10 months!

Koala baby is starting to become a little boy, and I am so happy to see how he is growing. He has such a genuinely bright and happy personality.

I got a bunch of plastic eggs for him to play with and he loves it! Look how excited he is in this picture:


He loves to dance to music, bouncing up and down and shaking his leg elvis style. It's adorable. He also loves dogs, peek-a-boo, slides, nesting toys and being tickled.

I've started to comb his "hair" in the mornings with a nice little part. My grandma told me I was dreaming when I was combing it one morning in front of her! I am sure it is something only a mother could see in her child but I think it's handsome and darling. Plus I love that my baby is still a baby with his bald head.


Koala got to spend quality time with both of his great grandmas on my side this month. His Grammy, who just passed away, and his Great Grandma in Vermont. He brought big smiles to both of their faces and we loved every minute we got to spend with them this month. Definitely the highlight of the last little while. It is very special and beautiful to see the love and connection that the oldest generation has for the youngest.

Koala and I took our first airplane trip together this month to Vermont and he was awesome, quite the charmer. On the way back between taxiing and everything, we were on that sweaty plane for 6 1/2 hours, sitting next to businessmen that didn't even acknowledge us the entire time and Koala was a little champ. He tried all of his best tricks to get the man sitting next to us to say hello to him- big toothy smiles, baby laughter, hide and seek, it didn't happen. Then toward the end of our flight Koala succeeded in making friends with a kind woman sitting behind us. He was so proud and excited.

(*also, why airlines don't make it a little easier for everyone when children are on planes is another topic all together- that flight would have been 100x easier if we had been sitting next to another family or somebody who was ok sitting next to a baby, but I digress)

Koala is a pretty social little guy and loves to see other children. He has one little friend near his age that we get together with. It is really fun to see him make friends with people.


Koala is in to everything now. He loves stairs and the other day we were in the kitchen and turned around and he was laying on top of the open dishwasher drawer!

He is full on crawling with his arms and legs now! I thought he might always army crawl but then one day he whipped out some sophisticated crawling moves. He has become very mobile!

His biggest and most exciting trick by far though is waving. Koala has just taken off in the waving department. He waves all day long, like if for example we are playing and Koala decides he wants to go to another room he turns around and waves at me, then crawls away. He waves at people and especially children when we enter the grocery store or go to a park or anywhere in public. He waves at the checkers when we leave the grocery store. He waves when we say phrases like "well, we better get going," or "It was good to see you." Seriously this kid picks up on goodbye cues and any wave appropriate opportunity!

As a side note, a week or so before Koala took off waving, I being a silly mom, had just done this google search: "My 9 1/2 month old doesn't wave" or something like that. Well good grief. There is definitely a fine balance between picking up on important cues in our children and also realizing children have their own time lines.

Koala also loves to point and tell us all about whatever he is pointing at. It's awesome.


His words so far: mama! dada! and da (dog).
We love you little buddy!

9 months!

Well my oh my. Becoming a mommy has certainly made me less on top of blogging.

At 9 months Koala has two teeth! He loves to "play" with Legos, loves to be pushed on his little car or in laundry baskets, loves food- real people food, not mushed! Loves touch and feel storybooks, and he loves his mama.

Koala went through some serious separation anxiety there for a little while and would cry even when I would set him down for 2 minutes so I could use the bathroom, with the door open and him sitting right there with me in sight. Ahhhh, it was crazy but a really cute and special time. I feel really blessed to be needed by this little boy. It's the most amazing experience of my life.

Of course lil' Koala loves his daddy crazy too. Daddy built a computer this month and Koala was so excited about it, playing with the keyboard and whatever parts he could get at!


At 9 months, pulling himself up was by far his favorite activity to do. He'd army crawl over to us and reach for our hands, and we would hold them steady so he could pull himself up. He wanted to do this probably 50 times a day!

I think it's adorable how he pulls himself up to his table and goes on his tippy toes when he wants to reach something!


Happy 9 Months little Koala!

This post is getting up a bit late. The pictures were taken before Valentines Day! I am having so much fun with little Koala that other things are taking a backseat.

8 months old and Koala is so bright and handsome. He really is a good, good baby.

My favorite time of the entire day with Koala is the mornings. We wake up snuggle, tickle, read. Then later when I am getting ready Koala usually likes to play with legos or mess around on the guitar. I love it. Here he is serenading:

Koala still gives wonderful baby kisses. Oftentimes when we're just hanging out together he reaches for my face an plants a big one. It's the best.

