Best Summer Ever-first tooth and clapping!

Trevor has dubbed this the "Best Summer Ever" and it has truly lived up to the title.  Now that we are back in LA we are still having a great time.  We took Otto to a little wine tasting in Barnsdale Park with Cooper, Paul Louis, Lisa, Mike, Jesse, Caroline, Aunt Stacy, and Gram.  It was a blast and we are going to try to make it a weekly event.  The next day we hung out at Cooper and Paul Louis' pool with the same crew and Johnny Buell and Sam.  Otto swam and laughed at the dogs and kids.  Then the following day we went to Joey Baldwin's annual Field Day party.  Otto played in the sun and napped under a tree and jumped in a bouncy castle...I've never seen him so happy!  That boy LOVES to jump!  Also there are two big events in Otto's  life...Number one, he is getting his FIRST TOOTH.   His lower left front tooth made it's first appearance on July 9.  He hasn't really fussed about it at  all that brave little guy!  And secondly, Otto has learned how to clap.  We saw him do it at Field Day on July 18 and thought it was a fluke but he has been doing it pretty much non stop every day (all day!) since then so it is official-Otto can clap!!!!  I don't have photo's yet of the tooth and him clapping but I will take some today and post.  Here are a few I do have.  Otto wearing a wig at Cooper and Paul Louis' and hanging out with Gus and Luke Young his twin friends who were born a week before him by Dr. Tusi (the same doc who delivered Otto!).  The three boys were the hit of the Field Day Party.     

Montana

Otto's went to his first of many cabin trips!!!!!  Like we predicted, he had a wonderful time.  He loved all his cousins and their dogs right off the bat but was a little shy around the adults. However it only took a few days before he was in Grandpa Ray's arms giggling and cooing.  We stayed in a cabin with Aunt Cori and Uncle Buck and so our mornings were spent having delightful conversation while drinking coffee, eating squaw bread (Otto had pears and melons and milk), and playing with Otto.  He got his first dose of the dogs every morning by petting Cori and James' dog, Tank.  He would pull his ears and tail and just laugh whenever Tank moved.  Then we would go on little hikes with all 8 of the dogs and Otto would squeal with delight.  Those hikes were the highlight of my trip.  Andreas, Kodiak, Sophia, and Taz are the BEST cousins.  They played with Otto and made him laugh and carried him and jumped on the trampoline with him.  He is one lucky little boy to have such a great family and family trip every year!  This year was unusually cold so we didn't spend too much time by the lake although he did go swimming once and unlike his mama Otto didn't mind the cold water one bit.  He enjoyed the boat and took some of his best naps while people tubed and wakeboarded. Trevor had to go to LA for a few days during our stay so everyone really pitched in and helped out with Otto and I think he bonded much more with everyone because of it.  It was a truly wonderful week!!!  Here are a few photos.  Otto with Sophia and Kodiak, Otto and Trevor on the deck of the upper cabin on the morning of July 4 (we didn't see too much of the firework display because that little guy was afraid of the loud noise), Grandpa Ray, Grandma Deidra and Otto sleeping in my arms on the boat during a cocktail tour of Moonlight Bay, and finally Otto getting dressed in a turtle neck for a chilly day.  

8 months

Otto turned 8 months on the day we left for Montana and miraculously between packing and cooking breakfast and lunch for the landscapers I was able to take his monthly duck photo!  He is getting so big and active as you can tell from this very squirmy photo shoot!   

Maui

We have been BUSY!!!!  So I haven't been keeping up with the blog.  I'm sorry!  We were in Hawaii, came home and landscaped our yard, went to Montana, and are finally back (for a few weeks anyway!).  Hawaii was SO MUCH FUN.  Trevor did some work for the Maui Film Festival so in exchange they flew us out and put us up at the Grand Wailea.  The hotel was wonderful and totally kid friendly.  We swam, hiked, went to the beach, saw outdoor movies, and attended some pretty fabulous cocktail parties.  Otto was a superstar though it all.  He even met a new friend who was also attending the festival.  She lives on Oahu so hopefully our paths will cross again.  Otto pretty much lived in his bathing suit so even though each shot looks like the same day they weren't! Otto lounging in his ray bans, in the pool with Trevor, standing up with Trevor on our first afternoon on Maui, on Father's Day doing his new pacifier trick, and meeting new friend, Laila, by the pool.  Oh boy, I hope we go to Maui again!!!!!  

