LION LOVE

Gus has recently really taken to this lion, which belonged to Dave as a kid.

A LITTLE HEART TO HEART

THREE MONTHS

Nova is 3 months old.
She's growing fast, and is an absolute angel.

Her current interests are her thumb, her fingers, and her birds. She sleeps through the night and gives lots of smiles. She spends much of her time with momma, but will be spending an increasing amount of time with poppa. When Gus was born Dave and I talked about "the fourth trimester" (yes - we know that tri means three and that makes no sense - bear with me) meaning that those first three months of the baby's life are a lot like the last end of the pregnancy. Baby is pretty much stuck to momma that whole time. Nova's moving out of newborn territory into squishy yummy baby territory. She's getting better at holding up her head and holding on when she's carried. Before we know it, she'll be eating, talking, and walking!

THE LOOKING WINDOW

As many young visitors know, our front window is great for looking. The couch is right there so you can climb up and check out the cars, trucks, bikes & people constantly going by our house.


Gus also likes to read in front of the looking window (in this photo he's examining Julius by Syd Hoff).

WHILE I WAS COOKING DINNER

Gus can now reach into the cabinets (when he stands on the chair) and he likes to take out the cans of soup, beans, and tomatoes. I was surprised he got the big can to balance on top, but he did!

ONE AND A HALF

Gus is 1 and a half years old. He is 31 inches tall. He can reach onto the counter tops, he can go up and down stairs by himself (quietly, as it turns out). He loves to be outside, and doesn't mind riding in the car. He bonks his head frequently, mostly because he's always moving and never still.

He loves talking about animals, especially those that live on the farm, and also monkeys. He knows many, many words. Here's a few that he knows:

walk, dog, leash, outside, inside, up, down, eat, food, drink, milk, juice, water, potato, tomato, cheese, cottage cheese, sauce, fork, spoon, cup, plate, bowl, coffee, beer, ding, floor, wall, stove, hot, on, off, light, steps, couch, chair, baby, dinosaur, book, read, sit, nap sleep, bottle, window, car, truck, go bike, helicopter, airplane, honk, vroom, sneeze, slide, climb, sand box, throw, hit, no cry, momma, poppa, Nova, baby, blanket, tools, fix, break, wash, wipe, bath, boat, moon, sun, sky, head, hair, nose, mouth, teeth, brush, eyes, ears, fingers, hands, arms, elbow, belly, leg, knee, toes, foot, hug, run, kick, jump, pants, clothes, shirt, Gus, hat, socks, shoes, boots, potty, bed, train, ball, cookies, cheese, pizza, pasta, macaroni, orange, banana, berries, apple, grape, peas, flowers, frog, watering can, tree, cow, duck, goose, chicken, pig, sheep, turkey, goat, cat, dog, bird, fish, zebra, monkey, giraffe, dolphin, elephant, rhinoceros, bear, fox, lion, squirrel, blue, green, one, two, three, help, stop, picture, records, shower, ta-da!, jump

and the list goes on and on and on. He is constantly talking, and if he's nearby and quiet I usually know he's doing something he shouldn't. He will repeat any word that we try to get him to say. He likes to count, though everything is three, one two three, and when we talk about letters and he tries to say them (though not always in order).

MINE is a word I should add to the above list, mine mine mine, everything is mine right now. Usually he's right, talking about his shirt or his cup or his toy. He can follow directions which delights us to no end: Gus, go get your shoes please, or Gus let go of that poor cat's tail. He's a social kid, but continues to be the playground bully - throwing sand and hitting when the other kids least expect it. That's gotten better, though - as he becomes more and more able to talk and express himself he gets less frustrated and doesn't need to flail and hit to get that across.

He is a determined and willful child (I'm sure our parents are laughing at that one) and while he isn't exactly stubborn - if he doesn't get his way, lord help us all. He loves to explore, loves to go to new places. When he's having fun he's off like a shot - rarely checking in to make sure momma & poppa are still watching. He is the adventure boy, throwing caution to the wind and making my heart jump frequently. He currently loves to leap off of things (his new bed, the coffee table, his sandbox) and even if he ends up tumbling to the ground will get up and do it again. He's not nervous about meeting new people and is often friendly and greets customers with a HI and a smile and wave when he's at the store with us.



One of his favorite activities is helping poppa - he loves tools and frequently picks up and walks off with screwdrivers and the like. He knows the name of most of Dave's tools and makes a power tool sound whenever Dave uses a drill or a saw. He tries to help ("Help!") and at least once has actually helped when Dave had his hands full.

Gus delights us to no end. He gives hugs and kisses (sometimes unsolicited!) and will cuddle on the couch and read books. He adores his sister and when one of us is rocking him to sleep at night he'll ask about her (Bee? crying?) He tries to share his food and juice with her, and I cannot wait until this winter when she starts scooting around and they'll actually be able to play together.

It's hard to believe he's already one and a half, and we frequently wonder when he changed from a baby to a boy. Life with Gus is an adventure, and he continually keeps us on our toes. Happy half-birthday little bear!

LI'L SISTER

ZOO TRIP

Momma, Gus & Nova went to the zoo yesterday!


Gus took a cat nap on the way there:


He saw ringtailed lemurs (monkey! tail!)

and gibbons (momma, monkey!). There's a buff colored gibbon just above his head in this photo:


flamingos (duck!)


and a tapir (which is not an elephant, but that's a pretty difficult distinction to make when you're almost 18 months old)


Gus really liked the coral reef


especially the underwater part. (fish! fish! fish!)



We saw coyotes,


(and went into the coyote den)



Don't forget the japanese snow monkeys!


One of the best parts of our trip was the dolphins. They don't have a dolphin show right now, but you can still see them swimming from beneath,

and from above. We went upstairs and watched the dolphin do this.



Gus is pretty quiet in this video, but he talked about this moment for the REST of the day. Momma? Dolphin? Ball? Throw? Mouth? Yes Gus, the dolphin threw the ball with his mouth. Momma? Dolphin? Ball? Throw? I think he was pretty concerned that no one gave the ball back to the dolphin.

Both kids slept the entire way home, and though I'm sore today from the carrying and the walking and the corralling of a 1 and a half year old boy, it was a fun day and totally worth it.

DIGGING FOR POTATOES

This weekend, Gus helped Poppa dig up the potatoes. Now every time we go outside, Gus digs for more.

REAL SMILE

I know this picture is dark, but this is a great Nova smile.

GROWING BOY

LOVES HER SO MUCH

MUD MONSTER

Gus likes mud.


He especially likes putting mud in his hair.

Attempts to clean him off in the pool were unsuccessful.

CLEAN

When we wash her hair, it sticks up the whole next day.

PETTING ROO