Missing: One Camera Full of Cute

It was bound to happen. I take that camera all over the place. I've taken it on trips to England and Quebec, on camping trips in Alberta and Ontario, and down hills on iceblocks and snowboards.

Now it's gone.

We took it with us to a church event on Saturday night where I was dressed like a rapper and R had Scotty wrapped up in a maman kangourou baby sling. We were on stage near the beginning and changed seats twice. In all the fuss of moving around and changing outfits, I managed to leave the camera under my chair, sitting inside a baseball cap that I bought in San Diego in 2000. It is sad to lose the hat and the camera, but it's the pictures inside that are the real loss.

We had a few weeks worth of photos (and we take a lot of photos in a week) of Scott, including a few videos. We were trying to capture some of the really cute things that he's started doing lately, as he's getting more mobile and more vocal. In case the camera is never recovered, I am going to describe these cute habits here:

1. Head shaking: Since he was born, we have given Scotty "Eskimo kisses" by rubbing noses with him. I think he has equated the related head-shaking motion with contentment, because he often does it when he's playing or when he's happy. With his limited motor skills, the motion comes out pretty wobbly and very cute. It can be confusing when shake our heads and tell him not to play with power cord for the piano, because he just smiles back at us and shakes his head too.

2. Monkey: R's mom gave us white toy gorilla during R's baby shower last spring, and it sat on the sewing table in Scott's room since we moved here in August. A few weeks ago, R took it down and let Scott play with it. The pair of them have been best friends ever since. We say, "Where's you monkey?" and he points to the gorilla and says "ooh-ugh-ooh" through his trademark puckered lips.

3. Rabbits and Cars: Scott loves to point and hoot at other things too -- mainly rabbits and cars. He loves to stand on the couch and look out the window as the cars go by. He frequently points at the cars (and sometimes the trees) and chants "Doo, doo, doh" with husky voice and a very solid "d" sound. You can see his little body bracing for each syllable and I can't help but chuckle.

4. Dishwasher & Fridge: If you open the dishwasher, you had better work quickly, because you've got between 6 and 10 seconds to get it finished before the self-appointed dishwasher king arrives on the scene. He's learned to climb up on the door, which puts nearly any dish within his pudgy grasp. The fridge is not much different -- just harder to climb on.

5. Keys: When R locks the house or opens the car, she is careful to shield her keys from Scott's view. Otherwise, he demands that the keys be handed over to him for safekeeping. We've given him his own ring of keys which satisfies him some of the time.

6. Tooth #1: Scott broke his first tooth a few days ago (about 10 days shy of his 1st birthday) and we've noticed that he sticks his tongue out a lot more -- possibly because he is getting used to the feeling of having this new fixture in his mouth. Add the increased tongue activity to his hooting and pointing and you have quite an assortment of facial expressions coming out of this little guy.

It's hard to believe that just a few months ago he would just lie on his back and stare at the world...