Catching up on October

This is Travis' new favorite face. I don't understand it.

He was kind of a girl when it came to carving the pumpkin. He didn't want to get his hands dirty for a long time. After a while he finally decided it would be okay but easily got bored with it. Maybe next year he will find it more exciting.

We loved the pumpkin patch that we went to. They didn't have a lot for Travis' age to do (nobody does) but we had a good time showing him the animals and pumpkins.

We went to a Cowboys Monday night football game and watched them lose. It was really fun though watching the big screen since the players looked like ants from the top deck's very last row. Being on the last row was actually kind of nice because I didn't feel bad standing up and rocking Travis when he would get fussy. He was excellent that night with the exception of the ride back to Vanessa and Rodney's house.

Brian's sister Debbie got married this October. We are really excited for her and her husband to start this wonderful new chapter in their life. We also really appreciated an occasion to get all the grandkids together on Brian's side in matching outfits for pictures. I only got one that looks halfway decent but I am told there are good ones floating around somewhere. Travis is again making his best smile face. I have no idea where his real cute smile went and why he replaced it with his fake creepy one.

While Brian was out of town I managed to get away to my parents house and go to the pep-rally and football game. Travis loves pep-rallies! He likes to dance with the music and watch the cheerleaders. He also likes to flirt with them afterwards. Number 48 is my cute little brother he is an awesome player and it was great to see him and Angie perform this year.

Can anybody believe that Travis was this little? Or that he still makes that exact same face?!?!?!

Travis is Bad to the Bone

Tonight during the TAMU game a commercial came on with the song "Bad to the Bone." As it ended I couldn't help but think how this could be Travis' theme song these days. He has been such a little stinker lately. Today he was a particular pill. He is not allowed near the TV but as soon as one of us isn't looking he will make a break for it. While Brian was watching him today he crawled close the the TV, stopped, laughed hysterically, and then pulled up onto the TV. It's like he knows exactly what he isn't supposed to do and does it anyways. He gets great pleasure from doing things I believe he knows is naughty. I know I am probably giving him too much credit but it is kind of funny. He did this same hysterical laughter as he pulled out the swiffer, stole my phone, and chewed on cords. This evening after his bath I carried him wrapped in his towel into his bedroom. As soon as I placed him on the floor he was on all fours crawling like a mad man down the hall way laughing hysterically along the way. I couldn't help laughing as I watched his little naked butt get further and further away. He was SOOO pleased with himself and his Great Escape. I eventually caught up to the naked fugitive and spent the next five minutes wrestling the child into his diaper and pajamas. Anybody that has witnessed this can attest to the fact that it is indeed a wrestling match. I am becoming more convinced by the day that we have a very spirited child that will be giving us a run for our money.

And because you read this entire post that only a handful of people can appreciate, you get PICTURES!!!!!!!

He has also started climbing on anything and everything he can get his chubby little legs on. Excuse the mess, I am a terrible housekeeper! This was back when he actually looked guilty, now he just laughs. Heaven help us!

Coupons!!!!!!!

As some of you may have noticed I added some links to an online toy store. This month they are having a sale on their Melissa and Doug products. Most of you are probably familiar with Melissa and Doug puzzles. The puzzles are nice and colorful and range from around $8.00 to $18.00. The toy store also includes other Melissa and Doug products like dollhouses, dollhouse furniture, realistic animals, wooden cars and tracks, and all kinds of cool toys. Seriously, I am jealous of little kids these days.

You are able to get 10% off of any Melissa and Doug product when you spend $50.00 or more. The sale ends on July 31, 2010 and the coupon code at check out is: JulySale

Here is the website:
http://www.fiestatoystore.com/

Here is the link to all the Melissa and Doug products:
http://fiestatoystore.com/index/manufacturers_id/1

Tantrums

When I pictured life with a six month old I only pictured the cuddling, coos and smiles; I did not envision the little tantrums. Life is full of surprises. With Travis' recent ability to crawl he has been getting into everything. Don't let the video of his pathetic crawl confuse you. The child can be lightning fast and is lightning fast when he has his eyes set upon a prize. Unfortunately for the both of us, his prize is usually in the form of a TV remote, laptop, the ENTIRE entertainment center, my pump, and a stack of bills waiting to be paid. Ugh! Naturally I try and distract him but the child is focused. Really, REALLY focused! So I ruin his life and move him and/or the object that he has successfully crawled to and oh boy, the kid has lungs. His happy little face melts and it turns into the saddest, most pathetic little face. Then the crying starts. Luckily the tantrums are relatively short as he focuses on something else he cannot have and begins the journey towards it.

