Can Arthur really be a year-and-a-half old already?

Wow, it's been ages since we posted anything to the blog. How time flies. This post includes several videos we have posted to our Youtube channel during the last couple of months (so the grandparents have already seen them) along with this brand new video no one has seen. We were at Meijer today and Arthur wanted to sit on the rocking horse. He was enjoying it so much and it only cost a penny to make it go so it seemed like a great idea to drop a penny in and record his fun on video. Well, as you'll see, he much preferred the horse when it was still. When rocking, not so much. You'll also catch a glimpse of the pink balloon he fell in love with and carried throughout the entire store. No comments about the PINK balloon - he also lusted for a big yellow Tonka truck.

In this next video, Arthur is shown snoozing after finishing dinner. You can sorta see food all over his face and even hear him snoring. Tough day at school, I guess.

In this next video, Arthur and his dad play soccer in the driveway. It's funny to see him throw the ball into the air in hopes it comes down on his head. It's funnier to see him throw the ball over his head and behind himself and not know where it went.

In this next video, Arthur is playing in his brand new swimming pool. He really enjoys this little thing. We can't wait to get him back down to Florida and into a bigger pool.

In this next video, taken back on July 5, Arthur is shown eating his morning Cheerios with a spoon, on his own. It's still a work in progress, but fun to see him learning new skills.

And this last video shows AC eating a breakfast of graham crackers.

We hope you enjoy these vids. Until next time....

AC visits Le Schateau Schwartz

We have recently returned from our summer vacation spent in the Sleeping Bear Dunes area of northwestern Michigan. We are fortunate enough to have good friends that own a great cabin just outside of Glen Arbor and they actually let us stay there. In addition, they allowed nearly the whole Sherwood clan to join us for the weekend during which we celebrated Father's Day - happy Father's Day again Dad. You won't find any new vids (yet again) - sorry guys. But, you will find lots of new photos if you follow the "June2010vacay" link in the upper right of our page. AC's dad has a new camera lens (courtesy of Cathy - thanks again Sweetie) and he's been having fun trying it out.

You will see some pics of AC's first visit to a beach (at Sutton's Bay). He didn't seem to like walking in the sand barefoot (maybe it feels funny on his bare feet) and he was a little afraid of the water's edge, but he had fun. While in the Glen Arbor area, we also visited some wineries, we wandered Fishtown in Leland, we ate too much every day, and we even had some minor sickness which caused us to return home a day early. But hey, it's easy to find things to do back here in AA while in "staycation" mode so it's been a great week. Until next time...

We've added photos to our Flickr site

Sorry, no new videos, but we have posted lots of photos to our Flickr site. The "Arthur month 16" link takes you to photos taken mostly during Bonnie's and John's recent visit. The "Arthur month 17" link takes you to photos taken more recently, mostly of Arthur playing in one of his toy boxes. The "Memorial Day 2010" link takes you to photos of....can you guess? We watched the Memorial Day parade in Tekonsha, MI, and took these photos. You'll see the free kittens that, surprisingly, none of the Sherwood/Forsberg clan claimed. You'll also see some photos of a pet snapping turtle. You don't see these things in the big city parades.

Until next time....

AC has friends over to play

AC had friends over the other day for a little play time. So did his parents by the way. We played with food and drink while the kids played in their own kid ways. And it would seem that Arthur has his first girlfriend - Maria. She seemed interested but kept her distance, you know how girls are. In other words, she's a smart one. The video is long, so consider yourself forewarned.
Until next time....

Arthur helps with the house cleaning

Wow, has it really been over a month since our last post? Zoinks. My excuse is that Bonnie and John were here in AA for nearly a week during that time so they were living the AC experience and didn't need any video updates to keep track of the little one. OK, kinda lame but it's all I've got. This vid shows our little guy taking up the dust mop and helping his daddy (yes, his daddy) with the house cleaning. This helps shed light on the fact that he's studying our every move and what we do is starting to shape his view of right and wrong and how people get by in this world. Yikes. Until next time....

AC's Easter egg hunt & playing at Briarwood Mall

When it rains it pours - no posting for over two weeks and suddenly bam, too many blog posts. This video shows Arthur at a little Easter egg hunt that took place in a tiny little strange church (strange in that we didn't even know it was a church until we were there) near AC's daycare. Anyway, Arthur had no idea what was happening at first but once he saw the other kids grabbing the eggs he figured there must be something about them worth grabbing. So he scored a couple of eggs and also received one from a little girl who clearly didn't know there were surprises inside. It was a fun thing to do. We then went to the Briarwood play zone so Arthur could romp around, which he did a little bit. I'll tell you though, nothing much happens at Briarwood so be prepared and don't expect something funny or amazing to happen "any second" because it never does. OK?