This month little Koala has perfected the upper-body army crawl. It actually looks like quite a workout! He also loves standing up and hanging on to things.

and also...

He got his first tooth! It's pretty darn cute. We got him a toothbrush and he loves brushing his teeth. I love saying to him, "brush your tooth!" such a short time where that will apply!

You know how some people are just really great laughers? Like their laugh is contagious, not at all obnoxious and it is almost impossible to not smile and laugh back with them. Well, Koala is appearing to have such a laugh. When he gets going, man, those belly chuckles are just hilarious!

He loves to roll a ball back and forth. Loves stories. And loves it when we play hide and seek games!

He is in to everything! Even little specks of things on the floor. He gravitates to whatever he should not be getting into. Dinner time especially is very exciting. He's fast and that grip is strong!


Here I am doing a trusty little trick I did with Belle all the time when I needed a breather and snuggle: stare at the fan. So mesmerizing. Really.

I love motherhood more than I ever thought possible.

7 months!

Koala is seven months! We are having so much fun with him and love him so much!

Playing out in the snow was an event. Full of laughter over how hilariously cute he looked 3x his normal size in his snow clothes. Look at his cute little snow angel!


Man, this little boy holds the key to my heart. So strapping!

Koala has developed so much over the last month! He loves sitting and playing and rolling over and crawling a bit and flinging himself around this way and that. He has very good balance. He can even sit on a ledge for quite some time (like the seat to our exercise bike) with no support (except of course for me spotting him). I think it's pretty cute.


He is exploring everything now. Anything left on the floor is fair game. It is a very fun stage.

Christmas was so much fun with him. Dashing Boy and I were like two little kids again! Koala could sense our excitement so he was very excited too.

I kind of felt like a slightly clueless mom though because two weeks or so before Christmas I knew he was ready to experience more "advanced" toys but I thought we could wait until Christmas morning as they were nicely wrapped under the tree.

Well, boy was he ready! Koala was in pure bliss playing with all his new things! Stacking rings! A musical learning table! A singing kangaroo shape sorter and a jack in the box from his two sets of grandparents! And a lift the flap color spectrum quilt by mom! It was all too much to handle!

In fact, little Koala refused to go to bed Christmas evening. We tried for a solid two hours. Then finally Dashing Boy and looked at each other in defeat, brought koala back downstairs and he was as happy as ever for another hour playing with all of his toys. So of course we got out the video camera and filmed our gleeful boy, saying to him in silly voices, "Koala, I'm the mama and I am in charge, ok?"


Koala is not at all interested in solid food right now, although we offer it to him most nights. He is very dramatic and hilarious with the faces he pulls. Even when we offer him such treats as apple sauce or pears. Those pears are good! I would happily eat them all up but not Koala! Oh well!

He loves story time, his most definite favorite book of all being Tails. He loves this book and all the interaction in it. We probably read it multiple times a day!


I am so happy to be Koala's mom. It's the best thing I've ever done.

We love you sweet boy!

6 Months!

6 months! My goodness! What a happy 1/2 year! I can't believe I have a 6-month-old. He lights up my world.


Finally, I have a little blog nickname for him. I was waiting for something to fit for him (aside from the usual- honeybunches, little one, sweetie pie, variations using his name, etc.)

Ready?

Henceforth he will be referred to as: Koala!

Why? you ask. Because pretty much he would love to be like this for most of the day:


He loves to hang on us and hang with us. I have absolutely no complaints about this. I dreamed of having a snugly baby.

Koala has been very busy this month rolling and rolling and rolling across the room! It is crazy to lay him down, turn around and 5 seconds later look back and see him in a whole new area of the room!

He likes to lay on his back and push his bum up in the air.

Also, he can sit all by himself now only toppling over when he reaches for a toy or something a little far away. I think the toppling over is adorable.

But his favorite thing to do (in any position he can!) is to hold on to his feet. He is especially entertained when he tries to take his socks off. Mom and Dad are especially entertained when he grabs his feet as we carry him to the tub for bath time and he tries to suck on his big toe like it is his thumb!


I love that little face he's making. He bites down on his lower lip all the time and I think it is very cute. You know when you hang out with someone a lot and start to develop similar tendencies? Well sometimes I find myself biting down my lower lip just like Koala!

