Memorial Day Weekend

We headed out to a long time family friend's house to play in the pool.  Hunter ate a few times while we were there (because he is McFatty Pants).  He also enjoyed playing in the pool and "swimming" with everyone.  Thank you Nick and Lucy for having us all over and grilling out!  We appreciate your hospitality!

By far Hunter's favorite person, Cubbie

 

Fatty #1

Fatty #2

Chef

Chef Boyardee that is...

Strawberry Picking, etc., etc.

Lots of stuff wrapped in one post.

On Sunday, Carl, Hunter, and I headed off to go strawberry picking.  We planned on going there and then swim at the Y.  Little did I know that the strawberry place didn't open until noon and the Y didn't open until 11.  So we went to the park, then the Y, then strawberry picking.

Later that day we went bowling with Kelly, Harry, and Emma.  It was Hunter's and Emma's first time bowling (well, Hunter didn't really bowl).  Hunter enjoyed dancing to the music.

 
Sorry about the booty shots!



Hunter and I went to the park on Monday.  I was able to snag this photo of what he did in the swing before it started to rain.  And the picture below it is what Hunter does in his room within a minute of being in there.  And that was just in front of the bookcase...

We had a crazy storm blow through this afternoon.  I made it in the door about 5 second before the hurricane winds started.  I let Koal out back about an hour later and found this. We didn't even hear it!

Carl has been wanted to take that tree down for a while.  It was between our fence and the fence behind us (so it knocked some of it down... and we just took the whole fence down knowing we had to replace it).  So much to do to this little house before we can sell it... I feel like Carl we have done so much already to it.  My project this summer is our kitchen.  I've had paint swatches up for months so that I know exactly what the color is going to look like (instead of the Crayola crayon colors that are in there now).

11 Months

Next month I will no longer have a baby.  It is a bitter sweet thought.

At 11 months, Hunter is:

-taking steps.  He is not consistently walking yet.  He just stands there laughing and clapping most of the time.  Silly boy.

-standing up without using anything to pull up on.  Carl got to witness this for the first time.  He finally got to see him do something first!

-signing more, drink, and sometimes eat.  They are all approximated.  He will combine more and drink together.  LOVE IT!

-improving his receptive language skills all the time.  He understands most of what we tell him to do.  He now crawls down the hall, stops in front of the night light, looks at us and shakes his head "no" then continues on.  It is so funny.

-knows his usual clothing items go on his body.  Obviously he can't put them on by himself, but he will try to put his socks on his feet, shirt on top of his head, diaper under his butt, and shorts on his leg.

- babbles all the time.  He is now "barking" at the dog (Koal doesn't even bark, but we have taught him that dogs bark).

-still in size 4 diapers, 12-18 month clothes... although his waist is getting slimmer so some shorts that were snug on his waist are no longer that snug.

-eating a lot of table foods.  He loves spaghetti.  Knock on wood, Hunter hasn't had any allergic reactions to milk products we have been introducing to him.  He loves the yogurt melts Gerber makes.

-has 7 teeth, 3 on top, 4 on bottom.  And it looks like he is going to be getting another on the top and the bottom soon.

-really independent now in his The Little Gym class.  He just goes off to other parents and sits next to them or goes to gym equipment.  It is just so amazing to see how much he has grown!

-giving kisses.  So cute.

-will point to my nose when asked, "Where is Mommy's nose?" about 80% of the time (depending on his mood).  If he doesn't want to play this "game" he just looks at me and tries to crawl away.

-still approximating the same words, but has added bubbles to the list.

Irrational Fears and OCD

Ever since Hunter was born, I have developed some irrational fears and some OCD.  Carl thinks I am crazy.  I have even planned out what to do if these things do happen.

1) Hunter's room is going to catch fire.  I plan on throwing our comforter over my head and body and running in there, rescuing him, and running back out.  I'm sure I will have to have my feet amputated from the burns, but at least my child will be safe.

2) My car is going to go over the High Rise Bridge into the water.  Luckily, I rarely take the interstate.  But I think I have mini anxiety attacks every time I go over that bridge!  I have a pair of scissors in my car so I can cut myself and Hunter out of the seats.  I have to get one of those LifeHammers.  Although, Mel reminded me that once I shatter the glass I have to wait for the water to rush in.  I'm having a panic attack right just thinking about that.  I also want to stock Carl's truck with these items since he goes over it twice a day two and from work.

3) This image runs through my head of Hunter climbing up his crib rails and falling head first onto the floor.  That is why he no longer has his bumper in his crib.  We have been working on him getting down from things the correct way (we do lots of that at The Little Gym).  Get to the edge, turn around, come down feet first.

4) Recently I have been worried that I am not going to take him to Mrs. Cathy's house and I will leave him in the car the whole time I'm at work.  Rationally, I know this wouldn't happen.  If I didn't show up at Cathy's house she would a) call my cell phone... when I didn't pick up she would b) call my work or call Carl who would then call my cell phone and then my work.  Irrationally, I still think it might happen.

I'm also a lot little OCD (Carl is rolling his eyes at "little").  Apparently there is medicine for this?!  I think I am functioning just fine for every day life.

