Long time and nothing to read

I'm sorry for not keeping everyone updating with David's progress. Honestly, I'd rather be playing with him than on the computer and when he goes to bed-I eat dinner and go to bed myself. So I left off at the end of June and it's now almost the middle of August-yeesh, where do I begin....

David has had a lot of firsts over the last month and a half. So I will just fill you in as best I can.
JULY
1. First ride in the baby swing. Dave and I went out to dinner while a coworker friend watched David and she had him outside in their swing while her son blew bubbles at David. Apparently, he just giggled and giggled. Wish I could have been there to see it. It was nice to 'get out', but I just kept thinking of my little guy.
2.Uncle Tim finally held David. He was now of a substantial weight for Tim to bounce him on his knee. I feel for Ruth if Tim waits 6 months to hold Baby Stine ;)
3.David 'jumped' on the trampoline at my aunt's house. He was too tired to enjoy it..he nearly fell asleep while my sister and I bounced him. We may have to try that again.
4. He began getting up on his hands and knees. He isn't crawling, but I think he really wants to get moving. He keeps one leg bent at the knee so his foot is in front of other knee. As soon as he stretches out-he goes DOWN! He just hasn't quite figured it out.
5. Daddy and Mommy decided it was time for him to start sleeping through the night. He is 7 months old for goodness sakes. We did the 'cry-it-out' method. I think I did just as much crying. The first night he cried for 30 minutes straight and we then went in his room every 15 minutes there after. We picked him up, patted his back, did not say a word and put him back in his crib. I think this first night was harder on me than it was on him. When I laid him back in the crib he gave me the saddest face I've ever seen and began screaming again. Of course, then I started bawling again and ran out to Dave in the hallway where he was waiting to give me a hug and some encouragement. Luckily, just after an hour he fell asleep. Each subsequent night the length of crying diminished by 20 minutes. So by the 4th night-no crying. For the most part if he wakes up now he is able to put himself back to sleep. It sure feels great to sleep 8+ hours a night. It definitely was not a fun process, but worth it in the end for all of us.
6. I took David to the park and decided to take my chances with sitting him in the sand. I thought he might enjoy feeling the sand in his little puffy hands. He did and to my amazement never once tried to eat it! What is wrong with this kid-don't they all eat dirt? Not that I want him to, I was just so surprised and so were the other mom's at the park. It doesn't appear to be a fluke either--we have gone back multiple times and no sand-eating. What a smart baby!
7. We had a family dinner at a local Indian restaurant where David sat in the restaurant-provided high chair. He looked so darn cute. My baby is not such a baby anymore. He also enjoyed some mashed carrots from my plate and some other Indian food I don't know the name of.
AUGUST
8. David had is first OREO cookie all thanks to his Aunts, Krystal and Kelly. It was terribly cute to see chocolate all over his chubby cheeks, but seriously. He is going to have a hard enough time with sweets if he is anything like me, do we really need to start this early?! I really don't mind, but I'm not going to make a habit out of it.
9. David was invited to his first birthday party for our neighbor girl and had a caricature done of himself. The resemblance is a little off, but the artist definitely got the ears right!
10. David loves kids and bouncy balls. He is so entertained by other kids. I hope that means he will be an easy going guy and have lots of buddies. David squeals whenever a ball is bounced in front of him. We finally purchased 2 for him this weekend. Poor guy had to chew on tennis balls-that's all we had!
11. David is now feeding himself. Not cereal, but little puffs that dissolve quickly in his mouth. It's so cute to watch him maneuver those tiny fingers and the concentration! He generally puts 4 fingers in his mouth too, but he gets the food in there.

Dave and I are expecting our little guy to skip crawling. As I said before, he has a hard time keeping both knees under himself. He scoots around in circles on his tush or if he is on his tummy he will push himself backwards. I discovered this new trick by leaving him in his bedroom for a moment and when I returned, he had backed himself into the closet! He has recently started pulling himself up on furniture too. Not quite to standing, but up on his knees. He loves to stand if we prop him up on something and would hang out like that all day if we let him. Any way you look at it-David is a mover. I liked it when he was in the same place as when I left the room, now it's always a surprise. He is such a special little guy and SO happy. He is always smiling. Every day I feel so blessed. I am both excited and sad that he is almost 8 months old. The time has gone by too quickly, but I look forward to the other 'firsts' David has yet to conquer.

Lions and tigers and bears..Oh My!

Another month has come and gone. Wow! Time is just flying by. Another Minnesota summer will be in the books before we know it. David and I have been busy as usual. We began getting together with other mom's and their children on Thursday mornings. There are just 4 of us moms and a total of 5 kids ranging in age from 3 months to 3 years old. The smallness of our group in nice because we can actually have a conversation with one another and not be overcome by an overwhelming number of children. For our first playdate we went to a nature center and walked around a pond that was completely full of lily pads. We looked for frogs and turtles, but didn't find any.


The following week we went to the Como Zoo. I hadn't realized that I had been there as a kid until I saw the Giraffe exhibit. I loved seeing the animals. Como is a really great zoo. Can't wait to go back for another visit and see more animals. We only made it through the monkeys, zebra, giraffe, and lions.Oh I guess the Bison too.


