eleven months

We are one month away from having a 1-year-old.

That's 4 1/2 weeks.
31 days.
1 panicked Mom.
And a partridge in a pear tree.

These 11 months have been some of the happiest and hardest months of my life. The happy certainly outweighs the hard though. This boy of ours has made life so sweet, and we can't imagine what our life would be like without him. Actually, I can imagine what it would be like: BORING.

Bridger is always on the move. Constantly on the move. And now he's starting to get into just about everything. Sticking his fat little fingers into every little hole he can find (except his nose, thank goodness), pulling tupperware out of drawers, turning toilet paper into confetti, discovering the spice cabinet, and popping the little outlet guards out of the outlets. Since he's a baby on the go, I rarely never get to snuggle with him anymore. He would much rather be chasing after the cat, or pounding on Big Fella's office door, trying to get some attention. A tiny little miracle happened just yesterday, though. I was feeding him his morning bottle (which doesn't count for snuggling), and after he was finished, he just curled up in my arms, and fell right asleep. I had a to-do list about a mile long yesterday, but it was quickly put aside so that I could soak up these much needed moments with my boy as he slept. It was pure heaven.

Christmas prep and festivities are well under way at our house, and Bridger is LOVING it! We have been going to holiday parties, crafting up a storm, wrapping presents, decorating, eating, watching Christmas movies, making fudge, listening to holiday tunes, shopping, and loving this time of year.

The holidays are so much more fun with a little one!

Bridger's Holiday Top 10:
1. Fudge
2. Going outside to look at the sparkly lights on all the houses
3. The presents under the tree
4. Wrapping paper
5. Ribbon
6. The fireplace
7. Chocolate milk (which probably means he would love hot cocoa)
8. His Christmas jammies (which are constantly being washed so he can wear them just about every night)
9. Christmas cookies
10. Santa!

At eleven months, our little Bridger:
-is becoming a little bit picky with his food (grrrr!) We feed him just about everything, and anything we are eating, he will put in his mouth, but texture is a killer right now, and determines whether or not he's going to keep the food in his mouth. He also will chew up apples and store all the little pieces in his mouth, until he decides he doesn't want it anymore, and then whatever he didn't swallow, comes pouring out of his mouth in tiny little slobbery pieces. (grrrrrr again!)
-loves clementines. He will chew on them forever! He even likes to bite into them when the peel is still on, and suck the juice out that way :)
-plays so great with kids! He LOVES when little kids are around, and likes to get right in the action and play.
-goes up and down the stairs like a champ!
-says "Dada Dada" but unfortunately for me, not "Mama" (we are working on it though)
-loves being outside...even if it's freezing
-likes to climb up and over and under just about everything
-takes 2 naps still, goes to bed around 8:30 and wakes up between 7 and 8
-waves bye-bye
-fakes laughs and coughs ALL.THE.TIME.
-screams when he needs something (the upside to that is he doesn't cry much at all)
-gets into everything these days
-has 4 teeth (2 on top, 2 on bottom)
-loves to drink out of a straw (especially if there is smoothie coming out)
-starting to throw little temper tantrums (uh oh)
-walks along furniture and is starting to stand for a few seconds without help
-loves books
-loves his toy cars
-loves being sung to
-loves glasses and hats (especially Big Fella's)
-loves to play, but doesn't play super well by himself. He LOVES being around people...which is just fine because we love being around him :)

Can hardly believe how lucky Steve and I are to be parents. We love this little boy so much and are so grateful to our Heavenly Father for sending him here to be in our family. 

Let the countdown begin...31 days until my baby is ONE.

#5

Last update....

This past weekend was so fun! Paige and Taylor came into town for the weekend. Paige and Jeff have a really busy year, and because of that, they aren't able to come home for Thanksgiving or Christmas. She was able to come for a couple weekends though, so my mom and dad flew her over for some much needed sister/family time and then she will come back again the first part of December for a couple days again. I hadn't seen Paige since the lake in July, so we were definitely due for a visit. And, of course, Bridger was missing his Auntie Paige!