Today was particularly bad as he threw several tantrums and my back hasn't been cooperating lately so it makes moving the little creature painful. I never thought about the moments like this when I dreamed about our little man, but I am grateful for them. I am even more grateful for the moments that I did intend to have, like when he actually let me rock him for a few minutes today before he became a busy body, or when we played after dinner and both got green goop all over the two of us, or when we smiled and stared at each other right before bed time. So although I am not a huge fan of the tantrums, I will take them everyday if I get to snuggle with my little man.

Travis is "Crawling"

Well, it's ugly and incredibly ineffective, but he is crawling. Two months of hard work have finally paid off for the little man. We of course were good parents and documented the event for all to see.

I had to turn the sound off because we were just way too annoying to listen to. That is why it is creepily quiet during the video. I hope you have a happy fourth!

By the way, his crawling has improved. It is still pretty ineffective, but he now puts his cute tush in the air and shakes it around. Too stinkin cute.

EDIT: The first time you watch it will take about 10 minutes so have it play while you are doing something else and then make it replay. The replay plays staright through. Sorry this is gonna have to do until I play with the settings a little bit more. Watching it again, his crawling is a lot better. It is almost sad that we thought this was crawling.

23 Weeks and Counting...

Today my sweet baby is 23 weeks old and I realized that I haven't posted in over a month. Shame on me! So much has happened since our May photo shoot. It seems like everyday our little man is getting so much bigger and accomplishing new things.
Travis has teeth now. He got his first tooth on May 18 and the next one followed a few days later. Suprisingly, or maybe not to some of you, I was completely oblivious to this change. I knew that he had been cranky so I asked my mom if she thought he could be teething. Sure enough she checks and low and behold there is a little tooth. Needless to say I felt like a good mom.

Travis has also been eating solids for a little while. This past Monday he started getting the hang of it once I thickened his rice up a bit. We are still doing just every other day but he seems to enjoy it.

He is also trying to crawl. Heaven help us. I have tried discouraging this as much as possible but it seems that our little man is bent on crawling before he turns six months old. He can't sit up worth anything, but he can almost crawl. Go figure. The rest of these are for pure entertainment. He would NOT cooperate today when I was trying to take pictures of him so this is what we ended up with.

Can you believe this face? Seriously I see it like five hundred times a day when he is trying to crawl and gets frustrated. This child has NO patience. Don't worry, he doesn't just take his frustrations out on me. He also takes them out on Turtle. Poor, poor Mr. Turtle gets the brunt of this child's anger. Mr. Turtle is a 7 inch stuffed animal attached to a ring that goes on the car seat. Turtle also has two little rings on his feet that cause Travis much frustration. While Brian and I were on our way back to Boerne from a family reunion Travis and Turtle ended up sitting together. I knew better, this was not the first time Travis has ended up screaming at Turtle. Regardless, they were sitting together when we first hear happy yelling from the back seat. I turn around and look in the mirror that allows me to spy on my child with out leaving the safety of my seatbelt to find that Travis has spit out the binkie and is chewing on the rings on Turtle's feet. I turn around figuring they will be alright. The happy yelling quickly turned into angry yelling. Note the face above. This is his angry yelling face. I turn again to see Travis trying to chew on his feet, then yanking him out of his mouth, then shoving him back in, then out, then in, out...You get the idea. I roll my eyes and turn around because seriously I am not leaving my seatbelt for that pathetic scuffle. We listen to more angry yelling then hear a loud thud. I turn around and Turtle is gone. I do a quick scan of the back seat to spot poor Turtle stuck between the seat and the door. Travis had apparently thrown Turtle in complete frustration. I couldn't believe it. Seriously who throws their toys out of their carseat. I had to laugh and realize that little people come with big personalities!

The May Photo Shoot

For Mother's Day this year we sent pictures of Travis to our moms. How original, right? I know I am so LAME. I couldn't even manage to plaster his cute face on a mug, or mouse pad. Alas, a picture had to do. Since we wanted at least two good pictures we dedicated an entire wake period, almost a full hour and a half to shooting this child (with a camera of course). This is the result of that wonderful afternoon.

As you can see he was in full cooperation mode, for these pictures, we will not mention the 50 we took where he was eating his hands, throwing a fit, and trying to face plant into the carpet. I am just glad that we were ableto catch him in a rare moment when he is not getting up on his feet putting his face to the floor and trying to inch worm his way to an unknown destination. About 5 seconds of that and the child has a huge rug burn on his face, and knees.

All in all he was, and usually is, a cooperative and sweet child. His little personality is hilarious and I am so glad I get to see it blossom a little each day.