Our Little Life

Happy Easter!

2011-04-25T17:52:00.000-05:00

Happy Easter from our handsome Little Dude! We had a busy weekend & my head is still spinning. My photo business has really began to take off so it's hard enough getting photos & blogs up for that - much less keep up with my personal one!

Little Dude had a lot of fun hunting eggs, opening presents and being with family. It's hard to believe last year he was crawling (and drooling) everywhere. This year, he was running full speed everywhere. He can count to 10 and is learning his colors. His vocabulary is growing by the day. If you name something once, he will remember it. Pretty amazing if you ask me!

Hopefully I will find a little bit of free time to upload more photos, but for now enjoy the one!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2011-03-17T12:05:00.000-05:00

Hope you wore your green today! We made sure we did. After all, his cheeks are pretty dang pinchable!

Little Dude is growing up, way too fast. He is talking up a storm! And his memory, quite frankly, amazes me. He spent the evening with his Nana & Poppers last week while we went out to dinner. There was a possum in their backyard, which they thought Little Dude would love since he loves animals. Turns out big freaky rat creatures are pretty scaring looking according to the Little Dude. Now every morning, one of the first things he asks is "Po'um? All gone??". At least he knows to stay away from those nasty things! Haha!

He is such a funny little guy. One of his favorite games is to close a door & wait for you to knock. He then swings it open and says "HEWWO!!" then shuts it and says "Buh Bye". He is at such a fun age & is very VERY active. He definitely keeps me busy & on my toes, which is a big reason I can't blog as often as I used to. In fact, in the time it took me to type up this blog, I think I have spent more time away from the computer chasing him & making sure he wasn't getting in to too much mischief. Best workout/diet plan ever? I think so.

Cute-Splosion

2011-02-16T17:20:00.001-06:00

To copy Uncle T's word, be prepared to have a cute-splosion while watching this.

You've been warned.
Just a reminder that you have to actually click the link to visit the blog to view the video. :)

Snow Day!

2011-01-10T11:52:00.000-06:00

The past few weeks have been a roller coaster ride for our family to say the least. Thankfully it seems that things are slowly returning to some state of "normal" even if the ride isn't fully over. It was quite the welcome surprise that it snowed here over the weekend! Little Dude had so much fun playing in the snow! (Me, not so much. It was COLD and my fingers nearly froze while I was taking pictures!) I'm glad he enjoyed it though :)

Heart Attacks

2010-12-30T16:40:00.000-06:00

I know I've been horrible about blogging lately. Things have been a bit busy over here, but I had to blog today. There's no way I would let this little gem of a story pass by without sharing it.

While sitting in the den today checking the ingredients for a recipe, the Little Dude walked into the other room. Since our house has been overtaken by an army of toys, I assumed he was going to grab one of his new toys.

And he was..... kind of.

After a minute or two, I heard a noise that I knew I shouldn't be hearing. The familiar clanging sound the candy jar makes when you take off the lid. **Side note** Our candy dish is up on the bar portion of our counter in our kitchen. 5 feet off the ground. In other words, NOT accessible to the Little Dude.

I quickly scrambled into the kitchen and found this.

That little booger was up on the bar stools! And how did he get there?? By using the new chair that came with his table, of course!

At least he has good problem solving skills...

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-24T11:18:00.000-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving from Our Little Life!
We hope you have a great day with yummy food & good people. We are looking forward to having time with friends & family. And a big Happy Birthday to the Daddy today! Here are a few photos from last weekend when I did our own family photos for our Christmas cards. Isn't Little Dude such a ham??

A Short Story

2010-11-18T10:52:00.000-06:00

Once Upon A Time, there was a young boy. His mommy went out of town for business, so his daddy had to fend for himself for an entire weekend. Much to mommy's surprise, both the daddy & the boy made it out alive. There was only one small problem.

You see, this young boy was given something that the mommy didn't think he needed. And now, the young boy knows exactly where it is kept. Obviously, he has his eye on the prize.

"More," he says, "More, please. More! I want more M&Ms!"