AC's family fun time

This is some video taken during family fun time, which occurs most every evening at some point. Cathy had hoped to get some video of Arthur playing with his golf clubs which she thought Grandpa John would really appreciate. However, you can't always get your subject to recreate what he's already done, especially once the video cam is pointed at him. So, we missed out on the hoped for footage since Arthur had decided he was done playing with the golf clubs and that he'd rather just beat up on Mommy and Daddy.

AC gets ready for bed

Here's some more video of AC's bath time - one of his favorite times as he loves taking his bath. You'll also see AC getting his teeth brushed as he prepares for bed. He's becoming such a big boy.

Long time no talk to

Sorry it's been so long since we've posted anything. Arthur has been so busy with his work and hobbies that he just hasn't had time to be video-ed. Anyway, here's a short vid of AC going for a walk with his mom. How do people get shoes to stay on little toddler feet anyway?


And here's another vid of AC playing with his daddy. This one is long so be prepared. He seems to be saying "Hi daddy" at one point. At least that's what we think.

We should let you know that we have a channel on Youtube. I usually upload videos to Youtube and then embed a link to the video within the blog. So, when you watch a video on the blog at toddsherwood.blogspot.com, you're actually watching a video at www.youtube.com/tlsherwood via a link on the blog. Lost yet? Anyway, there might be videos on the Youtube channel that never get embedded onto the blog. For example, there are a couple of videos on Youtube that were taken in Tekonsha on March 7 that we never posted to the blog. That may not happen often, but you never know. So, you might try going to Youtube now and then if you're curious as to whether there are vids that haven't made it to the blog. Just ask if none of that makes sense, Cathy will explain it. You should find our channel at www.youtube.com/tlsherwood


Until next time....

AC's Valentine's Day at Schwartz Schateau

Wow, lots of videos this time. First up are the videos from our recent visit to the Schwartz Schateau (see what I did there?) near Glen Arbor - thanks again Mike and Jackie and Phoebe for having us. The first and second vids show AC playing with Phoebe and Izzo, the dog. Arthur loved Izzo who was great all weekend. Izzo let Arthur touch her without running away (like our cats do). Izzo also let Arthur crawl all over her and actually seemed to enjoy it.


This next vid shows AC trying out his new sled. We thought we'd go for a 2 or 3 mile hike in the snow -- we got all geared up and wrapped AC in a blanket. However, the sled was quite tippy and Phoebe was steadying Arthur the whole time (thanks Phoebe). Anyway, we hiked for about 10 minutes and decided to turn around and go home. Shortest hike ever!


This last vid is loooonng, so perhaps of interest to grandparents only. It shows a typical evening in our household - playing ball, AC dancing, and AC acting strange. The funnier stuff is his dancing which you can find at around the 5:30 mark of the video.


We hope you enjoy the onslaught of videos. There are also some new photos on our Flickr site - follow the "Arthur month 14" link at the upper right of the page. And remember, to view videos you have to visit the blog at toddsherwood.blogspot.com.

AC feels a dope groove

Greetings from AC-land. Things are going very well here as Arthur starts learning to use a sippy cup and expanding his vocabulary to "ba ba" and "na na". Last weekend we had some music going and Arthur actually started to dance, or so it appeared anyway. I grabbed the camera and, of course, he pretty much stopped. You'll catch a couple of glimpses of him dancing in this vid, but mostly it's shaky video as I dance in an effort to encourage him. Clearly I should no longer attempt to dance while recording or, better yet, we need to get ourselves a steady-cam with motion stabilization. Good idea. Bonnie and John are probably in Australia right now and we hope they're having a great time. Remember that the videos can only be watched by visiting toddsherwood.blogspot.com. So long...

AC had his 1st birthday!

And we celebrated with an awesome African-animal themed birthday cake and a great ham dinner. Thanks to all who came and shared in AC's 1st birthday. We wish others could have made it too, but maybe for a future birthday. The first video here is long so be prepared.

This next video was taken about a week after AC's birthday party and shows Arthur playing on his rocking horse Patches. You'll hear us talking about what a big boy Arthur is becoming -- he has started sleeping in his crib, eating "real" food, and he's now in the toddler room at daycare, having graduated from the infant room.

We have also posted some birthday pictures and other pictures on our Flickr site (find links to the right). The pics of Arthur with other little kids and in the tub-of-balls are from his Saturday morning gym class. Bonnie will recognize the locale. Thanks again Bonnie for coming up and being here last week.

Until next time....

Arthur's 1st Christmas

Arthur spent his first Christmas with the Sherwood family in Tekonsha. The family tradition is to open gifts on Christmas Eve, and we didn't get started until 7:30ish. Well, AC was pretty tired by the time things got started so he was a little subdued. He's also still a little young to understand just how excited he should be. You'll see that he was more interested in ribbons and crinkly paper than in his gifts. Next year will probably be a different story. He has enjoyed the two gifts he got from his grandfathers. Grandpa John gave AC a set of golf clubs which Arthur has found make great weapons around the house. Grandpa Clayton gave AC an old fashioned top which Arthur loves watching spin, and he even comes close to working it himself.

