Things That Make a Tiger Cub Smile

 Eating and wearing broccoli.

 

Fall clothes from Aunt Jane that make him stylish even by New York City standards.

Mirrors.  Always mirrors.

Riding in a stroller in an elevator.  Obviously.

Mexican food.  Ok, Mexican food makes the whole family smile.

On the Move...

Tiger Cub has learned to crawl and it has changed out world.  We knew this day was coming but I guess we assumed the process would be a little more gradual.  It started innocently enough...for a few weeks TC would get up on all fours and rock back and forth.  We anticipated crawling and even encouraged it.

Then on vacation he took his first few hesitant steps forward.

Within days he was all-out crawling and within a week he was all over the apartment, following us from room to room.  I wondered if making him wear socks would give him less traction and slow him down.

But that's not all.  A couple of days later, Randy checked on him during nap time and found this...

 

Why sleep when you can stand?

What?!  How did you learn that so fast????  Now Tiger Cub loves to pull up on stuff with no regard whatsoever to whether the object can hold his weight.  Don't worry, we've lowered the crib.  Furthermore, he's a bit unsteady and his head has a magnetic attraction to the edge of the coffee table, doors, and other hard surfaces.

Randy and I have been playing defense, grabbing small/important/dangerous stuff before it's within his grasp.  Throwing things into drawers, closets, and onto high shelves.  Anything in the bottom three feet of the apartment is in the "danger zone."  One minute Tiger Cub is sitting innocently on the rug and the next he's reaching for my tea or trying to pull the power cord out of my laptop!

Our office is on lock-down until further notice...

Luckily Tiger Cub goes to the baby gym twice each week.  It's a safe padded place for him to expend [hopefully a lot of] energy.

Ahh...sweet containment.

Vacation, Florida Style

In the waning days of September we spent a week with my family in Destin.  It was a fabulous final hurrah for the summer with copious amounts of shrimp, sand, and salty air.   

Here's a poolside selfie of a relaxed mom and baby.  We lounged below palms while Tiger Cub rested his chin on his left foot.

We ate lots and lots of great meals.  Seafood, burgers, a bag of Rolos, and everything in between.  Randy and I even had a few glorious evenings out alone (yikes! what's that?) thanks to in-house babysitting. 

You might think that we did something to make Tiger Cub turn around for this picture.  Actually he just preferred to face away from us for most of the meal.

Tiger Cub turned seven months in style, with a beach view.  The pic doesn't match the rest of our birthday month photos.  Ahh, the sacrifices one has to make on vacation. 

Five states in seven months - that's something to smile about!

Tiger Cub did not welcome the beach with open arms for most of the week.  He much preferred to stay sand-free and away from the loud, moving, and impossibly big bathtub that we know as the ocean.  The pool, however, was a big hit!  By the very end he did warm up to the ocean...

This baby loves some water!

And finally a group shot of all the "kids."  So glad we got to see Uncle Matt, even though our trips only overlapped by a few days.  Gosh, I love this baby carrier more every time we use it.

Which tan person does not live in New York?