While Paige and Tay were here, we shopped for maternity clothes, ate at delicious Bonefish Grill, had all the family over to visit and eat pumpkin cheesecake, played Rollover, watched McKae play in her Powder Puff game (which she rocked, by the way), relaxed, and watched Home Alone (one of our favs).

Paige looks great and I am so excited for her little baby boy to get here already. Bridger is going to
love having a little buddy to play with.

We also celebrated my man's birthday. 29 years old! He is the best dad to Bridger and the most thoughtful, loving, and supportive husband.

I remember when Steve and I were dating, our very first Christmas together, he blew me away. He did the 12 Days of Christmas, and each day was another thoughtful gift, that was more special than the day's before. We were at our own homes for Christmas, so we couldn't be together for the last few gifts, but he sent them with me, so that I could still open one each day. This was the case for all but one. The ninth day. On the ninth day, I got a package in the mail. It was thin, so I thought it was just an elaborate card, or something. Instead, it was a little booklet, put together by Steve, by hand. On the front cover it read, "Nine Months of Dating." Inside the little book was a journal of daily happenings in our life as a couple for the entire nine months of our time together. It detailed everything. It was one of the very best gifts I have ever received. And that is just one little example of the thoughtfulness that my husband shows to me.

I'm a pretty lucky girl.

Steve got new cold weather golf gear, so now he's itching to get out there before the snow hits. Who knows, maybe the snow wouldn't even deter him. We'll see! Steve's birthday was pretty low key. We had a birthday brunch on Sunday morning, spent the afternoon at church, and the evening together relaxing and eating baked potato soup and french bread, and homemade (by me) cheesecake.

I love you Steve. More than you even know.
And...get ready for next year's big 3-0 birthday bash. It's gonna be big!

#4

Reasons why Halloween was waaaaay better this year:

1. This guy right here:


2. Bridger's sweet--and INCREDIBLE--costume (including the mask that he kept on for ALL the pictures!) And I know, I know. Steve and I were super lame and didn't dress up as the rest of the Incredibles cast, to match B. But, ummmm, we didn't want to take the focus away from Bridger. Ya. That's what we'll go with. Sounds good.

Ok. I didn't even believe that as I typed it! Truth is, I just wasn't motivated and too cheap to come up with costumes for Steve and me. We'll redeem ourselves next year.

Maybe.

3. Trick-or-Treating! Even though we only went to a few houses, it was still so fun! I loved walking around our neighborhood, seeing all the kids' costumes, and enjoying the evening.

 

4. Another holiday as a little family! It's crazy to think that just last year, it was just Steve and me, sitting at home, watching a movie, eating dinner, just the two of us. One year later, and we are full-blown parents, celebrating this holiday much differently! 

5. Watching Bridger dump out all his candy from his bucket, and find every last sucker to devour. This went on for about a week after Halloween. A few times, I even caught him tearing into the Smarties! Sneaky guy... 

 

I'm sure our list will grow as time goes on, but we sure are happy to have a little buddy to celebrate these fun holidays with. Can't wait for next year...and hopefully we'll collect a little more candy then.

 

Uhh...I mean Bridger. Hopefully Bridger will collect a little more candy then.

 

Hah!

#3

Pumpkin Carving

Bridger was not feeling great and had been running a high fever in the days leading up to Halloween, so he wasn't at his very best when we decided to carve pumpkins. But of course he was a good sport. He always is. He didn't really get into it as much as I thought he would, but he did get his toes in the pumpkin guts, though, so I guess that's ok. Especially for a little sickie.

Steve carved Bridger's pumpkin to look like him. Big eyes with two teeth on the top, and two on the bottom. So cute. He was pretty infatuated with Steve while he was carving the pumpkin, and couldn't take his eyes off him and his pumpkin.

da da da daaaaaaaa!

And here is the finished product. Bridger liked taking the lid off and on. And for a few minutes, he just sat there holding onto the stem, like he was so proud of this little pumpkin that was just his size.