Earlier in the month when it was hot and dry, I decided to take David to the Maple Grove swimming pond. It is a chlorinated swimming 'hole' with a natural bottom. It feels like you are at the lake, but without the moss and fish. There are great big umbrellas to keep us in the shade, and concessions for those hungry tummies. They allow flotation devices (banned at the lakes) which is nice so I can wade into the water with David and not be beached on the sand in 4 inches of water. No one likes cleaning sand out of their bathing suit-ew!


The three of us went to the Hennepin County Fair recently. What a bust. Maple Grove Days is way better-better food and it's free to get in. However, we did get to see a 1000 lb pig and many other animals at the petting zoo. I could have taken one of those little piglets home with me. It was a great day together as a family.

Enjoy the little things, for one day you MAY look back and realize they were the big things

Our little guy has kept me so busy I haven't had time to update his blog. We were quite busy during the month of May to say the least.

We had a wonderful lunch with some of my friends who I do not get to see often enough. Both Kim and Lindsay are expecting! It was great to catch up. We definitely don't get together often enough.

We then went to Fargo for the Fargo Half Marathon which Dave, Aaron, Ruth and Kate participated in. It was super cold the day of the race, but Lil David was a trooper. Here he is all bundled up. That same weekend was my first Mother's Day. I was sure glad that I wasn't working and was able to spend time with my family.

Pre race photo of Daddy and David.

That same week David and I drove to Bismarck to spend the week with my family. David travels really well. He slept nearly the whole way to Fargo. We stopped at the truck stop for a pit break and then back into the van for another nap for the complete drive to Bismarck. It made it so much easier for me due to the fact that I was traveling alone. Here is David playing with Gpa Jeff or maybe I should say Gpa Jeff playing with David. We spent a lot of the week trying to get David to roll over again, but he just wouldn't cooperate.

The following weekend we went to Sartell to visit my Aunt Kimberly's family. Dave also ran a Duatholon that Saturday and I think it may be his last-I guess it was not his cup of tea. Turned out to be a biker's race (not a runner's).

Here we are at the Twin's game. Shortly after we got there a camera guy came up to us "get ready to take a picture of the big screen" I barely got the photo of us up there as I fiddled with my camera to zoom in on the screen. But I got it, that's all that matters! David was so in awe of everything around him, he didn't make a peep. Too much to look at. He eventually feel asleep during the 8th inning. It was a great family day.

The next day I decided to take David for a walk to the grocery store. It's about a 2 mile jaunt. Not a big deal right? Well we made it to within a block or two of the store and David wanted O-U-T! Ok, so I picked him up and carried him the rest of the way. When we got to the grocery store I put him back in the stoller so I could shop. He did just fine. Maybe because it was cool in there, I don't really know. Well we left the store and made it to the same spot where he threw his first fit. The community center is right there so we popped a-squat in the lawn. This is where he practiced and nearly mastered sitting all by himself. I was quite impressed. Time to leave-we had to get some items into the fridge. Well he was having none of it. I managed to keep him in the stoller long enough to cross a busy intersection. He had his arms up..."pick me up maaaammmm!" How could I say no?...I carried him the 2 miles home.

Milestone...

David J has been so close to rolling over from his back to his front so I thought we would try it the other way and sure enough...over he went!! His 'big' head serves another purpose-acting as the momentum. Dave and I were both there to witness this feat. This morning I captured it on my phone. My pride is very evident in the video :)

Bless You!

Photo Shoots Galore

David is growing so fast. It's just unbelievable that he is almost 4 months old! I swear every day he is doing something new. He almost rolled over while reaching for his nuk. I think it may happen very soon. On Easter Sunday he giggled for the first time. Dave was playing Peek-A-Boo with the diaper. He then giggled for me the next day. I kept saying "you pooped your pants" and he giggled and I cried. It was the most precious little noise I've ever heard.



I had to work on Easter Sunday so Dave spent the holiday with the Pritchard Family. He also found some time to do a little photo shoot with David J in our rocking chair. I think Dave has a hidden talent. These are a few of my favorites. He looks like such a big boy.



My Mom came to visit this week, unfortunately only for 2 days. We decided to have our own photo session on the kitchen table. David was a little big for the basket, so we decided to go with tummy poses instead. David also had his 3 month (just snuck it in there) professional photos. He did such a good job. Only after an hour and a half did he get cranky.




We also received a photo collage of his eyes, nose, fingers, toes, and tush...So adorable. If we ever get a scanner that works I will post it. It was very difficult to narrow down the photos. I'm glad my mom was there to help or I would have walked out of the store with an arm full of photos and an empty wallet. "I can't delete any of these pictures. He's my kid-they're all cute!"

You promised

This is what happens when your child poops and there is more poo by his elbows then there is in his diaper--ugh! You never really get used to this, but you do find better ways to deal. This morning as I was dressing him I asked that he not have a 'blowout'. For whatever reason it seems to always occur in this outfit (see below). Kids! (I did rinse out the sink first).

I love that it looks like he is opening his arms for a hug. Of course, he got one!

David has a friend. Insert Ahhh. I promise I did not set this up. He is seriously just that cute :)