Christmas

My second Christmas was a lot of fun! Granddad and Aunt Lacey came and stayed at our house for a few days. Grandma and Uncle Gar came over on Christmas day and we opened presents...I got so many new toys! Mom and Dad think the toys are going to completely take over our house any day now.


Check out http://www.joeandmarinda.com/ to see more Christmas pictures.

Arctic Blast '08

We've been having a HUGE snowstorm the past few days. We've gone out in the snow a few different times and I really don't like it!

We had a foot of snow at the end of the storm!

The Latest...

It's been a while since my last post and I'm doing a few new things now. First of all, I pull myself up on everything. I like to put my toys up on the couch and stand there and play with them. I still love walking holding someone's hands and now like to walk with my walker too but I still haven't taken a step on my own.

My other new favorite thing... I LOVE to climb the stairs. As soon as the gate comes down I beeline for the stairs and climb right up. I'm very quick and think its hilarious, laughing the whole time.








I've added a few new words to my vocabulary. I say "'moo", "baa", and just yesterday started saying "quack". I say "yeah" a lot as well as "up", which I especially like to whisper. Of course, "ah oh" is still my favorite!

I'm also really into clapping, Anytime I hear someone say "yay" I start clapping :-)

I really like to read now too. I will sit and read a book by myself for a long time but especially like Mommy and Daddy to read to me. Moo, Baa, La La La was my favorite book for a long time (and the only one I would let anyone get through) but now there are a few different ones that I always choose. I have a favorite page in The Belly Button Book. Its a page with a song on it and now whenever we pick up that book I flip through to that page and start dancing. We have to sing that page 9 or 10 times each night before bed :-)

I have 8 teeth now! I have my 4 front top teeth, 3 bottom front, and 1 molar! Nobody even knew I was getting a molar and one day Mommy looked in my mouth and there it was! I'm working on another molar and my 4th bottom front as we speak. I chew on my fingers constantly and keep getting a rash around my mouth from all the drool. I can't wait till I'm done teething!

I really like all different kinds of music and LOVE to dance. Anytime I hear any music at all I start movin' and shakin'. Click this link to watch me dance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9mNCWZzvVI&fmt=18

Slipper Hands

My absolute favorite thing to do is crawl around with slippers or shoes on my hands. I do this ALL day long and have been for the last week or so. If I go to play with a toy I take the slippers with me, set them down by my toy, then put them back on my hands to crawl on to the next thing. I've always been fascinated with people's shoes and am constantly staring at feet when we are out and about. I am also very particular about keeping pairs together. If there is a big pile of different shoes/slippers together I always pick out a pair to crawl around with. I will sometimes carry only one around but never mix and match pairs. Slippers are my favorite but I'll try out anybody's shoes at least once!

Check out our family website to see me in action!
http://picasaweb.google.com/joelariz/KasenNov08#

Latest Stats

I had my 12-month checkup today and here are my stats:

Height: 32.2" (96th percentile)
Weight: 25lb 8oz (80%)
Head Circ: 18.74" (78%)

I had to get shots, ouch! I cried REALLY hard for about 20 seconds and then I was fine :-) I have to go back for my second batch in a few weeks.

Everything checked out great. I'm right on track with my growth and development!

Our Trip

Mommy and I had so much fun in Baker. We spent a few nights with Great Aunt Kathy. I took a bunch of toys and made a huge mess in Kathy's living room.


Great Grandma came over every afternoon and we got to spend lots of time together. We played pat-a-cake and she taught me how to crazily wave my arms around in the air. I loved standing at her walker because it had a bar that was the perfect height for me.









Granddad came over and visited in the evenings and we got to read bedtime stories together.





After we spent a few nights in Baker we headed out to the ranch for a couple days. Of course, I had to get a good nap in on Granddad's chest.... it's still my favorite place to sleep!





I got to see almost the whole Lewis clan. Teagan and I crawled around and played together a little. Mostly we just stared at eachother :-)



On our way home we stopped to say goodbye to Great G-ma and G-aunt Kathy. I love my great g-ma so much I leaned over and pressed my face against hers (my version of a kiss) for a long time before we left. I'm going to miss her a lot but hopefully we'll make another trip to Baker again soon!

It was a lot of fun visiting with everyone but man, was I exhausted! I fell asleep just outside of Baker (holding my socks) and slept for 4 hours...almost all the way to Portland!









Be sure to visit our family website to see more pictures from our trip!
http://picasaweb.google.com/joelariz/BakerCity110308

Baker City

We wanted to make sure we got to see everybody before the snow comes so Mommy and I made a quick decision to leave Daddy and Isabelle behind and come to Baker for the week.

