6 Months of Cuteness; 1 Year of Floodlessness

October 13 marks Edgar's 6 month birthday, and our 1 year anniversary of The Great Flood.

I can't believe my baby is 6 months old! He is definitely out of the newborn stage...it makes me a little bit sad...

We celebrated with Edgar's first taste of food other than mamma's milk (as far as we know...we do have some sneaky Grandmas and Aunties).

(Ummmm...whatcha doin' Mom and Dad? And why are you grinning at me??)

He seemed to enjoy the mashed banana! I fed him a couple bites with my finger, and then put it on his tray and let him explore. It was great messy fun!

Here Edgar has refined his signature "Wizard Move" that he began 2 months ago. It's pretty impressive (=

This baby plays hard all day. He is a little ball of energy--he goes and goes until he collapses at naptime or bedtime. He's not even crawling yet--but he sure manages to be moving all of the time!

The other day we were watching some Vintage Sesame Street on YouTube (a favorite evening past time), when Edgar fell asleep on dad's lap in front of the computer! Poor little guy was wiped out!

I love this Kiddo!

Children's Toys...a Moral Dilema

I made a fantastic Goodwill find the other day: a vintage Fisher Price Activity Center--I totally remember this from when I was little. I'm sure I spent enough time staring at it that it is permanently ingrained in my memory. Edgar is loving it (=

So..."what's the dilemma," you might ask. Here it is: There are so many toys out there, that I really only want to buy toys that are (a) super rad, and/or (b) nostalgic from my childhood.

But...does buying mostly awesome old-school toys rob my child of a shared nostalgic experience with his peers in 20 years? Is he going miss out on fond memories of Leap pad and Zhu Zhu Pets?

Or...perhaps my generation is so focused on awesome vintage toys that they WILL be the nostalgic toys for another generation.

What do you think?

No More Monkeys

I look really lovely in this video...but Edgar is so darn cute, I'm sharing it despite my hair (=

Killing the Radio Star

Video 1--"Sad Songs Say So Much": Edgar was having a grand time in composition class with his dad...until he hit a sour note that really upset him...

Video 2--"Who's the Fairest One of All?": Edgar discovers the mirror at Grandma Carmichael's house after his bath time.

It's Autumn Time, It's Autumn Time

I love fall. I'm a sucker for the transitional seasons...Fall and Spring. I think I love them because they are so full of promise and hint at wonderful possibilities. Spring hints at the possibilities of warm summer days, new outdoor adventures, and lazy days in the sun. Fall hints of cozy winter fires, new academic adventures, and curling up with good books. Whether those promises are actually realized when Summer and Winter get here is another thing all together.

Anyway, our family has been taking lots of opportunity to enjoy the mild fall weather--we are loving the cooler days!

Playing with cousins...

Playing at the park.

Bath time fun followed by warm snuggley jammies.

...and ninja moves.

5 Months Old

I've been slower to post recently because our days are filled with lots of fun (=
Edgar has discovered the fun of hanging in the high chair playing with water or kitchen stuff while I do dishes and cook. Hooray for him--hooray for me!

We were all getting a bit stir crazy...so we ran away from home together. One weekend Alex, Edgar, and I all went to Kalamath Falls, OR. Why? Because we hadn't ever been there. Edgar loved staying in the hotel! He sat in the middle of that King sized bed and played and played. (Yup, he sat. He loves to sit now...still topples occasionally, but loves to sit!)

We don't have a bath tub at home, so it was fun to let him bathe in the hotel and watch his long luxurious flowing hair.

He got his first cut. Mommy failure: I let him play with the empty pop can--one of his favorite toys. He hit it and cut his finger on the opening. He was trying to eat the bandaid, so I covered his hands with socks. He was mad until Mommy and Daddy put socks on our hands too--then he thought it was a fun game!

The weekend after we ran away to K. Falls, Alex's parents wanted to go down to Crater Lake. So...we stayed in K. Falls again at the same hotel. Again, it was great fun. We made a play area out of couch cushions for Edge to hang in while we played pinochle.

Crater Lake was beautiful!

We all traveled together in the same car--so Edgar got to know Grandma and Grandpa a little better.
Edgar went swimming for the first time at the hotel pool. It took him a while to warm up to the idea--he clung to me for the first 20 minutes or so. But, the next 20 minutes were dedicated to kicking, splashing, and general mirth.

He's growing up so fast! Here, he is learning to share his pacifier with the Lion. They pretty much have the same hair, which helped them to become fast friends.

I love you, son!

Honest Abe and Edgar: Enchanting or Creepy?

Edgar and I went to The Enchanted Forest today with my sister-in-law Laura and her grandkids Garrett and Emily. (Enchanted Forest is a ghetto theme park in Salem, OR featuring fairy tales--basically a Disneyland knock off. But, it's fairly cheap and the really little ones love it).

Abraham Lincoln was there. He posed for a picture with my baby. Not too sure what I think about that...
The babies did quite well! Edgar only got cranky when he was an hour past nap-time...and he only cried a few minutes before succumbing to sleepiness.

Laura and I took turns riding rides with Garrett while the other person hung with the babies. We tried to all walk through the Haunted House...but when the first glowing skeleton jumped up, Garrett says, "I'm kind of creeped out" and we head back out for a refund (apparently a common occurrence on this attraction). Garrett decided that he might try again when he's six, or after two more birthdays. (I believe Garrett just turned 5).

I know, kinda blurry--but the only shot with all of us in it!