Antonio's Week

Okay, unless something exciting happens, it seems like Antonio's blog updates are going to happen about once a week. So it's time to recap what Antonio was up to in the past week.

He went over to his cousin Elijah's house and saw Grandma and Grandpa and tried to grab Elijah. Grand Tia Liz was in town and happy to see how big Antonio has gotten. He also chased a giant ball around.

Then the three of us headed to Barnes & Noble. Antonio loves his books and was quite happy to pick up some new ones.

Now that he can get himself to his feet by himself, Antonio's pretty much been standing as much as possible. Getting from standing to sitting is a bit of a chore, but he's starting to get the hang of it.

His Auntie Beckie (non-relative Godmother edition) stopped by for a quick visit. He sure was happy to see her.

Then, because we were getting a new roof put on the house, Antonio went to stay with his best friend Laurie during the day. They had a lot of fun hanging out at her house and going to the park. Poor Pal; he learned what Havana's life is like now that Antonio is a speed demon and likes nothing more than to chase dogs around the house. Good thing he's a good sport.

The rest of the time, he was just being cute.

Antonio Has A New Cousin

Welcome to the world, Elijah James Becker.

Deb left home early in the morning because Antonio's Auntie Chrissy was making him a cousin. Just before 5 am, his new play buddy was born. He weighed 8 pounds, 7 ounces and he's all head and shoulders and feet. He's a big boy. He'll be dunking on Antonio before too long.

Chrissy and Steven were both very happy. And Debbie was happy to be an Aunt by blood.

Antonio came to the hospital to meet his new family member, and like all things in the world today, Antonio wanted to grab him and put him in his mouth. Maybe that would make his teeth feel better.
Grandma and Grandpa better watch out. These boys are going to keep them on their toes for a while.

If you have any questions and you'd like to read more about Elijah James Becker, you can check out the recommended reading list at your local library, or go to: www.elijahbecker.blogspot.com

Happy Birthday, Mommy... Happy Father's Day... More Oak Harbor... Etc. Etc. Etc...

Antonio had a busy weekend. After a great haircut (see below) he hung out with the families, gave Father's Day and late birthday presents to Bonk, then headed out to the lake.

At the lake, we celebrated Deb's birthday (She is now really officially old. She's as old as I am again.), Father's Day (my first), and other assorted Barge family events.

Antonio had a lot of fun. So much fun, in fact, that he decided it was time to spend the night out there. Even being in a strange place with strange sounds couldn't mess up his sleep. He was a trooper, and after a very splashy bath, slept all the way through the night.

He was so happy when he headed home, because after a busy weekend, he wanted to watch some U.S. Open Golf and relax with his mom and his dad. He figured nothing else exciting was going to happen to him any time soon.

He was wrong.

Antonio Got a Haircut

We're in Oak Harbor for Father's Day/Debbie's birthday, and while we're here, Antonio decided he wanted Aunt Susan to give him a haircut. We put out the call, and before we knew it, most of Antonio's entourage had assembled at (Oak Harbor product placement warning) Carla's Shear Inspiration. Even Havana was there (although I'm sure that violated all kinds of health codes).

Since he's a mover now, he doesn't like staying still for more than five seconds at a time, so the actual cutting was hard work, but in the end, it all worked out and he looked fantastic.

When we were done, we headed across the street to Flintstone Park, where there is a replica of Fred Flintstone's car. (Don't ask me why Oak Harbor has a replica of a Flintstone car, it just does and it always has.)

Then we made it back home and got Antonio ready for bed, followed by dinner from (very predictable Oak Harbor product placement warning) El Cazador. Big shocker there, I know.

Yep, Antonio's Still the Best

Antonio is growing up and he told Debbie and me that he didn't need us around all the time so sent us down to Santa Barbara for a few days of wine and relaxation (Not to mention experiencing the Santa Barbara Public Transit system), Antonio was babysitting Auntie Chrissy and Uncle Steven.

He kept them in line and gave them a little bit of practice for what it's going to be like in a few weeks when Antonio's cousin arrives.

But even though it was really, really hot -- so hot that Antonio sat around the house naked -- we learned that Antonio does not like running through the sprinkler. It's too cold. It's too wet. It's not any fun at all.
We got back and watched as Antonio had mastered the art of crawling around the house chasing Havana, which is not nearly as fun for Havana as it is for Antonio.

Then today, Grandpa made a surprise visit when he was down in Seattle and got to spend a little bit of quality time with the grand kids. They were both very excited to see him.

Here are more pictures, enjoy until later.