I've adjusted to the new routine pretty well considering I'm switching from formula to milk AND cutting my 6th tooth! I'm very happy during the day but a little unsure at night. That's ok though, I just get to play until I can hardly keep my eyes open and then I go right to sleep :-)

We've been taking quite a few pictures so watch for them to be posted soon!

Halloween

Today is Halloween and I got to wear my scarecrow costume again.

We went to Nike and trick-or-treated around Mommy's old office. Then we went home, had dinner, and went out trick-or treating around our neighborhood. I didn't actually go up to any doors; just walked around with Mommy, but it was fun to see the zillions of kids running around and I smiled and laughed at everyone walking by.

Pumpkin Patch

We went to the pumpkin patch today.

I do NOT like pumpkins...









Well, if Sydney's not scared...









maybe they're not so bad.










I guess I don't mind pumpkins after all!

My 1st birthday party!

Today was my 1st birthday party. It was so much fun! We had a whole house full of people and I played and played and PLAYED with all the kids.


I figured out really quickly how opening presents work. I knew there was something fun under that wrapping paper and was ripping it off and lifting it up and sticking my head inside the present to see what was in there. I loved every present!!

Then we had lego cake that Mommy and Grandma made.

I got my own cake with a candle...

but the candle scared me and then I didn't want anything to do with my cake.

Then Daddy fed me cake on his lap and I realized how much I like it.

So I got back in my chair and had a green lego.

After everyone went home I was on a sugar high and was crawling around the house as fast as I could and playing with all of my new toys. By the time bedtime rolled around I was so exhausted I fell asleep reading a story with Mommy... I never do that!

I love birthdays!

Halloween Party

I went to my first Halloween party today! I'm a scarecrow this year.

I got to decorate my own cupcake and go trick-or-treating.

I was worn out by the time we went home!

I'm 1 today!

Yay! Today is my 1st birthday! Can you believe a whole year has gone by already? My birthday party isn't until Sunday so Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, Uncle Gar and I went out to dinner at Red Robin to celebrate.



The waiters tied balloons to my ears and sang to me. Then I got to try ice cream for the first time. I wasn't expecting it to be SO cold but after a bite or two I LOVED it!






I also took a picture with Red. He scared me and I did NOT want to take my picture with him!






After dinner we went home and I got to open a present....more blocks!






Turning 1 is so much fun! I can't wait for my party on Sunday!h

The latest...

Now that I'm so mobile, I've figured out how to easily sit up in my bed. I even do it when I'm half asleep. The unfortunate part of this is I then fall back to sleep sitting up and someone has to keep checking on me throughout the night to lay me back down. I'll figure out how to lay back down on my own one of these days...I hope.

I'm getting more and more interactive with my toys every day. I love to play with blocks, trucks, trains, and any other interactive toy I can find. I also like to put smaller toys on bigger ones to see what I can get to balance. Another favorite activity is to take the smaller toys and see what nook and cranny I can fit them in. Lately, I've been secretly putting stuff under the couch...shhhh...

Grandma taught me how to play catch! We were sitting on the floor a few feet apart and she tossed a ball to me and encouraged me to throw it back. After only a couple tosses I had it figured out and threw it back to her every time after that! Who knew there was such a fun game out there!

I'm pulling myself up a lot now. I get on my knees easily but haven't quite figured out how to get my feet under me after that. I'm very strong though and with a little foot placement from Mommy I can stand up on my own. I practice walking holding somebody's hands a lot and still smile and laugh the whole time. This is definitely one of my favorite things to do.

I'm really starting to figure out how things work. Yesterday Daddy was going to put my shoes on me and he set them down next to me for a minute. I reached right over and grabbed one and set it on my foot! Daddy thought I might've just dropped it there or something so he waited a minute and set my shoe down and I put it back on my foot again! I also like to put hats on my head, then take it off, then put it on, etc. At this rate, I'll be dressing myself in no time!

I figured out a new way to entertain myself when I'm eating. Check out this video to see what I mean...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_he94ff9Dc

Now that I can crawl, one of my favorite things to do is play with Isabelle. Watch this clip to see me in action...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQMWqEpa-S0

Be sure to watch them in high quality: they look so much better!

My birthday is one week from today. Can you believe I'm going to be 1 already?!

Another Tooth

I got my 5th tooth yesterday! Another top left. I'm working on a top right tooth and have been exceptionally grumpy the past two days. I can't wait for this teething business to be over! My two top front have almost grown in enough so you can see them when I smile. I'm going to look so different then!

