Don't Call It a Comeback

We finally tracked down Samuel L. Jackson at a Laker game yesterday just so we could get that picture that we missed last week.  And wouldn't you  know it, he was hangin' with LL Cool J.  What a great pic, eh?  What's that you say?  The NBA is not playing games right now?  Wait a minute . . .

OK.  You caught us.  Actually, you caught our friend Dan Lareau.  He has a fancier computer than ours.  It has a funny picture on it of an apple with a bite out of it.  Apparently, it can teleport people to sporting events that they never attended.  We've got to get one of those.

Thanks, Dan.

Welcome to My Circular Lair!

What?  I'm sorry . . . I didn't hear you.  I was busy controlling the world from my cockpit of doom!  Mommy and Daddy think I'm sleeping, now, but really I'm posting to this blog from my cockpit.  He, he, he.  They'll never catch on . . .

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Man in the Highchair

"Hey, who's that kid?!"

"Of course I knew it was just my reflection.  No, really."

Horseshoes and Hand Grenades

Okay, so I know that close only counts in the two activities referenced in the title, but I still have to tell you about how we were soooo close to getting Walt's first picture with a celebrity.  (You'll recall that Walt was not actually present at the Richard Simmons sighting earlier this year.)  Had I not been so shortsighted as to take my camera out of my purse before heading downtown to meet Josh for lunch at Gus' World Famous Fried Chicken, we could have had a photo of Walt with Academy Award-nominated actor Samuel L. Jackson!  Doh!  He's in town for pre-production (that's movie talk for those of you who don't live in big, glamorous cities like Memphis) on Black Snake Moan, which is set to start filming here next year.  And we decided that we totally would have gone to his table to ask him to take a picture (we're very brave in hypothetical situations).  But really, who's going to turn down the opportunity to have a picture taken with such a cute kid?  However, since I was so dumb as to leave my camera at home (NEVER AGAIN!), you'll just have to use your imagination . . . .

(Just pretend he's sitting on Mr. Jackson's lap.  And that we always take our bedspread to restaurants with us.)

Playthings

Only the fanciest, and most expensive toys will do for our little darling . . .

Yes, a paper cup and a piece of ribbon have become the toys of choice over the past few days.  I think the washcloth was just a passing fancy.

Sometimes this kid is just plain goofy . . . .

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Smorgasbord

We've got several cute pictures, none of which are related to each other, hence the title.  First up, Walt's shiner . . .

Actually, not so much a shiner as a sunburn.  Mommy missed a spot with the sunscreen at the lake on Saturday.  Please don't call DCS on me.  It really doesn't seem to bother him.

Nana and Putty came Sunday afternoon for a quick overnight Walty fix and brought new duds, of course. 

   

Walt helps Daddy get ready for his fantasy football draft.  Unfortunately, the actual draft happened after bedtime, so we'll have to catch him up on the roster in the morning.

And this one's just cute . . .

We're Sailing!

Thanks to Landon and Beth (you may remember the picture of Walt and Beth at her wedding a few months ago), we got to take a trip to the lake today.  We packed up and went to north-central Arkansas for the night, and then shoved off Saturday morning for a day of sun and fun.

Walty and I are talking over our plans for the day on the way out to Party Cove.  Walty wants to stay on deck and check out the "ladies."  Daddy wants to jump in the water and play. 

The only "ladies" we could find were Mommy and Beth, and that was just fine with us.  Party Cove was happenin'.

After splashing around, Walty practiced his slip knot so he could help dock the ship later.

"They just don't design these things for short guys.  Daddy, can you see anything off the starboard bow?"

It was a rough day at Party Cove.  Time for the First Mate to take a nap.

And finally, a quick movie of Walt splashing around . . . off the starboard bow.

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Mr. Perfect

Anybody want to dispute that?  Nah, I didn't think so.

(I know we've already posted a picture of him in his "Perfect" onesie, but I love it so much we had to have a photo shoot -- check out the album at left.)

Wardrobe credit:  Chris and Kate Lareau

Seven Months!

Okay, all you Walt fans out there -- the official seven-month picture is finally posted in the Birthday Album -- knock yourselves out!  Also, there's a new album with a few more pictures from Murray this weekend.

Since this blog is pretty much serving as Walt's baby book (the cute one is still sitting in its box in the closet with only the family tree filled in), I've decided I'd better start recording his monthly developments here.  Sorry if it's boring, but I'm sure the curators of his presidential library will appreciate my efforts.  So . . .