"I'm asking very nicely, mommy. Don't you think I deserve a reward?"

The mommy replied, "My love, it's 10am. We don't have M&Ms for breakfast!"

"But Mommy, please? Pretty please? I just might die from lack of chocolate!" the little boy exclaimed.

He put his thumb in his mouth in an attempt to calm down, but nothing would satisfy his appetite, except a tasty M&M.

"Surely it is worth one more try," he thought to himself. So he decided to ask his mommy again.

"Mommy? Please? Please can I have more?"

How could the mommy say no to a face like that? 10 am or not, it looked like the only cure was going to be an M&M.

"Thank you, mommy!" he quickly exclaimed. "You made my heart (and belly) so happy!"

The only thing left to do was show his mommy why this was such a fun thing to do.

The chocolate was yummy, but the blue tongue was quite possibly the best part!

And he lived happily ever after - because he got an M&M at 10am.

Halloween

2010-11-04T15:55:00.000-05:00

Halloween has come and gone, but I knew you would want to see some of the fun we had! I was planning to update this earlier, but last week was anything but a joyride. I ended up in the emergency room for a kidney infection and kidney stones on Thursday night. Thankfully I am feeling much better now!

The Daddy and I went to the World Series on Saturday night with Nana and Poppers, so Little Dude stayed the night with Grammy and Grampa. When we got there on Sunday, we put him in his costume.

Here he is playing on a toy that I used to play on as a kid!

Being a ham with Daddy

Being silly with Mommy

Here he is with Grammy and Grampa!

Bet you didn't know that lions liked to do woodworking!

Being sweet with the dog at Grammy's

After we left their house, we went to see Gabs & Boomps. Here the curious little lion discovered where the candy was.

He loves to ring the windchimes with Boomps!

And he loves to swing on Gabs' swing!

We carved our pumpkins to get ready for the night!

After Little Dude had a nap, we went to see Nana & Poppers. Little Dude kept dumping keys out of a box, then would pick them up and put them back into the box, dump it, repeat. Over and Over and Over again.

We didn't take Little Dude trick-or-treating through the neighborhood just because he is too young to eat candy (and Mommy & Daddy certainly don't need it!). He had fun playing with the new toys that he got from everyone!

On Monday night, we went to the World Series again and sat with some good friends of ours. We had a great time, even if the Rangers lost! I'm sure you're interested in the Little Dude more, but here's a pic of us from the game!

Busy Fall!

2010-10-22T09:10:00.000-05:00

As always, time gets away from me and I have grand, elaborate plans to update the blog.... but something always comes up when I sit down to do it. Saying things are busy would be an understatement.
Here's a quick-ish version of what has gone on the past few weeks.

Mommy, Daddy, Little Dude, Nana, Poppers & Boomps (Little Dude's great-grandpa) got on an airplane and headed out to meet Little Dude's great-great grandmother!

It was his first plane ride. He did so good! The only problem came when they decided to do "donuts", as I like to call them, instead of landing. They kept changing altitude so it hurt his ears, but over all he was a champ!

Little Dude enjoyed the playground at the hotel!

Here he is being silly with Daddy.

He loved wearing his sunglasses.

Here is Little Dude at his great-great Gabby's house! He was feeding the geese for the first time with his Nana. He had to wave to them!

It was my first time meeting great-great Gabby as well. She is such a kind & sweet person. I am so glad we were able to make the trip to meet her.

Here are FIVE generations!! You can't see the family resemblance at all....

Why yes, that is my child being a ham.

Finally got a picture of him with his Nana and Poppers!

After we finished taking the pictures above, we headed to meet more extended family for dinner. While we were at dinner, Little Dude got sick. I mean, SICK. He has never been sick like that before. It was so sad seeing him feel so bad. He got sick 6 times throughout the night. He was doing okay the next day, which was good because we were flying back home. We got him loaded on the plane and in his seat when he got sick again. Thankfully we had prepared and quickly cleaned the mess! He spent most of the plane ride sleeping in my arms.

After going to the doctor it was determined he had a stomach bug. He wasn't his normal self for the rest of the week but is doing great now!

