Update

Sorry for the delay on getting a new post up. Here's what we've been up to.

Last Saturday we went to Sequatchie Cove Farms. We buy our beef from them, but we've never actually been out for a vist. We have been wanting to go blueberry picking for some time now and it just so happens that blueberries are one of the three crops that they allow people to "u-pick." The farm is located about 40 minutes west of us, so we left on Saturday morning right after Gus ate. We picked from their older bushes (15 years old!!!) and got about as much as we could before V Man dictated our departure. He just wasn't up for napping in either the carrier or the car seat. We would have liked to have gotten more (especially b/c they are only $2 a quart!) but the two quarts we did pick were enough for a batch of muffins, two berry crisps and extras perfect for freezing and keeping on hand. Gus really enjoys them...fresh or frozen. He likes them so much, in fact, that we've been trying to teach him how to come to us by holding out a berry as incentive. Works every time. If he associates his actions with "come here" instead of the blueberries, then our bribes and training will have succeeded.

Blueberry bushes as tall as young trees!

Scott thinks the lighter colored ones kind of taste like tart apples. Our next baking experiment, if Scott has his way, will be to make a crisp with ripe and unripe berries mixed together!

Gus has been long overdue for a haircut. There have been a few people that have mistaken him for a girl. It's most likely his LONG eyelashes, but we've been wondering if his hair might be misleading them as well. We also didn't want to be accused of fostering a chullet (the child manifestation of the mullet), so we decided to give it a go and cut at least the back of Gus's hair and some of the hair that has been hanging over his ears.

It was a little tough for us to keep Gus preoccupied, but overall we were successful and are, at this point, happy with the results.

Gus's two top teeth came in on June 28th, but they've only now been readily visible. He's already beginning to use them. It's so strange to hear him bite into something after all these months with either no teeth or only two bottom teeth.

Gus here, reminding you to eat at least 5 servings of vegetables a day...preferably from an organic garden!

A quick search online revealed that toddlers are generally considered to be between 12 and 36 months. Gus is 11.25 months old. It seems that he's already enjoying a common toddler activity: pulling things out of drawers. While putting away some of his clothes the other day, Gus pulled up to have a look in the drawer. Shortly thereafter, Gus took most everything out.




Although we expected otherwise, V has not pronounced any new words. Cat and light are the only two words in his repetoire, but even those two have gotten harder to understand. He can wave, clap and sign "more" and "shoes," but the latter two are really just variations of the clap used situationally. He's pretty funny. Oh, no standing or walking yet either. He's pretty good at sitting from a pull up position and vice versa though. He is also getting much better at walking with support. Maybe he can get it figured out in time for his birthday!