This video was taken a few days after Christmas. It shows Arthur and me playing chase and having a great time. However, he had a little accident at the end of the video....just to put everyone at ease, he was fine. He didn't even cry.

See you sometime next year. Happy New Year!

Finally, some vids of AC walking!

Well, Arthur has actually been walking for a few weeks now but we've been slow to get any decent video of it and even slower about getting it posted on the blog. Anyway, the first video here is a funny video of Arthur and Spike managing to find some common ground. You'll see Spike avoid Arthur more than play, but he does play some which is encouraging. And Arthur got a real kick out of it and it's so funny to hear him laugh...


In this second vid, AC shows off his walking skills as I ready myself for work. You'll hear me giggle like an overly giddy new father, so be prepared. Our next posting will probably involve Arthur's first Christmas and opening presents. Until then....

Little AC is 11 months old!

It's hard to believe but our little boy will be 11 months old tomorrow. He's walking everywhere and struggling to get down when we want to hold him but he doesn't want to be held. When did he start becoming so independent?

We've added a few pics to the "Arthur month 10" link, and we've also added both the month 11 and month 12 links. Sorry no new video, but we do have new photos.

Until next time...which might be Christmas themed videos of AC opening some presents and playing with new toys!

AC's 1st Thanksgiving

Here's a nice photo of Arthur in Tekonsha sometime after Thanksgiving dinner.










And here's some video taken just before and during Thanksgiving dinner. Arthur had a great time. While he didn't have any turkey, he did have some sweet potato puffs to keep with the Thanksgiving theme.

This second video is largely of Verli Dee's and Sheryl's visit. Verli Dee was one of my best childhood friends and Sheryl was one of AC's Aunt Jane's best friends. They both grew up just two doors down from AC's Grandma and Grandpa Sherwood's house. AC continues to improve his walking and he can walk nearly as fast as crawl now so the whole crawling thing will probably come to an end before too long.
Until next time....

Arthur gets baptised & starts to walk!

Arthur was baptised on Sunday the 22nd of November and, of course, we took video of the event. Now....I'll warn you, this video is long and the sound quality is poor and you can't even see things all that well. Nonetheless, here it is. And we promise to never quiz anyone about whether or not they actually watched it in its entirety. You can zip to roughly the....6 or 7 minute mark (roughly) where you'll find some video of the dinner afterward (not that the dinner video is any more exciting or anything, but at least you can see people a little better).

Arthur has also started walking. This video is a little dated now (sorry for the slow posting job being done by the blog master). This was taken right around the time AC stared getting himself up off his hands and knees. He's actually progressed considerably since this video was shot and he no longer needs his "walky thing" to help him walk.
Until next time....

AC's first Halloween

Arthur really likes going to the mall and playing in the play zone. Everything is padded and there are usually lots of kids. He made a couple of friends on this day and also showed some new behavior by trying to escape the play zone. We're not sure why.


In this video, AC goes trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. Not much happens here but you get to see Arthur dressed up as Yoda and he's pretty darn cute. He'll hate this video one day, but oh well, that's part of our responsibility as parents -- to embarrass him in public.


AC is getting closer and closer to walking. At least in our opinions. You might think we're crazy to think so after watching this video since he never really walks. But, there are signs....he's close. Of course, we're not sure that's a good thing or not. But it's awfully cool seeing him progress even though he's progressing toward making our lives more difficult.
Until next time....

AC's latest visit to the big city of Tekonsha

We had dinner in Tekonsha on Sunday the 24th and, of course, had to take some video to commemorate the occasion. You'll see AC getting closer to walking by standing on his own. He does this more and more. He can't go anywhere yet, but he does stand on his own. He is also getting more teeth - he looks a bit like a jack-o-lantern with his two front bottom teeth and one on top. Oh, and we're celebrating Cathy's new job! She starts on Monday the 9th of November as a full fledged nurse, and we're very proud of and happy for her. Until next time....

It's been a while....

Sorry we haven't posted much lately. Just to make you thankful of that fact, we're posting a longer than usual video this time (someone didn't feel like doing a lot of editing). Arthur keeps getting bigger and more steady on his feet. He has a third tooth coming in - this one on top. Soon he'll be able to chew. He hasn't expanded his vocabulary beyond da-da-da-da-da, but he sure does like saying that.

We also added a few pics to Flickr (click the Arthur month 10 link). Until next time....

AC was rooting for MSU!

