Josh's First Camping Trip

Just to give it to you up front--this is Matt, not that you wouldn't be able to tell by the second word of the following paragraph.

I challenge any of you to think of any other baby that has more nicknames than Josh...or as I like to call him: Bjorn, Bear, Bubba, Bumpy, Cinnamon Bear, Dip Dip, Fathead, Jungle Bum, Monkey Face, Mr. T, Pedro, Thor, Zipper, and any other random collection of nonsense words that happen to stick together in my brain when I'm trying to get his attention. (And just for the record, they are all LOVING father-son pet names--nothing intended as an insult.)

All of the previous names are either currently in use, or have recently been used. I didn't make any of them up on the spot. That being said, before we get into the pictures of our recent exploits, I want to hear at least one of the following from anyone who would like to participate:

1.) Your favorite/oddest/most ridiculous nickname you ever had as a child.
2.) Your favorite/oddest/most ridiculous nickname you ever called your own child (minimum 2 weeks usage).
3.) Your favorite/oddest/most ridiculous nickname you ever wanted for yourself as a child. (Mimi insisted on being called Sally for a week at the age of 3.)

Now on to the reason that any of you actually look at this thing. This last weekend we took Mowgli out into the great outdoors with the Hawkes. It was great times up near Payson, AZ. Josh had a lot of fun doing the following things:

Sneaking out from behind things to scare people with his seriously awesome hat,

Stuffing enormous quantities of food into his mouth all at once (he is TRULY his father's son),

Looking SOOOOO good with his mom,

Spitting rhymes and hip-hop dancing,

Having an instinctual nose to find any chocolate in the vicinity (Part of his mother's gift to him)

Getting his snack on,

Flirting with the ladies,

But without losing the ability to still look completely innocent, like he really DIDN'T wake up a jillion times and fuss regardless of how warm he was, who was holding him, or how comfortable he might have been.

On another note, our son is turning orange. He loves carrots, sweet potatoes and squash, and while he also eats green beans and peas and such, he prefers cooked carrots to fruit (which he also eats). If you look at the pictures below, you'll notice that pieces of his face have an orange hue. Its not just the camera.


A final observation. I love my baby boy. I have always loved him, but every day that passes where we get to play, and he laughs at me, and crawls to me, and headbutts me in the face is another day I just love him that much more. I love being a dad.


In the end however, all you need to know is that with Josh's newfound forestry skills, when you least expect it...he is STILL watching you.