We’re thrilled that we’ve been able to get outside and enjoy the incredibly nice weather we’ve been having.  We’ve taken David on a couple of hikes – he seems to really like them!  Here are a few pics from our hike in Wilder Ranch State Park (with friends Chris, Katie, Jacob, and Alex) and Edgewood County Park.

The only downside to all of this sunshine is the lack of snow in Tahoe … we have a ski trip planned for later this month, but it looks like we may be canceling it.

Second, he’s giving crawling the old college try!  David has a few basic techniques at this point, none of which individually count as crawling, but are all on the path towards it.  Sometimes, he’ll actually do a “push-up” — whole body off the ground, suspended at his wrists and toes — and then push himself backwards.  Other times, he’ll get his knees underneath his hips with his shoulders still firmly on the ground.  This usually results in some inching forward, though mostly his hips crash to the ground and he flounders his legs for awhile.

He’s great at rolling, and actually has a 1-meter radius within which he can travel now.  It’s usually a multi-step endeavor to roll to his final spot, but it’s definitely a big change from a few weeks ago.  We’ve now begun the baby-proofing in earnest as a result.

Finally, David’s embraced his inner nudist!  He has a small diaper rash on his bum, so we’re letting him “air dry” about 15 minutes before his evening bath to help clear it up.  He fusses a little while getting his clothes off, but then LOVES to play on the floor while baring it all!

And just for good measure, one of my favorites from the past week:

It’s hard to believe that 4 days ago, Baby Dave turned 5 months old!  He’s still a inquisitive little guy who likes to keep Mom and Dad on their toes.  He celebrated by jumping in his new jumperoo and by starting solid food.  His first food was banana, and he’s still not sure if he likes them.  He’s very interested in the process, but makes terrible faces (see below) whenever he successfully gets banana in his mouth.  We tried rice cereal this morning, and it was a hit!  David kept trying to jam the spoon in his mouth and grab the bowl.  I couldn’t feed it to him fast enough!

Happy New Year!!  We wish you a wonderful and prosperous 2012!  David celebrated by not sleeping very well and pooping twice.  (Thank you to Chris for changing him both times!)  While we’re very excited to watch David learn and grow over the next year, we have a feeling he’s going to keep us on our toes.  He’s a very curious little fellow – and has already started to get into trouble!