dat guy - 8 months

has discovered his tongue
likes sweet potatoes best
enjoys stealing the spoon and "feeding" himself
has decided mobility might actually be worth it: scoots and scuffs and faceplants, but eventually gets there. poor kid is eating a lot of carpet.
is getting long and skinny
loves to be outside to watch the cars and trucks
survived (and enjoyed) his first boys' weekend with daddy

dat guy named owlex

guys. he's SEVEN months old already. when did that happen? literally, 7 days ago. 

alex likes:

foods that are orange, bath time, swinging, hangin out with his feet up, mama, balls, being outside, daddy, being held…always, things that crackle and/or jingle and/or generally make noise, being upside down, and watching the cars go by on the corner.

alex does not like:

new people (at least not for a while) putting clothes on, taking clothes off, and sleeping through the night

that's pretty much it. he's a pretty easygoing guy. he likes things pretty quiet and likes to observe before he gets involved. everywhere we go, people comment on how cute he is. and sometimes it gets me free sodas. 

dat guy named owlex

this guy is 6 months old and…

he loves to be outside
is very intrigued by cars, trucks, any moving vehicle, people, dogs, loud noises, squirrels, birds, sticks and grass. but really cars and trucks
he has very little interest in movement, unless it gets him out of tummy time. then he'll roll only over his right shoulder. #notanambiturner
has more interest in cords/phones/water bottles/mama's keys than his own toys
cries during arguments on tv and sad music
flaps his arms like a hummingbird and kicks his legs when he's excited to see you - particularly after a nap
he smiles for the camera (or phone) then tries to take it
wears 12 month clothing
is already quite the lady killer with his shy guy act
loves zerberts
sounds like an owl when he's upset
loves him some paper
is generally pretty quiet and content to sit and take it all in
loves dat guy in the mirror
loves his bath, particularly the part where he gets to lay on the counter
is very interested in ALL THE THINGS
loves growly, barky and snorty noises
loves to fly and bounce and be held upside down
holds objects in one hand and pats them with the other

if you're sleeping and you know it clap your hands!

i don't have kids that say funny things, but i do have ben. he says funny things when he's awake, but even funnier things when he *thinks* he's awake.

lately, i've been staying up with the lamp on to read so i've been wide awake for these encounters. ben claims it's comforting to fall asleep with the light on, but i wonder if he doesn't sleep quite as well because he seems to sleep more "actively" when it's light. on this particular night, a while after he'd fallen asleep, ben lifted his head off the pillow a few inches and raised his arm straight in the air, moving it from side to side.

a: what are you doing?

b: mbfflmbelmmbbbffflelm

a: what?

b: i'm just making sure none of this stuff slides around.

a: oh. are you awake?*

b: <chuckles as if this is a silly question and nods assuredly>

a. where are you?

b: at the firm.

a: <very much amused> honey, we're in bed. there's nothing up there but air. are you sure you're awake?

b: <again, laughs as if this is a silly quesiton, rolls over and settles deeper into sleep>

a few weeks before that, he tried to steal my covers, claiming he "needed the documents." 

riiiiiight.

*it took me a while to learn that he will always answer "yes" when asked if he's awake, but i still ask anyway.

tree for sale

i'm trying to grow herbs in my windowsill. my basil is actually doing very well. but my cilantro died. and then this sprang up in its place. at first i thought it was resurrected cilantro, but as it got bigger, i realized it was...not.

anybody want a tree? or a weed? or some cilantro masquerading as a tree or a weed?

all that jazz

my good friends mary mo and brandon came back to dc for a visit and wanted to go to jazz in the garden. ben and i were happy to oblige. the concerts have grown so popular that the sculpture garden, where the bands actually play, is usually full by the time the program starts.

so we went across the street to the national mall, where we had a nice view of the silver tree ("graft" by roxy paine) and the national archives and could still hear the musical stylings of the great time jazz band without bursting our eardrums or going bum-numb sitting on the concrete.

we rounded out the evening - and our bellies - with some chopp'd salads and rita's custard. glad we could see you, mary and brandon! touch hands...

rescue me - part 2

what happened to part 1, you ask? well, it's here. why didn't you see it before?  because i hadn't posted it yet. i have this thing about chronology...

so anyway, here we are, dangling from trees, putting our skills learned on the ground to use in the air. we learned how to rappel down, then how to climb back up, then how to rappel past a knot in the rope.

tali

steven, kim and tali

the other ben

the other ben and tali

annie and ben, sittin in a tree...