How I Know Ira

Some of Mommy and Daddy's friends have been wondering how we know baby Ira. Since he is in the hospital and we've been thinking about him so much, I thought I'd tell you. The truth is, we've never met him. My mommy and daddy think that they can love any baby, though, and understand a tiny bit about what his parents go through, since they have me. I guess they must be right. Anyway, the way we know about Ira is that Emma Claire's mommy and daddy know Ira's grandma and grandpa.

Please, please pray for baby Ira. He's really sick. The doctors and nurses are not sure how to help him. They're making him sleep and sleep on purpose so that he'll rest and feel better. It doesn't sound fun at all. Please get well soon, Ira!

Christmas and Baby Ira

Merry Christmas, everyone! There is so much going on that I'm just going to tell you some things and not share any pictures today. First, I want you to know that today is the day that we tell Jesus "Happy Birthday!" So, Happy Birthday, Jesus! Then, we all open gifts. It's kind of funny to open gifts when it's not my birthday, but I don't mind. I have some new toys to play with that I just LOVE, and I'll show you pictures of them soon. Lots of people love me, and that makes me so happy! Also, Mommy and Daddy are letting me stay in my jammies all day and eat special food like waffles and hash browns. I can really get into Christmas if it's like this each year!

Second, and even more importantly, I need to tell you that baby Ira is in the hospital again. He stopped breathing last night, just for a tiny bit of time, and he's sick, too. You can click on his name over to the right and see his daddy's blog to find out how he's doing. So, baby Ira and his mommy and daddy and sister are spending their Christmas hoping and praying that he gets better. I hope that you'll pray that he gets better soon, too-I bet his family would love that gift for Jesus' birthday!

Bear Hug


It's almost Christmas, and I know that's when we celebrate Jesus' birthday. But, even though it's not my birthday, I'm the one getting toys! My great uncle Mel came over and gave me this bear for Christmas. Ooohhh, I love bears. Can you tell?

Pauly Wauly and Little Man


Here is my friend Paul. He flew on an airplane and drove a car to come see me. Our daddies are holding us because they are friends. Our mommies are friends, too, but they are too busy taking pictures for you to see them. Paul's daddy calls him "Pauly Wauly." That's kind of funny, don't you think? My nickname, "Little Man," makes so much more sense. Paul is six months younger than me, and Mommy says that soon it will seem like we're the same age. OK, Mommy!

I shared my chair with Paul, and we played the lid game together. What a great game! I used to like to play it sitting down, like Paul, but now I'd rather play the lid game standing up.


Sometimes taking a nap gives me a wild, wild hairdo.

Awwww...I just love my bear. I give him hugs and kisses every time I see him.

My tent


Here I am with my dad in my new tent. My grandpa sent it to me for my birthday! It has a tunnel and a clubhouse to go with it. To tell you the truth, it scared me a little bit when Mommy set it up. It's so big, and so bright! But, once Daddy went inside, I figured it must be OK. It makes a great crinkly sound when I crawl in it, and the windows open and close. It's so great to have my own little hideout. Thanks for the great gift, Grandpa! I'm sure I'll have lots of adventures with my little buddies in here.


Uncle Jake and Aunt Laura sent me this great block wagon for Christmas. Mommy and Daddy let me play with it early! The blocks are so yummy...I played with them all afternoon. Thanks, Uncle Jake and Aunt Laura!

This is the life! I'm reading my Doggies book, wearing my new dinosaur jammies, and soon I'll be in bed. Good night!

How does this work again?


One for my teeth and one for my hair...

Sippy


Giving myself a drink from my cup is fun, but sometimes I'd just rather bang it on my forehead.


Mommy took this picture of boxes, and I have to explain why. It makes her a little sad, but it makes Daddy and me proud. These are all the clothes I just grew out of. Mommy kept me in this stuff as long as she could, but it's just too short to fit me now! She gets sad that her baby boy is growing into a big boy. But Daddy and I think it's great. I'm growing big and strong and I'm learing to do new things every day. Today I learned how to hold my own sippy cup and take a drink. So don't be sad, Mommy! Growing is a happy thing!

Here I am playing with my chair. It laughs and talks and sings to me! I actually don't know what the blue part is for, but I like the book and the clock and the lamp. This is how Mommy distracts me when I go try to empty the bookshelf. It's a pretty fun diversion, don't you think?

Favorite Pastime


I spent a lot of my evening playtime yesterday doing this brand-new thing I discovered: pushing chairs around the kitchen. They make a great noise when they scrape on the floor! I had to try a couple of different chairs to see how they worked.

