So MANY Words

Hunter you are SUCH A TALKER! You love to jibber jabber and you are saying so many words these days.Here are some of the NEW words you say some of which sound the same but you say them in context so we know what they mean.

Belly (ba-ba) usually paired with you grabbing your belly and lifting up your shirt.
Grampa (Pa-pa)
Baby (ba-ba)
No
Night Night (ni-ni)
Banana (nana)
Knock knock (na-na)
Cracker (kkkkkk) its kind of a strange k sound but that is what you say
Waffle (ffff)
Yummy (mmmmm)


Animal sounds:
Monkey (ah-ah)
Chicken (ba-ba-ba)

I am probably leaving out some words because you TRY to verbalize EVERYTHING now. If we say a word you often try and say it too. It is so fun to see you learn so much so quickly. You are so SMART!

I BELIEVE there are ANGELS among us!

Just had a neat experience. Hunter has been waking up in the night here
in Ventura and I try to let him cry back to sleep which works at home in
HIS room but the new place may be different so he was still crying after
15 minutes so I went in wrapped him in his blanket and rocked him. He
was staring towards the nite lite and started to wave and say hi. Then
took his hands out of the blanky and signed more and finally he waved and
said bye. I know that there are angels among us and I am thankful they
take care of my baby boy.

FIRST BIRTHDAY!

You are ONE YEAR OLD TODAY!!!! I cannot even believe that you are a year old...where did the time go? I have to say it has been the BEST year of my life! I am so blessed to have you as my son! Everyday is a new adventure in your life and I am so thankful to be a part of it.
So, Aunt Tricia talked me into this CRAZY idea of taking a picture of you at the EXACT time that you were born last year. Well, you were born at 2:58am so that ment that I had to set my alarm to wake up in the middle of the night! I snapped a picture on my phone of the baby monitor and posted it on Facebook, then I quietly snuck into your room, lined up the shot and clicked a quick picture...you FLINCHED and I RAN out of the room so you wouldn't wake up. It was fun and exciting...but then I couldn't fall asleep :(
Since we are having a family party for you on Saturday we didn't do too many things out of the ordinary today. Last night we went out for frozen yogurt and we got you your very own, but you were not very interested (oh well), what you were interested in was crawling around the store exploring.
Then this morning we decided to give you one of your presents...a gift from G'ma and G'pa Stewie...an All Around Chair! We busted out the video camera and brought it out and you LOVED it. Crawling all over it and LAUGHING! You were so proud of yourself too...it was too cute! Then, Daddy was off to work and we had a normal day playing, eating, napping, and Target for grocery's for your party. Daddy called around 4pm and said he could get off work early...so he did and we all went to dinner but you didn't eat a bite! I think your teeth must have been hurting or something. Then it was bath time and bedtime at 7pm as usual...so I thought, BUT you thought that since it was your birthday that you got to stay up late! by 8pm you were screaming so long we decided to let you play some more. It was actually kind of nice because we read books as a family!
All in all it was a GREAT first Birthday...but I am excited for your PARTY!

July - 11 Months Old

You have REALLY been verbalizing a LOT now. You can't say any words "correctly" yet but here are the words you can say and how you say them right now:
Dada = Daddy
Mama = Mommy
Da = Dog
Ba-Da = Panda
FFFFF = Ruff (what a dog says)
Ba = Ball
Ha = Hi (always paired with a wave)
Ba ba = Bye Bye (also paired with a wave)

No more MOMMY

Today I did NOT nurse you at ALL! I can't believe it! Today is officially the start of a new era. You are such a big boy. Everyday you AMAZE me with the things you know and are learning and I have so much fun teaching you new things too. Also, today was the first day that you were actually INTERESTED in drinking the cows milk...so I think you are finally ready to be weened. I love you sweet little Hunter and I am so thankful for the year that I spent nursing you. It was such a special experience for both of us. I'm glad we were able to bond in that way...and I am so happy to be your mother.