Such a sweet boy
(in a handsome devil onesie, of course)

#2

And the update continues...

Also in October, the weekend before Halloween, our little family of three went to get our boy a pumpkin at a pumpkin patch. It was a beautiful day, and we had the best time taking pictures and helping Bridger pick out his very first pumpkin.

And he actually picked out his own pumpkin!

We would put two pumpkins in front of him, and he would pat his little hand on one. Then we would take chosen pumpkin, and put it with another. He patted the same pumpkin again! He did this FIVE times, choosing the same pumpkin each time! And the last time, he used his chunky little finger and pointed at that pumpkin like, "Ok, Mom and Dad. Hellooo! I want THIS dang pumpkin. Now get up there and buy it already!" Or, something along those lines.   

Holidays are so much more fun when you have a baby. Everything is being done for the first time, and that makes it so exciting for me and Steve. We loved spending this day together as a family, and we couldn't wait to get that little baby pumpkin carved for our boy!

 

 

 

 

#1

Yikes. It has been awhile. And now, it's November, and I haven't blogged about lots of things I was planning on blogging about. So, here we go. Catch up time in a series of posts.

Crazy Dinner
We made the trek out to Utah in October to go to the Annual Crazy Dinner at Mamma Donna's house. It was, of course, a blast, and was so great to  be with all our crazy Utah family members that we miss so much. Steve has been super busy with work, so he wasn't able to come with us, but something tells me he didn't mind having the nice, quiet house all to himself that weekend. Hmmm. Maybe work wasn't that busy after all...kidding.



 

The trip was super quick. We left on Thursday afternoon, after McKae was done with school, and then came back on Sunday morning. We spent Friday and Saturday hanging out with family, going to all the fun stores in the area, shopping Halloween sales, playing games, and holding babies! Erin and Jordyn were both in town that weekend, so we got to see their cute new babies. Oh geez. Talk about making me baby hungry! ...not...I can wait. But it really was so fun to get to snuggle a baby that couldn't wiggle away. Bridger looked so old next to Charly and Sawyer. I couldn't believe it. Such a difference a few months make!

I was also able to sneak away on Saturday to go see my friends and have breakfast at Kneaders. It was so much fun to see Chelsea, Jamie (who was visiting from St. George), and Jessie. I missed Heidi and Marianne, though! Next time, hopefully all the girls can make it. I love Colorado, and love living close to all my family out here, but I do really miss my friends. These girls are my very best friends, and I love them. They are the type of girls I will be friends with my whole life. How lucky am I?? I am convinced we were even friends up in heaven. We had to have been. That's all there is to it. I am lucky to have found them back when I was a sophomore in college and am grateful that even though I am a state away, we still find time for each other and value each other's friendship.

Oh, and while we were in Utah, I picked up my Christmas present. About 2 months ago, I decided, after much debate, that I was going to buy a Christmas tree. But not just any Christmas tree. A beautiful Christmas tree. One that I have been wanting for about three years. One that is nine feet tall (which now puts another requirement on the house that we buy--hah!), long needled, FLOCKED, sparkly, and be.aut.i.ful. My mom has this tree. She got hers two years ago, and I have coveted it ever since. Well, Steve gave me the go-ahead. I still was reluctant, because it was going to be a pretty little chunk of change, but then my friend that works at Tai Pan called, and told me I could use a 25% off coupon. Suddenly I felt better, and I bought that beautiful tree! And one for Brookie, too, because she was feeling the same as me. This tree was a "must have" for us. Aaaand, when I've looked through other Christmas catalogs that have been coming in the mail, I realized I got this tree for a STEAL. Seriously. I love a good buy. And this tree will pay for itself in just a few years. Ahhh...feeling good. Anyway, here is the tree. MY TREE! 

....that I won't get to put up until next year.

We had a great trip. Short, but sweet. Next time, hopefully we will get to stay longer, and I won't have to haul a couple Christmas trees home after it's all said and done. And, next time, Steve will be coming, too :)

I love the fall. Lots and lots of family time. It's the best! 

