Early Birthday Presents

You got your first birthday present from us in the mail Friday! We were going to hide it until your birthday but we decided to open it and give it to you early. It was a smart decision because as soon as we took it out of the box, you crawled right on it and were pressing all the buttons. I think you liked it...just a little!!

Then on Saturday, I took you into Target so I could get a few things. I had to get some stuff for you so we walked right by the toys which happened to have a shelf full of stuffed animals. You pointed at a big fluffy dog so I grabbed it and handed it to you. You gave it a huge hug and wouldn't let go of it. I grabbed another dog just like it only a little smaller and started to hand it to you instead but you gave me this look like, "are you kidding me?", and grabbed the bigger dog again. I just laughed and said, "well looks like we're getting this too". You should of seen all the people staring at you hugging your dog which was almost covering you in your seat in the cart. 

You're just so dang cute, it's hard to say no to you. But it's your birthday month so we can spoil you a little here and there. I mean that's what parents do, right!?!

Daddy's Little Helper

Month Eleven

Liam,

Today you turned eleven months old! Only ONE more month and you'll be ONE year old!! Wow, where has the year gone!?! It still feels like we just brought you home from the hospital and were getting used to having you around. But now you're almost one. Maybe it's gone so fast because we can't wait for you to do something new and look forward to rushing home after work so we can see you. It's been so much fun watching you grow and experience new things.

You actually just started walking and took your first steps last week. You did great taking a bunch of steps in a row. Since then, you've taken a couple steps here and there but nothing like last week. That all changed tonight and this time you took more steps on your own without anyone coaxing you. You had the remote in your hand and just started walking across the living room with it. I yelled for daddy to look and then you started walking towards him. You walked back to me and once more back to him. You're getting more and more comfortable walking. Your balance is getting better and you can squat and stand back up really easily now. So I don't think it's going to be to much longer before you'll be walking all the time. Everyone tells me we're in for it but I'm looking forward to it. I can't wait for you to be walking....so I don't have to carry you all the time. You are also getting good at waving and blowing us kisses. When I drop you off at daycare I always kiss you goodbye and also blow you a kiss as I'm walking away. Now you'll blow kisses back to me and even wave bye to me. It puts a smile on my face and always makes my day. I love that it is the last thing I see in the morning, it gets me through the day until I pick you up again. Then, as soon as I pick you up from daycare you're already waving to the ladies saying bye and ready to go. You blow them kisses too! They love you and always comment how cute you are. You are so adorable and melt all of our hearts. You make all sorts of noises too. When we drive home, I use my finger to make noises with my lip. You mimic me and do the exact same thing. You're getting really good at it and will even do it on your own to keep yourself occupied. I've also taught you to click your tongue and you'll mimic me whenever I do it to you. You're great at it too!

You're eating really good and are pretty much on regular food now. Occasionally we give you baby food if we're on the go or if you don't like what we give you. Daycare does the same but you're mainly on their meal schedule. Everyday I ask them how you ate and they always say you ate great and liked everything they gave you. They did say you didn't like chef salad so they gave you some baby food on that day and you love mac n cheese but who doesn't like mac n cheese. You love pasta in general just like your momma! We started giving you yogurt again and you seem to like it and you haven't broken out into rash this go around. We gave you yogurt a few months ago and your face broke into a rash so that's why we held off for a little bit. We've given you cheese but are still holding off on giving you  milk. We'll probably start giving you milk after you've turned a year old which is what is recommended. So for now you're still on formula. You're a pro at your sippee cup and love apple and pear juice. So we just started integrating the big boy cup, spill proof of course. The only thing is, you love to the play the game of dropping you're cups on the floor and seeing who will pick them up for you. We pick them up one or two times and then after that it stays on the floor.

You're on a pretty good routine now. Lately every night has been bath time (because you're a very messy eater) so your evening routine is the three B's; bath time, bottle, and bed. We usually brush your teeth before bed because you have six teeth (four up top and two on the bottom) now and we need to keep those suckers clean. We normally put you down at 8pm and you go right to sleep. Then, you'll sleep through night until I wake you up at 6:45am. I usually turn on the lamp, rub your back, and open the curtains. You will do a big stretch and roll around and then sit up and reach for me to pick you up. Then I usually change your diaper and get you dressed. Next, I put you in your high chair and give you a morning snack so I can get my stuff together for the day. Then we're out of the house at 7am so I can get you dropped off at daycare by 7:20am so I can get to work by 7:30am. It's a great schedule and you do really well on it plus we all get lots of sleep.

