Cruising?

Marin has been able to stand holding onto something for a while. Today he took his first step to the side while holding on the couch. MaLeah tells me this is called "cruising." I've never heard that term before, but we'll go with it. We tried to get him to do it again by enticing him down the couch with something he wanted ... the TV remote. He didn't do it again, but I think it won't be long before he's cruising back and forth along the furniture.

Snow

View up the street



















Marin and Matthew



















Marin didn't know what to think



















Marin and MaLeah

The missing picture

Somehow I missed this picture when I posted earlier about Caleb visiting. Marin really likes his uncle Caleb.

Marin is 9 months old!

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Meat

Marin is working his way through meats. He's had chicken, turkey, and beef. The chicken smells like cat food. Marin must think so too because he gags it down. Baby food tends to be a fairly simple combination of ingredients. I guess I wouldn't like unseasoned chicken either. On a more positive note, Marin likes Turkey. That sort of makes sense since Thanksgiving dinner usually features turkey with minimal seasoning. The beef baby food was a little bit of a challenge. There were two options, but one included tomato (which Marin can't eat yet) so we had to go with the other option. Amazingly enough, the beef baby food we gave Marin doesn't smell that bad. It's sort of like stew. Regardless, Marin hates it.

Marin's first flight

While Caleb was in town he took us flying. It was Marin's first flight (not including sitting in MetLife's Snoopy 2 blimp while it was tethered a couple feet off the ground).



















Marin has almost out grown his old car seat, but it came in handy





































Matthew had the honor of piloting Marin during his first flight (with the help of an instructor)



















MaLeah was comfortable in her role as back seat driver ... Marin was asleep before we took off



















Matthew scared the instructor by climbing out a little steep on take off ...



















But we managed not to crash





































Matthew got a little instruction



















And took to it fairly well



















We flew over our neighborhood and took the obligatory aerial shot of our house



















After the instructor did a touch and go to show Matthew how to land, he let Matthew give it a try ...



















We swapped out so Caleb could fly ... we circled the pattern and did a bunch of touch and goes, pretty much hitting the numbers (or very close) every time ... I'm hoping to post a video later

Uncle Caleb

Marin's uncle, Caleb, visited this past week. It was the first time they met. We all went to a hockey game.

Caleb, Marin, and Matthew watching the pre game warm up skate



















Marin made his eighth megatron appearance



























































































It was Military Monday, so Lee Greenwood was on hand to sing his song "Proud to be an American"





































Marin was thrilled ...



















MaLeah, Caleb, Marin, and Matthew after the game

Baby proofing

Gates for the kitchen and back hall



















Zip ties on fireplace



















Cable taped to floor



















TV stand sharp edges covered, gate for front hall



















Door stop covered



















Bungee cords hold dining room chairs together

Happenings

We've really slowed down taking pictures the past couple weeks. I guess it's been sort of busy around here. Marin is highly mobile now. This weekend we're completing our final baby proofing. Here is what we have so far:

• Bungee cords to hold the chairs together at the dining room table, so Marin can't pull them over
• Zip ties on the fireplace door, so it can't be opened
• Outlet covers
  
• Foam insulation intended for pipes around the sharp corners of the TV stand
• And finally going up today ... three baby gates across strategic places in the house to maximize the area Marin can explore, without wandering into a non baby proofed area

We've been trying to strike a balance between making it safer, but not putting him in a padded room. We still probably lean farther on the safe side ... one of these days I'm planning to put up pictures of all this madness.

Other than baby proofing, we've been watching a lot of hockey. Our Nashville Predators are doing very well. The next big milestone we're looking forward to is when Marin starts walking ... because we plan to take him ice skating shortly thereafter. MaLeah found some baby skates that would fit him already and I managed to find several helmets that will work as well. I will also confess that we've made a couple of drive bys to recon the local ice rinks.

...

Well, I finished installing the baby gates. I had to use a few tricks I learned at the Lonnie Justice School of Engineering.

...

Oh, and something else I forgot to mention. We finally installed Marin's new car seat. It's taking some getting used to since it altered our routine (i.e. putting him in the seat in the car instead of inside the house), but I think Marin likes the extra room.

Better than chasing your tail

I remember going to a zoo once and they had this cheetah that would chase a plastic bag on a string that ran around in a fast circle. That was the inspiration for this video. Marin is a chasing the end of a tape measure as I reel it in.

Marin chasing a tape measure from Matthew Rorex on Vimeo.

Hello

I've been slack in posting again. Marin finally got over his cold about a week ago. Shortly after that he was getting welts ... that's why we haven't had any new pictures as of late. It took us a couple days, but we figured out he might be sensitive to tomatoes. Hopefully this is not a long term condition, because there are so many tasty foods with tomato in them. Apparently, tomato sensitivity is somewhat common at an early age, but often goes undiagnosed. From what we've read most people out grow it.

Marin is a crawling fool. We're in the process of baby proofing ... I might post more on that later. He hasn't started to pull up yet, but he can stand holding on to something for a brief duration.

Marin standing from Matthew Rorex on Vimeo.

Marin crawling

Little Man's technique is improving every day

Marin crawling from Matthew Rorex on Vimeo.

A different sort of white background

The weather cooperated and we got a second dusting of snow ... just enough to take some pictures of Marin with his "first" snow.