First Christmas

Playing in the condo kitchen with a gift from Aunt Katie

Hey, Dougie, what an exciting time you had during your first Christmas season!!

Your biggest gift this year is moving into your new condo. All of the work involved in moving from your old house to the condo sort of overshadowed the usual Christmas activity. Everyone was exhausted from packing everything up in boxes at your old house, and the actual moving day, which occurred on Friday, 12/18, and the unpacking at the condo. The unpacking part is not quite done yet, but at least all of your stuff is at the new place so your mommy can unpack while you nap. It is also nice that she has this week off of school so that she can get a lot done during the daytime.

Another gift from Aunt Katie

Even though everyone was tired, we kept all of the Christmas traditions and even started a few new ones. Since Aunt Patty decided not to serve a traditional dinner on Christmas Day, Papa Mike and DeeDee decided to have Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve. We had planned the meal for noon, at our house, so that you and your mommy and daddy could go to church at 4 to hear Lucy sing. Unfortunately, your mommy's new washer and dryer had to be delivered on Christmas Eve...between 12 and 5...so we quickly modified our plans.

Helping Papa cook dinner at the condo

DeeDee and Papa packed up all of the traditional Christmas fare and headed to your condo for Christmas dinner. We had ham, sweet potatoes, dressing, cranberry relish, peas, banana bread and pumpkin pie for dessert. Your mommy told me today that the only food you are eating right now is the yummy leftover garlic peas that we had on Christmas Eve!!

The men delivered your new washer and dryer (they are front loaders, so you can enjoy the laundry show at home now, too!!) after 3 on Christmas Eve, so the delivery was not finished in time for you to go to hear Lucy sing. You and your mommy and daddy came to church at 5pm with Papa and DeeDee instead. We were so glad to have you with us!! After church, you went home and went to bed. You were very tired after such a long day.

Eating Papa's pancakes

On Christmas morning, Papa and DeeDee had your Aunt Katie's friends, Lindsey and Bill and their two boys, over for pancakes. You and your mommy and daddy came, too. You loved Papa's blueberry pancakes and baked apples. Your mommy wouldn't let you try Papa's famous chocolate chip pancakes, but I can tell you they were superb and you will love them when you get a bit older.

Playing with Joshua and Zachary

Lindsey and Aunt Katie went to high school together, and since Lindsey is Jewish, and was always looking for something to do on Christmas morning, she came to our house every year for a chocolate chip pancake breakfast. It was so much fun having everyone at the house again this year to continue the traditiion...we did miss Aunt Katie and Uncle Mike, though, since they were in Denver and could not make it South for Christmas.

Tackling Zachary

You really enjoyed meeting Lindsey's boys...Joshua is almost 3 and Zachary is just your age, and almost exactly the same size as you are. Zachary did not know quite what to make of you tackling him...your day care must be a bit more rough and tumble than his is.

At the party...with Christy

After breakfast, we all went to the traditional family party at Aunt Patty's house. There were over 50 people there and you did great meeting all of the new people. Even though you are teething, you were not cranky at all. You really enjoyed the party!! As always, you love people...the more, the merrier!!

This week is a little quieter for everyone. You and your mommy are trying to get your condo set-up, and DeeDee and Papa are down in LA for some R&R. We miss you and can't wait to see you this weekend, but it is very nice to have a bit of a rest after the busy month of December we have had.

My teeth hurt!!

Your mommy said that you are sleeping well in your own bed and not waking up as much in the middle of the night. Good for you!! She also said that you have a blister on your gum, so one of your new teeth must be ready to pop through. I hope that your mouth does not hurt too much. Hopefully, you will have a new tooth to show off when we return!!

Love you, Dougie. Papa and Dee will see you in a couple of days.

10 Months Old!!

Dougie, DeeDee just cannot believe how busy she has been lately. It's been an entire month since I posted to our blog. Don't worry, I'll try to give you a good recap about all of the things we have done since my last post.

