Eight Months Already!

Sometimes I can't believe my colicky baby has become such a charming kid! After five months of unhappiness, Desmond is working hard to make up for lost time. These days he will smile at almost anything that moves. It makes trips out in public quite fun.

Last week was a busy one for Desmond. He's finally started sitting on his own. I think it took seeing David B. (his elder by three months) unsteadily tottering around for Des to want to be upright.

His favorite kitchen toys are these measuring spoons, a regular serving spoon, and the whisk.

He's also demonstrating a high tolerance for fear and pain. It's rare that anything will scare Desmond enough to make him cry. Peter is grateful for this, since their favorite game is having Peter startle Desmond in all kinds of ways. I hope he isn't too stubborn when he gets older. A stubborn, fearless little boy sounds like quite a handful!

One of Desmond's funnier moves is trying to eat with his hands. He doesn't have it quite down yet, but he will grasp at pieces of toast and try to shove it in his mouth. The funniest is when he gets the bread, but doesn't release it into his mouth. That doesn't keep him from convincingly chewing as if he were actually eating. It's quite amusing.

He's also started babbling "mama" in a word-ish kind of way. I don't think he exclusively associates it with me yet. He seems to know that I'll react if he says it though. "Mama" might mean food, help me, I'm unhappy, or "hey you". I have to confess that it still makes my heart jump when he says it to me. :-)

Frisbee season is now over. Only the tournament weekend remains. Overall, Desmond did really well. As he got older (two months is a long time for this little guy!), I can see how he did better and better at the games. I'm sooo grateful to my teammates who helped watch him while both Peter and I would play a point, like Sarah, Lyndsie, Elizabeth, Tara and others! I still have a long way to go in getting back to my old Ultimate-self, but I made respectable progress this season. I'm looking forward to the fall season already!

Road Trip

A couple of weeks ago we drove down to Chapel Hill, North Carolina to see my sister defend her Masters' thesis. It was our first road trip with Desmond. It was also a smashing success. Desmond was reasonable in the car, slept well away from home, and liberally doled out his most endearing smiles. We enjoyed great time with family and meeting some of Megan's good friends. I couldn't have hoped for a better trip!

Megan did a great job in presenting her thesis. She was a perfect blend of professional and charming. It's amazing to see how much she has learned in the past few years. Her professors think so too - she passed!

We didn't take many photos on the trip. Managing all the baby stuff and baby was enough for us. Here are some of the few shots we got.

Hamming it up with Grandma

Don't even try; I win all staring contests.

Megan at graduation the following weekend.