I love spring!

Hi guys! I had to share these pics with you...we had a beautiful weekend and this week has started out warm as well. We have spent a lot of time outside. Mom strapped my booster seat onto a patio chair so I could enjoy the weather!

Dad did some landscaping...he added a couple new bushes so Mom and I had to water them today. I grabbed the water can so we could get going...

Just another day enjoying the weather from my chair....

Dad and I chillin' after dinner tonight. I like playing with the grass. I also like trying to put it in my mouth...but Dad stops me from doing that!

My bubbles are great outdoor fun. Daddy makes me laugh when he blows the bubbles and then yells "pop 'em!"

Allergy Update

It was a cold day here on Monday when Mom, Grover and I piled into the car to head to my Allergist appointment. It has been six months since my last visit. They did another skin test just on the eggs, soy and peanuts. Good news is that it looks like the egg and peanut allergy are starting to fade. But the soy allergy is is still very strong. I had to have blood taken (OUCH!) to verify the skin tests, so we will know the final results in another week.
I have some great videos and pics of what I have been up to lately. Let me tell you, I am a busy guy! So stay tuned for more soon......

What's this white stuff?

I saw some of this white stuff-most call it snow, in NJ and Chicago over Christmas. I have never seen it come down in Atlanta though!

I had to interrupt my lunch to watch it when it began...

This is our deck when it first started snowing...

My first snowman! Since we are not used to making snowmen, we did not have a lot of the ingredients. So he has chocolate chunk eyes and a carrot nose!

This is neat! But I am glad we don't see it all that often....I don't have the right clothes to play in it!

Go Niagara!

In hopes of a win for the Niagara Men's Basketball team tonight I went straight to the good luck source...Monte the Mascot....

I gave him a little kiss...

and a good luck rub...


Now keep your fingers crossed!

Everybody needs to laugh nowadays....

I had a serious case of the giggles the other night. Everything was funny to me! I have this block that has a string on it and when you pull it, it vibrates. That is all that Daddy was doing to me and I could not stop laughing. Anyway, I hope it makes you laugh or at least make you smile....we need to do more of that these days!

Good Bye...and an Update...

Before I update you on my progress, I just want to say a special good-bye to my Great Uncle Bob, who passed away last week. He was Mommy's Uncle and Godfather so she was a little sad. She flew to Chicago to attend the services for him so it was just Daddy and me for the past 2 days. Anyway, I only got to meet him a couple of times but I hear he was a good man who had a lot of stories and he will be greatly missed! Love you Great Uncle Bob!

I love chasing any kind of ball around the house. As you can see, I am holding my basketball but my beach ball is in the background. There are balls all over the house!

Another favorite pastime of mine is to get into Mommy's cookbooks. I like to pull them off the shelves and open them up and then leave them laying in a big pile. Fun Fun!

This is a funny story. So Daddy thought I should try eating at the table with them for dinner. He took the tray off my high chair and lowered my chair to fit under the table. I did fine at first but then I just felt like kicking my feet up. I wanted to get comfortable! Is that not what you are supposed to do??

A Little Laughter

HAPPY 10 MONTH BIRTHDAY TO ME!

I turned 10 months old yesterday! Wow, I am getting so big so fast! Can you believe that in 2 months, I will be 1 year old! I am so excited!!

Since most of you don't get to hear me laugh that often, I decided to share this video with you of my silliness. Who knew slippers could be so funny!

Baby Talk

For a while, I have been saying a lot of "Mama" and "Mom, Mom." So Mommy and Daddy have been trying to add new words to my vocabulary. I am getting better with ball...I get the "ba" out when I see it. But what I have been working really hard on is "DaDa" and "Daddy...."

Listen to me play, crawl and talk.....

And listen to me walk and talk.....

Busy Little Bee

Mommy calls me her "busy little bee" lately. Since I can crawl now...and very fast I might add..I am into a lot of things. I love rolling my ball out of my playroom and onto the hardwoods in the kitchen. That way I can roll and chase all at the same time!
This is one of my new favorite spots. I crawl to the windows in the playroom and just look outside or bang on the windows.

And it doesn't matter how many toys I have....I ALWAYS go back to the pots and pans cupboard . I go there at least once a day! They make good noise!