Which is very untrue since he has no idea what's going on yet, but his dad was happy with the outcome of the game the other day. This post is mainly a way of letting you know that we've posted a few pics of Arthur on our Flickr site (see the "Arthur month 9" link) and, of course, to get a jab in at the UM fans out there (I gotta boast when I can because my opportunities are generally few and far between).

AC is now nearly 9 months old! Hard to believe. Until next time...

AC goes to Florida!

AC took his first airplane ride to visit Gramma Bonnie and Grampa John in Florida. He was great on the plane - he slept the whole way there and the whole way back. While in Florida, AC got to meet his Great Grandma Bette (whose husband Arthur is named after) and his Great Grandpa Henry (John's dad). Unfortunately we didn't get a photo of the four generations (Bette, Bonnie, Cathy, Arthur) sitting together. Next time we must do that - let's all remember!


Here's a video of our travel day to Florida and AC's first meetings with his great grandparents.


AC also got to go swimming for the first time. He was a little apprehensive at first, but he really seemed to enjoy it once he got used to it. Every day after this first day he got quite excited when his new swim trucks were being put on him.


Only a week or so after returning from Florida, AC has expanded his vocabulary. Here's a video of him saying "Da Da" for the first time. He is too saying Da Da.

AC crawling & standing & flirting like such a big boy

Arthur had a great Labor Day weekend at Gramma & Grampa Sherwood's house. Here he is with all of his latest girlfriends. These are Tim and Tony Jenkin's daughters and AC was on cloud nine flirting with the whole group. You'll find a few more pics via the "Arthur month 8" link to the right.


A few days before, AC had fun with his favorite toy. We think it's so strange that his favorite toy (right now anyway) is this timeless classic (the plastic doughnuts on the post). I guess that's why it's a classic - even today it makes for a great toy.

And here's a video that shows that it won't be long before he's walking.
This starts a couple of weeks ago when he first pulled himself up onto his knees and peeked over the rail of his pack-n-play. The same day, we got some shots of him taking his first crawling "steps" (in a forward direction anyway). Then, only ten days later, he was pulling himself up to stand. He now crawls all over with little effort and we can't turn our backs for a second or he's into something. Where did our little sleeping blob of flesh go? Oh, and on September 5 & 6 in Tekonsha, even though we don't have video, he pulled himself up routinely and steadied himself for extended periods. Ahh, he's changing so fast. Until next time...

AC tries his hand at race car driving

Here's a shot of AC after winning a recent race at Michigan International Speedway. He says it was fun and exciting, but one race is enough for him. Now it's on to something else. And after all, how challenging can race car driving be when you win your first and only race....and you're only 7 and a half months old?

AC gets his first real haircut!

OK, first let me apologize because we're posting two new videos that are LOOOOONNNG, much longer than our usual vids. I wanted to get them posted but didn't want to take the time to edit them so they're being posted in their original length. All I did was add titles and credits. So be prepared because they're both around 4 minutes long.

This first video was shot on Sunday August 16, 2009 (Happy Birthday to Cathy by the way - she turned....drum roll please.....40 on Sunday the 16th. And Congratulations to Cathy because she has just finished nursing school and we're very proud of her.) After coming home from Cathy's bday dinner at The Real Seafood Company, we decided to give Arthur his first real haircut. He was such a good boy. He looks so grown up and mature at times while getting his haircut that's it's kinda scary. Right afterward we put him in his first bubble bath. He seemed to get a kick out of that. Here it is.

This next video was shot on August 7, 2009. It shows AC and Cathy playing on the floor. It's long, but he was having so much fun and laughing that I couldn't bring myself to edit anything out. So you get the whole thing. Enjoy.

AC shows he's related to his dad...

AC continues to grow bigger every day and he gets more and more fun all the time. He's starting to show signs of crawling by getting up onto his hands and knees and rocking back and forth. He's now 7 months old, by the way. Can you believe it? We've posted a couple of vids this week. One shows AC falling asleep in his crib - kinda funny. I missed several of his head bobs but got at least one in this vid.

This second vid is just a hodgepodge of various things. There's a short stretch showing AC burb up on Bonnie. That's followed by....just stuff. Enjoy.
P.S. Special thanks go out to Aunt Jane and Cousin Johanna for coming down last monday to babysit for The Squibs while daycare was closed for summer break. It was much appreciated. Until next time....

Sunday breakfast on July 19, 2009

Bonnie & John came to visit AC and to go to the Art Fairs a little over a week ago today. Here's the video we shot while at Sunday breakfast the day after the art fairs ended. To see the video, be sure to visit us at toddsherwood.blogspot.com. Until next time...

We've posted AC's professional photos

This is just a quick post to let you know, if you're interested, that we've posted some professional photos of AC on our Flickr site. You can find the full batch by following the "AC daycare photos from May 2009" link to the right. And remember, you can get a better experience by going directly to the blog website rather than simply reading the email message. You can find the blog at toddsherwood.blogspot.com. Until next time...

