Steady As He Goes!

Here is Alton walking around on Sunday, April 19th. The heat wave we're experiencing in Oregon (great summery weather!) led us to pull his summer clothes down from the top of his closet--they are a little big because we weren't expecting to use them for another month or two! Andy calls this his "little Dutch boy" outfit. We were just playing upstairs in his playroom and decided it was time to get some more footage of him walking before he becomes so proficient at it that we say, "aw, remember when he would still fall down?" (He is eating his whole grain Goldfish crackers. Cheddar variety.)

I am going to post two versions of this walking video. The first one is the shortened version for easy viewing. The second version is the full-length version for the grandparents, especially the grandfathers who haven't seen him walk yet in person! I figured that they would want to see several minutes of baby steppin' footage.

ThisssssSSSSSSS

One of Alton's most recent verbal accomplishments is the "S" sound. Ssssspecifically, when we are trying to figure out something that he wants, we point to an object and clearly say, "This?" He has picked up that sound/word and responds to our questions by pointing and saying, "Ssssstttthhhssss!" He smiles broadly the entire time and could not be prouder of the way that he has figured out how to press his tongue against his front teeth and hiss at us. Having his friend *B at our house last week (see this post!) definitely encouraged him to chat more, since *B is very talkative and has a vocabulary that would rival those of children two or three times her age. We have gotten a clear "Ba-na-na!" from him a couple of times, and when I put on his shoes he makes a definite "Aaash!" sound. We've got him hooked on the phonics, so to speak, and he knows the meanings...now we just need to string 'em together into words!
The video below was from last Sunday. Andy and Alton were playing together in his playroom, which happens to be right across the hall from the laundry room. When Altie saw me putting clothes into the dryer he couldn't resist and rushed across the room to get a better look. He decided to stay and help me change the clothes, and toward the end of the video you can hear the clear "Sssssstttthhhssss" sound!
He is walking 100% of the time now, no crawling, and has learned to stand up on his own (without assistance from furniture or people) by planting his palms and feet on the ground, hiking his butt straight into the air, and hoisting his weight straight upward. What a champ! Video of this coming soon.

More Walking Alton

Here is Alton walking on Wednesday, April 15. Note how much he is falling and asking for Daddy's help to get back up again, and now less than a week later he doesn't fall, he can get up from the ground on his own, and he is gradually looking less like a drunken sailor when he walks and more like a little boy! He can even run now!

Fun with *B and more...

Our friends Chris and Elizabeth were blessed last week with a baby boy, younger brother to Alton's little friend *B. *B came to stay at our house while her mama was in the hospital, and so for two days Andy, Nonna and I played "this is what it would be like if we had twins." Alton and *B had a blast and we were lucky enough to have some really nice weather for a trip to the park. We got to say hello to the whole family and meet Baby *F, named for his great-grandfather and his father. He is a little doll and loves to eat and sleep! Having *B around was terrific incentive for Alton to walk a lot!

I got to have fun with little girl hair for a day, giving *B pigtails!

Wagon Train!

Little walker!

Strutting his stuff--it was warm enough for sandals!

Spotting a plane waaaaaay up high with his Nonna.

Hungry for dinner after the fun park trip.

The happy family: Chris, Baby *F, *B, Elizabeth

*B says "goodbye!"

Alton's Easter Photo Shoot

We were a little busy on Easter Sunday and the weather wasn't cooperating, so we staged Alton's Easter photo shoot a couple of days later. We snapped some pics of him at the end of our street around the landscaped flower beds and such, and gave him some eggs and his Easter basket as props. Pottery Barn catalog: eat your heart out.

Bye-Bye!

We're working on Alton saying "Bye-bye." Here he is being cute at the front door.

Shoppin'