Staying busy!

I think the title says it all. Dez has definitely reached the stage of being quite the handful. While he's not walking completely on his own (takes 2-5 steps before falling to the floor), he is getting around much faster than he used to. I've given up on trying to keep my house looking semi-clean...it's just not happening! He's doing a lot more vocal and gestural imitations and is definitely starting to really understand what we're saying to him (Go ahead, ask him what a cow says!). It's hard to believe that in about a month he'll be a whole year old! They weren't joking when they said the time will fly by! I'm very excited but at the same time nervous and sad that Dez got a spot in the CHK Child Development Center opening up this fall. It will give me some much needed time to reorganize and recharge but I know I'm going to miss him like crazy. Nothing much else to report on right now. Just staying busy and running around in circles!

9 months - Merry Christmas!

We've made it to 9 months and everything is going great! Desmond has changed so much and is advancing his motor skills very quickly. His weight clocked in at 19 lbs 12 oz and he's 29 inches tall. He (and mommy) had a cold last week but the doctor said everything looks great and the cold didn't effect his lungs or ears at all. She was very impressed by how strong his immune system was during this cold season. He's definitely starting to remember what goes on at the doctor's office...as soon as his bottom touched the cold paper on the exam table he got very concerned and wouldn't let go of mommy. Luckily there were no shots to be given so it was a tear-free appointment. The doctor said we can expect him to start crawling, pulling himself to standing, walk while supporting himself on objects...."he's already doing all of that" I said. "Oh, well...", she said, "batten down the hatches because he'll probably be walking soon!"

Last week we also got some great family pictures taken courtesy of our friend Bryan Kannowski! We've only been able to see a handful of proofs but I know the rest will be awesome. I will post a link when we receive them.

Well, about a week until Christmas! Good thing Desmond doesn't know what presents are yet because I've run out of room to hide them! Between our gifts and the gifts my family sent ahead (they are flying in on Christmas day and will be opening the majority of their presents here), the guest room is over flowing!

In other exciting news our friends find out if they are having a boy or girl today! I can't wait to hear the good news!

I probably won't post again until after the holidays. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!

Where did November go?

Once again I am way behind on my blogging. It's tough to keep up when I'm also trying to keep up with the Desmonster! The month of November flew by! We had a nice visit from Auntie Meg (pictures will be posted on the side), and Daddy turned 29! We spent our Thanksgiving with all of our "orphan" friends that don't have any family in town as well. Desmond loved Thanksgiving dinner. I don't think there was a food he tried that he didn't like! He was even a big fan of the turkey (which was nice because it put him into a tryptophan coma for the rest of the night).
Things have been pretty productive around the house. We are making headway on the master bathroom and it might actually be close to finished by Christmas. We at least have a working toilet and are able to use the shower. Drew has been keeping busy with the odd job or two around the house. I think I've managed to get the final Christmas decorations up today. One of my friends said our tree looks like a museum exhibit because it's surrounded by a baby gate. :)
We finally tried out a baby sitter this past weekend that wasn't someone we knew (i.e. friend or relative). A very nice girl who is the daughter of one of Drew's co-workers. Dez really seemed to like her and I hope we are able to use her again.

Dez is really starting to develop a fun personality. He's sweet, shy, boisterous, silly, chatty, content....really he covers it all. He's crawling even faster these days. Some times I even have to run to keep up with him. He's doing a lot of "couch walking" and occasionally he can stand on his own for a few seconds. I think we might end up having an early walker on our hands. But I'm in no hurry!

About 20 days until Christmas and Grandma & Grandpa Mead and Uncles Trevor and Cameron come visit! Can't wait! (Mommy better start cleaning the house now!)

Quick update

Just a quick briefing on the latest developments:
Dez now has 8 teeth (and finger chewing has begun again...we may not get the break we were hoping for.)
He is now crawling faster than ever, you blink and he's gone!
He has just started pulling himself up to standing, walking could be here sooner than planned.
Mommy is getting very excited for our first Christmas as a family!
Ok, off to bed I go!

Hello Fall!

