A Real Post

Sorry about the test post earlier.  I was giving a blog lesson to a friend this afternoon and posted that as an example to her.  I meant to delete it, but got distracted chatting about very important things (I'm sure -- I don't remember what now).  Now that it has comments attached to it, I guess it stays.  Anyway, here's some new pics . . .

Daddy giving Walt his first juggling lesson . . . looks like he's doing pretty well!

"What do you want, Mommy?  Can't you see I'm reading?"

A very happy baby after enjoying his new favorite meal . . . lasagna (in jar form)!

"Golly, Mommy . . . you sure are tall."

And here's a short clip of Walt "eating" a piece of cracker.  He still refuses to put anything in his own mouth, so when the piece of cracker I fed him popped out and stuck to his lip, he just kept on chewing . . .

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Stay tuned this weekend for pictures of Walt with Gram!

Test

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Daddy-o

I have no idea what this face is all about, but I think it's funny, so there you go.  And another picture with Daddy . . .

(Wardrobe credit:  Nana and Putty)

When Walt looks back at this blog later in his life, he's going to wonder if Mommy was ever around because she's certainly not ever in the pictures.  To which I will say, "Who do you think took the pictures, Sweetie?"  Ah, the plight of the mommy.

Walt got to join us for lunch in the living room today because football was on and neither of us could bear to spend fifteen minutes in the kitchen dishing up the chicken and green beans.  He was in quite a goofy mood during lunch, doing much sputtering and head bobbing . . . hence the green beans (almost) in the eye:

After that he took a lovely two-hour nap, during which the rest of us (Evie's always napping) also got to sleep.  It was nice and rainy outside which always makes for a nice Sunday afternoon nap.  Plus, after a two-hour nap, a baby is in a very good mood and is fun to play with.  Very nice.

Cheerios

Guess what Walt has in his hand?  Guess what Walt didn't put in his mouth?  You got it . . . a Cheerio.  He ate the one that I put in his mouth, but decided to just hang onto the one he picked up himself.  You know, in case he got hungry later.  But apparently he ate enough at dinner because . . .

Poor abandoned little Cheerio. 

However, someone in the house sure wasn't going to let a perfectly good Cheerio hang around on the floor for long . . .

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Laid Back

Our little fishy made his last visit to the lake this weekend.  As you can see, he's getting the hang of it.  He had a blast, as usual.  He continues to take to the water very naturally.  He kicked and splashed Mommy the whole time.  He wasn't allowed on the jet-ski, though, like his older

buddy Will.  Seen here with his daddy, David.  (Check out their hair.)

All of this fun in spite of the fact that our poor little boy has a case of pink eye.  Luckily, one of our friends at the lake with us is an eye specialist.  He diagnosed it quickly and told us not to worry just wash our hands a lot so we don't get it.  So far so good. 

Here's one last lake picture.  Hat courtesy of Nana and Putty.

Who Me?

"What's that you say?  I'm eight months old now?  Surely you jest!  I feel like such a spring chicken!"

(Josh and I do have lots of fun talking for Walt.  He really has quite the sense of humor -- it's much like ours.  Strange . . .)

So, the kiddo is eight months old today and his official eight-month picture is now in the birthday album.  It's pretty sweet.  As you can see from the picture above, Walt is now a little more tolerant of spending time on his tummy and has even started sleeping that way pretty regularly.  He rolled from his back to his front for the first time this month.  He did it while he was in his crib supposedly going to sleep for the night.  I think it must have scared him because he screamed bloody murder and we had to go rescue him.  Since then, though, he usually manages quite well on his own.

Still nothing to report on the crawling front.  Sometimes he looks like he might want to crawl in order to retrieve a toy that is beyond his reach, but usually he just decides to settle for something a little closer.  (We're hoping this is not a pattern he will follow throughout life.)  If Mommy has been so cruel as to move all the toys out of reach, Walt will usually just wait for Evie to come by and will reach out and grab a fistful of her skin.  She has been amazingly tolerant . . . so far.  She still seems more than a little irritated by him, though.  The Cheerios are coming soon, Evie, I promise!

