The Staircase

Joann and I were in Twin Falls, Idaho all week last week, mostly to watch her 2nd son Michael play football.  We stayed at her friend Kaye Lathem's house and had a nice visit.  Anyway, one afternoon Joann was in the kitchen making a meal and I was on the computer at the nearby desk (surprise!).  Tag kept climbing into the computer wires at my feet and causing trouble, so in a bit of haste I picked him up and carried him into the adjacent room and stood him up at the couch in an attempt to put his focus on something other than all those computer wires.

Well, about 60 seconds after doing so, Joann and I heard a series of loud noises followed by a loud scream by Joann. The I saw her running in Tag's direction in a panic.  This sent chills down my spine and I quickly followed.  It turned out that within about a minute after me leaving him, Tag had seen one of Kaye's many cats (too many, as far as I'm concerned!) walk by him, grab his attention, and proceed down the stairs.  Tag absolutely loves animals and so he went into speedy scrawl-mode after the cat and he went rumblin', bumblin', tumblin' down the flight of stairs.. all the way to the bottom.

The stairs were carpeted, and after a few minutes in Jo's arms he totally settled down, didn't seem hurt, and was back at the computer wires, but it was a nasty reminder how fast he can get into trouble now that he has wheels.  I took a photo of him at the top of the stairs to give you an idea how far this fall was for a little man his size.

Tag's Wild Ride

I am now on full alert whenever Tag is in my vicinity and hope to head him off before any more of these adventures take place.  Did I mention I hate cats?

Baby to Boy

Last weekend, my cousin Logan Rich came to dinner and brought his camera.  Logan has been studying photography with his older brother, AJ, who is a seasoned professional.  Anyway, Logan got some good shots.  I was shocked to view these, as baby Tag is beginning to look more like little boy Tag.

Sometimes I think we have spent too much of his babyhood testing, poking, surgerying, and worrying, but Super Tagman continually reminds us to be in the moment and smile along the way.  Thanks for teaching me this principle, Tagman.

Enjoy!

Lil' Ute

Last weekend I asked Tag if he wanted to go to the Utah or BYU game and he made it clear that he was a Runnin' Ute, so we took him to his first game.  With an hour and a half of driving and parking, he didn't last the whole game, but we all had a great time, as the Utes put the hammer down on UNLV.

Mitch's favorite photo in months.

Even a burnt orange Texas fan wears red to support the Lil' Ute at his first game.

Meet you in the Muss!

Happy Utah fans.  Happier Tagman.

Go Utes!

Beautiful Ute Mom.

Also, last week, Tag's grandpa Brinton came down to Woodland Hills to play some golf and it was so fun to enjoy the gorgeous fall weather outside at Gladstan Golf Club with him.  Our team won the scramble event by a single stroke.  Interestingly, we were in a tie with another team which included Tag's other grandpa, Charky Spence and Tag's brother, Jordan Roberts.  They were awaiting our arrival to the 18th green and we had a 20 foot putt for birdie to take the lead from them.  Jordan walked over and attempted to talk smack and cause me to miss the putt.  I responded with a frozen rope that rolled confidently into the cup, winning the event, and causing Jordan to walk quietly back to his cart where his new girlfriend Morgan was waiting.  Anytime an old guy like me can stick it to the younger, stronger, Jordan is a fine moment worthy of sharing.

Great day on the links with my Dad.

Tag's scar is starting to heal nicely and every day is a new discovery.  A few firsts this week include:

• Tag climbed his first steps, followed by a proud smile.  He has yet to repeat this feat, but we have realized we can't leave him alone in a room with stairs.
• Tag stood himself up at the commode and flushed.  While the noise startled him, he laughed and found a new activity he loves to do. Just wait son, you'll have many fine moments on the porcelain throne.
• Tag's soccer skills have become more advanced.  When I roll a ball to him while sitting, he gets a concentrating look in his eyes and maneuvers the ball near his feet where he promptly kicks it back to me.  This is my favorite game to play with him and we have this on video.  It is hilarious!
• He has started having what looks to him to have conversations with people.  Last night, at a high school football game we attended, he had a full conversation with our friend, Jodi VanTassel, which included grunts, yelps, and smiles.  I think I actually saw Jodi blush.

Stitches and Swimming

This morning, Joann cut out what we hope and pray are the last remaining stitches Tag will ever have where the tumor once was.  I held his head while she gingerly pulled at the knots and cut the twine.

Umm, excuse me, but what are you guys doing?

Can I get a real doctor, please?

