Bear Skills

Bears has gotten really into dancing lately.  Unfortunately, his major move is to shake his head back and forth quickly and I can only imagine that this leads to a bit of vertigo.  I suspect that's the reason that he dances in very short spurts instead of continuously.  This video could use some editing, as he only uses his head thrashing move throughout the entire thing, but who has the time?  Well...I do, but surely not the inclination.


At 11.5 months and after learning how to walk, he's finally started trying his hand at crawling.  This video shows his second attempt ever.  It'll be interesting to see if he starts doing this instead of walking for a bit since it doesn't involve him toppling and conking his noggin on a regular basis.


He's also started rubbing his hands together vigorously several times a day.  The first time he did it, I couldn't figure out what he was doing until it occurred to me that I had just washed my hands in front of him moments before.  Still no luck on getting him to clap or wave but I caught him waving enthusiastically at random strangers while we were on our trip.  He would only do it at a last resort to get attention though.  I have this sneaking suspicion that he knows that he doesn't need to do anything except exist to get smothered with attention when it comes to his own family.  Oh and I suppose I should note that he said his first word about 3 weeks ago.  "Light."  Although Ryan still thinks I'm making it up as he stopped saying it after chanting it over and over again for 3 days.

Bears Goes to Texas *Updated*

We headed out to Texas last week to visit Ryan's parents.  Luckily, Locke's cousins were in town as well so we got to hang out with them for part of the trip.  You can see Jake in the pic below.  He's such a cute little chunk. Ryan's mom decided to throw Bears a fancy bear-themed party while we were there, complete with bear invitations, bear cake/table/plates/cups, and of course a giant bear piñata.  I'm terrible about remembering to take pictures so I'll have to do an update later showing all the cool stuff that was there.  We spent 9 days out there and I have to admit that it was pretty dreamy to have a break from cleaning, laundry, cooking, and all the other stuff I'm supposed to do regularly but rarely get around to.  We were definitely spoiled out there.  We pretty much just chilled the entire time while Ryan's parents did everything for us.  Ahh it was amazing.  They were great hosts.

Bears loved playing with his cake. I decided that since it was his birthday, he should get as big of a piece as anyone. This was actually the first time I had trusted him with anything other than dry food and luckily, my trust was not betrayed.  He did a brilliant job.  He almost got an entire tablespoon of cake in his mouth.

Okay, Grandma Elkins sent over some pictures that give a better idea of the actual party.  Here he is opening his presents and, more importantly, here I am pulling up my pants.  I can assure you that there would have been quite a scandal had I not been so vigilant about doing just that.  Those blasted pants are always falling down.  Luckily, since then I've become a bit more savvy and have employed the use of a belt.

Bear piñata!

Custom balloons

Bears whacked it open with just one try!  Well, almost.

The only candy he was allowed to have out of his piñata.  It was a big time hit.

haha this picture makes me laugh

...blowing out his candle/getting lit on fire

Oh no...he's officially walking.

Happy St Patrick's Day!

 Okay, we're a bit behind but here are a couple of pictures of Bears just before the big day.

Here he is brushing up on his Irish flute skills.  Or perhaps sucking on my mascara.  It's impossible to say.

...and then getting fed up with his authentic Irish hat that I paired with his fancy outfit from Grandma Cupcake.

Singing With Daddy

Bears Hate Hoods

At first, he was looking stoic, mysterious, and...dare I say it?  I think I do:  Jedi, specifically Obi Wan-esque.

...then all the intrigue started wearing thin...

...and he was thoroughly disgusted and claustrophobic.

We had a good run.  I think he stood it for at least 15 seconds.

Bears Love Baths and Random Stuff

This is my favorite set of pictures from the photo shoot that the babies did a while back.  Something about babies being in the bathtub is just so cute.  And also I think it's just important to note the cold hard fact that Bears simply love baths.


Here he is envisioning himself modeling while very casually playing with a ball.

Okay, now for the random stuff.


One time as Ryan was leaving, Bears frantically waddled after him, using the furniture and the walls for balance.  Once he made it to the door, though, he was stumped. 

 He stood there, pondering how he could possibly get through the barrier for a good 5 minutes before asking for my help.

Grandma Cupcake and Grandpa gave Locke a dinosaur valentine's day card complete with stickers.  I was informed by them that I should save the stickers for when he's older but Ryan had different plans.  Don't worry, they peeled off like a dream and Bears didn't seem to mind at all.  He doesn't seem to be a huge fan of the flash on the camera though.

Okay, I've been saving up.  Here are a whole bunch of random videos for the grandmas:

Laughing and cruising around the table trying to eat the camera

He's figured out that if he gives my foot a good jiggle, I'll shake it around for him.  Normally he finds it hilarious but this time it only got smiles.

He's started to sway to any beat that he hears lately.  For instance, the other day we were walking past washer while it was on and he couldn't resist the urge to sway to the beat.  He's generally not particular about the kind of beat he'll dance to, as you can see in this next video.

Alright, I feel that I have to explain this one a bit.  Ryan likes to cover Bears up with a blanket for a second or two and then pull it off really fast.  Normally, locke really likes it.  Unfortunately, this time he wasn't such a huge fan.  Also unfortunately, it also looks a smidgy bit like Ryan's trying to smother him but let me assure you, this is not the case.

Part 2 playtimes

These next ones consist of him cruising around and looking through photo albums.  Not much happens but he does sometimes show off his new smile where he'll wrinkle up his nose.

Here he is playing with Lucy 

Standing All By Himself

Ryan has started getting Bears to practice standing by himself.  He usually hates it, as it is of course quite scary.  This time, though, you can see his face beaming with pride.  He managed about 10 seconds of standing unassisted on camera and then later almost 30 seconds.