AC the Michigan Jumping Bean

Here's a quick video of AC in his new jumper activity center thing. He seems pretty tickled with it so far. AC has a clean bill of health by the way, so there are no worries following our last post. Everything is just fine.
Until next time...

A great weekend that ended with a scare.

Well, we had a bit of a scare Sunday night the 5th. First, AC is doing fine so there's no need to worry. But, after a great weekend and a great day in Tekonsha, we returned home Sunday evening at around 6:00. Not long after, AC threw up and appeared to be in considerable discomfort. But, no big deal. Then he threw up again about 10 minutes later....and 10 minutes after that. Soon, he was throwing up nothing but a mucousy (spelling?) greenish yellow stuff since he had nothing left to throw up. And his crying was just so strange, something we had never heard. Anyway, we decided to take him to his doctor's office which has after hours care. On the way, he threw up again and began to look so pale that we decided to divert to the ER at U Hospital. We arrived there at around 8pm. They checked him every which way and he had no fever but continued to throw up on occassion and cry in this really strange way. Well, the doctor wanted him to stick around until her shift ended just to see how he progressed. He eventually fell asleep for a while and then woke up hungry. He ate a little and kept it down, much to our relief. The doctor decided to send us home at around midnight. He slept through the night rather well and today has been absolutely fine, laughing and having all sorts of fun. Although he hasn't eaten much solid food today. We're not sure what it might have been. Perhaps a low grade virus causing him some stomach problems, or perhaps some dairy formula that he had during the drive home from Tekonsha. It's been a while since he's really had much dairy so that may have caused him trouble. We were worried that it might be his exposure to chicken pox (a couple kids at his daycare had chicken pox a week or so ago). But the chicken pox seems unlikely. Anyway, all seems fine now but we were obviously scared for those 6 hours. There's a couple more pics from the hospital if you follow the "Arthur month 07" link to the right.


Before all that went down, Karen hosted a really nice BBQ on Friday night in honor of my birthday. You'll find a few pics of this at the "Arthur month 07" link. I also got some nice pics of AC and Cathy this weekend. You'll find them in the same place. I also placed a couple of new pics at the "Arthur month 06" link that you may not have seen yet. Sorry for being slow to get those posted.
Until next time....

After a brief hiatus, we're back with 7 new vids

It's been a while since we've posted any videos (or much of anything), but we've still been taking video. I have finally gotten around to editing and posting our footage from the last....ummm...month or so. They're posted in reverse order (most recent first) since that keeps the format of the blog consistent. So if you want to see things in order of AC's age, start with the seventh vid below. Otherwise, start here with our walk to Dairy Queen yesterday the 28th.

Next up is some play time with daddy and a quick look at AC in his new high chair. Such excitement!

Below, Arthur helps Cathy with her school work and enjoys a night out at Gratzi in downtown Ann Arbor.

Next is the best of what little footage Cathy took (as in one video the whole week) during Bonnie & John's recent visit.

Next we've got just a brief glimpse at how exciting life is at the Sherwood household. This is my view most every night. You'll find yourself feeling envious, I'm sure.

This next video shows Gwen, a close and long-time friend of Bonnie's (and John's and Cathy's too), confusing the snot out of my little boy. How do I nix this sort of thing while living in the heart of UM country?

And the last of our new vids shows AC and his dad being couch potatos (yes, we let our child watch TV and we live in Ann Arbor, contact Child Services).

That's all (and more than you wanted too) for now. Until next time...
toddsherwood.blogspot.com

We've posted some Father's Day pics (minus AC's father who always mans the camera)

We've added a few new pics to our Flickr site. Click the "Arthur month 06" link to find them. These are mostly from our Father's Day weekend, but there are a couple of Bonnie with AC taken during Bonnie & John's recent visit. We've also got some new video to edit, but I'll have to get to that another day since I'm on boy duty tonight & pics I can handle with one hand but not the vids.

AC gets some blanket time with his Daddy & Lugie

Here's AC showing what a big boy he's quickly becoming. He's sitting up on his own (sorta) and playing with his toys. He'll be graduting high school before we know it.

AC & Cathy have a deep conversation...

AC continues to expand his vocalizations, but still no actual words. He has also started eating some cereal, although after the debacle shown in the vid we have started mixing the cereal with some formula in his bottle. He's not quite ready to swallow without suckling, apparently. He recently went to see his doctor and got a clean bill of health. So far so good....