Walt is really starting to develop his own little personality.  He is very calm and laid back -- quite content to sit and play with his toys (especially his favorite Winnie the Pooh rattle) and watch Evie.  Nothing is better than watching Evie.  All of his teachers at Mother's Day Out and the church nursery always comment on what an easy baby he is.  And I have to agree.  Until he starts getting sleepy, he never really fusses. 

He started babbling with consonants this month -- bababa, gagaga, and (Josh's favorite) dadada.  He still refuses to roll from his back to his front, or spend more than ten seconds on his tummy unless he's staring at himself in the mirror at daycare.  So, I'm guessing he may be a little bit on the late side in terms of crawling, but after watching Collier this weekend, I think I'm glad about that!

Walt started eating some solid foods shortly before his six month birthday, but since then, he has added lots of new foods to his menu, which currently includes, rice cereal, peas, sweet potatoes, green beans, squash, apples, pears, bananas, prunes, chicken and as of today, turkey.  (Also, a grape popsicle one time when Mommy wasn't looking.)  He seems to like pretty much everything but the green beans.  Not a big fan of those.

As for sleep, this was the month we did the dreaded "cry it out".  Walt has been sleeping through the night since he was about ten weeks old, but I'd always nursed him to sleep and then gingerly put him down, praying he wouldn't wake up in the process.  Usually, this resulted in him waking up 30 minutes to an hour later and being unable to put himself back to sleep.  Thus, more rocking, nursing, etc.  We finally decided to bite the bullet and start putting him down awake, right after his bath.  The first night he cried about forty minutes (which was awful), the second about fifteen, and the third about two.  Since then, he usually turns over on his side and starts babbling himself to sleep before we even get out of the room.  I say "usually" because we still have some nights where he cries for 5-15 minutes, but as Josh commented the other night (about him going to sleep), "He knows how to do it better than we do."  I thought that was a very good way to put it.  And we're even getting there with naps.  Whereas Walt had been just a catnapper, taking daytime snoozes of no more than 30 minutes, since we started putting him down awake and letting him put himself to sleep instead of rocking him, he's napping for an hour or more most of the time.  This afternoon, I had to wake him up from a two hour nap at 5:00.  Must have been the tryptophan in his turkey at lunch.

So, that's our Walty in a nutshell.  I mean, he's not actually in a nutshell.  That would be a very big nutshell.  Yeah.

Caution: Cute Babies

This picture is just too cute to sit on a memory card for very long.  Aunt Mimi took it in Gram and Grandaddy's living room just a few minutes ago.  We'll post plenty more of the two cutest babies in Calloway County this weekend.  Check back soon.

Wet Kisses

Okay, so maybe it's less of a "kiss" and more a sign of hunger when Walt attaches his open mouth to your nose, arm, knee . . . whatever.  But it's still quite endearing, if a bit wet.

Daddy channeled his inner hairstylist during bathtime tonight . . .

Sally Spider Is So Busy

All her spinning makes her dizzy! 

Thanks for the book, Gram -- it's a favorite!  And the Sally Spider page is the best because you can play with Sally's legs.  Much fun indeed.

Daddy's Home!

It's the best time of day for all of us (Evie included).

Walty health update:  the ear infection is cured.  And he now weighs 17 lbs. 9 oz.  That's 17 lbs. and 9 oz. of perfectly wonderful baby.

Good Times with the Hairdryer

Sometimes Walt gets to keep me company in the bathroom while I get ready in the morning.  While it's fun to play with the toys on the rocker (especially the singing, purple monkey), it's MOST fun when Mommy turns on her hairdryer . . .

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(Of couse, after we've finished playing with the hairdryer, we have to make sure to fix his swirl!)

Up, Up and Away!

Walt has discovered the joy that is helium (with close supervision, of course).  I got this balloon two weeks ago for my birthday and it's still hanging in there . . .  generally hovering a few inches off of the ground and freaking Evie out.  But Walt loves it -- he jerks it up and down, smiling all the while.

Dread Disease

Well, not really, but Walt has contracted his first ear infection.  Have no fear; he's recovering  nicely as you can see from this picture.  The doctor said it was a minor infection, and it really didn't slow Walt down this past weekend.  He was in great spirits all afternoon Friday and all day Saturday in contrast to Friday morning when he just wasn't being very Walty.  He cried for most of the morning and was very lethargic during his and Ginger's lunch with friends.  Luckily, Ginger got him in to see the doctor that afternoon, and he got some medicine.  He's much better now.  Here's proof: