the little gigglemonster

Wow - almost August, and a big 3 months old now! Edison is really funny with all of the giggling and squealing he's doing now. We love hearing him laugh - it's hilarious coming from such a tiny little person. In addition to the new-found laughter, Edison has continued to work on his grabbing skills, and he's now quite adept at grabbing my hair if it's anywhere near clutching range. He also grabbed my earring this morning - making me glad I only had stud earrings in. The dangly ones are definitely in retirement now. 

We also moved up to the jumper toy this week. He immediately started investigating all of the little parts and spun himself around to look at everything. I'm glad he's so tall so he could already play in it (even though there's now zero room in the living room for walking). 

Last week was Liberation Day in Guam. I had the day off so we went and watched a bit of the parade, but the floats were coming every 15 minutes, so we left after about an hour. There are a couple of photos below from the day. 

We also had a near crisis with my milk production. I think it was a combination of stress from work and me not having time to pump when I needed to. After a combination of increased fluids, regular pumping and nursing, fenugreek, some kind of strange plant leaf, and drinking milk (for the first time since I was 15), we seem to be back on track. It was worrisome for a bit there though...

For clarification, I drank Hemp and Chocolate Soy milk. Damon (the peanut gallery) wants me to specify that I did not drink cow's (real) milk.

I'm pretty sure I had other things to mention from the week, but I can't remember and Edison is hungry. So on to the photos! 

This photo of Edison was taken in the late 1800's and recently digitally enhanced.

 Mommy, Edison and a caribou impatiently wait for another float.

 Yes, finally, a float, but that cloud is pretty cool too.

 Dr. Mommy and Dr. Baby say "No pain-meds for you!"

 Edison being entertained by Marcia and Bijal.

"Is this giant poodle head a part of my jumpy thing too?"

While Doug and Kita play with Zeke on the Beach, mommy keeps a look-out for sharks.

 They're totally in love!

 Look, mommy has the camera.

 Edison examines the bag of spinach before he drops it.

 Pretty sunset on the east side of the island during our dog walk.

 "Get that Paparazzi outta here!"

"It's ok, I was just kidding, you're invited"

New Videos!

As alluded to, new videos for those people who really like seeing Edison in action! The first one is a collection of him doing various things, like looking at himself in the mirror. I think it's pretty cute:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZQjDNicosg

The second one is Edison's first (fairly) successful roll from back to front. He still has to get his arm out from under him, but in the last week he's gotten better at it. I find this video kind of frustrating to watch, and might be most interesting to people like his grandparents ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATYxTMy_ADY

Hope you enjoy them! Edison is enjoying his bouncy chair for the first time today! 

3 months old already?!

I will never finish writing this blog entry. Why? Because Damon has Edison on my head, who is pulling out all of my hair right now. Oh - that was great. Damon thought the best way to end that activity was to just start walking backwards....with Edison still holding onto my hair!!! Oh no - they're back...

As you will see, Azhan still hasn't given up on trying to get attention, although I think he reached a breaking point last night. After continuous efforts to push Edison aside (who is now substantially bigger than him), Azhan decided to break out of the house and show his disapproval. This morning I woke up and found Azhan noticeably absent. I walked all over, only to find him outside. At some point between 3 and 7am, he clawed open a window screen on the 2nd floor, and jumped (or fell) to the ground. Now he's back to soliciting attention in his usual fashion. 

Today is Guam's Liberation Day. Supposedly there's a big parade down the main road on the island. I saw a giant float drive past me last night on my way home from clinic (after 11pm...ugh). I think we'll try to check out the festivities if it isn't too hot (but really, when does that happen here??) Ha! I have to say the best part about the day is that I don't have to work. AND I have my first full weekend off in four weeks - three whole days to spend together - yay!!

I'm hoping damon will put together a video soon. Edison has gotten pretty good at rolling from back to front, although his arm still gets trapped under him. He also laughs more now which is hilarious. 

Oh - I remember what I was going to mention. The other day we were trying to trap one of those big Huntsman spiders before Edison's bath. It was actually a fairly small one (but still bigger than any other spider I've encountered in the U.S.). Azhan chased it around for a while, then it ran under some furniture so we lost track of it. The next morning, I went to the bathroom and when I flushed the toilet, the spider dropped from under the toilet seat into the water. Good god!!!!! I can't believe it was so close to my booty. Oh the joys of living on Guam. 

Hope you are all planning a visit someday soon :) 

 Zeke politely asking for attention.

 Azhan vs. Edison, round II

First time wearing red.

Evening at the beach.

Edison found a friend.  His name is Edison too!

His bottom half is Hoosiers (Top half is Cubs).

So much to look at!

Can I just say that being back to work full time is really difficult??? I hate leaving in the morning, and Damon and I both dread the day when Edison realizes what's going on when I leave for work. It is really difficult to try and be a good doctor and mother at the same time.  

I also wish I had had more time off to spend with Edison during these early months - 6 weeks just wasn't enough. I feel like I'm already starting to miss 'firsts', which makes me sad. I guess it just reminds me to appreciate every moment I'm at home with him - grumpy moods and all :)

I hope everyone isn't melting in the heat! We are appreciating our air conditioners now that the trade winds are minimal. That also means it's rainy season - and rainbow season, so we'll be sure to get some good photos of double rainbows in the next couple of months. Woo hoo!

Ok - I won't ramble on! There are some more cute pictures below. I forgot we did have a couple from the 4th of July when we went for a short little hike to watch the sunset. In defense of the ridiculous head-wear, I didn't want to get ticks in my hair - hence the blue thing. Ha! I also don't know why Edison is holding his own bottle in the photo below... I'll have to ask Damon about that. 

Hopefully we'll have a new video by next week too!

"I'm not fat, I'm just big rolled"

 Should have taken a picture of that fan above us.

 Edison's Aquarium Play Mat and his friends, the whale & octopus.

Mommy needs to focus here.

 Zeke got the Leg Warmer cut today.

 Edison finds another comfortable position.

 Edison stands for Marcia.

 Ambidexterity at an early age.

 Al, Zeke, Edison and Guam.

Guys, the view is behind you.  

Edison catches the Kissing Fish.

It's already July?

New photos! Yay! We don't actually have any from the 4th of July because it was pretty rainy and most people don't really celebrate the 4th here (I didn't hear a single firework all day). Apparently Liberation Day on the 21st is the big firework day, so maybe we'll have some photos if we go to the celebration (which I'm sure we will try to do). 

It's really fun seeing how much Edison changes every day. It seems like he got really good at grabbing things overnight. Not that he grabs things from us, but he is good at getting ahold of parts of his ocean activity mat thing.

I'm also back at work full-time now. Fortunately I don't have to go in until the afternoon most days - which I like because then I can spend the whole morning playing with the little guy. Then he gets to visit me for a little bit on the long days, which is my favorite part of the day.  

I think I will defer all caption writing to Damon now. He is much better at it than I am....so on to Damon's part.. 

Oh wait - one more thing - Damon also made a new video - it's mostly just of Edison laughing and smiling at things. I think it's pretty cute :) 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1KkQkzYy5M

What's so cute?

Edison meets Cousin It

Oh, it's just Joyce.

Edison vs. Azhan

Finishing up another book.

"No hard feelings Azhan, but I won"

Edison meets Fern.

Edison is still a little shy posing nude.

"Hmm, no calories..."

Surprisingly, Guams telephone book was also a thriling read.

Is this giant poodle head part of my aquarium play-mat too?

Random people in Indiana spotted wearing photos of Edison that were taken straight off the blog.  When asked why, they said "Well, he's just that cute".