spring is close

Wow does it feel good to walk outside and see little bits of green growing in front of our window!! I really do love living in Ohio, and probably complain about the winters more than I should - but spring out here makes it SO worth it!! I cannot wait for all the lush green to fill in and all the brightly colored blossoms. These are my tulips and daffodils that I planted last September ...  Yay for spring!! 

And here's a random picture I snapped of L today while playing together. He loves sticking that tongue out.

11 months

So close to his big birthday!! Can't believe it! 

After I tried taking his 11 month pictures today with the football (minimal success), I tried uploading them to the computer and found that I had these other pictures on the internal memory in the camera! It was fun to be surprised with *new* pictures from way back in September. Look at those chubby thighs. Ahh ... the days where he would sit still and smile for a picture. :)

Recent Stats: 23 lbs 12 oz 

Recent favorites:

After practicing a long time with him, he now squeezes me when he gives me hugs. LOVE IT!

Finally has a regular routine of sleeping, and is pretty darn good at it! Mommy is so happy!

He loves to cuddle with mommy after he gets hurt and first wakes up. He is such a good snuggler!! 

Still working on the closed-mouth kisses.

Loves to clap on demand.

Loves to laugh and is incredibly ticklish. Love it!

Absolutely loves going outside to walk around with his walking toy. I sometimes have to jog a couple steps to catch him! He goes so fast!

Randomly lets go of the table or mommy's leg while standing and just hangs out for a little while before falling to his bum.

Loves to throw his food on the floor.

When mad, he throws his head back and arches his back. He is so strong I just end up laying him on the floor until he's done. I am not looking forward to tantrums.

Already doing those fake cries to get what he wants. Grrrr ...

Loves to talk to himself - especially while eating. L's never been too much of a talker, but it seems like he exploded in making noises this month. Such a riot!

Currently has four top teeth and two bottom teeth. I fee like this kid has been teething his whole life.

Mimics us all the time. We clap, he claps. He raise our arms, he raises his arms. We play some fun games together.

Loves the chasing game. I'll hide somewhere, and he'll come just far enough to catch a glimspe of me and then turn around and try to run before I get to him. Sometimes he laughs so hard that he falls, so he's a little easier to catch. 

Obsessed with opening and closing anything. He loves to put lids on things too.

Continues to be an incredible Momma's boy. While I love the hugs and kisses to pieces ... I'm definitely looking forward to when he doesn't scream when I leave him. 

LOVES other babies and toddlers. Absolutely adores them, and laughs with them a lot.

Plays with books by himself all the time. He loves to flip through the pages of any kind of book. I love his curiosity.

His whole face lightens up whenever he sees his Bear. He reaches out for it, then pulled it in tight right next to his face and twists back and forth as he snuggles with it. It melts my heart.

Cries every time we go back inside after being outside. I'm happy that he's such an outdoor kind of kid. I can't wait for the camping trips!! 

He's starting to dance! He's never moved to music before, but lately he's been bouncing a little bit when we hear his songs. So fun!

Honestly, I feel like these past few months have been my favorite with L. He is such a happy baby (most of the time ...), and we have so much fun together. I love it when I fall on the floor and he smiles real big and crawls as fast as he can to come hug me. I love it when he laughs and tries to jump up and down in his crib when I come pick him up after his naps. I love it when he's in a snuggly mood and will sit on my lap leaning back against me. I love it when he touches my face and tries to tickle me by hitting my cheeks. I love it when Daddy's home and rough houses with him and I can be the cameraman and capture those precious times. I love it when we play games together and he knows what to expect - the anticipation is usually more enjoyed than the actual tickling or grabbing of toes or whatever we're doing. I love it when he starts laughing when I make silly faces or dance in a funny way. I love it when I say or do something for the first time with him, and I can see him just watch me in wonder as he's learning new things. I love his energy and enthusiasm, and he teaches me to be happy. I love you L!!

here comes the sun

These were some random shots I took of L looking out our back door. Can you tell we're ready for it to be warm outside? Well ...

After days, weeks, months, years {okay - that's a little extreme, but it feels that way!} of wishing, hoping, thinking, and praying for the sun - we had a sweet little glimpse of heaven today. The high was around 50 degrees, and it was beautiful. I drove with the windows down, music blaring, with just one long sleeved shirt on. Oh did that feel good!

