Gus is much happier now that he can get around on his own. He's been scooting himself backwards across the room for a couple of months, but backwards didn't always get Gus where he wanted to go. Now he can see something and actually go towards it. The other day he was so excited about something that John had that he took off like a rocket to go get it. That lasted all of 2 seconds before he fell flat on his face. He is still slow going, but going nonetheless. His crawl is rather funny; he more hobbles than crawls. It is very hard to describe so I've included a video for you to enjoy.
Getting strong arm muscles.
He is now a happier Gus.
It's all down hill for John now, as Gus can reach the toy shelf.
You can't really tell from this angle, but Gus is actually pulling himself up.
It took a few hundred tries, but I believe we have found food that Gus will eat. I'm sure my second most stubborn kid (for now) was saying to himself the whole time "Would you want to eat this crap?" He just decided to skip the baby food all together and go for the good stuff.
mmmm, graham crackers.
All gone!
He loves to eat food himself. This child of mine does not want to be fed. We've also been trying the sippy cup with a straw, but like John, Gus does not want to work so hard. For this reason I will not be moving him up in the bottle stage so he gets more formula for less work. I've seriously thought about bringing him back to stage one to make him work harder. My goal is to be bottle free by his first birthday...we'll see.
The gross chunky substance stuck to his chin is Gerber dried fruit. I'm sure this piece has been in his slobbery hand, or even in his mouth.
Gus is just now mastering the pincher grasp, but his lack of fine motor skills didn't keep the food from going in his mouth. Until recently this is how he ate. Sometimes he'll still eat like this if he is really hungry.
I think his goal was to get his whole fist in his mouth to ensure that at least one piece of the food would be left behind.
What is that!?!
Don't freak out, it's just chocolate. John had dropped some of his chocolate cake on the floor and I didn't see it, but Gus sure did. Normally you wouldn't give kids chocolate until they are one, but since the damage was already done I thought I'd make it better by snapping pictures.
"Wow, that's good."
He's even checking again to make sure hasn't missed anything.
This picture makes me laugh. While I'm sure I just caught this picture mid-blink, it looks as though he is savoring every last bite.
I'm a simple girl with simple tastes. Well, that statement isn't totally true, but I've never been one for extravagant gifts. I got a lot of great things and before you scroll down and see what my boys got me, I have to say it was really what I wanted. One of the gifts I got was the Pioneer Woman cookbook. I saw the link for Pioneer Woman on one of my friend's facebook page and 5 hours later I peeled myself away from the computer to get some sleep, but was up early the next day reading more. Ree (pioneer woman) was in Denver on Monday for her cookbook signing so Jan and I went...without kids. Well, Jan had Anna, but she is 2 months old and is so cute and sweet. Jan and I had a great time and you wouldn't believe how many people were there. Jan and I got there around 6 for a book signing at 7:30. We were able to grab the last couple of seats in the last row and of course people kept coming and coming. We got into the car to go home around 10:15 so I'm sure Ree was there until after midnight signing cookbooks.
Then, on Tuesday morning Hans cooked me an amazing breakfast and, while I went to work, the boys went shopping.
So here are my gifts from the boys and I feel I must explain them.
The photography book is from Hans. My old digital just died a month ago (poor thing was about 6 years old) and we decided to invest in a nice camera. I picked the Canon Rebel XS which is a great starter camera. I love playing with the camera and learning new things, but I am by NO MEANS a good, decent or even semi-decent photographer. My adorable husband who is ever so picky about framing a picture the proper way, gave me some more reading material and I have enjoyed it so far. I will repeat again, if you ever see me somewhere with a nice camera around my neck, I will gladly send you pictures, but don't expect them to be good...I'm a beginner.
The Slurpee is from Gus. He knows his mom needs some caffeine pumping through her veins if she wants to try to keep up with the boys.
John loved the Slurpee. One of these days I'll get to enjoy a drink with out slobber on the straw...in about 20 years.
And John got me the...
trash can!! He is very excited about this present. My trashcan lid broke just a few days before and we were in quite the conundrum. We could leave the lid on, but it wouldn't open, which makes it hard to put trash in. The option of no lid at all was definitely not an option at all, what with Gus' STINKY diapers. So, I asked my husband for a trashcan and I told him no less than three times that I was not kidding.
After opening presents Hans and John made a great lunch of homemade macaroni and cheese, because I eat like a five year old.
For dinner, Hans went all out and made a great roast, creamy mashed potatoes with gravy, fresh green beans with feta, homemade rolls and my cake was a chocolate molten cake that was simply delicious.
I also received lots of cards, some money (still thinking about what I will get with that), a beautiful necklace and fantastic earrings.
Thank you everyone for making my birthday so special.
