March, so far, at least...

Hello again. Here we are, almost through the month of March, and alas, I continue to fall into old habits of not getting a posting done in a timely fashion. Ah, but I am about to make up for that lack; an enourmous posting today, almost epic in its proportions, featuring photos galore (and I really can use "galore" to describe it; whatever the threshold is, I'm over it) and even a bunch of videos for those of you who are starved for some Theo action. Let's get to it, shall we?

For the past little while, Steph's been taking Theo to a play group for young ones held at the student families apartments. It's been fun for Theo to interact with the other little ones (and good for Steph to meet up with some other young mothers). He especially likes the nylon tunnel-type contraption, so we figured we'd buy him his own, because we're just really cool parents. Turns out that we found one that came with a couple other pieces too. The problem is that it's a little bit big for our living room when completely set up...

No matter; Theo's happy as a pig in slop crawling through his tunnel. Peek-a-boo!

March has also seen some warmer temperatures, so much so that we could actually leave the house and go for a walk without worrying about frostbite setting in on any exposed flesh in a matter of minutes. Although we have our stroller here, it's sometimes fun to pack Theo in the Snugli for old times' sake...

Now that it's getting nice again, we're starting to look for things to do as a family on Saturdays--things that involve actually leaving the town of Three Hills and doing something fun. Two weekends ago, we decided to take a trip to Calgary and visit the zoo.

What a place! So many fun animals, and, of course, other little kids for Theo to look at. In fact, at times, we wondered which he was more interested in. But still, they had a lot of cool animals.

Hippos...

A tiger...

Even a giraffe, along with her new baby giraffe (born last November)...

But of course, the cutest animal of all was this little monkey...

"Who, me?"

Here are the boys, with the giraffes in the background...

It's always fun for Theo to use his new found mobility to walk around...

...but in the end, he loves being up on Daddy's shoulders...

...and in Mommy's arms...

Theo's Auntie Laura also came to visit this month, which was fun for all...

You know, it's never too early to get them working on the household chores. In fact, it's about time he started earning his keep around here...

Of course, work hard, play harder, right? Theo loves his ride-on Mickey Mouse car...

All that hard work tends to be a little bit exhausting, which is why it's good to just put your feet up and chill...

Okay, time for some videos. I have seven this week--are you ready?

Wait, hold on just a minute. First, I have to tell you that these videos are all very slice-of-life type of videos; no real "plot" or compelling storyline to them, just good old day-in-the-life. Just so you know. Second, don't just leave if you don't want to watch the videos, because the "editor's choice" photos are at the tail end of the blog, and trust me, you don't want to miss them this time.

Right, now we're ready. To start, here's Theo running around at the zoo. I love the part near the end where he nearly gets bowled over by some random kid...


Here's some footage of him actually using the vacuum--hilarious. Grandma would be so proud. Notice the form, too--he watches us very closely and emulates almost perfectly. The video is in two parts. Here's part one...


...and part two...


Another two-part video here. This is his newest, most exciting game--we call it the human hamster. This is his little nylon fort that attaches to the end of his nylon tube, and he's found that by pressing on the sides and falling over, he can "roll" across the room, just like a hamster in a ball. Part one...


...and the conclusion...


Since we've come back here to Three Hills, Theo's been working on his babbling. Yes, I know that usually this happens much sooner, but not all kids can walk at 11 months, so there. He especially likes to talk when he's having his diaper changed for some reason. Of course, that means that the camera comes out...


Funny stuff. This last one, however, is my favourite one. Again, very slice-of-life, and aptly narrated by yours truly, but such a great glimpse in Theo's burgeoning personality that it's totally priceless...


Good, eh? He's such a ham sometimes. Okay, all the time. But he didn't have a chance in this family.

Finally, the editor's choice section, which is always my favourite (probably because I'm the aforementioned editor, and these are my favourite photos. You might even say that I choose them). First in line, from the zoo, a good one of Theo on my shoulders...

Second, an excellent shot of Theo in his new tunnel...

Finally, the greatest photo yet taken. Ladies and gents, the next Crocodile Hunter...

Looks much older than 13 months, doesn't he?

Well, that'll do it for this time. Feel free to leave us a comment (we do love them), and check back here again soon to get your next Theo fix. See you then.

The Best of (the rest of) February

Just call me Mr. Efficient. After a month of no new entries, this is the second one today (check out the one right below this one if you haven't already seen it). That post took care of the January backlog, and now it's time for the rest of February.

