27 Weeks

Finally, we're all caught up!

27-week pics

Now we're off to the beach for a week to create some wonderful new memories with Chooch, Aunt Lauren and Uncle Mike, and cousins Parker, Cami and Paige!

We'll be back in August with lots of fun updates.  Until then, stay cool everybody!

26 Weeks

Let the updating bonanza continue!

Tate's 26-week pics (a little fuzzy, boo...)

More on Tate in the Great Outdoors

In this set of photos Tatum is trying to crawl. As you can see by the furrowed brow, he takes this challenge very seriously. He makes all sorts of grunts and groans as he rocks and scoots himself forward.

Fortunately he lives with obliging animals such as Sierra, who he can use to boost himself along!

Tatum loves Josephine

Tatum is a real nature boy. One of his very favorite places to be is lying on a blanket underneath Josephine, the tree in our front yard. We think he and Josephine speak the same language. He just stares up at her leaves as they sway in the breeze and talks away, babbling all kinds of sweet words up at her. I think he talks to Josephine more often that does to me or daddy! He just loves that tree.

This is a series of photos I took recently of Tatum communing with the great outdoors. I hope Tate's love of nature carries through to his childhood and adult years! I have great memories of camping and hiking with my parents as a child--we'll be sure to give Tatum the same opportunities to appreciate being outdoors as he grows up.

Gramps saves the day!

Or at the very least, he helped me to update TateSpace by providing me with some photos!

Tatum and I had dinner with Gramps and CeCe last night (roasted veggies from the garden, cooked spinach with a little onion and white wine vinegar, lemon pepper chicken--YUMMY and HEALTHY, we're so lucky!). After dinner Tate was showing off his rock 'n scoot skills--not quite a crawl yet, but he gets where he wants to go--and CeCe was recounting her trip to visit with some of her close high school friends last weekend. She showed me her little "brag book" of grandchildren, and there were several pictures of Tate, his dad and me that I hadn't seen before.

I asked Gramps if I could get a few of them on disk, and voila! I have some photos to update TateSpace with at long last.

These were take at the end of June, so they're several weeks old. But I can't resist posting them.

Here's Tatum and his daddy in the pool. This was Tate's first time dipping into pool water, and he loved it! We're looking forward to spending lots of time with him in the water next week at the beach (slathered in 70+ sunblock, of course!). I happen to think his daddy looks quite nice here. ;)

And here's Tate with mommy, playing on the floor at CeCe and Gramps.

Tatum snoozing with Gramps. Doesn't he look like a total bruiser here?!

And finally, visiting with his sweet cousins. I love how his little hand is on Cami's shoulder in this pic.

As soon as daddy gets back from DC with the camera cable I'll update with more pics from the past few weeks!

No cable, no pics...

The cable that connects our camera to my computer and allows me to download the many adorable photos of our son that reside on said camera is currently in DC. With my husband.

I, however, am home home on the range...so no photo updates on Tatum until Bruce gets back Wednesday. I'm falling behind! Sorry, Tater watchers.

Updates soon to come.

For comparison sake...

I found the photo of myself sucking on the beer can in my dad's lap, for comparison with the photo of Tatum and HIS dad posted yesterday.

Tate's dad immediately pointed out that both beers are Colorado beers--hooray! Coors for me and Fat Tire for Tatum. I think Tatum got the better end of that deal. Plus, a bottle seems *slightly* safer for baby-gumming than a sharp-edged beer can! I'm just saying. (Not really all that surprising for "back in the day," when kids skateboarded without helmets and bounced around the back seat of cars freely!)

Also, it should be noted that my dad descends from a long line of Yeti/Gorilla/Cavemen and that I come by my hairiness quite honestly. I mean, LOOK at those legs and arms! Amazing, I tell 'ya.

The Great Colorado Trip of 2010

Tatum successfully completed his first plane trip across the country last week! We couldn’t have possibly asked for a more ideal traveling companion. Despite some nervousness on his mom’s part that we were going to be the scorned trouble-travelers on the plane with the screaming infant, instead our little guy was just perfect. He nursed upon take-off, promptly fell asleep afterwards, and proceeded to sleep the entire flight both there and back. He was awake and alert before take-off and as soon as we landed, interested in everything around us and babbling and chatting. He loved looking out the window of the airplane and people-watching both on the plane and in the airport. He just took it all in and really enjoyed the colors, the movement, and the adventure of it all! 

