The most crawling he's done in weeks

We bought Walter his first real pair of shoes tonight. He was hilarious to watch in the store. We put the shoes on him and he would not stand up for anything. He kept pulling one foot way up and letting the other foot just dangle. But they fit, so we bought them. We put them on at home and he crawled around the house for a while. He'd start to stand, realize those shoes were there, and get right back on his hands and knees. But, by the end of the night, he was walking like a pro again. Oh, the silly little things we find entertaining these days...

Really? Again?

This is the fifth time in a row that Walter has peed on his towel the minute I take him out of the tub. How do I make it stop??

Snakes!!!

Three snakes to be exact. Sunning themselves on the path at the dog park and causing me to scream, jump and otherwise cause a scene. And, of course, my jumping and yelling made the snakes jump and writhe and do snake acrobatics – causing me to scream some more. Each time this happened, Walter, safe on his dad's back, laughed hysterically at his silly mama. Nate just shook his head and walked away, pretending he didn't know this ridiculous woman. My nerves are shot. I think I'll be staying away form the dog park for a while. Sorry Molly!

Busy, busy

Things have been so busy lately. It seems like I've been constantly running from the time I get up until the time my head hits the pillow at night. And even then it's hard to turn my brain off – always thinking about what needs to be done tomorrow. Walter has been helping out as much as he can. Laundry baskets are almost as much fun to unload as bookshelves.

I'm leaving my boys alone again for the weekend – a bachelorette party this time. I'm sure it will be tons of fun and a nice break. It will be great to have a couple of days to sleep in. But I'm already looking forward to seeing Walter's gorgeous face on Sunday when I get home.

It's a sign!

Nate and I have been VERY lazily using some sign language with Walter, figuring, if he catches on, great – if he doesn't, no biggie. In the last day or so he's been telling us he's "all done" with a few flaps of his hands. Hooray!

New Terrain

Walter has mastered carpet, tile, wood – most indoor flooring is A-OK. But grass is a whole different experience. We put him down in the backyard and he froze. Wouldn't move a muscle. When he finally took a step, he fell over and touched the grass with his bare hands. And that's when the crying started. I guess it's going to take a while to get used to the great outdoors.

"He slimed me"

Walter planted a kiss on me today that left my cheek literally dripping with saliva. The teething continues...

Happy Easter!

Easter is so much fun with little girls. I just have to show off my nieces, Emma and Ginny, all dressed up in pink frills. Gramma and Grampa B. had us all over for brunch and egg hunting today.

 

10 months

Another month went by in the blink of an eye. This kid is growing up too fast! Walter is becoming an excellent walker. He only crawled for about two weeks, then pretty much gave it up altogether. Once he learned to stand up without the help of furniture, crawling seemed unnecessary. The only time he gets down on his hands and knees is to go after the dog dishes – we've had to clean up a lot of messes lately. Molly has been helping him work on his balance. She tries to knock him over all the time, but 9 times out of 10 he stays standing. Walter still loves books and gets plenty of entertainment out of a trip to the library or a book store. All those shelves just waiting to be unloaded! He's got quite a sense of humor – giggles all the time. I'll try to get some video of that soon. It's the best sound in the world. 

Click here for some photos from the last month.

In the midst of a 4-day weekend

I've been feeling a bit burned out at work lately, so in addition to having Good Friday off, I played hooky on Thursday as well. Walter and I spent the day shopping with my sister and baby Finn. (Nate got the day off too!) Walter behaved perfectly – an excellent little shopper. 

I wasn't sure what I would do with myself for 4 whole days, but there is no shortage of things to do. We've been to the dog park, to the library, and to Target (no day is complete without a trip to Target.)  We've walked the dog and cleaned the house. Walter and I spent some time playing with the camera – and I'm sure we'll be doing more of that tonight and tomorrow. I took another stab at baking hot cross buns. I still don't have the perfect recipe. I think last year's attempt was better, but they turned out pretty good. Anyone have a good recipe you want to share with me??

Nate is spending most of the weekend with the Brewers, so Walter and I are on our own. I've got a bottle of wine and a movie waiting for me as soon as Walter goes to bed tonight. I'd say by Monday morning I'll be ready to work again. It feels good to take some time off. I should do this more often!

Cooking with Walter

Walter discovered the kitchen cabinets the other day. So I locked up all but one cabinet, cleared out all the bad stuff, and filled it with Walter-friendly kitchen things. He's diggin' it.

 

We now have tupperware and wooden spoons strewn about the house. And that scratch on his cheek came from a freak ladle incident (you'll have to ask Nate for the full details on that one.) But now he's got a place to play while we cook. After all, things that aren't meant to be toys are the most fun.

6 years

Today is our anniversary. I asked Nate how he felt about our 6 years of marriage. 

His response: "Wouldn't change a thing."

Good answer, Nate! I couldn't agree more. Happy anniversary!