baby's first burrito

deer and gus

Deer and Gus originally uploaded by Augusten Elray.

You can find all the photos from our relaxing days at the cabin this year on flickr: Here is the slideshow link: Slideshow


lots of relaxing, lots of wine, smelling of campfire, swimming in the lake, being pulled around by a boat on a tube, outhouses, mosquitos, more wine, bbqing, tossing testicles, jumping on the trampoline, being invaded by deer, eating meat and marshmallows, sitting on the dock trying to watch perseids, and breathing the fresh, fresh air.

Gus had fun, although he overdid it one day and would not go to sleep without lots of crying and cuddles. Overall he slept well considering he was in a strange place and a strange bed with all kinds of excitement during the day. He enjoyed tumbling on the grass, playing with Laika and jumping on the trampoline with Dad. I have a few videos that I will try to post soon.

baby toes and sunglasses slideshow on Flickr

you won't beleive how cute and silly this guy is:
baby toes and sunglasses slideshow

New entries

Some new entries on the girl blog from Iraq - it's as important as it is interesting for us to know how ordinary people are coping inside the war torn region. It reads like a novel - for someone so young she has a way of bringing you inside her world and has a depth of perception beyond her years. Check it out: Baghdad Burning

Walking all over

Once upon a time he used to prefer crawling even though he could technically walk (I say "technically" because the walking was so clumsy that one might not recognize it as walking). These days walking is becoming more and more the preferred mode over crawling. There are certain efficiencies that come with walking, like not having to stand up to reach something as you go by. Of course, crawling is still faster and if he's tired he simply won't bother. He also gets so much positive reinforcement the further he walks as Mum or Dad showers him with "oohs" and "aahs" and cuddles and "wow-wee, good boy!"). So he's walking. and it's pretty darn cute, I will try to get a video of it to share.
For the time being, it has made our lives a lot harder. We have to watch him more closely as he now goes toddling towards slate floors, table corners and whatnot pointy things. He is also fascinated with steps. He could probably go down them (he still tries to crawl down, swinging one little legs sideways first to try to go down backwards), if we'd let him. I'm not quite ready to watch him tumble down onto the hard concrete. It's only a step and a half, but it's too many for this Mummy.
He can get off the bed in this manner, I actually let him do it a few times (with my hawk-like supervision). I was quite impressed, he swing one chubby little leg over the edge, turns himself around and then slides off the bed by pushing his body backwards with his arms. He hasn't quite figured out gravity yet and sometimes he slides down faster than he expects. But whether he lands on his feet or not has no impact on how satisfied he is with himself when he makes it down.
Fun times ahead - chasing the clumsy walking baby around the cabin - four more sleeps!

Thumbs up!

He looks way too cool:

Gus and Sadie

Gus and Sadie hanging out. We kept Gus up way past his bedtime. He slept well that night but I think we paid for it the next day. These two had a great time toddling all around the patio while the parents had a little to drink, a lot of meat and a ton of great conversation.

Video of Gus on the swing!

Gus and Dad self portrait series slideshow on Flickr

check out the newest slideshow...

Gus and Dad self portrait series slideshow on Flickr