Happy Summer everybody! We're over six months under way on
this parental roller-coaster in the theme park called Life. Not really
sure if "roller coaster" is the correct term as this baby thing is pretty
darn easy. What? So you change some diapers, get a sore back,
ruin a few pairs of clothes with baby spit up, no biggie. I'll sum up
the stuff that you, yes you, could have already guessed being an
observant contributor/participant to the evolutionary process of the
human species.
Otis has:
Been growing up really fast
A cute laugh that makes you feel all squishy inside
Done some crying, but not too much and doesn't keep it up
Taken comfort in the "All Mighty Boob"
Starting eating solids. Mostly brown rice cereal with holy milk
Been getting stopped in public places for ogling
Had scared parents after being approached by questionable geriatrics joking about taking Otis home
Love and support from his wide group of friends and family
Sucked on a few pinkies soaked in beer/wine
That's the gist. If you want to know more specifics on Stumbantics,
read on. If you're really just glancing at this blog and are really here
just to look at photos, now would be a good time to skip the text and
get to the meat.
(Mom's not included, of course)
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Blake and Otis
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| Grant and Otis |
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Whitney and Otis
We had a good visit from the Andersons not long before big Anderbro Whitney took off on his spirit quest to sheer a gang of rampaging alpacas in deep quadrants of the Great Pacific Northwest. He will be missed. Fortunately he was able to rub baby Otis for good luck and he should be living a long life. We had brunch with the whole clan, Trevor made something, can't remember what but there was hollandaise and it was tasty. Mimosas and full bellies made for a good time.
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| Otis and Grandpa Gregg |
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| Otis and Auntie Gianna |
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| Cousin Alice, Auntie Talia, Otis and Auntie Gianna |
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Otis and Uncle Gerry
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| Otis, Tia Borracha, Cousin Sabina and Cousin Yona |
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| Nonni Bev and Otis |
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| Auntie Talia and Otis (Easter) |
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| Jane and Otis |
Otis seems pretty motivated to crawl. You put him on his stomach and he starts kicking like a Merman out of water. Check the intensity. GAME FACE!
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| Papa Tony, Mama Melanie, Otis, Cousin Lee, Cousin Alice, Aunt Laurel and Uncle Gerry |
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| Owls are cool... |
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| Otis w/future body guard Dylan Yoches |
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| Otis @ OODE (Memorial Day Weekend) |
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Otis and Katie
We headed up to Oregon for Memorial Day, our annual jaunt to OODE. We traveled with the Macphee's and pulled a rented tow trailer. Those suckers sure are doozy to back up into places. The Macphee's left their kids at home and our road trip had all the usual characteristics, beef jerky, inNout, funny smells in the car, crying babies, Oregonian highway pedestrians, and lot's of trash talking. It took a few days to acclimate to camping with a baby. Sure didn't help that it was real wet and cold. Otis had the time of his short six month life though. He loved the sound of the rain hitting the tent, never got tired of multiple eager hands wanting to fawn over the warm baby.
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| Auntie Lacie, Otis and Tia Xochitl |
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| Otis and Kim |
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| Otis and Josh |
somebody call cps quick!
shaken, not stirred.
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| Otis and Ann |
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Otis and Grandpa Randy
Lucky us, Grandpa Randy and Grandma Marsha drove over from Bend and stayed at a nearby hotel and took a few turns watching Otis so we could get some time to ourselves. On Saturday they even kept Otis overnight! I'd like to tell you that we had a crazy night dancing under the stars and drinking schnapps out of diapers. I'd like to tell you that. Melanie was asleep by 10pm and I wasn't far behind. Man oh man, if I could describe the sleep we got that night you wouldn't soon forget it! Ahhhhh, but I can't, so I won't.
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| Otis and Grandma Marsha |
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| Otis, Promise and Melanie |
oompa-lumpa Otis
farting on grown-ups is cute
Have we talked yet about the great comfort Otis gets when grabbing his feet? Witness his happy place. Years down the road I will know how to get a grown-up Otis to calm down. "Just hold on to your bare feet son, it will all be okay."
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Otis and Ann G.
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Otis and Danyelle
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| Robert, Charley, Otis, Melanie and Danyelle |
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| Charley and Otis |
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We had a nice visit from our good friends Charley "The Brain" and Theresa "The Body." Our Santa Cruzian's turned Nueva Yorican's who traded in their trail guides for subway maps, their baba ganoush for thin crust pizza, their friendly attitudes for curse words and hand gestures, there wasn't a beat skipped in good conversation and overall affection for each other. It's nice to have affirmation in knowing your relationship with people does not change even though you've mutated. Our time was brief but full of cheap thrills and good times. They still laugh when I make 8 year old boy jokes.
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Theresa and Otis
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Otis and Jonny Darby
We got a brief meal with the critically acclaimed international superstar Jonathon Darby. I tried to get him to autograph my dirty socks but he wouldn't do it. Even through my feet's disappointment, still lovely to see this fine specimen and happy he got to meet our son Otis. Though he's probably painting a mural on a 200ft yacht in warm Tahitian sun, or trading art scraps for a tribal chief's harem in the deep Sahara desert, Jonathon Darby and the rest of the Darby family are in our thoughts. |
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First and Second Solids!
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| Otis' New Clock from Uncle Bryan and Aunt Ronda |
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| Auntie Cathie and Otis |
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| Lisa, Melanie, Lacie, Maria and Otis |
The dear Aunt Cathie left this morning on her flight back to Seattle. Always sad to see her go and wishing, again, that Seattle was only 30 minutes away or that somebody could figure out that freggin star trek teleportation thing. Don't some of you work for Google? What's up? I am ready for the global takeover just as long you let me transport through my cellphone. Anyhow, Cathie was a saint and spent much quality time with the baby which allowed Melanie's anxieties and stress drift away in the soil of our backyard garden. The garden beds are now weeded, composted, and soiled for some veggie good times. The jungle forming under the crab apple tree has been clear cut by the deadly hands of Cathie, leaving a divine barren landscape, ripe for repopulating with flowers and greenary bits.
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| Chillin' with Auntie Cathie |
You've made it to the end, congrats! That's about everything for now. Big life changing plans this weekend as Grandpa Gregg is helping us pick up one of the wood burning hot tubs from Camp N Sons. The future looks chock-full of relaxed muscles and raisin toes.
-The Stumbaugh Gang
