Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Brace yourselves!

Month 10 update is a long one!
~
Son, you have had a very busy month 10 of your sweet, precious, baby life! You have been hitting milestones left and right, continue to be a champ eater, and have been quite the little social butterfly with all of ours and your friends!

To start off this wonderful month, we made the long trip to the valley to see family. You were such a sweet boy. Everyone loved seeing you and you really loved seeing everyone. I shared about our time back home here.

What I will add on to this post talking about our trip is that since you've been home you've definitely grown fond of your walker. You are scooting around ev-er-y-where! And, I should say your scooting is more like a hop - pretty stinkin' cute if you ask me.

Picture of the I-love-this-walker-so-much face below.
And, another pic of you and your walker as well as your "baaa". Yes, sweetheart, this is your most prized possession. As you can see below, you possess it. You guard it. You crawl with it and salamander with it. You taunt lily with it and smack Mama with it. It is your bat. Your Houston Astros bat from your Grandpa Wooly and Nonna. This baaa also came with a "bahh". The ball is presently hidden because you enjoy chewing on it and I'm not one to let you start munching on the inner gut of your precious bahh. No worries, my dear, the bahh comes out at least once a day at this point.
 
Poor baby, you had your first ear ache. I was not a fan. Nor were you. As life would have it, you get sick. When this happens, you fair amazingly and I get a bit crazy. I hate seeing you in pain of any sort. It really cuts straight to my heart in ways I never knew possible. Thankfully, with lots of prayer as well as meds and counsel from your pediatrician, all was well. Pic below is us at the doctor's office. You were pointing, because it's what you do. All the time. Everywhere. And like it!
Easter happened! My sweet boy, you did amazing and I wrote more about how wonderful you were throughout the Easter Triduum here. You received some fun gifts from family that are in the pic below (Thanks, Nana, Nonna, and Great-Aunt Rachel!). You were a fan.
During this month you got to see Uncle Godfather quite a few times and loved it. It's so great having him so close!
You are still quite the champ when it comes to food. New items on your menu include: corn tortillas, pears, peaches, BBQ Chicken from Rudy's and some beef, strawberries, basil and garlic ground beef, Mama's Italian broccoli pasta, oatmeal (as seen below), and jalapeno hummus. We did give cheese a go but quickly realized that dairy is just not working with us. We'll have to figure something out come a year, but I'm not too worried since there are so many great substitutes out there. We'll just keep a watch and see if you will grow out of it(which I'm hoping, because I love cheese! haha).
Daddy and Mama got all dressed up and went to the Bishop's Pro-Life dinner with friends one Saturday night. Our dear friend, Erica, came to watch you. You had so much fun with her and she loved watching you. You both played so much. You were completely exhausted by the end of the night and even let her put you to sleep. She said you got fussy only once, which is when you normally get fussy during your evenings (this fussy time we speak of is during your last diaper change for the night, right after your bath, along with a clothes change into your jammies). We love Erica and are thankful for her letting Daddy and Mama have a nice night out with friends.

Baby boy, you love your "bahh"! Ha. Yes, bahh means book and ball. You love reading them, having them read to you, and you can flip through books at the speed of light. Daddy and you still read every night together before bed and we have some book time during the day. Below you're looking through your book that comes to Mass with us every Sunday.

We went to Ben's birthday party. I posted about that here. And another sweet happening this month is that you are clapping! You love to clap. It's more of a golf clap, which makes it that much more adorable. We love your golf clap! I shared a video here on my birthday. You were so sweet to your Mama on her day. Thank you, son, for your abundance of sweetness!
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Look at you! Once you mastered your wonderful salamander/army crawl you started pulling up (as demonstrated below). Every morning, for a few weeks, you would pull up to your knees in your crib and greet me with the sweetest expectant face.
Not only do you pull up on your crib but you also pull up on everything possible in our home. It's your newest skill that you are so proud of and seem to enjoy so very much. We love watching you pull up on everything, but not when you bump yourself here and there. Be careful sweetheart!
During your month 10 the weather was so nice! We were able to go on quite a few walks. You love going for walks at all the different parks in your stroller.

Here you are at a park nearby checking out all the ducks. There were tons!
Daddy joined in on the walk fun too! You were so excited!
When we go for our walks during the day, we've been meeting up with some friends and going to various local parks. Below, Paige was so excited to say Hi. You seemed to be playing the shy part.
Then you decided you didn't want to be shy and got excited back. For future reference, timing is everything, baby boy. I think your stalled excitement didn't go over too well with Paige. But I'm glad you were trying to be sweet after getting over your two-seconds of shyness.
You are still a big fan of our Maya Wrap - as am I! We take it with us to the store, to outings, to church, to play-dates, and anywhere that Mama might have to carry you for any extended period of time. This wonderful ring sling keeps you comfy while keeping my arms rested. So grateful!
Towards the end of the month you decided it would be a good time to pull up to a stand. We are so proud of you! Now, instead of pulling up to your knees after you wake, you pull up to a stand. You love pulling up on everything! It's fun watching you as well as nerve wracking! You have not figured out how to get down! You literally just throw yourself down to the floor as if someone told you to hold a plank and fall. You're our little tree that is constantly timbering. I can't wait till you figure out a new way to get down from standing for my own nerves. Regardless, I'm so proud of you and excited for this new little milestone! Walking is just around the corner! 
Now, as much as you love pulling up and standing, you still love your floor play time with your Daddy. Bat included, of course. These sweet meetings happen daily. I love seeing you with your Daddy. I love seeing how much he loves you and how much you love him. You both are amazing treasures. Thank you for always sharing your goodness with me!
Sweet boy, this month was a big one! And the next is already off to an active start. We have two months until your birthday, which is so hard to fathom! My sweet little bigfoot, you are already a big boy! These ten months flew by. And, I know our lives will continue to fly. But, I pray that, with His help, we'll all be able to continue to stay present with Joy and Love to all the beautiful moments that make up our days, no matter how fast they come and go.

i love you, son.

