he's over one year old!

this year has gone by amazingly fast. it's hard to believe that helio is one year old now and at times it's surprising we survived. but, we did. helio had a picnic with friends, family, and fans a couple days after his birthday. on his birthday we had greek food and beers which was more of a celebration for kava and I.

our days and evenings are filled with helio crawling around and getting into anything he can. kava and I run around after him making sure he's not doing anything mischievous which seems to be a favorite activity in general. he enjoys being chased and flown down the hall, which is fun but really tiring. I don't know where helio gets his energy from. he'll keep going until he can't crawl anymore and then ends up falling all over the place since he's so exhausted. kava and I then seize the opportunity for a lazy activity like reading books.

helio's also been working on walking. any vertical surface is an opportunity to stand. there's been a few brief incidences of standing without support or holding onto anything and anything that slides (chairs, tables, trashcans) make good walking aids.

so there's the update. more to come!


lovin playing with trains


opening awesome birthday presents


still having to grab anything resembling a camera, video camera, remote, telephone, stereo, etc...




kava made this crazy cool cake


bonus chicken pick. they're close to egg laying but we don't have any yet. they also like jumping into this tree and then jumping over the lame fence we built. hence there's another task added to my list.

california vacation

we just got back from visiting family in california. mei and kevin got married and so lots of family converged. helio also got to spend some time at the beach. here's the evidence.



it was fun hitting all the old favorites. here's helio enjoying his first burrito at tres amigos.



we also went by the tidepools where kava and helio shared some rocks,



helio worked on his next band photo,



and the blueberry decided it was time to go home. (after this we forced him to take a walk in the forest where after climbing some trees he fell asleep)



we also discovered how much fun helio has in a full size bath tub. there was lots of screaming and splashing, but here's a more serene photo.



and lastly, we arrived safe and sound back home where helio proceeded to look for hidden treasure. he found an old vacuum attachment.

we're in trouble now

UPDATED WITH LONGER RECUT MOVIE!

Helio started crawling over the weekend. Here's a quick peek. In the last couple days he's been doing his best to catch the cat, play with the cat's toys, he's pulled books off shelves, tried to open a cabinet door, and tried to beat me to the stereo before I could get the door shut.

More to come.

playtime

we got mangatar'd

half manga all avatar:

not good at updates

ok, i'm not off to a very good start in my more constant updates. practice practice practice is what it takes.

helio's been the little mover lately. he's been exploring what it's like to rock up onto his knees and if he can hold himself up that way. he's getting there, but still tends to overshoot and land on his face. most of the time it doesn't bother him too much.

here he is taking a nap this last weekend.


and here he is posing for the camera after having cheerios this morning. he's wondering why we're taking pictures all of sudden.

so tired

as you can see, it was a big day for helio. towards the end of dinner he just couldn't stay awake anymore. so, off to bed it was.

helio's day consisted of playing, napping, eaating, riding in the car, eating indian food, throwing food on the floor, napping, playing, getting two new chickens, cleaning his closet, and more eating (not to mention 4 BMs!)

more news please

i've decided to try and write posts more and use them as a helio journal. since nothing dies on the internet it seems a good way to keep track and always have it. plus people might like to see and hear a little more about helio's day to day activities and accomplishments. so, here it is, day one:



in the last few weeks helio's really started pushing himself up. he might be a little behind when it comes to crawling, and there's a chance he'll skip the crawl, but people say all kids move at their own pace. he's getting pretty good at lifting himself up. he also likes to bend at the waste, but his face is usually still on the ground. I think he'll start getting the combo right soon, though.



right now his three favorite toys seem to be a monkey who's arms are long and just right for sticking in the mouth and chewing, a gumball machine that will deliver large plastic balls with sparkly things inside and play music at the same time (helio's learned just what the button will do), and a rubber ducky. the duck works good for some post bath chewing and hitting like a drum.

yesterday, during dinner, I was talking with kava and eating some noodles when I heard a toy hit the floor. so, I picked it up and handed it back to helio. back to eating I went and I heard it hit again. without thinking I handed it back. and then, out of the corner of my eye I saw a little arm move a toy over the edge of the high chair. when I looked helio had his brow up saying "what?" I turned, he let go. this went round a couple times and really was just this simple: I look, he holds; I turn; he drops.

I don't know where that's going...

we were sad to see them go

well, news on the chicken front is that we've moved from 4 chickens to 2. there's always a chance when buying chicks that you'll end up with roosters, but I don't think it's as great as 50%. we ended up with two. last night durga and jett when to a new home. durga was practicing her crow and it was jett was looking like she's heading the same direction.

we're looking for another brahma to have at least a trio. but, we were sad to see durga and jett go.

New Pro Photos

here's the best of helio's studio shots at 9 months. we had to wait an hour for our turn so helio was tired of being at babies r us. But, we managed to get a few good ones.

helio is 9 months!

today is helio's 9 month birthday! it sure has gone by fast. in a few days we have a standard 9 month check-up so we'll see how he's doing according to the pediatrician. he seems just fine to us. since we haven't posted for awhile there's lots to show off.

helio is learning lots of new things these days. he's become pretty good at sitting up. he'll still tip over once in awhile and just in case we put pillows behind him and on his sides. he seems to always lead with his head.

food has been a big thing lately too. he's really gotten into feeding himself. the big favorite seems to be cheerios, which will keep him occupied for quite a while. he also has a thing for cheese, feta, cheddar, goat cheese, mozzarella, parmesan. we try to feed him what we're eating and I guess we eat a lot of cheese.

anyway, kava's family visited recently. they hadn't seen helio since he was born so there was big difference, especially, how excitable he can get. luckily, the local tulip festival was extended so we had a chance to wade through the crowds and see the tulip fields. the picture is just one field of many. sorry to the person who gets the tulip that helio got his hands on.

that's about it for now. enjoy the photos!


kurt and helio


kava's mom and dad learn what gets helio riled up


skagit valley tulip field, one of them, outside of mt vernon, wa


helio's deciding which flower he wants


helio is still tulip size


broccoli is a new favorite


bonus picture: left to right - jet, durga, darla, and coco enjoy their new outdoor digs

new sweater

nai nai (grandma fong/gerry) made helio a second new sweater. we all love it, thanks very very much. here's pics from the first day he got it. we went to the park to swing and later play with the tree blossoms.