Merry Christmas!

We went to Philly for Christmas with the Prinz clan. Flying with a 10 month old is a bit challenging and exhausting, but it was a good trip and we're glad we were able to spend a few extra days and hang out with everyone.

Justin wasn't the most pleasant over the holiday. There was a lot of this:

 and this:

While not being in familiar surroundings Justin had an awful cold - which was possibly an ear infection, and was working on 3 new teeth. He got an antibiotic on Tuesday night and by Wednesday was much more pleasant - but he's still a bit of a whiny mama's boy at the moment.

Christmas at Aunt Jeanne's: (Yes- that tree is enormous.)

Justin snuggling with Grandmom:

Justin bundled up for the blizzard:

 And finally some smiles on Thursday for Auntie Lori:

 

We didn't take near enough pictures- chasing around the snot-nosed kid seemed to prevent that. I do have some video I'll try to edit and post this weekend. Hope everyone had a great holiday!

First official words

Justin has been mouthing bye-bye whenever we say it and wave to him but he had yet to make the sounds with it until this morning. We were leaving the house and I said "are you ready to go bye bye?" and he started waving and actually said it. I tried not to scare him by becoming overly excited- but it is so fun when he learns something new!

He's babbling lots of nonsense lately- but these are his first intentional words that were said at the appropriate time!

Crawling Video

Here is some video of Justin crawling yesterday morning before the holiday brunch we hosted. He has really figured it out in the last 24 hours- which has been fun to watch. He can still get a bit awkward - sort of like a foal - his limbs don't always cooperate like he wants.






I'll post a couple of pictures from the brunch later - I wish we had taken more of them!

He crawled!

When I got home tonight Justin was playing on the floor. He's usually pretty excited to see me when I get home so I thought it might encourage a crawling attempt. So, I got down on the floor and tried to get him to crawl over to me to say hello and he FINALLY did it! It was more than just one little scoot- (after which he usually splats). He actually managed to make it over to me without ending up face down on the rug.

This means that actual movement is about to start..I'm excited for Justin and already exhausted for me! He's been pretty frustrated with his inability to get places without assistance and I know he'll be going non-stop once he gets the hang of it!

We'll try to get a repeat performance out of him and get it on video..

Sniffle....Snort...Hi Santa

Karen came to visit us this weekend- and of course Justin was sick all weekend. Poor little guy has been a snot machine. Regardless, it was great to have Karen here and we did make it to the Arboretum on Saturday for a bit.

Justin had his first visit with Santa. Karen snagged this photo with her phone while they were taking his picture. He didn't throw a fit but he was a bit unsure. The Santa was great- real beard and all.

After his visit with Santa, the Snowman and the Reindeer were walking around and came to get their picture taken with Justin. I imagine he was thinking "Seriously people, I don't feel well and am snotting all over and you want me to get my photo taken with these things?"

Fetch

I had to pick Justin up from daycare this afternoon. He has been really congested the last 24 hours and he had a fever this afternoon of 103. He's acting fine though - and the doc said to just keep an eye on him for now and give him some motrin to keep the temp down.

After we got home, he spent some quality time playing fetch with Winnie. It was so cute I had to grab the camera. The video is a little long but I just couldn't cut any of it out:



Karen arrived this evening and we're looking forward to spending the weekend with her!

Still not crawling- but he can wave...

Tonight when we were leaving daycare Justin finally waved bye-bye to everyone on our way out. Usually we try and get him to and he just looks at us like we're idiots. I made him show me at home tonight too while we were playing..



He still can't quite get the crawl down. He goes from sitting to on all fours - rocks a bit and tries to move...and then goes splat. Then he gets mad..

We're also hearing a lot of new chatter. Last week one night Dave and I kept saying da-da to him and he finally repeated it and has been babbling da and ka a lot. This video isn't that great but I was trying to get the sound without him realizing I had the camera out- cause he usually stops when he sees me with the camera:

Gobble Gobble

Happy Turkey Day everyone! We didn't get to spend Thanksgiving with our families this year- but we had a nice little Thanksgiving here in Dallas. Justin had his first Pumpkin Pie - with whip cream! Grandpa Riggan wanted us to be sure he had some whip cream..I think he's well prepared for his first birthday cake!