Happy eleven month birthday sweet little boy!!

Love,
Momma

Glacier Park

On Saturday we went to Glacier Park and hiked the Highline Trail. We debated on what to do because we didn't want to do a hike that would be too much for you. But we decided on the Highline Trail because we heard it wasn't that bad of a hike and figured we could turn around at any time. So we parked at the "The Loop Trail" and took the shuttle up to Logan Pass. From there we could hike Highline Trail to Haystack (3 miles) and turn around or we could hike to Granite Chalet which was 7.6 miles. We decided to hike to Granite Chalet because (1) we wanted to see Granite Chalet and (2) we could just take a 4 mile downhill trail that would take us right to our car. So all in all we hiked 12 MILES and you did awesome!! I carried you in your backpack the first part of the hike and daddy carried you the second half of the trip. It was a beautiful day and from the sounds of it we lucked out on the weather. The day before the weather was horrible, it rained and even snowed a little bit. So we were really happy we got to hike on a beautiful and clear day. We didn't see much wildlife; we saw a few mountain goats as we were driving in and two sheep out on the trail.  Then we saw a bunch of chickmunks and squirrels. They were all over the trail and at Granite Chalet just hoping someone would feed them. We didn't take many breaks, just for photos here and there, so you took a couple naps in your backpack which is to be expected since we hiked for exactly 6 hours! We did take an hour break at Granite Chalet where we had lunch and relaxed a bit. The Granite Chalet used to be a working hotel with running water, bathrooms, and food services but now it's just a hostel where you pack it in and pack it out. They did have porta potties though...which I loved!  They also had a little shop where you could buy snacks and drinks. Daddy bought a big bottle of water and a coke which cost him $8.00...it was $5.00 just for the water! We let you walk around a bit since you had been in your backpack for a while and you got all sorts of attention. Everyone we passed on the trail loved your backpack and commented on how they wish they could ride like you. After the break at Granite Chalet, we hiked the 4 miles down to the car. It was a long 4 miles to the car or least it felt really long. We were all tired and ready to be done but we pushed on and got out in just little over an hour. We were so happy to see the car!! It was a great hike though and we had a blast! You did so well, we are still in disbelief on how well you did. It was an AWESOME DAY!

Just getting started

Mommy was a little unsure of this part as it was a little high

One of many beautiful views

Popping out to say hi

Look at all that static

Beautiful view where you can see McDonald Lake

Lunch Break at Granite Chalet

A little visitor at lunch

Lodge & cabins at Granite Chalet

Getting ready to start the 4 mile hike down ( You wouldn't think they were tired)

First Steps

You've taken a couple steps here and there but this is the first time you've taken quite a few steps on your own. The best part is we got it on video. So exciting!!

Photo Contest

We entered you in your first contest, a PHOTO CONTEST! It's Gerber's Generation Photo Search. There is an overall grand prize winner and then there is a winner in each milestone category. You are in the crawlers milestone category. The overall grand prize winner is decided by judges but the milestone winners are determined by votes from the public. So cross your fingers and hope for a lot of votes, I know we are!!

Who wouldn't want to vote for you...you are the CUTEST baby ever!

Fun at the Park

This weekend we found an awesome park for you to play at.  It has a huge splash pad with a bunch of sprayers and fountains, a jungle gym with swings and a slide, and nice big open field for frisbee and what not. It's a great place for parties which there happened to be one going on while we were there. But the best part is, is it's relatively close. It's only about 10-15 min from our house and is just as we're coming in to town. So well worth the drive! You had a lot of fun at the park. You loved playing in the water and running through the water, well.... us running you through the water. But you loved it all the same and even made a friend and wanted to follow her around. When you got cold we'd cuddle you up in your towel and hangout in the sun. You looked so cute all cuddled up in your towel too!

You had so much fun in the sun!!

Getting used to the water

Almost ready to do it on your own

Daddy giving you a lift through the water

Taking a break to warm up

Watch out for the big bird!