You have grown so much in the last month and are doing so many new things!! You are now an expert crawler and you pull up on everything. You even let go and stand on your own for just a second or two. You wear big boy shoes now...you have the cutest little pair of white Nike's that make you much more confident on your feet. You clap hands, wave bye-bye, show us how big you are by raising your hands over your head, and, the other morning, you pointed to your mama's nose when she asked "Where's mama's nose?"

Big Boy Shoes

You are the star music and dance student at school. When music comes on, you stop whatever you are doing to listen to the music and then you start dancing. Right now, your 'dancing' is bouncing up-and-down and back-and-forth because you are not quite ready to move your feet yet. You love to shake the jingle bells during music time.

Magnets are one of your favorite toys. You love to play with the magnetic toys at school and the large magnetic letters at school and at DeeDee's house. One of the things you have always loved to do at DeeDee's house is to watch the laundry in the front loading washer. Whenever you hear the machines going, you make a beeline to the laundry to watch the show!!

Still watching the show!!

You are a very social little boy. You love people and when a new person comes in the room you smile so broadly and won't stop until they come over to talk to you. You love your school friends and are learning to play with them at the train table. You like to roll the ball with your friends and your teachers. You also love to play outside on the rocking horse at school. You will no longer stand for being left behind when the other kids go outside even though it has been very cold lately.

A serious conversation with Ella

You had your 10 month check-up on your 10-month birthday. You weighed 22 lbs 6 oz and were 30 inches tall. You are getting so big that it is hard for your mama and DeeDee to carry you. You are almost half as tall as your mama and DeeDee!

You and your mama have been staying with DeeDee this week. You are moving into a new house in another week. DeeDee and Papa are excited because you will be living so much closer to us. We are enjoying having you here with us until you move. The adults are not getting as much sleep as we would like, however, because you are learning to sleep all night by yourself in your own bed. It is a huge change for you so you wake up and cry several times during the night.

Papa has been out of town on a bicycle trip this week. He is coming home today and can't wait to see you. He told me to give you a big hug and tell you that he would see you this afternoon when you get home from school.

Dougie, we love you and are having so much fun watching you grow!!

9 Months Old!!

Do you like my Panda shoes?

Hey, Dougie, yesterday you were 9 months old. DeeDee and Pappa spent the day with you and your mommy at her school Christmas fair. We had so much fun looking at all of the pretty things the vendors were selling. You spent a lot of time in the ELC playing with Pappa in the morning, and DeeDee stayed with you while you took a nap. We were so happy to be able to spend this special day with you.

You have had so many milestones this week. You finally got your two front teeth!! Yeah!! No more pain...you have been much happier since the teeth have come in.


You have also started to crawl!! You are so excited to be able to move all over the place. We are going to have to really baby proof the house now!!


You learned how to get into a sitting position on your own, too. You are also trying to pull up to a standing position ...although once you get up, you haven't figured out that you have to hang on...so we have to watch you very carefully so that you don't fall.

The recycle bin is just impossible to resist!!

You are getting to be such a big boy!! It is so hard to believe that in just 3 short months you will be one-year-old. I wonder what other wonderful things you will be able to do then.

Halloween Night

Our Happy Halloween Boy

Hey, Dougie.

You spent Halloween night with DeeDee and Pappa while your mommy went to the homecoming dance. We had a lot of fun. You practiced your "almost crawl"...you are not yet moving on your hands and knees, but you are so close. You push off with your arms and scoot forward. There is a little knee action, but not quite enough to call it a crawl just yet. You also enjoyed watching the washer go round-and-round and watching Pappa make cookies.

We did not have any Trick or Treaters at our house because we are not on the Halloween route through our neighborhood. We were hoping to get just a few so that you could help us give out candy. You are just not old enough to go Trick or Treating this year. You looked so cute in your "Baby's First" onsie!!