Video:



We're very thankful for this little guy and the rest of our family and friends! Hopefully next year we'll get to be in Iowa or Philly - or entertain some visitors here. For now, it's nice to have a weekend at home with the three of us - it's been awhile! We're planning on spending tomorrow with friends and cutting down our Christmas tree on Saturday!

Welcome to the World - Walker Lyle!

I realized that in the chaos that has been the last two weeks I didn't post anything about Justin's new cousin! Walker Lyle was born on November 9, 2010. He was over 9lbs!
Hayden will be a great big brother and I can't wait to meet the new munchkin. I'm not sure when we're going to be able to get up to Iowa - but hopefully sometime in the near future!

Lyle was dad's brother's name. He passed away when I was in high school. Us kids were all pretty close to Lyle and his family and we still miss him terribly. I think it's awesome that Lyle is Walker's middle name and I get all teary every time I think about it.

9 Months!

Justin's 9 month stats:
21 lbs 12 oz
29 3/4 inches long
and his head is still in the 95th percentile....

He'll be in 12 month clothes any day now!

While we were at the doc we found out he has another ear infection so he's on medicine for it again.

Some video from tonight:

4 Teeth!

Justin now has all four front teeth. He still isn't really "chewing" so we're not able to feed a variety of solid food yet. It makes me so nervous feeding him things - sometimes he gags and throws up. So - needless to say we're taking it slow on the non-baby food solids. He's getting small banana pieces, peas, etc - but he isn't ready for the biter biscuits yet (we tried that about an hour ago and gave mommy a heart attack).




We ended up getting a prescription for the diaper rash last weekend. It is much better - though it hasn't completely disappeared yet.

Diaper Rash - boo!

I'll spare you the photo I sent Lori for confirmation that this diaper rash is indeed Dr. appointment worthy. Let's just say - it's not pretty and the little guy also has diarrhea so that isn't helping! I thought maybe we'd get to go hang out with some friends while Daddy was out of town - but instead we're stuck at home waiting for the next diaper change!

But - JD is still happy for the most part (when I'm not changing his diaper). You can see his three teeth in this picture. That fourth one just won't pop through:

Happy Halloween

We didn't buy a costume- because really we didn't have anywhere to wear it - but we did make it to the arboretum to take some photos a couple of weeks ago - and Justin has a onesie that says "I love my Mummy." Also below is a video of him and his card from Grandma Riggan. He loves his cards. Karen, Connie and Lily sent him one too and they are currently providing endless entertainment.

I'm headed to DC for work for a couple of days so Dave is on his own - feel free to call him and check in - :)

Weekend with Sarah

Justin stayed with Sarah while I was at my MBA class reunion in Austin this past weekend. I think she had her hands full with his teething grouchiness.

Saying bye to Sarah- THANKS!


We were able to see Sandy, Michael and Isabella for a bit on Sunday before we left town:


In the yard Sunday afternoon:


At the Light the Night Walk on Sunday night. I think he's found a new "face" to make:

He Crawled - Sorta..

Justin was trying to get Winnie tonight and went from sitting to all fours- and moved! It may not have been much, but it is more than he's done so far! Here's a pic afterwards:

 

Run Winnie - Part 2

Couldn't resist - I had to post another one:

Run Winnie Run

Justin loves to chase Winnie in the walker. I wish the video could capture the look he gets when he spots her- and the look she gives me that says "Really? Why did you put him in this thing?"



Justin has been home from daycare the last couple of days due to this whole ear infection debacle. The antibiotic didn't agree with him and turned him in to the vomit comet (when Daddy was on duty). So- we're hoping to be able to take him to daycare tomorrow - we'll see!

Ear Infection

Justin has his first ear infection.

Daycare called this afternoon and daddy took him to the doctor. Daddy is staying home with him tomorrow too!

Here's a cute video of him from last night- he didn't seem very upset then!

A Few More from Iowa

Hawkeye Cousins

IMTA Video

Here is the video of Grandpa's interview that was shown during the IMTA conference. I wish we had a video of his speech - because that was great too! We are all very proud of him!



A family pic from the conference:

Videos from Iowa

Here are the videos Grandma took of Justin last week.

More from Iowa

My favorite thing about Justin being in Iowa without me..

