Scooting, snorting, squealing

Here are some random movies of Alexander Cappy Scooter Pig Boy Mallon. He's been scooting himself around, getting up on his hands and knees but not quite getting how to crawl yet. Between the scooting and rolling, he manages to get where he wants to go, and at an alarming rate sometimes.

He's also big on snorting lately.







He's generally more interested in furniture than toys: his hamper, the changing table, his diaper pail (hence the abrupt end to the last film). He's also a bit of a squealer, which means, of course, that he has no future in the baby mafia.

In yo face, Mama

Usually, the moment I bring out the camera, he freezes and goes silent. Not tonight.

Sorry the video's so dark (as usual).

Grandparents exersaucer first tooth peas mama devil baby

What a week. Nana and Papa spoiled their grandson rotten with good times . . .





and an exersaucer that holds every toy ever created:



Alexander's first tooth broke skin, and a second one appeared today, not far behind the first. He's been using his choppers on peas, which he tolerates but doesn't love:



He much prefers his thumb, and frankly, I don't blame him. Peas are gross.



He's been saying "mama" like crazy. He doesn't know what it means, I'm sure, but he has learned to say it repeatedly in the mornings when he wants out of his crib and when he's hungry. We'll get video when we have a chance. He also plays with his "n" sounds, delighting my mom with some "nana" rambling while she was here.

And he showed his devilish side last week, which he gets from his dad, of course. He does not, however, take after his dad in head size.

Darrick's mom visited over the past few days, leaving this morning. She'd just had some major dental work done, so she was in a lot of pain, but she was a trooper during the visit, and Alexander was thrilled to have someone to share his baby food with.



And finally, after several months, we finished Alexander's room. Long ago (last year), Case helped Darrick put up the wallpaper and mural:



And during my mom's visit before Alexander was born, she created slipcovers for our glider.



Mom and Tom also provided several other elements in the room: tiki mask, beautiful armoire, Hawaii postcards, wall outfit (doesn't the wall look handsome?), bunny picture frame, mobile, and other stuff I know I'm forgetting because there is so much, not to mention all the books, toys, and animals about the room that Alex received from friends and other family members--thanks everybody! If you click on the last picture to enlarge it, you can examine the documentation from Alexander's travels.

So without further ado, Alexander's room:

Roll over, Beethoven

On Monday morning, I go to get him up and he's on his hands and knees in his crib. He had rolled over himself. (Before, he'd rolled over only tummy to back, so this is the first time going the other way.) Now, since that first time on Monday, he's been doing it like crazy. He rolls onto his tummy, then onto his back, then onto his tummy. He's still too young to crawl, but he gets around by rolling and by wiggling around on his back and stomach. I didn't think to have a camera that first morning, of course, but I took this another time when he'd rolled over in the crib.

(As always, more photos are posted at http://www.flickr.com/photos/mallons)

Later that day, he decided to write a composition to express his feelings about the whole experience. His audience, the dogs, were a bit distracting, apparently suggesting that he play more in the lower register.

Hey!

This has to count as his first word.

Drool

First, our favorite two photos of the week (more at http://www.flickr.com/photos/mallons):







And then more video of him eating, for you die-hard fans (aka grandparents). Sweet potatoes this week:

Feeding Frenzy

Alexander had his first taste of "solid" food today, a bit of liquidy rice cereal. It went pretty well for a first attempt.

On a roll

He rolled over a couple of times yesterday for me. The first time, I caught only half the roll on film, so being the cruel mother that I am, I turned him back on his stomach. I caught a full roll on film the second time:



Now we can finally teach him to breakdance.

Hanging out with chicks, hitting the bottle, and rocking and rolling

We've had a busy couple of weeks. On Memorial Day weekend, Alexander hung out with Lauren. She's a younger woman, only two months old, but she's got a sweet ride:



They're already drinking buddies:



Shelly and Baby Lauren, caught in a moment:



Lauren is lucky to have big sister Nicole to love and hug and hold her:



For some reason, we didn't get any pictures of Ben. Middle child syndrome beginning, perhaps? Hard to believe. He's a photogenic little toddler. I guess we were just too baby-eyed.

Then on the following Thursday, Alexander went in for his four-month well-baby checkup. At 19 pounds 8 ounces and 26 inches, he has slowed down his growth a bit (2 pounds a month instead of 4), but he's not exactly a dainty flower just yet. We've pulled out the 12-month clothing. Some of it is a little big, but most of it fits him well. At four months. Yep.

His doctor suspects that Alexander is teething, and he suggested we start him on solids as soon as he seems ready to give it a shot. So we'll be picking up a high chair soon.

And yesterday (Monday), he rolled over from front to back! Darrick was with him both times. I have yet to witness it, although I spent the day today with camera in hand. The second time Alex did it, Darrick tried to get a movie, but the camera was still set on camera, so he captured him mid-roll: