Our Pilgrim's Progress

Another magical August at Naushon. Freddy got in touch with his New England roots these last few weeks as he braved the stiff currents of Woods Hole and the requisite accompanying flotation device, a howling nor'easter, ferocious ticks, vicious fishes (thanks to our brave fishermen for taming those beasts), a persistent gull with an eerie likeness to FRD's great-grandfather Riggs, oodles of adoring aunts and uncles and cousins and friends, a lively hike to Tarpaulin Cove, rustic baths, a father-son matching Woods Hole t-shirt cute-off, and more knockout sunsets than a little boy can shake some seaweed at.

Let's Go Bucs

Freddy and his dad did some serious father/son bonding today when they together donned their Pirates gear in hopes to rally struggling Pittsburgh. If they could just win a few more, they still might have a chance to not finish in last place in their division. I mean, how could this adorable goofy pair not inspire some bats?

In other adventures, Freddy took his GranJan and GranPete for a walk at the NC Botanical Gardens today so that GranJan wouldn't go too stir crazy while cooped up in Durham. He was a bit in the out-to-lunch-without-a-sandwich camp for the whole thing, but hey, it was 95 degrees out. And it's always super fun to hang with the Grans, no matter what's going on or what contraption people are trying you in now.

And one last note before Freddy goes offline while making his way up the eastern seaboard: crawling backwards, while far better than not crawling at all, has its drawbacks.

Frederella

Getting ready for vacation can be a grueling process for a baby.

There's all the laundry to be done.

And the monkey business.

And the cleaning of the floor on one's hands and knees.

And more monkey business.

Really it's quite taxing. Especially if your mother and father keep you toiling ceaselessly and don't even let you take one teensy weensy nap even though you beg and beg.

MomMom

Freddy bought himself upwards of 60 years of hot meals, unconditional love and free cable this morning when he woke up cooing "MomMom MomMom, MomMom." Other than insuring a permanant place in his mother's heart, Freddy's endeavors of the day have so far involved fierce intellectual jousting with Zilchie (we continue to await the day when we can say with certainty than Freddy is smarter than Zilch -- we probably have a good 2-3 years, right?), downward-dogging backwards across the living room, lounging with Papa, chowing down, and other general hilarity. Can't wait to see you tomorrow to show off some mad almost-crawling skills, GranJan!

I Miss You GranJan

Freddy doesn't want his GranJan to miss a single moment of grandmotherly enjoyment while she's at Duke Hospital for a couple weeks. Thank goodness he's an avid blogger!

Fred Ed

One of the really great things and really frustrating things about having a six month-old is watching him start to learn to do new things. Freddy's learning by leaps and bounds, but some things still totally frustrate him. He can't crawl yet, and he's not going to do more than babble for a while yet, but here are a few smaller milestones we've been marking for Frederick in the meantime:

Here is Freddy studying for the bar with his dad. The results wont' be back for another month, but--unlike his father--Frederick feels really confident at this point.

Once he's admitted to the bar, Freddy will have to learn to make a good martini, so here he is with his first how-to book on mixology. It's called "Baby, mix me a drink," and was a very thoughtful present from friends who knew what a great help this would be in Freddy's education before he was even born:

This is actually just a picture of Freddy sitting in his mom's lap, but for some reason it looks to me like he's belly up to the bar, so I'm putting it here. Can't you just hear him asking, "you gonna order a drink, or do I have to start charging you rent for that stool, pal?"

Here Freddy's learning some more traditional baby stuff:

First, sitting in his new high-chair:

Eating solid foods. The kid loves peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, and any type of pureed fruit he can get his chompers on. He gets one bite down and then just sits with his mouth open until the next can be shoveled in by his none-too-quick father.

This is what happens after eating solid foods: burping. Otherwise the same thing that happens after nursing happens: puking on mom and dad. Only with carrots and peas. Yuk.

And to wash it down: SIPPY CUP!!! He actually likes throwing it more than drinking from it, but whatever the case, it's a favorite:

This is Freddy's current favorite book: it's called In the Tall, Tall Grass. Some people consider it nothing but a piece of blatant caterpillar propaganda, but considers it as one of the more important political tracts in existence for children under a year old.

Finally, this is Freddy trying on new gear in preparation for going to the beach for the first time this August. He has matching swim trunks to go with the hat, with a built in diaper. Yeah, built-in diapers are nasty, but consider the alternatives...

What the kids are doing these days

Now that Freddy's starting to emerge from newborn-dom, we can see some of his early predilections starting to emerge. It's interesting to see how he's already learning a lot about social trends and consumer culture.

Exhibit One: note how naturally he takes to repose in a soothing bath. Give him a cigar, some brandy, and outfit that baby tub with some Jacuzzi jets and he's good to go.

Exhibit Two: Like many kids, Freddy's already bcoming devoted to name-brand apparel. Here he is grabbing Dad's 15 year-old Nike soccer sandal. I swear, no matter what it is, if you put a swoosh on it the kids just go crazy.

Exhibit Three: Freddy discovers the remote control!


Exhibit Four: CELL PHONE!!! (with cutting-edge No Tooth technology)


Exhibit Five: Freddy learns that this particular remote has no batteries in it, his parents only want him to watch PBS, and that stupid cell phone is apparently out of minutes!! Grrrrrrrr!!!

The Cost of Celebrity

Freddy's blog has brought him close to his many admirers the internet world over, but it has also changed his life in innumerable ways. He's not the anonymous baby he used to be.

One example of how celebrity has affected him: the coast-to-coast flights are exhausting:

Also, there's the rigors of staying in shape (baby curls, shown here, are the latest trend):

Then there's the constant need to watch your diet. As you can see, like most celebrities these days, Freddy's got a nutritionist who looks to all his dietary needs:

All the book and movie deals people offer are another of the many burdens of fame. Freddy tries to consider them all but, as you can see, it's quite overwhelming:

Finally, there's the paparazzi. Ubiquitous. Not much you can do except try not to rise to the bait. Sometimes it's impossible. Get that thing out of my face!

I suppose all a child star can do is try to relax and take it all in stride. The spa is a good place to get away. Here's Freddy soaking out the stress at one of Greensboro's more exclusive spots:

On the top of the list

of things we never dreamed we'd allow into our house, much less PURCHASE with our own money, is this enormous plastic noisemaking contraption that is only slightly smaller than our car, also known as Fort Surrogate Parent.

How the mighty have fallen, and how far and quickly and shamelessly. Even Frederick seems a bit baffled.

Mozart or Jerry Lee Lewis?

Freddy loves his GranPete heart and soul.