His calm while traveling was particularly amazing given that he broke his second tooth in while we were in Colorado and has a third just under the surface at the back of his mouth getting ready to break through.  Plus we crossed several time zones, so his sleep has been pretty thrown off.  What a trooper. 

We arrived in Colorado late last Thursday. Despite our late arrival, Tatum’s grandparents had sweetly waited up for us and Tate was thrilled to meet them! It was endearing to see how quickly and completely he took to Bruce’s parents. He was giggling and smiling every time they held him, talked to him or played with him. Our boy is definitely a Thibault!

Tatum and PawPaw

This photo isn't exactly mommy-approved. Then again, I have a similar photo of myself sitting in my dad's lap sucking on a beer can when I was a baby, and I lived to tell. I can assure you that no beer was actually consumed by the minor pictured here.

I kind of like this photo Bruce's dad took of me!  People who aren't crazy about photos of themselves should be permitted to carry umbrella shields. ;)  Actually, it was 90+ degrees out at the baseball game and I was trying to shade Tatum from the sun and the heat. 

Behind the umbrella (is my teething-ring bracelet chic or what?):

Tatum and cousins with Uncle Seth at his going-away party.  Tate's grandma and cousins made t-shirts for all of the kids to wear celebrating their Uncle Seth; it was really cute.

Highlights of the trip included a swim lesson with Aunt Julia, Uncle Seth and cousin Luke—Tatum LOVED it and we’re hoping to find a similar infant swim class in this area for him—a fair well party for Uncle Seth as he gets ready to deploy for the fourth time, a family birthday party for everyone with July birthdays (Tatum's daddy included!), a gorgeous hike up Helen Hunt Falls, a “girl’s morning out” for breakfast and mani/pedis with Bruce’s mom and sisters and niece Elenie, and a visit to our first home in Manitou Springs, which we’re sadly getting ready to sell this month. It was an amazing trip and made me so nostalgic for our time living in Colorado. I really don’t think there’s a more beautiful state to live in!

View from Pike's Peak, near our house in Manitou Springs:

Tatum's first mountain hike, at Helen Hunt Falls:

Sadly, while we packed our camera and schlepped it across country with us, we left the camera battery plugged into the wall charging at home! So any photos I have are borrowed from Bruce’s folks or taken on an iPhone. Typically I would have taken a TON of photos on a trip like this, and instead I have none...boo hoo. On the other hand, we have some wonderful memories of Tatum’s first time meeting his Colorado family! It was a special, special trip.

Playing at Grandma and PawPaw's

Six-month photos soon to come!

Tatum Turns 25

Twenty-five weeks, that is. You hit the 2-5 mark last week to much festivity, Tatum. There were parades! Parties! Fireworks! Okay…so that was all in celebration of July 4th. But this coming weekend you’ll be SIX MONTHS OLD, and that’s pretty worthy of celebration in my book!

The past month has seen some mighty changes for you, big boy. You’re VERY close to crawling. As CeCe puts it, you’re “creeping”—the stage right before actually crawling. You get up on your hands and knees and scoot yourself backwards across the floor with alarming speed. I can no longer walk away and expect you to be on your quilt when I return—more likely, you’ll be across the room trying to figure out how you got there!

You love solid foods. Sweet potatoes seem to be your favorite so far (the homemade kind) followed by apples, carrots and peaches. You don’t care for bananas at this point—I think the texture gets to you—and green beans actually make you gag. I’m going to keep trying though, I want you to be a fan of beans just like your mommy and daddy! Instead of half-heartedly gumming the food around in your mouth, you now lunge forward like a shark and devour big mouthfuls. One of the reasons I think you’re enjoying solid foods so much is that you have a chance to exercise your TOOTH!

Yes, that’s right. Your first tooth popped out about a week ago. The bottom right front tooth has made its razor-like presence known, and it appears that its neighbor won’t be far behind. You continue chew on everything in sight, and your gums bug you terribly.

Other than that, you’re still grabbing and touching and babbling and talking and being your sweet, charming, goofy self.