August 2006: Holiday across the pond

Wow, what a month! There's a lot to catch up on, so forgive my longwindedness (now where did those genes come from?)

Fun in the UK!
The most amazing thing this month has been, of course, my first big travel experience.
On the night of the 10th, Mama, Papa, and I flew out of Atlanta headed for London. This was the same day that uncovered a plot to crash planes from London to the US. Considering this, things went pretty smoothly at the airport and through all the extra security. We arrived safe and sound and tired in London, where we collaapsed in our hotel long enough for a nap before heading to a tasty (so they tell me) Scottish dinner with Papa's cousin Ian, who has recently moved to London. (Mama was tickled to order "haggis, mash, and bashed neeps" for dinner. Frankly, that doesn't sound any funnier to me than anything else everyone says all day.) We also had breakfast with him the next day along with a walk around famous old buildings that I won't remember having seen when I grow up.

Mama and Papa then rented a car and started the drive to Cornwall, where my great uncle Tim lives. We got as far as Exeter, and needed to stop for the night. The next morning, we went to services at the Exeter Cathedral. I spent most of the service (as I do at home) eating and sleeping. But Mama and Papa were avidly taking in the churchy ambiance, the nice choir, and the sermon (which was suprisingly good for Anglicans, said Papa).

The next day, we finally arrived in Port Isaac, Cornwall, where we'd spend the four days enjoying family and exploring UK's vacationland. There were holiday makers everwhere--especially all over the place on the day we went to Land's End. It was nice to be surrounded by uncles, both my great uncle Tim and my uncle Norwood, who joined us a couple days into our trip. On our last day, we drove to London and met up with 9amo Ian again for a dinner at River Cafe, apparently one of the most posh places in London to eat. Uncle Norwood treated us, and everyone but me got to eat 3 courses of amazing things like stuffed grouse and Scottish mussels. The next day, we flew back to Atlanta. Grandpa Marty met us at the airport and took us home, where bed was waiting for us.

More family fun!
Papa's cousin Elise and Uncle Alec came to visit. I was so happy to finally meet Tia Elise. She gave me "drool bibs" from Hawaii. She's cool. The family gang all went to the Botanic Garden's tropical rainforest section to get out of Atlanta's heat. (It didn't make any sense to me, either.) But I did like the sculptures inthe garden by Niki de Saint Phalle. Mama had got all excited by this fountain (if I'd been awake at the time, I'm sure I would have asserted that this was an image of heaven). We all went out to dinner that night, when I entertained everyone with my new dance moves. Near the end of this month, Mama and Papa started going to lunch every week with great-grandmommy. She and I had a kind of meeting of minds.


Milestones and other stuff:
On August 2nd, I discovered a really fun activity: push something off the table and watch Papa pick it up. I started with a napkin, but hope to move on to more exciting things soon!

At the beginning of this month, I'd gotten better at grasping stuff put to my hands. By the end, I am reaching out and grabbing stuff. Sometimes, I use one hand to reach and the other to guide the first. Mama thought that was especially cute. During this month I have also developed my love of being on my belly. Now I roll over almost immediately when put down on my back. I roll over and sleep at night on my belly since Aug 9th. I still have not started to crawl, though. I do scoot a little bit here and there (all over my crib), and when I'm working on getting somewhere, I make an ungh-ungh noise. It can get frustrating to see what you want, but not quite be able to get to it, you know?

More new sounds this month: OK, so it doesn't look like many of you are checking out the videos I post. It's ok, I understand--you're busy people and technology can be confusing (tell me about it--I get baffled by my own thumbs!) Anyway, if there is only one video you ever take time to see, make it this one: Bellylaugh. It will brighten your day. And, for those of you who have the time, check out "Babble," in which Papa lends some assistance to my chatty self.

In case you're getting the idea that I'm always happy, here's a picture to show that I, too, have a range of emotions. In fact, in the last part of this month, I've given this face a lot. Since I've been lubricating it (and the 10 fingers that I stuff into my mouth--and everything I then touch) with lots of drool, Mama's convinced I've started to teethe. No white pearlies have shown up yet, though, so who knows?

And I've started to multitask when I eat. Looking around and grabbing stuff are my current favorite eating co-activities. I have also graduated to new equipment this month. I can now be found in a new bigger carseat, in a high chair, or in a saucer play seat. One place Mama put me, in an act of desperation, was in my high chair in front of the computer to watch a Baby Einstein video. As you can see, I LOVED it. I quit fussing, and went into a zone. After about five minutes, Mama took me away, with some lame excuse that "screen media" are bad for babies under 2 years old. I tried to express my disappointment, but she was babbling something about the American Academy of Pediatrics and their recommendations and cognitive development and attention deficit disorder. Blah blah blah. From what I can tell, this all means that I'll have to wait until I'm 2 to get more of that tv/video/screen media good stuff. Boo hoo.

Finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't note that this month I turned 4. (months, that is). Before my doctor check up, Mama and Papa were taking bets on how heavy I am. Mama said 18 pounds. Papa said 20. GrandB said 25. You wanna guess? I'll give the real answer next month. (BTW, I'm 27 inches long, which everyone says is really long for a guy my age.) OK, bye for now, good people!