll from back to front first since he spends so much more time on his back during the day and he has gotten pretty good at somehow wiggling across the floor. But I guess his dislike towards tummy time is a strong motivator. Here is roll number two:

Apologies for the annoying background cheering. I always try and sound cool while filming but it never seems to turn out that way.

rolling is HARD

This video is a little long but stick with it and you will see smiles at the end. Blue is sooo close to rolling over on his own. And he works sooo hard at it. It wears him out and he usually breaks down into unhappiness at the end. Its hard to know when to step in and help - I want to give him the full opportunity to do it on his own. I read this quote on another blog and thought it was a good principle.

“Never help a child with a task at which he feels he can succeed.”

Poor guy, each round his body moves closer and closer towards the ground.

a video FLASHBACK

This is what we used to go through every three hours to get Blue to wake up and eat! It is funny how much he has changed since those early days but also how much has stayed the same. We never have to work too hard to wake him up anymore but he still rubs his face like that when he is tired.

a little CUTENESS

Blue is at such a fun stage right now. He will giggle when you make funny noises or fly him through the air. And he is getting much more interested in playing with toys. He still tries to eat them but he can also transfer them from one hand to another. I don't think he is too far away from mastering the roll but I wouldn't be surprised if he went from his back to his front before he goes the other way around. And still as sweet as ever.

blue's valentines LOOT

My dad is pretty talented with a pen and brush. He decorated the bag to match the Valentine's card my parents got for Blue. And then he did the watercolor based on a picture you should find familiar. Pretty special, huh! I like those personalized gifts.

happy VALENTINES day

What a gentleman...

babies fly FREE

I am on a mission to get JetBlue to sponsor Blue. Wouldn't he make a great mascot!?! They could give him free flights for life and in exchange we could write up little stories about his travels. So I made this little photo collage so they could see just how cute and versatile he is...

the boy GENIUS

You decide, carefully staged timing or true boy genius?

TOO much snow

Here is some video of our trip to the airport in Boston. They have lost a whole lane in some areas to the snow. There is just no place left to put it.

our GRACIOUS hosts

Our good friends Sunru and Anne let us crash at their place for a couple days despite our sickly constitutions. I just hope the memory of our trip isn't a stuffy nose and rumbling cough. They had a little boy, Eliot, in mid-August and he is soooo cute. I was so sad we didn't get a chance to hold him or let the boys play together as we were trying to keep the germs contained. We are hoping they will visit us in Austin sometime soon and maybe by then the boys can run around together down in Wimberley.

watching the GAME

Here is Blue in some cozy clothes, chillin' on the couch, watching the Super Bowl.

Graham often pokes fun at me for always taking pictures of Blue from the same angle. I'm sure you know the one. From just slightly above it forces him to look up at me and his sweet chin rolls instantly disappear and his eyes get wide. Maybe I am just a little extra sensitive to chin rolls so in an effort not to give him a complex here they are in all their glory.

boy meets GIRL

This trip could easily have been titled the parade of babies. The first one we got to meet was little Isla from Amesbury.

Her mom and Graham were co-workers up in Boston and have kept in touch. These two were soooo cute together. We put them down on the ground next to each other and they instantly held hands! Isla is a little over a month older than Blue and, though it shows in her development, Blue is definitely leading the charge in terms of pounds! It's too bad this family lives so far away because I think these two would really enjoy playing with each other over the years.

the OLD haunt

Good 'ole Boston, Mass.


Apparently hand in mouth is more exciting.

going under GROUND

Gotta have the subway shot.

navigating the STREETS

This was Blue's view of NYC. I carried him around in the Bjorn for two days before Graham finished up with his work activities and my body was seriously aching by the end of it. I was more than happy to relinquish responsibility. Plus it left me free to snap photos. For three days, this is where Blue took his afternoon nap.

visiting the STUDIO

For all of my family who already saw Uncle Joe's version of events, here is a view from the other side of the lens...

oh so SILLY

During our entire trip, the one and only time Graham asked me to take a picture was to capture this moment...

I know what you're thinking. It sure was lucky we had the camera handy.

INSPIRED by cameras

I'd been trying to take Blue's picture in various locals but with him strapped to my chest it was just plain impossible. Until I encountered the giant mirror next to the changing area at the Met.

Woo hoo!!! I have always loved mirrors and cameras.

at the MET

I had planned on flying into NYC on the 2nd but there was bad weather in the forecast and Jetblue let me bump my flight up to the 31st. I had about 45 minutes to pack and get out the door once I made the decision to switch flights. A HUGE thanks goes out to my mom without whom we just would not have made it. The bonus was that Blue and I got to spend a couple extra days in the city. The weather never really hit as bad as they had predicted but Wednesday was still a little wet and dreary so I headed to the Met thinking there was plenty to see there to keep me occupied for the day. Specifically I was interested in the Stieglitz, Steichen, Strand exhibit but on the way this drawing by Seurat caught our eye.

Blue seriously chatted with the drawing for a couple minutes. It was definitely the highlight of his Met trip. I told him he had good taste...

only in NYC

I guess this has been a pretty brutal winter for the Northeast. Snowstorms every weekend and the like. Pretty much takes the fun out of playing at the park. So this local gallery converted their space into an indoor park complete with a bird chirping soundtrack.

It was actually the perfect resting spot for Blue and me during our traipse around Manhattan. I got to feed him and let him wiggle around for a bit before carrying him back across the water to Brooklyn.



They had those durable Fatboy beanbags which I have been eye-ing for Lucy as an alternative if the leather bed idea falls through.

...

Here is Blue, about to venture forth into the great unknown:

what a DIFFERENCE

I never really appreciated the power of good lighting in a photograph until I met Graham's sister. It made sense. Architects always talked a lot about light as well. And yet I still occassionally undervalue its importance. That is until I get images like these and I compare them to the orange, blurry mess that I often end up with and it rushes back into the front of my mind. I need some general lighting pointers I think.




Here I was definitely lucky. Just happened to be sitting in this spot for lunch. Of course the subjects don't hurt. This is my friend Evangeline. We met in Boston but she lives in NYC now. So cute, the two of them.

patience is REWARDED

We're home!

I didn't bring along the cord that lets me upload my pictures to the computer so I am just now viewing and editing our pictures from our trip up north. So stay tuned. There are a lot of posts headed your way...