Tag wasn't too happy about it, but for me it felt like a graduation ceremony of sorts.  A big moment taking us from what was to what will be.  Yeah, yeah, I know that sounds overly dramatic, but considering the emotions, worry, prayers, and hopes we have invested over the last 9 months it seems reasonable to feel this way.

Tag celebrated by having his first swim lesson today.  At 9 months old!  I thought Joann was nuts to sign up a boy that young for swimming lessons, but she was confident he would do great.  I was proven wrong and the pictures below prove it.  Apparently, Tag cried at first, but after some patient prodding from his baby swim coach, he went under water without drowning!  I really wish I could have been there in person to witness this feat, but like me, you'll have to see the pictures to believe it.

I don't WANT to go under!

Tag, face down in the pool.  Amazing!

Tonight was a nice evening and I wanted to take Tag and Jo out for a little ride on the 4-wheeler, despite Tag's cough he is nursing.  We were sitting downstairs and Tag was tired and starting to fuss, so I said, "Tag you wanna go for a 4-wheeler ride?" -- to which his mood immediately changed and started to laugh.  Joann couldn't argue.  We threw on our shoes and off we went.

Come on Dad, no pictures!  Hit the gas, man!

Woohoo!

Turn right, Dad!

Tag is singing out loud here, as we cruise at 18 MPH.

Vroooom, vroooom!

Gorgeous, biker babe.

A few leaves are starting to show some color.  Is summer really over?

The Scrawl

The Scrawl is what we are calling Tag's newly refined skill.  It's a mix between a scoot and a crawl.  His tummy is definitely touching the floor but he moves fast enough to impress even the toughest of Marine drill Sergeants.  We've got it on video, but I'm not sure it's worthy of youtube.

Tag has had a nasty cough the last 4-5 days.  It only haunts him in the morning, after a night's sleep, but he sounds like an old man who's been smoking for 20 years.  He gets coughing and can barely breathe long enough in between coughs for a good 3-4 minutes at a time.  Then, he catches his breath and cries.  This is the first time I've really heard him cry in the first 9 months of his life.  Isn't that a miracle?

I'm calling this a miracle.  When one considers all that he has been through, it's a miracle that he hasn't cried hard in over 9 months on the planet.

Tag has just started realizing that loud fits will get him what he wants, but thus far Joann has held her ground. Also, yesterday Tag scrawled his way over to the stairs, pulled himself up on his feet so his hands were on the 2nd stair up.  Then he took a minute to scan the surroundings and attempted to lift his right leg up on the first stair.  Once his knee was up, he paused again and thought the better of this climbing attempt, and retreated back to the floor.  He's getting close!

On Friday, Joann took Tag in for a quick checkup with Pediatrician Mike.  After weighing and measuring, Mike expressed a little concern that Tag's head might be growing a little faster than the rest of his body.  Upon hearing this from Joann, I just laughed out loud and said, "Not to worry there.  Tag's a Brinton and a Garn!"  Both sides of my family have HUGE heads.  In fact, when I was two my Mom had to cut off the hoods on my winter coat because my head wouldn't fit.  Sorry, Tag, but if you're anything like your Dad, you'll be an orange on a toothpick anytime soon.

Well, on another note, this is the last year my Runnin' Utes will be in the Mountain West before heading into the PAC 10.  On Thursday night they played their season opener at Rice Eccles against  15th ranked Pittsburgh.  I put a message out on Facebook looking for tickets and a friend of mine sold me a pair on the 40 yard line, 30th row.  I took my Dad and we had a blast.  Dad's battling cancer right now and hasn't been feeling too great, but he toughed it out.  During the game, Joann sent this picture to my cell phone.  Looks like Tag is a Ute!  I love my wife for this kind of thing.

Lil' Ute.

The game went into overtime with the Utes making an interception and winning the game on their possession, and we didn't leave the stadium until about 10:30 PM, two and half hours past my Dad's regular bedtime.  He commented that his hips were hurting him at about halftime, but he wondered how many more opportunities he'd have like this and he chose to focus on the moment more than his pain.  There was a guy sitting in front of us with his baseball hat barely sitting atop his head and we were making fun of him (without him knowing, of course).  Here's my Dad attempting the same feat. (You can see the actual guy in the black shirt, row in front of us)... HA.

I hadn't been to a live football game with my Dad since I was about 14.  Back then, he was always exposing us to sports and in fact, we owned 2 season tickets to the Denver Broncos and my brother and I got to trade off going to all the home games with Dad.  These are some of my favorite memories.