He's a Scream

Tanner's officially found his voice.  We wake every morning to a half hour of babbles.  And then babbles turn into screeches.  Screeches for joy.  Screeches for food.  Screeches for frustration.  Screeches for sleep.  Screeches for laugher.  At first it's cute, but as of today, it's a tad annoying.  Also on the development front, Tanner has now learned to take his pacifier in and out, and can usually get the right side in.  He's also figured out how to avoid tummy time.  The boy definitely has the mellow, lazy California vibe.  Instead of practicing tummy time and pushing up on his hands, he just lays back down and turns over.  He's a smart one.  That's one way to get out of it.

Too Excited for Words

Tanner's been talking up a storm lately and especially excited by his toys.  Sometimes too excited...

Eminem, Blood or Spanky

Tanner's bud, Beckett celebrated his 1st birthday in style with a Rocker themed party.  Tanner went as Eminem, but considering that 75% of the babies there were also sporting bandanas, we decided that it was more of a Crips and Bloods thing.  So, Tanner was a Blood, representing the lesser known Russian Hill Bloods gang, with his red bandana and deadly drool. His horse pacifier clip made him look even more badass.   

Wyatt and Tanner (Axl and Eminem)

This might be a bit more Village People than Rocker.

Poppy's convinced Tanner looks like Spanky from Little Rascals in this pic.

Heads, Toes and Babies. Oh My.

Playgroup with babies Tanner, Ruby, Rose and Bodhi

Yo Gabba Gabba

Tanner's Girlfriend, Rose.  I think he was way more into her than she was into him.

Does this qualify as sitting up? 

Tanner's new favorite game is taking off his socks. I, however, don't find it as funny as he does.

Just like Mom and Dad, Tanner LOVES TV.  And luckily, he's not yet addicted to reality TV like Mom.  Just cartoons like Dad.  His favorite is Yo Gabba Gabba, which Mom likes too because it teaches kiddies how to put away their toys.

Phlllllttttt

Call us weird, but Jason and I like to make fake tooting noises with Tanner.  We're so proud of our little boy.  He's now mastered it on his own.  I now know what to put under "Special Talents" on the pre-school applications.

Bless Me

The past few days have been great.  Grandma Sandy came for a long weekend and got in some long overdue bonding time with Tanner and with me.  In only a few days, we did it all - museum, the beach (it's been 70 degrees here for a week), spa, vineyard and yummy lunches and dinners out.  And even a well behaved Tanner joined us at dinner twice (more on that later).  I could go on and on for a while about all the fun we had (especially Tanner and Grammy Sandy), but given that I only have a 20 minute nap window, I'll make it brief.  Plus, you probably really only want to see the pics anyway.  I do have to share this story:

Grammy Sandy loves fish tacos.  It was our mission to take her to the best fish taco place, so we went over the Golden Gate Bridge to Joe's Taco Lounge in Mill Valley (pics above), where Jason and I had our first date over 7 years ago.  Wow, we've come a long way.  While waiting outside on a bench, an older gentleman approached Grammy Sandy and Tanner and asked if we were Catholic. No. Protestant. No. Episcopalian. Nope. Apparently this guy was pretty blind.  One look at the Kressner clan, and you know you're dealing with Jews.  When he finally got down to the last option - Jew (cause we're always the last), Grammy Sandy asked why.  Old guy's response, "Because whenever I see such a beautiful baby, I want to baptize them. "  I nearly died laughing from the guy and my mom's expression.  Grammy Sandy was a trooper and let god lead the way as the guy, who was a minister, proceeded to whisper a prayer and make a cross over Tanner while Tanner just looked at him with a blank stare (as well as all the other people waiting).  Well, I guess now Tanner will be the only boy in Hebrew School that's been "baptized." 

Bodega Bay

Yes, that's massive drool about to hit my face.

Over the holiday break, we took a daytrip to Bodega Bay, about an 1.5 hour drive north of San Francisco through rolling sheep and cow farms.  It's a gorgeous place with lots of cliffs overlooking the Pacific.  On the way back, we were fortunate enough to find a Hawaiian lunch spot where we found a Kai liscense plate in the window.

This past week, Tanner and I went to our third Moms Movie - Marley and Me (good rental, not worth $10.50 ticket).  We were sitting next to my friend Erin and her adorable 6 month old, Rose.  We thought Tanner had a thing for blondes, but apparently he really likes the baldies.  Halfway through the movie, we caught Tanner and Rose touching hands on the cup holder, and then a bit later on, Tanner leaned in to catch a closer glimpse.  Just when we thought he'd plant a wet kiss on Rose, he burped in her face and then smiled.  Just like Dad.  It worked for me the first night I met him.

We also went for Tanner's 4-month check up with Dr. Goldstein. He got a thumbs up, growing 1 inch and about 2lbs.  (Stats are on the left of the page).  Surprisingly, she told us to wait till 6 months to start solids, even rice cereal.  It looks like bottles only for the next few weeks, which will suit Tanner just fine now that he's starting to hold them with both hands.

Catch Up

Fooled Him

Over the past few weeks, we've been webcaming with our families, which is a blast.  We even managed to catch Jon (Jason's bro) in the buff and celebrated Hanukkah with the Kressners.  Every time we webcam, Tanner's less than entertaining, despite all our efforts with funny faces and bodily noises.  He doesn't crack even a small smirk.  Our families our lucky if they even get a small nod.  At the end of each call, we swear that Tanner's fun and does more than lay in the buzzy chair with a stoned look on his face 24/7.  Unfortunately, he's on to us with the camera, video camera and now the computer.  Doesn't give us anything (as you can see with the limited smile pics on the blog).  Well, we tricked him. Jason got him all riled up with idiot antics and I grabbed the video cam as quick as I could.  See if you can find the 2 spots where Tanner caught me filming.  We have another video of the laughing (that's even better) that we're attempting to upload with great difficulty.