A Day at the Arboretum

It was a beautiful day today, if a bit unseasonably warm (high in mid-90s), so we ventured out to the Dallas Arboretum so Wilder could cavort amongst the pumpkin patch and check out other cool stuff. Alas, it wore our poor boy out : )

Sitting on the porch of a frontier-style house. Lucky for Wilder, here in the 21st century we have central air. It was HOT out there.


So hot than when we found a fountain to splash around in, we were there. The kid had a great time splashing Mom and ...


Dad!


Wilder explores the world of pumpkins. He dug them, but was not enamored of the hay underfoot. He kept stopping to shake hay off his feet, with a very ticked look on his face.


One of my favorites from the day. We were inside a teepee, and Wilder didn't quite know what to make of it, as I think shows here on his face.


Just a photo of Wilder and Jer that I found cute.


Another photo here mainly for its cuteness, but if you look closely, you can kind of see those four teeth coming in at the top.


Wilder in his car seat two seconds before I closed the door and we headed for home ...


Wilder when we arrive home. It took us about 15 minutes to get there, but he zonked out about 2 minutes into that.


Wilder now. He is FAST asleep in his crib. Yay for exhausting hot days filled with pumpkins, teepees, plants and sunshine!

Portraits de la Familia

So we had our family portrait taken at the lake on Friday. Some of Wilder alone as well. Thought I'd post some of my favorites here. They were taken by our magazine's staff photographer, Can "Turk" Turkyilmaz. He's a fantastic shooter and a great guy, and I'd say that even if I didn't think he'd be reading this. If you need kiddo, family, wedding or any other kind of shooter, you'd do well to check Turk out. turkstudio.net

Out By the Garden

We finally had a day of just incredible weather today -- the kind of day that makes you open windows and doors and send thanks to the gods of atmospheric pressure for finally banishing scorching temperatures. The kind of day that makes you break out flannel shirts, and fills you with the realization that your tiny little lumberjack, whom you thought was still a baby, has become a little boy. Here are some pics from our beautiful fall day:

Wilder broadens his palate by sucking on a basil leaf.

That Wilder ... he's a funny boy.

Kiddo helps Papa pick basil for dinner. (Note to Dad & Sharon: Do you guys remember buying that shirt for Wilder waaaayyyy back in November? It looks so cute on him now!)

Monday Pics

Our wide-eyed and wet Wilder during last night's bathtime


Tragically, no carrots survived this encounter

You Shoulda Seen the Other Little Guy

No, Wilder didn't actually get into a daycare brawl with a bunch of other wee-sized toughs. But it looks that way, doesn't it?

Clearly, it's been a tough week. I had no sooner posted the other day about our three virus-free weeks than I walked into the next room to a runny nose (OK, a few hours might have passed, but for the sake of drama, we'll say that nose spontaneously started flowing the second I clicked "publish:). By Sunday, we were in full-on head cold mode and, though it's now made its way through both Jerry and I and we're much better, Wilder is still somewhat puny because of it.

Now about that picture: The bruise under the right eye -- we have no idea where that came from. He either rammed his face up against something or the cold has settled there. I tend to think it's the latter, but we can't discount the former, for Wilder is pretty much a walking definition of "accident prone" these days. I can see why he wants to move around as if he's got 20 years of walking under his belt (I guess I would too if I'd discovered a full range of motion was possible after months of relying on others to move you from point A to point B), I just have to cringe every time I see it. He moves with zero fear and wild abandon. Case in point? The left eye. Unpredictable moves aren't reserved for dry surfaces. He's like a slippery little eel in the tub, which is where he fell last night, lurching around like a drunken misfit and glancing his left upper eye socket against the side of the tub, promptly splitting it open.

Of course, we had his first official portraits scheduled for this afternoon, at the lake with beautiful crystal clear blue skies and cooler temps. A photographer at work has even donated his services. But we can't very well capture our boy's cuteness for all time when he looks like Baby Pugilist, so we'll have to reschedule.

Oh well, just one more little blip in a life that's sure to be full of adventure, bumps, bruises and scratches. He is, after all, a little boy. This is but the very beginning (cue ominous music).

Love to all,
K,J&W

ps. I should add that despite the forlorn expression in the photo, he's pretty much his usual self, laughing at and tormenting the devil out of kitty and throwing toys around the room. All is well in Wilder's world.

W's First Zoo Visit (in pictures)

Wilder and Papa stroll through the zoo.