I've been crawling a whole week now and I'm into EVERYTHING. I get told "no" a LOT throughout the day and everytime I stop what I'm doing and break out into tears. I don't like these new rules! I'm figuring out how to pull myself up on stuff, which I think is fun but Mommy thinks is dangerous. So much for her getting things done around the house... she gets to follow me around instead!

Look at this silly picture... there was a scarecrow in the cart behind me but it looks like I'm wearing a little hat :-)

Watch me crawl!

Watch me crawl!

I can CRAWL!

I finally learned how to crawl!!! Last night I crawled a few feet, stopped to take a break, and crawled a few feet more. Today I'm all over the house! There's so much to explore. Unfortunately, I'm learning what "no" means too... I keep crawling over to Daddy's computer cords :-(









Daddy taught me a new game.... we growl at each other like monsters! I love this game and will growl at anyone who will play with me. Here I am growling at the camera and riding my car at the same time -->

I've discovered that I really like to dance. Every time I hear music, especially a song with a good beat, I start dancing. I can dance sitting down and standing up (when someone's holding on to me of course). I've also learned a couple of new words. I say "yuck" and "up" now :-)

Sandy Snail, etc.

I got a new toy... a Sandy Snail rocker! I figured out how to rock it as soon as I sat on it the first time. I'm getting pretty brave and I stand up and rock and sometimes lean clear forward to look at Sandy's face. I giggle and laugh the whole time I'm on it. It's so much fun!

I'm getting more and more mobile now. I scoot all around the house backwards but haven't quite got the crawling forward thing down yet. I'll crawl forward a step or two but always have to make sure I can sit back up.

I've figured out how to say "ah oh" really well now and say it ALL the time. Mommy even heard me over the monitor say this right when I woke up this morning...right after I turned on my gloworm :-) I only have a few words but this is definitely my favorite one.

I keep forgetting to mention my latest eating habit. As soon as I have a tray of food I pick out a bite of whatever is my favorite and hold it tight in my left hand for the entire meal. I eat everything else with my right hand and throughout my meal I'll periodically check to make sure my special bite is still there. When I'm done with everything else then I eat the bite out of my left hand. I've been doing this a few weeks now at every meal!

11 months!

I'm 11 months old today! Only one more month until my 1st birthday!!

I'm going to crawl!

I'm SO close to crawling I can taste it! I kind of hop around on my hands and knees and tend to go backwards when I try to go forwards. I actually crawled a couple steps forward today though!

We're finally home!

We took two days to make our way back home. Uncle Gar came down to San Jose for work and decided to make the trip home with us. We left yesterday and stopped in Shasta to visit Jack for dinner. We decided to stay the night in Medford last night and went to see Darcie this morning. The trip home felt a lot longer but we finally made it about 5:00 tonight!

As expected, I was very good on the way home. I spent a lot of the trip throwing my toys down between the seat and the door where nobody could reach them. Of course I thought this was hilarious and I'm learning how to say "ah-oh".

I also got a new tooth today! My top front right tooth poked through sometime this afternoon. Hopefully I'll get a little relief from teething for a while. Can you believe I have four teeth now?!

Monterey Bay Aquarium and Aunt Elaine's

This morning we went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I had so much fun!! I loved watching the big fish swim around. Every time one would swim by I would watch it intently and then shriek and laugh. Turns out I love aquariums!

<-- Here I am with a bunch of HUGE jelly fish.

After the aquarium, we went to my great aunt Elaine's house. We stayed there for lunch and dinner and I got to meet even more cousins!

My new chair

We spent the afternoon with Aunt Sherry and Uncle Carlos today. Guess what Uncle Carlos made me... my very own chair! I sat in it and played for a very long time. I love my new chair!!

San Francisco

We had a busy day yesterday visiting with people. We spent some time at uncle Mike's and then headed over to uncle Mondy's for dinner.


Today we went to San Francisco and walked along Pier 39. I spent most of the afternoon snoozing in my stroller again. It sure is comfy in there!

We went to lunch at Hard Rock Cafe.....yummmmmy!

Then I dozed off again on the way home. All this sight seeing is really wearing me out!

Monterey Bay

Today we went to Monterey for a mini family reunion. I got to meet my great aunt Elaine, my great uncle Les and great aunt Sue, and lots of cousins for the first time. First we went to a park and had a picnic lunch. Here I am with my cousin Ava. She's a few months older than me and yup, I'm bigger than she is. I guess my arm tastes yummy.

After lunch we went and walked down Fisherman's Wharf. I slept most of the time but woke up just long enough for a family photo.