Bye-Bye Gaga

I have a confession to make:

Every once in awhile I tend to go through a mini-obsession with gossip magazines. I can go anywhere from 3-6 months without ever looking at one, but once I look at one I feel the need to look at them all and will buy about three at one time.

Now, I'm not proud of this. At all. But I am only human.

Yesterday, I found out just how much Dax dislikes these magazines.

I've been pretty good about keeping him away from our magazine rack/toilet paper holder. But the kid was determined and I decided to let him have some fun.

It has now become one of his favorite activities and I can't keep him away.

I don't think I'll be buying much more of these anytime soon.

Walking!!!

My remarkable little bundle of joy is officially walking!! He began Monday evening at my mom's house and has hardly stopped since!! He was still technically nine months old when he achieved this milestone! I had a teary mama moment following the big event!

As of today he is 10 months old!! His first birthday is only 60 days away and you can bet that I have already started planning. I have never been so excited for a birthday since I was a little kid. I already know what I'm going to buy him and everything!

In terms of his other recent accomplishments he is also clapping and waving hello and goodbye. He's not talking too much yet, which sometimes makes me nervous, but he is still one smart little fella!

Could you...

possibly end your day in any better way than snuggling up next to this??

If you think so, then I think there is something wrong with you. This dude can't be beat.

NINE MONTHS!

Dax is actually 9 1/2 months at this point, but we weren't able to schedule his nine month wellness check until today and it went very well! (Especially since this one did not involve him getting any shots!) His head, once again, measured in the 90th+ percentile- to which the doctor even argued that his big head was to contain his big brains- and his length was still in the 30th percentile and his weight in the 50th; overall, when each of his measurements were averaged together he is bigger than about 90% of the boys his age. The doctor was truly impressed by him!

He's getting smarter and smarter everyday! He has now mastered opening cupboards and seems to know exactly where everything goes, including the objects we try to hide. He has mastered not only walking along objects but walking in-between objects and taking a step or two on his own to get from one to another within very close distances.

He has taken a couple steps on his own without any help, but as soon as he realizes what he is doing he freaks himself out and plops down on his bum. He is also able to stand on his own as well, although he hasn't been practicing this new skill so much since he has discovered "power crawling." I swear I have never seen anything crawl as fast as he can!

A couple of his new favorite toys include empty pop bottles and the cardboard paper towel rolls. Let's just say that he occasionally likes to raid our little recycling bin and spends at least 30 minutes playing with these objects every time he does so.

His problem solving skills are really starting to mature. He's attempting new things to accomplish what he wants and is a very determined little bugger. One afternoon Ryan and I sat and watched him try to crawl between one of our kitchen chairs and the wall. There wasn't enough room for him to squeeze through on all fours so he stood up and attempted to squeeze through by pushing himself up against the wall- even with his head turned- and he even tried turning his head in the opposite direction before he plopped down, turned around, and pushed the chair out of his way.

Speaking of, now that he has discovered his ability to move furniture he has been using it on every piece of furniture that will shake when he pushes. He really enjoys shoving the kitchen chairs and our entry table around, along with his dresser which holds a stereo and large picture frame on top (not the best idea.)

Well, he simply is amazing and I could go on much longer bragging about him, but I think I'll give you a rest now! Hope you enjoyed this update!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Dax's first Christmas had it's ups and downs...he wasn't feeling very good but despite that he managed to maintain his cuteness and cheese it up- he has one great (and not-so-little) personality!

He opened his first present on Christmas Eve morning with just Ryan and me, we were a tad selfish but felt entitled to it since we spent the next two days with family!

He had a preference for tasting the wrapping paper as opposed to ripping it and playing with the toy inside. Ryan and I mostly opened all of his presents, which probably neared about fifty+ by the time our Christmas celebrations were finished. It's amazing how loved that child is!

One of our favorite presents this holiday season came from my great-grandparents Verna and Wayne who have mostly been watching Dax since school started in August. They have been taking pictures of him everyday that he has been with them and compiled them into one big picture book, complete with cute little captions to every picture and a very special letter to Dax at the end. Everyone who has looked at the book and read their letter has cried, it's touching. Dax is truly blessed to have shared some great experiences with his great-great-grandparents! I truly hope that I can do the same someday with my own great-great-grandchildren.

We spent Christmas Eve evening with my grandparents and family, but spent the night at Ryan's parents' house. Everyone is so impressed with how well Dax is pulling himself up and standing now. He's even getting brave enough to let go for several seconds, although he's not so confident with getting down and cries out every time he sits down.

This holiday season was especially good to us and even though we have suffered our financial struggles this year our family was exceptionally generous with us this year and we couldn't be more spoiled or thankful for how supportive and loving they all are. Although the 'stuff' we got was fantastic, the most amazing part of Christmas was being with our family, especially Dax.

