Oh, I know her (part II)

Another amazing article on Dr. Corrin Richels (for those of you who care).

Oh, and at the end of the article... remember this bad boy (towards the end of the post)? Yeah, that would be a small part of her big grant. Some of her current graduate students are expanding on my thesis. Pretty awesome.

Rub-a-dub-dub

Hunter's in the sink tub...

Hunter loves the sink. Carl loves the sink. He even made the comment the first night, "I love him in the sink. I don't know why, but I feel so much safer with him in here." To which Hunter responded by grabbing the dish drying rack, and standing up. Still feel safe? haha

At The Little Gym...

...we run and skip (well, not quite yet...)

I am just so thankful I work(ed) here (still do sometimes) and discovered the greatness of this place. It is not just for motor skill development, it also helps social, cognitive and emotional growth. I love that the parent/child classes incorporate sign language. And we love our Miss Sarah (and everyone else at TLG). I really don't just put stuff like this on here because I work(ed) there. I truly do believe in the program. It is just amazing. If I can't convince you to go to a no obligation trial... check out their facebook page. Maybe the others can convince you.

Stepping down from my soap box now.

8 Months!

I cannot believe Hunter is 8 months old! Only 4 more months until I have to start calling him a toddler.

At 8 months, Hunter is:

-On the move! Not crawling or walking, but he is scooting backwards and rolling around. If I put him in one spot in a room, in about 2 minutes he is on the opposite side of the room.

-Pulling up on things. He enjoys standing and will let go of things. He can hold himself up for a few seconds before losing his balance and having to put his hands back on the object he is hold onto.

-We have to lower the crib mattress tonight. I set Hunter in it to take something out of the dryer, and this is what I came back to:

He was on his knees. Luckily I got there before he pulled himself to a full stand. For the record, I put him in the middle of the crib.

-Loves Koal. He will look for him every time he hears his nails on the floor. If we have moved him in our room early in the morning, as soon as he sits up in bed he searches for him.

-He also loves to eat. We have been giving him more and more table food. He also loves to drink from his sippy cup. As of right now, he will drink juice and his formula from it.

-He is trying very hard to sit up on his own. He is going to have some abs of steal! He is trying to sit straight up from his back. I have been assisting him.. I put him on his side, pull his legs to the floor, and put his arm on the floor to have him push up. He is getting a lot better at this.

-I'm not sure he is ever going to crawl. It is so good for their spine and back muscles to crawl, but he will get to his knees, then push his knees off of the floor in a bear walk position. He is a pro at going backwards. I think he might just go straight to walking.

-He is wearing 12 month clothes and size 4 diapers.

-I love how vocal he is! If he wants some one's attention (whether it is the dog's or someone on TV), he makes a loud, "Uh!" He is using lots of different consonants and is attempting to label things. We have "duh" for the dog right now. Every time Koalwalks by, "Duh!" Loooove it (but I'm also biased on the things I love because of my profession).

On another note, tomorrow Carl will be taking Hunter to the pediatrician. Poor guy has been to the doctor more in his 8 months (not including his check ups) than I have in my life. His eczema has gotten worse, and last night it kept waking him up. He was just scratching and so uncomfortable. Mrs. Cathy said he was very uncomfortable and itchy again today. We will see what else we can do for his poor skin. You can see his red face below, but it is the worst on the top of his head and on the side of his face.

Loving This Weather!

Although I will not be loving it tomorrow! We have been in the 60's and 70's since Friday, but tomorrow it is going to drop down to the 40's.

Hunter and I played outside one afternoon this past week when it was in the 60's. He enjoyed watching Koal roll run around in the yard and chase sticks. He also enjoyed playing with the leaves.

Carl, Hunter, and I went to a local park/walking path on Saturday. It is a mile and a half walk (one that I took almost daily with Kelly and Emma over the summer trying to convince Hunter to come out). We didn't walk the whole thing because it was so windy. We turned around about half a mile into it.

Saturday is also our The Little Gym class. There was a trial who was the same age as Hunter. Hunter LOVED her! The little girl's mom had her standing in front of Hunter and he just grabbed her and pulled her to his face. He was just loving on her. We also went today (since I had off for Presidents' Day), but he didn't seem to like anyone.

We also were able to Skype with Aunt Nat this weekend. Hunter has become more interested in this (or maybe just the computer). He does smile and scream talk to Nat.

And, with a heavy heart, I packed up all of Hunter's 6-9 and 9 month clothes. He has been out of them for a while, but I didn't have a container to put them in. They are finally packed away ready to go in the attic.

Random Pictures

My little dust bunny. He scooted backwards from one end of the living room to the other... right under the couch.

No more pictures!

Family

My sweet baby boy

Hampton Roads Weather

You have to love our crazy weather. On Thursday it snowed. School was canceled (luckily, we don't have to make it up, unlike another school district who is "Ahead of the Curve"). I got Hunter all suited up and we went outside and sat in the snow. He enjoyed it even after falling over in it.

On Sunday, it was in the 60's! Hunter and I met Kelly and Emma at the park. Hunter went on the swings for the first time and loved it. He also went down the slides. He loves his Emma and Aunt Kelly. We then proceeded to Skinny Dip, yummy! You can't eat anything in front of Hunter without him wanting some. I was going to admit what a terrible mother I am in regards to Skinny Dip, but I will not. I'll let you think about that on your own.

"Hunter, hold my hand."

Valentine's Day

Hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day! We don't really celebrate Valentine's Day... I got Carl a mouse pad with Hunter's picture for his office and he got me the shoes I wanted but refused to buy.

Hunter had a great first Valentine's Day. He was at his Mrs. Cathy's house with all his friends. She does something special every holiday, and the parents get something for all the kids. Hunter had a heart basket full of goodies. When I came to get him he was playing with everything in his basket.

At Mrs. Cathy's

Oh, I know her

Check out this article.

This would be my graduate thesis advisor, one of my professor, and whose job I now have (she gave me a wonderful recommendation to my principal to hire me at the school). Talk about some big shoes I'm filling. :] Enjoy.

Not too much to report

We haven't been up to much lately. Hunter has yet another cold. His little nose is like a faucet. Oh well. He is still his normal, happy, hungry self.

Since there is nothing really to report, here are some videos.