Baby's First Halloween

On Sunday we carved pumpkins. We decided to carve Linus' to look like Winthrop-Linus'-Monkey. Matthew did most of the handiwork on it. When I cut the top off I let Linus touch it. The other pictures are from today. I fed Linus at 2 and then got him into his costume for pictures and trick-or-treating at Matthew's work. All that silliness wore him out.

Visit with Family

Stephanie, Brian, and Brandon came for a visit last Friday. It was like Christmas around here with all the clothes, puzzles, blocks, and the Graco "Entertainer" they brought. All these things were Brandon's when he was a baby. Linus figured out the Entertainer pretty quickly. He obviously likes the mobility of being able to turn around the table and play with everything. Brandon fed Linus peach yogurt and played peek-a-boo with him on the couch. Brandon does a good job of explaining toys to Linus and is very good at remembering to keep little objects away from him.

Art for Linus

Linus has an original hanging in his room. The artist is David Berger, Matthew's longtime friend and the Intinerant Philosopher at our wedding. David has a Ph.D in philosohy and is working on another Ph.D. in the classics. Needless to say, he knows his Greek gods. It turns out that there is a Greek god named Linus. To learn more, check out this entry: Linus.

Pretty neat! The picture is really special to us.

Awareness

Linus has become more aware of his surroundings. One example is that he has started to notice patterns on his clothes. When I took this photo, Linus was checking out Bucky Badger on his bib. He's also started listening to the radio when it catches his attention. About two weeks ago he got really excited about a bassoon concerto. When we look at the fish tank together, his eyes appear to be following the two remaining fish.

New Trick

On Saturday I sat Linus down in his crib in front of his mirror toy to play while I washed my hands. I came back about one minute later and he was kneeling. He'd pulled himself up, put his feet back, and kneeled!!! I yelled for Matthew to come see. We enjoyed watching him chew on the crib and Linus was obviously pretty pleased with himself.

After a while, Matthew went and grabbed the tools and lowered the mattress a couple of notches. I had Linus sitting on my lap while Matthew worked on the crib and Linus intitiated peek-a-boo with Matthew through the crib slats. Then when Matthew made eye contact with him, Linus wiggled around very excitedly.

(Blogger won't let me post photos lately. I've been trying to post this since Monday. I'll add the cute photos later.)

Beautiful Morning

It doesn't matter if it is cold and rainy outside, for we have our very own sunshine residing in our home and hearts.

Finger Food?

The clinic gave us a great handout listing appropriate finger foods for various ages. Oddly enough, for Linus' age it listed apple sauce as a finger food. Hmmmm. We gave him some mashed banana, but it was too difficult for him to pick up. When I realized it wasn't a successful finger food, I put some in his mouth and it was too chunky for him. We'll try again another time. We received a couple of little mesh food sack things. You're supposed to put soft food in it for baby to gnaw on to get through the mesh. I tried banana in it and I really don't know that he got much. He did squish some out and get it on his nose, though.

Favorite foods continue to be fruit: bananas, pears, apple sauce, peaches, and now plums. He leans forward and gulps it down. He is still allergic to carrots. I gave him some squash with a bit of carrot in it and he got the same rash on his face. No more carrots now until he's a year old.

Snuggy Baby

For the last couple of weeks, my main craft project was sewing sleep sacks for Linus. I'm pretty proud of myself for creating pattern pieces out of grocery bags and figuring out how to construct them. I used left over fleece from my stash and Lyz also generously contributed some. The buttons are from my button jars. Since new fleece sleep sacks run $20-25 each and used ones on eBay are running about $10, I saved us quite a bit of money. In addition, Linus' sleep sacks were made just for him by his mama. I dubbed them Snuggies, because they will keep him snuggy warm.

When I layed them out for this photo with Linus sitting by them, he fell backwards and then pulled one up on him like it was a blanket. Adorable!

Prep Cook

Linus has become my assistant in the kitchen. Now that he can sit without tipping over much, I have him sit in the middle of the kitchen floor while I'm cooking. I give him measuring spoons, a hand mixer beater, measuring cups, etc. to play with and he has a grand time. It it pretty common for me to discover a little pool of drool on the floor when I pick him up. Talk about incentive to mop more often!

I baked cookies on Saturday. It was a fun weekend activity. It was nice to have Matthew home all weekend for us to putz around the house together.

Lawn Mower's Peek-a-Boo

Last Friday I had the most fun I've ever had while mowing the lawn. Linus was playing on a blanket nearby. As I approached with the mower, I'd say, "Peek-a-boo!" and he would smile and laugh. Then I'd turn and mow in the other direction and he'd keep watching for me or grab a toy until I returned into his line of view and say, "Peek-a-boo!" and get him laughing again. It was a blast. He also watched me plant bulbs and it made for a wonderful afternoon.

I took this picture that day and this is the response I got when I asked, "Are you a happy baby?"

Duck Soup?

