Big week!

Over the past week, Foster has figured out how to sit up and the basics of crawling, although he's still a little jerky. You definitely can't leave him alone for a second. Baby proofing has begun...he wants everything that he hasn't been able to reach for 11 months!



After returning from Boston last week, Foster got a visit from Papa and Linda. He obviously remembered them and was happy as a lark in Papa's arms! He had the first signs of a cold at this point, which blossomed into a persistent cough. I finally caved and took him to the doctor today (he usually picks up something new, so I try to avoid it), which confirmed bilateral ear infections. So, hopefully after a few days of antibiotics, he'll be feeling better!





The other big news around here is that we are bringing home this guy next week...he's a 4 month old chocolate lab whose owners couldn't afford to fix a wound in his neck. He is house trained, crate trained, lived with children, and seems very eager to please and learn new tricks. SOOOOO, as long as he gets along with Foster, he'll become the newest member of our family. There are many people lined up for him at work if it doesn't work out, but we hope it does. Name considerations at this point are Fuggles (a type of hop), Cinco (he's coming home the Cinco de Mayo), Stout, Trout, Frazil (a type of sea ice) or Cosmo (Seinfeld reference). We're open to suggestions! This will all occur AFTER Chris defends his thesis on Tuesday. He has worked so hard to get to this point and the end is in sight!

First Flight to Boston

Despite all my anxiety about flying alone with Foster, he couldn't have been better. He was happy as a lark the flight North and slept the whole way home. It was so much fun to visit our family in Boston. Although not pictured, we also got to see Pierce, but the pictures are on Laura's camera. Check her blog soon! http://meetminimorris.blogspot.com/
I'm not sure how I stayed with Sarah all week, but didn't get a picture of her at all. Thanks for hosting us!

Hands!

Foster developed some hand-eye coordination this week and is now waving, clapping, and catching!

New Tricks

Foster has learned a new trick this week which is making bath time a whole new ballgame! It doesn't help that he is probably too big for this tub and can pull himself out if given the opportunity. We may have to scale back these nightly baths if we have to fill up the whole tub everytime!



I also have to say his attitude has been great...I feel guilty I was complaining about his irritability last week. He has irritable moments, but he is really very happy 95% of the time. I think I had had a particularly tough day with him and wrote the blog at the end of it. He is getting very strong at standing up and can move/walk when he is holding onto things. Every once in a while he throws in a "trust fall" to make sure you're paying attention, but he's learned that if he picks up a toy from his bin with both hands, he needs to lean on his belly to stay standing up. He is also "slithering" around, but not crawling. As long as he has a nice selection of Puffs (commercial finger food) in front of him, he'll stay on his belly for hours! I learned the hard way that Puffs contain a fair amount of sugar. He gorged on them right before bed and was literally bouncing off the tub, me, the rocking chair, the floor, everything! We had to let the sugar wear off before trying again. We'll have to practice some Puffs moderation.

I had a four day weekend and I LOVED the nice weather. We've been getting in 2-3 walks a day, playtime in the backyard, porch time...it's great. If only I could get him to stop eating the hyacinths, buttercups, and grass! Luckily, no slugs yet (Chris ate a slug at this age...).

All his own!

Foster at 6 months....



And Chris and I at around 6 months. Mine isn't great, but more will come, once they come out of storage when Mimi/mom moves into her new house (very exciting!). People always say Foster looks identical to Chris, but based on the baby pics, I don't think he looks like either one of us strongly. He is 100% Foster!