Once Ry got home from school we went to the park with some friends of ours. Knowing our luck, the clouds rolled in and the wind picked up right when we got there - but it was still fun!! And what better way to end the trip than by getting free sandwiches at Quizno's together! Yay for sunshine and free food! Today was a good day. :)

med prom

Last Friday the medical school hosted a "Prom" night - and around 3 in the afternoon Ry and I decided to go! Kind of spur of the moment, but I liked it that way. It's very seldom that we have done anything that spontaneous since having L, and I had a great time! And it's been a while since we got dressed up for anything besides church - so this was good timing for everything! :)

We had a lot of fun eating yummy appetizers, playing fake poker, and dancing to old school songs from high school days. Are we really that old?! It was a blast!!

I was incredibly spoiled in high school by having one of my best friends be amazing at hair styling. She honestly was fabulous, and she volunteered to do my hair for every special occasion! I even had her do my hair for my wedding reception in Washington {Erin I love you!!!}! I'm not sure when the last time was that I got my hair done up for anything special, and I was totally clueless!! You're looking at the most hair-challenged individual ever - I once had a contest with a friend in high school to see who could do two full weeks of a different hairstyle each day. I inevitably lost because the messy ponytail is just too easy.

But since I had watched her do it so many times, I attempted the impossible. It really is not amazing at all, but I am proud of my first time doing anything like this to my hair! I took the picture after we got home from the dance ... so it's a little sloppy ... but I was still proud. Erin - this one goes out to you! Love ya!! :)

crack up

Within the last month and a half, L has finally grown into a sleeping routine. Naps are actually a little predictable, and night time is almost a piece of cake. It has been amazing for both of us, and I feel like L is so much more happy and content when he gets his sleep! It makes me realize what I was missing out on before, and gives me motivation to try better with the next one! (no announcements ... trust me)

With that success in mind, today was the first time that L decided to not take his morning nap in a good three weeks maybe. If he ever doesn't want to nap, it's always during his afternoon one. So I was a little surprised this morning when he just refused to sleep. I tried to give him enough time to do it on his own, but eventually had to go get him. I ended up changing our plans and didn't leave the house because I didn't want him to get a weak-sauce nap in the car.

So we hung out, and L was doing great. We were actually having a lot of fun! When I started feeding him lunch, he started showing signs of being tired. I was laughing so hard to myself because he has never done this before!! Thankfully, I was able to go grab the camera and get a video. The camera was on my lap so as not to attract attention, so it's a weird angle. And maybe this isn't funny to anyone else, but I honestly was laughing so hard and still do whenever I watch this! I just keep thinking, "is this my kid?!"

L is currently asleep, and is going on a good strong hour and a half. Oh the joys of sleeping. :)

is it spring yet?

Sometimes I feel like I'm living in the movie Groundhog Day where I wake up and it's the same thing over and over again. I grew up in WA state - and I was used to the long gray winters (and falls for that matter) where it felt dark outside and inside all day long. But the winters here in OH definitely get to me, and I honestly feel like I'm Bill Murray and I'm repeating the same actions over and over again. Same rooms to play in, same toys to play with, same food to eat, same music to listen to, same things on my to-do list everyday. I am SO ready for nice weather.

A couple weeks ago Ry and I took L to the indoor playground at a mall just to get out of the house and do something for L instead of for us. It was great - and L loved it! I kind of forgot about it until I uploaded our camera's pictures today ... so I wanted to share. It was the same day that I took his 10 month pictures ... so forgive the same outfit. :)

They have a space theme with all the planets and things to climb on. Apparently one of our planets in the solar system has a hole right through the middle. The things you learn at the mall.

And a couple others I uploaded that I thought were cute. See? Same room ... same toy ... oooh! Different clothes! That's interesting, right?

(I just love his pj's ... they have a big dinosaur on the front and the top snaps into the bottoms. haha!)He's learning how to turn the toy in order to keep going. It's a slow learning curve I guess.

walking??

We've used this toy once before with L, trying to show him how to do it. Then yesterday I did it again, and got distracted with something else. Next thing Ry and I saw, L was doing it on his own!! Holy cow! We were in shock, and so we had to get out the camera!!

And just as a side note - please forgive the weird commentary and the incredible mess you see in our living room! The end of a long day is very obvious.

oh no ...

My kid is a bully.

He's always been bigger than other kids his age, and he definitely uses that to his advantage. Boxing out to get to a toy in time, rolling onto them to stop their progress, you name it. He yanks toys out of other little baby's hands and doesn't even look back - he hits and runs!! The other day he took both his hands, grabbed fist-fulls of another little boy's hair, and started yanking on it. He was constantly trying to poke his little cousin in the eye over Christmas break! Family even!