The Daddy had his high school class reunion last weekend. Little Dude got to spend the night with Grammy and Grampa. He had so much fun following them around. When they brought him back they told me they were exhausted. I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels that way after chasing him around all day!

The Daddy and I were treated to a Rangers baseball game last week with Nana and Poppers. We had so much fun! What made it even better was that they won! We are actually going to the game again tonight, so Little Dude will spend time with his little girlfriend.

Cousin R is in town staying with Grammy and Grampa because his parents are off in the Caribbean enjoying a nice vacation. Yesterday, we went to a local botanical garden to let the boys explore (and for photos, duh!)

Little Dude was showing Cousin R how to pick up the pumpkins and throw them.

Cousin R in his cute monkey costume, rolling around in the grass.

I told the Daddy I was going to take overalls for Little Dude to wear. He laughed at me and said he can hear the green acres song playing. But once he saw the picture, the laughing stopped. SO. CUTE!

He was really working the crowd. Any one who walked by was commenting on how cute he was, which leads me to the next picture.

Little Dude has been taught manners. It is always polite to say hi. He really takes this job seriously and made sure to tell everyone hi (multiple times)!

This weekend is going to be just like any other - BUSY! The photo business is really starting to take off. I am finding that my weekends are no longer "mine", but I wouldn't have it any other way! Most of my weekdays are spent chasing after Little Dude and spending time with him. He really is a momma's boy, but he definitely enjoys time with other people. I hope you enjoy the update because at this rate, I will update this again in another 3 weeks - so enjoy the photos!

Roar!

2010-10-07T10:43:00.001-05:00

October is in full swing and we are enjoying the cooler fall weather! Little Dude has had several play dates with his little girlfriend and with a distant cousin over the past few weeks. He really enjoys getting away from the house & seeing new faces. His 11th tooth (lower molar on the left) just broke through today! He is no longer walking, but instead chooses to run.

Little Dude loves spending more time outside, especially on his swingset. We took him to a pumpkin patch this past weekend to get a jump on Halloween photos. He LOVED being in his costume. He was running around with a big goofy grin. My favorite part was when he started growling and roaring. Here are a few of my favorites!

ROOOOOAR!!!!!

Staying Positive!

2010-09-23T17:18:00.001-05:00

Our Little Life has had a few unexpected twists & turns as of late, but Little Dude is always here to keep a smile on my face! He now has 10 teeth and his walking is quickly turning into running. It is hard to get a picture of him that isn't blurry because he is constantly on the go!

Here is a picture from when we took him to a UT football game a few weeks ago. He was giving me a kiss.

Little Dude was quality control for a box of Oreos. I am pleased to say their quality was up to his standards.

You may remember me mentioning that he was climbing in my last blog post. Here is proof. He got up on his water table all by himself & then decided he should do a head stand. May I point out that this was the day after he began walking full-time. Heart attacks are just part of the daily routine now!

No need to wait for mommy when you can go down the slide by yourself!

He stole my blanket & decided it would be good for playing peek-a-boo!

We discovered another great game. I like to call it "Pulling Little Dude through the house on a blanket until he is laughing so hard he can't handle it anymore". Original. I know.

He really enjoys it though!

Walking!!

2010-09-14T10:22:00.004-05:00

Little Dude is now a full-time walker! He decided on Monday that he no longer needed to crawl. Here is a short video of him walking! It is so cute seeing him toddle around. He has really good balance and hasn't fallen (yet). It seems like he waited until he mastered balance before he fully let go & began to walk on his own. And now that he is walking, that just isn't enough. He has been climbing today. He has mastered throwing one leg over his water table & pulling himself up into it. And his newest trick is climbing the ladder on his indoor slide. He climbs all the way up it and goes down the slide.... face first...laughing all the way. Little Dude is ALL BOY.

On a side note, it is amazing what you forget they can reach when they are no longer on ground level. Child proofing is never done it seems!

Speechless

2010-09-09T20:55:00.002-05:00

Have you ever had a moment where something someone says leaves you completely speechless?

I have. But today was not one of those days.

