Ian's Incredible Halloween

The month of October has come and gone, and it will be Christmas before I know it. Ian is doing great and has turned into quite the climber (up and down stairs, on shelves, furniture, etc.), so I have to keep an extra close eye on him when I hear things get quiet around the house. Enjoy the pictures from October!
Helping clean out the pumpkin seeds.

This is the only time he ever made a face when handling the insides of the pumpkin...he loves to eat, but raw pumpkin obviously isn't his favorite.

Finished product.

Some ghost cookies I made for a Halloween party we went to.

We went to a pumpkin patch for a Stroller Strides playdate, and though it was a little soggy from all the rain we had gotten, Ian enjoyed finally being able to be outside again. Here he is watching Brian play with the festive corn...so observant.

Now it was Ian's turn to see what was in the little wheelbarrow.

Clearly not a fan of the corn!

He didn't want to sit and have his picture made, so this was as good as I could do. Do you think he is imitating the scarecrows?

Ian dressed up as one of the Incredibles for trick-or-treating. We went on Halloween Eve since I had to work on Halloween. Some of our very nice neighbors turned their porch lights on and let Ian be their first trick-or-treater of the year. He caught on pretty quick and was knocking on the doors all by himself after the first house. The costume was a bit big, but he still looked adorable.

What a strong superhero!

Practicing holding the pumpkin before going to the first house.

Once he was in the garage, he took off down the driveway like he knew exactly what to do.

Happy Halloween!

18 Months

Ian turned 18 months old on the 21st of September, and he had his 18-month check-up that day as well. He weighs 26 lbs 1 oz (60th percentile), is 32.5 inches long (50th percentile), has 12 teeth (including 4 molars that seemed to take FOREVER to all cut through one by one), loves to run and jump, climbs on everything, is talking up a storm (but just a few words are really clear to an ear that doesn't translate toddler babble), feeds himself with a spoon or fork, and enjoys coloring with crayons, markers, or chalk. He is a healthy, happy boy and brings such joy to my life!

He got 3 shots at his doctor's appointment, and when I changed him into his swim diaper after his nap, he discovered the band aids that were covering those sweet, chunky legs that so resisted getting the shots in the morning. He hadn't paid any attention to them when he had his shorts on because they were covered, but once he could see them...

the tears started all over again like he had just been given more shots. It was definitely a traumatic experience for this little guy, and his right leg was swollen with a big knot for about a week. Thank goodness we won't need more until his 2 year appointment (still debating on whether or not to get him the Swine Flu vaccine)!

Drinking the water from the sprinkler. Summertime fun.

As you can see from this profile shot, Ian LOVES to eat! :)

Long Overdue Update

The time has flown by, and updating this blog at the end of my day just hasn't been my highest priority. I will try to be better about keeping current pictures up since Ian seems to grow and change more every day. Enjoy!

What can I say? Ian loves to help, and he especially loves to vacuum (with it unplugged, of course). He is definitely my big helper!

Loving on Lila.

Can't leave Chester out.

Isn't cooking equipment the best toy ever?

Spaghetti-faced boy.

Is there anything more innocent than a child sleeping?

Dialing...

Talking...

"Excuse me, can I get a little privacy while I'm on the phone?"

Here Ian is trying to plug the vacuum cleaner in. It's amazing to me how quickly he picks up on how things work.

Little Red Raider

Being a ham for the camera.

On the go with his newest Texas Tech shirt (thank you Aunt Jess!).

Staring out the window and watching the rain, wishing he could go outside and play.

Kisses.

Ian's cousin, Natalie, has moved to Korea for 2 years. Ian loves Natty, and it's sad that they won't have any play dates in the near future. Before she and her parents left, we made sure to take lots of pictures...here are just a few.

I LOVE this one! It looks like they are sharing a special, funny moment that only the 2 of them understand.

Blowing kisses.

Bubbles

Getting the bubbles down from the windowsill...

Attempting to get the lid off...

Ian's version of blowing bubbles. When you try to show him to hold the wand in front of his mouth, he grabs it out of your hand, sticks it in his mouth, and THEN blows. Funny boy. :)

Walking

Ian took his first steps on Good Friday (which is kind of ironic since he was born on Good Friday last year), and started walking well on April 30th (at 13 months old). It took him a while to gain self-confidence in his balance and not to get so excited that he made himself topple over. It has been amazing to watch him gain more independence the more steady he gets. More independence also means that he is getting more mischievous and curious of everything around him. For example, the bathroom doors are ALWAYS closed now and the toilet lids are ALWAYS down because I have found odd things that were purposely placed in the toilet by a little person...life is definitely not boring around our house.

First Haircut

I know it has been a long time since updating our blog, but life has been busy to say the least. Since I last posted, Ian had his first haircut. It really wasn't too unmanageable or exceptionally long, but the comb-over was a little much for me, especially when it would blow in the wind! We took Ian to a place that specializes in kids' haircuts, and the stylist was extremely patient. Ian didn't cry, but he wasn't convinced it was the most fun thing he's ever done. Before the big haircut.

Trying to brush his own hair.

Profile shot.

They had really neat things for the kids to sit on and watch tv while they got their hair cut, but Ian only lasted on the motorcycle for a few pictures.

Doesn't he look thrilled for what is about to come?? :)

Getting his "cape" put on.

The first snip of his baby hair.

Here he is trying to check out exactly what is going on.

After...what a big boy.

No more long, straggly hairs tucked behind his ear.