Children's Museum

This past Thursday we went to the Children's Museum in Houston with our friends Mason & Corben.  As you can see from the pictures and video, Hunter had a blast!  His favorite exhibit was definitely the trucks.  He kept going back to them to play some more.  For some reason though, he wasn't a fan of sitting on the seat in the truck, he preferred sitting on the floorboard!

Playing in the ball pit with Mason & Corben

Playing in his favorite truck

Hanging out in the ball pit

Spinning the flowers

Sitting on the floorboard, where he preferred to sit instead of the seat

Playing with a door...his favorite thing to do at home

11 Months

Hunter has finally started to take some steps on his own!  We aren't walking yet, but at least we're trying to do it on our own.  Everyday, Hunter takes about one to two steps independently several times throughout the day.  I know he is capable of walking, but he seems to be very hesitant and lacking confidence.  I find it funny that this is the only thing he is careful about.  When it comes to crawling over the edge of the bed, attempting to jump head first off the sofa, or standing in his Aggie rocking chair and rocking back in forth, he shows no fear.  Yet, when it comes to walking on his own, he demonstrates caution.  Hunter continues to say Mama and Dada, and it appears that he knows the meaning of these words.  He doesn't call us by name to get our attention though, he still prefers crying and at times throwing a fit.  I guess he finds this to be much more effective.  We are up to 8 teeth now, and are working on not biting others.  The past week, he does seem to be doing better with this.  Here are a few pictures from this month.

Hunter & Mason

Getting into trouble

Laughing at Grams

1st Birthday Party

To make sure that one very special person could attend Hunter's first birthday party, we ended up celebrating his first birthday this past Saturday, which was actually his 11 month birthday.  Hunter had a great time playing with all the kids and his presents.  Thank you to all our friends and family that could share in this special day with us!

Ready to pick up a girl in his new car

Lock up your daughters!!!

Today Hunter's teacher told me that he was chasing all the girls and giving them kisses.  I asked if she was sure it was kisses and not him biting, since we've been having trouble with biting lately.  She told me, "Oh no, he was definitely giving kisses!"  Our little boy is only 10 months old and already he's a little player!

On another note, Hunter had another bottom tooth break through this weekend. We are now up to 6 teeth (3 top and 3 bottom). We can see that another top tooth is close, but hasn't broken through yet. Also, here is a video I took with my phone of Hunter laughing today. (Don't forget to mute music player at the bottom.) I think he has one of the best laughs ever! It brings a smile to my face every time I hear it :)

10 Months

I thought over the summer break I would be better at posting updates, but as you can see I was not. Since my last post, Hunter finally started crawling on his hand and knees. He had been moving around the house pretty well doing the army crawl, but when he got the stomach virus that has been going around, his stomach hurt so much that he decided to crawl. I hate that he had to get sick to convince him to crawl on his hands and knees, but hey, whatever works. Hunter is also walking around the house using his walker, chairs, diaper boxes, laundry baskets, etc. About a month ago, Hunter learned how to "give five" and "high five." This past weekend he also learned how to wave "hi" and "bye." Another new thing that he has started (that I'm not crazy about) is hiding things. Hunter loves to hide the remote, cell phones, toys, etc. under the couch, coffee table, and end tables. He even hid my flip flop under the stove! Looks like we need to start keeping a closer eye on all our belongings! I started back to work this past Friday, and will only be working three days a week this year. Hunter started daycare yesterday, and we were told he did very well, was a happy boy, and played well with others. Unfortunately, he only took a 25 minute nap, which we expected but were hoping he would surprise us. Hopefully, once he learns that he is not missing out on anything, he will start taking his two daily naps. If not, it's going to be a long school year! Here are a few pictures we've taken since our last post.

First haircut...looking a little worried

Definitely NOT happy

Our handsome little boy

Fourth of July on the Waterway

Being a goof at Safari Stop

9 Month Well Visit

Hunter had his 9 month check up this Monday, and everything went well. He didn't have to receive any shots this time, but they did prick his toe to check for anemia, which came back normal. Hunter weighed in at 19.5 lbs which places him in the 25th-50th percentile. She said he's starting to drop a little on his weight since he's moving more, so we just need to up his food a little. For height, he measured 28.5 inches, which places him in the 50th -75th percentile. Overall, she said he was doing great! She checked his ears and he didn't have any fluid in them, so she confirmed what I had suspected. She said that he is hearing fine, but his loudness is just him expressing his personality. I think she was trying to tell me politely that we have a loud mouth on our hands :) I guess I'll just prepare myself for a lot of teacher calls in the future!

8 Months

Over the last month, Hunter has really started moving! He's still not crawling, but he scoots all over the place. I wish he would start crawling though, because he's covered in rug burns! He does get on his hands and knees and rocks back and forth, and can now go from his stomach to a sitting position. Hunter has also started pulling himself up and taking a few steps while holding on to things. Last week, Kevin found Hunter standing in his crib during nap time! This week he has also let go of me and stood for a few seconds unassisted. Hunter has also started feeding himself some finger foods such as puffs, Cheerios, and crackers. He also discovered a few cabinets in the kitchen are not childproofed, and he enjoyed opening and closing the door for a solid thirty minutes. Below you can watch a short clip. As you can hear in the video, Hunter is pretty loud. In fact, he's so loud that we're going to check with the doctor next week at his 9 month appointment to make sure he's hearing okay. He seems to hear us just fine, but we've noticed he's MUCH louder than most of the other babies. We just want to make sure everything is fine. I'm sure it is, and I'm sure it's just an indication that in the future we will receive lots of calls from teachers about Hunter being loud in class :) Other big news for this month is that we went on our first family vacation. It originally started out as a family of 3 going to Port Aransas for a few days, and then turned into an additional 19 people coming with us. We had a great time with our small group family! Hunter also started swim lessons this week at the YMCA. I wouldn't say he's a big fan. It's not that he doesn't enjoy the water. He just doesn't like doing what they want him to do, he wants to do what he wants to do. It is the most exhausting 30 minute lesson ever! I'm thankful we only have one more week :) Earlier this month, we also went to the zoo with the Brinkleys and their little boy Mason. Although the boys didn't pay much attention to the animals, the adults had a great time!

