Another Week, Lots of Photos

Yet again I find myself at my computer on a Monday evening, trying to think of amusing ways to get that first sentence out. It's tough having that "blank page syndrome", where you have a whole bunch of ideas in your head that you want to get on the page, but no clue as to how to start them. Except by talking about how you have no clue how to start them, which kind of solves the problem for you. See, it's grammar school and cute baby photos. What a deal!

Seriously, though, lots and lots of photos to get to this time. Up to now I've had a strategy of keeping several photos back for next week's blog entry, just in case we don't get any good shots of him in the coming week. But you know what? That strategy is bananas (translation: it sucks). Like we're not going to get good photos in a week. And besides, it's like that rainy day fund that you had/have/wish you had that never gets used--I was always working a week in the past. But as Garth says, "Live in the now, man!" So not only are you getting last week's stored up collection, you're also getting this week's photos fresh off the press. And here they are...

My absolute favourite from last week's collection (I know, putting my favourite up front is also a departure from normal; don't worry, I have some excellent photos waiting at the end) is this one. Hey kids, farmer Joe here...

Doesn't he look about six years old there? A couple of other good ones from that shoot...

You remember that old Mastercard commercial from a while back that pointed out the fact that no matter how expensive the toy inside is, the kid is always going to play with the box it came in? We're finding that to be very true, especially recently. Here's some of his new favourite play toys (and food items, evidently)...

Doesn't he look stunningly similar to someone else I've seen before?

Hmm, can't quite put my finger on it...

Oh yeah, that's it!

Another excellent photo shoot from two weeks ago...

Some excellent Theo expressions here, including the coy look...

...and the inquisitive look...

Seriously, I have no idea why we'd ever need professional photos at this rate...

Okay, so that was last week's holdover blog material. On to this week's stuff. Because it's been so cold here over the past little while (not for the past few days, though; read about it on my other blog), we bought Theo a pair of mittens. I have to say, there's not really many things cuter than a cute kid with mittens...

A couple here from a recent play session...

You know, I do this a lot, too...

Too obscure? You'll get it eventually. Yesterday we took a little trip into Airdrie, and wouldn't you know it, but the Lions game was on TV at the Boston Pizza where we had lunch. Of course, we just had to check it out...

On to the greatest photo shoot yet, by which I mean the most recent. They all seem to be the best after they happen. Anyway, cute kid with mittens: pretty good. Cute kid with a hat: excellent. Here's his Buddha impression...

...and that coy look again...

...not sure what caught his eye here, but it made for a great picture. Kind of thoughtful...

...looking down at a toy...

...and of course, my favourite shot saved for last...

Exhausted yet? I know I am. I'll leave it at that for this week, at least for pictures. By way of a developmental update, I offer you the following.

First off, even though he can't crawl yet, he's figuring out every other way to get around. It's actually quite funny. The stuff he does to move is probably a whole lot harder than just crawling, but hey, whatever works, right? Tonight he even did the worm, I'm not kidding. His soother got away from him and he wormed right over to it. Hilarious. Never thought I'd see a baby bustin' out the break dancing moves.

But who wants to crawl when walking is so close? He's now learned how to pull himself up onto his feet into a standing position, which is actually quite scary, especially when you're not expecting him to do it. It's funny how people tell us, "Oh, don't rush him into walking." What, do you think I want him to start running around knocking things over? Do I not have enough to worry about and need to add a toddling infant to the mix? Do I sit at home and train him to walk because I have a secret desire to get him on his feet and out the door? Can I use any more rhetorical questions in one paragraph? I don't think so. We know walking will bring with it a whole new can of worms. But we're not going to sit here and hold him back developmentally; if he's ready to walk, then walking is what he'll do. Sheesh.

On the food front, the experiment in cutting back foods and slowly re-introducing them has gone well. Unfortunately, it was worst-case scenario: his bananas were giving him a reaction. No more for him, I guess. Yams are also off the list, for reasons I won't discuss in a public setting.

Just on a side note, I think that nobody in Alberta knows the difference between yams and sweet potatoes. Yams, my friends, are orange; sweet potatoes are sort of yellowish. Yams result in serious digestive issues; sweet potatoes, not so much. When we first arrived in town we were looking for sweet potatoes in the local IGA, and we had to ask one of the employees. The conversation went something like this:

Steph: "Excuse me, do you have any sweet potatoes?"
IGA guy: "Yeah, they're right over there."
Steph: "Actually, those are yams; I'm looking for sweet potatoes."
IGA guy (rolling eyes and talking in a condescending voice): "Yeah, yams and sweet potatoes are the same thing."
Steph (becoming increasingly annoyed at IGA guy's apparent lack of produce-related knowledge): "Actually, no, yams are different than sweet potatoes. My baby can digest sweet potoates, but he can't digest yams."
IGA guy (still thinking he's right): "Huh. Well, we're told that when someone asks for sweet potatoes, we just show them to the yams."

