So....... It's Been A While.

And so let me begin with my apologies to My Little Buddy Teo, and apologies to all of you Teo-philes and fans out there eager for more news on Mr. Teo. I am sorry for the long hiatus on news and images, only of which a few bits and pieces were posted occasionally on FB. No more. I will be more diligent and faithful in my postings here.
But because of that long stretch, there is MUCH to catch up on, as so much has happened since our last post.
My how Teo has GROWN in that short amount of time (4-months). Well, I guess that "short amount of time" equates to about one quarter of his life, so it stands that a lot would happen in that time. Words have crept in - Mom (not "Mama" but a short, staccato-like verbal burst of "Mom!"), Dada (not the early 20th century art movement meaning of the word), cat, clock, Tanner (his older brother), grandma (from a recent 3-week visit from Grandma Connie), Elmo (more like "Melmo"), agua (he's bilingual!), and a very occasional "Good God" (I SWEAR it's true!), though we're certain that is not what he was trying for or meant to say, since neither of us use that phrase.
But as there IS so much to catch up on and photos to share (Father's Day, trip to Catalina, Candice's B-day, life in general), let's save the bulk of that for the next number of posts and get to the news that I know many of you are waiting for.
Teo and family made a visit to the Women's Diagnostic Center (to be exact) at St. Joe's Hospital here in Burbank to get an ultrasound done (performed? made?) on Candice to determine not only - and most importantly - if all is going well with the little baby inside her tummy, but also to find out what gender Teo's sibling will be.
Early in, Candice guessed girl, then switched to boy, then at the last minute back to girl (because the baby has been so mellow compared to Teo's constant thrashings). Gil originally guessed girl, basing that guess on the entirety of balance that seems rampant his life, but then switched to boy after a clinical explanation from Candice on time-of-conception and the survival-of-the-fittest behavior of spermatazoa. Yow. In any case, we both had the same 50-50 odds, right?
So right at the beginning of the appointment, literally a half-second after the doctor put the wand to Candice's belly, he said "looks like you're having a daughter." Wow.
Time to git me a shotgun.
(Please come back on Monday for more. Thanks for visiting again!)
(BTW, baby is due Feb 15.)

Teo Nearing 14-months old!

Our little boy is growing. And getting smarter by the day, it seems. And his palate is expanding as well. I've never had a kid before, but I'm guessing there are few 1-year-olds out there that like Caesar Salad, mushrooms, dried cranberries, raw tomatoes, and a number of other foods I can't even remember, there are so many. And out some grapes or oranges in front of him and he will eat them one by one so fast he doesn't even have time to finish chewing the previous piece.
I wasn't sure how he'd adjust being back in the confines of his home after having spent over a week on a ship that was nothing but new and adventurous surroundings. I thought he'd get bored for sure. But other than losing his balance over the first few days from the after-effects of being on a rolling and rocking ship, he adjusted well. Life is an adventure for him, no matter what, so all is good. And for those of you who might not have seen the pics from the ship vacation on Facebook or the pic website, here it is: www.revdesign.com/Pics/MexicoCruise_May2010/index.html.
The ics here with this post are a few images taken recently. He turns 14-months on June 3, so we'll try and put up a few more pics then. Please check back. In the meantime, enjoy these pics!

New Images/Ready for Vacation

Here's some recent images of Teo, who's growing up real fast. 13-months tomorrow!
Now I understand how children are the images of their parents - and siblings. Teo's mimic skills are unsurpassed. He is without question an amalgam of each of our (Candice, Tanner and Dad's) personalities, traits and mannerisms. Plus mix in his own burgeoning - and forceful - personality, and you have Little Man Teo.
He's about to embark on his first voyage at sea. We're leaving today on a week-long cruise to the "Mexican Riviera" - if you can call it that. (Apparently you can, no doubt the brainchild of some marketing wonk trying to find some attractive-sounding moniker for the Mexican Pacific Coast plagued by recent bad publicity. Or something like that :)
But I digress. Teo will be on the high seas for a week, and hopefully he has inherited the intestinal and seafaring fortitude of his mom and dad and won't get seasick. That would NOT be a fun week for the little guy. We are looking forward to spending a week with family, and hanging out on the beach and boat with the little guy.
Of course we will take lots of pics, so please check back in a couple of weeks for some cruise pics and Teo's trip to his cultural homeland. Well, at least a small part of Teo's homeland (being 1/4 Mexican). To complete THAT scenario, we'd also have to go to Poland, England, Wales and Italy. And maybe be one day we will.
Bon Voyage!