When I couldn't push the chair any farther, I got really frustrated and upset. When I'm tired and frustrated, this is how I comfort myself. (It works really well-you should try it!) I suck two fingers on my right hand and touch my neck with my left hand. After that, I feel better.

As you can see from the look on my face, I'm determined to try again.

I ended my playtime with a Head Butt of Love for Daddy. I've been very affectionate lately!

Lots of Greats


Here I am with Great Aunt Christine, Great Grandma, and Great Uncle Dave. Uncle Dave and Aunt Christine rode on an airplane just to come see me. Well, I guess they came to see Great Grandma, too. I hope they come back soon!

While I Was Sleeping


Have I mentioned that all the good stuff happens while I'm sleeping? Emma Claire came over to play while I was taking a nap, and nobody woke me up! She played with my magnets and found another cute baby in the front door. I missed out!

My First Blocks


These great letter blocks were my birthday gift from Mommy and Daddy. Between these and my letter magnets, I'll be reading and spelling in no time!

Ummm...do you think that maybe they bought them for Daddy, and not for me?

I think I can pull up on this if I try...

Oooh, they make a great noise when they smash together!

My Birthday Pictures

Here they are, at last! Thank you so much to everybody who made it such a big day for me.
Are all of you singing to me?

I will touch it, but you can't make me taste it. This is not what I imagined when you told me about cake!

Mommy and daddy helped me to open cards...

And gifts...

And more gifts! Wow! (And something tells me that this one is not cereal.)

I got some great new toys, like this ball. My buddy, Sam, is going to show me how to kick it.

And, this rattly thing. Emma Claire is going to show me how to get the rattles through the holes.

I left my cake and ice cream untasted and went to take a nap after all the party excitement. Thanks, everybody, for loving me and remembering my birthday!

Whew!


Well, I had a great day today! Thank you to all my relatives far away who called me and the people nearby who wished me a happy birthday! It was a big, overwhelming day, so all I'm going to do tonight is share this picture with you. It's me riding in my car seat like a big boy after I opened all my great gifts. I'm on my way to see my little buddy, Maximus, and tell him all about being one year old. Thanks for being happy about my birthday, everybody!

Happy First Birthday to Me!

Today is a very exciting day. It's my first birthday! When Mommy and Daddy came to get me out of my crib this morning, they sang a special song with my name in it. It's called "Happy Birthday." It's a great song! I'm not really sure why they call this my first birthday, because it's not. Last year was my first birthday, but I think this one is going to be a lot more fun! Mommy thinks so, too.

For my birthday, I got to turn around in my car seat and face forward. Now I can watch what Mommy and Daddy are doing while we drive. And, after lunch, we are going to have some people come over and have cake and ice cream together. I can't wait to try that stuff. It's going to be a busy day! I might not get to show you what cake is like until tomorrow, but don't worry! I'll show you as soon as I can.

I'm posting a picture of what I looked like a year ago today (on my real first birthday.) I was born at 6:51 a.m. and weighed 8 lbs., 15 oz. and was 23" long. I have grown 9 inches and gained almost 13 lbs. since then. I was cute, but I was pretty boring, don't you think? I am a lot more interesting now and can do more fun things. This year will be even better than last year!

Brrrr...Chilly!


Mommy took this picture of me sleeping this morning right before she woke me up for the day. I didn't know it, but it was only five degrees outside. I think that's the coldest weather I've had in my whole life!

Here I am getting ready for the day. I'm chewing my Cheerios and wearing my new slippers from my buddy, Zachariah. I'm glad he gave them to me before my birthday so they could keep my toes warm today.

This is how I got bundled up to stay warm on my way to the doctor. I look a little perplexed because I can't find my arms. Today's the last day I'll ride backwards in my car seat. Tomorrow, I get to face the front like Mommy and Daddy!

We went to the doctor to have my one-year checkup. Mommy and the doctor talked about boring things for a really long time, but the interesting part is how big I am. I'm 32" tall and 21 lbs., 12 oz. So, just like always, I'm very tall, but average weight. Nobody is surprised! And, I should update you on how I'm doing with my efforts to grow as big as Uncle Todd. When he was my age, he was 1/4" shorter but more than SIX pounds heavier. Wow! (When Mommy heard that, she groaned. She thinks I'm heavy enough to carry around already!) So, I'm doing pretty well with the growing tall part, but I guess I need to work on eating a little more. Maybe the birthday cake tomorrow will help with that!

