More firsts!

I just wrote the following in another of my journals:

Unmatched is the pride of a mother whose almost-toddler is learning so easily and quickly.

And I proudly have two new firsts to report here--they both happened just now. Torin said "Dad" when prompted by Joey, twice in a row! Also, Torin began shaking his head after watching me do it. It has "clicked" with him, and now he must constantly do it.

I'm not so sure I'll always be so happy about the second of these two firsts. But for now, I'm basking in the glow that only a proud parent can see and feel.

Clap on!

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a clapper! Torin began clapping this weekend. Hopefully there will be a video soon.

It seems like it has been quite awhile since we last saw a new milestone being reached or a new skill being learned. I have a feeling, though, that these next few weeks and months will be filled with lots of firsts. Torin has begun to cruise a little bit, a few steps at a time, and he can stand up unsupported for 5-10 seconds before falling on his squishy little bottom.

We took a quick trip to Victoria this weekend to attend some friends' wedding vow renewals. Our little 10-month-old is quite the traveler! He does very well in the car seat, for the most part, crying mainly when he's hungry. He enjoys meeting new people and seeing familiar ones (such as Grandpa Brian). At our friends' party, he had fun chasing after the bigger kids and watching them run around. He'll be among those bigger kids soon enough!

I can't believe our little baby will be a toddler in less than two months. Where has this year gone? Time flies when you're watching a baby grow and learn every day.

Pookie on the dance floor, watching all the action and trying to figure out how to be a part of it.

Pookie likes Daddy's truck--but the keys are much more fun to nom on!

I wonder where Pookie got that curly hair?

Just like Daddy.

Crazy Pookie!

It's the little things.

I heard and saw Pookie stirring on our video monitor, so I went to his room to fetch him from his late afternoon nap. When I arrived at his crib, he was smiling so darn big, playing and cuddling with Scout while the toy played a soft lullaby. I might have cried a little. Okay, okay, I did cry for a minute or two.

Alas, I didn't get a picture of the scene that made me so uncharacteristically emotional. I was too caught up in the moment to capture a shot. But I will say, it's simple moments like this one that mean more than anything else in the world to me. I could never, ever imagine a life without Pookie now that he's here.

Strangers in a strange land.

This weekend, we took Pookie on his first out-of-state road trip. Needing desperately to get out of the city, we all headed north aimlessly, in search of nothing but a bit of bucolic peace. We found it in Oklahoma!

We didn't get out of the car much, but we enjoyed the view of the Arbuckle Mountains from the comfort of our air-conditioned truck. We drove around the Lake of the Arbuckles and cruised down many a curvy, hilly road, slowing down just enough to relish life outside the big city for a short time.

Pookie did so well--just like he did when we went down to South Texas when he was just 3 months old. He napped quite a bit and played quietly with his toys in his car seat, occasionally babbling and calling out to let us know he was hungry.

Seeing how smoothly it went, we'll be taking plenty more trips like this every chance we get!

Torin's first 4th!

For our first Independence Day as a family, we kept things pretty low key. We had lunch at Snuffer's, then we went for a peaceful drive through the East Texas countryside. Even though Pookie wasn't in the best mood today (he's either sick or teething--he has a runny nose), he still managed a few laughs and smiles, one of which we were lucky enough to capture on camera.

Pookie continues to crawl like crazy and pull up to standing. In the past couple of weeks, he has started to babble more. Also, I think he has been waving at me! I hope to post videos of his latest accomplishments very soon.