Hanging with the Big Boys

When it comes to playing, Gus is sort of advanced. That's because he has a big brother to watch and imitate. Gus wants to play with Leo and his friends so badly. Too bad Leo always says, "Pick up him!" whenever Gus gets near his toys. He's even more interested in Leo's toys than his own.

Here are some examples of all the big boy things Gus can do at the young age of nine months:

Swinging with Pascal:

Chilling with Pascal and Tyler:

Escaping because...
...he's gotta climb the rock wall!

Getting a push from Etienne:

Acting silly with Leo:

More acting silly with Leo and taking the lead!

Pajama Party

It hadn't occurred to me to match the boys. I think because Gus was always wearing onesies and Leo would have objected to snaps in his crotch. Also, most of Gus' clothes were once Leo's so it's not like we were gonna buy new clothes for both of them.

Enter Grandmother.

We went to Carter's while she was visiting and she made out like a bandit for grandparent discount day. (Wednesdays, btw). Included in the lot were two sets of matching dinosaur pajamas that say "T Rex Racing." (Leo's choice.)

We dressed G and L in them and then attempted to take pics. Frank kept saying, "Gus is the instigator!" Enjoy.

Gus has been here nine months

Goose, Gus-Gus, Mus, Gussy, Gusaloo...after nine months a person can get lots of nick names. (We only hear "August" at the doctor's office though.)

I'd say the theme of the last month has been "Gus on the move." He's just so busy, getting around and getting into everything. He crawls super fast and he's even starting to try to climb

the stairs. (He can get up one step.)

As of yesterday, he can even pull up! I saw him pull up on the bath tub but grandmother said he had already pulled up on the couch. Frank had to lower his crib mattress or we would have had the youngest escapee. He's so active that I think he's losing weight (or at least not growing as rapidly as he once was). He's starting to lose that baby fat which is sad but it's also fun to see what his face really looks like underneath all the chub.

Gus' other trick is growing teeth. He's got FIVE--two on the bottom and three on the top. He wants to bite on everything and I mean everything. (Starting to rethink this whole "breastfeeding till their one" idea.)

Now let's talk about Gus' favorite subject: food. He likes everything we put in front of him and now enjoys three meals a day in his high chair. He still eats purees along with his finger food but he always steals the spoon from me, making it a messy battle. When I opened the pantry the other day while holding Gus, the kid practically hyperventialated at the sight of all the Cheerios.

He's an excellent sleeper. I think I have his thumb and blanket to thank for that. He just sucks that thumb and holds his soft blankie and goes to sleep. Most importantly, he stays that way!

He's still very good natured, so content to just sit and watch every

one. He also smiles and laughs really easily. Exceptions: when we put him in his car seat and when a meal is over.

It's fun to see him start to take an interest in toys. Now we have to have a supply of them at the ready. He likes balls, teething toys and recently

has taken an interest in soft blocks. If he had his way he'd prefer to play with cords and shoes. His favorite playmate is his big brother Leo. Although the feeling is not always mutual.

We love you, Gus! Happy nine months!

Posing and Performing

Gus is such a ham when he crawls! Don't ask me why he has on shoes and no pants but it makes the whole thing even funnier.

Look how he poses on his side and even cheeses for the camera!

"What? You never seen a pantless dude crawl before?"

"I'm gonna get you...and when I do, I'll eat your shoes!"
And here's Leo performing a song he learned at school:

Lots of Love

Here's the fun thing about Valentine's Day with a three-year-old: it's all about mommy. He makes Valentines for mommy, he gives hugs to mommy and he's super excited when mommy comes to school for his Valentine's Day party!

Here's Leo loving his pizza (but not his fruit)

All the cute kids in the "star class." I didn't realize that being one of the party moms would require so much nose wiping!

The kids playing freeze dance with their monkeys. Leo loves this monkey and sleeps with it.

So Leo gave me hugs, Frank gave me flowers and Gus gave me a new tooth (on top) which means lots of drool for Valentine's Day!

Gus has been here eight months

He's on the loose! Gus is a full-fledged crawler now. The gate is up; our eyes are peeled and Leo is terrified that Gus is going to take his toys! (He should be, by the way. I let Gus play with his dump truck while he's at pre-school...shhhh.)

Gus is also into:

--Eating his shoe: He has tons of toys but his favorite thing to play with/eat is his shoe. I figure it's all right since he's never actually walked in those shoes. (Too loosey goosey?)

--Leo: He thinks Leo is the coolest person on the planet. When he sees his big brother, he breaks into a grin that usually evolves into laughter. He can no longer sleep in the car if Leo is there. I think he's going to get a crick in his neck from turning to gaze at him.

--STILL being angelic: His dislike list is short: having his diaper/clothes changed, getting in the car seat (but is fine after a few seconds) and waiting even a nano-second for food. People who meet him still say he's "content" but I'd say he's also jolly. When I go in to get him after a nap or in the morning he looks like he's posing for a picture: "CHEESE!"

--Eating: I love these pre-picky days. He'll eat anything right now. We give him a mix of finger foods (sweet potato, avocado, broccoli, bread, beans, Cheerios) and purees. I'm still making his purees and I'm really proud of this one I made called "Super Foods Puree." It contained ground turkey, spinach, sweet potatoes, shallots (!) and oatmeal. Of course, he just ate it up. Pretty sure it gave him super powers!

--Babbling: It's tough to write out what he's saying but there definitely are some "mama" sounds in there!

--Playing: We're full on into the toy stage now. He's truly delighted by His favorites are these soft bath toys that are shaped like buildings. I'm always saying, "Where's Gus' building?" Good thing we have plenty of them! He's also showing a preference for balls. Feels familiar.

Here's Gus doing one of his favorite things. You can tell he feeds himself because he has avocado in his hair.

And I like this one because you can see how progressive we are being with finger food--apples, black beans, maybe some Puffs on there.

Here's Gus saying "More" in baby sign language. I wasn't even demonstrating it. I was just holding the camera!

I LOVE this adorable thing Gus does: He poses on his side like he's doing a side plank in Yoga. He even crosses his legs for extra cuteness.

Swinging and Silliness

Frank commented, "This was a big week of firsts for Gus." I asked, "What firsts?" He said, "Swinging and riding in the wagon."

Oops. Gus has been in the wagon before. Guess I forgot to tell Frank. I told everyone else, right?

But anyway, he was right on the swinging. Here he is, having a rootin' tootin' good time!

Leo loves that "bucket" swing at our neighborhood playlet but he let his baby brother use it while he practiced leg pumping on the big boy swing:

Prior to swinging, Leo made a chair train in the kitchen:
Here are the boys on Gus' second wagon ride. Sorry again, Frank!

Here you can see Gus swinging and hear his sweet giggles!