The Backpack Carrier in Action

It worked! No one was dropped. Andrew was quite pleased with his hiking accommodations.
I had the easier carrying duties, just playing in a field.

Ready to hit the trails

This week I ventured into the virtual crazytown that is Craigslist and, after extricating myself from several unnecessarily long and rambling conversations with the seller, I emerged with this nifty backpack child carrier at a bargain price. Andrew, prepare to be strapped to Daddy and introduced to nature. You'll love it -- there is lots of grass to eat.

Evasive Cheerios

Andrew has started eating Cheerios this week. The amount of effort it takes him to get one into his mouth provides for hours of entertainment at this stage in the game.

Andrew is a nature lover

Andrew paid his first visit to Valley Forge on Saturday, and although he started off snoozing in his stroller during our walk, he soon woke up and enjoyed looking at the trees. He got to ride on my shoulders for a little bit, which is great for him because then he can reach leaves to grab. The day was capped off for him with a nice yogurt picnic on the blanket, after which he proceeded to pull at the grass. Below is a nice time-lapse series of him truly enjoying the grass, before I intervene....

A Bowl Full of Amusements

One of Andrew's key leisure activities lately is to empty our salad spinner bowl of whatever toys and household objects we've filled it with. The child likes a clean bowl.

Uncle Neil!

Andrew hanging out with Uncle Neil, who was visiting from the West Coast. I managed to capture a moment on film when Andrew wasn't crying in Neil's arms -- seems a little stranger anxiety has set in. Shortly after this photo, Andrew got a hold of Neil's iphone (which is pretty much his favorite toy) and before Neil realized it, Andrew had sent a Facebook message to a high school acquaintance of Neil's, who he's not really that in touch with. Andrew's big communiqué: "e d." Though that doesn't seem any more cryptic than Neil's usual Facebook posts. :)

Clap clap clap!

7 Months (and 6 days)!

Previous photos in this series found here.

This may not be the best photo in the time lapse series, but the household photographer (i.e., Greg) is working a lot lately. And, MAN is it difficult to photograph Andrew without him trying to eat that highland cow. Plus, he's getting so big now it's hard to take a picture from directly overhead.

At 7 months Andrew is a happy little baby who kicks and wiggles when he is pleased and doesn't cry a lot but makes "eh eh eh" sounds sounds when he is hungry or bored and looking for attention. ("There are moments he lacks for attention?!" you wonder.) He sleeps well, eats 3 meals a day with his two little teeth, and can sit up quite well and play with his toys or whatever household object we've put in front of him, masquerading as a toy. Andrew still is not really one for rolling over, so he is pretty much stuck in whatever position we put him in. His desire to sit up, therefore, has him futilely performing baby crunches from the supine position. His babbling sounds include dadada, mamama, and nanana.

And as for the 7 month hair (or as we call it, "fluff") update: it's getting quite long and starting to lay flat in front. We'll start taking bets as to when it stops standing straight up in the back.

Fun with ice cubes

A little game we discovered last weekend.
(Video gets bigger when you play)

Weekend Recap

We had one of those rare weekends in which we got a lot of chores done but still had a lot of fun and relaxed. Also enjoyed non-suffocating, pleasant weather -- quite a rarity indeed this summer.

Saturday morning we hung out at the park and took the opportunity to take a few pictures of Andrew. You know, because there's a chance we don't have enough. But these are special occasion photos -- you can tell, because we've removed his bib. A dangerous move these days, as he is drooling more than ever as his second tooth comes in.