First hike

We took Theo out to Wahclellah Falls in the Columbia Gorge for his first hike this weekend.  At first he was all smiles, so happy!  He was so enchanted by the natural world around him, however, that he had a hard time doing anything but looking- he could hardly eat or sleep for there was so much to look at!  He got a bit cranky because of this but dozed off on the hike back.  Theo has long loved to gaze at leaves dancing in the sunlight.  Now he's discovered sunlight dancing on streams and waterfalls, and the play of shadows and paths of light that mingle in the fresh forest air.  Mom and Dad had a great time, too!  

Warbling wiggle worm

Theo has reached many milestones in the last few days!  His first tooth is working on breaking through, of course.  A few days ago, he rolled over for the first time, from his belly to his back, and this evening after his bath, he grabbed his toes for the first time!  Here's a video we took the other day of Theo exercising his vocal cords and rolling around in his tunnel.  Not the most exciting video but wanted to capture the evolving songs for posterity.  Some of his favorite vocalizations these days include blowing bubbles and squealing.  He also loves to sing to himself before falling asleep at night.

Sweetest boy

First tooth is coming!

Theo's first tooth is about to break through.  On the right (his left).  I know you can barely see it in this picture, but believe me.  Its totally on its way!

Late spring afternoon on the deck

Theo and Leroy enjoy the tunnel

4 months old!

Theo's four month birthday came on mothers day.  What a nice treat.  Grandma Betsy was here to help us celebrate.  Theo just went to his four month well baby doctor's visit where he weighed in at 15 lbs 12 ozs, (75th percentile), and 26 and 1/4 inches long (80th)!  What a big boy!  His head circumference was off the charts...maybe a measurement error, but heck, the kid does have a really big head.  

Little developments

Theo is growing fast.  At 3 and 1/2 months, he stands well enough to be measured at the wall (25 inches!), can suck his thumb to sleep, hold his bottle for a few moments at a time, and enjoy social interaction with friends.  Skyeler's showing Theo his nose, which Theo thinks is great, but mama Elke wants to make sure the little baby doesn't loose an eye...but Skyeler is gentle with her little friend.   :)

Great pics from the last couple of weeks

Peek-a-boo

How exciting...Theo started giggling today!  It just doesn't get much better than this!

The activity chair instructions say its only for children who are able to sit up on their own, but Theo is such a strong stander we thought maybe just maybe if we set it up he might be able to enjoy it a bit 

with some support from mom and dad.  Sure enough, he barely

 even needs us - but we're keeping a close eye on

 him nonetheless.  He's barely discovered its a bouncy chair, too.  So far, all he cares about is the sunshine face toy.  A video was most necessary...

Kirtan retreat at Breitenbush

We took Theo to Breitenbush for a kirtan retreat last weekend.  Theo really seemed to enjoy the music and mom and dad got some much needed  rejuvenation.  Fortunately, there was no shortage of Theo admirers.  We even got friends to babysit a couple of times so we could hit the hot springs together.  The best part was when Theo would lay between us on his blanket and wiggle and smile to the music with one hand on each of our knees.

See baby sit, see baby stand

Theo's gross motor skills are coming along swimmingly!  Thanks to a borrowed bumbo seat, he can practice sitting other than on the couch.  This is the first time, though, he's actually looked happy while using the bumbo seat.  

He's been loving to practice standing for a couple of weeks now, but suddenly he's keeping his legs under himself while I hold his torso for half a minute!  I even managed to take a picture while holding him by one arm.  And only 3 months old!  

Theo's best friend the red bird and Theo's drooly smile

Theo holds a toy!

This morning at breakfast while Theo sat in his bouncy chair waking up and flashing morning smiles, I decided to hold a toy up to Theo's hands.  He has been spending new time lately hitting things with his hand and watching his hand open and close.  He grabs at things now, but mostly unconciously it seems, and especially during diaper changing time.  

So I held the toy up to his hand and he started opening and closing his hand as he watched closely and saw that he was grabbing the toy and letting go, grabbing and letting go.   Suddenly he grabbed the toy and held on.  Before I knew it he had the toy firmly in his grasp and did not let go for a good 10-15 minutes.  We of course had to take a video for posterity.  Enjoy!