Some good laughs

Finally some good laughs from Teo caught on camera.
Not that we mind the growling (see previous post), but seeing and hearing him laugh is a real treat.
Some balloons that Candice had bought for Tanner's birthday had already lost their helium and were lying around on the floor, and I saw that Teo was eyeing them for a bit, so I took him over to check them out. Initially, he started to grab them with his vice-grip-like little paws, and I was afraid that with his razor nails, he would burst them in his face and he'd be balloon-traumatized for life. Not good for a baby with so many birthdays and celebrations ahead in life.
Instead, I lifted him a bit and swished his legs around in the balloon pile and he seemed to enjoy. Then big brother Tanner got in on it and started kicking them around and towards Teo. Seems the more they hit him - especially in the face - the more he enjoyed it and began to laugh. Candice caught a few seconds of it on camera.
Enjoy our little buddy's laughter. We love it.

An Afternoon with our Little Monster

And I say "monster" in the most affectionate way possible. Adorable monster, even, as you will see/hear (video at the end of this post).
Let's see, news to tell about Mr. T... he's 4-1/2 months old now - a couple of days over 20-weeks. To put that into some weird perspective, dad is a little over 612-months/2652-weeks (give or take a couple of weeks -leap yrs and all that), and mom is (we won't say!). So when I say I'm 612-months old, somehow that doesn't seem quite as old as saying I'll be 51 in a couple of weeks. And as we all know, 612-months is the new 360-months! Woohoo!
I digress. Teo is as vocal as ever these days. He's definitely exploring the range of his vocal cords and the noises he is capable of emanating from his body - mostly his mouth! As mentioned above, aside from his cooing, oohing, aahing, and nascent word-forming (he does try to make words at times), he has very recently taken a liking to growling. Yes, growling. Where and why he picked that up, who knows. It' mostly hilarious, but when he keeps doing it over and over and over, I start to get scared. I think we may have a budding lycanthrope on our hands. Must run on the Payne side ;)
And it's not a sound from his throat; it seems to come from deep in his gut. Probably just an exploratory phase prior to his talking phase. But I did buy some wolfbane just in case.
And the other big news - the boy is definitely on the MOVE! He's learned to crawl. Early stages (we call it scootin' for now), but he is moving forward and is learning to use his arms and keep his head up at the same time. If he's on his tummy and sees something he wants, he goes for it. He can even do turns. I say in two weeks, we'll have to batten down the hatches and put everything that is 2-feet and below up on shelves or locked shut.
Pics and monster video here are from our breezy afternoon on a grassy knoll at Brace Canyon Park here in Burbank; no shots fired. BTW, the really good growl comes towards the end of the video (it's only 33secs long). And to all of you who thought my "Carnivore!" post of Teo was a joke - Beware the full moon. Teo knows where you live!

Teo Turned Four Months!

Wow! It's been a while since we last posted. (Since it's Teo's blog, I make him sit in my lap and, with my assistance, have him pound out the keys with his little fingers, and I guess he's been a bit sore from it, so we took a break.)
I kiiiid, I kiiiid, of course. A combination of being very busy, major computer crash and the resultant scrambling to catch up with client work, and then a brief but very fun respite from daily concerns spent at Camp Hollywood (a major swing dance camp held here in LA; best of the best, in my opinion). All made it difficult to make much time for posting pics and writing up a bunch of STUFF.
Anyhoooooos - Teo turned 4-months old on August 3rd! What can I say? Time flies, they grow so fast, blah blah blah. All I can say is that he is even MORE cute than before, which I thought impossible, and even more fun and ingratiating than ever. I LOVE the guy!! It's been nothing but fun and wonderment being around him, and watching him develop. He truly is a very happy baby. And no wonder, what with mom tending to his EVERY need, plus now that he's "co-sleeping" with us (more later), and not to mention the constant love, affection, attention and blah blah blah he recieves, it all makes for a very shiny, happy person.
The only inconvenient development from it all, for ME anyways, is that the size of my sleeping area in our bed has dwindled to approximately one-and-a-half of my body's width, precariously close the edge of the bed. You see, Moms and Buddy NEED that big area for their night-time bonding/feeding/sleeping frenzy. Which is all good, really, seeing how co-sleeping is a natural instinct and the greatest thing for Teo's development. I know it sounds like I'm being sarcastic, but it's all true. Candice bought home a very informative book on the subject (yet another exceptional tidbit of wise advice from her breastfeeding support group/class), and it all makes perfect sense that a baby should be as close to mom as possible, at all times throughout the day and night. Think of a monkey on it's mama's back, and why. That pretty much sums it up - except for the bigger brains and extra chromosome or two we have over those primates :)
So, a long-winded post. Due, since much time has passed. I hope to be more on top of it, now that I have a new, top-of-the-line Mac at my disposal, and Teo's fingers are fully recovered. Please come back soon for more pics and less blabbing. I know you all only want to SEE THE BABY! So, as an added little tidbit, here is a video of Teo on the floor at the hotel we stayed at in San Francisco on a recent trip. And at the end, he responds to a question I posed! I laugh every single time I watch it.