Eleven Months

We sure think our little boy is a cutie! And he is growing up so fast! He turned 11 months old yesterday. I can't believe that in less than 1 month we will have a ONE YEAR OLD! The countdown is on, or rather, I'd be fine if time stood still for just a little bit. :)

He is becoming so independent! The park is a lot more fun now that he can actually "play" on the structures. This little dude is OBSESSED with water. We can't walk by sprinklers in someone's yard without him wanting to touch it. He loves getting doused by our sprinklers and hose. He loves the bath, pool, sink! Who knew washing your hands was so fun?! This summer is going to be fun! And once he can walk, you better believe we will be at the splash pad every weekend! :)

Getting M to eat enough has been a pain lately (although not these past few days!) and I was super excited to see how much he was loving on whole wheat pasta with garden veggie tomato sauce! 

He will NOT sit still. Not church, not Target, not ANYWHERE. He is a wiggly one!

Our little trouble maker. Looks like my baking goods will need to be moved up higher. First it was the walnuts, and now my GIANT bag of christmas m&ms! He managed to eat a bunch of them before I could stop him. I had to pry the m&m's from his little pudgy hands! :)

And, on another occasion, I let M play around the corner from me the other day, and when I went to go get him I found this! After looking high and low .... i STILL don't know what he got into! And yes, I smelled it to make sure it was chocolate. That boy and his chocolate! ;)

Random M video:

iPhone Photo Purge

Here's a bunch of photos from wills phone from the last month or so. Most are from Easter.

Below: M loves his evening wagon rides. I try to take him out every night after I get home from work.

Below: Gearing up for summer!

Below: GroupLove concert from last night = epic

Someday Love Will Find You

Yeah, yeah. Its been a while. 

New goal: post on my one night of the week that I have to myself. That would be tonight. 

To the point now, things have been busy in our household. Like, extremely busy. Life has been going way too fast lately. 

Will: Passed his RMA test at work!! Is currently interviewing for Assistant Store Manager positions within the area (which will involve 50 hour work weeks). Has been spending a lot of time on our yard. Figured out how to get our really crappy, cheaply installed sprinklers working in the front yard (yay!). 

Peggy: Started a new position at work, which included a nice promotion. Spend most of my days in meetings now (boo). Trying to get back to the basics of life when not at work. Trying to unplug more (hence, haven't blogged much) and spend more time with my family. Been running a lot - and am in the process of giving up the treadmill for the summer. Still planning a half marathon in the near future.

Marshall: Where to start? He is ever evolving. He is definitely a feisty little guy and is definitely coming into his own personality. He is now 10 months old (!!!!!!). He has recently figured out he can be more mobile. He has learned to stand on his own and climb up on E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. He loves playing and is definitely a very social guy. He still loves swimming (we try to go every Friday), and he loves wagon rides, swings, playing in the grass and being outside in general. He is generally demanding. He knows what he wants and will pitch a fit until he gets it. He is a super picky eater - but is guaranteed to eat yogurt, applesauce and goldfish crackers when he will not eat anything else. He is ACTIVE. Church is a total pain right now, since he just cannot sit still. I generally leave 20 minutes into sacrament meeting just because I can't handle him alone, and even when Will isn't working on Sundays, its still too difficult with the both of us there! Although he won't be held anymore while taking a nap (which adds to church being difficult), he is still a super cuddly kid, which I love. He is one of the most sensitive babies I have known - which has forced Will and I to address our feelings and attitudes at home. He thinks everything is funny. He has the best laugh. He loves bubbles and "riding" his car. He still loves bubble baths, and has luckily "graduated" to sitting up in the tub. He layed down for so long in the same tub he was in as a newborn - that I thought we'd eventually have a 2 year old laying in that dang tub. He LOVES books and story time. His favorite books are Barnyard Dance and Rattletrap Car - he laughs at the funny parts and likes to look intently and touch the colorful pictures. I love that little boy more than words can express. 

