Pat the Bunny

You have to be somewhat patient with the quality of this video, but Vake is LOVING Pat the Bunny these days- he loves to play peek-a-boo with Paul. (For those of you who haven't had a plot refresher lately, Judy and Paul are the protagonists. They do lots of things, patting bunnies, smelling flowers, looking in mirrors, feeling scratchy beards.)

Vake's fave page is peek-a-boo with Paul, followed closely by looking in the mirror like Judy- however, at the end of this video (and much to Daddy's continuing relief) he gets distracted by his football.

All over the place.

I preface this by saying that I am aware that the current video situation is well-nigh close to totally untenable. I am using the video function of my point and shoot that is now four years old (I bought it in (I think) January 2005...)

That said, can you believe how well Vake is crawling now? It has morphed from a mostly-army crawl into a occasionally knees and hands or knees and forearms operation.

Bluegrass Baby

Last week, Vake went with us to a barn party- he loved the music.

He's getting more and more into listening to what's around him...

No no no, my little Army crawler

My little Army crawler has had a tough couple of days- he was sick last night and Eric and I stupidly thought he was probably ok- shortly after I fed him dinner again tonight though he got sick again- and of course he's so cheerful and happy that he's throwing up and laughing...seriously.

But once we were finally cleaned up again and in pajamas, there was no stopping my little army crawler.

But before I realized what was going on, he and I sat down for dinner. He seems to be catching on to the idea that he can use his body to communicate his feelings- he's starting to get the hang of head shaking. I am certain that he doesn't mean no when he does it, but how funny is this little pumpking shaking his head, "No."

Happy Sevenmonthiversary Vake and Happy Birthday Grandmary!

Could you be any happier, Vake?

Today Vake is seven months old!

Here are things that Vake likes and is doing at seven months:

• Eats cereal, fruit, veggies and rice;
  
• Wearing a Size 5 diaper;
• Sleeps from 7:00pm to about 7:30 am every night;
  
• Rolls from back to stomach & stomach to back;
• Laughs and SHRIEKS all the time;
  
• Very ticklish;
• Loves to pull my hair;
• Can get up on all fours and rock back and forth;
• Loves to snuggle;
• Recognizes favorite people and shrieks a greeting at them or raises little hands to be held;
  
• Cut 2 teeth on the bottom within 1 week of each other;
• Loves to take baths and drink the bathwater;
  
• Is jealous of little H when Taren's taking care of him;
  
• Drools less than before.
  

I mean, really, look at this million dollar smile. Could we be any luckier?

And guess who got to stay up past his bedtime last night to wish Grandmary a Happy Birthday? Here he is, helping with candles!

On the Road Again...

Vake took his first shoulder ride today- here he is trying to decide if Eric's hair is a delicious taste treat! We stopped on the drive back at the Newport News Welcome Center- we're getting ready for Sue and Brook's visit and Eric wanted to collect some brochures.

Vake also took a ride in a boat they had there.

Beach Bunny!

So sorry it has been such a long time since I have updated the blog- I had a huge motion last Tuesday that I WON totally unexpectedly- hip hip hurray- and I was playing catch up at work. But in happier news, little V, Eric and I went down to the Outer Banks courtesy of Aunt Liz and her family! It was SO nice to get away and little V was, as usual, such a trooper.

Andrea, one of Vake's godparents and the mother of my sweet godson, Wills, told me that the thing that makes the growing up of your baby easier is that EACH age becomes your favorite. I have to say I am a HUGE fan of Vake at almost seven months. He is happy and so friendly. He's "talkative" and loves to meet new people. I think I could be happy with six/seven months forever.

The pic above was as we were getting ready to go down to the pool/beach.

Vake liked the pool- the water was a little cold but he seemed to enjoy splashing around in it. I think it is a testament to how hard I am trying to please my readership that I did not destroy this extremely unflattering pic of my arm and back. Gross. Oh well. I will tell you that I am still training for the 1/2 marathon in Richmond in November- my goal is three hours fifteen minutes which I am REALLY hoping is achievable- I am still super slow, mostly because of pain...
Vake and Daddy went down to the ocean while I took it easy for a bit.


Then Vake and I hung out by the pool- the hat is a recent gift from Aunt Andrea who just got back from Woods Hole.

Vake was so good- he entertained himself by ripping the cover of a People magazine to shreds (you cannot convince me that he has not absorbed his father's disdain for celebrity gossip) and then played with his toys.


And when he got tired, he put his little head down for a nap...

What Time is It? Tooth-Hurty!

That's right, blog followers, Vake Martin has not one but two little teeth that broke through the surface tonight.

In true Vake form, he hasn't been fussy at all, just more drooly than usual. He's being very coy about pictures, though.

I cannot believe the days of the little gummy grin are already behind me!!!

Sitting and Seersucker

I was leaving the jail after interviewing some clients this week when I checked my messages. There was a message from Taren to call- I of course assumed that something was the matter but when I called, Taren told me that Vake had been sitting up all day!

This weekend, he's been sitting up to play with his toys for ten or fifteen minutes at a stretch. It is so hard to believe that my little baby is now able to sit independently- where did the time go???

I snapped a picture of him sitting by himself on the counter- he's so surprised and inquisitive in this picture.

And coincidentally, both Eric and Vake were dressed in red seersucker this afternoon- it is the perfect summertime fabric! This sweet little outfit was a gift from my little sister in my sorority, Courtney. Courtney grew up in Baltimore, hence the seersucker with the Maryland crab!

Rice Cereal!!

I had a pretty miserable day today. I had a tough morning with clients in my office, followed up by losing the expert fees I had gotten on a Commonwealth's Motion to Reconsider. On my way out of the office, I got a telephone call from the AAMCO that they actually cannot fix my car.

I needed for something to go right. When I got home, I ate a pretzel and Vake grabbed it and put it in his mouth, so I said to Taren that the time was right to try a little rice cereal.

The first bite. He's not so sure about this.

But it could be worse.

His tongue doesn't exactly know how to work around this- I flipped the spoon over a couple of times to get the cereal into his mouth.

In the end, I think there was more cereal on him than in him but we will keep plugging away at it!!!!

Vake's Early Morning Triathalon: Sit, Swim and Roll

Vake gets up relatively early in the morning- somewhere between 5 and 6:30, depending on when he's gone to bed, etc. He usually wakes himself up by rolling over and staring through the dark at the beloved mobile, then talking to it, laughing at it, and finally shrieking at it.

I definitely don't sleep as well when Eric's not home, so this morning I conceded defeat on the sleeping routine at the first signs that Vake was waking up and I headed downstairs.

He was in a great mood when he woke up, as he is most mornings. Taren put him to bed last night in a pair of his short sleeved pajamas. Despite the fact that I am not employed by the Gap, I will put out a free endorsement of their most excellent, thick, soft cotton pajamas. They aren't cheap ($22 a pair seems a little outrageous) but they are so cozy and what's not to love about a blowfish. Vake's wearing these in an 18 months size right now.

So once he was awake, we kicked off the morning festivities by practicing our tripod sit. He's now able to balance himself for about 5 seconds before tipping over.


Then, he rolled over a couple of times, and once that was through, he finished off a morning of exercise by doing the "swim." Go Vake!!!

Doin' it Myself

Vake's started holding his own bottle. Not for very long, but he's definitely able to recognize that a bottle equals mealtime and he has started directing them to his mouth and then trying to hold them there!!!

He was super-tired when we took this picture after his bath and before bed tonight, so please forgive the upset expression on his little face!