You'll likely recall two postings ago that there were birthday party and aquarium pictures. That was most of February's photos. The rest of the month wasn't nearly as eventful as the first week, but we managed a few good shots. Actually, the reason we don't have many good shots is because we didn't have any batteries. "Hey, why didn't you just go an buy batteries?" you may ask. Good question; thanks for asking it. Here's the thing: we just plumb forgot. That's the way it goes sometimes. Fortunately, we managed to borrow some from relatives in Edmonton, and now we're back with the rechargables again for March (and we've already taken quite a few, which will be the subject of the next posting).

Anyway. Without further ado, here's the best of the rest of February...

It got a little bit cold here in February...

This is a good example of what we call, "The Theo Look." I'm considering applying for a patent...

If there's one thing about Theo, he works hard for his money. For example, every morning, he heads off to his office to check his email and get some work done...

Yes, that is a real laptop; yes, it actually functions; no, it's not good for anything else. It's an older laptop we inherited from my uncle, and it's pretty much corrupted (it's a Dell running Windows ME--need I say more?). But Theo just loves it. In fact, you can't see it in the picture, but he's actually using the mouse, too. Funny stuff. And if you try to get in there and see what he's doing, he'll often run over and close the door. Makes me a little suspicious, but I haven't found any blueprints for national landmarks yet, so I think we're good.

Moving on. Here's another look I have a feeling I'm going to be seeing a lot of in the toddler years: "Who, me?"

"Yeah, okay, I admit it. But I'm so cute..."

Total French Pea look...

February also saw us take a trip up highway 2 to Edmonton to see my cousin Nathan, and his wife Heidi, along with their new little boy, Gideon. Theo, of course, loved him, and I think (or I hope) the feeling was mutual. Here's some evidence of their meeting (as you can see, they both got the "blue sleeper" memo)...

"Whoa! What on earth is this thing?!"

"Don't worry, baby, I'll set you free..."

"Uh, guys, he doesn't really do anything..."

"Oh well, I'll ham it up..."

Here's a fantastic picture of Theo and daddy, taken by my Uncle Bob...

Finally, a few shots from a particularly good photo day. Except for the fact that there was something making a spot on the camera. If I had Photoshop (or knew how to use it, for that matter), I might fix it. But whatever, you get the idea...

Yes, he's definitely getting older and more mature. It all happened so fast, too. There, I said it. But hey, he's still the cutest baby in the world. And there's more of that to come next time in the March posting. See you then.

The Rest of January

Me again. Did you miss me? I'm sure you did, or at least that's what I'll tell myself. Alas, over a month has gone by, and nary a posting to Theo's blog. Why, you ask? Um, I don't really have a good answer, to be honest. But I'm going to make up for that lack today, by kicking it back to January.

Since these photos are older, I'm going to be sparse with the commentary, and just post the photos. They deserve their time in the sun, too. Here we go...

You may remember that for most of January, I was here in Three Hills while Steph and Theo were back at home in Langley. One of the reasons for the separation was to avoid the bad weather here and be somewhere temperate and mild. And then it snowed. In Langley. But you know, when life hands you snow, make snowcones. Or, just take your baby out in it and take some photos...

Here's one of the boy in the stroller, enjoying his walk...

Mommy even managed to take a photo of both of them...

Eventually, you have to go back inside. This, I'm told, is the only way to eat pasta...

Then there's this one. Not sure what happened, but it's a pretty avant garde piece of photography, don't you think?

Next, it's back out into the snow for a little playtime.

"Hey, this looks like it could be fun..."

"What the heck is this stuff?"

Contemplating the deeper meaning of all this...

I also had to throw in a cute outfit picture...

Finally, for those of you who were at Theo's party and got the party favour, you'll recognize the motif for this last set of photos. Now, many of you had implied that perhaps we had used a bit of sleight-of-hand on the photo and retouched it in Photoshop, but that isn't the case. Here's the proof.

You see, we have these foam letters that Theo plays with in the bath, and they stick to the sides of the tub. And to Theo...

"So...many...numbers..."

Of course, patience sometimes wears thin in the midst of long photo sessions...

...but then, the stars align, and for one serendipetous moment, time stands still...

...and then it happens again...

What a total ham.

Okay, thanks for coming by. I'm still trying to get my archives up here, so check back again real soon for a look at the best of February.