Week 47: Standing, tooth #2 and lots of swimming

He's standing by himself!!!!!!

This week Rayler decided that he was quite big enough to begin standing on his own. Tyler and I caught him trying it out several times on Sunday. Then on Monday I watched him as he was playing with some toys. He picked one up and stood up. By himself! I've also seen him pull up, let go, squat down, pick up a toy and stand up again unassisted and remain standing. Wow. Why do I have the feeling that one day very soon I am going to be trying to keep tabs on greased lightening?

Bugs has added two new words to his vocabulary also. "No" and "hungry". Well, "hungry" isn't really new, I just finally realized what he was saying. He's said "nahnah" for a couple of months now, and I just thought that he was calling his bottle "nahnah". Well, today he was fussing and saying "nahnah" and I asked him "Are you hungry?" He gave me an exasperated look and said "nuhnee". Did I ever feel dense. He's been saying "hungry" all along. Brilliant Mama.

Tyler celebrated his one year anniversary working full-time on the fire department this week. We went out to Gusano's with everyone from his shift. Have I ever mentioned that Bugs loves pizza? Well he does. He ate almost an entire slice by himself! Once Tyler was trying to get a bite for himself and Rayler grabbed the fork with both his hands and pulled it to his mouth instead. A while later I guess he got fed up with waiting for Tyler to feed him so he snatched the crust off his plate and started eating that. Silly boy.

Having some crackers to hold him over until the pizza gets here

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh

I trying to get a picture of him grabbing the fork but my camera wasn't fast enough.

Eating Dada's crust

It was waayyyy past his bedtime

Flirting with the young lady having sweet potatoes in the next booth. She had the most darling chubby cheeks!

And he continues to climb... he was pretty frustrated here, but after I filmed this he climbed back up easily several times.

We went swimming a lot this week. The three of us went swimming at Grandma Linda's a couple of times and then on Saturday we had a birthday pool/barbecue party for Uncle Marcus, Great-Aunt Sherry and cousin Dylan. Rayler had a ball getting to swim so much! Now, I didn't see this happen, but Tyler said that Uncle Ray had Bugs standing on his legs and Rayler jumped off and out of Uncle Ray's hands! Tyler said he came up sputtering with the hugest grin on his ornery face. I swear he's got to be part fish! Then he got to go swimming again that night at Aunt Cassie's. What a long day that was!

Tyler and I didn't want to go swimming before lunch so we let Rayler play in his little pool while we waited

He kept dipped the net into the water and then sucking the water out of it.

Lunch! He wasn't so fond of the strawberry, but he loves beans!

I tried to get all the birthday people in the picture, but didn't quite make it. Left to right, Dylan, Noah, Aunt Bree, Uncle Marc, Dada, Uncle Ray, Aunt Nette, Hannah and Madison, Aunt Sherry

He was WORN OUT! He took a great nap in Grandma Linda's room.

He had his first chip ever at Aunt Cassie's. A cheese puff. I think he liked it.

He swam so much that day that he got a cute little farmers tan. I got fried. I am glad he got his Dada's complexion and not mine.

I've been working with Rayler on waving and clapping for quite a while now. He thinks it's hilarious when I make him clap or wave but he's had no interest in doing it himself. But out of the blue on Saturday as we were leaving Grandma Linda's he waved at Uncle Marc! And then again at Aunt Cassie's he waved as we were leaving. Of course, Dada missed it both times and I haven't been able to get him to wave again since. Little turkey.

I had some to-do list home projects that have needed to get done for oh, about a year, so I finally buckled down and did them this week. Rayler went to spend some time at Grandma Bobbie's on Thursday and Friday so I could work all day without stopping. I left my camera with them and it looks like he had some fun!

Nap time

Playing in the garden

Trying to figure out the remote while practicing standing

Grandpa Gary

Grandma and Grandpa live within shouting distance of the great-grand's, Grandpa Lonnie and Grandma Roonie, so Rayler got to visit with them too. He loved Grandma Roonie's dog Paco Patsy Anonda, aka Patsy. G. Bobbie said that he chased her around for a good ten minutes before she sent Aunt Lydia to get the camera and then soon after she started filming them playing, Patsy got tired and ran and hid.

Seven of them! And all as tall as church steeples! (The Pontipee brothers)
Uncle Jeremiah (Adam) cousin Shane (Benjamen) Uncle Thadley (Caleb) cousin Colby (Daniel) cousin Cory (Ephram) cousin Carter (Frank) and Rayler (Gideon). I always was partial to Gideon. :) 

Carter and Rayler crack me up in this picture.

