Happy Leap Day

I haven't posted for awhile, so I will dump some photos from different days into this one post to bring us current. We've had a spate of nice weather here in Portland the past two weeks. Every two days they tell us the weather will turn rainy again, but so far it hasn't. It's been mild, dry, and blue skies. Very nice.
This picture shows some brotherly bonding. Josh loves to pick up Lucas now. We have to keep reminding him to ask first, so I can be sure I'm aware and watching when it comes time to put him back down. But it is great how much they enjoy each other. No matter how upset Lucas gets, Josh can always make him laugh.

This is some Mommy and sons bonding on the couch, rolling around and giving lots of kisses:


Last weekend, we settled down on our front porch to enjoy the sunshine on our new blanket (thanks again Curt and Jeni!). We decided to let Lucas try Josh's popsicle, and that was the end of that--he would not give it back! He loved it. I think it has changed his whole outlook on life. He didn't know there was more to life than strained fruits and vegetables, and he was very pleased at this discovery (even if we couldn't quite convince him to hold it by the stick).

Josh took the opportunity on the same day to try the disc swing again, but he is still too small (or thin) to properly counterweight the thing and just ends up hanging off backwards. Maybe next year.

Mohawk!

I tried to give Josh a mohawk using hair paste, but it looks more trendy/spiky than mohawky, probably due in part to his resistance efforts. He was not as into it as I thought he would be. I thought he looked cool, but he just wanted his regular hair back.

Happy Valentine's Day!

The boys loved all their valentines cards and gifts (and we loved all the candy they couldn't eat!). Thank you! I am sorry to report that nearly half of it is gone already, after just one night. Josh made a very pretty Valentine for us at school. It was a red heart doily with lots and lots of small beads in various shades of red glued to it. Not his usual taste! He usually goes for big, messy art. He told me repeatedly that he made it for "Mommy, Daddy, Lucas, and Sammy!" But all his teachers wrote on it was "To Mommy, Daddy and Lucas." They must not have understood what he was saying or who Sammy is.

Speaking of Sammy, he got quite the Valentines day surprise. I let him out into the back yard in the morning as I helped load Josh and Lucas into the car for school, and he started howling like never before, a long steady guttural noise. We quickly but apprehensively moved to the back to see what was going on, and a HUGE raccoon was cornered in the back with Sammy. It was as big as Sammy, who is 80 lbs. It didn't even look like a raccoon, except for the telltale markings. (After doing some research later, I am afraid that perhaps it was a pregnant raccoon.) We were able to call Sammy away before he got hurt, and the raccoon leapt over the fence into another neighbor's yard, and shortly thereafter we heard terrible noises coming from that yard. We are hoping it was the crows in the trees the raccoon climbed into, but we are fearful it was a cat making that noise. A harrowing morning. We live in the city, people! There is not supposed to be wildlife in our yard!

Gummy smiles

Lucas still has no teeth and a cute, gummy baby smile. Most babies get their first teeth between 4 and 7 months of age. Lucas turned 8 months old last Monday, and still nothing. He drools and chews like crazy, and has for months, which continually tricks us into thinking he is teething. Josh got his first tooth at 9 months, so we must make late teethers.

Super Tuesday -- Please Vote Obama '08

8 months old

Today, February 4, at exactly 8 months old:

Yesterday, with Daddy for Super Bowl Sunday:

Look Who's Crawling!

It's been a week of movement milestones for Lucas. Last Friday (I know, bad mommy with the late post) he crawled for the first time. That morning, he was doing the modified propeller-leg crawl: with one leg he used his knee on the floor to crawl and maintain balance, with the other leg he put his foot on the floor to propel. But by Saturday he could just crawl (regularly), and now he's all over the place. Especially if he is in sight of Sammy's bowls. What is it about dog bowls that so fascinates babies?
However, he is an ambitious soul, and was not satisfied with this pace. He continues to try very hard to learn to stand and walk. If we stand him up around a low surface (like the coffee table), he can stand there forever, and can even move around it some. If he give him our fingers, he'll walk (at an impressively brisk pace) around the room, although he is still adorably wobbly. Last night (Thursday) he pulled himself up to his feet, using the coffee table, for the first time. This morning, he "cruised" from his play cube to the table for the first time. First steps! (as a cruiser). Won't be long now before his real first steps, with no hands! I give it another month, I think he will be walking by himself in March. He is very motivated.

Copying pictures

Some people have asked how to copy pictures from this blog. Just put your mouse pointer over the photo you want, right-click on the photo, and a menu window will open. You can select options such as "Save Picture As", and then save it into your own directory.
If that fails, just ask me to email it to you!
I have also enabled the email feature on this blog. Under each post there is now a little envelope icon with an arrow. You can click on that to email the entire post to yourself (or someone else).