Blips on the Radar

I've tried to get more videos of Creedence lately because he changes from New Funny Thing to New Funny Thing so quickly, and I believe his funny things should be shared. In this month alone, he has changed so rapidly. He's shifted from blowing raspberries into his current "da da da/blah blah blah" noises. He can now sit up completely unsupported for as long as he feels like it, and just today he moved himself to hands and knees from sitting for the first time. His latest cool new trick (also just discovered today!) is clapping! Just a few days ago he started looking at his hands, waving them about with careful attention, and that turned into observing his fists, then fists knocking, and- ta da!- now clapping. When I get that on video I'll post it, but until then here are some other clips. All of these are taken around dinner feeding/bathtime, hence the nearly nude look.

There is nothing in his mouth here, but he's chewing hard on something, especially when the music came on.

Better than a parrot. Easier clean-up too.

Is that not a great laugh? Now go ask someone to massage your neck. If anyone knows how to change the video so it isn't sideways on Blogger without great effort, let me know.

Knock on Wood

Creedence has a great laugh. His smiles come easy, but the laughs take some work. You can try everything sometimes to no avail, and after all the jumping around,sometimes just simple absurdity will get him rolling. The videos are really rough, sorry, but Creedence had never laughed so hard in his life. All they were doing was rapping on the window. This happened tonight during a dinner we hosted for my cousins, Ashley S. and Theo F., Uncle Matt/just Matt, and the Jimenez family. Ariana and Alex love their primo!

Oh Provo

After a super fun month of travelling in Washington, California and Texas, we have landed in Provo, UT (again) (pics here). Our apartment is bizarre, but slowly coming together. The pluses are that we have two rooms now, brand-new carpet, a yard, and a porch that we enjoy taking our meals out on. The negatives are that it's what a realtor would call simply unique.

Creedo helping me unpack by polishing the pot lids with his mouth

Creedence has grown so much in the weeks since we left dear Washington- none of the clothes that he was wearing then fit at all now! He is almost six months- gasp!- and is dangerously close to crawling already. He seems dangerously close to everything. He loves to be on his hands and knees, just rocking back and forth. He is really frothy still, but no teeth. He spends a lot of time blowing raspberrries. He has been entertaining me as I've been setting up house, trying to figure out what to put in our one kitchen drawer.

Trying to eat my face sideways

Steve has started his MFA program at BYU and is teaching a section of Writing 150, which is the freshman English/ GE requirement. He is really busy already, trying to figure out what graduate student teachers wear while looking cool but not old, smart but not erudite, well-read but not fogey. As I'm writing this he is asking me if I think that the distinctions of fiction or non-fiction are irrelevent, if events portrayed are revealed to be based on reality does it add value. I appreciate these questions, because I've been tired of discussing Creedence's diapers anyways.

Debating literary theory with Daddy

Steve is also working with the BYU's literary magazine and has aspirations for making it, uh, interesting. He hasn't grown at all and fits in pretty much the same clothes.

Traditional first day of school picture!

And for our first fun summer outing in Utah, I summoned up all of Steve's outdoor minutes (he only has a few, and guards them carefully) to take us all berry-picking in Mapleton.

Raspberry, raspberry, rasperry jam...

It sounds quaint, and it was: idyllic and lovely, the picturesque tableau of husband wife and child amidst the fruit of the earth, smiling lips berry-stained vivid, casually dining from the handpicked fare proffered by the vines surrounding.

The fruit really was delicious. We plan on going back before the season is over to get more. Berry recipes, anyone?