Little Dude & I went up to see Grammy & Grampa since I had a photo print order to deliver in their area. Grammy, Little Dude and I went to lunch at a small cafe. While we were there, one of the workers came to comment on how cute Little Dude was. He did look very cute. He was wearing a "Mr. Cool" shirt, blue & red checkered shorts, and the outfit was completed with a blue bib to catch all the food runoff.

So why, oh why, did this lady come up and tell me what a cute little princess I had? Princess. PRINCESS!!! Little Dude doesn't look like a girl, but even if he did, wouldn't the outfit & all that blue be a giveaway??

I politely smiled and eagerly waited for her to walk away so I could express how weird it was that she didn't notice he is obviously a boy. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out why she thought he was a princess. The only thing I could think of was that his hair was getting a little long on top. It wasn't really that long though.

But just to be safe, I gave him a haircut tonight. No more princess comments. He may be a cute little guy, but he is definitely not a princess. If this happens again, I think he will be sporting a mohawk. ;)

The Many Faces

2010-08-27T18:31:00.004-05:00

It is so nice to have help around the house. Well, it would be if this Little Dude wasn't deathly afraid of vacuum cleaners. Obviously he is quite friendly with Mr. Vacuum when it is turned off. But once that puppy roars to life, completely different story. Vacuuming with it turned off is just as good as with it on, right?

Little Dude has been walking a lot more this week. He lets go and walks for longer distances. He could be running if he wanted to, but he prefers to have your finger to hold on to. Yes, I said that right. Your finger. Not your hand. Only one finger.

He has quite the personality that is blossoming more and more every day. I snapped all of these pictures within a few minutes. I like to call it the Many Faces of Little Dude.

Happy Cheesy

Angry/Get The Camera Out of my Face Pensive/Hungry

At least he doesn't have a problem expressing himself!

Hello

2010-08-24T14:48:00.005-05:00

Hi there. Little Dude here. Mommy said she was too exhausted from chasing me around all day, so I decided to send out an update. I've had such a fun summer but I am ready for some cooler weather. Mommy says it is too hot to go swing which is really not cool. She said I should be able to swing tomorrow though because a cold front is coming in. Woo hoo!

Lately, I've been hearing this strange word from my mommy. I think it is "no". Not quite sure what it means. It usually makes me laugh to hear it. It is especially funny if I have my hands in the doggie & kitty's water dish splashing around and mommy comes running for me. She looks pretty funny doing that & saying "no no no". I don't think I'm supposed to laugh though. Oops!

I often help my mommy out with whatever chore she is working on. I even helped with my birthday thank you cards!
During the day, I stay really busy by crawling and walking with my toys all throughout the house. My mommy says I never take a break, but I do! I sit on the floor and try to shred the magazines as a way to relax and take a break. Mommy doesn't seem to realize this is my way of relaxing. The most fun I've had lately was when I discovered I can get back on the fireplace again from outside my play pen. What a blast!

Well, the doggie and the kitty have had a long enough break for now. I must return to chasing them through the house!

First Hotel Trip & More!

2010-08-19T15:12:00.005-05:00

It seems like it has been forever since I last wrote a blog, but it is only because the last week has been insanely busy for us! We took our first overnight family trip to stay in a hotel. The daddy was best man in a wedding, so we loaded up the car & headed out for the weekend!

Since we were going to be busy with wedding tasks, Nana & Poppers drove down and Grammy came with us & stayed with her parents. Nana & Poppers watched him on Friday during the rehearsal and Grammy watched him while we all went to the wedding on Saturday.

As soon as we got to the hotel, Little Dude had so much fun exploring every inch of the room. I mean, every single inch... including his luggage!
Right before the daddy & I headed out for dinner, there was a knock at the door. Little Dude was being treated to the real luxury hotel experience! Not only did he get a stuffed pony at check-in, he also got a room service tray!

We had so much fun at the wedding. It was a great opportunity for me to take pictures to build up my portfolio. Here are a couple of my favorites of the beautiful bride & groom!

