Christmas Videos

Boxing Day: 2nd Christmas

Boxing Day was Christmas Part Two as Pop and Grandma Janet arrived from New York. In the morning Theo and Grandma Janet played with his new duplo blocks. Later, Theo opened the crowning gift, the real working toy piano, and you've just never seen such joy and pride. Theo knows keyboard from the harmonium and the electronic keyboard Grandpa Steve has bought for him to have at his house, and as soon as he saw the piano's keyboard through the torn wrapping paper, he got really really excited and started playing right away. In addition to the concerts we enjoyed Theo giving, we were treated to loads of laughter and increasing practice at one of Theo's new games, standing without holding on to anything, then falling on his butt with peals of giggles.

Christmas Day

Christmas morning hasn't been so much fun since I was a little girl. Theo had a blast with all of the wrapping paper and new toys. We were proud the stacking blocks and bathtub boats Papa picked out were such a big hit. Theo also got a new sleeper, duplo blocks, some truck shoes, and bath toys that morning. We had fun playing with toys all morning and mom came over for some braid and present opening. Chris arrived from Minneapolis that afternoon and Grandpa Steve and Linda joined Chris, Grandma Betsy, and Theo, Matt and I for a delicious Christmas dinner. Later on Uncle Chris gave Theo an awesome tractor toy that is definitely a competitor for top toy. It sings Old MacDonald and includes a farmer and 5 farm animals, horn sounds, and auto-go feature, flashing lights and all the animal sounds. Nice work Uncle Chris.

Christmas Eve

Our little family had a little pre-Christmas warm up on Christmas eve. That morning we showed Theo how to open presents so he could be prepared for the real thing.

Creative peek a boo games

Theo really likes peek a boo. He initiates this type of play several times a day in many forms. He will get next to a door and swing it back and forth, he'll just lean behind an object with a mischievous grin on his face, he'll squat behind objects, he'll cover his eyes with his hands, or hide behind his sippy cup. Of course he loves it when mom or dad starts a game too.

One Sunday morning

Sunday mornings Matt teaches yoga and Mama and Theo hang out just the two of us. This morning after the usual routine of breakfast, diaper and outfit changes we settled in the living room where mom could sit and enjoy some coffee, look out at the wintry morning and enjoy Theo's explorations. Theo checked out the electronics, tried to climb over the ottoman to get to the Christmas tree, pulled himself up on the side table, climbed under the dining room table and then acrobatically got himself out from under there. Now he's having his nap. Also this morning, Theo stood up on his own again for a few seconds...that makes three times!

DA! Action shots

Theo's excessive use of his first word, DA! has tapered off a bit, but in the first few days, a frequent occurrence was Theo pointing up in the air expressively and proclaiming, "DA!" Here's some documentation from one such session in his highchair, plus another random cute shot of him with food on his face. He looks rather intellectual in the first shot, but less so in the second, don't you think?

Theo's "walker"

In case you hadn't heard...yes, Theo can push his table all the way across the kitchen.

PLaying Catch

Theo has taken to the time honored game of catch. It turns out Theo can throw with both hands, and with remarkable accuracy. Well, at least most of the time.

Fun at the dinner table

First word: DA

Its official. Theo's first word is DA. Matt has insisted for weeks that Theo says da sometimes in reference to himself, but something shifted in Theo's mind yesterday: he went from using sounds with meaning to using a WORD. When I got home from work yesterday, Theo climbed up the gate and looked at me and said "da!" That's when I knew. Then at 5 in the morning he said da about 5 times while I was changing him I knew. Then at 7 when he got up and we passed by the open door of our bedroom, and he leaned and pointed and said "DA" insisting that we not let Dad sleep any longer. Then we all knew, especially now 24 hours later after he's said his new word about 100 times. Of course, just about everything is da, from the button on my sweater to the light on the ceiling, mom, dad, and dog alike. But know this, nobody gets called da more than the beloved man himself, DA!

He won't crawl forever

As Theo gets to be a better "cruiser" we realize crawling won't last forever. He sure is fast and cute.

Reachin'

The shelves we can keep stuff other than toys on just keep getting higher. Theo loves to try and pull himself up on things like tables and window sills. Just out of reach shelves are sooo tempting.

Momentous times

Hold on to your hats, loved ones. It has been quite a momentous 2 days. First of all, Theo started cruising this evening. Quite an auspicious day he chose for this, being Thanksgiving and all. It is so exciting I'm sharing two videos: a low def web friendly version and a high def version with some good baby talk included. The low def video is so cute, I could not omit it, since Theo gives us a good quick drum solo on the coffee table, plus he cruises farther. I was so touched when he started doing it I cried. My little guy!

Also, yesterday Theo finally embraced eating things that are in non-mush form. He ate, of his own volition, 2 entire baby mum-mums, a rice cracker made mostly of air, but highl

y crunchy. He ate 2 more at Thanksgiving dinner, along with his first tastes of mashed potatoes, which he loved, of course.

Last but not least, Theo can climb the stairs now. Not one or two, but all the way to the top. With back-up of course. What an amazing 2 days!

New talents continue to pop up

Theo continues to enjoy his standing, and he no longer needs more than a wall to pull himself up on. His crawling is also becoming more expert - his "off road" skills are improving. He can crawl over legs or climb over the bar on his high chair. This morning he climbed his first stairs - 2 of them. Something about being able to climb stairs strikes Matt and I as really a huge deal. He also points and claps a lot these days, but really, what is bigger than climbing stairs?

One week ago Theo learned to pull himself up to stand. Now he is an awesome pro, pulling himself up anywhere and everywhere: on my leg, on the chair, on the couch, on the oven, on the shelves, on the bookcase, on the stairs, on the high chair. The list goes on. I don't think Theo would have developed his standing skill quite so quickly if it wasn't for the activity table Matt bought him on Tuesday. Theo basically spent 2 straight days playing on it and we found that he was actually taking steps as he used it, inadvertent steps, but steps nonetheless. I told Matt he just sped up the walking process by leaps and bounds with one purchase. Now he can push his table or a chair a few feet across the room, clumsily pulling his feet in behind him. Here's our collection of shots from the last week and a video of him banging the kitchen chair like a drum. A fun game.

Stand and be counted

Theo will be 10 months old on Tuesday. My friend Hallie tells me I only have a few short weeks before he is no longer a baby. I'm starting to believe her - the little dude is becoming a stander, and toddling isn't far behind. This morning I was sitting at the kitchen table reading the paper when I heard the distinctive sound of little hands hitting the vinyl fabric covering our kitchen chairs. That is odd, I thought, as I peaked under the table. Low and behold Theo was standing there, holding on to the chair seat. Boy has I proud, and so was he. Later that day Theo made his first attempts at climbing the stairs - not getting anywhere, but sending a clear signal it won't be long. Then a couple of hours later he's pulling himself up on his toy box, repeatedly. And so the standing saga begins.

Grooming time

Blue sweatshirt guys

Cutie crawling

Happy Halloween

We didn't quite make it out to the Halloween party yesterday, but we did have fun making a jack-o-lantern and dressing Theo up like a Yankee. I've included a couple of other "scary" shots from recently, just for fun. Boo!