One quirk he has picked up this month is the tendency to grab stuff (his brush, my grocery list, etc.) and hold on for dear life.  It's not unusual for him to hold on to something without ever putting it down for a couple of hours.  And heaven help you if you try to take it away from him -- oh, the shrieking!  I was dropping him off at the church nursery this week and he managed to grab the little "claim check" you're supposed to keep so that they know the baby you're picking up later is actually yours.  I thought briefly about trying to take it away from him in order to preserve their security system.  However, since they do know me (and that I'm Walt's mom), I decided to let him keep it and maintain his good reputation in the nursery.  (They did give him back.)

So, all in all, we're just trucking right along over here in babyland.  I don't think either Josh or I could have ever imagined how wonderful being Walt's parents would be.  When he smiles at us, or gives us one of his famous Walty kisses,  we just can't fathom being any happier. 

Listen Up, Mommy

"I'm tired of you taking all of these pictures of me.  I know I'm cute, but I'm trying to keep a low profile.  I'm serious.  Don't make me call my trained attack dog . . .

She's vicious.  See . . ."

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Leftovers

We've been slacker parents the past few days and haven't taken any new pictures; however, we hate to disappoint Walt's fans, so here are some pictures leftover from last weekend at Nana and Putty's house.  The first is post-swim and the second is pre-bedtime.  And speaking of swimming, Walt got another chance on Saturday night to go swimming in some friends' pool.  The water was quite chilly and he was shivering by the time we got him out, but he was still smiling from ear to ear!  Another trip to the lake is scheduled for this weekend, so that will probably be the last swim of the year.  Walt has requested that we put in a heated pool in the backyard for his use during the winter.  We told him that we'll see and he seemed satisfied.  (He doesn't know yet that that actually means no.  He'll learn.)

Cute Things

No, it didn't just happen.  It took him all night to get it like that.  Right, Grandaddy?

He's got the shoes, but he doesn't have the calves of a runner . . . or the knuckles . . . or the stomach . . . or the . . . well, you get the picture.  He's got the shoes.  Thanks to Chris and Kate Lareau.

This movie is just plain cute.  Make sure you turn up the volume, so you can hear  his head hit the mirror.

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Home Again

Apparently the three-hour trip home from Nashville was a bit confining for Walt because once he finally got out of the carseat, he was in rare form.  Most of his dinner ended up on his face, the bib, the highchair, and Mommy because he couldn't stop wiggling and talking and blowing raspberries long enough to eat.  So Daddy took him into the living room to work off some energy before bedtime . . .

And, yes, Gram -- that is the same paper cup he's been playing with for two weeks.   And don't you even think about trying to take it away from him!  He will have none of it.  Surprisingly, despite his vast stores of energy, Walt went to bed without protest and I'm sure is now dreaming of paper cups and Gatorade tops.  Oh, to be a kid again.

Labor Day Fun

Walt has had a big Labor Day weekend at Nana and Putty's -- even if he does wonder sometimes about who all these crazy people are (enlarge picture for message on his onesie).   On Saturday he got to go to Cousin Drew's football game and then to lunch with Uncle Brian, Aunt Wendy, Mitchell, Nina and Drew (and Nana and Putty, of course).  He held court in his highchair at the end of the table, keeping everyone entertained with his charming smiles and babbles.  Today, we went to see Great-Granny and visited with her on the porch.  It's much cooler here than in Memphis.  (Check out Mommy's new 'do!) 

Then when we got home (after a short nap), we all went down to the pool and went swimming -- Walty's favorite!  (Although we're not sure who really had more fun.)

Finally, it was time for a bath in the sink.  Yes, we know we should move him to the real bathtub,  but he just loves the sprayer soooo much!

It's been a fun weekend!

Oh, and Evie has finally discovered that Walt just might be useful to have around after all:

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