Happy New Year 2015!

So much has happened in the past few months that my mommy has been bad about documenting!! For starters, I'm a world traveler! I took my first international trip with my family and Grammie, Papa, and Aunt Lara to Germany and Austria during Thanksgiving. It was an amazing trip filled with adventure mixed with some stress for my Mommy and Daddy, as traveling with an infant should be. But we had a wonderful time and so many fun memories were made! Mommy documented every day and the adventures and trials of baby traveling in a dairy-styled email to family. Maybe she will share those at some point! 

Then, I had my first Christmas!! I love Christmas trees and all the pretty decorations. Nothing makes me happier than when my parents take me over to our Christmas tree to admire the cute ornaments and pretty lights. I loved seeing all of the pretty lights in Germany and Austria also, as everything was decked out for the holidays!

I've been babbling a storm...got some new words in my vocabulary these days...bye bye with an adorable hand wave is my specialty right now! 

I'm eating big people food also and I LOVE it (no more gagging - yay!) and get so excited when Mommy is getting it ready. I usually squeal in anticipation and excitement...she can't feed me fast enough. I get angry and grunt at her if she makes me wait too long! Here are a few photos of me eating baked potatoes, garlic bread, chicken pot pie, banana bread, eggs, steak, tacos, etc! One food that was NOT a success was spaghetti...that stuff is just weird!

Gag Reflexes

Just like my Dada did as a little boy, I have a high gag reflex. Real food (not puréed baby food) feels weird in my mouth and every time EVERY TIME my Mommy gives me pieces of food to eat, I gag on the texture and puke everything up. All over the place. Mom said enough is enough(!) and stopped trying to give me real food. So much for baby led weaning. The doctor recommended we introduce interesting textures to my mouth to get me to adjust...a bristled finger brush or tooth brush, textured chew toys, etc. Mom is also starting me on puffs and Cheerios. She thought if I like chewing on the Baby MunMuns (Rice wafers), I would like these. Guess what?! ((GAG!!!!!))

Hi!

I just looked at my Dada and said, "Hi!" It was so cute.

I did it!

I did it! I crawled today!! Watch out world!

I Pulled Myself Up!

Thursday when Daddy came to pick me up from the children's development center, the ladies told my Daddy about my BIG accomplishment...I pulled myself up for the first time by myself! And I just stood there holding on all by myself! I was very proud of my accomplishment and so were my parents! AND I just did it again this morning...yay me!

Scooting & My new "Hat"

Last week, I started attempting to crawl. I can't quite master the art of crawling just yet...I haven't been able to push up all the way on my knees...but I am able to scoot along on the floor. The only downside is, I can't move forward. I scoot backwards and it makes me very angry! What all of this backwards mobility means is that crawling is just around the corner. The ladies at childcare said this is the step right before crawling. Every object on the floor has to be out of the way now, so I don't put it in my mouth...Heston's typical mess: toys, bottle caps, foam bullets to his Nerf gun, etc. has to be picked up! Mom and Dad are constantly checking the floor area for all of these things. It isn't easy!

On a slightly less exciting update, I got my plagiocephaly helmet last week. It's not exactly something to be happy about, but it will make my adorable head a little more symmetrical, since I favor one side when I sleep, so Mommy is relieved to finally have it. My head shape has been worrying her for 8 months! The hassle of wearing this the next few months will all be worth it, when I finally have a perfectly round head...Mommy says I may want to shave my head for the "bald is beautiful," look and my head will be ready for it when the time comes. 

I still look cute, see!

First Words!!

This weekend, Daddy went on a boys trip with Papa and Uncle Brent and I was home with my Mommy and big brother Heston. On Friday after my Daddy left in the morning, I woke up and cried, ready for my Mommy to get me. She came into my room and took me to my changing table to put on a fresh diaper. Well, I was hungry and ready to eat...Instead of my normal boisterous babble (I babble A LOT when I wake up!) I looked her right in the eye and said one word, "Buub." One might be confused as to the meaning of this word, but my Mommy new clearly what I meant. (Switch out the two vowels with another vowel and think milk!) Mom found this to be hilarious! My brother didn't know this word until he was five, but I'm a quick learner. On the same day, while my Mommy put me down to do something in the kitchen, I wanted her attention. I yelled, "Mama! MA-MA!" She couldn't believe her ears!! I got a lot of praise for that...so I've been saying it all day. When Oma came over that evening to help out, she said the word Mama and I turned and looked right at her! So there is no question about my understanding of the word. Daddy came home Sunday afternoon and the day was filled with a bunch of activities...most revolving around my big brother's social life: Baseball games and Halloween parties...Grammie, Papa, & Oma attending the game, and then Daddy taking me home while Mommy took Heston to his party. I got to spend some time with my Daddy. He fed me, gave me a bath, and I took a nice long nap. When Mama and Heston came home, I was sitting on my Mama's lap and I looked right at my Dad and said loud and clear, "Dada!" So in 2 days, I spoke 3 new words! My parents are delighted to see some new developments.