1) I have to be the one who locks the door (or at least checks the door after it has been locked).  Even if I watch Carl lock the locks and push on the door, I still have to go and check the locks.  I will not sleep if I don't do this.

2) Boogers... if I see it in Hunter's nose, I have to get it out.  Same goes with a little piece of earwax (don't worry, I know better than to go fishing for it with a Q-tip... if I can't get it with my fingernails, then it just stays put... seriously), an eye booger, etc.

3) The closet doors and the bathroom door in our bedroom have to be shut.  It creeps me out when they are open at night.

Do you think I'm crazy now?!  I probably am.  Things could be worse, though.  I could be into things that are not good for my health or things that are illegal.  Instead, I will prepare for unlikely (knock on wood) things to occur.  But, if you ever ride with me in my car and we go over the High Rise (or any other water bridge for that matter) into the water, you will be thankful that I have prepared for such a scenario.

I can't have a post without a picture.  This was from our member party at The Little Gym last night.  I got to be co-host and designated chatter.  I even got a sweet shirt to wear.  Hunter got a cute shirt that he wore today since we enrolled for the new 40 weeks semester.  We will actually get to move up to the Beast class in January!  We have been in the Birds class since he was 3 months (there wasn't a Bugs class on Saturdays).

Silly Boy!

Most mornings I cut up a piece of toast for Hunter to eat while I eat my breakfast (this is after Carl has already given him his breakfast).  I saw that he was trying to give Koal a piece of his toast.  I told Koal "no" and to lay down and turned to Hunter and told him we don't feed the dog at the table.  He decided it was a good time to try to fake cry.  He was even able to squeeze out a tear.  If you click the images bigger, you can see the two tears he had to force out of his eyes.  Silly boy

Another day (a lot of silliness happens at the table) we had finished eating.  I took his tray to wash it, and I turned around and found him like this...

This is his new smile...

And he loves playing in the pots and pan cabinet.  He now takes everything out and climbs in...

And closes both doors.

Please ignore the ugly cabinets and knobs.  This summer I am going to DIY "remodel" the cabinets.

Mother's Day and Birthday

So I'm a little late... but better late than never, right?

Mother's Day and my birthday were within a week of each other.  Carl did an awesome job! I usually know what I'm getting (because I pick it out).  This year I told him I wanted something that signified Hunter.  I had hinted at a ring with Hunter's birthstone, but the ones that we could find were either way too expensive or just looked cheap.  This one will have to wait until we are finished having babies.

He purchased a beautiful heart necklace with the closest color stone he could find to Hunter's.  I LOVE it!

He also took Hunter to Potts N Paints and they decorated a bowl (for my breakfast) and a vase.  The staff was wonderful with Hunter.  They helped him paint with a brush and with his fingers.  I love them.  I am terrified that I am going to drop them (I tend to drop dishes).

 




Carl got a separate card for me from him, Hunter, and Koal.  They were all funny.  Hunter picked out his... it is a monkey card that makes monkey noise.

For my birthday (and a belated birthday for Ashley), we went to dinner with Ashley and Chris.  Ashley made me a beautiful beach blanket!  She poured so much love into it.  She is super crafty!  Remember the quilt she made for Hunter?!  I can't wait to go to the beach and use it!  I think I will probably take the blanket to the front yard once the yard dries some to let Hunter play on it.  Hunter and I went to Potts N Paints and made Ashley a small platter.  Once it is finished being fired, I will post a picture of it (only after Ashley has it in her hands).  I did take a picture of it before it was glazed and fired and showed her at dinner.

Mrs. Cathy and Hunter also got me a very pretty necklace and earring set as well as a certificate with his foot prints (by the way, why isn't it "feet prints" if it is both?!) that is hanging in my office for my birthday and Mother's Day.

I feel so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends.  My first Mother's Day was wonderful!  I hope everyone had a great one!

Walking....

It is obviously not his first choice of transportation, he is still shaky.  I knew he was getting close because he has been cruising around forever, stands without holding onto anything for long periods of time, bends his knees to pick up items up off of the floor from a stand, and on Saturday he stood up without pulling up on anything (I missed this... Carl got to see it).  I was so proud of him!  It was just amazing.

If I were you I would turn the volume down because all of my cheering is kind of annoying.  And these weren't his first steps.. but his second set.

Awesome Surprise

I love unexpected things.  The other day I went to my mailbox and found this in it (of course, it came in an envelope):

It had the sweetest message from one of my BFFs Ashley.  The message really did bring a tear to my eye.

Carl says that I would write a thank you note for someone writing me a thank you note.  And I totally would have sent Ashley a thank you card for this card.  Instead of writing just a regular old thank you card Hunter and I did "arts and crafts".

Hunter picked out the card (from a choice of two) and he decorated it along with the envelope.

 

He also wanted to try to give Ashley some of his hair.

He may or may not have needed a bath after this project.

Oh... and Carl had wanted an arts and crafts project from Hunter since Cubbie's gift, so since we were already messy we made Carl's card as well....