Hollis and Skylar

Hollis and Skylar sitting in a tree. K i s s i n g....

Just a little fun!

I love, love, love the taste of dog bones!

Can the day get any better!?

Experimenting with Sounds

I am beginning to see what this muscle in my mouth can do. I like to stick it out, roll it, click it and even spray spit with it. I think this might be the start to learning how these big people in my house communicate! My favorite things to say are OH! and I have wrapped my father around my finger by saying DAD! I am having so much fun signing for milk that I like to trick mommy into thinking it is time and I am really not hungry. Ah! When will they learn that they are mere pawns in my game.

Photobooth fun

Our friend Debbie setup a photo booth at her house as part of an art walk this past weekend. With a remote, digital camera, backdrop, laptop and printer, she had a (very nice) improvised photo booth in her driveway. While Jen was teaching a yoga workshop on labor and birth, Hollis and I spent some quality time taking pictures and playing in the sand. As you can see, he was his usually camera ham self.

First goose egg.

Hollis is sometimes like a monkey. Crawling, climbing, exploring. Sometimes, he's like a bear. Growling, grunting, scratching his back. But sometimes, he's like the tazmanian devil. Spinning faster, faster, faster. We were all in the kitchen, with Hollis on the floor, giggling about something from the tupperware drawer. I started playing the look away, look back game and Hollis started twirling around on one knee. Around and around he went until he went thunk!!! He spun himself, headfirst, into the door frame under the bar. He's got a little bruise and a small bump to show for it, but he bounced back in just a few minutes. Giggling and spinning again....

Stop interrupting me!

Sometimes I find focus in the simple things, such as tupperware. And just when I'm starting to really make sense of it all, along comes dad and wants me to pose for a picture. Grrrr. Just give me some peace and quite so I can explore the lids and bowls!!!

The Burden of Broccolli

The other night at dinner we decided to introduce a plate full of mixed pasta and veggies to Hollis. This was the first time we gave him a mixed dish and he dove right in. After a few bites Chris and I noticed he was very agitated. He kept his mouth tightly shut--"mmmmrrrr, mmmmmrrrr, mmmmmmmrrrrrrrr, " he yelled. He continued to shove food in his mouth but would not chew or swallow. With his cheeks packed for more than 5 minutes we decided to intervene and see if we could help. Not knowing what the "problem" actually was, I gave him some water to see if he would drink. He drank with is cheeks packed like a chipmunk but wouldn't swallow any of the food. Chris and I couldn't help but laugh at him. I then began to dive into his mouth to check out the situation. Index fingered hooked, I tried to clear a path from his tongue to his throat. He would not let me in at first and continued to say "mmmmmmrrr, mrrrrrrrmmmmmrrrrrr." Finally I was successful: pasta, peas, broccoli and carrots started dropping out on the table in front of him (tons of food). I thought I had everything out but he continued to say "mmmmmrrr, mmmmrrrrr, mmmmmmmrrrrr." After wiping away the tears from laughing so hard, I stuck my finger in a second time and fished out a piece of broccoli that was approximately 1.5"X 1.5".

Chris and I will never know how such a little guy could pack away so much food. We know he can eat a ton but had no idea he had the cheek capacity of a lion's belly