My cute "Baby's First" Onsie

You had a great dinner of baby carrots, baby applesauce, green peas (which you learned to pick up off of your tray even though they kept rolling around on you) and graham crackers. You also had a 4 oz bottle of milk before you went to bed. Before bed, DeeDee and Pappa gave you some baby Orajel and Tylenol. Those two front teeth still are not in. DeeDee went with your mommy to your six-month check-up and I can remember Dr. Taylor saying that those teeth would be through any day...and now, its almost time for your 9 month check-up and they still are not in. You even have a blister on your gum, where one of the teeth is trying to break through. I sure do hope that they come in soon.

I'm so glad you stayed with us tonight, Dougie. We loved having you...it was such a nice way to spend your first Halloween night!!

First Halloween

The happy duck hunter

Hey, Dougie. Today was the Halloween parade at the ELC and you looked so cute dressed up like a duck hunter!! You had camo pants, that were a gift from one of Pammie and Granddaddy's friends down south, and you even had a wooden rifle that your mommy found at a yard sale!!

Here are some pictures of you before you went to school today. I'm sure that you were a big hit with all of the big kids and your teachers.

The serious duck hunter

You weren't impressed with that hat...it came off pretty quickly!!

Too bad you didn't have a duck...since someone wouldn't cooperate with a costume of her own. Pappa tried to talk her into it, but your mommy didn't think that was such a good idea.

Hope you had fun in the Halloween parade, Dougie!!

Finger Foods

First Try--that little Puff isn't where you think it is!!

Dougie, today was a milestone day...you started to feed yourself finger foods!!

After your mommy and Pappa went to work this morning, DeeDee gave you your breakfast. You had cereal and a jar of bananas. DeeDee also gave you some Puffs to eat. When you saw them, you opened your mouth like a little bird and wanted me to put the Puff right in your mouth...but DeeDee had other ideas. Last night at dinner, you were able to get one little piece of broccoli into your mouth all by yourself, so DeeDee knew that you were ready to start eating finger foods without her help.

Instead of putting that Puff in your mouth, DeeDee put it down on your tray and showed it to you. You started pushing that little Puff all over the tray, and once your hand was damp, it stuck to your hand. You tried and tried to get the Puff into your mouth. You worked a long time at it and it finally went into your mouth!! DeeDee clapped for you and told you what a big boy you are. I was so proud of you!!



DeeDee kept giving you Puffs and you kept working to get them to your mouth. By the time you were finished with breakfast, you had eaten about 12 Puffs all by yourself!! You got so good at it that you were able to get the Puffs to your mouth in seconds after DeeDee put them onto your tray. You are a very fast learner!!

Both Mommy and Pappa called before you went down for your nap and they both talked to you and told you how proud they are that you are growing up to be a big boy!!

I can't wait to see what new foods you will discover now that you can feed yourself!!

Love you, Dougie. See you soon!!

8 Months Old!!

Hey, Dougie. You are now 8 months old. You are such a big boy. Pappa and DeeDee love to watch all of the new things you know how to do now.

You love to eat solid food and are getting more comfortable eating things with texture. On Tuesday you ate broccoli and bananas!! Pappa cooked the broccoli really well and you loved it!! We already knew that you loved bananas from a baby food jar, so we tried the real thing and you thought it was wonderful. Oh, and grapes...you tried grapes, too. Even though you were exceedingly tired, you gobbled them right down. Peel me another grape, Mommy!!

You are finally getting your top two teeth. Your mommy saw one of them the other morning. You have been really drooling lately, so I'm sure that both of them will be in soon.

You are quite the observer. You love to look at things. You and Siam, our neighbor's cat, stared at each other for quite a while on Tuesday. And, of course, one of your favorite "shows" is still DeeDee's washer. You sit in your tot wheels and watch the clothes go round and round for the entire wash cycle!!

You get so excited when Pappa gets home from work. You follow him around in your tot wheels and squeal with laughter. We love to hear you giggle!! You know that it is time for fun with Pappa. He gets down on the floor with you and plays and you pull his hair and climb all over him.