Who, me?

Grandma Bobbie

Rayler ADORES his Uncle Jeremiah.

I hurt my foot while cleaning and so I spent all day Sunday on the couch with it propped up and playing in the floor with Rayler. We had fun.

He's got two teeth now!

He's really started playing in his room this weekend. He'll sit here for about twenty minutes and play quietly. 

This is what happens when Momma can't get around to clean up.

I'm so glad that he's FINALLY back into reading books! Even if the book is upside down..

Trying to climb onto the couch

Here is some more random cuteness from this week.

Playing in his swing at Grandma Linda's

I finally found his ball cap! Too bad he won't wear it. It took some doing to get these few pictures!

Trying to pick up the sunlight

Playing quietly in his room

Week 46: My Climbing Ray of Sunshine

Someone is *very* pleased with himself!

Oh boy. I thought I was going to get to take it easy until Rayler started walking. I was wrong. Soooo wrong. As in very un-right. Erroneous. Inaccurate. Mistaken. Misguided. Off target. You get the point. It all began while I was making pancakes on Saturday morning. Tyler yelled, "Look at him!" I ran into the front room and this is what I saw. (Sorry for the crummy pics, camera phones aren't great for action shots.)

Yes, he climbed up there all by himself. And then on Sunday...

That's Grandma Linda's coffee table. Hello gray hair. And then he climbed into her double rocker. It's a good thing I color my hair. And then today he climbed onto our couch. Maybe I should develop a taste for Redbull.

I noticed something last week but I think I forgot to mention it. If he decides that he's done eating he closes his eyes, ergo, he thinks he's hiding. It's so cute! If he's done being tickled, eyes closed. Being chased? Eyes closed. Tyler and I are beginning to wonder what on earth we did for fun before we had Bugs. Maybe it makes me a total cheese ball when I say this, but he is our sunshine.

Tyler brought home a little swimming pool for Rayler this week. I think Bugs would very happily live in it if I would let him.

He wasn't so sure about the sprinkler.

DIY pool slide!

One day he got exceptionally dirty so I decided that a bath in the pool would be just the ticket.

I finally figured out why he dunks his face in the water. He's trying to drink it.

Rayler has hit another growth spurt. The other night he tried to stand up under the table at the FD, just like he has done many times before, and ended up with a nasty purple bruise from colliding soundly with the lip underneath the table top. He's usually pretty good about not crying when he falls down, etc. but this one was definitely a big, ugly crying occasion. Can't say I blame him. I had a clumsy week myself. After smashing my fingers and then scalding them in boiling water all in one hour, I shed a few tears myself.

This week Rayler has really started using his push toy. We had a few tantrums in the beginning when he ran into the couch/coffee table/entertainment center and couldn't get turned around, but he figured it out pretty quickly. Now he's running back and forth through the front room and kitchen all day long. And when he gets tired of going it on foot, he gets down on his knees and keeps on going at break-neck speed.

Rayler has fully comprehended "no" for quite a while now. This was an instance where I simply had to look "no". Look at that face. He knew he was doing a "no".

What? I thought you might need some help.

Rayler has decided to put an end to our perfectly calm and uneventful bedtime routine. I'm not sure if it's because he's getting another tooth, or that he's afraid he'll miss something exciting, or if he just thinks he shouldn't have to go to bed before dark. Whatever it is, I hope he grows out of it QUICKLY! Tonight was actually better than the past four nights. He only cried for 15 minutes. Friday and Saturday nights were terrible. Friday he just couldn't get comfortable and didn't really sleep well until 1 am. And Saturday, well, let's just say I needed earplugs. I really hope it's just his tooth. I know that tooth problems can make one insanely miserable. Poor guy.

And now, some more pictures and videos!

He approves of my chili

I got a VeggieTales DVD from the library for him. He was quite entertained by it.

Practicing walking with Dada

Playing with the beanbag at Aunt Hannah's. 

This thing is so stinking huge! 

You wanna try Mama?

Wheeeeeeeee!!!!!!!

I got a video of Aunt Hannah and her step-daugher Kyra tossing Rayler onto the beanbag. I think he's addicted. I'm thinking he might need one for a birthday present. (hint hint!)

Spaghetti night!

He was SO ready for bed

I leave you with one last video. What would I do without my ray of sunshine?