Christmas has taken on a new excitement with Koala in the family. We had so much fun getting our tree and stringing the lights. We hung the most fun baby-friendly ornaments in easy reach. Koala loves to lay under the tree and grab them!

I love these little jammies. I believe they were his Aunt Athena's when she was a baby.

Look at the adorable bum:


Koala is very friendly and loves to babble and show off his smile for people. He raises his eyebrows all the time and gives the biggest smiles that make you feel so special. Trips to costco and such take quite the chunk of time as 1. I am always a bit unorganized and 2. Koala captures the attention of many with his friendly grins!

We love you sweet boy! Everyday I thank God for the blessing of being your mother!

5 Months!

Our lil' cutie pie is 5 months old! I love this little boy so much.

Mmmm pie...
G has become very observant. He loves to soak up and explore everything that is happening all around him and tries with all of his might to reach for whatever looks interesting. He almost always succeeds! We're thinking it's about time to start baby proofing our house a bit!

His language repertoire now includes spitting noises and some more variations to high falsetto squeals and la la la's.

He has become very good at balancing and I think is pretty close to sitting on his own. I love watching him maneuver his body all around to stay balanced as we're holding and playing with him.

Also, when he is on his belly he pushes his bum up in the air and crawls forward the tiniest bit. Dashing Boy and I think it's the bees knees.


My most favorite thing of all though? G gives the best, eat-your-face kisses and is a huge snugglebug. It's a good thing I don't wear makeup because G slobbers all over my face with little kisses throughout the day and it is lovely.

Dashing Boy and I still spend a good portion of our time trying to get some belly laughs from him. Sometimes he looks at us like we are so immature and crazy.

Observe: are we funny G?


We love you cutie pie! (yes, I actually call him that all the time. I'm a cheesy mama :)

Lobster Baby Halloween!

Little baby G was a cute little lobster for Halloween! It was awesome. Dashing Boy and I decided to be part of the sea creature theme so we were sushi. Thus, our theme became seafood. It was pretty fun though and all of the costumes were comfy which is important.

At the trunk or treat most people didn't know what we were. Also, we decided to pose with a more decorated trunk as ours was spookily decorated with jumper cables ;)! Baby G was a bit confused as to what was going on so he decided to fall very soundly asleep about five minutes in!

I love how cute and squishy he looks in this picture with his grandpa!
This is by far the best Halloween Ive had since I was a child. I was (secretly not) joking all weekend that I have been waiting for this day for 15 years when I became too old to trick or treat. I seriously remember thinking, "Now I am going to have to wait until I have children until I can go trick-or-treating again. I wonder if people will give me treats too when I take my kids."

I pretty much love candy.

But I love a little lobster most of all!

4 Months!

Our little pumpkin is 4 months old! He continues to wow us with his bright personality and adorable baby grin.

I'm so in love with this little guy. Look at those baby cheeks. I could eat them right up.


This month Lil' G's head control has become very good! He has quite the lovely noggin too- big, bald, and beautiful.

He has been enjoying sitting in his pod chair. He sits in his chair and converses with us every night as we eat dinner together as a family and often during lunch time too. It's so fun.


The big exciting milestone this month: Lil' G can roll over! He does it like it's nothing from back to tummy. He hasn't quite figured out how to get from tummy to back though. I keep telling him use your head! but he doesn't listen.


He has become a thumb sucker! Which I have to say looks pretty darn adorable.

He loves lullabies and story time, especially Dr. Suess. He squeals and talks to the pictures almost the whole time we're reading. I think he likes the truffula trees most.

He HATES being in the carseat. Which can make driving a little stressful. I'm learning different tricks but sometimes the only thing to do is pull over somewhere and help him calm down.

Often when he smiles at you he raises his eyebrows up very charming-like as if he's saying "Hey! Whats up?!" Also he likes to squint his nose.


Our main goal the last while has been to find silly things that make Lil' G laugh. This means we're pretty much dorky parents all the time- both at home and in public. It is totally worth it for those belly laughs though.

In this picture Dashing Boy is dancing and holding a box while singing "This is my box, This is my box. I never travel without my box!" from an opera he had seen. We've been singing this at least once a day for the last week or so and G thinks it is hilarious.


He's looking so grown up! (you know. relatively) We're having so much fun watching our sweet and precious boy learn and grow!