Tuesday, July 5, 2011

11 months old

I am WAY behind on my posting again. I have tons of stuff/photos to share. And I try to get it up here in chronological order. But, since I'm so far behind, I'm going to just go ahead and tell you about LM turning 11 months old first, to get it up before he turns a year old.

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Ten months old on Nana's quilt.

LM turned 11 months old on June 23. Another swift month gone by, we packed it in over the last thirty days. During LM's 10th month, we went to Indiana again and also visited three other states on our way to Minneapolis! And, we took in our first "friend" birthday party, first family reunion, our first Father's Day, and lots and lots of first foods. In addition, LM kept on getting teeth, eating new foods, kept growing and learning new things. Here are some highlights.

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Getting his ten month old book at Nana's house.

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What Makes a Rainbow. Great book.

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LM agrees.

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Eating has had its ups and downs this month.

It seems LM is getting pickier in his eating choices. He still likes to eat, which is good and maybe what will save us one day from the finickiness, but right now he's picky. He likes to feed himself and will only take something off a spoon for a while before he wants to shovel it in himself. So, sometimes, mealtime is dicey. No pun intended. Hee hee.

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He takes almost everything from a sippy cup now.

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How big is LM? SOOOO BIG!

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He also really likes to remove his bib. Ahem.

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He stands more, still holding on to cruise.

LM loves to walk with help and he will cruise around a room like nobody's business. But he shows no interest, really, in letting go to do it on his own yet. Thank goodness. Mama is tuckered out now. I can't imagine the tiredness level when he's moving even more quickly. Have I said this before? Oh, I have? Well, it's still true.

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The baby gate makes an excellent barre as well, apparently.

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A common face. Lips tucked in on those sore gums. Nose running.

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He is now a master at shutting doors...

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He walks around behind this toy and thinks he's big stuff.

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Watch out Mama!

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We visited Dad at work before Father's Day.


A bit of dancing with Mama's crazy music.

He LOVES to dance to the music now. He sways, bounces his head up and down, moves his butt. It's cute, and he's in rhythm. The kid has rhythm.


Showing off his rhythm. I find this one hilarious.
I think he thinks he's playing the music.

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He loves to stay busy playing in his room.

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He finds the horse in his room more interesting these days.

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Bath time is still a favorite.

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He pulls up and stands here in the tub and dances.
Total blackmail material for when he's a teenager.

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A bedtime story with Daddy.

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The quilt photos this month were, well, not easy.

First, Ellie had just passed away and Echo was lonely. So she wanted to be right where we were. Second, the only time I had to get the photos was at the end of the day after LM had been at school all day. School tuckers the little guy out. So, he wasn't in the best of moods. He wasn't in a horrible mood either - just not totally agreeable. Third...well, he's busy. So, getting the quilt photo was a challenge.

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In fact, Echo minded better than the boy did.

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Going, going gone!

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Lots of distractions.

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We are still so in love with this little boy. He is so much fun to be with. He is so sweet - he loves to give hugs to you - now snuggling in close and patting your back. He'll even give kisses every once in a while. He also bites - working on that one - and waves "bye bye" even saying "buh buh" with it occasionally. And, if you're lucky, he'll blow you a kiss. A-dor-a-ble. He's our precious son!

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11 months, on (sort of) Nana's quilt.

See you soon.

The Family Reunion

The main purpose of going to Indiana on the weekend we traveled a month ago was to attend a family reunion. This was for my mother's mother's side of the family. Their extended relatives - all descendants of three brothers who immigrated from Germany in the late 19th century - get together each year. But, this part of the tree doesn't regularly attend that gathering en masse. So, they decided to have a little get together of their own. These were the children and descendants of one of the three brothers - Conrad, my great-grandfather.

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Each of Conrad's children and their descendants wore a different color.
This was a fun way to quickly identify families.

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Uncle Kenny with Caleb and Gabe.
Aunt Dot's family wore yellow.

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White (Harold's family) and Green (Annabelle's family) families gather and greet.

Anyhoo, the weather decided to turn all "Texas" on us that weekend. Normally, the first weekend in June in Indy would have been just perfect. But, instead, it was in the 90's. HOT. Humid! Not the best weather to hang out at a park! But, the company was lovely. It was so nice to see some relatives I had not seen since I was a kid, and to meet some new relatives too!

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Who is that in the photo?
Aunt Jeannie and family (purple) and members of Aunt Marge's family (orange)

My mom and my Aunt Sally did most of the heavy lifting for the shin-dig. They did a really nice job. There were family trees to check and update and LOTS and LOTS of old photos. They were so fun to look through. I only wish I would have had more time to do so. About the time we finished eating and I would have had time to do so, LM was ready to go.

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We took a serious and funny shot of each family!

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Aunt Jean's family did the "funny" one first.

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Elizabeth's family. I have lots of fond memories of hanging out with Aunt Betty's family!

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And this might be why... ;-)

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Dorothy's family. Of course, lots of memories here too.
With each photo comes more memories!

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And more silliness. Such fun!

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My family - Eva May's descendants.

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Closer to reality here.

It was fun to see the photos and hear the stories I did hear - see photos of my Nana and Aunt Dot as young people, hamming it up, having fun. Photos of my Nana on a date with a guy she dated for several years BEFORE she met my Paw Paw. Photos of her dad and mom as young married people with babies. Really cool.

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I'm not sure when this crowd will get together again for a reunion, but we were glad we made this one.

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The oldest woman and youngest child.
Aunt Dot and Gibson!

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The whole bunch.

See you soon.

Monday, July 4, 2011

Happy Independence Day!

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Me, age one, celebrating our nation's birthday.
And my birthday too, incidentally.

Happy Independence Day to you and yours. Up there is a blast from the past - do you see a little of LM? I do! That photo appeared in the Indianapolis News (the evening paper) on Independence day when I was one year old. My mom strolled along with me in the local holiday parade, held on the 3rd that year, giving the photographer just enough time to publish it in the paper on the actual holiday! Handy.

I hope your holiday is a happy one. We plan to spend some time in the mountain air together. We'll take in the Vail parade and fireworks. What we do in between remains to be seen. Oh, and there will be birthday cake. Of course. There will be cake.

I hope to get back on here to update you on myriad happenings over the last month very soon. I'm seriously behind yet again. Until then...

See you soon.