Since we've been back in town, I've had a photo shoot, a focus group and numerous piles of laundry to get caught up on. It is really a juggling act to get all of my stuff done & keep BOTH eyes on the Little Dude. He is so curious. Even our poor cat can't get a moment of privacy...

And what a joyful moment it was when Little Dude showed me this little trick. I have a strange feeling that things are going to get even more interesting around here.

Thank goodness he is so cute! He has been on a loving streak as of late. He gives hugs & kisses (to his mommy, at least) all the time! It melts my heart every time he leans in with a big, slobbery, open mouth kiss. He keeps me on my toes all the time which is fun, but it is the quiet moments like that which remind me how sweet & precious he truly is.

Vocabulary

2010-08-11T15:45:00.002-05:00

Little Dude has a vocabulary that is expanding every day. Yesterday, he amazed me with some of the things he has already learned. We read books every day, multiple times a day, over and over again until he doesn't want to read anymore. We read the books, talk about the books, name things in the books & pretty much anything else you could think of. He loves books. He has a book called "First Words". It is filled with pictures of every day items so all you have to do is point at the item and name it.

We opened the book and I asked "Where's the sheep?" He pointed RIGHT at it! I thought it might be a fluke, so we tried another one. "Where's the cat?" He went to the cat and pointed at it! He did this for the dog, lion, baby and bird. He even did it again for his daddy last night! Sometimes I think that the daddy doesn't believe Little Dude can do some of the things he does for me, so it made me extremely happy that he showed off for his daddy!

Little Dude is definitely no longer a baby. He is a growing, learning, amazing little toddler!

A Brief Glance into the Future

2010-08-06T15:36:00.003-05:00

Looking for a little adventure? Just stop by our house! Here you can see Little Dude performing tricks in the front window for all of our neighbors to enjoy. Who knew that standing up on a narrow windowsill could be so much fun?

This week, Little Dude has provided me with a small glance at what my future will be like with him. We're talking about the time of life that most parents dread.....

Driving.

And while he has been driving his car around the house, I've found myself saying things that I will most likely be saying again in 15 years. He was pushing the car around, but decided that he needed a little pick me up. So he began pushing it with one hand & sucked his thumb with the other hand. "We use both hands to steer our car. Please keep both hands on the car!"

How about the poor animals at our house? "The kitty doesn't want to see what the bottom of your car looks like. Please don't hit the doggie either."

It's always fun to look around at your surroundings, but "Please watch where you're going! Uh oh!! You hit the wall/table/chair/piano!"

I have a bad feeling of what we have coming at us in 15 years. Hopefully some of these lessons will begin to sink in between now and then.

We also made a shocking discovery that could very well change the science world. We discovered what REALLY happened to the dinosaurs so many years ago....

Someone was just a little hungry & needed a small snack.

*No dinosaurs (or kitties or doggies) were harmed in the making of this blog.

One Year Old!!

2010-07-30T11:09:00.000-05:00

Little Dude is one year old!! He has had quite the birthday extravaganza the past week. On his actual birthday (Tuesday) we had family over for cake at the house. He got another mountain of presents. What a spoiled little boy!! But I think he deserves it. After all, he is the cutest little guy!

Since it was just family over, I let him go crazy with his cake at this party. Think he enjoyed it a little??

Then yesterday, he decided that since he was one, he is a big boy. He took his first step!!!

Little Dude had his 12 month check up today at the doctor. He is tall and skinny (as if we didn't already know that). The doctor said that Little Dude is advanced in his verbal development. They expect babies his age to say one word. He says at least 4! He identifies mama, dada, dog (da) and says hi. I imagine some of this is because I talk to him non-stop! Overall, the doctor said that he is very healthy and will be running any day!

First Birthday Party

2010-07-26T12:05:00.004-05:00

Little Dude will be one tomorrow!! We had his birthday party this weekend and it was so much fun! On Friday, we took Little Dude and my "niece" to Gatti Town for a fun night out. It was Little Dude's first time at one of these types of places. He had fun and enjoyed the pizza. I told him to say "Cheese" and this is what he did:

On Saturday, it was time for his party! He woke up from his afternoon nap just in time for the party. When I got him up, I said "Yay yay yay! It's time for your party!" He started clapping!! He hadn't clapped before, so this was very exciting! Here he is clapping while his Poppers holds him and Nana watches.

