HAPPY BIRTHDAY G Man!

G One Year Ago.

And here are some pics from His Birthday Party. The neighbors came, and other special friends drove from around town and the birthday buddies got to be together on their birthdays, yea! (Carrot Cake of course!)

Chandi with Chloe and Amanda with GMan

The Great Chaos

We went to Charelston this last weekend. Here you can see the Baby Factory that we are hard at work. So wonderful to see little ones getting along so far. For his birthday Grady got a really cool vegetable cutting toy... you can see it in some of the pics (Thank You).
Here are all the guys, left to right Nate with Ami, Mark with Grady, Taran next to Eric with Tyler.
Ami is six months old, Grady is nearly 12 months old and Taran is nearly five years old and Tyler is one month old.

Grover

The Monster at the End of This Book

Walking Practice

G threw his shoes at me playfully and then sat down in front of me a wiggled his foot... so I put his shoes on him. Then he went running about in them, practicing I guess :-)

Blackberries

I really shouldn't put off any longer telling you all how much G-Man LOVES the wild blackberries growing in our yard. At first he looked at me like I was crazy when I picked them and ate them, offered them to him and told him they were food. Then after about a week of that (this is over a month ago) he reached for one in my hand and popped it in his mouth! He has been insatiable ever since. I pick berries regularly and store them in the freezer to make jam some day soon, but this little guy won't let them stay in the bucket. No Kidding, he grunts and moans when they are really juicy and can't get enough. He's ever started putting more than one in his mouth at a time. And THIS is really where we are with solid food introduction. His diet it maybe 10% blackberries, 10% cheerios and 80% breast milk. It's been just wild. He does eat other things and now that the berries are running out he is trying other fruits more like blueberries, mangos, and cherries. He Also really likes the cucumbers from the garden and goat cheese.

Now what is really funny is I have found some Elderberry in our backyard and I've decided to pick and save those up for jam too. G reached for one of the umbels of berries and then - this is really cute - tipped his head back and tried to eat them right off it. It was very much like a Roman with a bunch of grapes to me. He likes elderberries too now!

Awww...

Emerald Isle

My new favorite picture of GMan... we are fast approaching his eleventh month mark! We had a lot of fun on the beach and at GrandMa/ Great GrandMa Judy's front porch. GMan is not a big fan of the Ocean yet but after watching some older kids play he wanted to try walking with us in the surf. A suprise wave kinda ended that abruptly. Sorry we just don't have any Baby on the Beach pictures for you yet. He's probably been 4 times and each time we forget the camera :-(

Somebody's in Trouble

Great GrandMa Judy's placemats drawer...

Heather hanging out with Grady

Mama and I picked food from the garden, and I like to try it out right away. Cucumbers are pretty yummy.

HAPPY Fourth Of July

GMan does not like fireworks. Even the ones on TV were a little overwhelming. Luckily Mark was there to be daddy and protect him from some of it. The neighbors shot off fireworks till 11 pm so it was a long stressful evening.

Table Find

Handsom boy, and a great little table we found at the Goodwill for $5!

Some of the First Steps

GMan has started walking.

Yesterday looked to be the day, but due to unforseen visit to the ER for Mark GMan had to spend the majority of the day being held and kept off the floor (yucky hospital floor!). A few hours after we came home (with Mark who is sick with unknown stuff, gotta love Dr.s for trying) Grady just started walking around the room, turning directions, recovering from stumbles and everything.
"Look Out" world here he comes!

Hey all thanks again for checking out my blog, clicking on the adds and earning me a few pennies. Please check out my links in your spare time, there are new articles and web sites added from time to time. The list just gets longer and longer. Thanks to Mark for the latest addition.

Fathers Day

Happy Fathers Day!
A dip in the neighbors pool. Cute little splash pool about 2 inches deep.

"Toys"

New favorite "toy", CDs DVDs and the tricky plastic cases they come in.

Really Cool Backyard Fort!

I've gotta have it

Some older pics, GMan with cookie mashed all up in his face. You should have seen the car seat.
Here is an old pic of our side car crib sleeping arrangement. The guys, were sleeping so well I had to snatch a shot. I'm usually in the middle.

Blocks!

G's personality continues to grow. He has been giving me lots and lots of kisses and hugs lately just for the heck of it. He is taking more and more steps, up to five in a row, and enjoyed showing off to his playmate C-Moon yesterday, who he also lathered up with kisses - maybe a few bites ;-)

He found a CD loose under our bed and after fishing it out I popped it in the stereo... would you believe it he likes The Cheiftans. Last week the French cafe music made him cry out and wrinkle his forehead, today the celtic stuff made him giggle.
Does it come with the name and the hair? Did mommy listen to it when she was prego? I honestly can't remember.

With a few n-used matchbox cars G has been crawling all over the house, especially with the "Porsche 9 11" as I think Mark calls it. He even seems to be attempting the engine sounds we make by doing the old "brrrr" with his lips. Very cute.

Also he has a peg and hole toy he is getting quite good at. Out of the blue he plopped the heart shaped peg into the heart shaped hole, and the the circular one too. Here is a picture of him working on the square peg.

And lastly he appears to be understanding laundry and trying to "help" by moving clothes from here to there. Also I've decided it's time for the "One Finger" touching rule... I'll let you all know how that goes (did I mention he has broken a bowl and a plate that were on the floor for the dogs, by picking them up and slamming them down :-0 ).

FIRST STEPS

News bulletin. On Sunday, May 27th, while attending a birthday party for a neighborhood girl who just turned one, Grady Gabriel took his first steps. While mommy talked and talked GMan managed the five foot gap between the couch, where mommy sat, and the coffee table by standing on his feet and taking tentative, and successful steps.

This leap in the life of Mr. GMan has yet to be repeated. When we attempted to contact him for an interview last night we were told he went to bed early. We attempted to contact him this morning before going to print, but we were told he was still sleeping. Perhaps Mr. GMan is having a growth spurt and mastering these things in his sleep.

Those we were able to contact also told us that Mr. GMan has learned how to clap this weekend as well. What a busy Memorial day weekend.

Boy Plays with Dog

About a week ago G was very upset at Bluew. He kept crawling up to him and Bluew would growl and walk away. G would just wail and fuss. Then he would stop crying and charge Bluew again. Bluew would move away, G would cry. It was clear he wanted Bluew's attention and that he was feeling some amount of frustration and rejection. It was hard to watch, Mark and I were both keenly aware that G wanted something specific. So when we saw This scene unfolding in front of us the other day we encouraged it and filmed it and photographed the heck out of it. Bluew may be realizing that not only is there food to be found dripping from this little boy but fun also.

They played a little bit of tug, and Bluew was appropriately gentle... it was very rewarding to see the old Bluew again too (which may be inspired by the hair cut).

There is, ofcourse, also a great video of this on my YouTube.

Doors

Now you see me.... now you don't. GMan loves to play with doors and shut them.