11 Months Old

*VIDEO*
Likes at 11 Months:

• Feeding himself. The adventure continues as Ford continues his journey to independence.

• Music and dancing. Ford has a really short attention span, but he is captivated by music. And he loves to play a song on one of his toys and turn around to see if anyone (i.e., me) will dance to it. He cracks up every time.
• The "Near-Far" game and smoofers. Ford has been conditioned to David's games. If David stands across the room and says "Far," Ford will belly laugh and try to hide his face because he knows David's about to run up to him and say "Near" and tickle him. Start counting to three, and at #2 Ford will start giggling in anticipation of a smoofer on his neck or belly.

Dislikes at 11 Months:

• Sitting still. The only times Ford will sit still are mealtime, bedtime, and maybe 2 minutes of storytime.

New Discoveries:

• Climbing stairs. This terrifying habit started maybe two weeks ago. He's surprisingly very good at climbing up the stairs and is very quick about it. Time to invest in a baby gate....
• Who needs toys when you can play with a box?

11 Month Pictures:

9 Month Photos

Ford's 9-month pictures are finally here! We had a hard time with this round; it was nap time, and as you'll see, he was NOT in the mood. We did get a few really cute ones though. Here are my favorites. You can see the full album on our Shutterfly site: http://stelsel.shutterfly.com.

Thanksgiving 2012

Despite missing my parents at Thanksgiving this year, we had a great four days with the Stelsels and Kassenbrocks! We started Thanksgiving Day participating in the Drumstick Dash for Wheeler Mission. The morning started out cold, but we quickly warmed up on our run/walk and really enjoyed doing something together as a family for a worthy cause.

 

A family huddle before the race.

 

Emily, Debbie, Connie and I walked the course....with just a few of our 19,000 closest friends. Took us 30 minutes just to get the starting line! The first runners had finished the race before we even got started.

 

After the race, we cleaned up and went straight to Kirk and Laura's for the feast.

 

Emily saved Dad's seat in his absence (in the corner like always). :)

Ford really enjoyed his first Thanksgiving! He especially enjoyed the mashed potatoes (which I enjoyed, too, because he could feed himself while I chowed down).

 



After lunch we spent the rest of the day watching football, snacking on pie, playing board games, and keeping Ford entertained. :)

After a good night's sleep we were ready to conquer Black Friday. For David and me, this was our second year venturing out into the crowds on Black Friday; we normally try to avoid it. Our mission this year: furniture. And, boy, did we go nuts. We found a dining table and chairs, a side table for the living room, two recliners, a bedside table for one of the guest bedrooms, and a storage bin for the living room to hide Ford's toys. Whew!

 

After the hustle and bustle from everyone's various shopping expeditions, we spent a relaxing night at Kirk and Laura's (again) for dinner and...of course...more games. :) 



 

We spent all day Saturday decorating for Christmas! This is the first year in our seven years of living together that we decorated both the inside AND outside for the holidays. It was a good thing Dave and Connie were there to help with the decorating and keeping Ford distracted. 

Formal tree....

 

Fun tree...

 

Let there be light!

That night we had pizza and college football at Emily's house to celebrate Connie and Tom's birthdays. I won't disclose how many candles were on the cake...... ;)

All in all, a FANTASTIC Thanksgiving weekend!

Big Boy On the Move

*VIDEO*

As Ford approaches his first birthday, we're beginning to transition into toddler mode. This weekend alone we made some big changes -- new car seats, eating more table food, lowering his crib so he doesn't climb out of it, etc. Take a look:



There's no stopping him! This boy is constantly on the move.

"I'm gonna get you, Mom!"

First day of pulling up to a stand!

In my new big boy car seat!

Mmmm....eating a real banana.

"Ah man! How am I supposed to escape now?"

Ford's first time standing up on his own was.....while I was changing his diaper. Typical.

Sundays are Family Fitness Days!

Poor Chase. He's never been so exhausted in his life. Having a baby around is rough on a doggie.