On Christmas night, after being away from home for all of Christmas Eve and most of Christmas day, we came home and before even putting away anything we got Dax ready for bed and cuddled with him on the couch. As I was tickling his face and singing to him, like I do every night after reading to him and brushing his gums, he popped his thumb out of his mouth and began rubbing my face and singing back to me. It was the sweetest thing and I nearly cried. He's catching on to everything so quickly and is such a sweet boy, even though he definitely has his rugged boy qualities too, and I'm so proud of everything he does.

Ryan and I have decided that despite the difficulties of our life right now, this is definitely the happiest time of our lives. We wouldn't exchange it for anything in the world.

Birthday!

Today is Ryan's 24th birthday!! It's our sixth one together, although we are not technically together due to Ryan's new job taking him out of town half of each week. I miss him so much! In celebration of his day of birth, since I can't spend it with him, I'm going to make a list of 24 of my favorite things about him!! Here we gooooo...

1. His smile, it's contagious

2. That he has a few different laughs depending on how funny something is, each of which makes me laugh as well

3. How he can cheer me up NO MATTER WHAT

4. His eyes, especially when he wears green

5. What an amazing father he is, hands down my favorite thing about him.

6. His arms, they wrap around me just right

7. The gap in his front teeth, it's a unique quality that makes him all the more special and handsome to me

8. His hands, they are huge

9. What a fantastic snuggle buddy he is, he always keeps me warm

10. How well he gets along with my family and what he did to gain my family's approval

11. The way he can make Dax laugh like no one else can

12. The way he can make me laugh like no one else can

13. How much he enjoys surprising me and how proud he is of each surprise and keeping it a secret

14. That he put up with my immaturity in high school, it makes me appreciate him soo much more

15. His arms, they're nice.

16. When he lets his facial hair grow out just enough so he's a little scruffy, yum!

17. How he complimented me and told me I was beautiful everyday when I was pregnant and not feeling the most confident about my swollen appearance

18. He allows me to vent to him, which can be intense

19. He brings out the best in me

20. How he pushes me, as in not allowing me to take a break from school but to keep going and now I'm so close to being done

21. His sense of humor

22. His smell

23. How he told me he loved me for the first time

24. How he talks about the future

I love him so much. Happy birthday darling

!

Seven Months!!

Dax is officially seven months old today! We are so proud of some of his latest accomplishments too!!

As of tonight he actually crawled forward, twice! Until today he has only managed to crawl backwards and in circles, using a half roll/army crawl to propel himself forwards, but managing to stay on all fours for quite awhile- he loves to rock it out in this position, it's so cute!!

He has mastered maneuvering from a sitting position to a crawling position,

Can almost sit all the way up on his own,

Is able to pull himself up to a standing position from sitting while holding on to my fingers or his crib bars and can maintain a standing position so long as he has something to hold onto- such a table or walker.

He is also a very eager eater of solids and really wants to eat adult food- even though he's not quite ready, lacking teeth and all.

One of my most favorite facts about him these days is that his most favorite person is ME! His face literally lights up whenever I come home and he gets extremely upset whenever I leave, even if he is with Ryan. If I am holding him and then hand him over to Ryan or set him down so I can go do something in another room he will literally do everything in his power to maneuver himself to a position where he can see me. It makes me smile. He's always preferred me to others, but these days it has taken on more noticeable characteristics and while it may become a problem later in life, right now I am enjoying all of his love! It's such a wonderful feeling to know that my love for him is requited in a similar manner!

Seven More...

I may not be so good with my daily thankful posts, but I'm going to update with a list of seven other things I am thankful for. Here it goes!!

1. I am thankful for new experiences with Dax

Today was the first time it has snowed and I've been able to take Dax outside to experience it. It wasn't too exciting but it was pretty cute. He didn't quite know what to make of the white stuff and would spaz out and shake his head back and forth whenever a flake would fall upon his face. He's too cute!!

2. Movie nights with Ryan. We have developed a routine whenever we get a new Netflix DVD where we run down to the Reel Theatre (which has the BEST popcorn) and grab some popcorn, soda, and candy and then pig out on the couch during the movie. We did this just last night and it was fantastic!

3. My car. I do not have the nicest one but I have a car that is nicer than some and is paid off- thanks to my parents. And after today, I'm especially thankful that it has four-wheel drive, driving in the snow makes me nervous and I'm even more stressed out about it now that I travel with precious cargo.

4. Bonding with my little brother.

I'm not as cool to him as I used to be, back when he was about two years old, and, thus, enjoy the little experiences here-and-there when he and I get together. I helped him answer back his girlfriend to a dance the other night and had a lot of fun helping him with it.

5. Pictures.

I love capturing moments and being able to look back at them and realize how much things have changed and people have grown.

6. The morning when Dax lefts me sleep in, even if it is only for thirty minutes. Sometimes that makes all the difference.

7. Thanksgiving break. It is much needed.