 

 

We have a ten month old! Double Digits! Two more months until I have a ONE.YEAR.OLD!

 

Um. I am freaking out a little. alsdkjf;gh

 

People always told me that I would love this stage of his life, and back when he was just tiny and snuggly, I couldn't believe that any stage was better than the 3-6 month stage of life. And now here we are...with a completely mobile, talkative, smiley, curious, energetic, and lovey ten month old baby boy...and I am LOVING it!

 

Bridger is making us laugh and is doing new things just about every day. He's always on the move, exploring new areas of the house he couldn't quite get to before, and lights up whenever anyone walks in the room...especially if it's his daddy or his Big Fella.

 

At ten months, our Bridger Boy:

-crawls everywhere, but still does the army crawl when he's not wearing pants (hah!)

-is becoming a bit of a picky eater, much to my dismay. He puts everything in his mouth, but then spits it out to examine it, puts it back in to decide if he likes it, and if we are lucky, he'll keep it in and swallow. If we are lucky. Grrr.

-likes green grapes, string cheese, chicken, pretzels, graham crackers, goldfish, apples, squash, applesauce, oatmeal (with brown sugar, of course), bananas, Life cereal.

-drinks from a sippy cup like a pro

-loves Honey's fruit shakes in the morning

-likes playing the piano

-sits on his knees sometimes

-pulls himself up onto furniture, and is starting to walk along the furniture, too!

-sleeps from 8:30-7:00

-likes to be sung to...this always seems to calm him down when he's fussy or tired

-likes to read books, especially the touchy feely ones

-climbs the stairs, but still can't go down! He isn't scared at all by falling down, which is a little concerning!

-likes watching The Wonder Pets occasionally

-waves bye-bye by scruching his hand together over and over

-makes a clicking sound with his tongue after we do it to him

-says Momma (ok, ok, so maybe he doesn't know what it means, but I am still counting it as his first word)

-is keeping up with the kitty a lot better these days!

-loves glasses, and always takes them off of anyones face, who's holding him...especially Big Fella

-loves being outside

-stands up in his crib when he is done with his nap

-climbs up and over things

-likes playing pounding on the xylophone

-likes taking showers and baths still

-points at things with his fat little finger

-reaches for people when he wants to be held

-crawls up my leg and cries/fusses when he wants me to hold him

-pushes his walker around

-learning how to give kisses

-has 4 teeth and bites super hard!

 

This stage of Bridger's young little life really is so much fun. We love this boy of ours. Do I say that enough??? It's so fun watching him explore and learn new things. Steve and I are lucky to be his parents. Although some days might be a little hard, being a mom is the best thing I've ever done. I'm grateful that I'm able to stay home and be with our little boy, to teach him and love him. And I am grateful for Steve's job and that he works really hard for our little family, so that I can stay home and be a mom to our little munchkin.

 

xoxo

first snow

A few weeks ago, we got our first real snowfall! So, as soon as Bridger was done with breakfast, I bundled him up in his cute little snowsuit I've been dying to stick him in, and we headed outside.

He did really well! He sat there, pretty timid at first, not understanding what this stuff was that was making his little hands so cold. He warmed up a little bit by the end, though, and even started eating the snow before we went back inside.

I love this little snow bunny of mine. He's the sweetest, most mellow baby.

Can't wait for more snow, so we can go sledding and make a snowman!

And by the way, look how beautiful the view from my parent's house is! Ahhh. I love it here.





leaves

 

fall is here!

 

and as quickly as we were enjoying all these beautiful leaves, they were all blown off our two giant trees in the front and backyard with a huge windstorm last week. bummer.

 

good thing i got a few pictures of the trees before they became naked.

 

Bridger loves the leaves. he kicks and kicks and kicks his feet and likes to hear them crunch.

he even likes to eat them. well, at least put them in his mouth. (i don't let him swallow them, of course!)

