Trip to New York Part 5: New Talents

Theo showed off his intelligence quite a bit in New York. He showed Grandma and Grandpa where their noses, bellybuttons, and ears are. He made the sounds of a rooster, lamb, and dog. He threw balls. He said cracker over and over again. Most impressively, he learned to open his new jack-in-the-box without turning the crank, by just pushing the latch that holds the lid down. No one showed him this, he just figured it out on his own. Boy was he pleased with himself. We were all pretty impressed!

Trip to New York Part 4: Grandma Janet and Pop

Theo got to spend lots of quality time with Grandma Janet and Pop: playing with fabulous new toys, reading books, and of course, hanging out upside down. They were super hosts to all three of us and showed us all a really good time!

Trip to New York Part 3: New things

Theo got to experience lots of new things in New York. One of his favorite things was long hallways, which he spent quite a bit of time gleefully (almost) running up and down. We also went in a swimming pool for the first time, which Theo wasn't too sure about, but he loved splashing in the puddles once we got out. He had his first conscious experience of a plane ride, which he seemed to think was pretty cool, his first New York pizza, and his first ice cream, from the famous Carvel, which he loved.

Trip to New York Part 2: Lots of family to visit

There were many more family members to visit in New York besides great grandparents. Out on Long Island it was like Christmas at Grandma's with so many of Matt's cousins and their kids and his aunts and uncles. Many brought Theo gifts of welcome to the family and Grandma Vi, at 90, fixed up an incredible feast fit for the occasion. Back in Yonkers, we were treated to visits from Matt's cousin Casey, her husband Rudy and 2 year old daughter Eva, and old family friends Pete and Q.

Trip to New York Part 1: Great grandparents

Matt and I took Theo to New York for an action-packed family vacation. We've been back for three days, but I've got so much blog material I've hardly known where to begin. So, on this, my last day of vacation, I realize I should start with the beginning; the most important reason for our trip, to introduce Theo to his great grandparents on Matt's side of the family. Here we are visiting with Gene's mom Great Grandma Barbara who flew all the way from Florida to see us, and Janet's parents on Long Island, Great Grandma Vi and Great Grandpa Frank.

Such a guy

Uncles, aunties and cousins oh my

As a prelude to Matt and I's upcoming visit to New York, Matt's cousin Peter visited while he was in town for a conference. Brad and Jenny came over too, and Theo got to play bouncy ball with his Uncle Brad. Theo was a real charmer that evening, walking around giggling, squealing and being all-around a whole lot of fun. Peter fascinated Theo by making a popping sound using his finger in his mouth, and Theo has been trying to replicate it ever since. I've had to learn to do it so I can satisfy Theo's new need for mouth-popping sounds.

Lovin' spoonful

Theo is starting to get spoon-use! Horrah!

We spent a very cold morning at the zoo on Saturday, and had a very fun time. It was the first time that Theo could walk around and direct what he wanted to see, to some extent, anyway. Matt commented on how Theo seemed equally taken by the pigs, orangutans, or just a waterfall in an empty exhibit. Although, as you can see, the orangutan part was pretty awesome.

Thanks for the visit Grandma Betsy and Great Aunt Carolyn!

A couple of weeks ago, Papa went to California and Grandma Betsy and Great Aunt Carolyn came to visit me and Theo! It was such a fun visit, and a very special treat to have Great Aunt Carolyn in Portland! We enjoyed eating Thai food and Indian food, Aunt Carolyn helped me do some painting, and we walked Theo and Lucy to the park and Grandma Betsy and Great Aunt Carolyn helped Theo go down the slide over and over.

During her visit, Grandma Betsy was a big help by babysitting on Monday so I could go to work. She also bought Theo a new set of Duplos, with pieces that form a Thomas the Train plus a big tunnel for the train to go under. Theo loves it! The other day I was playing with Theo with the train, and I would roll the train under the tunnel, and if it would get stuck instead of coming out the other side, I'd say "oops!" and Theo would fall into fits of giggles.

Big boy at the table

Well friends, Theo is officially a toddler. He walks all the time, all over the house, back and forth, round and round. Matt put together his new pint-sized table and chairs this week, and Theo is thrilled with his new furniture. He's too little to get into the chair himself, yet (even though he's a whopping 32 inches high!), but he requests (by whining) to be placed in his chair often, and loves sitting like a big boy at the table. He likes to pound on the table like a drum or play with his teach and touch turtle. The chairs are also really fun to push around. A new word to report, "bird", which he learned at Grandpa Steve's house...of course!

All the things he can do UPDATE!

Today Theo learned to stand up in the middle of the floor without holding on to anything! AND he waited until I got home from work to do it for the first time! He got such a reaction out of me that he did it over and over again, falling onto his butt in between just to do it again. Between this and the advances in walking the last few days, he'll be running in no time.