2/28/09

Baby steps

We went over to my sister's house today for a little visit with the family. While we were there, Walter walked! With a little encouragement from Uncle Jeremy, he took a step all by himself. And then again later, he took another step. And then again, three steps! When we got home we pulled out the video camera to see if we could get it on tape. Actually, we wanted to see if it would even happen again. Take a look:


He's been doing it all night. 3 steps here, 4 steps there. He has a long way to go before he's really steady on his feet, but this is a good start. I'm so proud of my little guy.

p.s. Kristin is doing great. Just a couple more weeks before my nephew arrives!

2/27/09

Look Ma, no hands!

Walter has been working on his balance these days. He only requires us to hold one of his hands to walk around the house now. And he stands without hanging on to anything. It's fun to watch his face go from terror to joy as he realizes what he's doing.  

2/23/09

Cute stuff

Geez, this blog is dull. Nothing but words. Here are some photos to liven things up. (Yup, he's still drooling...)


2/22/09

The cure

Since my last post, Nate decided to share his secret of good health with me. And I'm going to share it with you. Here it is:
"It's all in your head. Tell yourself you aren't sick, and you won't be sick."

Gee, thanks Nate. Problem solved.

p.s. If it were up to me, all fonts would be available in italic, bold and sarcastic.

Blah...

A nasty little cold is making it's way around our house and it has finally hit me. Nate had it and seems to be over it. (He always seems to get the mini version of the real deal. He has miraculous self-healing powers.) Walter has it and is getting better. And I seem to be in the thick of it. I can't tell if it's getting better or worse. I am happy to say, though, that this cold hit me just as I finished breast feeding. Which means I can take medicine! Bring on the decongestants!

2/18/09

384 months

Happy birthday, Nate! 
(When do we stop counting in months, anyway?)

2/17/09

Sleepyhead

On nights when Walter is really tired, he can get pretty cranky at bedtime. He'll fuss through our whole routine - changing, feeding, and reading stories. But when I put him in his crib, he'll give me a huge smile. It's like he's saying, "Aaaahhh. Just what I needed." 

2/15/09

The power of a princess

Kyla's Mom: Kyla, would you like to hang out with Uncle Nate while Daddy goes to school on Thurdsay?

Kyla: (VERY hesitantly) Um... ok...

Uncle Nate: We could watch a movie. How about "The Little Mermaid?"

Kyla: (without hesitation) Yeah! Daddy, can you go to school RIGHT NOW??

With three nieces, Uncle Nate knows how important a Disney princess is to a little girl. 
*****
Why is Kyla interviewing babysitters? My sister, Kristin, (Kyla's mom) is almost 35 weeks pregnant and on bed rest. She has been told to stay put in order to stay healthy and keep that baby on the inside as long as she can. Which means Jeremy (Kyla's dad) has a lot on his plate, trying to keep up with work, school, and a three year old. (And I complained about my pregnancy. It seems we had it easy!) Please feel free to leave a comment here to wish them well. Kristin is an avid reader – especially now that she has some time to kill!

2/11/09

8 months

It has been a month of changes and challenges. The novelty of being walked around the house has finally warn off. We still do our share of walking, but Walter is once again content to play on the floor. He is sitting, scooting, spinning, rocking, and rolling. He's not crawling yet, but is building up those muscles every day.

Teething has been the biggest challenge this month. He has kept us awake a few nights. And keeping up with the drool is practically impossible. You'll notice in this month's photos that Walter's chin is glistening, his shirts are soaked and he is often times wearing a bib. We do his laundry twice as often now, just to keep him in clean, dry bibs. I honestly had no idea that much fluid could come out of one little kid. He soaks through 4-5 bibs a day!

Other changes – he's really starting to understand words and respond to them. When you ask "Where's Molly?" he stops what he's doing and looks around for her. He loves playing the piano and banging things to make noise. And he gives kisses! Not always on demand, and always wet, of course. But I love them anyway. Click here for photos of our happy, drooling boy.

2/10/09

Teething

Walter has been teething. His drooling has gotten worse, giving him a rash on his chest from being constantly wet. Along with the drool comes a runny nose, and with the runny nose comes lots of nighttime wake-ups. Sleep has been hard to come by lately. I wish I could tell him that once these teeth come in his mouth troubles will be over. But genetically speaking, he's doomed. Between Nate and I there are countless cavities and years of braces. Nate even had to have jaw surgery – there are about 32 screws are holding that jaw together! No matter what the dentists, orthodontists and oral surgeons want to do to his sweet little mouth, we will always be there to puree his food, wipe his chin, and comfort him in the night. We're crossing our fingers for you buddy.

2/8/09

Snuggle-bug

I got the chance to feed Walter from a bottle a couple of times this weekend - something I haven't done since he was about 2 months old. I was thrilled to find that snuggling up with Walter and a bottle is just as wonderful as nursing him, with the added bonus of not getting bit. We have just 2 more weeks of nursing before he's fully on the bottle and I'm feeling really good about the switch. 
Of course, the warm weather and sunshine this weekend have helped in giving my mood a boost. I can't wait until all this snow is gone. I'm ready to come out of hibernation!

2/7/09

Today's high: 47 degrees!

Finally, a day that isn't freezing cold! We decided to take advantage of the warm weather and head to the dog park. We were all in need of some outdoor exercise. Molly romped in the snow with her dog buddies while Nate and I had a nice long hike through the slush. Walter was happy to be along for the ride. We're hoping all that fresh air will make for a nice long afternoon nap – for Walter and Molly.



2/5/09

Swimming Success

Tonight's swimming lesson went WAY better than last week's lesson. Walter was smiley and LOVED splashing around in the water. He kick-kick-kicked all over the place. We even dunked him all the way under the water at the end of class and he handled it just fine. No crying, no coughing – just a few blinks to get the water out of his eyes. Hooray!

While Walter was learning to swim, Nate was learning that our little point-and-shoot camera takes horrible pictures in the bright lights of the pool area. This is as good as it gets this time around. That's our instructor, Justine, cheering Walter on.

2/1/09

Messy

Until recently, Walter has been a pretty neat eater. We had a few messes in the beginning when we were new at feeding him, but other than that, we've kept things pretty clean. Lately, Walter has decided to exercise his independence and take dinner into his own hands. So we've been having 2-spoon dinners around here. One for him, and one for me. Clean up takes a little longer now – but he's learning, right?