Little Dude loves balloons. He kept pointing to them and wanted to touch them.

Little Dude got a couple of cards that sang songs. When I opened them, he started dancing in my lap. Here he is enjoying the Tigger song that his Uncle T and Aunt M got him.

Little Dude got so many gifts! Here he is riding in the Cozy Coupe that he got from his Uncle J & Aunt K.

I made a football cake for him to eat (without eggs, of course). He made a big mess and really enjoyed it!

On Sunday, we went to a Rangers game with Nana, Poppers, Uncle T and Aunt M. Since we were there celebrating his birthday, he got a birthday bag and they put his name up on the big screen! He had so much fun with the batting helmet that came in the birthday bag!

And one of the most exciting moments came when I caught a foul ball!!! I was so excited and danced around like an idiot. I was so excited to get a ball for him for his birthday! You can see the excitement!

Tomorrow, we are having cake (again) with family. He has been thoroughly enjoying all of the festivities, presents and attention. He's only a *little* spoiled.

Adventurous Week

2010-07-22T12:56:00.002-05:00

We've had quite the week here! We finally finished the backyard re-do and it looks so good! One step closer to being ready for Little Dude's birthday party this weekend. We are so excited to have a big party to celebrate him turning one! It sounds like we will have quite the large crowd. It should be a good time.

Little Dude found a new "friend" this week. He was in his playpen playing with his toys and I noticed that he got really quiet. I had been folding laundry, but stopped. Silence is usually not a good thing when you have a little one who is usually very busy. I peeked over and saw that he had something in his hand. It was a LIVE cricket. He was carefully dissecting the cricket by pulling the legs off. I screamed like a little girl as I scooped him up. Gross gross gross! He is definitely all boy!

My best friend from my hometown let her oldest daughter (who I call my niece) come to spend the week with my parents and with me. On Tuesday, we had a big pool party at Nana's house. Little Dude, me, Grammy, Aunt K, Cousin R, my niece, Little Girlfriend, her mommy & Nana were all there. We had such a fun time playing in the pool! Here is Little Dude playing on a shark toy that Grammy brought.

After our fun day on Tuesday, we decided to head to the store to get some stuff for Little Dude's party. While we were there, part of a pallet of 12 pack 20-oz sodas randomly fell over and one of them landed on Little Dude. He thankfully ended up only having a few bruises, but we are now dealing with the store and their claim people to get the medical bill paid for (they assured us immediately they would cover all medical costs). Many people have said he is either a superhero in training or he has some fast flying guardian angels. I tend to agree! We really did get lucky!

The rest of the week has been uneventful (thank goodness!). My "niece" is coming to spend the day with us tomorrow and will also stay the night. I can't wait to spoil her! Little Dude adores her. He had so much fun playing with her on Tuesday. It makes my heart happy to see them playing with each other. And then Saturday is the big party!! Can't wait!

More Exciting Things in Our Little Life

2010-07-12T16:35:00.006-05:00

I have been horrible about updating the blog lately. It's hard to find time to sleep, much less update this. I'm sorry if you've been dying for another update on Little Dude. His birthday is FAST approaching and we are in the middle of a huge re-do of the backyard (which of course is where the party will be). All of our "free" moments have been spent ripping out bushes, putting up new siding, re-painting all of the outside, putting in new plants, putting together a swing set, re-doing edging and probably many other things that I have forgotten.

So here's a quick update on what we've been up to the past few weeks!

Grammy & Grampa came down for a weekend to help us put up new siding and paint the house. Grammy got to spend the weekend playing with Little Dude while the rest of us worked outside the house. It was hot, but we are glad that part of the project is done!

Little Dude now has 6 teeth (two on top, 4 on bottom) and 2 more on the top that are close to breaking through. It is drool city at our house!