And as if treating your friends and family this way isn't bad enough, he beefs up his own self-esteem by handling his food in the toughest way. It's practically non-existent by the time it makes it to his mouth. Here's a picture to prove it (the shark on his bib is so fitting)

ten months

Already?!?! Are you kidding me?

Recent Stats: (I'm going to take him to be weighed ... maybe. We'll see.)

Recent Favorites:

Personality extreme!! This kid is one in a million. :)

The wettest kisses I've ever received. He loves to give kisses - but doesn't understand the closed-mouth concept just yet.

Crawling like crazy - he moves so fast! He's completely graduated from the army crawl he did before.

Pulling up into a standing position for a couple weeks now. And within the past couple days he is starting to 'cruise' around while holding onto the couch. I only have a few more weeks of sanity.

Loves to through his head back and yell/grunt very loudly!

Says "MMAaa" - I think this is his way of saying "more" when we're feeding him ... but then he also says that to get my attention ... and he also says it to get me to pick him up ... and put him down to crawl. Maybe it's just his favorite sound to make lately and doesn't mean anything at all. :)

Loves to eat whatever Mom and Dad are eating. And loves to then throw his food on the floor, rub it onto his eyes, mash it into his hair, stick it on the underside of his tray, smash it with his fingers, and sit on it. Is it really worth it??

Recent fascination with the DVD player and TV buttons. He discovered the 'pause' and 'play' buttons, and continues to press them over and over and over again.

Addicted to pulling books, DVDs, baskets, toys, and clothes off the shelf/drawer. And loves to wait for me to put them all back on just so he can do it over again.

When I try to be firm about something, he does something silly that totally makes me laugh! I have to turn my face away so that he doesn't see me break - but he literally cracks me up!

He loves to play peek-a-boo with his hands now. Although he puts his hands up as if he's rubbing his eyes, and then slowly peeks out from underneath one until I act all surprised and say, "There he is!!"

He loves to be rough housed with. Any kind of jerking, fast change of direction, bouncing, throwing, or pouncing motion is preferred.

A typical breakfast includes a full thing of yogurt and almost a full banana - and this is after I nurse him first thing in the morning. This kid eats a ton!!

The two middle teeth on top have now breached the surface - he has the top middle two, and the bottom middle two. Boy was that transition rough.

He laughs hysterically when I'm changing his diaper, look at his bum, and then say "Eewwie!!" while looking at his face. Total crack up.

"Bear" is a crucial element to nap/night time routines. Awake or asleep in my arms when I lay him down, he will adjust however he needs to lay his head on Bear's tummy. It is so stinkin' cute watching him cuddle up with that little stuffed teddy!

Loves to play the piano - either standing on his own or sitting on our laps.

Other fun shots I got today:
He totally fills the part of all-boy when he's just wearing jeans. I don't know why I like it so much ... but I do!!Action shot!He played a ton under the table today. It was like his own little domain. I can't wait to build forts with him!!

WARNING

Possible injury may result:


One of L's new hobbies: opening and closing the drawers to Mom and Dad's dresser. Up until the past week at least, then he added the pulling out clothes treasure.

Possible (i.e. actual) events could (already have) transpired because of this new hobby:

1. Getting fingers stuck as child slams the drawers closed. Cut finger.
2. Hitting head with top drawer. Bruise.
3. Pulling hard enough that knob falls off. Un-replaced knob still atop said dresser three weeks later.
4. Pulling bottom drawer out too far, trapping body underneath. Crying. A lot.
5. Pulling all contents out of drawers. Happy cleaning.
6. Pulling all drawers out to the max, and continuing to pull. Result: entire dresser falls forward, onto child. SCREAM!!!!

No worries. Miraculously L was not hurt - majorly. All potentially dangerous objects sitting on top of the dresser missed him. He fell with his head against the bed (high enough to miss the metal bed frame thank goodness), and the top two drawers pinning him down. The metal drawer guide gave him a very minor cut on his forehead. A tiny scratch. That was it. I know for a fact someone was protecting him - because it could have been MUCH worse!

Looks like our morning routine will change just a little. I promise, I do watch my child.

tired boy

A few days ago I laid L down for his morning nap. We're pretty much back on schedule after our vacations, so I was surprised when L just cried rather than sleeping. Finally I heard him settle down, and it happened so suddenly that I went upstairs to peek through the crack in the door. He had been sitting up, and had simply folded in half to rest his head on his bumper and he fell asleep. The picture doesn't do the awkward position justice - but I didn't want to get any closer to risk waking him up!