AC visits the Schwartz's at their new cabin up north

Over Memorial Day weekend, we visisted with Mike, Jackie, Reed and Phoebe at the newly acquired Schwartz Resort, a very nice cabin near the Sleeping Bear Dunes on the Lee-Lan-U pennisula (as Cathy calls it). We explored Leland and Northport and bought some really nice fresh fish that Mike cooked up for dinner on Saturday night. Tony and Jill joined us for brunch on Sunday. AC didn't sleep well all weekend but we all had a great time, despite Mike being there. In addition to the vid, there are some pics to see by following the "Memorial Day" link in the upper right.

Check out AC's new daycare photo

Is this an adorable little guy....or an evil scientist?

AC's Uncle Jeffry and new Aunt Bev were married on Saturday the 9th (cousin Nathan's 30th birthday by the way). We all had a great time and AC was a really good boy throughout....except for peeing on the guest room bed during a diaper change at Sunday's brunch hosted by the bride and groom. Sorry Bev. AC also got to meet his cousin Marie for the first time as well as Ed "Eddie" Wundrum of Vail fame.

Major breakthrough as AC surfs the web...

We were as shocked as you when AC picked up a computer and started surfing the Interwebs (and yes, I just realized that I spelled "surf" wrong in the video title...although maybe I meant to say that he had bent the Internet to his will thus making it his slave...or maybe my mind is shrinking as his grows via the law of conservation of brain mass). Anyway, he seemed to enjoy his first foray into the online world.

He also spent some time that same day in his play gym chatting up Spike who sometimes just won't shut the #%&* up.

AC goes to Indy this weekend for his Uncle Jeff's and Aunt-to-be Bev's wedding. Hopefully we'll have some video footage of all that fun next week. Stay tuned.

AC's weekend of April 25, 2009

Yet another bath video...hey, it makes for a good time to grab the video camera. There's also some footage of Cathy trying to put a shirt over his giant mellon. It scared him a little but it ended with AC wearing both the shirt and a smile.


We also helped celebrate Johanna's birthday at Red Lobster on Sunday the 26th. Johanna turns 19 on the 30th. We met AC's Gramma and Grampa Sherwood, his Great Aunt Kay and Great Uncle Cless, his Aunt Jane and, of course, his cousin Johanna.

And looking back at the recent past, AC was visited by Jeff Konwinski last weekend, April 19. Sorry it took so long to get the vid posted.

AC's weekends of April 11 & 18, 2009

How does someone so cute and tiny create this kind of disaster in his diaper? Unbelievable. And why would he pee in his own bath water? He didn't seem to care. Anyway, AC had a weekend of messing himself and requiring a bath. He also had a talkative weekend, provided either Cathy or I make silly sounds along with him. He gets more fun every day. We just wish he would stop spitting up so much (throwing up?) so that his food could do him some good.

We have also added some photos to our Flickr collections. Click the "Arthur month 04" link in the upper right to see some pics of AC and his Grampa Clayton and some pre-national-championship pics with Mike and Tony and AC sporting his Spartan outfit (he says thanks Julie B). We have also added a link to all of our YouTube videos, although they're all here on the blog too.

AC talks and plays while his dad acts a fool

AC talks a little with his dad or, perhaps, wonders why his dad is such a wierdo. AC then plays on his kid whatchamacallit thing. Not too exciting, but are any of our vids?

The past week in the young life of AC

Just as AC started to feel better after getting sick during his first week of daycare, it was time to go back to daycare. Oh well, his immune system is getting stronger and he's better off by getting these early colds. We're convinced he's starting to vocalize beyonds cries. This vid is a montage of the week. As you can tell, it was a very exciting week.

It did pick up on Friday night the third when we met Ed & Julia for dinner at Grizzly Peak. AC has gone out on the town 3 Fridays in a row and he really seems to have a good time. This is good since his parents like to have dinner out, so we're training him early.

Until next time...

AC has an exciting week

On Friday night March 20, we met up with Holly and Linda and Erdvilas at Cafe Zola in downtown Ann Arbor for dinner. It was nice for us to get out and have dinner and drinks with friends and it was nice that AC was able to join us. He was great the whole time -- he was interactive, never cried, and was really just part of the group. He seemed to be having fun, but he lost steam and fell asleep by the time the bill came. I got the date wrong in the title to the video, so ignore it. It really was March 20.

On Saturday the 21st, we went for a walk in Gallup Park. We thought it would be nice for AC to get out, get some air, and see something besides the four walls of the house. Hmm, he slept the entire time, but we had fun. See a couple of pics by clicking on the "Arthur week 10" link.



We then went to Tekonsha on Sunday the 22nd (again, I got the date wrong in the title to the video -- it's a good thing I don't build bridges given my attention to detail). AC had another great day despite his growing cold and stomach crud from his first week of daycare. He's holding his head up very well and we're convinced that he's starting to make "talking" sounds. Listen closely and you'll hear a couple during his tummy time.

Major milestone - AC plays with his toys!

