Christmas Selfie

This year's Christmas miracle was that Forrest played happily in one room for a whole hour! And gave us a chance to take this family picture.

Christmas Dumplings

Practicing his chopsticks skills on the traditional Christmas dumpling. He actually got pretty far before he gave up and used his hands. That's when he realized he doesn't even like dumplings. 

FaceTime

FaceTiming with the boys while I was away. I was surprised but Forrest really did seem to recognize me through the camera!

New Words

At this point I will say it's official. Forrest is starting to talk! For a while he's been saying mama (but not specifically in reference to me), no (that one he means) and uh oh. But those are words every kid says early on, not very special. His first interesting word though, is egg. He says it in Chinese (jidan) and it makes sense since he does love scrambled eggs. Other words he has added now include dad (baba), socks (wa), hot, thank you (xiexie), up, and hat (mao). I'm sure he'll be adding many more to the list very soon!

Look ma, no hands!

There's more and more that Forrest can do on the playground as he gets bigger and improves his balance. He loves the see-saw but thinks holding on is for babies!

Dishwasher

Forrest's latest obsession is the dishwasher. He loves to press the buttons and is constantly running the wash cycle when we turn our backs. We finally realized we should just unplug it altogether. He can still press the buttons but without the lights coming on it's not nearly as fun. Sorry, little guy.

Nainai's Return

Yeye and Nainai are back! Forrest didn't seem to recognize them from the FaceTime calls but he's quickly gotten to know them again. They pick Forrest up early from daycare and take him to the playground every afternoon, and they are finding more foods he will eat. In theory they give mom and dad a break, but in reality that only works if we leave the house because while we're here he's extra clingy. All part of the adjustment to having extra people around I suppose.

Toddler Towers

Another blurry picture, but I wanted to mark Forrest's entrance into the block phase. I'm sure it will last a long time. He's figured out how to gently stack each block of the tower, until he decides to violently destroy it of course.

Perfect Hiding Spot

Who knew when we redid the kitchen that this would turn out to be a perfect Forrest-sized nook? He likes to squeeze in here especially when he has a snack in hand. Good that he's utilizing it now - pretty soon he won't fit in it anymore!

Dim Sum

A successful trip out for dim sum. It only works because with the carts there's no waiting for the food to come. Note the quintessential old Chinese men in the background!

Front Seat Driver

Maybe if they work together they'll figure out how to drive it.

Happy

No special event in this picture, just a happy little guy!

Double Skyping

He's so popular everyone wants to watch him eat dinner.

Lazy Susan

Great grandma gave us her old lazy Susan. It doesn't work so well on the table because if we put anything on it Forrest will spin it right off. But on the floor it makes a pretty good block base.

Lite Brite

A favorite at the museum of science. This one combines two of Forrest's favorite things. Sticking things in other things, and bright lights. You'll probably find us here every rainy day.

Halloween

Obligatory photos of Forrest in his Halloween costume, which did not fool Lotus even for a second.

Aunt Rayna

Forrest learned how to throw sticks for Rayna! Sometimes he forgets to actually throw it and just puts it in her mouth but it's a fun game for everyone. Of all the dogs in Forrest's life, Rayna is by far the most patient and pettable.

Fall Woods

Daddy showed Forrest all the fun things to be found in the woods and Lotus showed us how muddy she can get.

K-I-S-S-I-N-G

Forrest and Ryah have known each other since before they were born, but they've just now started noticing each other.

More Sliding

Yet another slide that Forrest has learned to climb up and slide down by himself. He still forgets to sit down sometimes, but he's basically getting the hang of it!

15 Months Old!

 Forrest is 15 months old! He's 26 pounds, which is just about the 90th percentile. He's bigger than some 2-year-olds, but still not quite as well-balanced as they are. He sure knows how to keep busy, bopping around the house banging and climbing things. He's just started to be interested in books so that's a whole new world for him. He still just has the 8 teeth but I'm sure that will change soon. He's a bit of a picky eater, there are probably about 10 foods he will reliably eat. His favorite is fruit, but beyond that he's pretty into avocado and cheese, and specific types of tofu and rice. There are way more things that make him laugh then ever before, so aside from the tantrums and biting that comes with the toddler territory, we're having a pretty good time these days!

Sitting in a Tree

What better place for a giggle than a nice tree branch?

