Today mommy and I are fighting chest colds, and you had a bit of a cough yourself, but we decided to let the sunshine and fresh air do its job. We went to the park where you had a bit of a laugh at mommy, rolled around on the big blanket and discovered grass (which you loved to pull), and found out that those leaves in the trees are a lot of fun.
Don’t worry though. We didn’t let you eat any clover OR get attacked by bees. (Both events were imminent)
Your mommy made a joke that you were dressed like your Uncle Tim. Polo shirts and Ralph Lauren shoes didn’t hurt.
(OK Grandma Mimi… now you’ve got something to watch) 😉
This morning after breakfast, mommy gave you some time to ponder your spinning toy. I showed you how to spin it really fast once, then you took up the task with great verve.
Today was daddy’s birthday, and he could think of no better way to spend it than with you and mommy at the Minnesota Zoo. In fact, part of his present was a zoo membership for all of us. Unlike many of these entries, today’s pictures include some things that we saw with you that caught your attention, so they’re included so you can remember them in the future.
We’ll be going to the zoo often as you grow up here.
For weeks we’ve been trying to get you to say “momma” or “daddy” or just to use those phonemes you keep spouting out. Of course, the minute mommy puts you into your little foam chair in front of your toy piano and heads out to the store, you come up with this:
He doesn’t know what it is yet, but he knows he wants some!
Leftover peas are the best…
Mommy apologizes and comforts you after scaring you by getting you a LITTLE too close to the goat exhibit.
Everything’s better when fluffy bunnies are on display
Showing your gangsta’ face after that goat scare. “Ain’t no goat keepin Campbell DOWN!”
Seaching (nearly in vain) for some vegetarian food.
The Fair kept your little eyes busy
You sit on the front tire of the VW Peace bus and proclaim, “GIVE PEAS A CHANCE!”
Mommy and you wave to the camera.
Today was pretty exhausting but exciting and you were quite a trooper. We went to the Minnesota State Fair; a first for all of us. You endured ten hours of milling around with huge crowds, endless rows of fried food booths pumping out greasy residue, and OUTDOOR changing station (yes, really), being scared to tears by a goat (blame mommy), multiple varieties of loud music, direct sunlight in the face and generally what was far more time in your stroller than we felt comfortable. BUT, you really came out on top. You got to see rabbits, you delighted at seeing multiple crafts, attempted to heist some homemade pies and were the darling of a dozen ladies who coo’d at your excellent eyelashes.
Your meals today were mostly solid food, since water for the bottles was difficult to come by. But in the end you got a hand-carved frog pull-toy, a really cool peace sign tie-dyed onsie and a Minnesota Moose Family Christmas ornament for this Christmas. All in all, it was a really fun day for everyone and tonight… you slept like, well… a baby.
We decided it was just too pretty a day to stay in the house, so we drove to Fort Snelling Historic Site. You braved the heat pretty well and even firing muskets and booming cannons didn’t do too much to startle you. It was lots of fun, but after a couple of hours, we were all very tired because of the dust and heat.
Here’s some shots of you with mommy as we walked around the grounds and showed you a little Minnesota history.
Daddy was a little busy this week, so it was hard to get the time to post all the things you’ve done; you’ve tried to crawl, you’ve started making some pretty funny noises (we call it the “Christopher Walken”, where say something like “oh wowowow”), you took your first front facing stroller ride (and loved it) and you’ve really struggled through your teething like a champ.
Here are some videos to catch up the grandmothers and give a little taste of the funny, funny guy you’re becoming:
Today we were making fun of Puddy ignoring a squirrel JUST outside the window. You just ignored both of them and played with your rattle. Well, that and made some adorable squeaking noises.
You’ve also started holding your own bottle, but for some reason, you’ve decided that shoving it as far into your mouth as possible is the best solution to getting the milk into your mouth. (This angle looks like you’re drinking air, but it’s just the camera angle, I assure you).
And as requested, here you are playing on the computer. Yes, at 8 months old, you’re enamored with a site called Kneebouncers. It requires very little from you in the way of input (you simply need to hit any key), but you have figured out the “smash = reward” ratio and get quite excited when we play on that site. Your favorite activity (documented here) is the one with the loud vehicles. Chalk it up to being a city baby, I guess. Funniest part to me? When you start to imitate the noises you’re hearing.
You had your 8th month birthday on July 20th. You’ve not hit every milestone so far (the sitting up thing is still a little tough for you), but you’ve given us some pretty good ones.
This week you said “Ma”, very deliberately. Whether you associate it with your mother yet or not, we don’t know, but when I say “M”, you watch and delightfully repeat my consonant.
Also, your tiny front, left tooth has crested the gum. Today, your mother felt what she thinks is it’s sidekick. It’s been hard to get a pic, what with your tongue wagging and exploring the new bits in your mouth.
We did, however, get a shot today of your first time on a park swing. You didn’t swing more than a couple of inches back and forth (blame your overprotective daddy if you must), but you seemed very much to enjoy it.
Wheeeeeeeee!"Hey, that looks pretty far down there"
Today we took you to the Dragon Boat Festival in St. Paul, Minnesota. Grandma Belinda and Grandpa Boyd are visiting and we all took turns passing you around. As each airhorn sounded for the race to begin, you twisted around to face the lake and watch the boats. Not sure if you really understood what was happening, but other than the heat, you seemed to enjoy the day a lot.
It's Campbell Time! 