AC had a major milestone this weekend (in the opinions of his parents anyway) in that he played with the toys on his Baby Einstein. He also held one of his rattles and shook it. This is the first time that he has played with his toys on his own and we found it very exciting. He had a successful trip to the doctor the other day and everything seems to be developing properly. Bonnie has left us and we don't quite know how we'll get along with her. We can't possibly thank her enough for being here with us, and John enough for all of his back and forth between Michigan and Florida and for doing without Bonnie for 6 weeks. AC will miss Bonnie too as he always seemed to calm down when Gramma Bonnie held him. Thanks again Bonnie & John!
Karen came to visit on Sunday. You'll find some photos posted to Flickr by following the "Arthur week 08" link (once it's there to click on).

G&G C&C come to visit AC

Gramma Carolyn and Grampa Clayton came to visit Arthur on Saturday the 7th of March. Gramma Bonnie was here too, of course, not to sell her short. We had a trifecta of grandparents but not a full quorum. AC is becoming much more interactive and has begun smiling....and we think he's smiling at us and not just passing gas. Perhaps that's wishful thinking. Some pics of the day have been added to the "Arthur week 07" photo set on Flickr.

We've got some new photos....too many perhaps?

On Sunday we went for breakfast at our usual haunt and AC wore his Spartan hat in honor of the big bball game with Illinois. MSU wont the game and clinched a share of the Big 10 title! Sweet. Then on Tuesday AC got another bath and this time his dad used the still camera rather than the video camera to record the action. We no longer are in possession of the scale we had borrowed but the boy must be over 10 pounds by now and he may, MAY, be getting a little more restful at night (knock on wood). And if you look closely enough, you'll see a little pimple on the guy's chin.

Follow the "Arthur week 07" link in the upper right corner for more pics. And remember that our web address is toddsherwood.blogspot.com.

Hey look, AC does have a daddy!

Finally, I got the camera into Cathy's hands so that she could document the fact that I do, in fact, take part in caring for this boy....some. The pics are nothing special given that I'm in them, but at least I now have proof. There are a few of Cathy with the boy too. Follow the "Arthur week 06" link to the right. And yes, that means he'll soon be 7 weeks old. And he weighed in at 9 pounds, 11 ounces yesterday the 23rd. We're thinking that his new name should be Guido Bituvalardo. But then again, it's hard to stop calling him Mr. Fussman because that continues to be very appropriate.

And this week, we have video of AC's bathtime! How exciting. Enjoy. Remember that our address is toddsherwood.blogspot.com.

Bathtime!

Arthur had a bath tonight. He's always very good with baths. He seems to really like them. More pics have been added to the "Arthur week 05" set on Flickr.

AC helps Gramma Carolyn celebrate her birthday

We visited Tekonsha on Sunday the 15th to help celebrate Gramma Carolyn's birthday....her 49th! Ummhmm. The boy met for the first time his Uncle Jeffry, Jeffry's fiancee Bev, and his Uncle Kurt. In fact, Uncle Kurt was so concerned about something spilling out of AC's diaper that AC, in fact, peed and it leaked out of his diaper onto Kurt's shirt. We're very proud of the boy.

More pics have been added to the "Arthur week 05" set on Flickr (follow the link to the right), and a really long video of the day can be found below.

Remember to view the blog at toddsherwood.blogspot.com for access to links and the video.

Congratulations Uncle Chris!

Uncle Chris came to visit on Friday night so that we could all celebrate his acceptance of a fellowship in Tampa, Florida. We're all very happy for Chris and excited for him as he prepares for this new job and adventure. We ate dinner at Pizza House so that Chris could have his beloved Chipati, and the boy was a real trooper until the final 10 minutes or so after which most people in the restaurant were happy to see us leave. More pics at the "Arthur week 05" link to the right.

AC is officially 1 month old!

In honor of AC's 1 month birthday, we've shot a new video of the boy doing....not much. But he seems to be getting more alert and aware of the world around him which is nice to see. And he's now 2 pounds heavier than his lightest weight, coming in at 8 lbs 5 oz yesterday! He is close to outgrowing his first item of clothing with many more to come for sure. A couple more new videos can be found by following the "Arthur videos" link to the right.

AC is nearly 1 month old

Arthur will be 4 weeks old as of Wednesday the 11th. We've posted a few new pics on Flickr, not many, but a few. Todd is back to work now so things are a little busier. And the boy is quite fussy at night - very gassy and cranky and uncomfortable. You might say he's collicky (sp?). Joy.

Arthur at 3 weeks doing...nothing

Arthur at 3 weeks doing...nothing,
originally uploaded by Double Dizzle.

Arthur turned 3 weeks old on Wednesday the 4th. Here's a video of him doing a whole lotta nothin' but his mom and dad still get a kick out of it.

