snow bunnies

Last weekend we took Kyle to the mountains for our 1st vacation as a family of 3. To say we were impressed with our little guy is a serious understatement. He was so easygoing and fun, and again made us realize yet again how very lucky we are to have such a good baby!

We stayed in a huge cabin with 4 other families - 10 adults and 7 kids ages 11 months (Kyle), 1, 3, 5, 6, 9 and 17. It was Kyle's first time sleeping in the pack n' play (which I was pretty nervous about), but he did pretty well. The first night was a breeze, but the 2nd night he was up for a few hours. Not crying, just having a hard time falling asleep. The next day we realized he had gotten another tooth and a MOLAR, which probably explains that sleepless night!

The cabin we stayed in was perfect. It had 3 separated levels, so we could put the kids to bed on the top floor and bring the monitors to the basement (with a poker table, bar, air hockey table and flat screen) for a few hours of adult fun. The middle level had a kitchen and huge open area, so the babies and kids could play around while we cooked and hung out.

Since Arrowhead was a sunny 65 degrees all weekend, on Saturday we took a drive to Snow Valley so the older kids could have some fun in the snow. We went sledding and bundled Kyle up so he could experience his first snow day! He wasn't a huge fan of the cold because he can't stand anything on his head, hands or feet (and mean mommy tried to cover all 3), but once he got used to it he had fun watching the skiers and eating lunch by the snow.

The other thing I was worried about was naps, since Kyle doesn't typically take naps just anywhere. It can be a process getting him down - especially in the afternoon - so I was a little nervous that he wasn't going to get any naps in and he would be a wreck at the end of the day. But it ended up working out just fine; he napped on the way there and in his stroller on the first day and took a pretty good nap in the pack n' play the second day. All that mommy worrying for nothing!

Packing for a weekend away with baby is no joke, but it was well worth it. We had so much fun and can't wait to go back again next year!

we have a walker!

I've been busier than normal the past few weeks with our first family vacation, work deadlines and making updates to our house. But I wanted to do a quick post to share that KYLE HAS STARTED TO WALK! He took his first step about a week ago, and he gets better every day. Over the past 3 days, he's gone from 3 steps and falling face first to practically walking across the room unassisted. It's so adorable and he is so proud of himself.

My big boy also got his first molar this week. I'm not sure why, but the second I saw it I lost my mind and started crying uncontrollably... I wasn't expecting to see such a big boy tooth in my baby's mouth! I think the fact that he is walking and getting "adult" teeth was just too much for me to handle at once. A mom's heart is a very delicate thing :)

kisses

There's nothing I love more right now then when I ask Kyle for a kiss, and he leans in with a wide, drooly open mouth to plant one right on my lips. I have to wait until he's not looking to wipe the goobs off my face :)

He has become a pro kisser - so much so that he even loves to kiss the floor (yuck), Penny (yuck), the stove (really?), himself in the mirror (cute), and the little bear in his favorite book (beyond words adorable). 

I was watching him read this book all by himself, and he would lean down to give each picture a kiss before turning the page. What a heartbreaker!

tiny milestones

Of course it's fun to celebrate the big milestones like smiling, rolling over, crawling... but sometimes it's the little things - like watching Kyle eat a snack out of his big boy cup for the first time - that catch me off guard and remind me that my baby is on the fast track to becoming a little boy.

10.5 months

trick or treat

Kyle is entering that fun time when a baby learns to respond to different cues and "answer" questions. It's so fun to watch him learn new tricks! His current repertoire includes:

• giving kisses (aka opening his mouth wide and leaning into your face)
• giving hi-5's
• waving and saying bye-bye (sometimes a couple minutes after someone actually says "bye" to him, but he's getting better!)
• throwing his arms in the air when someone asks him "how big is Kyle?" - this one is still my favorite :)
• making a circle motion with his arms when you say "round and round!"
• dancing/bouncing/jumping in response to the word (they're all the same)
• mimicking certain sounds, like coughs and laughs (he is developing a killer courtesy laugh)
• and the latest... his elephant sound! here's a video of him making his elephant sound as he walks along the refrigerator and kitchen cabinets. Sometimes he puts one arm up when he does it (like when mommy makes the sound with the "trunk"), but he was too busy exploring at this moment to humor me.

office boss

Tonight at the dinner table Brian and I were laughing at how funny babies are. Kyle was sitting in his high chair attempting to eat some finger foods (cut up pieces of avocado and cooked apple and squash). Some of it did get into his mouth and was actually swallowed, but most of it ended up down his shirt, in his hair, on the high chair strap, in Penny's mouth or across the room. His water cup was thrown on the floor 5 times, and in between bites he was saying "baaaah baaaah baaah" at the top of his lungs or laughing.

While I ate my tacos, I was feeding him bites of his pureed veggies, which he now loves to spit out down his chin so I can scoop it back on the spoon and put it back in his mouth. He was also spinning his arm in circles as fast as he can (his new favorite trick) or throwing his arms up. The whole thing was comical and totally normal.

After we put Kyle to bed, we watched SNL and this skit was cracking us up. When you're with a baby every day, you don't even notice how funny it is when they try to walk, eat, talk, or make any kind of human movement. This guy's baby "walk" is spot on! I love it!

 

10 months

Kyle, you are 10 months old! The best part about being 10 months is that you're starting to communicate with us... it's so fun! When we ask you "how big is Kyle?" you raise your arms above your head and we say "soooo big!" It never gets old. You also give us hi-5's and wave bye bye. You even say "ba byyyyyye" when you do it! Most of the time it's a delayed reaction and you're waving bye to a closed door 2 minutes after daddy leaves for work, but it's happening :)

You are also showing us what you want by grabbing our hands and putting them where you want them. If you want us to push your wagon, you'll grab our thumbs and put them on the handle! Or if you want us to rub your forehead when you're in your crib you place our hand there. You also grab my hands and push them together if you want me to clap or do another round of itsy bitsy spider.

At 10 months your little personality is really coming out. You're finding more things funny, like when mommy has a towel on her head after the shower or daddy pretends like he doesn't have any bones in his body (mommy cracks up at that one, too). You LOVE Penny girl and get really excited when she wants to play with you. You like to share your pacifier with her too, but mommy draws the line at that one! You also really like to play with your friends and cousins.

You know what you want and have a little stubborn streak. Once you put your mind to something (like getting your little hands on mommy's computer, phone, cup of coffee, or anything else you're not supposed to touch), it's all over until you succeed or we find a distraction.

Your balance is getting really good! You haven't taken a step yet, but you can pull yourself up with one hand on any piece of furniture and are getting really good and holding on and walking from the couch to the table, or from the wall to the piano. Your crawl has gotten super fast and you love to crawl all over the house and explore. Your favorite thing to do is open and close doors and drawers.

You're a great eater, but mostly with purees. We haven't gotten very far with the finger foods (you're a pro with putting Cherrios in your mouth and chewing, but not much more), but we're working on it. We're going to try soft, cut up veggies and some beans in the next couple of weeks.

Also at 10 months you had your 1st sick trip to the doctor with an ear infection. It was so sad to see you not feeling well, but I have to admit I loved all the extra snuggles I got when the only place you wanted to be was laying on my chest.

Kyle, you are so much fun at 10 months! I love when we can make you laugh and I love watching you learn new things. You've already mastered lots of your new toys from Christmas, like putting balls through the basketball hoop and making your new truck talk. You're a super handsome, smart, funny, sweet boy and growing so fast!