New Teo Pics; Grandma Connie Visits

Here's some new pics of Teo, Mr. One-Year-Old (and a couple of weeks). He has really changed a lot in just these last couple of months. Amazing how much has happened in that little time. He went from just starting to walk (the day before his 11-month b-day) to currently no more crawling. He just motors all over the house on his own - and the yard - and the neighborhood. We help him with the bigger steps, when he's too lazy (or in too much of a hurry) to go down feet-first. Otherwise, he's quite self-mobile and prefers it that way.
Grandma Connie came for a visit for the week of his birthday. Teo enjoys her company especially because she will take him outside every time he wants to go out- which is almost every minute of every day. He's gotten to the point of understanding and throwing little tantrums to get his way, mostly to go outside; other times because we wont allow him to hold something that he has no business holding yet - knives, forks, misc pointy objects. Other valuables. BTW our cell phones don't fall into that latter category. He's thrown mine all over the place more times than I care to remember. I THINK I have insurance on it.
Anyways, here's a sampling of pics from his Grandma C's visit and other random Teo-time.
Enjoy!

Teo's Turns 1 Year Old!

Teo had his first birthday party, turning 1 year old this past Saturday, April 3rd. Mom (Candice), Grandma Connie, and Nina (Sylvia) did a phenomenal job cooking, decorating and making everything resplendent and festive for all who attended, and the weather cooperated as well, with a sunny but not overly hot afternoon. Perfect, really.
Teo scored HUGE on the gift scene; we need a whole other room just to store them. He has managed to make his way through each one, though, on this day after. No clear favorites yet. Maybe the helium balloons!
A number of other kids were in attendance as well, so Teo enjoyed watching and observing them as they ripped open all of his presents at gift time, and then proceeded to play with them as well. Teo was more than happy to kick back and watch, just playing with his new miniature soccer ball.
As for his first large-scale ingestion of sugar, Teo did well, managing NOT to get sick, as I thought he might, after practically inhaling his birthday cupcake (which he enjoyed very much), a few bites of the chocolate cake that was made for the grown-ups (kids had cupcakes), and a small bite of marshmallow. No discernable sugar coma detected. He had a glazed look in his eyes at one point, but then he does that when he's tired.
Big THANKS to all who showed up to Teo's first - he and his family is/are very appreciative of all the wonderful gifts and cards and sentiments, and for taking the time to spend a part of your day on his very special one.
Enjoy the pics. More to come.

Teo Walks!

Well, a huge milestone was reached last night. Teo suddenly decided to be brave and dispense with using the ottoman as a support and launched himself out into the open and took about 9 or 10 steps from the ottoman to his books that were on the floor. Well, that pretty much floored all of us! Immediately after, we took a few videos of him walking between Candice and Tanner, and it looks like Teo thinks it's just a game, judging by the huge smile on his face and his willingness to keep playing.
He had been sort of walking between the sofa and the ottoman, repeatedly back and forth, taking maybe two or three steps to get from one to the other. That was his game for a few nights. Then suddenly last night, as mentioned, he just stepped away from those crutches and forged ahead into the balance unknown.
Of course, we believe that his toy walker had much to do by way of helping him feel that balance more often and feel more independent and confident being upright. So here we go. Look out world!

Teo the (pushcart) Lion Tamer!

Some of you may have already seen this video (via Facebook), but thought I would post it here for family and friends to see more easily.
This video was shot earlier this week in front of the house. Candice had bought Teo this little push-toy last week and he really loves to get behind the wheel, so to speak, and roll around the 'hood. He does it in the house up and down the hallway and into other rooms, but the out-of-doors provides so much more freedom - and distractions. He'll stop to pick up a leaf or a berry or a twig, check it out for a while, offer it to one of us, and then he's on his merry way again.
Since the toy's arrival, he's standing on his own much better, and for longer stretches. He's already taken a few brave steps on his own, as mentioned in a previous post, but still not quite walking. This ought to help his ambulatory skills quite nicely, though. I give it three weeks and he'll be steppin' out.
Enjoy!

