Thumbs up!

It's getting harder and harder...

...to find the time to sit down and post stuff lately. (Maybe it's because Teo is oh-so-very mobile and into absolutely everything!)

Anyway, we were quite busy last weekend. We started out getting our flu shots on Friday afternoon (who wouldn't want to start a fun-filled weekend that way, no?), and then headed out to Rancho Murieta for "Beers, Brats and Bingo" night at Grandpa Jay and Grandma Peggy's church. Teo flirted shamelessly with all of Grandma's friends, and was gracious enough to allow himself to be passed around. A good time was had by all.

Saturday, we were supposed to go to a pre-Halloween thing at the park, but Teo took a 3+ hour nap that morning, so we missed it. He got up just in time to go help set up for the "Pumpkin Party" (a fundraiser for holiday bonuses for the workers at Teo's daycare) at Forever Young, though. It was a fun party, but there wasn't much for Teo to do there, because the activities were geared more towards the pre-schoolers. I was also feeling a little tired (probably because of the flu shot) so we headed home before the party was over. Billy made us a yummy dinner and then went out to get us some ice cream for dessert (and yes, we counted that as a "date"!).

Sunday morning rolled around, and Billy suggested that we call to see how my mom was doing. She didn't have a fever or anything, so we decided to head down to Lafayette to have a little visit with Grandpa Evaristo and Grandma Niki. They hadn't seen Teo since my mom's birthday party (6 weeks ago!) so Teo had a bunch of new "tricks" to show them. Grandpa Evaristo spent almost the entire visit down on the floor playing with him - and trying to keep him out of trouble! We also got to see Auntie Monki before she ran off to do some crazy boot-camp workout, so that was fun. Teo just loves her (as do pretty much all kids, I think). He always gets a HUGE smile on his face when he sees her. So cute!

And just like that - *poof* - the weekend was gone. At least I didn't spend a whole day doing laundry, like I usually do! :)

So strong!

Little man is getting so very good at standing up on his own. He even switches which hand he's holding on with and sometimes is completely hands-free for a split second! :) He's also starting to practice bending down to pick things up instead of sitting down all the way. So cute!

"Look how tall I am!"

Namesake

In a previous post, Nicole talked about our trip to San Clemente to visit some of our family. This was an important part of the trip for me because I got to see Teo with his namesake's family. For those of you who don't know, Timothy Everett is named after my cousin, Timothy Benton Dowell. Timmy, as we affectionately referred to him, left us too early at the age of 22 on August 17, 2004. A year ago, Nicole and I took a trip down to San Clemente to visit the Dowells and ask for their permission to name Teo after my amazing cousin. Graciously, they agreed to our request and let us honor Timmy the best way I could, with my first born.

Teo will grow to know his cousin Timmy with the stories I will tell him, and I can only hope that he will live the way Timmy did. Timmy was always happy, looking at the bright side of everything. He had a passion for everything, whether it was surfing, music, the Lakers or politics, you could feel his love when he opened his mouth or put pen to paper as he was an incredible writer. He was always respectful of everyone and everything. Teo got the chance to meet the parents who raised this wonderful individual, as well as 3 other amazing cousins, John, Mary, and Jake. It was a special day for us, and I will always remember this first meeting. We did miss Mary T., but we will track her down soon, too. If Teo becomes half the man Timmy was, Nicole and I will be very blessed. Thank you again Dowell family for everything you have done for me, and for giving us this opportunity. I will do everything I can to help raise Timothy Everett in Timothy Benton's memory. I love you Timmy.
-Billy

Timothy Benton Dowell 5/6/1982 to 8/17/2004

From Left: John, Jake (holding Teo), Aunt Shirley and Uncle Larry
For more information about Timmy, check out the following link regarding an annual surf memorial in the San Clemente Times on page 38 of 40: http://www.sanclementetimes.com/uploads/SCT_20080508.pdf

Our weekend in the OC =)

Our first big roadtrip with Teo was quite a success. We left on Friday afternoon around 3pm and arrived at our destination around 10:30pm. We stopped 3 times (once for snacks, once for dinner, and a final time for gas) and Teo slept almost the entire time! He did wake up for dinner and a clean diaper when we stopped the second time, but he went right back to sleep when we got back on the road and didn't wake up until we were getting off the freeway in Santa Ana. So I'm sure you're wondering whether we got any sleep that night, and the answer is an astonished "yes"! When we got there, he got up to eat a little and played for about an hour or so, and then went down for the count and stayed down until almost 6am (pretty good, after a 6+ hour nap, don't you think?).
When in Rome....