We celebrated Little Dude's first 4th of July. We watched fireworks on the 3rd. Nana & Poppers were there with us. Nana was pointing at the fireworks and saying what color they were. Little Dude then very seriously put his arm out to point and emphatically said "Ya! Ya! Ya!"

We took Little Dude and his girlfriend to a little gym for a play date. Once I put him on the ground, he was off and didn't slow down! He was crawling up the ramps, down the ramps, across gaps, up steps and was on anything else he could get his hands on. He had a great time!

Little Dude got a swing set for his birthday from his Nana & Poppers so we put that together this past weekend. It is so nice having a swing/slide in our backyard so we have more to do outside now! He loves swinging and always has the biggest grin when we take him outside to swing. He even tried to crawl up the slide the first day we had him out playing on it!

I took a big step this past weekend and decided to let Little Dude stay the night away from home for the first time. Since Nana & Poppers live about 2 minutes from us, I decided it would be easiest on me knowing he was that close for the first time. He had a great time and slept the entire night as usual. And I am pleased to report that I did fairly well with the whole night of not having him here!

My baby is turning into a toddler before my eyes and it is crazy. He is so much fun and brings so much joy in my life. Can't wait to see what he'll do next!

11 months

2010-06-27T10:37:00.004-05:00

Little Dude is 11 months old today. I can't believe that in one more month, he will be a year old. This time last year, I was a giant whale and was very eager to have my little one out in the world. By the way, for anyone that is pregnant in this hot summer heat, I am NOT jealous and I feel your pain. We decided it would be fun to take Little Dude to the park today as something special to do for his special day. He had so much fun swinging, sliding and playing with mommy, daddy, Grammy & Grampa.

Here is Grampa helping him down the slide.

Swinging is so much fun!

I love this kid. SO much!

And the last piece of exciting news... Little Dude had another tooth pop through yesterday! He now has 4 on the bottom and 1 on the top. The next one on the top should be through any day.

Busy!

2010-06-16T18:05:00.003-05:00

I have been meaning to update this since Saturday, but it is getting progressively harder to get things done. Since I know you are all asking why, I will simply show you.

This guy:

Is busy pulling stunts like this:

So, I apologize for the delay. Little Dude now has 4 teeth! One of the top teeth finally made its way through on Saturday. And wouldn't ya know it, we can see other ones that are very close to popping through. This makes for fuuuun days (please note the small touch of sarcasm). We will be glad when this teething business is done! Thankfully he is happy most of the time. I guess it serves as a reminder for us to be thankful that we have such a good baby/toddler.

Speaking of toddler, he is starting to stand by himself for a few seconds without holding on to anything. It probably doesn't help that every time he stands alone, I get so excited that I clap and yell which always makes him quickly grab onto something. Hey, I can't help it! It's so exciting! I'm sure he will be running circles around me any day.

Teeth!

2010-06-09T13:44:00.003-05:00

Little Dude FINALLY has another tooth (that makes a total of 3). His top gums have been bulging for a few weeks. Every morning we check to see if any of those teeth have broken through. There are four on the top that you can see through the gums. They are just being pokey and taking their sweet time.

Today, I went to get the Little Dude up from his morning nap. I was changing him and doing the normal mouth check. Something caught my eye. Could it be? No... Yes! Another tooth! But, um, not on the top. That's right. Those pokey teeth STILL aren't through! So now he has another tooth on the bottom. Hopefully his top teeth will take some lessons from his bottom teeth and come through soon.

It is becoming quite evident that Little Dude is a daredevil. I'm not sure where he gets some of his ideas, but they are quite adventurous ideas for a 10 month old to have! Let me point out that in these pictures, he has moved the toys on his own and done all of this completely by himself. The pictures are blurry because they are from my phone (there's no way I'd walk away while he's pulling these stunts!).

Exhibit A:

Using a rolling toy as a means to get onto the fireplace. He rolled the toy up to the edge, crawled onto the toy and then found a way to get on top of the fireplace.

Exhibit B:

Using the pop up toy as a step to get even higher and reach fully across the music table. He pushed the toy by the table, closed the toy with his feet and stepped right up.