I think we have a reader

Tobin is moving on to books now. There for awhile he just wanted to chew on the books or scoot them around on the floor. Now, he is turning pages and actually reacting to what he sees on the pages. It's so much fun. Of course it helps when there's textures on the pages. His favorite book is a book about dogs. He will sit and just pet the book as if it were alive. We need to get this little guy a puppy.

Just for cuteness sake

Please just ignore all of the crib safety rules we're breaking and look at the cuteness of the little booty in the air. I just couldn't resist-there's just nothing more precious than a sleeping babe.

Milk Gut

I have been trying to wean Tobin in the last couple of weeks-so he gets bottles during the day. Well, now that he's 8 months he thinks he supposed to do everything by himself. So, today I propped him up and away he went on his bottle. I just had to capture the "milk" gut he was sporting. With the gut and his plaid pants he almost fits the Rodney Dangerfield look.

Escape Artist

Now days every time I got and get Tobin from his crib he's standing proudly at the end of his crib. Not only is he standing at the end of his crib but he has this grin on his face as if he's up to great planning and scheming. I think it's time to lower the mattress.

Who let the dogs out?

Rob and I are hoping that we always have good insurance. We are so going to need it. Tobin is soooo active!!!!!!! In the last couple of days we have had a busted lip(which is so hard to heal up on a boy who is constantly putting things in is mouth),fell backwards and hit his head 3 times and has scratched the inside of his ear(don't ask-it's a mystery to us). Tobin never stops. He's been pulling up on everything and taking giant leaps that are clearly impossible to my eye. I've been going behind him putting down blankets where ever he might fall. We have hardwood floors which are so scarey for moms and dads of 7 month olds.It's so hard-we want Tobin to be able to discover and learn all these obstacles but we also want him to be safe. We just want to put a crash helmet and a mouth gaurd on Tobin for protection.

We're trying to figure out if it's easier to clear all the shelves and pack it up or to keep saying "No, Tobin". Right now Tobin's favorite spots are the DVD player, dishwasher, the metal rack where I have all of my fiesta ware, trash cans and all bottom shelves of our book shelves. Yesterday he found a new hideout. Tobin crawled under our bed while Rob and I were putting on our shoes. He was like a little swiffer-wiping down the hardwood floor under the bed-YUCK!!!! While he was under the bed he found one of my flip flops and preceded to chew on it-another YUCK!!!! Even though it was "YUCK" I still grabbed the camera to snap a picture. He was just like a little puppy. So, if we ever have a shoe missing we'll know to ask Tobin and expect to find teeth marks when we find the shoe.

Baby Crack

Recently it's been hard to make dinner every night. I now have a little one under my feet or getting into something while I'm cooking. At that time Rob is home but he's usually getting his clothes and lunch ready for the next day. So, after bathtime we put on a baby praise video(or my sister in-law calls it baby crack)for Tobin so I can get some things accomplished in the kitchen. We've also found that the praise video is very soothing and slows Tobin down before bed time. Actually it kind of puts him a trance. I know TV isn't all that good for infants or children in general but it sure does come in handy say around 6pm.

I'm attaching a picture of Tobin and Grandpa Black watching baby crack. Maybe grandma should purchase a baby praise video to entertain grandpa while she's cooking dinner.

Mommy's little helper

The other day I went in to get Tobin from his crib and found him standing up. I thought "Oh, no, here we go". His crib seems to be his warm up space where he gets all of his practice. Well, since that day he has been discovering a whole new level of life. His perspective has gone from 6 inches off of the ground to about 29 inches off of the ground. With Tobin's perspective changing, so does mine I am looking at our house in a totally new way. Our house is pretty much a death trap. YIKES!!! Everywhere I look I see something that Tobin could pull over on him or put in his mouth. Everywhere Tobin looks he sees a new adventure. The kid has no fear. It's funny how we wish they had a little fear at this age but when they get a little older we wished some of that fear would go away, only to return when they are teenagers, of course.

Since Tobin has gained this new perspective on life he thinks he should be doing whatever it is that I'm doing. He grunts in frustration if he can't get where I am and help. Everytime the dishwashwer opens he comes flying to help. He loves to splash in the leftover water and how the bottom shelf rolls back and forth. If only this love for the dishwasher would stick around. But, for right now knives and glass dishes aren't really the best objects for Tobin to be playing with.

What happened to the play pen?

Tobin is crawling and pulling up on everything now. He's so much happier now that he can have his freedom and go places. I'm happy that my baby is happy but this means mommy stays very busy trying to keep Tobin safe. I kind of miss those days where I could just leave Tobin sitting on the floor when I did the dishes and when I returned he was still sitting in the same spot. Those days are sooo over. I have to do all showering, laundry and most other chores while Tobin is sleeping now. What ever happened to play pens??????? I could sure use one.

The other day I put Tobin inside a pamper box and it entertained him for about 20 minutes. Twenty minutes is precious time!!!! It's not a playpen but it did the job for both Tobin and mommy.

Water Baby

Tobin loves water. When he was a newborn he screamed when we gave him a bath but now days he can't get enough water. He now cries when we take him out of the bathtub. He enjoys sticking his hands under the faucet and is fascinated with the water going down the drain.

He also loves getting in the swimming pool. We got him a cheap little pool but grandma and grandpa got a new cadilac pool for the grandboys. He has learned the art of splashing and is now crawling in the pool which sometimes causes some scarey moments for mommy and daddy.

Our little TIP

I'm finally back to blogging. I'm sure most of you have given up on me but I'm still going to continue to blog so I can at least have some sort of a record of our son's life.

So, let me catch you up really fast. Tobin is now 7 months old and will be 8 months on the 20th of July. That is soooo hard for me to believe. He is a very busy little man. I always said I didn't want a boring child, that I wanted a son or daughter with character. Well......!!!!!! Since my last entry Tobin has started sitting on his own, crawling, eating 3 meals a day, pulling up on things and learned the art of throwing a good tantrum. Honestly I haven't really written because I haven't had too much material but Tobin is supplying me with a wealth of material now. So, here we go, off to a new world of blogging. I'll leave you with some pictures or a growth chart, if you will, to catch you up on things. It's actually a backwards growth chart.