You love playing with the cores from rolls of paper towels, water jugs and oatmeal boxes...for some reason, these things are much more interesting than toys. You also love pulling the drawers out of the coffee table...soon you will be filling them with your treasures.

Aunt Sherri, I LOVE this table!!

Pappa and DeeDee are in LA this weekend. Your Granddaddy Dewaine and Grandmommy Molly are visiting you. You are also going to get to see Uncle Jamie and Aunt Rebecca. We will miss you, but I know that you will have fun with all of your company.

You would have loved to see the spider web that Pappa and DeeDee saw yesterday morning...it was really cool the way the sunlight was hitting it...and the spider was HUGE!!


See you on Tuesday, Dougie.

Busy Times

Pappa and DeeDee at Alberta Falls

Hey, Dougie. Its been almost 3 weeks since I've made an entry on our blog. I have been thinking about you, but was not able to get to the computer to update until now.

Pappa and DeeDee have been on vacation. We went out to Colorado to see your Aunt Katie and Uncle Michael and then spent a couple of days in Rocky Mountain National Park. We stayed at the YMCA of the Rockies, which is ajacent to the park. We can hike into the park from our lodge, which we love to do. Of course, the park is so big and there are so many things to see that we always drive in at least once a day, as well.

We saw lots of wildlife this year. The Elk rut occurs in September, so we always see lots of Elk. This year we also saw ducks, wild turkeys, deer, lots of different kinds of birds and 3 bears!! We saw the bears the first time when we were walking along one of the YMCA trails, getting ready to cross over into the park. We saw them again after we entered the park. They were traveling parallel to the trail foraging for food in the stream and meadows. We didn't get too close to them because they can be very dangerous. The Elk, however, were not at all shy about getting close to the people...as you can see by this photo...that is the mirror or our car in the picture!!

When we first got to the park, it was quite warm. However, on our last day there, a front came in and the temperature dropped very quickly. We hiked up above Alberta Falls and got back to the parking lot just in time for a little rain. By the time we had a snack and had hiked around Bear Lake, the temperature had fallen about 20 degrees and rain was falling very hard.

Snow for our ride back to Denver!!

By the next morning, we had snow!! Colorada did not disappoint us...we always get a bit of snow on our early fall trips to Colorado.

We were so glad to see you when we got back home. You and your mommy stayed with us this weekend and you and Pappa really enjoyed hanging out together. You do all of the "boy" things...you especially like playing ball with Pappa. You could push that ball back and forth for hours without getting tired of the game. You have also enjoyed watching DeeDee's washer...your mommy took a video of you. The video is over a minute and a half long and you did not even move...you were so interested in watching the clothes spin around.

We are so glad to see you again, Dougie!! We missed you so much.

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

Finger Lickin' Good!!

If you only knew how much your mommy HATES carrots!!

A Night with DeeDee and Pappa

Hey, Dougie. You and your mommy spent the night with DeeDee and Pappa last night. Pappa and I had a great time with you before you went to bed while your mommy was at her school meeting.

When we ate dinner, you ate applesauce. It wasn't any of that baby stuff, it was regular Publix applesauce and you LOVED it!! You reminded me a lot of your Aunt Katie...the only food she liked before she was 1 year-old was applesauce. She ate it every day and she wanted to feed herself. Unfortunately, when she was finished, she would always wash her hair with the leftover applesauce. Needless to say, it didn't take DeeDee very long to figure out that Aunt Katie could only feed herself at dinnertime...I would take her directly to the bath tub as soon as dinner was over. You wanted to help feed yourself last night, but since I did not plan to give you a bath, Pappa and I decided that we would feed you instead.

When you got up this morning, your mommy put you in one of your new fall outfits. It looks so cute on you!! As soon as you were ready for school, you wanted to play. You sat up and played with your favorite musical toy and the new ball that Pammie sent you. You also had a very good time showing us how good you are at sitting up these days. You have finally learned that bracing yourself with your hands when you are leaning forward prevents a face-plant...you only had one of those this morning.