Paul's Daddy

There is a new link over to the right that I want you to see. It's from my buddy Paul's daddy. Paul's daddy went to a faraway place called New Orleans. The people there had lots of terrible things happen to them because of something called a hurricane. I don't really understand what a hurricane is, but I'm glad Paul sent his daddy to help all those people who need it.

Snowing!

Guess what! It's snowing today! Mommy took me out the front door, and there were lots of little white things flying around in the air. (How do they do that???) Mommy says it's called snow. She says there's not enough to take pictures yet. She also says that 14 degrees is too cold for pictures. (You can see on Jamey's blog that his mom took him out for pictures. I wish my mom would do that! But if Mommy took me out, she might make me into a burrito like Jamey...that may not be so great after all.)

Another piece of news I have to share is that I figured out how to get Mommy's attention really fast. The way to do it is to chew on the piano bench. It makes a wonderful noise when my teeth scrape against it, but I guess Mommy isn't as into the sound as I am. I'll try it again the next time I need her quickly!

Growing up!


Mommy thinks I look like a big boy this morning, so she had to show you a picture of me. (You may notice that she didn't forget to buckle me into my booster seat. No jumping for me today! Just don't tell her I said that. It's still a sore subject for Mommy.)

You might be wondering about my black eye. It's still there! There's a great purple streak right above my eye. But, my eyelid hides it when my eyes are wide open, which they usually are. I might not get my wish to show it to all my friends on my birthday, because Daddy says it's healing.


I still have cute baby feet, but pictures of them have to be action shots now, because I'm always on the move!

Want to help me drive my car?

I love to sit and look at books. I turn the pages over and over and over.

Oooh, I can almost reach it...


Daddy spelled some words with my letters for me. I can't wait until I'm big so that I can learn to spell like Daddy!


Ooooh, look at all the great stuff back here!

Hot Stuff


I am pulling up on just about everything now, even flat surfaces like the fridge. Mommy and Daddy think I'm pretty amazing. Here I am playing with my letter magnets. Mommy is watching and Daddy is taking our picture. Someday, they'll teach me what all these letters mean.

Jumping is not so fun!

Something happened two days ago that Mommy doesn't want anyone to know about, but I'll tell you. It all started when Mommy didn't buckle me into my booster seat-she just put me in and snapped my tray on. She always, always, always buckles me in, so I was very surprised. After my meal, she took my tray off to rinse it in the sink, and I guess she forgot that I wasn't buckled. That was my chance! I decided to jump out of my chair. Freedom!

Well, freedom wasn't so great, because instead of jumping, I fell on my tummy and face flat on the kitchen floor. I cried, and Mommy cried, and it was really a sad time. Mommy doesn't speak baby, so she didn't know that my head got thumped until later that day when I had a bump on my forehead.

Yesterday when I got up in the mornning, Mommy was really worried because my eyelid was swollen. I had a little bruise on my forehead, but she was upset about the eye. She called the doctor about it to make sure I was OK. (She didn't want to go to the doctor because going there makes us sick!) She also had a nurse friend of hers look at me. I really didn't see what all the fuss was about. Everyone said I was fine and not to worry.

Well, today when I woke up, I had a new look. Mommy calls it a black eye, but I don't know why she calls it that because it's not black, it's purple. She says she feels terrible about me having my black eye. Daddy says, "At least a girl didn't give it to him!" (Why did he say that? Is that something that girls do? I need to ask my big buddy, Sam, about this.)

Anyway, here's my purple, I mean black, eye. I hope it lasts all week, because a week from today is my birthday, and that would be a great day to show it to everybody. I'll keep you posted!

Lights and Trees


Yesterday morning I got up, and there was a surprise in the living room. There's a tree in there! It's tall and has little colored lights all over it. Here I am checking it out for the very first time. After I got up from one of my naps yesterday, there were some ornaments on the tree! (I'm beginning to notice a trend: all the good stuff happens while I sleep.) My plan is to touch all the branches, lights, and ornaments one by one.

It must be a special time of year, because there are trees showing up in other places, too-like Wal-Mart! Usually when Mommy and I go shopping, we look at the little fish swimming around. I really like that. But now, we get to go look at the trees and touch their branches, too. Mommy says the trees are for Christmas. I know I had my first Christmas already, but it was a long, long time ago. I am excited to see what Christmas is like this year!

The Belt Game


I love to stand here and play with the belts on my booster seat. Right now I'm showing Daddy how to do it, and he's making me smile.


Standing on my toes helps me to play the notes better.

It's a lot roomier in here now that I took all the bowls and lids out!

I'm almost tall enough to climb right over this thing...