I know, I know. Once again I've been tardy with my posts. Dez is keeping me on my toes these days. Here's a brief run down on what has been going on the past month. We went back to Michigan for Kevin and Savanna's wedding. It was a very busy weekend. While we were there Desmond started crawling and cut two teeth (and proceeded to cut another tooth as soon as we returned home...he now has six teeth total, with two more preparing to make their debut). We're slowly figuring out what needs to be baby proofed, it so funny how kids will zero in on the most random and normally unnoticed items once they become contraband. Dez is also doing a lot more "talking" these days, mostly consisting of "ga"s "ba"s and the occasional "da"(which gets Drew really excited :)). My little boy is growing way too fast. I finished emptying his closet of all the clothes that no longer fit him. I have 4 boxes of newborn thru 6 month clothing that he only wore about 40% of. I kept looking at the outfit we brought him home from the hospital in and I can hardly believe he was ever that small!
Becky and Bella Cocina came for a short visit this past week while Frank was in Japan on business. Both mommies enjoyed the much needed extra company and the kids played together very well. Every time we see them I wish we lived closer.
The next few months will bring about more of "baby's firsts": Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. Although we do not have any plans to travel for the holidays (we're STILL trying to return to normalcy after our short weekend in Michigan), we're leaving our doors open and looking forward to any visitors that might make it our way.

Half way point!

Dez went in for his six month appointment today! (Is is weird that I'm already thinking about what to do for his birthday?) All went well as usual. He did have a cold for the past week but the doctor checked out his lungs and ears, etc, and he is doing just fine. He's definitely a little calorie burner. Not a big amount of growing since his last appointment. Weight is 16 lbs and height is 26.25". We're starting to experiment with some soft finger foods (he loves yogurt melts!), so hopefully that will get some more calories in him. He can now sit on his own without toppling over very often. He's also starting to scoot around in a circle on his belly and rock back and forth on his hands and knees. It's only a matter of time before he's cruising around getting into everything! I've managed to do a little bit of baby proofing but I know I still have much more do to. Teething continues. Hopefully his top teeth will come through BEFORE and not during our next trip to Michigan. He's been pretty cranky the past few days so I'm hoping they're coming soon.
In non-baby news:
We've run into a major home owner downer: foundation issues. After noticing many cracks in walls, corners, tiles, and sticky doors we called in someone to find out what the damage would be to have it repaired. All I can say is my heart stopped when we got the first estimate (basically the cost of a car). On top of that Drew had already started demolition on our master bathroom so we have that to finish too. But, we're not going to let that get us down. When we're done with this house it's going to look brand new!

Oh! Desmond is sleeping through the night now!!

Life is good.

New Mexico

Finally back from our summer travels and settled back into our house...for now. We had a great time in New Mexico (as always!)visiting Becky, Frank and Bella, and even though it was sad to leave our friends again it was nice to get back into our normal daily routine. Again we were blessed with great weather for most of our trip. Not in the 100s like it was at home, although we did experience one mild hail storm while we were there.
How we spent our time was pretty laid back like usual. We did take a short trip to the lake and the park (Dez loved the swing!). Desmond and Bella got along great, but seemed to be on opposite schedules. Whenever one would go down for a nap the other would wake up. It became a game to see if we could get both kids down at the same time...we won once! Desmond loved all of Bella's old toys, especially the bouncy activity center. He liked it so much we ordered one as soon as we got home! Hopefully he will like it as much now as he did then. We stopped at the Big Texan in Amarillo, TX on our way home. I think it's kind of a creepy joint, but it was good to finally stop there since we pass it by every time. Picture link on the side.
We're getting ready to get back to work on our house: master bath update, front entry way re-tile, paint master bedroom, the list never ends! Now if my darling boy would sleep for more than 30 minutes at a time I would be able to begin one of these projects. Oh, and I suppose we better start Desmond proofing since it's only a matter of time before he starts cruising around...Oh my!! He's almost sitting up on his own and I think he's got another tooth or two working their way to the surface. Gosh, he's growing up too fast!