Introducing...Sophie!

For months, I've noticed this little giraffe in the strollers and grubby little hands of what seems like all the babies in San Francisco.  I finally asked one of the mommies at boot camp what it was all about, and she told me it was a sort of teething toy called a "Sophie", and babies just love it.  So when I saw it in the store, I thought, well, all the other kids have one, and Brennan's teething, so I guess I better get it.  There's this twee little story in the box about all the poor French babies who only had rubber farm animals to play with back in 1961, so Monsieur RAMPEAU (his name is capitalized in the little book - why? - not sure) invented a new molding process to make these very special giraffes for babies to gnaw on and squeak.  This only briefly distracts you from the realization that you have just dropped 25 bucks on what is, essentially, a dog toy. Although I guess you could call it an artisanal dog toy.  Brennan's opinion?  Mildly diverting.  OK to gnaw on for a minute or two.  He's just not that interested in toys.  He would rather:

Wave his hands and/or feet like a maniac, sometimes in response to something particularly funny his Daddy has said, such as "plah-plah".  (This is his 7 month photo, although taken about a week late, but I guess better late than never.)

Inspect all the blades of grass at the park, and pull it out of the ground.  He's not eating it yet, but I'm sure that's coming soon.

Swing!  Pay no attention to the funny face, he really does like the swing.  It's just hard to manage pushing the swing, making sure the camera doesn't autofocus on the crap in the background, and catch him laughing.

Visiting the Academy of Sciences - I have a membership, and it's a nice walk from our place, so we'll pop in for a little fish & frog watching.  I practice not acting on my impulses to strangle 11 year olds on science class field trips, as I will have my very own obnoxious 11 year old some day.

Most of all, I think he likes getting out of the house to have a look around.  Now that the rain seems to be about done, we're getting out and about a lot more, both in the stroller and the ergo carrier.  He still seems to be a fairly contemplative little guy, not saying much, just sort of turning that steady blue gaze on the world and taking it in.  It's a sure way to stop unhappy crabbing, at the very least.