This picture of a gorilla's bagunkagunk was the only decent one I could get.


The only monkey we could get Wilder interested in.


But wait ... something's caught his eye! Look over there Wilder ...

Flamingos! (NOTE: Flamingos STINK in large groups.)


Mama takes this opportunity to reinforce: "Nice kitty kitty Wilder. We don't hit kitties, right?"


What could possibly have finally gotten kiddo this engrossed in the zoo?


Elephant! This one was really active while we were there.


A creepy pic of an otter sleeping (there were four total) in the otter hovel.


The zoo is fun!!!


I even got a monkey to take home with me!!


And these two monkeys had fun too!

Duck of Death!

Surely every child needs one of these to make bathtime more ... err, horrifying? Still, it's pretty awesome. There's also a James Brown duck and, as my friend Sherry pointed me to, a Mr. T duck. Still, best duck ever? Right here.

Hey, What's Up With Wilder?

Just a quick update of what's going on with the kiddo:

1. Giving us the most reason for joy is that Wilder has now gone three solid weeks without being sick. Can we get a hallelujah?! Wanted to post the first week, but thought, 'Nah I'll just jinx us.' Thought same second week, but I think it might be safe now to say that either we've built up a little immunity or those other cootified baby flesh monkeys at his daycare stopped cramming their germs down my kid's throat. I know, I know: It's the former.

2. TEETH! We finally have them, as in plural. For weeks he had half a tooth at the bottom. Now the one next to it has not only broken through, but caught up, and there are two more at the top. And I think another one or two might not be far behind. I'm happy to report our little trooper has barely uttered a peep of displeasure. Big Strong Wilder!!

3. Walking!! As the post below attests to, the Wild Child is no longer content with crawling or baby-stepping to and from whatever he can grab ahold of. He wants to walk and he wants it bad. I'm almost positive by this time next week he'll have it almost mastered. I, on the other hand, will have mastered the delicate art of cracking open a cold one in relief each time his cute little head hits the pillow.

4. Hair. It's filling in and, in doing so, is getting increasingly BLONDER. I never doubted he was gonna be a little tow-head, but he might even veer toward the platinum range. Clearly, Jerry is stomping me in the battle of dominant gene poolage.

5. BIRTHDAY!! We cannot believe that Wilder's first birthday is around the corner. Seriously, when did our gelatinous little blob of wailing, pink-skinned baby turn into a smiling, giggling, kiss-blowing boy? It went too fast, but we're psyched about all the fun stuff going on, so I refuse to get misty-eyed about it (unless I'm cracking open a cold one ... tears and beers just go together, right Hank?). Anyway, we've slated his birthday party for Saturday, Oct. 21 (the next weekend will be devoted to Halloween -- man, I cannot even imagine how much more fun having Wilder around is gonna make Halloween, which is already one of my top three holidays). We'll post lots of pictures and video for those of you who can't make it!

That's pretty much all. I was going to lament how we can no longer patronize restaurants w/o feeling like we've brought along Baby Tarzan, but hey, what parent doesn't right?

Love to all,
K,J&W

Baby Becomes Ambulatory, Parents Screwed

Here's a little clip of Wilder cruising the living room with the help of a walking toy. This was a few days ago. As of today he's attempting to walk without help EVERYWHERE. Most times he takes four or five steps and falls down, but he's quickly making progress. Dear God, help us.

Rubber Duckies Galore!!

We've had these Google AdSense ads on our blog here for quite some time. I find most of them boring and uninspired. But this one is absolutely awesome:

http://www.pricehot.com/rubberducky.html

On it you can get any kind of rubber ducky that some bath-toy designer can dream up. My favorites so far:

Punk Deluxe Duck
Rock Concert Duck
Devil Duckies
... and the somewhat ironically named Hunting Duck (Any idea what this little guy would hunt? Please visit the comments section and fire away.)

Anyway, if you're in the market for any rubber duckies, check it out.

TO COME LATER THIS WEEK:
A video of Wilder — looking like a drunken marauder — pushing his new walking toy around our living room
An update on teeth, health and the latest phases (at least we pray to God they're phases)
A date and theme is finally agreed upon for Wilder's first birthday party

Rumblin' & Tumblin'

Just a clip of Wilder cruisin' the house a bit. In a display of what is sure to be a skyrocketing IQ, he's taken to carrying a rubber ducky around in his mouth. As you can see, he's gotten quite mobile. Though still not an ounce of what you'd call grace.