Fathers, Feet, and Farmer's Markets

With a sixth-month birthday looming (in three days to be exact), Brooks has discovered many new things and accomplished much in his short life. With the advent of sitting, has come the discovery of feet! Whether he is sitting up, a new favorite skill of his, or lying on the changing table he is grabbing and moving those little tree climbers. In the crib, when not sleeping, he is swinging his feet up onto the side railings and then rolling over. Yes, he has officially upped the anti and is now rolling over in his crib. But luckily he only does this during the day and not when sleeping at night. Part of what he loves about his feet is the fact he can feel them. Brooks is really into feeling everything around him, different textures add to the excitement of his day, whether he reaches out to feel the couch or your face. Yes, this boys' senses are alive and active!

Brooks's two favorite sounds to make are mmbah, and mah or mmmah! And of course laughing. He loves it when Mommy or Daddy make him laugh too, but he also laughs at Lila. And he talks to Lila. Often in his exersaucer he is found peering around the poles to look for her and talk to her, trying to get her fleeting attention. He loves to peer around when he is held too. Brooks is ever curious about what is going on around him, where people are, and where they are going. He is a little observer soaking up the world. One place he loves is the Saturday farmer's market where he gets lots of compliments while his Mommy gets lots of yummy produce and of course baked goods. Although her favorite find was the Raspberry Chocolate Jam, yum!

This past weekend, Brooks met his Papa, and together there were three generations of Morts represented in our tiny little apartment. He enjoyed showing off his new skills and dining out. And as always he was a good, happy, quiet little trooper.

And now Brooks has a self imposed bedtime of 8pm, with one to two wake ups for feeding during the night, but ultimately he will sleep 5-9 hours straight. It is the best gift for Mom and Dad who are able to have some quiet time together (insert watching the Tour de France or Mad Men or anything at all on TV).

And saving the best for last - Brooks gives us kisses...and hugs. That's right, HE gives US the kisses and hugs. That is pure love.

Rollin' Like A River

Yesterday, Brooks rolled over. And not just once, but over and over and over, from tummy to back and back to tummy. Each time he smiled with pride, because he knew. He knew he had just mastered a very important skill. And while you would think that would be enough, Brooks has also been working very hard on sitting up on his own. Already a master jumper, Mommy and Daddy had to raise his Jumper because Brooks has been getting a little too much air. He jumps so high he looks like he is going to rocket himself to the moon. But he LOVES it! He even does a little skip hop from one foot to the other, and then front to back and side to side coming to a complete halt digging his feet firmly into the carpet, a wide grin on his face. He can jump for an hour and be perfectly happy.

Remember the tooth that was coming in? Well it wasn't just one, but two! Brooks now has his two bottom front teeth, one a little ahead of the other. And boy are they sharp! When he is not jumping, Brooks is likely hanging out in his exersaucer gnawing on anything he can find around him. We give him teething keys to use but if those get dropped he is quickly on to the next piece of colorful plastic.

Summer in Rhode Island is beautiful and sunny and Brooks and Mommy and Daddy and even Lila (sometimes) go strolling around campus and the neighboring streets for fresh air and sunshine. Then Mommy gets to workout and often goes running outside. When Daddy watches Brooks, he gets smarter because Daddy will read to him from anything and everything - The Wind In the Willows to Great Expectations. And usually Brooks listens intently, for awhile at least. Yes, he is his father's son all right!

Did we mention that project crib has been a success? Yes, Brooks happily sleeps each night in his crib these days. We have even packed up the co-sleeper and now Mommy can get out of her bed like a normal person, without having to crawl around the co-sleeper in a half daze. Brooks has even ventured to give his Mommy a full nights sleep on occasion in his crib. He usually wakes early in the morning, because he is hungry, and gets to go sleep in Mommy and Daddy's bed by that point. This is his favorite time of the morning because he gets to reach out and hold both of our arms. He's like our morning rooster only sweeter, waking us to his little chatter as he rolls back and forth smiling at his Mommy and Daddy.



Sitting up




Daddy reading to Me




In bed with Mom and Dad