Undertow Strikes Again

Save yourselves!

Later, Lotus

Lotus wonders where everyone is going without her. I am still amazed that they allow kids everywhere and they don't allow dogs even if they're better behaved.

First Birthday

Happy first birthday, Forrest! Of course it's really his second birthday, though the first one was his birthing day so I guess it doesn't count. We kept it low key so we didn't have to plan ahead and we did whatever we felt like. We took him to his first visit to the zoo, gave him his birthday watermelon, and went to the outdoor pool for the first time. I told him he could have as much watermelon as he wanted (it's his favorite, along with strawberries) and I was on the edge of my seat to find out how much that would be. Turned out it wasn't that much that he ate before he crawled away to do something else. Mystery solved, and first birthday complete!

1 Year Old!

We made it to one year! That makes us what percent done again? We all survived which I'd say is quite an accomplishment. Forrest is 24 pounds, he can walk now and he has started pointing and waving goodbye and clapping. He's even more stubborn about not eating what he doesn't want and about doing things himself like holding his cup and spoon, even though he's not very good at it yet. Welcome to toddlerhood Forrest!

Morning Jaunt

We took Lotus and Forrest out for some exercise this morning. Lotus ran farther but laid down to rest sooner.

Smoothie King

Smoothies are a hit with Forrest! Well, except when he catches onto the fact that I'm putting greens in them. And except when the bits get stuck in the sippy cup holes. But when the fruit runs freely, he's a fan.

Chinatown

Forrest's first trip to New York City consisted of a trip to Flushing. He visited his new friend Socorro and tasted all his dad's favorite foods. Although you may think the name of this vendor is Farm Style Deli, it is actually Harbin Foods! An exciting find for dad and Forrest's first chance to have the famous Harbin sausage.

Red Wheelbarrow

Forrest had fun with the red wheelbarrow at Grandma Char's house! It's kinda trippy when the wall suddenly becomes the floor. Who's doing that?!

Walking: The Next Step

Ah, the exhilaration of getting to where you were going! There's really nothing like it, especially when you get yourself there on your own two feet. Forrest is really making progress in his walking. It's still not very useful as a mode of transport but he's getting much better at balancing and steadying himself between steps. Pretty soon he'll be a bonafide biped!

Walking: An Early Attempt

One of Forrest's earlier attempts at walking. He can only take a few wobbly steps, but he's definitely doing it. Look ma, no hands!

Blueberries for Sal...

 ...and for Forrest too. Blueberries are one of the few things Forrest is reliably willing to eat (along with cucumbers and other berries). Not shown in this video is how he has started offering them to me too. So thoughtful!

Contain Yourself

 
This is an exciting time because Forrest is starting to be able to engage in activities that use his brain! Most of the time he'd rather crawl around and yell, but occasionally he will sit and think about things which is a nice change of pace. Usually what he thinks about is how to get certain smaller objects into larger containers. So I've once again raided the recycling bin to make him some little activities like this one. I hope he sustains the interest!

Electric Slide

Okay the slides around here aren't really electric. Unless you count static electricity which makes Forrest's hair stand up after a few slides, but which I haven't gotten a picture of. He sure loves a good slide though and is just about stable enough to go down by himself, though he topples over less when he goes down on his back. He also loves to crawl back up the slide but usually there's another kid coming down so he hasn't had a lot of chance to perfect his technique.