I still really love to walk with Mommy or Daddy holding my hands. I like chasing Ripken or kicking my ball while circling the family room and kitchen. Mommy let go of me today and I stood by myself for about 5 seconds.....but it felt like a lifetime to me!

Sorry Everyone!

I am exhausted! Sorry it has been a few days since my last post. Things have been busy around here. Mommy and Daddy are doing a lot of work to the house. Daddy did my bathroom first -it looks awesome! Now they have moved on to the downstairs bathroom-can't wait to see that one when it is finished!
For those of you that did not know, Mommy has a side business. She bakes "sweet treats" ---cookies and stuff and then delivers them to clients for meetings or whatever they need them for. So she had to do a bit of baking over the weekend and then we had to deliver them to one of her clients yesterday. That was my first time going with her on official business-it was fun!
Today we went to Mommy's old work at Home Depot Corporate and visited her friends and then had lunch with Daddy. After that we had to run a bunch of errands.
And tomorrow...we have to take my buddy Rips to the vet. So it has been non-stop since Saturday! As you can see by the picture, I am pooped! But Mommy says that will be it for the week and then we might get to go the the pool at the club again. Yipee!


But we did have nice weather on Sunday so we all took a break and went to the park. I love the swings! Mommy and Daddy have discussed getting me a swing for the backyard. Oh, how I much fun I would have with that!

Daddy calls this the "tough guy" picture since we both look so serious.

Talk to all of you again soon!!

Me and Ripken

One of the best things about crawling is that I get to see Rips (thats our nickname for Ripken) whenever I want. I don't have to wait for Mommy or Daddy to take me to see him. I don't think he is that happy about it-he seems to run the other way when he see me coming.... but I love it!
I love talking to Rips so I made my way to the gate and we struck up a conversation.

It was time to take Rips outside so I made my way to his leash and got it ready for him. Stay tuned for a video of me and my buddy Rips...he gets me so excited and makes me laugh!

I CAN CRAWL!

Check me out! I am mobile.

So I had to help Daddy baby-proof the cabinets.

Toys?

So, yes, I like my toys...especially kicking my soccer ball around while Mommy or Daddy walks with me....
and of course, there is my ball pit and my car carrier that I always enjoy playing with, but....

since I can get myself around a room so much faster now...I like trying new things like pulling all my jackets and bags off the wall ....

and, it doesn't matter where I am , there is always something to get into! On this day, Daddy's shoes were a lot of fun!

New Seat!

Hello! I finally got my new carseat! It is so much bigger...I have more room to move around in this one. Of course, Daddy did all of his research to find out which seats are safest and this was one of the best out there (thanks Daddy!). It was also recommended to us by Aunt Sue and Aunt Mickey, so thanks to them as well! I will probably be in this one until I am somewhere around 4 years old...so I guess I better get used to it!

Under the Weather

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I have been a litle under the weather. I got a cold and then I passed it on to Mommy and Daddy! So we have all been a little sick these past several days. Mommy and Daddy joined a new a gym and when they go to work out, I go to the daycare at the gym. This place is beautiful, lots of toys and other kids to play with and some really nice ladies that babysit me. I guess I am not used to being around so many other kids all the time and I probably just caught what one of them had...no biggie. Mommy says it can be a good thing because it helps me build up my immune system-I guess I will understand that some day. So we will get back to taking pictures, and more posts this week.

Thank goodness I have my ND blanket to keep me warm and make me feel better!! (thanks again Aunt Sue!!)

9 Month Check-Up

Ok, so here are the stats from my 9 month check-up with Dr. Harrell:

Weight: 18lb 13 oz

Height: 28 1/4 in

So I put on 2 lb 12 oz since my 6 month visit ( I like food!) and I grew a little over 1/2 inch. Dr. Harrell said that I had such a huge leap at my last check-up that it was to be expected that I may not grow that much this time. It is really true that we go through "growth spurts" and I had a big one right before the 6 month check-up. No shots this time-yeah! She said everything else looked and sounded good so I am set until my 1 year check-up!

Happy Birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

9 MONTHS TODAY!

Well, I have been busy growing up in the past month! Here is the update I promised you....