Teo At 10 Months!

Wow. The time is flying by. Last time I wrote, Teo had just turned 9-months, and it's a few weeks later and he's 10-months old plus a week or two now. His first b-day is just around the corner. Yowsah!
Well, the 10-month high-water mark was Teo taking his first steps! He's done it a couple of times, but still hasn't done it near enough for us to say that he's walking; not quite yet. I think Candice and I almost feel he's LATE when it comes to walking already, since he's literally been standing on his own (assisted by furniture and whatnot, of course) since he was 4-months old, so I think we half-expected him walking by 8-months! I guess he's just taking his time with it. He does stand on his own (un-assisted) more often these days, and Candice also bought him a walk-assist pushcart toy that he can hold on to and push from behind and walk up and down the hallway, as well as outside. He loves it, and I think that it will further spur his desire to walk on his own. My next post I think we will have video of his venture into bi-pedalism.
And he continues to eat like a champ. Sometimes it seems we can't quite fill him up enough. If we're eating at any time, he just HAS to have a taste of what we're having. Of course we can't (and DON'T) give him just anything, but his palate is quite sophisticated for a little tyke, or so it seems to us. Well, maybe "sophisticated" isn't quite the word. "Adult" may be a more apt word to describe his tastes. He still eats the baby food, but after tasting a lot of it myself, that stuff is so bland I can see why he's always clamoring for our food!
Please enjoy these pics of our little buddy. He's cuter and more fun and playful and intelligent by the day.
BTW, Julie (Candice's sister) gave him his first haircut today. His bangs were so long and getting in his eyes, so he got a small trim. The picture of him kneeling between my legs looking up is him with his new 'do.

Teo at 9-months and Other Stuff

Greetings Teo fans, followers, devotees, aficionados, adherents and admirers all. It's been a few weeks since our last post and MUCH has happened.
Teo turned 9-months this past January 3rd, and in a twist of tradition, Teo presented US with a gift - his first tooth! It took it's sweet time coming, and now it seems that maybe the floodgates (to go with his endless drool-gates) are open. A second has followed close behind. They're two bottom teeth, so he still has that same adorable toothless smile, but that may not be the case by the time he turns 10-months. Those front teeth are ready to appear, I'm sure.
The boy sure loves to eat (unlike his brother!), and has taken to the solid stuff quite happily. He still nurses, but generally in the middle of the night or early morning, more or less for comfort food. During the day, he can't POSSIBLY be bothered with taking that kind of time, or else he might miss out on something. The kid needs to see and be involved with EVERYTHING. He can barely sit still to eat. He might last 5-minutes in the high chair while eating, but then he HAS to stand up or climb all over the place while being fed. So Candice has acquiesced to his desires and now feeds him standing, crawling, or whatever he wants to be doing. At least he's eating. (Some faves: pasta with marinara sauce; PB&J sandwich squares; peas; baked sweet potato.) Are there any high chairs with straight-jacket attachments? E-bay!!
Grandma Connie came for a visit. They are getting along famously now. Aside from when she rocks him to sleep, every moment she is with Teo, she is constantly talking to him, as well as assisting him with his walking - which, thanks to her, he now prefers over crawling. He'll walk - with either our assistance or with the aid of whatever he can get his hands on - as much as possible, all around the living and dining rooms. Of course, he still crawls to get around, but he loves to be on his two feet. I give it another 4-weeks and then he'll be up on his own!
He is way more interactive and playful now. He likes to be chased, and will sometimes do the chasing. To hear his squeals of delight is one of the greatest sounds ever. He plays "throw" with Dad. I say "throw" because he can't play "catch" yet, but he is happy to throw things back at you (well, in ALL general directions, really) when you toss something his way. But he does make the throw. Makes a poppa proud! (Still uses both hands; no clear-cut use of right or left yet.)
He is DEFINITELY saying "mama" now, and he knows it's Candice. And he sometimes gets out a "num-num" for food, which Candice taught him to say, along with a few sign-language gestures.
His first Birthday approaches, and we will be having party here at the house, for those of you who may be interested in attending. Saturday, April 3. Save the date!
More to come. Enjoy the pics and short vid.