On our way back from the park on Sunday we stopped to visit with our neighbors who were out in their yard with their duck, Dilbert. Sue held Dilbert up so Linus could check him out. Linus reached out and held onto his beak. He didn't pull hard so Sue said it was okay. He let go, but then a bit later reached out, grabbed the duck's beak, and proceeded to put it in his mouth! Sue and I backed away from each other and we were all laughing really hard. Linus looked around with an expression that said, "What? What?" Then Mark noticed Linus had a feather in his hand. I didn't realize until I saw the photos that Linus was holding onto the side of the duck with his other hand. Mark was telling us about Polish duck recipes, so maybe Linus thought he'd try a taste of duck. I reminded him that we don't eat birds.

Visit to the Park

On Sunday afternoon we took a walk to the ice cream shop for what we expected to be our last ice cream cones of the year. We stopped at the nearby park and Linus liked checking out the kids on the swings and a little pug dog on a leash. A little girl called over as her swing went up high, "That's a cute baby!" She later came over and wrapped her little hands around Linus' cheeks.

Catch of the Day

Actually, Linus is our catch of a life time! These photos are of Linus in his lobster Halloween costume on Saturday. Linus and I joined Linda, Alex, and Johanna for Pumpkin Palooza downtown. I've never seen so many children in costumes in one place. The weather was perfect for being outside and it was fun hanging out together with our cute babies. Matthew joined us later after he finished working.

Linus had his six-month check-up today. Here are the results of his measurements:
Weight: 17 pounds, 15 ounces. He's in the 50th percentile. (He gained about 2 1/2 pounds)
Length: 27 1/2 inches. He's in the 75th percentile. (He grew an inch and a half)

Fall

We are having some incredibly beautiful weather. The sun is shining and it is warm enough to be outside without a jacket if you are in long sleeves or are one of those warm kind of people. Yesterday Linus and I were out in the front yard watching the leaves fall from the trees and watching the neighbor's dog run around. A Democratic campaign volunteer delivered our yard signs and even put them in the ground for us. Life was good.

Linus' joy in sitting to play is palpable and a very beautiful thing. Poor baby woke up an hour early, sopping wet and cold. Matthew changed him into dry jammies and brought him into bed with us. Sure was nice to snuggle with him and warm him up. He had a bottle and went back to sleep in our bed.

P.S. Babies in overalls are irresistable!

Linus Sitting on Settee

The title of this post is not what this photo is. The title is what I said when I saw how Matthew had Linus sitting on the settee next to him while Matthew put on his boots. He looked like someone posing for a painting. I'm still amazed at Linus' sitting skills. He was sitting on his bedroom floor playing with toys while I changed his sheet and put away his laundry. I kept looking at him and thinking, "Wow! Linus is sitting!" I need to wash a throw rug to put under the quilt he plays on downstairs. The hardwood floor isn't so nice to Linus' head when he tips over.

Linus and I have a bit of a cold. I have a sore throat and wonder if Linus does. He's got the same little bit of runny nose that I do and he has a little cough. Yesterday he was out of sorts, but looks like he feels better today. We skipped baby class today because I didn't want us to infect other little ones. I'm disappointed because it was about infant oral care and I was interested in the subject.

So what is going on in this photo? Linus is playing with Johanna and the new baby in the group, Ana. Ana was born a few days before Linus and recently moved to Green Bay. I got quite a few laughs out of watching three babies doing similar things, like grabbing toys and putting them in their mouths, and I also enjoyed noticing the ways in which they are different.

Silly Goose

For about a month I've had conversations with Linus similar to this: "Are you a silly goose? No, you're a silly gosling! Mama is a silly goose. Do we live at the Wildlife Sanctuary? No, we live in our house." Saturday we all went together to the Sanctuary and bought corn for Wesley to feed the geese and ducks. We also checked out the indoor exhibits. There is a table with animal parts for people to touch and Matthew held out various things for Linus, such as antlers and fur. He had to hang on tight to keep Linus from putting them in his mouth.

It sure felt funny, and great, being a grown up taking my child on outings this weekend. I especially felt it when we entered the zoo and were surrounded by children and their parents.

Six Months Old Today!

Six months seems like such a milestone. I'm convinced that he's at his cutest. He is so much fun right now. He's ticklish and smiley and laughs a lot. Many random things delight him. He is getting pretty good at sitting on his own and has renewed a relationship with some of his toys. I guess they seem new from a sitting up position.

Yesterday I fed him zucchini and he detested it. It made him gag. It turns out that he also doesn't like green beans and I have a great picture of the face he made. When I get it from Matthew's camera, I'll post it.

Here are more photos of Linus and Wesley.

Zoo Babies

We had a fun weekend with Peter, Betsy, and little Wesley. I loved seeing a toddler run around our house making laps where I walked Linus when he was quite wee. Linus watched closely as Wesley did things like eat bread. On Sunday there was gorgeous weather and we had an enjoyable visit to the zoo. Our zoo recently acquired giraffes and you are allowed to feed them during particular times from a platform. That was my favorite part. I'd never touched a giraffe before.