A new adventure in the making

We're on our way to India with the little guy, along with Susan's sister and her kids. Right now in Hong Kong, and it's been quite the adventure getting thus far already! With 3 kids in tow, I wouldn't have expected any less. Pictures and news of The Great Expedition shall be forthcoming.

The cousins are having a ball of a time playing with each other - the last time they were together Yo was just a couple months old and wasn't up to a whole lot. They've really taken to each other now, and it's great to see them having fun together.

Our last flight out from HK to Bangalore leaves in an hour, and we're more than ready to sleep lying down as opposed to valiantly trying to (but miserably failing) to get comfortable in positions a contortioinist would be proud of.

Eight month stats

Since we will have to miss his regular 9-month appt, we preponed it by a month.

Weight: 16 lbs

Height: 26 1/4 "

In addition to the regular vaccinations he also had the second dose of his flu shots.

If you're happy and you know it

Susan was entertaining Yo during dinner tonight, and she hit upon something that caused the little guy to break out in guffaws.

(embedded video)

Funn-er Toys, Please

His stash of regular baby toys doesn't cut it. But when one has TVs, home theater systems, and dishwashers lying around, they will suffice quite well, thank you. Sears, Best Buy... are you reading this blog? We'll be happy to test any new home electronics products for baby-proofing.

He's got a new 'pursed-lips' expression, which he sports in both pics below.

I've also been amazed at the little light bulbs going off in his head as he starts to put things together...

• When I leave for work, he knows I'm heading out. He'll start to crawl to the door, and when I scoot out Susan says he isn't too happy for a while.
• He totally knows the sound of the dishwasher opening. Regardless of where he is in the vicinity, once he hears that sound he drops everything and scoots right over.
• When he wakes up in his room, he'll sit up in the crib and keep looking at the door for someone to come in and pick him up (we can see him with our video baby monitor).
• He has this really comical (to us) quizzical expression on his face now when he encounters something new.
  

Little Yo is a lotta fun :)

Standing up... With a little help from my friends

Yo's started to pull himself up and stand on slightly less wobbly legs now. This evening he stood and played for quite a while with his Laugh & Learn toy - his favorite.

He's also fascinated by a small radio-controlled car we have. Before he could crawl he would just sit and fix his eyes on the car as it went round and round, and would grab for it when it came within reach. Now that he's mobile, he scoots after the car as fast as he can. And when he gets it, he doesn't let go too easily.

(video embedded)

Intro to Indian Cuisine

We tried to start the little guy on some good 'ol South Indian sapad today, but it didn't go down too well. Susan made some dhal + rice + ghee and mashed it all up in a blender. It actually tasted pretty good to me (way better than his rice cereal!), but he was having none of it. We even tried mixing in some of his regular Gerber stuff, but he completely saw through our feeble attempts at food disguise.

We finally had to go back to tried-and-trusted rice cereal and Gerber Sweet Potato for his dinner. Dhal-rice will be tried again next week.



(embedded video)

From mini-car...

... to mini-van!


Susan's car is in the shop for a week for some minor repairs, and we got a somewhat larger rental replacement... She was a little nervous taking this out for a spin considering she's never driven anything larger than a Golf, but thanks to power seats and seat cushions she did great.

She's now officially a bonafide mini(-van) mom!

Fun times with Mamma

(embedded video)

Play yard == kitchen

The little explorer has discovered the kitchen now, and loves to go around trying to pull stuff out. Luckily he hasn't figured out how to open cabinets as yet. Whenever one of us is in the kitchen, he'll crawl over and want to be in the thick of things. This mobility is giving him a whole new level of freedom.

He's also just started pulling himself up into a standing position now. Doesn't last very long, and he quickly lands on his amply padded behind. And tries again. We've had to lower his crib this week so he stays in.

Off we go!

The little munchkin started crawling (forward) Oct 30. Even within a day he was doing short little spurts when the object of interest was crawl-worthy. Electronic objects are #1 in the list of items to go after, with power cords coming a close second. He also seems to like the laminate floors in the kitchen - quite fascinated that that's a different material than carpet.

(video embedded)

Dada's Li'l Punkin

Susan went all creative with our little fella yesterday. She had a little pumpkin hat, but needed the rest of the ensemble to complete a Halloween costume for Yohan. I was dispatched to procure a pumpkin, and then while I was at work she created a little studio set for her "Yo's First Halloween" photo shoot. Backdrops were spread, pumpkins were painted, leaves were gathered from neighboring trees, and the little boy was dressed in his orange best. And it all came out superb!



(slideshow and video embedded)

Here is a behind-the-scenes look at the production process.