Recent News and Developments

First a news bulletin: Mommy and Tommy Dolphin are found!! We apparently left them at Auntie Michelle's house. I am so happy to have them again; now my favorite part is chewing on the seahorse teether, which I am just sure I can fit in my mouth in its entirety. (I am not deterred by gagging myself on it repeatedly; I just know it'll fit!)

Some recent developments: I mentioned that I had started to sit. I am getting better and better at sitting without help. I still love to stand and in my exersaucer, I've started jogging in place! I also have discovered that I do like my doorway jumper; I just didn't like the doorway Mommy and Daddy had put it in. Now that it's in the doorway to my room, I enjoy standing and turning around in it while Mommy cleans. I am working sooo hard on scooting; when there's something I'm interested in, my legs just go crazy trying to get me towards it. Unfortunately, if I do move, I go backwards, which really frustrates me! I can get my front end up and my back end up, just not at the same time.

I've made some innovations in the area of communications. I hold my arms up when I want to be lifted out of my exersaucer and hold my arms out to people when I want them to take me (folks find this very endearing, trust me). I've also started talking -- ok, not really in the sense of making specific sounds that you would identify as "words," but definitely in the sense of emphatic enthusiastic noises that convey emotion (i.e., baby jabber). I especially like to talk when I'm in the bathtub and getting my diaper changed (maybe being naked facilitates language development? Now there's a pickup line!)

I've also started laughing a lot more frequently, especially at Mommy, for some reason. I guess I find her amusing. When she came in after teaching her class on Saturday, she and I had quite a laughion (like a discussion except you laugh).

On Wednesday, Nov. 1 I marked a new first: I rode through the whole store in the cart seat. Mommy had tried putting me in one a time or two before, but I always cried. I didn't like it if we stayed still too long, but otherwise it was kind of fun (and judging from Mommy's expression, a relief for her!).

Oh, thought of one more language-related development: I recognize some words. The first one Mommy and Daddy noticed was my name; that is to say, Catfish. I also seem to respond to Otis Chester, though. It's hard to tell at this point how much is tone and how much is word recognition, but it's fun all the same. The other word I know is "cat." If Mommy says, "cat," I look around to see where it is. Boy, I love those cats. (We have three, two that come inside and one that stays outside.) I reach for them when they're close by and try to touch their soft fur and get so excited when they're just out of reach (when I finally get that scooting thing down, it's gonna be a whole new world, baby!)

Even though I adore them, we've temporarily cut bananas out of the diet because I have become majorly constipated since I started solid foods (the upside of which is that the 'rents can just tilt my diaper toward the toilet and let the turds drop in - splish, splash, flush - much easier than dealing with typical baby poo in cloth diapers. But when your kid cries while doing #2, people, something's got to be done). Mommy read that avocados are not only the "ideal" first food for babies but also help relieve constipation. Well, that got her the first "yuck, yuck, why have you put this vile substance into my mouth" baby face. So avocadoes go down as the first food I don't like.

Finally, those of you concerned about my weight (or my parents' repetitive motion injuries from lifting me) will be happy to know that the large fat roll on the back of my neck has started to diminish -- apparently being absorbed into the large fat roll that is the rest of me. No, but seriously, I'm still pretty darn huge, but those who watch closely say proportions are starting to shift somewhat. (Oh, how they'll miss those dimpled sausage-casing legs once they're gone.)

Whew, that was an eventful two weeks! At that rate, I'll be quoting Shakespeare by my next post! Good night, sweet prince!

Trip to Knoxville

I added to my travels the last weekend in October, going with Mommy to my cousin Daniel's wedding in Knoxville. (That means I've now visited four states in less than five months; at that rate I can see all 50 states by the time I'm five!) The leaves were positively gorgeous on the way over, which gave me something to look at while riding in the car. Unfortunately, it rained most of the way, so it wasn't great weather for stopping to take photos of the pretty views. We shared a hotel room with Grandma and Grandpa Salyers and I also got to see Grandma's brothers and sister again and got to meet cousin Sallie and Josiah (who really liked me!)

Happily, the day of the wedding, Sat. Oct. 28, was beautiful and sunny. I got to wear my new dress outfit! The wedding was very nice, although there was one moment that seemed to worry the adults. I didn't really understand it because I was busy eating the program, but apparently something called a preacher hadn't shown up and Grandpa almost had to perform the wedding! Fortunately, after they had put a flower and a microphone on his jacket, the preacher showed up so Grandpa got to come back and sit with us again.

Daniel and his new wife, Jessica, seemed very happy. They apparently haven't been eating solid food much longer than I have, because they made more of a mess with their cake than I did with my bananas at the reception!

Sunday Grandpa, Grandma, Mommy and I went to the Knoxville zoo. It was another glorious day; unfortunately, there weren't too many animals about. I liked watching the penguins; they were small enough for me to focus on them and had that great high-contrast color. I loved the waterfall at the bear enclosure as well and enjoyed the meerkats. I was mesmerized by watching a zebra's tail swish back and forth in front of its rear end. And Grandpa played me monkey sounds at one of the exhibits that I talked back to. But I couldn't really see the elephants (too big, same color as the dirt and rocks) or the big cats (sunning themselves unmoving). And while I did watch a gorilla for a little bit, we never did find a single chimpanzee - overall, the exhibits seemed nice but the animals sparse.

Sunday evening I had a well-rounded sports education as we toggled channels between football and competitive ice-dancing. Here I am discussing their relative merits with Grandpa Salyers.

On our way home on Monday, Mommy decided to drive through the Smoky Mountain National Park. Well, I didn't WANT to drive through the Smoky Mountain National Park (whatever that is) and made that clear by screaming the entire trip. Mommy said that she hopes someday I come to love the mountains as much as she does and did her best to enjoy the scenery despite the stress (moi? provide stress?) We spent the night with Aunt Frances and her sister Gloria who was also visiting. I loved Aunt Frances immediately; she definitely knows how to talk to kids! I hope I can visit her again soon.

