Fun Family Afternoon

After nap time last Saturday afternoon, we have Grandaddy his (very belated) birthday present. Ian had helped us pick out Grandaddy's card, and I have to say Ian loved it even more at home than at the store!

He was so excited when Grandaddy opened that card!

Of course, Grandaddy puts his own spin on things and makes them even more fun!

Ian could not get enough of that card or Grandaddy's "HAW!-ing"!

Grandaddy and Grammy Jen were so sweet and had sent some presents for Ian too. He loved reading his new book, "Brown Bear, Brown Bear".

And he'll be nice and warm in these super comfy shirts from Old Navy! Thank you so much for Ian's presents!!!

III, IV, and V. I love getting pictures of the three of them!

Shortly after all the present fun, we headed over to Grant Julie's house. I think Ian's favorite thing was the doggie kennels. He loved putting a chew bone in and taking it out of the kennels.

Shutting the door so the bone doesn't escape.

After a yummy dinner, we headed down towards the lake to take a little walk. I can't get enough of these sweet pictures of Ian holding Daddy's hand!

Like I just said...

Ian is our little outdoors man! He LOVES nature trails and anything that takes him outside. He ran down the path as fast as his little legs would take him (which nowadays is pretty fast!).

You can see Grant Julie's beautiful backyard from the trail.

Grandaddy snuck up behind us and joined us on the walk. So sweet!

What a lucky little boy to be surrounded by people who love him so much!

It wasn't long before Ian was getting all kinds of good rides!

Beautiful, serene lake.

Grandaddy taking it all in.

Back inside Grant Julie's house, Grandaddy gave Ian horsie rides. Grandaddy is rather well known for these great horsie rides and Ian is a huge fan!



After all that excitement, Ian sat on Cousin Hannah's lap for a little down time watching Veggie Tales on Grant Julie's laptop.

Sweet cousin kisses!

Ian loves Baby. She is the sweetest dog ever and does not mind Ian getting all up in her face or trying to pick her up!

We had such a wonderful time getting to see everyone. We really are blessed with such a great family and love all the time we get to spend with them!!

A Good Morning With Grandaddy

Grandaddy got in late Friday night, so Ian didn't get to see him until Saturday morning. Grandaddy was still sleeping when Ian woke up, so we followed our normal morning routine. Ian came to bed with us for a bit longer. James had to head off not too long after that for a group meeting, so Ian and I went to the kitchen to start breakfast.

Ian didn't know what to make of Grandaddy sleeping on the couch. It was so cute to watch him tip-toe around! He stayed in the kitchen with me and would only venture a step or two into the living room before turning around and coming back into the kitchen. That surprised me as I halfway expected him to go bang on Grandaddy to wake him up like he does with Mommy and Daddy.

My cutie-pie tip-toeing in the kitchen.

Grandaddy woke up pretty soon after that and Ian sat on his lap for some Saturday morning Veggie Tales.

After that, III and V had some breakfast (still while watching Veggie Tales!).

Even though it was pouring rain, we decided to take Ian for a haircut. He desperately needed one and I had a coupon that was about to expire. When we got to Cool Cuts, I realized I had grabbed the camera but no batteries! Grandaddy was so nice and braved the rain to go look for batteries. He found a store right away and was back in time to capture the "fun" Ian had getting his third haircut.

Ian started out okay with all of it.

It wasn't long before he thought that was enough of that!

Get me outta here, Grandaddy!!

No, no! Don't take pictures! Get me out!!

Awww...Grandaddy kisses make it all bettter.

Hehe - I love the tongue sticking out!

C'mon, Grandaddy! Let me help you stick out your tongue!

The hair stylist offered to take a picture of all three of us.

Haha...I have NO idea what he was fussing about here. Thank goodness Grandaddy was along to help and was so sweet and patient with Ian!

I love his little down-turned lip. Cracks me up everytime!

Back home, Ian crawled on the couch to cuddle with Grandaddy while Mommy got lunch going.

Despite the trauma of the haircut, it was a great morning, especially since we all topped it off with a nap!

Dancin' Machine!

Grandaddy came to visit this weekend. We don't get to see him, Grammy Jen, or Aunt Erwin near as much as we would like, so we were sooooooo happy to get to see him! Ian had a blast hanging out with his Grandaddy! At one point, all three guys - James, Ian, and Grandaddy - were listening to a CD Grandaddy had recorded (he's got a great voice!). Ian started going crazy, dancing up a storm!!



Grandaddy, you certainly bring out the best of Ian's dance moves!! We're looking forward to the next time we can get together!