Photo day

Today we went to Sears to take pictures for you Birthday Party invitations. You are going to have a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse birthday party so that is why we got the Mickey ears yesterday, and that is what you wore in the pictures along with your Mickey t-shirt. It was a fun photo shoot. I normally do your monthly pictures but I took you to Sears to alleviate some of my stress...and make it easier with two adults trying to get you to smile, etc. It went well...you, as usual, are and an amazing little guy! Of COURSE all the pictures were SO CUTE...because you are the cutest...and it was hard for me to pick one. I am just so excited to get the pictures and make your invitations...AHH...so many fun things coming up!

An hour with DISNEY

Today we made a quick trip to Downtown Disney to buy you some Mickey Mouse ears. It was so fun! Even though we were only there for an hour it was so cool. We found some exciting things for your birthday party...and you found a CUTE Mickey stuffed animal...you wanted to hold all of them. You held tight to your Mickey all through the store. When we were checking out one of the cast members (who did the embroidery on your had...and we were talking to about your birthday party) came up to us and asked if we had gotten a birthday pin yet (the ones you usually only get if you go to Disneyland ON your birthday), I said no...and she went and got one for you! That right their made the trip worth it...I was SO EXCITED! I was a little emotional when we got there because it was your FIRST trip to the LAND of Disney which you KNOW I love!

Day 4 weening

Today was pretty much the same as yesterday when it comes to how you feel about the cows milk. I have been trying to think of ways that you might like it more...warming it, sweetening it...I just don't know. Maybe I need to take away another feeding...I'm struggling with it. I wish I didn't have a deadline because that is what is tripping me out. I know that no matter what it will be fine, and you are getting plenty of nourishment from other foods...it just makes me nervous.

On another note we went to the Lagoon today with your friend "Bird." It was a WARM/HOT day...perfect for relaxing in the pool. We always have a good time at the Lagoon. You are such a sweet boy and I love to see you play with your friends, and splash in the water...you are just my favorite!

Day 3 WEENING process

Again today we tried cows milk before your first nap and you didn't drink much...maybe a little bit more than yesterday but still not much. In the evening I was feeling bad about you not getting enough to drink so when we went to Target today I gave you a SPECIAL treat...JUICE! You drank the ENTIRE sippy cup of juice in the time that we were at Target...you were in hog heaven. You are just like your mom and dad...loves juice!

Day 2 WEENING process

Today I realized that you LOVES to drink your juice so today I decided to try and only offer you milk as a drink so that when you were thirsty you were forced to drink the milk. Lets just say you did not drink that much today but you did drink about 1/3 cup of milk...so that is a start.

Day 1 WEENING process

Today I am starting to ween you and I have mixed emotions about it. It is just so crazy that I have been nursing you for over 11 months...I didn't think I would ever get to this point. Nursing has been a special experience. You have been dependent on my body for 20 months now and it is strange that soon you will no longer be THAT dependent on me. Of COURSE you still NEED me (thank goodness) but it is just different.

I have been reading up about weening, and different approaches...I decided on the approach of stopping one feeding at a time and introducing the cows milk for that feeding. So, you are already down to nursing only 3 times a day (before every sleep, so 2 naps and one bedtime). This morning before your first nap you had your first SIP of cows milk. You were not a big fan...but you gave it a few sips then you were over it so I layed you down for your nap. You were not too happy about that but eventually went to sleep. Before your second nap I nursed you and you nursed for so long! You were so happy and gave me a big smile when you were done...making this that much harder to give up.

We will see how this goes...I am trying to ween you a little early so that I can leave you at home with Daddy while I go to Denver for a Scentsy Convention.

Tuesday 1/19/10
Today Daddy and Uncle Brent went back to our Indio house to rap things up and make sure it was ready to be rented. We took a trip to Target and Ralphs. While at Target it started to rain so we almost didn't go to Ralphs. You were such a good boy, you slept at Target and even though you were awake at Ralphs you were so happy...we had a fun time singing and laughing. The storm really started to get going as we were leaving the store so we had someone help us out to our car which was so nice. After we got home we put a fire in the fireplace and watched the storm and TV. Then there was a tornado warning which made mommy a little nervous being all alone in our new house, but we said a prayer together and shortly there after the storm died down and the sun even popped out.
While we were watching TV today you were in your Exersaucer and you would play for a few seconds then look back at me and then go back to playing, and look back at me....it was a fun little game for about 10 minutes. It made me feel so special because I know you love me and were just making sure that I was still there.