Command post, control: Bode is mobile

By the title of the post, you can probably deduce that Bode is now crawling. He's not exactly whipping around the house, but he can definitely get from point A to point B. Oddly, he doesn't seem to like crawling because he's also figured out how to pull himself up to a standing position. I think he knows what walking is and would rather walk than crawl (crawling is sooo last week). When he does crawl, he acts like he's upset as if to say, "Why should I have to crawl when I have two perfectly good legs?" We don't have any action movies of Bode crawling, but here are a couple pictures of Bode in a standing position which he achieved with no help from anyone.Note in the second picture Bode has already found some low-lying objects. Obviously we have to start doing some serious Bode-proofing because saying, "No Bode," works for about half a second. He's really become more active, and is even saying things that sound like words. He says, "Da da da da da," a lot; he hasn't quite figured out "Ma ma ma ma," although Ashley is feverishly trying to teach it to him.

Bode has also started eating "real" food. For second breakfast today, he had some Total cereal, some cantelope, and a thing of Gerber pears. For lunch, he dined on a bottle of milk with some cheese quesadillas, and as I write this, he's snacking on some Cheezits and blackberries with apple juice in a sippy cup. He loves his juice in a sippy cup; when I tried to take it from him, he looked and me and said, "You can have my sippy cup only if you can pry it from my cold dead hand." Odd that a baby would go around quoting Charleton Heston...

We've had a wonderful day today. This morning, Ashley was kind enough to let me go for a bike ride. You may recall I used to ride my bike a lot--I was even commuting on it last year. This year, our schedules our just a bit busier, and I haven't been able to really ride my bike. In fact, today was only the second time this summer that I was on my road bike. When you combine that with the five pounds I gained while on vacation, you have one hurting Jeffy. Much like my friend Eric (teamhallam.blogspot.com), I hear the voices of Paul Sherwin and Phil Liggette (the commentators for the Tour de France) in my head when riding. I heard many of my favorite Sherwinisms while I was trying to climb up some hills: "His legs are screaming at him," and "He's really going to have to reach down into his suitcase of courage!" constantly filled my head. As it was, I found out I forgot to pack my suitcase because when my brain said, "Engine room, this is the bridge: More power!", there was no more power to give (also a Sherwinism). The ride did feel good, and I'm sure I'll be paying for it tomorrow.

This afternoon, Ashley and I took Bode to the Kettering water park. It's like a neighborhood pool but much much better. They have this huge endless pool (maximum depth: 3 feet), two big water slides, a kiddie water slide, a diving board and more. It's a wonderful place for kids. What made it so fun was Bode loved the water. Down in Georgia, he wasn't too fond of the ocean, so we were a bit hesitant. We set him in the water and he was puzzled at first, but then he started splashing around; only once did he cry and that was after he put his face in the water. It was an awesome way to spend close to two hours. When we got home, Bode was exhausted, as the below picture can attest (no pictures from the park because I didn't want to bring the camera).Tonight, Ashley and I are going to test out our new toy--we bought a Wii, so I'm sure we'll have a serious bowling competition. She also bought NCAA Football 2009. Hopefully the mighty Air Force Falcons can defeat the Auburn Tigers. We'll have to try to convince Auburn (the dog) to babysit while we play!Pleasant day to all.