See little man clapping?
The hydrangeas are blooming!!!
If you want some, please let me know. Seriously, they're free and I must say they're quite pretty! Just let me know you want to stop by. I might look at you funny if you just come wandering in the back yard.
There are plenty to go around. This photo was taken 3 days ago and there are SO many blooming now!
Next we saw some elephants...this baby is bathing himself.
This little tiger is 8 months old. He is 22 lbs. 8 ounces. I haven't measured him so I have no idea how long he is. As are most babies at this age, Troy is very happy. He cries when: he's hungry, he's very sleepy, I (his mother) walks away or out of the room, animals walk away from him. He could care less if he has a bad diaper. LOL! I guess that's what I get with a boy?
Troy is crawling great now. He also enjoys someone holding his hands and walking with him. He seems to be quite proud of his crawling skills. While he tries to pull himself up on furniture, he hasn't quite mastered this skill. I'm sure he will in a week or so. He's still wearing medium gdiapers but I just ordered some larges (they're on sale at diapers.com right now). Disposables he still wears with the sitter and we bought a box of size 3 about 2 months ago so he's still squeezing in those. He fits in size 4 better but hope to use the size 3 box before we buy more. I don't like buying disposables!!!
While he can still say "mama" and "dada", he isn't saying that as much. He's discovered a very high pitched noise and will let that go! He likes to play the screaming game when he makes his high pitched noise and we make it back at him. It provides great entertainment!
I feel like he is slowing down significantly with his weight gain. When holding him, he doesn't hold on AT ALL so he gets super heavy super fast. I hope he starts holding on soon. He isn't a cuddler but does like when I squeeze him real tight.
Troy will not go to sleep easily around a lot of people. He's easily stimulated and will skip a nap all day if he could. Getting him to take a nap is a battle at times so on the days I don't work, I try and force one during the day. Saturday we went to the zoo and he took a very short nap that afternoon. Yesterday he took a nap for almost 3 hours in the afternoon (no morning nap) which tells me he was very sleepy! We are so bad because he naps better in our bed. If he fights it hard in his bed, we'll stick him in our bed and he sleeps just fine. I know he knows what he's doing but we are suckers. We admit it and we still love it! It's fun to take naps with him sometimes. At least he DOES sleep in his bed at night.
In the photo below, do you see his hands and feet? He wiggles his hands and his feet when he is excited, curious or wants more food. He rolls his hands around. It's very funny and many people have said they've never seen a child do this.
It was VERY difficult getting a photo of him with this 8 month sign which is why he isn't in his bed!
He eats like a champ. I have been making his food except for prunes because they are hard to process into baby food. He has eaten everything we've given him. He seems to really enjoy avocados, plums, cantaloupe, prunes, mangoes and kiwi. While he seems to love his veggies, I think he prefers fruit. Case in point: I gave him applesauce first one day followed by pureed green beans. He didn't spit out the green beans but screamed when he tasted them! He eventually swallowed them and wanted more but cried as I was giving them to him. He apparently wanted more fruit. I made the mistake another time but I hope I have learned my lesson. Oh, and if he doesn't get it FAST enough, he cries. This makes it difficult for us because we are trying to introduce him to sign language. In order to do so, we need to put the spoon down....yeah, he doesn't like that! Lol.He's definitely crawling. This is from about a week ago. He went through the rocking stage, then decided to get on his hands and feet. Yes, hands and feet. It's like he wants to stand up already. He has gotten some bumps and bruises but seems that he's quickly began crawling. Don't you love it when a baby thinks they've made it to their destination, sits down and finds that they're at least a foot away from where they thought they would be. That makes me laugh.
You'll hear Abbie in the background. She's gradually coming around. She, of course, doesn't like Troy. After all, he's taken away a lot of the attention she used to receive. He isn't gentle - not a gentle baby at all! When he's close to her, he grabs her and pulls out her hair. I wouldn't like him either! But, he gets very excited when he sees her. Someday I'll get that on video....maybe.
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The view from our room...
About a week and a half ago I returned from another trip to California. I love it there for many reasons: the weather, the scenery, rolling hills, steep cliffs, beautiful beaches, the weather, the weather, the weather. Why the weather? The humidity is virtually non existent. For those of us plagued, I mean blessed, with arthritis (no, it isn't that bad!), humidity is like the devil. I do try to think that the devil is in the humidity when it causes me pain. Keeps me going...hallelujah!
A few friends from the running group went to Monterey for the Big Sur Marathon (and other races) weekend. I ran the 10.6 miler and it went great - thanks for asking :o) On Thursday, we drove down Highway 1 to Santa Cruz for lunch, then onto Monterey to check in the hotel. We stayed at the Hyatt in Monterey. Very nice!
I spent some time on the beach at Carmel by the Sea. Words cannot describe how powerful the waves seemed to be! No one was swimming...and I can only assume the undertow is horrific. It was beautiful, though.
Seal pupping season was going on while we were there. We saw several seal pups. This one is nursing. Isn't it adorable?
These seals were sunbathing. Notice the one "looking" at the camera!
This is the bay area at Monterey.
More seals...this time at Monterey.
Waves crashing on huge rocks at Monterey.
Along the drive on Highway 1. Tracey was kind enough to stay behind with me and take some extra pictures.
Big Sur/Carmel down Highway 1.
Here is the infamous Big Sur bridge. It is was not as large as I thought. Not by far the Big, yes Sur!
Isn't it amazing how the mountains just burst out from the sea and the beach. I wish you could see it in person!
The view from the top of "Hurricane Hill" around Big Sur.
In Carmel by the Sea, we saw candy shops and lollipops.
And boots galore...
And some people with ulterior motives..
And alligator surprises.
Cute candy shops with moss growing from the rooftops.
Along the 17 mile drive at Pebble Beach. This "pebble" looks like an egg. I'm sure I didn't put it there.
The Lone Cypress. This tree, along with any photographs of the same, is copyrighted. Isn't that amazing? I know you want to buy this photo - sorry Charlie! It's illegal. Wow.
And we saw men practicing putting at Pebble Beach Golf Resort.
But we were able to visit the 18th hole at Pebble Beach. The big game doesn't happen until June but people were already setting up stages and tents for television.
Here's a group of our ladies who came along for the trip. I look like a giant for a couple of reasons: I'm the tallest of the group AND I'm on the uppermost side of the hill.
Artichokes grow wild, sort of. These artichokes were in the flower beds at the hotel, for decoration. I'm standing up straight so these are taller than me, probably about 6 feet tall. 
On Friday we drove the 17 mile drive at Pebble Beach. Breathtaking! Brian and I went 4 years ago but Pebble Beach was quite foggy when we got there. This time, we drove the route backwards so there wasn't any fog at Pebble Beach Golf & Resort.
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