It's all fun and games until...

I've told most of you that Ian is getting to be a bit rough-and-tumble in his manner of play. Let me rephrase that. Ian is a tiny hurt factory. He himself seems to be nigh invulnerable, but he can unleash a flurry of kicky feet, slappy hands, and pokey fingers that can bring stinging tears of pain to the most stoic of us.

Here's what I mean:

1. Oh, it starts innocently enough.	2. Then, without warning, a lightning-fast palm to the forehead.
3. With his opponent stunned and woozy, Ian has a bit of fun. Here's Ian's version of "got yer nose."	4. A fishhook to the lower lip draws the match to a quick finish. Sulking, his opponent whimpers, "I hink hy hip is hleeding."

Ian At Work

I've really been looking forward to the time when Ian can sit and play. He is really a serious little man when he gets into his playing "zone", but so far he has only been able to really concentrate on his "work" when he's in the megasaucer. Ian can play in the megasaucer for an entire half-hour stretch. What is the megasaucer, you ask?

Observe:

1. Ian is focused and on-task.	2. Watch carefully. Reaching for the "Tiny Ginger Clown", Ian executes a "no-look" maneuver. His gaze is still directed at the "Keys of Frustration". This is multitasking at its finest.
3. Without losing a precious moment, Ian turns toward the "Tiny Ginger Clown", giving it his full attention. If he bashes the clown's head just so, he is rewarded with a tinny electronic rendition of "Frere Jacques".	4. His objective achieved, Ian returns his full focus to the "Keys of Frustration". One day they will surrender their secrets to him.

In a rare moment of rest, Ian wonders: as awesome as the Megasaucer is, how great will the Gigasaucer be? As a math teacher, I can state with confidence that it will be 1000 times as great.

Ian's First Solid Food, Part 2

You will recall from the previous post that Ian was experimenting with new foods. His hands-down favorite is sweet potato. Ian recently went in for his six month checkup, and his pediatrician told us that it was very likely that Ian's digestive difficulties after that first week of solid food were due to a virus. We thought we were letting him try too many foods too soon. To make a long story short, Ian is once again eating solids and his appetite for them is increasing steadily. Last night he went through two jars of delicious sweet potato! Who's a good little eater?

Here are some photos from Ian's first week of solid food. These are dated November 21st, 2010.

Ian's First Solid Food

In mid-November, when Ian was right around five months old, we gave him his first taste of solid food. He had been very curious about everything we ate and drank for a couple of weeks, so he seemed eager to give it a go. Shannon had also just bought a super cool high chair for Ian, and we wanted to give him a chance to sit at the dinner table like a big boy. The pictures that follow actually show Ian's second taste of solid food: mashed bananas. His first taste had been mashed avocado on the previous day. I know. Not really that "solid". What did Ian think of it? Take a look.

I think this first image captures Ian's feelings best. Ian made his first yucky face. Well, his second actually. He made the same face after the avocado. After the first couple of photos, he just became distracted by the camera. Super cute though!

As the week progressed, we tried other foods: yams, squash, peas... We later learned that we were trying out too many new foods at once. It was all very new and a bit of a shock to his gears and tubes, which rejected the new and highly experimental fuel.

Anyone Have Photoshop?

Ian is super cool in sunglasses. I think Aunt Carol bought these for him. They're still a little big, but that just makes them cuter, right?

This photo is also a really sweet opportunity for someone with Photoshop. Ian's begging to have a cigarette pasted between his little fingers. Bonus points if you can add smoke.

Also, feel free to suggest captions.

Skyping With Grandma Penny

Grandma Penny captured these still pics while we were Skyping on Friday. Yes, Skyping is a word: stop underlining it in red!

The first of these might be the best picture yet of Ian laughing. Who's a happy boy?

Happy Halloween from Ian!

Happy Halloween!

Ian is a very frightening DRAGON for Halloween. His costume is WAY too big for him, but it's super cute!