Feeding himself a cracker for the first time.

Port Aransas

Tim, Mason, Kevin, and Hunter at the zoo.

7 Month Happenings

Over the last month, Hunter has started scooting (although at home he prefers crying until someone picks him up), clapping his hands, banging two toys together, says mama but does not apply meaning yet, and made his first trip to the pool. He LOVES playing with the water in the bath tub, but only tolerates the pool for now. Hunter has to figure something out before he'll smile and enjoy something, so hopefully after a few more trips to the pool he'll relax more and start to love playing in the pool also.

First time in pool...not too happy about this

Trying to figure out what's going on

And we're done...

6 month Professional Pictures

Here are a few of the pictures that Jamie Werner at suburbanchicphotography.com took of Hunter at Mercer Arboretum last month.

6 Month Happenings

Over the last month, Hunter has learned how to sit for long periods of time without any assistance and has started sitting in grocery carts and highchairs at restaurants. He has also moved up to the big boy car seat, which he seems to tolerate much better than his previous infant carrier. Hunter has also started to say "Dada" repeatedly. I like to remind Kevin that he is now calling for his dada, not mama, when he needs a diaper change :) This past weekend we started practicing standing with something to hold on to. Hunter did well and even held on with only one hand for a little while. We still haven't started scooting or crawling, although he does scoot backwards a little and rocks back and forth on his knees some. It's probably only a matter of time before he starts crawling, and before we know it walking and running! Hunter has also started to wean himself, so we are beginning to reduce his milk intake and increase his food intake. Our little boy is growing up!

Hunter in the bluebonnets

Easter service

Gig'em Aggies! Whoop!

Standing without Mama's help

First ride in car

Can you tell my daddy's a hunter with the Mossy Oak car seat?

Our Little Genius

About a month ago, Hunter started inconsistently turning off the lights whenever we say, "Turn off the lights!" He would always bat at the switch, but only a few times would he get lucky enough to hit it just right that he actually turned off the light. Several times tonight, he has consistently turned off the light, and we were finally able to capture it on video.

5 Month Happenings

Since my last post, Hunter has started eating foods like a champ! His favorites are squash and bananas, but he also likes sweet potatoes, carrots, applesauce, peas, and mac & cheese. Some days he will eat green beans, but like his mama, he is not a big fan. We have also gotten him to eat oatmeal, but some days we have to mix in a little apple juice for him to eat that. We tried to give him some mashed up avocado this week, but he didn't really like that much. His two bottom teeth are almost all the way in, and we think he may be getting a top tooth in a few weeks. At his doctor appointment this week, Dr. Parkerson said the top gum was a little swollen, and we have noticed him chewing and slobbering more than normal again. Hunter is now able to sit unassisted for a few minutes at a time when placed in a sitting position. He seems to do better if he has a toy in front of him to focus on, otherwise he is looking around the room and topples over. He has now discovered his tongue, and loves to stick it out and spit! He continues to babble more every day, and has discovered a new level of squealing. He enjoys playing peek-a-boo, and has one of the best laughs I have ever heard! Hunter's laugh and smile make everything else in the world disappear, and you can't help but smile and laugh with him :) This past Wednesday, we had Hunter's 6 month appointment. We actually went in about 2 weeks early, since I was on Spring Break. At his appointment, he weighed 17.6 lbs. and measured 28 in. That puts him in the 50th percentile on weight and 90-95th percentile on length! Dr. Parkerson said he looked really good, and she was impressed that his weight has kept up with his height, which she says is difficult to do when they are that long. Since Hunter's 4 month appointment, he has grown nearly 3 inches!!! Here are some various pictures we have taken over the last month or so.

5 Months

You can tell my mama is an educator, because she already makes me read!

Sitting up

Eating for the first time in his highchair

Hanging out at Black Walnut after church

Teething

Our little boy is growing up so fast! Today we noticed that Hunter's two bottom teeth have broken through his gums already! We figured he had started teething since he is constantly chewing on his hands and drooling, but we didn't expect to see teeth for another month or two. It's amazing how fast they change! Hunter also found his feet a couple weeks ago, so now he likes to suck on his feet as well. Hunter never took to the cereals we tried recently, so we decided to try some sweet potatoes the other day. As you can see from the pictures, he is not a fan of those either. We've decided to give food a break, and will introduce it again in a week or two.

New Developments

It seems like over the last two weeks Hunter has changed so much. He is definitely beginning to show us his wonderful personality. He has been smiling and squealing for awhile, but now he has begun to giggle. His laugh is so adorable that it makes me laugh :) He has also begun to grab his feet, and is constantly pulling off his socks. I'm glad it has been warmer lately so he's been able to go without socks the last few days. Today he rolled from his back to his tummy, and then his tummy to his back. He's definitely become a pro at back to tummy, but is still inconsistent on tummy to back. I figure we only have a few more days before he becomes confident at this skill and we'll start finding him rolling clear across a room :) Tonight we gave him his first taste of rice cereal. As you can see from the pictures, he is NOT a fan!!!