baby food & other stuff

Toby is becoming more irresistably baby-ish by day!

He gurgles, razzes, & squeals in delight, and babbles (in what Gigi calls Chinese) frequently. We have lots of spit-filled conversations. He knows his sister & brother, and of course Baba - loves playing with all of them. He scrunches up with a big grin when Baba comes home after work. He also recognizes his toys - still loves the bed post and cell phone but has expanded his circle of friends. The light-up dolphin is a winner - can't remember who gave it to him, but he loves it!

He loves standing on his own two feet - always has, but now it's an obsession. He could be crying and complaining, but if I haul him up on his feet, he breaks into a big grin. He's very strong and not delicate at all. He also knows how to use his hands - grabs almost anything, though very meticulously, and then proceeds to shove it straight into his mouth. The kids ask me why he always wants to suck things - Anthony tells them it's a baby's work!

He sits on his own for a few seconds at a time till he plops over on his face, but it won't be long... He still hates being on his tummy - he shouts and grunts a lot and drools, but is finally starting to get somewhere - the precursor to crawling I suppose.

He smiles and pants when he makes eye contact with me, and loves the sound of my fingertips typing (luckily ;) He gets mixed up with coughing and laughing - I swear sometimes he means to laugh but he coughs instead! He does make a few little giggles every now and then - definitely the sweetest thing to a mama's ear!

We are having an interesting time experimenting with formula - I thought I should at least introduce it to him as a just-in-case. Though I am trying to continue breastfeeding as much and as long as possible, it would be nice to have a back up. After all, it's not poison! So I gave him a little bottle... NO WAY! He fought the plastic nipple, cried, and generally hated it. Then I had the bright idea of taking off the top - so I gave it to him in cup format, and he loved it! He has always been interested in what we eat and drink, and likes grabbing at our cups. ...as long as he doesn't get into all of Anthony's drinks we'll be fine (see photo - for some reason I can
t upload the damn photo here!)

Tried it again the next day and the same thing happened - I guess the messy version - with the cup - wins! He also likes chomping on orange peels with a bit of fruit and pineapple chunks - he gums them for the juice (yes, he's supervised! I hold it for him).

I also started him on cereal once he turned 4 months on Aug 25th (6.7 kg, almost 15 lbs), and tonight he had a full meal - peas mashed up with potatoes and formula, and liquified papaya for dessert - YUM! Having him on 'solid' food should also help with when I return to work. That said, he can go for 3-4 hours without being fed during the day, mostly when I go to the gym. He doesn't complain about being hungry till he actually sees me again. So I'm hoping that I can feed him some solida food before work and then come home for lunch... I will likely return in the 2nd week of Sept. Renee arrived last week, so I'd like to take a week of my annual leave while she's here. She's getting lots of practice at being an auntie - and teaching him how to walk (or run marathons - he is Kenyan!!)

oh, and he's very popular with the neighbourhood girls ;)



more photos posted on Epson