Will and I have butted heads lately on the prospect of me staying home as soon as is feasible. He wants me home full-time, and I want to work part-time, at least - but as Marshall grows I think I'm seeing the blessing that it would be to stay home full-time. He is changing so quickly, every day, and its getting harder and harder to see him as a baby. Tonight I had a very sweet bedtime experience with M. Nothing extravagant, but just a sweet memory that I will cherish. Lately, bedtime has been really difficult because he has learned to stand in his crib and yell - which makes it hard for him to calm down and decide sleep is better than play. But tonight, I decided to not fight him by having to go in and out of his room constantly and instead I just held him and we cuddled and rocked for a good, long while before bedtime. Like I said before, he didn't sleep - cause he can't fall asleep while being held - but it was so nice to just hold my growing boy and realize these days are so fleeting. 

Here is an iPhone photo purge from the last month or so. Will has a bunch more, but he is at work - so I'll have to purge his phone photos next. 

(below: my showers aren't exactly "relaxing, alone time" anymore.)

(Below: my nephew Dalton and M at the Denver zoo a couple weeks ago)

Oh, and my title has nothing to do with anything. It just sounded better than "Another Update".... oh, and I'm listening to Journey's "Separate Ways" so that tune is going through my head. :)

Swimming!

I have always hoped that my child would love swimming. I have always vowed to myself that I would start teaching my children to swim at a young age, and that I would teach them first hand my own personal love for swimming.

We started swimming later than I planned. I wanted to take him swimming at 6 months (since that is the earliest the pediatrician said we could take him). I kept waiting for times to coincide with Will's schedule and the pool schedule with hopes that both of us would be able to take M swimming for the first time, and when it didn't look that that would be happening anytime soon and with the arrival of his eight-month birthday a few days ago, I decided it was important that I take him by myself.

After his terrible fall (and his ER visit) last Sunday afternoon, I decided to stay home from work on Monday. I took M swimming Monday morning and he far surpassed any of my expectations. I have taught a lot of "Parent/Tot" swim lessons and all levels of swim lessons in general, and I have honestly never seen a child so comfortable in the water so young and on their first couple trips in the water. I'm not just saying that as a proud parent. Honestly - I wish he had SOME sort of fear (since that is healthy and keeps him safe) but he doesn't. He submerges his entire head willfully, floats comfortably on his back (with his ears completely covered) and is already a pro at kicking on his stomach. Its actually very crazy. You'd think he'd been swimming for months, and not just twice.

When we went on Monday, we met and hung out with another mom and her almost nine month old son and it was also their first time at the pool. It was great for me to be able to compare the boys, and yes - Marshall is unnaturally natural in the pool. I am one proud momma.

He only looks upset in this photo because he wanted my phone/camera:

All these pictures are from yesterday (Friday). I took Marshall swimming again, and bought a pass so we can start going every week. Will bought me a life case for my iPhone, which makes it completely waterproof (you can take video and pictures underwater with the phone). Some of the stares I got for having my phone with me in the pool were priceless. Marshall was playing with my phone and submerging it completely underwater. One mom was like "Is your phone WATERPROOF?!" Luckily, my phone is still working. I'm pretty happy with this case. :)

Will is going to be able to go swimming with us next Friday since he has work off, so hopefully next week we'll have some better photos since it won't be just me trying to juggle M and the camera.

Yay for water babies!

Marshall Gives Kisses

Marshall has learned a new skill ♥

Open-mouthed, slobbery kisses are apparently the best. We love him.

My favorite is when he gives me kisses when I don't ask for them. That's real love. ♥

Kitty Love

Apparently Abby missed Marshall while we were in Nebraska this weekend (more to come on that).

I was exhausted from our trip - so I may have let M fuss in his crib for a bit this morning before going to get him. When I finally did go get him, a very concerned Abby was sitting outside his door.

I'm glad that they're such good friends.

Bath Time

This little boy LOVES his bath time!

Marshall has become quite the prankster lately. He thinks its HILARIOUS that the minute you undress him he flips over on the changing table. Then he laughs and laughs at himself like he is the funniest jokester ever. I love it! Sometimes its frustrating when I'm trying to put a diaper on him, but its still pretty funny how hilarious he thinks it it. He laughs every time, which makes me laugh. Kids are funny! :)