Interesting. And very telling about the training methods in place at IGA. I wonder what else they skimp on in training. "Yes, I see there's a question in the back." "Um, yeah, what do we do if someone asks us where the olives are?" "Ah, good question. Just tell them to get a jar of pickles instead." "But aren't olives and pickles different things." "No, that's a myth. They're both immersed in vinegar, thus they must both be the same thing--it's good enough."

And so on. Anyway, if you're still with me after all that ranting, let's get back to Theo, shall we?

I had to scroll back up to figure out what I was talking about before I went off on that tangent: foods. So it looks like apples and butternut squash (which is pretty much the same as pumpkin, isn't it? Sorry.) are on the "good" list. Tomorrow, I think we'll try something new. Ooh, the suspense! Tune in again next week for the exciting conclusion!

Well, I think I've had about enough time in front of the computer for now. I'm going to get ready for bed and then update the Three Hills blog, if you feel so inclined as to take a look at it. I'm trying to get to that one daily (weekdays, at least), so check it often. This blog seems to want to be updated on Mondays (it's my day without any classes, but I'm in the computer frame of mind from studying), so that's the plan for now. Have a great week, everyone, and we'll see you again next time.

Quickly Running Out of Titles

Hi again, friends. Nice to have you back for another action-packed Theo posting. If you want to know what the weather's like here in Three Hills, well, go check out my other blog. All other Carroll family-related updates are there (which should help bring down the size of these posts--famous last words).

It's been another fun week. Well, okay, it wasn't all fun and games. About the middle of last week, we started having major behavioural issues with Theo; issues like we'd never seen before. He just wasn't himself. We chalked it up to the move and him generally pushing the boundaries a little bit more as all babies do. It was pretty frustrating having to hear his temper-tantrums every night. Oh wait, it was during the days, too. So basically, all the time.

Anyway, as you can probably tell by the way I'm writing this, it wasn't really behavioural at all. Close to the end of the week, we noticed how red his cheeks were getting. We had previously thought they were just getting rosy (and, quite frankly, welcomed the colour--he's still pretty fair). But apparently, little did we know that rosy cheeks are quite often the sign of a food reaction. Sure enough, the "rash" eventually spread across his nose and up onto his forehead. Fortunately, we started to figure out that something was wrong. Since then, we've drastically cut his food variety, trying to figure out what was causing it. The culprits have been narrowed down to wheat, apples, and, sadly for all, bananas! Since we've cut them out, however, we've got our old Theo back--happy as a clam. It's nice.

By way of further update, I still have not heard him say "banana", or any other word, for that matter. However, his babbling has reached epic new heights this week. Quite often first thing in the morning, he'll just be sitting in his crib chatting away to no one in particular. He likes the "B" sounds the most, but he's also ventured into "G" and "M", with a smattering of "D" thrown in for good measure. It's quite amusing to listen to--he really is trying to say something, and gets quite upset when he's talking to you and you turn away. Oh boy, are we ever in for it.

So that's what's been going on. Let's get to some pictures. Last Monday we took Theo to the swimming pool for the first time! The Three Hills Aquatic Centre is quite nice, with a shallow area for the kiddies and a diving board and waterslide for the big kids. Here's Theo and dad outside the pool...

And here we are getting wet...

It was really funny going because Theo was just so amazed at his surroundings that he spent the whole time in shell-shocked stupor. Even when he got just a little bit too cold in the pool he didn't make a noise. Luckily his parents could pick up on the fact that his teeth were chattering uncontrollably (note to self: if having behavioural problems, go to pool). Good times were had by all, as you can see by his placid expression after we left (framed beautifully by the water tower)...

Here are a few from a little photo shoot last week. He's just chillin' on the floor...

Shortly after this photo shoot, however, he noticed a little coffee table-like cabinet on wheels that's in our living room. It has a glass door that he could see his reflection in. Of course, never having seen such a good-looking baby in his life, he had to see what this one was all about...

Hey there, good looking...

Gotcha!

What an infant narcissist. Oh well, he's cute enough to be in love with himself, at least in my opinion.

That's it for now. I have some more photos to post, but that'll have to wait until another day, I'm afraid. For now, thanks, as always, for coming by. Leave a comment if you're so inclined--it doesn't have to be anything stunning or witty, but it's nice to see and read them. See you next time.

Having Fun in Three Hills

Hello again, all. Glad to have you here. Yes, we finally got internet access at the house, so now I can post some long-awaited pictures for you. First, though, an update.

What a crazy couple of weeks! Not only did we have this colossal move to sort out, it also feels like Theo is growing in leaps and bounds--it's hard to keep up with everything that's happening! The biggest news, in my mind, is that he's finally cut his bottom two teeth. It's really cute looking into his mouth and seeing two little chompers ready to bite down on your finger with vigour. Fun times. Can you see them in this picture? Not really. But imagine them.