First of all, I am still sleeping soundly through the night and I have been for a couple of months now. I go to bed around 7pm and...I am a bit of an early riser, usually up between 6-6:30am. But as you can tell from this picture, I am well rested!
I guess this picture says it all. I am walking now with help. In fact, whenever someone picks me up I always reach back for the floor because all I want to do is cruise around! I love to stand by couches, or my new activity table. I know how to sit up from a laying down position and.....THIS JUST IN, TODAY, ON MY BIRTHDAY, I PULLED MYSELF UP INTO A STANDING POSITION. Mom and Dad were shocked so I did it again for them to prove it was not just a fluke. Dad says this means the mattress get dropped...whatever that means!

So now I have both bottom teeth and 1 top one fully in, and the other one is making it's way down. I am eating a lot of table foods now, not just the pureed stuff. I snack on cheese, avocado, banana, carrots and broccoli, cheerios, pancakes and whatever Mom and Dad might be having for that meal too. Of course, we still avoid any foods that have soy, eggs or peanuts in them. I can feed myself (with my hands) really well and I prefer that. Mommy calls me "Mr. Independent"

And last but not least, I moved into my own bathroom and my own tub. Howard-the duck tub that I had been bathing in- is not big enough anymore for me and all my toys. In this pic, I am helping Dad fill the tub for my evening soak.

Stay tuned tomorrow....it is my 9 month check-up with Dr. Harrell and we can't wait to see how big I really am! We already have to buy the convertible car seat because I don't fit in my infant seat anymore...I am too long. So this should be a good check-up!

Post Christmas

We arrived at Grandma Judy and Grandpa Wayne's house on Friday night 12/26 (due to a 3 hour delay from NJ to IL). I knew I was in for some crazy times! I am the 11th grandchild on this side of the family and the oldest are 11 years old....so think about how many of us little people there are running around! But it is always a good time........

Me and cousin Eva. She kept asking Mommy if she could hold me. I gues you could say she likes me!
More cousins and Eva's brother and sister...Joey and Cindy

Me and my Godmother-Aunt Liz. Mom and Dad left to go shopping for a while and when nobody else could get me to take a nap...good 'ol Aunt Liz got me to relax and go to sleep!

One of my many gifts...the Vtech Driver from my cousins Anna and Nathan

This was a cool gift! Aunt Sue made a blanket which also folds up into a pillow but it has the ND logo on it! That Aunt Sue can make anything!

Again, I could go on and on with the pics from my first Christmas but there are way too many to post them all! It was so much fun to be with everyone. The next time I will see most of them is for my 1st birthday in April!

I have more new updates coming soon. I had so many milestones over Christmas that I have to share them all with you....so stay tuned for those coming soon!

Christmas Day

Christmas morning came early. I was up and ready to go at 6am. I snuggled with Mom on the couch a bit before getting to the good stuff...
Some pretty good stuff I raked in! Believe me, this is just a glimpse of what I got..there was so much more throughout the day but this was a good start! Thanks Santa!

The party started around 2pm. Here I am just relaxing with Grandma Mary and cousin Danny.

There is a story behind this...This is called the corn toss...I don't know that much about it except that we play this every year at Grandma Mary and Grandpa Ed's. Grandma has boxed frozen corn that we toss into a pot. Everyone takes a turn tossing the boxes in and the person who get the most in the pot, wins a prize.

This being my first year, I did not do so well, but I did enjoy playing with the corn and the pot!

There are so many pictures I could share from my first Christmas at Grandma Mary and Grandpa Ed's but I thought I would just choose a few to show what a great time I had. Lots of family, good food and fun!

We left to go to Grandma Judy and Grandpa Wayne's house in Chicago the next day so stay tuned for that update coming soon.......................

Christmas Eve

The first leg of our Christmas journey took us to Grandma Mary and Grandpa Ed's house in NJ. On Christmas Eve, I got to spend time with my cousins Danny, Lexi and Brendan before settling down to sleep in anticipation of Santa's visit!

A hug and a kiss from Lexi...
Whew, it was a long day of playing! We all needed a break so here Danny Lexi and I are just chilin' by the Christmas tree.

Later, Grandma Mary let me open one of my gifts (of course, I like the paper better). It was some new bath toys! So I used them in my bath on Christmas Eve.

Then Daddy and I settled down to read "The Night Before Christmas"...

and then I "had just settled down for a long winter's nap".....

More to come.....