Romania and Gelsons

Here are a few more pictures from Romania (and one of Otto at Gelson's Market).  Otto and I spent much of our days exploring Bucharest and Clug.  In the first photo we are in front of an Orthodox Church where we went inside and listened to a service.  It was beautiful and Otto really enjoyed the chanting.  The other photo of Otto and I was in Bucharest during a delicious traditional Romanian lunch (during which Otto spilled an entire bowl of soup on himself, Trevor, and the floor.  Luckily it was not hot!).  We had just finished taking a tour of the House of the People.  Otto slept through the entire tour but Trevor and I enjoyed the sights.  I found a playground in Clug (in Transylvania) and Otto had a great time on the swings.  The slides were dangerously steep so we stayed off those!  Trevor was burning the candle at both ends.  Late nights out working and early mornings up with Otto.  He seized an opportunity not working and not playing to take a little snooze with his baby.  He fell asleep the second his eyes shut!  Romania was such a wonderful experience.  Otto was a true champ through the whole trip and I think he really enjoyed his time there.  I must say that Romanians LOVE babies so he was treated very well by everybody.  Strangers on the street would stop and shake his hand or pinch his cheek.  Little old ladies went mad for him!   And one glorious moment at the botanical gardens in Clug 5 little school girls took turns kissing Otto.  I wish I got video of it.  The formerly shy little Otto LOVED it!!!!!  He giggled and the little girls giggled back.  Romania was the best!  The final photo is of Otto in a shopping cart at Gelson's Supermarket.  It was his first time in a cart and he did wonderfully well.  He loved it-laughing and squealing and kicking his legs.  Everyone who passed him had to smile-they'd never seen anyone so happy to be grocery shopping!  He takes after his Mama.  

world traveler

The end of May and beginning of June was a whirlwind!  We traveled to Florida to visit with Molly, Shanna, Liz, Nikki, Czarina (and of course Ben and Aiden) and attend our first ever Miranti Crawfish Boil.  It couldn't have been a better weekend and Ben and Otto and Aiden met for the first time.  Aiden is adorable and so big and Ben and Otto were like two little peas in a pod.  They were soooo cute and played together and cooed together and I think truly enjoyed each other's company.  Otto had a babysitter for the first time ever.  We were a little nervous to leave as we knew it would be pretty rough on both Otto and the babysitter.  And...it was!  When we returned the first thing Laurel said was "My night was interesting." Otto's not a sleeper.  Never has been.  He really prefers to be snuggled all night long and then maybe he'll snooze a bit.  Another first in Florida-Otto went in a pool.  He is a natural born swimmer.  He loved it.  We put him in a baby floatie and he just smiled and giggled.  I hope we spend every Memorial Day weekend in Fla!  Then we were off to Romania.  Our flight was actually ok.  Otto did really well and only fussed for a bit each way.  He stayed in the bassinet during meals but slept with me in my seat... whatever kept him happy!  Luckily Otto didn't suffer from too much jet lag although a few nights he would wake up a few hours after he fell asleep for the night and would remain totally awake.  The picture of him in bed with all his toys was one of those nights. Trevor had to go out in the evenings so Otto and I spent a lot of time playing with toys in the hotel room.  It was actually pretty fun!      

7 months

Let's start out the month with his monthly duck photo shoot!  I couldn't choose just one again so here are three.  Trevor just weighed him and he is now 19.1 pounds.  He's getting stronger and more daring every day.  And he's also rolling like crazy and becoming a bit of a stomach sleeper.  He can flip each way so I'm not as nervous when I see him sleeping on his tummy.  He is laughing like crazy now and squealing all the time.  Otto has great vocal range-high, low, soft, loud-and likes to let everyone know... especially in the morning.   We thought that he may skip the crawling stage and go right to walking because he hated tummy time but now he is lunging forward and seems like he is starting to do a little pre-crawl-stomach-scoot thing.  He is just getting cuter and cuter, that guy!