I am loving getting pictures of Justin at Grandma and Grandpa's!

Iowa

Justin and I hopped on a plane Wednesday night for a trip to Iowa. We flew in to Des Moines and stayed with Elise and Tara at David's house on Wed. night and then Thursday we dropped Justin off at Andrea's so we could head to Okoboji to the Iowa Motor Truck Association Conference. Dad is the new chairman for the IMTA and we were all there to watch them hand over the gavel and to hear his speech. He did awesome and I hope to have a link to it for you later!

Justin hung out with Katie and Kevin and he was even able to see Aunt Carol and Uncle Ed while he was at Andrea's. Thanks so much for watching him, Andrea!

We made the trek back to Muscatine on Friday and yesterday we saw Great Grandma Schmutz and we picked up Hayden to come stay the night at the farm. Hayden wanted to feed and hold Justin:


Justin is spending all week at the farm without Mommy and Daddy. We head back to Iowa on Friday to hang out, go to the Penn State game, and pick up Justin! I'm sure he'll have a blast with Grandma and Grandpa!

Another Austin Weekend

Justin and I drove down to Austin this weekend. Connie was in town from Denver and we all stayed at Sarah's house and enjoyed a friend-filled weekend!

I loaded Justin up Friday night near bedtime and he slept the whole way down- which was nice!


Saturday we visited Sandy, Samer and the kids for a bit and then drove to Lockhart to enjoy some BBQ! When we got back to Sarah's we waited forever for the Iowa game to start. (9:30 start is WAY too late!).


Justin was great on the ride back. He slept about half the time and then just played in the backseat the other half. Here's a pic of Winnie saying hello after we picked her up from the kennel:


Now that we're home...we start getting ready to head to Iowa on Wednesday night! Justin is going to stay at Andrea and Nate's on Thursday night and hang out with Kevin and Katie while I head to the Iowa Motor Truck Association Conference with the family. Then we head to Muscatine and Justin is going to get to spend that next week with Grandma and Grandpa!

Football Season

Justin is ready for football season! I have a feeling he'll be wearing these outfits every weekend for the next few months..

Weekend Play-dates

Justin had a couple of play-dates this weekend:

One with Winnie:



One with Eliza:


We saw Max last night too but didn't get any pics of the two of them.
And we have another date today with Declan -so hopefully will try to take some more!

20 lbs 9 oz

We went in for Justin's 6 month appointment today. He weighed in at 20lbs 9 oz! He's still in the 90th+ percentile for everything (and yes- still off the charts for head size)! Poor guy had to get another round of shots - I sorta want to video his face when he gets them (I know, I'm an awful mother) - it just changes so immediately and the scream is like nothing he EVER does at home. It must be quite the shock when those needles hit his legs!

I talked to the doc about Singulair and the nasal sprays. He basically said if they help then I should keep using them. So..we'll stick with our Singulair regimen for now!

Cranky Pants

Justin was a bit cranky on vacation last week and it's continued this week. I think it's just his teeth..he's slobbering all over and chewing on everything and he just wants to be carried around - he is not happy when you put him down. I think it will be good to have him back at daycare and in a routine. He started screaming his head off when he realized I was in the room at daycare tonight. He just wants his mommy to pick him up and walk around - and around - and around. He's also been waking up at night since we got home - a few times a night - and not happy about it.

Tomorrow is our 6 month appointment - hoping the doc can confirm the crankiness is just teething and that this too shall pass!

Here is a video from tonight of him practicing sitting. He's getting much better. Excuse the drool - he can't help it - :)

Trip to the Jersey Shore

We spent a week at the Jersey Shore with the Prinz, Neuman, Stone, Halaby clan. It was a crazy week with four kiddos under four years old! It was fun hanging out with everyone. Here are a few pics and videos. Hope to post a few more as we get pics from everyone else as I know there are some other good ones!

Kevin entertaining the babies:


This is a bit long - but they were cute hanging out next to each other:


Ethan and Justin with their Grandmom and PopPop in their matching outfits:

Chillin with PopPop:

Snoozing in the tent:

Playing with Grandmom post-nap:

Hi Katie:

Kevin catching a big wave:

Dave catching a "big" wave:

The girls on the night the grandparents babysat: