Teeth and Other Happenings

Look at those upper teeth! They're finally starting to show. He's had them coming in for a while, now, but only recently have we been able to see them well.

Friday really likes water - fountains, bath, water table, kiddie pool... although oddly, he would prefer to NOT wash his hands. Usually. Earlier this evening, the water in the tub was enticing enough for him to pull himself up on the tub edge to see it more closely! So, we're pretty sure he CAN pull himself up... he's just not that into it. Yet.

Current tricks include opening cabinets, pulling hair (his, mine, the cats, daddy's leg hair...whatever), and screaming when things don't go his way. Which, by the way, happens to be OFTEN. You know, when I won't let him have the curry. Or, perhaps, when he can't get the refrigerator door open. Or, when the cabinet under the sink won't open (he often pulls at the hinge side, and really, there isn't much I can do about it not opening there). Or, when I attempt to change his diaper or put clothes on him. Or take them off.

The Little Dude has decided he enjoys Grover's company (and sometimes Pooh also):



Bedtime hasn't been so bad lately, either. Maybe it's Grover? Of course, there is always the fun of playing with the crib aquarium. Who knows?

Birthday Cupcake!

Saturday was Boy Friday's first birthday (wait, I guess it would be his second...hmm). Ok, well, the first one with a cake. There was definitely no cake last year. In fact, I don't think I got to eat anything at all!



As you can see here, we're both much more smiley than last year at this time.











And here he is after the cupcake massacre (and some cleanup), playing with his new blocks:



I think he enjoyed the cupcake. I, however, had to blow out his candle. Although he makes blowing noises, he only wanted to grab the flame. Sorry, little buddy - maybe next year.

Boy Friday would like to thank everyone for sending cards and gifts for his birthday. Tonight he's wearing some new pajamas sent by his cousin, Riley, and her parents (and the pants GLOW!).

In One Year...

Rather Nice Saturday!

We went back up to the Chicago Botanic Garden earlier this evening - the weather was absolutely lovely. Overcast and a bit on the chilly side.



There's been a lot of "peek-a-boo" around these parts lately:







But no more pulling up to a stand just yet (although he's really interested in trying to pull up on the toilet...).

And for my next trick...

Just once, yesterday, Boy Friday slowly pulled himself all the way up to standing! Who knows if he'll manage it again today or tomorrow... but he seemed pretty happy with himself (especially when daddy came back to take his picture).

This next one is from a few days ago - Chester and the little guy trying to "help" daddy with dinner.



A few weeks ago when we had pizza for dinner, we gave in and let Boy Friday have a piece or two. He REALLY liked it, and kept screeching for more! I finally had to remove him from the vicinity of the pizza in order to get him to calm down. Yikes.

Craziness on the Fourth of July

While we were away in South Bend, Indiana for the Bob Dylan/Willie Nelson/John Mellencamp concert, my mom watched Boy Friday for the evening. As far as we know, everything went just fine - he was asleep when we got back, amazingly enough considering the war-like conditions just outside (I mean the noise from fireworks everywhere). Apparently, it's crazy here on the Fourth of July. On our drive back from Indiana, there was haze and fog and smoke, as well as an occasional firework here and there. Of course, we had no idea that when we got home, the haze and fog would be so much worse than we'd experienced the whole way home. WOW. I have never lived anywhere before where fireworks were legal (apparently I still don't. crazy!). Um. It's somewhat frightening (especially for Tyger), and I think it makes fireworks much less "special" than I always thought they were. The woman next door just told me yesterday that she found a bunch of firework-debris in her backyard, but didn't know who had been setting them off (it was across the alley). In fact, I was STILL hearing fireworks go off until last night (sure, just a few, but really, people - how much fun is it?).
Taken by pantagrapher, but you get the idea what it looked like here...



Here's Boy Friday in his holiday outfit, sent by his Grandma in Florida.

Asserting His Independence.

You'd think the little guy were into the terrible two's already these days... Seriously, if you take something away, he'll scream his head off (really wonderful at 6:30 this morning, after I explained that no, he shouldn't be shoving things into the oven door). And there is NO WAY that he wants to change his clothes or diapers. NO WAY MAMA! And what is the deal with getting only 8 hours of sleep last night (he woke up at 5:30 a.m.)?? Crazy little guy - mama needs to sleep, too!

It is fun to see what he can do. When my mom was here last week, Boy Friday started a fake "sneeze" (apparently expecting a "bless you!" in return). It's just hilarious! I keep wanting to get that on video, but I haven't managed it yet. He can sort of "stand" on his knees now (without holding onto anything), so his core strength must be getting better. Friday's crawling is quite fast, too - turn around for a second and perhaps he's trying to turn on the computer, sitting on Chester, or attempting to check out the cat's litter box. We have a gate on his bedroom (to keep him IN not out), but he'll often grab the bars and scream/cry/whimper as soon as he realizes he's trapped.

I posted more photos on Flickr, but here are a few from our recent trip to the Chicago Botanic Garden, as well as a couple from the swings at Portage Park.





Seems to enjoy the swings!







We got to see mama and baby ducks, too! So cute.