Gramma Bonnie and Grampa John have arrived!

And they seem pretty tickled with the new addition to the family. We're planning to check Bonnie's bags when she leaves to be sure the boy isn't hidden within. Of course, after 6 weeks with us she may no longer want to take him with her.

A couple other photos have been added to the "Arthur week 03" set of pics (click the link to the right) including the one here with Cathy showing that he's getting the UM push as much as the MSU push (so off daddy's back now).

toddsherwood.blogspot.com

Into week 3!

Arthur turned 2 weeks old on Wednesday the 28th, one day after his original due date. He passed with flying colors at his last doctor's appointment and is now 7 lbs 4 oz which is 4 1/2 ounces over his birthweight. This is very good.

On Saturday the 31st, Aunt Jane and Cousin Johanna stopped by to meet AC for the first time. They have decided to accept him into the family since he was such a sweetie during their entire visit. Shortly after they left, while screaming during a diaper change, Arthur peed all over both his parents and the changing table and the floor. At least he saved this for after our company had left. You can find pictures of that visit by following the "Arthur week03" link to the right.

toddsherwood.blogspot.com

Arthur has had several visitors in the past week.

The boy is not even two weeks old and already he's had more visitors than his mom & dad have had in the past several months. Grandma & Grandpa Sherwood stopped by for a night to meet their new grandson on Monday the 17th. Then Ed & Julia stopped by with a beautiful yellow afghan made by Julia. Then Barb Northrup stopped by to give Arthur a wonderful safari themed blanket which she made. And then Holly, Aron & Simona stopped by to say "Hi" and to give the boy a book and CD. Some of these visits were recorded in photos which you can see by clicking the "Arthur week 02" link to the right. And today, daddy had a little too much time on his hands and just had to play with the new video cam.

toddsherwood.blogspot.com

We've posted some new Flickr photos

Follow the link below to see more pics. He pretty much sleeps, eats and cries while his diaper is being changed so the photos don't have much variety but we want to keep everyone up to speed as he changes. Has he changed yet?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/teeohdoubledizzle/sets/72157612862372703/

And remember to view the blog entries directly for best results. You can do that here toddsherwood.blogspot.com

Arthur turns 1 (1 week that is)

Well, it's happy birthday...sorta. Arthur is now a full week old! After a few days of losing weight, he's starting to gain weight. He's not back to his birth weight, but he's headed in that direction. He's a handful, but we're having fun and can't get over how lucky we are. And, while the photo is pretty bad...trust me that the first few efforts were even worse. So the pic you see is the best we could get. Sorry.

Meet Arthur Clayton Sherwood!

Well, Cathy did not make it to 40 weeks. On Wednesday morning, she suggested I put our bags in the car...hmm. Later that day at 4pm, she called me at work and said her water had broken. She had been feeling some nausea on Tuesday and Wednesday but had thought it was the flu. Well, suddenly she was having major contractions 4-5 mintues apart. And she thinks she's a whimp. I rushed home from work, we rushed to the hospital, an ultrasound showed that the boy was breech (much to our surprise), and an exam showed that Cathy had dilated to 5 cm. A C-section was scheduled (hospital policy for any breech baby) and by 6:34pm little AC was born.

Arthur Clayton Sherwood

Born January 14, 2009

6 lbs. 15.5 ounces, 19.5 inches long.

Uncle Chris came to visit and brought a teddy bear which can be seen in the last photo which proves that I was there too.

Here's a video of Cathy and the little boy. And more photos can be found by following the link below.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/teeohdoubledizzle/sets/72157612650833854/

Week 37...will she make 40?

40 weeks is full term but Cathy is starting to show signs of nesting (which pregnant women often do when labor is coming soon) and, as you'll notice, Cathy's shirt can no longer contain her tummy. Cathy is pretty much ready for the boy to make his appearance since he feels about the size of Vermont.

We had some other excitement this week. We had new railings installed, and we're very excited. Here's a couple of photos of the new railings.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/teeohdoubledizzle/sets/72157612450453578/

The countdown has begun...

....as Cathy moves into week 36! Sore back, poor sleep, discomfort, constant trips to the bathroom. It will all be worth it....right? Right?

On to week 35...

And the nursury is really coming together. As you can see in the photo--just behind Cathy's belly--we now have a crib. With Bonnie's great work on the Africa themed design, the boy can't help but love his new room.

And, to show that we are indeed responsive to comments from our readers, here's a video of Spike. You'll even catch a quick glimpse of Boo.

Until next time...

Week 34...

...and we're going high tech by adding video! Now we can thrill you with hours of endless bordom via video in addition to photos and lame writing. We can't wait.

Week 32...

Wow, we managed to post two weeks in a row. Cathy is nearly through week 32. Tonight we had our hospital tour. It's starting to seem more real every day.