I assumed it was because of the uncomfortable nature of his sleep that he only slept for 20 minutes. Not enough time for a nap!! And to prove this ... I snapped a few pictures of him later that day. I guess he was just a little too tired to hold his head up during lunch and playtime. Oh he just melts my heart. How is it that I can love him so much?! Ahh ... he's perfect. :)

He wasn't necessarily tired in this one ... I just liked his cheeks. :)

other vacation pictures

So I have been wanting to posts lots of pictures from our Christmas break - but there were so many, that I ended up doing tons of collages! I had fun picking and choosing ... so hopefully there will be a good selection. :)

Thank you to Grandpa B and Grandma B for such an amazing break from everyday life. It was wonderful to be with family and a perfect chance to really enjoy the season. I wish we could do it every day. :

While in Utah my family took a trip to Old Main on USU campus to go sledding! So fun!

Of course we did a family ski day at Beaver Mtn. YAY!!!

We made gingerbread houses

Played in the snow

Took family pictures (big group one to come ... hopefully!)

And the boys took a chance to go snowshoeing through the woods and camp in a Yurt. Pretty cool looking, huh?

Other favorites: singing around the piano, getting to see R's brothers and their families one more time, eating Cafe Rio, playing with Dave & Tiff who came for a visit, dance party with the grandkids, playing nertz and zilch late at night, eating delicious food, TRYING to get decent pictures of all the grandkids together, spending time with lots of visiting relatives, and trying to take as many pictures as possible! :)

favorite cheese

L does this super funny cheesy grin where he keeps his lips together as he smiles. It's my absolute favorite because it makes his cheeks look so dang chubby and kissable! He's done it for quite some time (at least a month or two), but I have never captured it on camera because he's so unpredictable. You know those moments when your kid does something cute (or anyone - not even your kid), and you run to go grab the camera, but you miss the moment entirely?! That's what normally happens with L - however, after getting his 9-month shots today, he and I had so much fun!! I ran to go get my camera to get pictures of his closed-mouth grin and he totally kept givin' em to me! And then - to top it off - I ran to go get my video camera to capture his laugh and he kept givin' that to me too!! Ahh ... it was a good day. :)

about stinkin' time!

It has taken a full eight and a half months for L to finally get enough hair for the classic mohawk bath pictures. Oh boy was it worth the wait. This kid cracks me up!!

(courtesy Grandma B's bathtub in Utah)

nine months

Nine months! This is so hard to believe! L is growing like crazy and changing every day!

***Breaking news***

Official stats: 20 lbs. 13 oz., 29 inches long.
That's the 55% for weight and the 75% for length! I was honestly speechless in the doctor's office! My baby's average weight now?! How did this happen?! I kind of liked having a tank for a baby! Now he's average?! Sadness ...



Recent favorites of L:

Crawling! Prefers the army scoot with his arms, but he likes to spice things up by going a few feet with hands and knees working together every once in a while. It feels like he's getting faster and faster every day.

Incredibly ticklish! His giggle is too tempting and is becoming much more of a hearty belly laugh. Oh how it thrills me!

Peek-a-boo! He loves this game! Whether it's putting a basket over his head and lifting it up, me hiding behind a wall and popping out, or pulling books up to cover his face. Absolutely adorable!

Loves to eat constantly.

Jabbering! For some random reason L kind of stopped talking there for a while. Lasted a couple months maybe of very few verbal sounds coming out ... but then spending so much time with other young cousins helped him get the hang of it. Now he's talking all the time and finally starting to use consonants - still far from anything intelligible, but it's still dang cute.

Pulls himself up on his knees and loves to try to pull himself up to standing position. Yikes!

Had his first big battle-wound when he was trying to stand up using the coffee table, fell, and hit the side of the table with his head. OUCH! Left a pretty ugly bruise on his forehead and made me want to cry! First, but definitely not last.

Separation anxiety times a thousand! This kid is the ultimate Momma's Boy. Sorry Dad ...

Loved being in Utah with all of Mommy's family - except when he got sick and threw up multiple times ... and when Mom left to go skiing ... and whenever she went into a different room ... and whenever it was supposed to be bedtime ... or nap time. Other than that though he loved it!

Practically jumps into the bath at the end of the day. Loves loves loves the water!

Became an extreme snuggle-bug while in Utah with both Mom and Dad. Incredibly precious to have him voluntarily rest his head on our shoulders and wrap his arms around us. Love it!

Hair! He finally has enough to make a mohawk in the tub - classic.

Intense personality. Otherwise known as experiencing every kind of emotion with extreme passion and expression. Can be confused with being bipolar. Current emotion sometimes indiscernible as the laugh turns into screams and cries turn into laughs. Wonder where he gets it ...
Gotta love him!