19 November 2005 (3 months 1 week)

It's been quite the busy few months. Turner's growth has been explosive, he's become an international traveler, hot tubbed with naked women, played on the beaches of two different oceans, participated in a number of scientific conferences, and turned from a baby into a little boy.

The blue lines represent standard growth curves -- typically a baby would get on one and follow it along. Turner jumped from being the 50th percentile for the first month to above the 95th percentile by his third month.

By about the time we took him to his 2 month check up, we realized that he was no longer an infant. The scales confirmed that he had nearly doubled his weight and his body had filled out such that he was starting to look more like a boy than a baby. At just about 2 months, he also began smiling regularly and being able to keep his neck stiff without much difficultly when held upright. He also enjoyed standing up and looking people in the eye

Week 7: He's a big boy now!

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A big happy boy!

Momma heading back to work.

He's cute even when he's sad.

His first hot tub, in the first snow of winter, at Uncle Mike and Aunt Cheryl's place.

He likes the hair dryer.

He likes helping around the house too. No sense buying him toys when we can just rent the real thing.

Break time for the road crew.

Landscaping is hard work...

Turner: "I don't want to play with girls -- I want to drive the tractor!"

Turner: "Well it's not quite a hot tub, but it will do for now..."

Can you get behind the ears too? -- 1MB

On October 19, when Turner was 10 weeks old, we left for our first trip oustide of Alaska together. I had meetings in Vancouver, Maryland and Boulder, so we also stopped in NJ and Denver to see the extended family, on a two week tour.

Turner: "Window seat! I called it first!"

He slept mostly, and was a hearty traveller..

We stayed with Andy, Shannon, and Aven in Seattle, who live right on the ocean.

Sleepy in Seattle.

Baby hammocks are cool.

Mr. Big Stuff taking a nap.

We drove up to Vancouver, BC, for a glacier meeting. The family waited outside...

After getting back to Seattle, we flew to New Jersey, where my mother threw a big party. This is the next day, where it took several hours to open the gifts.

Cherie and the family drove up from South Carolina.

Dad: "Don't get too attached to this one. You can play with it anytime you're in New Jersey."

Turner: "This is the 15th winter hat I got today. They say it gets cold in Alaska, but I think hats are for babies..."

Turner: "Hey good lookin', come here often?..."

Turner: "Get me out of here -- and bring those tissues, I think one of the thousands of people I met yesterady gave me a cold!"

The next stop was NASA in Maryland. They were out of baby astronaut suits though.

We detoured on the way back to New Jersey to spend some time on the beach.

Grandpa: "I think he wants to stay here. No really, he just told me that."

Turner: "Say that again, and I'll poke out your other eye. I'm heading for Denver to go trick or treating."

My smaller personal item. Fortunately he still qualifies, though just barely.

Turner: "You think this is funny or something? Trick or treating is serious business -- I'll get twice as much looking like this."

The three (polar) bears.

Turner: "All this trick or treating is interfering with my beauty sleep..."

Turner: "Come on, put 'em up. I'll take you all on! Nobody's gettin' my candy!"

Turner: "I know you're holding back on me -- I can see the rest of it behind the couch."

We returned from the 70 degree weather of Denver to the -20 degree weather in Fairbanks. It felt good to be back.

Since then, Turner has continued to strengthen, and learns new things everyday. Now he is able to stand upright by holding his thighs. He can even lean all the way forward and keep his head up to watch TV, then pull himself back upright. He can also sit up on his own, though if you don't hold his waist he will eventually tip over; propping him up in the corner of the crib works pretty well though. His neck no longer has any wobble, and when you lift him from lying down, his neck stays straight, rather than flopping back due to the weight of his head. So physically he seems to be remaining quite ahead of the curve.

Mentally he always seems to be quite alert and aware. Even at the party in NJ, he was following people from across the room and smiling at them. He has started to chuckle a bit, though usually when he's just falling asleep. His range of vocabulary improves every day, and he has spoken many words inadvertently like hello, momma, I'm hungry, no way, and much more. Mostly though its agoo and wow. But while he's awake, he's always actively checking something out, and likes to be held and bounced and talked to.

He's tasted many new foods, inlcuding bacon, jellies, chocolate, lemons, limes, melons (the non-milk kind), juices, artichokes, ketchup, mustard, vinegrette, bbq sauce, and a lot more. The only thing he seems not to like is mustard. He watches intently any eating that's going on and get's quite excited at mealtimes.

Finally, back home.

All Elsa wanted for her birthday was a boy toy of her own.

Turner: "No, I really am the cookie monster! Can't you see the resemblence?"

I think he felt abandoned by Mr. Green Monkey-Frog on the trip and doesn't like to play with him any more.

I'll show you Mr. Green Monkey-Frog -- 2 MB

He was too bored with these guys to even fight with them.

Dreaming in Boogey Wonderland -- 1MB

Turner: "Now this is what I'm talking about! Next I want a Nintendo."