Bead Maze

Contrary to popular belief, bead mazes actually do exist outside of doctors offices! And this was one of the rare occasions Forrest decided to play with one.

Pumpkin Tree

We spotted a fabulous specimen of the elusive northeastern pumpkin tree! But Forrest was unimpressed as he much prefers his pumpkins on the ground.

Pumpkin Patch

Fun trip to a pumpkin patch with Auntie Sarah and Auntie Sue. Forrest is totally on board with the pumpkin craze but he prefers to climb on them rather than use them to flavor all of his foods.

Corn Maze

Even though he loves corn on the cob, Forrest wasn't actually too into the corn maze. He thought it was a little too corny.

Crate for Two

Fits one large dog or two small children.

Track Star

Taking a few laps with Daddy.

Electric Slide

Although you have to make sure he remembers to sit down at the top, Forrest can climb up and slide down the slide all by himself!

Out for a Stroll

Just strolling down my street like a regular person, no big deal. Notice Forrest's favorite mailboxes in the background!

A Walk on the Pier

At Long Wharf in New Haven, we saw boats, seagulls, and some very prolific fisherpeople. I think grandpa and dad were more excited about the fish than Forrest so it was a good outing all around.

Early Morning Chat

Not sure who wakes up whom, but the kids do enjoy their 6am chats. Now if only Lotus could keep Forrest occupied the rest of the day...

New Pet

Someone wants to take this little pink guy home with him!

Other People's Pumpkins

Forrest likes to carry around the pumpkin we have at home. Unfortunately ours got moldy and now he thinks all the pumpkins in the neighborhood belong to him.

Siblings

Lotus was feeling frisky while Forrest was either hiding or trying to push the lawn chair around. They both thought it was hilarious for maybe 30 seconds, which is about as long as anything lasts around here. 

Low on Photos

I haven't had as much to post on the blog lately because it's getting harder to take pictures of Forrest. He's either running around and climbing things so there isn't time to get my phone out, or the rest of the time he's doing this, and we don't really need more than one whiny shot.

Watermelon

Forrest's favorite! Probably the last of the season. Only he can't quite figure out how to get it open...

Breakfast Time

Learning to use a spoon. There's a lot more of this at mealtimes than actual eating but it's a start.

Cranberry Pond

 

We had a nice weekend in Alstead, New Hampshire where we got Forrest the city kid out into some real nature. He made all kinds of discoveries like rocks, pine cones, sticks, mushrooms, and salamanders. Luckily we avoided the leeches!

Backpacking

We borrowed a good baby hiking backpack for our trip to New Hampshire, and this was us trying it out before we left. Forrest had fun in there, but no matter how well it might distribute the weight, it still feels like you're carrying around a 25+ pound sack of potatoes. So, going up hills was a bit of a workout. Especially for dad when we started handing Forrest some shiny rocks to keep him entertained.

Caged Animals

Forrest has been exploring Lotus's crate recently. Most of the time he just drops things in through the bars, and opens and closes the door. But sometimes when he's feeling brave, he ventures inside. This time I decided to join him. Suffice it to say it was cozy in there! Lotus was a very polite hostess, making us feel quite welcome even though we may not have been her first choice of houseguests.

Walden Pond

We finally made it over to Walden Pond. Forrest's favorite activities were putting rocks in cups and watching people put up their beach umbrellas. I'm not sure Thoreau would have appreciated all the screeching but we had a good time!

Escape the Room

He's almost got it figured out. Once again we're reaching a whole new level of trouble.

Avocado

He's always loved avocado but now he's looking for faster ways to get it down the hatch. Who needs a spoon when you have a face?

Corn on the Cob

I think he likes it! He actually ate most of it off. The downside of corn is that Lotus doesn't seem to like it so we actually have to clean up the fallen kernels. 

A Few of my Favorite Things

That peanut butter sandwich is most certainly one of Lotus's most favorite things! She's glad Forrest is so generous with his snacks since that's pretty much the only perk of her baby brother.

Lake Swim

It's hard to see in the picture but here we are all swimming in the lake at Playfield. This was the most swimming Lotus has ever done though she certainly did not enjoy it. Since she can't tread water she had to be held once she got out to us but she refused to go back to shore where she would be so far from us. So we just had to stick together.

The Knoll

We finally brought Forrest out to some nature. We had a family reunion of sorts at Playfield, the summer home in New Hampshire that Grandma Char used to go to as a child.