Cutie-Patootie

I have to confess that I have a secret enjoyment of getting out and about all dressed up with my little man. At home, we usually bum around in our grubbies, so I enjoy feeling a bit more sophisticated when we are actually dressed and ready to go somewhere. Ian's such a handsome fella and I love any outfit that shows off his beautiful blue eyes.

Hehe...I love all of these expressions! And I love his new haircut! What a cutie!

Giving smiles!

After I got him down off the chair, he ran over to a stool we have in the kitchen. So, of course, I had to snap a few more photos.

Trying to climb through the stool. I love his look of concentration!

Ian, you are one handsome fella! I am so proud to be your Momma! You are the best accessory I could I ever wear out in public. :-)

Sixteen Months and Counting!

Almost two weeks ago now (boy, am I behind!), Ian hit the sixteen month mark. I know I say this every month, but time sure flies! Being fifteen months old was a big deal for Ian. We noticed several cognitive developments happening all at once!

* Ian put two and two together and figured out hats go on the head, scarves go around the neck, and shoes go on the feet.

* He then figured out if he brought us our shoes and stood by the front door, we would find it so cute that we would more often than not take him on a walk.

* He also delved into the arts of pushing and pulling. I think he surprised even himself with how many household objects he found to push and pull around!

* He discovered how much fun it could be to run circles around things. All month, he would run circles around random objects - toys, us, groceries, furniture, etc. It didn't matter what it was - if it was sitting on the floor, it was likely to get the run around by Ian.

* He can almost outrun us now. His balance and coordination have gotten quite a bit better.

* Unfortunately, all that physical development brought about more teeth, which meant more teething. I have been a huge slacker on recording what date the teeth are coming in. Within two weeks of moving to the new house though, he had four new teeth popping through! He is currently up to six teeth all trying to come through at once...poor baby!

* Ian still wears a size 4 diaper, 12/18 month clothes, and size 5 shoes.

* He is still pretty consistent with his thank you's and still blows a kiss as his way of saying thank you, I love you, or actually blowing a kiss. He kind of stopped signing "all done" for most of the month. Sometimes he would sign "more" when he meant "all done". Not sure what that is about. He also started saying "outside" (sounds like ow-ssigh).

* On his own, he moved up his bedtime to 8pm(ish). This was hard at first, especially on Daddy (who does bedtime most nights), but it means he sleeps until 7:30am, so Momma is happy!

* He started sleeping with Skip, his stuffed puppy. I often go in at night just to look at him cuddling with Skip...it's absolutely adorable!

Ian, you are as precious as ever and continues to warm our hearts just by being yourself! We are so blessed to have you as our son!

Mommy & Me Time

Yesterday Ian and I had to make about a 45 minute drive to drop off my hard drive at another data recovery place. For a one year old that prefers to be on the go, that is a pretty long drive! He did soooooo well though! And because we were going to have to be in the car for so long, he and I decided to make a date out of it. After we dropped off my hard drive, we stopped by Trail Dust for some chocolate cake and good ole fashioned two story sliding. We had a blast! He has so much fun there now that he has gotten over his fear of slides. He was still super cautious at the top of the slide and waited for me to pick him up instead of going near the edge. We both needed that date though - we've had a busy few months and it was precious to just spend one on one quality time together.

Thanks to my sweet friend, Libby, I have a recent picture of Ian and me (he's blowing kisses!). It wasn't from our date, but at least I have a few pictures while my hard drive undergoes data recovery. Thank you for the pictures, Libby!


I love you, baby boy! You are so precious to me and will probably never fully understand how all the little things you do and say make my heart fill with joy. I am so glad you are mine and treasure our times together!

Happy Birthday, Nana!

This week we celebrated Nana's (my mom) birthday! Nana and Pop-Pop came over for dinner Monday night.

Pretty flowers for a pretty Nana!

Of course, we had to have lots of balloons!

After dinner, Ian took all of us to the park and showed off his newfound love of sliding to Nana and Pop-Pop. (Slides used to terrify him!)

Whee!

Getting fun rides on the swings.

Away we go!

After swinging a bit, Ian was ready for Daddy to take him across the little bridge. Even though he can cross it himself, he feels a bit better holding onto Daddy's hand.

Ian loves this little bridge and will often take our hands so we will walk across with him.

Going up the steps to the big curly slide with Nana.

Pretty random picture of the moon...it was coming out a bit early.

More sliding!

Woo-hoo! So much fun!

Walking a fine line with Daddy. (Hehe...aren't I clever?)

Back home, we had angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream. Guess which part was Ian's favorite!

Happy Birthday, Nana! We hope you have a wonderful and blessed year!