We've been very busy since the last blog post!  The trip to Dallas went well - Toby fussed a little on the flight there and quite a bit on the flight back, but both times he settled well before we reached altitude and snoozed in my arms, causing them to go numb.  Kudos to Matt for getting a truly WAILING baby to fall asleep without getting up.  We even got a picture (using my phone, which is why it's not up to my usual standards) to document Toby's first flight.

This was obviously before Toby pooped, but after we discovered that we couldn't take our carefully packed carry-on into the cabin with us.  All the toys, diapers, and extra clothes got last-minute gate-checked.  Aaaargh!  And yet we survived.

A brief summary of the trip: I got an award from the Society for the Study of Evolution to give a workshop on a lesson I developed for high school students at the National Association of Biology Teachers annual conference.  The lesson uses a free web-based program called BoxCar2D to evolve online cars; it looks like a video game and is SUPER fun to watch, so students love it.  If you want to hear the dorky/cool details, just ask me sometime.  Or read the website's FAQ and Algorithm links.  Matt came along to take care of Toby and enjoy a king-sized bed and lots of free food.  We also got to visit my Aunt Kathy and Uncle Jim.  Sadly, my phone got fussy, so I don't have any pictures of them, but we had a good time.  On the last day I skived off and we went to the Aquarium.  Matt and I loved the neotropical birds (toucans, toucanettes, aracaris!), and Toby's favorite was the glowing jellyfish.  (The seadragons were too cryptic.)  I learned there are amazonian manatees...

Shortly after our return from 80ºF weather (sniff, sigh) it was ELECTION DAY!!!  Toby didn't wear his elephant hat, because we don't have a donkey one and didn't want to be partisan, but he DID come to the polls with me.  He was super helpful - in the past, I always wasted time filling in the bubbles even when two people were running for two openings.  I felt bad for them - what if they won with 15% of the vote, wouldn't it be bad for their self-esteem?  Toby helped me realize that what really mattered was getting out of there fast.  Matt stayed up until 11:30 clicking through 8 different websites.  Toby and I went to bed and trusted Daddy to tell us what happened.

It's been a big few weeks in physical as well as political development for the tot.  His sitting skills are advanced enough now for him to try sitting on Daddy's shoulders for the first time!  About 1 minute after I took this picture, somebody got spit-up in their hair.  Joelyn and I laughed; Joelyn's husband Mridul helped wash it out.  Toby tried it again (the sitting, not the spitting) on a hike with us yesterday with great success.  It's fun to be super tall.

Another fun thing about sitting up well is that people can stuff you into chairs and take a picture really fast before you fall over.  The first time Joelyn put him in the big rocker, he laughed and  laughed.  By the time I got him in Nana's little rocking chair, he was already a pro.

Another grand thing that comes with sitting well is solid food!  Most of our books recommend waiting until 6 months for solids, but Toby was staring mournfully at our food as it made it's way from plate to mouth, reaching for our plates, and making num-num mouth motions.  So we decided to give it a try.  First food: pureed banana.  He LOVED it.  That sealed the deal for me - the kid is ready to eat.  He ate a banana over four nights, and hardly spit any of it out.  Applesauce didn't go over so well; ours is homemade, and I like it sour.  It was fun to see his baby sour-face, but after two nights I gave up.  Next I think we'll try sweet potatoes.

Our biggest challenge continues to be naps.  After a week of lovely naps, he's back to wailing and thrashing his way to dreamland.  Maybe he's teething?  I didn't think so at first, but a couple of nights ago he started waking up every hour or two all night, and waking up crying (usually he wakes gently and briefly at night).  If anyone has a favorite sleeping or teething tip, please do let me know.  We mostly continue to have a sense of humor (2-5am is when mine goes missing).

Last weekend was another new experience for Toby: visiting his brand new cousin, Isaac Wynn, at Noni's house in Ohio.  Have three small children in one place proved overwhelming to the grown-ups, and we failed to get a picture of all the cousins together.  I managed to get several cute ones of Toby with the cool older cousin, Alten Lee.  Alten played nicely with Toby - he even made funny noises to turn crying into laughing several times.  I think this bodes well for his older brother potential as 3-week-old Isaac becomes more aware of people around him.  Sorry about the lack of newborn pictures; you'll have to take my word for it that he is cute and snuggly.  Or you could check out his parents' blog.  We're thrilled to have another nephew.  (The other fellow in the pictures is my brother Dan).

 On November 16th Matt saw Toby suck his lips for the first time.  Super cute!  He kept it up, and yesterday I got a picture.  Matt thinks this gives us a better idea what his face will look like, since currently he spends most of his waking hours with his mouth wide open (see the shoulder-sitting picture).  I don't mind, since it's a happy face and it's cold here, but I do tell him that in the summer something will fly in.  Anyway,  this afternoon the new lip-sucking habit bore fruit: Toby's first "buh" sound!  He's done it several times now.  He even said "wubuh!"  Obviously a genius.  I took these pictures last night.  They also display the cuteness of his blue eyes and his propensity for scratching himself when I don't cut his nails fast enough.

This week brings Toby's longest car trip yet, 7 hours to the Schultz homestead in Ligonier, PA, and of course the little fella's first Thanksgiving.  This is a treasured holiday for both of our families, so we're pretty excited.  Perhaps he'll sample the mashed potatoes?