Simple toys: kitchen utensils! Almost 9 months..

Gilmore Memorial Day Picnic!

Always such a fun time when the Gilmores get together! We enjoyed lots of swimming and good food at Mary Lu and Sue's place last weekend. John Patrick adored all the attention from all of his cousins!

Playing the grass! Almost 9 months old

John Patrick started crawling doing the military crawl around 6.5 months, and he got around just fine for the longest time like that. But he has evolved now into the traditional crawling on all fours, and has gotten quite fast! He loves to crawl in the grass chasing after bugs and picking weeds. One day he picked up a piece of bird poop and tried to snack on it. Luckily I intercepted! GROSS!

Last Swimming class! Almost 9 months old...

They call him Michael Phelps... he just seems to have a natural inclination for how to move in the water. It is a lot of fun to watch John Patrick try to take off and swim after one of his water toys, or after another baby in the water. Our 6 sessions of swimming classes were so great for him. Now that the pool has opened in our neighborhood, I am taking him swimming daily, and he is loving it!

8 months eating avocado

John Patrick is working on self-feeding. He loves avocado, but it is so slippery! He did a pretty good job of scooping it all up for himself, though! He also loves to suck his thumb between bites, and if you try to get him to take a bite before he is ready, he closes his eyes, and turns his head, as if to say, "not gonna do it!". He loves to eat, but is quite clear about when and how he wants to do it!

8 Month photo shoot!

We've been busy trying to keep up with John Patrick as he cruises the furniture. He ops up, then sits down, then pops up, walks a bit, then sits down... he is all over the place! Big milestones this month: Obviously, learning to stand up on his own and cruise, saying "Dada" and meaning it, forgetting how to sleep for three weeks and then re-learning (THANK GOD!!!), waving (but only while in his highchair for some reason), drinking from a regular cup all on his own (though of course with lots of water down his shirt!), eating a teething cookie, eating a bite of my whoopie pie, eating a bite of my spinach omelette, eating a bite of just about everything and still loving it... I am sure there has been much more, but these are a few highlights!

My first taste of real ice cream...

and the verdict is: HE LIKES IT!! Wouldn't stop eating it the most delicious ice cream in town- Dolcezza's Argentine Gelato- Thaitian Vanilla Bean- YUMMMERS! I intended for him to only have a sample spoonful, but that was a joke. He couldn't stop reaching for the spoon and pulling the cup to his lips to lick it. Who could blame him? It really is the best ice cream I have ever had. The good news was that he ate his asparagus for dinner right after.