Whew, what an eventful weekend! Our next trip will be for Thanksgiving - back to Ohio, so I don't get to cross a new state off my list, but I do get to see my cousin Selathiel again, and meet some of my family for the first time.

Toy of the week, part 2

My grandma Mago found this toy at the Duke consignment sale she and Mommy went to this fall. It was definitely a good buy!
As you can see, it has two handles that are easy for me to grasp and also good to teethe on. The fins crinkle when touched; I love to play with them. It also squeaks! - I'm not strong enough yet to make that happen but I enjoy it when grown-ups make it squeak at me. And the colors are great, too - high contrast patterns are still my favorite! Like a good catfish, as soon as you hand me this little fish, I attack it and try my best to eat it!

Prunes Afterword/Afterward

To understand this addendum to my recent post about prunes, you have to understand that I am what you might call a recalcitrant pooper. Every other day is doing really well and every four days isn't unusual. Well, about 4-5 hours after Mommy fed me prunes, they came right out the other end! What an amazing fruit! (I won't get into how Mommy could tell it was the prunes; just trust her on that one.)

Today I had them again, mixed with mashed banana and breast milk. Mommy agreed that it was way yummy! Wonder what my next new food will be?

Toy of the week part 1

I'm falling behind on my toy reviews (there are just so many!) so I'm going to try to do two this week. This was a surprise entry - when Mommy and I were in Knoxville last week for cousin Daniel's wedding, we went with Grandma Salyers to the local drug store. Grandma was keeping me occupied while Mommy looked at the wedding cards and on impulse she pulled a mylar balloon down for me to see and then let it pop back up in the air. Well, that was hilarious and I just cackled with laughter! Then she started bopping me in the head with it and that was even funnier! Every time she bonked me I cracked up! (That makes the second notable thing outside myself I found amusing, after the cash register at JoAnn's Fabrics.) So Mommy bought it (she said, "Well, that might come in handy.") And while it didn't make me laugh anymore, I continued to love playing with it. It got me through a rough patch in the car on the way home and even now I like to play with it in my exersaucer, although as you can see in the pic, it's gotten a little saggy.

By the way, that grandma instinct is uncanny - how do they figure these things out? Grandma Mago somehow discovered that I think it's funny when she puts her hand behind her head and wiggles her fingers! I guess grandmas are just amazing by nature - I am so lucky to have four!

Prunes on me

We added a new food to my repertoire today - prunes! I liked them just fine, which was a relief to Mommy because she'd already stewed a huge batch of organic prunes and pureed them (it didn't occur to her to do a test batch first). They were a little thick so she mixed them with some breast milk - yum! I helped feed myself by sticking my hand in the bowl and ate some of my hand, smeared some on my outfit, etc. I was quite decorated by the time we were done! It made Daddy laugh. I think my favorite food is still freshly mashed bananas - I can't wait 'til I can help mash them myself!

Featured toy of the week

Aunt Patti found this vintage Fisher Price music box at a yard sale for me. It dates from 1981 and is in great shape. Mommy never would have picked it as a "best of" baby toy; it's very simple, few moving parts, etc. But I have loved it since I was about 8 weeks old. It accompanies me on stroller walks and car rides because it helps keep me calm. I like the music ("Somewhere Over the Rainbow") better than any of the new-fangled electronic tunes that toys have. Although I can't turn the dial myself, I know that its turning makes the music go and I like to play with the dial while I watch the picture go around and around as the music plays. When I was about three months old, I started to be able to slide the pink "channel changer" that clicks when you move it. Of course, I'll never make a connection between this thing and a radio, since they don't look like this anymore (kind of like my "phone" rattle that bears no resemblance to today's phones)! You can pick up one of these on Ebay and they're well worth it - highly recommended for infants a few weeks old and up (I still love it at five months). But you do have to learn to sing Somewhere Over the Rainbow (and sing it gradually slower and slower as the music box slows down)!

November, the First

Yes, this is my first November and it's started out eventfully. I rode in the cart at the store today for the first time - Mommy has tried putting me in one now and again but I always cry . . . until today. I stayed happy the whole time and she bought me a new teether that vibrates when I bite on it. That feels great! I worked on eating it the whole time we walked around the store.

I also tried sweet potatoes for the first time today - another big hit! I started to say that the first hit was bananas but that's not actually true, since I've had tastes of ice cream and whipped cream since I was a few weeks old! Mommy is making something new for me to try called "stewing prunes" - Daddy made kind of a funny face when she told him about it, but I'm not sure what it meant. I'll let you know what I think.

Got to write about my big adventure in the mountains last weekend, but my cold is still making me tired so I'll leave it for tomorrow. Hope everyone out there is enjoying the amazing autumn weather; we had a lovely walk today and took pictures (of me, natch) in the multicolored leaves.

I hab a code

. . . by bery first code! There is do air com-bing in through my nose but lots of stuff com-bing out of it! I hab to sleep now so I'll let Bobby tell you about it . . .

Mommy here: we feel fortunate to have made it almost to 5 months and almost to November before Otis Chester got sick. Yesterday I noticed that his eyes were red-rimmed and he was sleeping more than usual but the real cold symptoms came on all at once around bedtime.

He is in good spirits, still wanting to play and laugh, but he really has trouble breathing (babies can't breathe through their mouths well yet and can't clear their own noses either -- major evolutionary oversight!) and therefore has trouble sleeping. Meanwhile, since he keeps rubbing his face with his hands and putting everything he can grab into his mouth, I'm starting to envision our house as a scene from Ghostbusters post-sliming.