Toby has been a very busy fellow since the last post.  He's been using his hands to hit things!  The video below is also evidence of my recent developmental leap - I can use the camcorder much more effectively.  More recently, Toby is opening his hands more and grasping things we place in them.  I checked in Matt's baby book (thanks, MommaSue!) and found that he switched from pacifier to thumb at 3 months... everybody keep their fingers crossed (or perhaps more appropriately, 'press the thumbs' as the Germans do) for Tobes to figure this out soon.

Hitting things isn't the only new game our boy has adopted; he's also really into sitting up (Daddy taught him that one) and leaping into the air (with a little help from Mama - sometimes he gets a little surprised.)

Tummy time continues to be more and more fun; today he and Violet Kitty were noticing each other on the floor.  He can push up quite far and hold it longer and longer.  Crawling is beginning to seem more plausible - not anytime soon.  Good thing - we need more time to think about a mobile baby.

Last weekend our Michigan Baby received his first home-state sacrament: a weekend in a cottage on a lake 'up north.'  Matt's dear friend Joe invited us up to spend some time with his new wife Olya and their friend Drew at Drew's family house on Crooked Lake.  Matt and I went water skiing and Toby enjoyed looking at the lake (the smallest life jacket we could find wasn't quite small enough, but it will happen soon enough - then I can tell him lots of stories about his Great-grandpa Royer, who was skiing into his 80's.)  We ambled into town and checked out some very fancy yachts on the Lake Michigan pier.  Toby and Olya bonded.  Matt, Olya and I put together puzzles.  It was grand.

Back on the home front, I've been making more baby steps toward going back to work.  Having Toby's babysitter come in a few days a week has been helpful, giving her a chance to get to know his routine and giving me a chance to see that both Toby and I can survive being apart.  We might even have fun.  :)  We're lucky to have Joelyn - she is willing to be super flexible about scheduling, is great with Toby, and appreciates that he is the most fabulous baby ever.  Perfect match.  Plus she speaks Konkani to him, which will make him even more of a genius than he already is.

I'll part with one more video, illustrating 1) my mastery of Toby's laugh, even though you don't get to hear him do it, 2) more charming smiles, and 3) Toby's entertaining habit of looking straight into the camera.  I'm off to the left, and I could swear the camcorder is boring-looking, but he seems to be transfixed by it.

The video camera arrived!  This first video shows a smile, but beware - I'm not very good yet, so it's shaky.  I recommend the first 8 seconds, after that it gets pretty rough.  Once I figure out how to use the editing software I'll get some better clips up.   

Toby's gaining new skills fast now.  He's definitely discovered his hands - especially the right one.  He likes to look at the fist, moving it forward and back.  He also likes to suck on it.  We've been trying to get him to suck his thumb, but he isn't quite there yet.  If you stick it in his mouth for him he thinks it's great, but doesn't know how to replicate that, and won't usually let you put it in for him.

Tummy time is getting more fun, too.  He can push up on both hands so that his head is 90º to the floor, and the reward of being able to look around seems to be motivating him.  I've started trying draping him over the Boppy (nursing pillow), but he's not quite big enough to really like that yet.

He's talking a lot, with regular three-syllable goos and coos.  Smiling more and definitely giggling.  And he's discovered his mobile!  This morning he was on his back it he crib staring and cooing with fascination. 

We've passed the two month mark, and Toby is becoming more and more interesting.  His hair is coming in - a few weeks ago he grew his eyelashes quite suddenly, and now they seemed to have reached their full length.  His eyes are still dark blue, although they sometimes look grey or greenish depending on what he's wearing.  He's also got eyebrows now (blonde) and hair on the top of his head (reddish brown?).  He's getting great control of his eyes, tracking things to the left, right, and up (down is still a little tricky).  He will often look at a toy or book, but seems increasingly interested in looking at US!  We're loving it.  Matt mastered they Moby carrier last week, so Toby can snooze while Daddy practices the piano.

The end of the summer is a time of transition at the biological station where I work, so Toby had to say goodbye (for now) to his friend Rachel Prunier, who has been an important person helping keep his mama sane in the first two months of his life.  We'll look forward to seeing her again next summer at the latest.

Last weekend he had his first big car trip, four hours to Richmond, Indiana to visit my side of the family.  He was a trooper, sleeping most of the way down and all the way back.  We're hoping he continues to like the car so we can keep traveling together.  Sleeping in a strange place did seem to mess up his nights a bit, but when he finally settled back in at home we got two nights in a row with only one waking between 4-hour stretches!  Matt had a night of nearly pre-baby quality sleep.  All you parents know that this is the biggest thrill imaginable at our stage. 

The best part of the trip was meeting new people: in addition to seeing Grammie, Grandpa Royer, Uncles Jacob and Dan, Aunt Margo, and Cousin Alten again (we even got a great family picture - they're talking about photoshopping Chris into it... maybe seriously?), Toby got to meet his Nana, Aunt Cathy, Uncle Kenny, Aunt Jean, and Ken's daughters Beth and Jill.  He was happy to be passed around, and seemed especially interested in staring at Nana.  We even got a picture of Toby with Margo and Cousin Baby Royer-Miller #2.  We are accepting bets on the sex in the comments section of this blog.  

This weekend we have been blessed with a visit from my dear college friend Emily Fine with her husband Aaron and their 6-month-old, Emet.  Emet thinks Toby is fairly interesting, and Toby doesn't seem to be aware of Emet (in spite of the constant squeals and giggles that the grown-ups find so diverting).  Matt and I are having fun getting a preview of what Toby will soon be capable of.

We've also been blessed with the coldest weather Toby has ever experienced - in the 50's at night, 70's during the day.  This has given us the chance to experiment with long sleeves, pants, and even socks.  And, of course, the cutest of baby gear: footie pajamas.  I love these things.  Toby's especially enjoying the leg warmers his Aunt Margo made him (enabling easy diaper changes) and the elephant booties from his Aunt Becky (cuter on his feet than I could have believed).

I finally actually ordered a camcorder last week, so there will soon be video (I'm desperate to record the sweet early smiles we're getting - especially common first thing in the morning).