It was sad to say good-bye to you when you left for school. Pappa and DeeDee are going to LA later today, so we will not be able to see you this weekend. Thankfully Pammie and Granddaddy are coming to visit for your daddy's birthday, so you will have another set of grandparents to love while we are gone.

Love you, Dougie. See you next week.

Weekending...

Enjoying Saturday

Hey, Dougie. Yesterday DeeDee subbed at the ELC. I took care of you and 8 of your friends. We had a very good day, even though the rain was pouring down when everyone arrived at school. DeeDee had to walk through a huge puddle to get to the center...thank heavens she had worn rubber sandals.

The day was very dark and rainy...it finally started clearing up around 2pm. We were not able to go outside because it was too wet, but we still had fun.

Every time that the other kids ate, Ms. JoAnn and I put you in your high chair so that you could have a little solid food. You still aren't sold on solid food, but you are beginning to realize that some of it is pretty good. You prefer eating it off of my finger rather than using a spoon, which is just fine. Yesterday you ate some apricots & applesause (mixture) and some rice cereal. You had it all over your face when you were done.

My outfit for Blue and Gold Day

It was Blue and Gold day at school. All of the big kids and teachers were allowed to wear casual clothes. They had a pep rally and got out of school early, so they were really happy. There was a big football game last night, and your mommy had a dinner to attend, as well. She sent you home with me, so that you would not be up too late.

Pappa and I took you out to dinner and you ate just a small bite of bread. You were not really hungry for solid food and you were getting very tired. You were so excited when DeeDee sat in the back seat with you on the way home and fed you a bottle. When we got home, we put you in your PJs and Pappa gave you the rest of the bottle. Then, you decided that you were ready to play again, and you and Pappa had a great time having a conference on the sofa. You finally finished the last couple of swallows of milk and were asleep before you hit the bed.

This morning you and your mommy were up very early. We heard you talking to her at 4:30AM. She decided that it was way too early to get up for the day, so she fed you and you went back to sleep until about 7...that was much better for everyone.

Today we had a very laid back day. We went to breakfast and to REI and then came home so that you could get a good nap. After your nap you watched the clothes spin around in the washer and learned to play High 5 with DeeDee. You laughed and laughed every time DeeDee said "High 5!" and hit your hand with hers. Your mommy got your giggles on video...something she has been trying to do for a while. When Pappa got back from his bike ride, we went out and did a little more shopping and then went to get dinner. You were so tired by then that your mommy was planning to take you home and put you right to bed.

Dougie, we had a wonderful time with you and your mommy. Pappa especially enjoyed having so much time with you last night and today, since you were rested and full of energy...usually when he gets to see you, its late and you need to go to bed.

DeeDee and Pappa can't wait for a chance to spend another fun day with you. Please come visit us again very soon!! Pappa and DeeDee love you.

Back to School

Hey Dougie, you have had a very exciting couple of weeks.

School started on Monday, 8/17, but sadly you were not able to go...you had pink eye. You had to stay at DeeDee's house on Monday and Tuesday because the doctor said that you could not be with other children until Wednesday. Your Great Grandmother was sad that you spoiled your perfect attendance on the very first day of school!!

You started school on Wednesday and you are adjusting quite well. DeeDee is really enjoying getting to substitute in the ELC...I love getting to be with you and your 9 friends all day long. You really keep me and the other ladies jumping.

You have not been feeling great for the last couple of weeks. Besides pink eye, you have also had a cold, a fever and have been teething. Those new teeth that Dr. Taylor said were just about ready to pop through, have not appeared yet. I really wish that they would since they are making you so miserable. You chew on everything, trying to help them break through.

You are still not very interested in eating real food but you do like sitting in your new high chair. Your favorite game is PICK-UP...whenever anyone puts something on your tray, you immediately throw it on the floor and expect them to instantly retrieve it and give it back to you...so that you can repeat the process again and again.

Enjoy the rest of your week, Dougie. I'll see you at the ELC on Friday!!