Somehow Mark learned to throw a ball this week. We're not actually sure if he knows what he's doing but if you roll his Elmo ball to him he will raise it above his head with both arms and then bring it down while letting go. It has the effect of throwing a ball. And he thinks it is just too cool when you roll it back to him....over and over and over and over and over..you get the picture. This is one of him at his "release" point!



John calls Mark a monkey these days. He is into everything and climbing on everything. He can crawl, but he only does it to get to something that he can climb on. He used to prefer playing with Rocky the most but now his main love is Mobley. Mobley always seems to have a ball in his mouth and Mark loves to play ball with him.

Mark is also known as "a handfull" lately. John and I have to share bathtime duty now because if you do the whole thing by yourself you are exhausted and ready for bed yourself at 7pm. Mark will not lay on his back for even half a second nor does he like to sit still in the tub. He needs to investigate the drain, the water spout, his toy basket, etc every night. So John does the bathing and I do the dryoff, lotion, diaper, PJ portion. Here is a pic of the handfull at bathtime with daddy.

Here he is running away from home. Just kidding! He was headed out to play tennis ball with Mobley. The dogs really do a good job babysitting him for an hour or so every evening while I make dinner..just kidding! I didn't actually let him crawl outside!

He has just gotton the remote off the table and was about to change the channel off of stupid football and back to mickey mouse.

This is now how we find him every morning. Don't worry, we've lowered his mattress to the lowest setting since this pic.

Here he is playing golf ball with Mobley. Mobley does not like his paws to be touched and if you touch one he will move it out to the side. You can see how often Mark had tried to touch Mo's paws! They look like they are about as far apart as you can get them!

But Mark loves to read books and you can usually get him to sit still for story-time. Especially if you hand him a blanket - it means instant thumb-sucking.

Pumpkin Patch

Mark seems to be experiencing a lot of "firsts" these days so this was, of course, his first trip to the pumpkin patch. He was sleep-deprived and teething but somehow managed to squeek out a smile every now and then! Opa came along as our photographer and managed to sneak into a few pics while placing Mark in some precarious posiitions!

What a great view Opa!

Dad is so cool!

Just my size!

I get two?

"Are you sure you want to leave me here all by myself?"

You guys are silly.

"What the...????"

Opinionated

I don't know what to tell you. Mark insists on wearing his Bronco gear on game days. We, as parents, are not forcing any particular team or sport onto him I can assure you. He is just such an opinionated little guy. It is crazy how he came out of the womb asking how Cutler was shaping up for the next season! He's been known to say that he thinks Shanahan will take them to the Super Bowl this year. I'm telling you, he decided all on his own that the Broncos were his favortire team - John had nothing to do with it!


After John made fun of the Chiefs.


After a Denver touchdown.

Down Time

Mark is such a busy little guy. He is always going one place or another and he just gets so worn out. We decided he needed a little down time last week and took a trip up to the lake to ride on Grammy and Papa's boat. The rest and rejuvenation was just what he needed...look how happy he was!

At the dock:


Joe Cool with Grammy:


Driving with Papa:


Grammy is so funny:


Mom and Dad were there too:

I love my Rocky Star

I don't think there is anyone on this planet who knows me and doesn't know I am a dog-lover. I also don't think there is anyone on this planet who loves dogs as much as me! I can remember when I was little we had an english setter named Chipper. I used to love to go outside on the back patio and sleep with my head on Chippers belly. I also distinctively remember walking around the yard with my eyes closed with my hand on Buddy's (a bird dog) head, pretending he was a seeing-eye dog. (I also remember him taking off after squirrels, birds etc and leaving me stranded!)

What else? Oh, I had a minature schnauzer named Tippy that I use to sing to in my room. I would play "Foot Loose" and when it said, "Now take a hold of those paws" I would grab Tippys paws and dance. I would also "kick off my Sunday shoes" if you're interested. (You know, I just remembered that I am notorious for making up lyrics to songs and I have no idea if "Foot Loose" actually says, "now take a hold of those paws" or if it is just something that sounds similar) Anyway I realize my love of dogs borders on obsession, but I think there are worse things in the world to be caught up in so I figure I'm alright.

ANYWAY, the point is I think I'm rubbing off on Mark. On purpose of course. He loves his Rocky Star. And don't you worry he loves Mobley too, but Mobley's still not too sure what he thinks of Mark. Also, Mobley doesn't pose for pictures well or I would put one of him in here too. Now you may think I have too many pictures of Mark with Rocky on here but let me just tell you I have toned it down. I'm only showing 4 when I have about 30 from this 15 minute cuddle session they had the other day!

Don't worry, Rocky never licks his butt!

Mark found Rocky's tail and tried to eat it multiple times. Rocky, of course, didn't care.

I wonder what they were thinking here. Mark was probably thinking, "I want to grab his big shiny teeth." Rock was probably thinking...oh thats right, we're pretty sure Rocky doesn't have any thoughts!

Teeth!

Well it is about time! Mark's first two teeth pushed through last weekend and now I feel like I have a little boy...no more baby! So sad! He sure hated teething for the past week. He didn't sleep, eat, play, etc as well as usual. But all is back to normal now. He has his middle two bottom teeth for now - I don't see signs of any others coming in just yet but I'm sure it won't be long! I think you can see the teeth in this picture but you may have to click on it to enlarge it if you are really interested in seeing them.

Buddies

Rocky and Mark seem to have become best buddies. (As I have always secretly hoped would happen!) Mark knows the sound of Rocky's footsteps coming down the hallway and always turns towards the doorway and has a big smile waiting for Rocky. I'm pretty sure "Rocky" will be his first word since Rocky is stuck to my leg when I'm home and therefore always with Mark and I. We are always talking about him or to him and always petting him since Rocky always lays his head in my lap. Mark likes to grab his ears, eyes, lips, etc.. Rocky doesn't seem to mind at all.

I always thought Rocky came up to lick Mark because he wanted to be close to me, but I learned differently this morning. Rocky didn't get to see Mark at all the past 2 days because I was working and when Mark was home and not sleeping, Rock was outside. Well so this morning Rocky would not leave Mark alone! He just kept "kissing" him and stayed right by his side whether I was there or not...I think he missed him!

Anyway, these pics are from last weekend just to show the two of them together. I hope their friendship lasts through Mark's toddler years!




So this last pic is a picture of Mark in a little beanie hat we got from some great friends and fellow Baylor grads. I can't remember when they gave it to us if it was too big or it was too warm out for him to wear. Regardless, since fall is approaching I was getting out some colder weather things for Mark and decided to try it on. It was a tight squeeze trying to get it on and it just looked like it was about to pop off and shoot accross the room any second! I was laughing so hard I was crying. It's not the best pic since Mark's eyes are closed but you get the point...way too small! You can't even see the Baylor Bear "grrrr" on the front. I can't decide what he looks like...a synchronized swimmer girl maybe?