Anyway, Saturday was a very fun day. We spent the morning at Jack and Vince's soccer games, and then we went out to lunch with Christie and Jack while Vince and Drew went to get haircuts. After that, we went back to Christie and Drew's where Teo and I took a little nap. We got to meet Christie's friend, Vanna, and her daughter Jessica, as well as Jessica's boyfriend, Patrick, as they came over for dinner that evening. They are all very fun people, and Teo enjoyed showing off his various skills to them.

Family portrait by Jack:

In between all those activities, Teo played with his cousins. Jack and Vince are both so incredibly sweet! They were both eager to entertain their baby cousin, and Vince spent an enormous amount of time playing peek-a-boo with Teo. (Overheard while showering in the boys' bathroom: "Hey Vince! Go do 'peek-a-boo' to baby Timothy because he's crying!" Do you just want to hug that kid, or what?!)

Jack being Jack:

We are also lucky in that the boys are very generous. Jack helped Christie go through their bookcase and pulled out a huge pile of board books to hand down to "Baby Timothy". He also asked me if "Baby Timothy" liked playing with trains, and when I told him that Timothy was still a little young to play with trains, Jack said that he would "give away all [his] trains to baby Timothy when he is old enough." I swear, my heart just melts every time that boy opens his mouth!

On Sunday we headed down to San Clemente so that Teo could meet Grandma Jones (or "Grandma Ocean" as Teo's cousins refer to her!). Grandma Jones is actually Teo's Great-Grandma, as she is Grandma Peggy's mom. The cousins refer to her as Grandma Ocean because her house has a beautiful ocean view.

Teo and Grandma Ocean:
When we got there, we saw there was a sign for a yard sale, and lo and behold, the sale was at Billy's Aunt Shirley & Uncle Larry's house, across the street from Grandma Jones'. We pulled up and Billy's cousins John and Jake were outside, as was Aunt Shirley. Grandma Jones and her sister, Aunt Peggy, soon came over, and we had a lovely visit that afternoon. Teo flirted with all the ladies and was content to play with some Tupperware (and tried to eat a magazine, but that's a whole other story!). After our visit there, we moved on to Aunt Shirley and Uncle Larry's new house, where they had invited us to have dinner and watch the Dodgers game. Dinner was great, and it was really nice getting to visit with Billy's family.

Teo with Uncle Larry and Grandma Ocean:

On Monday, we got up and headed out around 9am. The drive back was largely uneventful, though Teo decided not to sleep the whole way. He woke up when we were a little over 2 hours out, and I sat in the back and entertained him. He still did really well, and didn't get really fussy until we were already in Sacramento. What a good little traveler he's turned out to be! Yay!

Some cuteness to tide you over...

...while we're in Orange County for the 3-day weekend. Enjoy! :)

"I stood up like this all by myself!"


Cute li'l pup:


"I lurve to eat!"

Bam! Bam! Bam-bam! Bam!



"This ball is craaaaazy, man!"

Teo has a tooth!!!

Teo's first tooth broke through overnight! I thought his gums felt a little different last night, but this morning there was just no question. The lower central incisor on the right side has erupted! (See #10 on the chart - which I blatantly stole from my friend Jessica's blog - below.)



We probably won't have a picture of the actual tooth for a while. It just looks like some little indentations in his gums right now, and he doesn't much like to show it off. He'll barely let me put my finger in there to feel it. I have a feeling his little gums are pretty sore. So, you'll just have to take my word for it for now!

7 Months Old & a Boo-Boo

Teo is 7 months old today! Wow! He's doing very well. Still crawling all over the place & starting to explore the whole house. Sitting up unassisted without falling over much, if at all, anymore. Eating like a champ. Banging and pounding on pretty much anything he can get his hands on. Pulling himself up to a standing position and attempting to let go (!!) and cruise. And wiggling a whole heck of a lot when we try to change and dress him - which brings me to the boo-boo.

Yesterday, Teo got his very first real boo-boo! Billy was attempting to put Teo's pants back on him after a diaper change and Teo decided to flip over onto his stomach. Un-ruffled, Billy proceeded to attempt to put the pants on Teo while he was tummy-down, at which point Teo pushed himself up on his hands and somehow launched himself over onto the edge of the changing table, hitting his eye. It made an absolutely sickening sound, and then there was the hysterical cry from little man. He ended up with a little cut/bruise over his eye with a little swelling. Poor baby! I tried to take some pictures, but it didn't show up too well:


Oh, Teo has also taken on some new responsibility now that he's 7 whole months old - he's the newest member of the neighborhood watch! Lil looky-loo!

The walking (and crawling) wounded

Here are some pictures of Billy's leg and Teo's arm after our lovely day at the hospital on Saturday:


(Obviously Teo bounces back quickly!)

Oh, and Teo's tests came back fine, except for the fact that he's the slightest bit anemic - totally to be expected for a little guy who wasn't allowed to get all his cord blood at birth. So, we're upping his iron-rich food intake, simple as that. I knew he was fine all along!