At the same time, Theo getting his teeth was a little bit melancholy for me. As much as I want him to grow up so that I can get to know him a little bit better (and him me), I also sort of want him to stay a baby forever. I know that one day the time will come when he no longer wants to (or can be) carried around on my shoulders anymore. I know that one day he won't have to sleep in his crib anymore. I know that one day he'll want to ride my motorcycle and there will be no good reason to say no. Part of me just wants to grab the hands of time and stall them right at this exact moment. But I know that's not possible. And him getting his teeth represents to me the inexorable passage of time. One day, God willing, he'll even be getting married and experiencing many of the same emotions I'm now feeling when he has babies. It will all happen so fast, I know, and it makes me want to cherish every last minute. One of my favourite songs when I was a kid was a Muppets version of "Time in a Bottle." I'm not even sure what record it was on, but I remember listening to it over and over again (I still know all the words). So with that song, I echo the sentiment, "If I could save time in a bottle/The first thing that I'd like to do/Is to save every day 'til eternity passes away/Then I'd spend them with you/Because there never seems to be enough time/To do the things you want to do once you find them."

Before I drift farther into melancholia, time to snap out of it. I need to clear something up here that's caused quite a bit of strife between my parents and me: when I referred a couple of posts ago to having embarassing bath photos in your wedding slide show, I was clearly referring to some other unfortunate soul, because, as my parents rightly pointed out, my slide show did not have any embarassing bath photos in it. I was trying to be clever and witty; alas, it failed. So my apologies to my parents--thank you for not putting bath shots in my wedding slide show.

Alright, I feel like we've really made a breakthrough here tonight. Feel the healing flow. Uh, right. Oh hey, there's some other exciting news that I need to tell you about that I didn't get to with my other exciting news because I drifted off into reflective mode: it's not yet official (meaning I haven't yet witnessed it myself), but Theo said his first word last week! What word, you may ask? "Banana." Yup. After all the crap we went through getting him into the world, he shows his affection by making his first word his favourite fruit. What a kid. He's also making a very valiant effort at crawling. He's up on all fours now, but doesn't quite know what to do when he's up there. He totters a bit and then usually ends up doing a face-plant, which, although amusing, isn't something we want to be a regular part of his routine. However, he's also able to hold himself up on his feet without help, which means that he might be like his dad and walk before he crawls. The race is on! Can you handle the excitement?! I'll stop here so you can get a rag to wipe the eager perspiration off your brow.

Whew. Thanks for coming back. Let's get on to some pictures, then, shall we? Here's a good one of happy Theo with mommy...

And here he is with daddy...

And in his stroller, cavorting around Three Hills...

One of the problems with being a celebrity baby is the recognition you get on the streets. Theo's had to wear a disguise out to avoid being mobbed by eager paprazzi and autograph seekers...

So cool. Living in Three Hills isn't luxury, that's for sure. For example, we didn't have enough room to bring Theo's little bathtub, so we've had to make, um, other arrangements...

Yes, that is the kitchen sink. Fortunately, he's not picky. Another option for the bath, especially after a messy eating time, is the far more industrial-strength option...

He seems to like it, really. But at the end of the day, we can still over-stimulate him with his crib. I like how crib bedding is so bright and colourful--not really sleep-inducing by any stretch of the imagination. But hey, he loves it...

Well, he loves it sometimes...

Here he is on all fours, getting ready to crawl...

And talking to grandpa on the phone...

And back to being happy again...

That's the face we love to see!

So that's all for tonight. We've taken many more pictures today (Steph went a little bit crazy, but they're all good shots), so I'll post those probably next week. New posting on the Three Hills blog, too, so go check it out (link off on the right side of this page). Thanks for stopping by.

New Blog Added!

Hello all. I'm back in the library (no internet at home yet, so no pictures this time again) enjoying another fine day in Three Hills, Alberta. I wanted to let you all know that I've finally registered my new Three Hills blog. If you click on "View My Profile" over on the right, it'll show you my blogs, or you can type this into your browser: box4682.blogspot.com. Curious about the origins of the name? Why not go check out the blog.

Here's the blogging plan for this semester: Theo's blog will be updated regularly (like, more regularly than now), probably on a weekly basis. The Three Hills blog will likely be updated once or twice a week depending on how much I have to tell you about what's going on in our lives (unless you want posting after posting saying, "I did homework today"--I could do one of those every day of the week!). Anyway, read it all in good health, and I'll see you back here soon.

We Made It!

Hi from Three Hills, everyone. After an exhausting two days of travelling, we made it safe and sound and have set up shop in our new home. Things here are hot and dusty, but what did I expect from the Prairies, anyway?

Alas, I'm on a campus computer today, and so this posting will be short and to-the-point. By the way, any thoughts of posting photos to the web using these computers went out the window today--these machines are ugly. Butt ugly. But fear not, oh faithful blog readers, as we will be getting internet access at home, but it won't come online until next week. So until then, go on a tour of the Theo archives, perhaps, or just sit at your computer and wait expectantly for the next posting, which should come around the middle of next week. We have some really cool pictures for you!

By the way, my Three Hills blog will also come online next week. I'll link to it off on the right hand side, or you can click my blogger identity to see where it is. It's not up now, mind you, but it will be soon. We also have some great pictures of Three Hills to post; I'll say this much--it's no southern BC. You'll see what I mean next week.

Until then, keep it real, my posse (a term from the wild west seemed appropriate for some reason). See you again soon.