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.