Monday, April 23, 2012

Some Greats and Some Grands

Traveling Bigfoot strikes again!
We made a drive down to Mama's hometown to visit family the last weekend in March.
The drive down there went as smoothly as a drive down there can go.
However, the drive back up North was pretty tough on you. Once back we found out that your right ear was on its way to infection, leaving us with some sleepless nights mixed in with quite some tears. That doesn't mean that you weren't always up to share some smiles, laughter, and cuddles.
Some photos of our weekend trip:

All smiles on the way down.
Checking out your great-grandma who loves you tons.
Checking out your great-grandpa who just lights up when he sees you. I love this old man dearly, but I will say, putting a smile on his face can be a task for most, but not for you!
Hanging out with your great-aunt.
Cozy in Nana's lap while snacking on some puffs after you ate quite the meal.
Roaming around in Grandpa and Nana's backyard. Grandpa loves hanging out with you in the yard. And you had so much fun watching the goats. They definitely got some laughs and smiles out of you.
At great-uncle Ruben's birthday party with Nonna. You got to see Nonna again! You were such a sweetheart with all the relatives. Smiling and laughing for everyone - even though you weren't feeling well.
We made a pit stop in Corpus at Grandpa Wooly and Nonna's home since the drive back was pretty tough for you and your achy ear. You had some good times with Grandpa Wooly in the short time that we were there. You are also sporting the walker Grandpa Ram and Nana bought you over the weekend. You've become quite the fan of this little walker!
Playing patty-cake with Grandpa Wooly and Nonna.
In that, the drive was going to be a tough one, Mama pulled out all the arsenals. For some reason, bottles can distract you and keep your intrigue so well! As demonstrated below:
We made a dinner stop at Rudy's BBQ. You had some of their bbq chicken and bread. 
This weekend trip was definitely the most trying drive for all of us, but we were gifted with some lovely times and sweet memories with grandparents, great-grandparents, and relatives galore.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Playing Catch-Up

Sweet Bigfoot, your Nonna came to see you during her spring break! She spent the entire week smiling with you, making you laugh, hugging and holding you, rocking you to sleep, and sharing with you the goodness of the present moment.

While she was here, we all went for a walk at wonderful park. It was so much fun! You loved being outside and strolling in your Ignite.
The views were great and you had fun drinking from Nonna's water bottle. 
We also went shopping. Your Nonna loves showering you with gifts, especially clothes. You are definitely one well dressed baby boy, thanks to all your grandparents!
Suprisingly, you left this pretty cool hat on for quite awhile. You look good with your hat on baby boy! 
 We also went to Flying Fish for dinner on Friday. You were wonderful and I think Nonna was impressed with your restaurant manners. You looked adorable (again) with your little hat. 


Not sure what you were thinking below, but I guess somewhere in your little brain you thought the table might be good to eat. Just an FYI - tables are not food, dear.  

Daddy and Nonna enjoyed a few friendly games of this fun letter game. Nonna brought it for us. Look forward to when we can all enjoy some board games together!
You were a wonderful grandson and even gave Nonna a few of your precious kissies here and there. The one below we actually caught a pic of! Such a sweetheart!

Thank you Nonna for a wonderful visit! It was great having you over and look forward to the next time we get to have you all to ourselves. PS Grandpa Wooly, you were very missed!

Love you both,
Our little family

Sunday, April 8, 2012

...and Hallelujah is our song.

Happy Easter from our little family to yours!


Uncle Godfather came over on Saturday to come celebrate. We loved every moment. Living in the same area is seriously such a gift!





Seph was such a great baby throughout Easter Triduum. He was such a sweetheart at every Mass we went to. He brought so many smiles to so many people. Smiles were had by Uncle Godfather, his grandparents over FaceTime, persons who sat near us during Mass, people at restaurants, and of course, by us.


He also had a busy Triddum. Not only was he sharing smiles like none-other, but he was also sharing his most adorable baby giggle, his mad eating skills, his spontaneous bursts of excitement, his new found clapping ability, hello's and good-bye's, his sweet sleepy snuggles, and his keen pointing ability (as seen below). The boy loves working out his pointer finger. He points at things he wants, random things he sees, foods he's interested in, things that make noise, people that are near us, people that are far from us, cars, the sky, Lily, phones, toys...you get the point, he points at everything under the sun that his sweet little eyes land on. Fun stuff!
My sweet Bigfoot and I snuck in a picture before going in to Mass. Woohoo!
Seph overwhelmed with gratitude for bringing him to Sauced for Easter lupper. The gratitude flowed from our content selves as well. Sauced was quite the indulgence, that's for sure!


Our little family after the beautiful Easter Vigil. I think we held up pretty well. And, definitely well worth it!

How was your Easter?

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Fun times at Indoor Safari

We went to sweet Ben's birthday party today and had lots of fun! You were a tad sleepy but enjoyed observing all the chaotic fun that was going on around us and the neat play area that you could roam free in and explore!

Checkin' out the surroundings.
You and Gianna enjoying the ABC play area. Lots of new toys you don't see at home. Daddy snapped a pic of us. We have tons of pics of you and Daddy since I'm the one behind the camera. But today, Daddy made an effort to snap a couple of us while you were enjoying lunch.
Look at you all propped up!
He got another one of us!
You and Gianna were enjoying that big bouncie ball.
And, last but not least a shot of the all-too-familiar side pose.
Lookin' good lil' man!

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