 

today, while i was cleaning the tray off his high chair, i just sat him outside the back door on the door mat, and let him play in the pile of leaves. he was in heaven. he crunched them in his hands and brought a bunch into the house unknowingly...they were stuck to his bum :)

 

i wish fall would last longer.

it is by far my favorite season.

and one of the reasons why i LOVE colorado so much.

 

p.s. isn't he the most handsome devil you've ever seen?
thanks Honey for the cute outfit!

bears

in case you didn't know, this boy likes loves stuffed animals.

so much so, in fact, that when we were at Costco the other day, he went from fussy to ecstatic in a matter of seconds as soon as he saw these GIANT stuffed bears.

i tossed the boy in the box with the bears, and he laughed and laughed and laughed.

...until it was time to get what we came for...which was not a GIANT stuffed bear.

maybe for Christmas, Bridger....maybe. 

texas

Bridger and I took a little trip down south to Texas last week to visit Marianne, Brian, and little Hailey bug. They moved down to Pflugerville, Texas in May and bought a great house. They had talked about having me come down to help with the decorating, and we finally got around to scheduling a trip! Life was a little crazy and the summer just wasn't going to happen with us moving to Denver. Now that we are both all settled, we decided that October would be a great time to come, which I was happy about because then it wouldn't be a million degrees! Austin seems like a great area, and a place that they will love living for a long time. Aaaaand a great place for us to come visit!

Bridger and I had such a fun time down in the warm weather with some of our very favorite people. Bridger is finally at an age where he can start to play with other kids, or at least be interested in what they are doing :) Needless to say, Hailey sure kept him entertained! They were so great together. One evening, while Marianne was trying to get dinner going, and I was busy hanging pictures and art on the walls, we put B and Hailey in the bedroom and flipped on cartoons for a little while. Surprisingly, they just stayed in the room, Bridger didn't cry or get fussy, nothing was destroyed or broken, and they just laid there together on the floor. It was a pretty cute little moment. 

The majority of our time was spent decorating, which I thought was fun. I think poor Marianne was a little exhausted by the time it was all said and done....except it's not even quite done yet! Hah! I think their house looks really great though. I'm excited to see more of the house come together when they get a few more missing pieces! Bridger and I had a ton of fun just hanging out with them. Steve was feeling a little left out, I'm sure, but we are hoping to get down there in the spring sometime for another visit.

The last night we were there, they took B and I to Rudy's. I had never heard of it. This place was authentic Texas BBQ, apparently. We walked into this place, (which by the way, on the front of the restaurant in big, neon lights, says, "worst BBQ in Texas") and I literally felt like I was in a different country. It was hilarious! Who knew a bunch of slabs of meat would round up so many people! Oh, and I'm convinced that this place keeps Wonder Bread in business...they must go through 100 bags of that stuff a night. They gave us like half a bag of bread for just us 3 adults. And they told us to come back for more if we needed! Crazy I tell you. And even crazier that we went back for more! (Bridger was loving the bread) Picnic tables slid together to make giant tables for family style dining, plastic bags of water hanging above our heads (I'm still not quite sure what that's all about), plastic pop bottle crates used for our food tray, pieces of wax paper for "plates," bathroom style paper towel dispenser for napkins....and the list goes on. Crazy I tell you.

Rudy's was s o . m u c h . f u n .

Here's a few pics to prove it:

Thank you Brian, Marianne, and Hailey for letting Bridger and me come visit! We sure miss living with you guys, but we're excited to come see you again soon....and we may have to make a little pit stop by Rudy's again when we do.  

climber

we've got a stair climber on our hands!

look at this little dare devil! He keeps crawling over by the stairs, so now, I've decided that instead of taking him away from the stairs each time, it's time to teach the boy to go up and down.

we started today by just going up the stairs, and we'll work on going down, really soon!

he did so great though! he climbed those stairs like a champ, and didn't wobble or get distracted by my constant cheers of encouragement--or by my hand that was there, just in case :) i was so surprised that he caught on so quickly; i thought it would take a lot longer to teach him, than it did.

do you think he was a little exhausted after the big climb? i think his face says YES!