Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Happy 19th Month, E!

Hi Easton...it's Ama,

Today is the 16th so that means you are another month old...19 in all. Goodness, how the time does pass quickly these days. It is so amazing to see you growing into such a little man...well, relatively speaking. You take in everything like a sponge and are amazing us all with your athleticism. You can scale the furniture with very little effort and weld your weight around with the great accuracy. The only problem with that is that you know no fear, and that gets you into some hard knocks every now and then. You get in such a hurry sometimes that your little feet just fly out from under you and you find yourself with another bump on the head or bruise on your elbows or skins on your knees. Thank goodness your balance is good or it might be much worse.

Today we celebrated your milestone by making a trip to the mall to play on the indoor playground there by the ice rink. It has been so rainy that we haven't been able to play outside, and we were getting cabin fever. You had a good time at first until you ran headfirst into another little guy running around in the opposite direction. That kind of took the fun out of our adventure, and you weren't much interested in playing there anymore. It got very crowded anyway, so we took a stroll down the mall to see the sights. We stopped to get a mylar balloon at a shop down the way, and that turned out to be great fun! We had to get a birthday balloon because that was all they had, but it had Elmo on it and Cookie Monster, so you were just fine with that. And, after all, it was a birthday of sorts. After your nap today, we had great fun playing with that balloon here in the house, and Mommy had a hard time convincing you to leave it here for tomorrow. Who knew?

Your vocabulary is increasing by leaps and bounds...and you are beginning to string words together in short phases like 'Let's go" or 'Milk, please'. I think that you are saying much more than we know because you say a lot...and repeat it often. We just don't always know what you are telling us. You tickle me to death when you say 'yep' when I say something that you agree with, or like. I am trying to remember to take more pictures because I feel like I am missing so many opportunities. I keep my iphone with me to capture some of those moments, but I am still not very good with that.

So, Happy 19th month, Sweet E...you are indeed growing up before our eyes and I am thankful to be taking that journey with you.
I love you,
Ama

Sunday, August 16, 2009

18 months old

Hi Easton...it's Ama.

Today is the 16th of August which means that you are officially a year and a half old!! Wow! When did you get to be so OLD???
Ama and Papa have seen you go from a baby to a full fledged toddler during the summer. You are so independent and have such a strong desire to figure things our for yourself. You are so talkative, too, and I know you are telling us some really important things in your dialogue but we just haven't quite figured it out yet. Every once in a while it will dawn on all of us what you are saying, and it makes perfect sense. You repeat just about anything you are asked to say and know so many words of your own that you say on a regular basis. Your favorite one right now is 'NO', so I guess that means we are headed for the trying twos. (I won't call them terrible twos, because two year olds are charming in their own right.)

You also still love balls! Balls are your favorite thing to play with...baseballs are the ball of choice right now because you have been introduced to the game this summer. You have been to see the Ft. Worth Cats play, and you are now watching the Rangers on tv. I love it when you shout out 'beesball'. Just this month you acquired a football, so I am sure that this fall you will be watching the Cowboys on a pretty regular basis. And basketball? You love that too. Our neighbors on either side of us both have basketball goals in their driveways and you love wandering over to play around those. They are both set really high up, so it is hard to get a ball up there...at least for your Ama and you. But hopefully this fall we can get one of them lowered so we can throw at it.

This summer Papa got a new toy that you really love! It is a Kawasaki 'Mule'...a good sized ATV (all terrain vehicle) that he plans to use when he and your Daddy go hunting. But for now we have been riding it around in the back of the yard around the trees. You think that is great fun. I can just see you driving that thing around when you are 8 or 9, if we can hold you off that long. The horn fascinates you and you love climbing up and down on the seat and maneuvering the gearshift. I know that thing will be lots of fun for you and Austin when you get a little older. Ama even loves to drive it around in the yard.

Mommy and Daddy also found a bicycle seat for you to sit on the back of their bicycles and take you for rides around the neighborhood and the park. You rode in that for the first time the other day and really liked it. You have a helmet and everything. I will have to post a picture of the new 'toys' really soon.

AND, tomorrow you will get to come over every weekday to stay while Mom and Dad are at work. Papa and I are really looking forward to having you here. This fall we are going to have a really great time, especially when the weather cools off a little bit. We are so thankful that we are able to help out by having you here during the school year. So...I will see you in the morning and we will begin the second half of your second year together.

I love you, E.
Ama

Thursday, July 16, 2009

17 months

Hi Easton...it's Ama.

Oh my goodness...I just realized that I missed your last milestone of 16mths. We were at the beach and I completely forgot to write my post. So now it is already time for the next one and I certainly don't want to miss another one.

At 17 months, you are still a little charmer and quite a character. You still love balls of any kind, but especially basketballs and baseballs. You have a strong arm already and you use it to hurl those balls all around the place.

The most exciting thing to me since last months milestone is that you have started calling me 'Ama'. I am, of course, thrilled that you are doing that. You have been saying Papa for a while now, and I was beginning to think you were not going to call me anything, but you do! And it tickles me every time.

You and Mommy are going to Waco on Sunday to be there when your Nana gets home. The has been very sick and in the hospital with some serious problems. I hope she is released to travel soon so she can come home.

You apent some time at the beach last month and seemed to have a really great time. It was fun having you and Austin there with us, and there were other cousins there too. You enjoyed playing with all of them and thought you were just as big as the rest of them. Austin loved going to your house to play and you both did really well about sharing the toys.

There are so many things you are doing this summer and are having a great time with Mommy and Daddy. The summer is just not long enough and before long school will be starting up again, Papa J and I are looking forward to having you with us again.

Take care my sweet boy and watch what you climb on. That little head is just too precious.
Love you lots...
Your Ama

Sunday, May 17, 2009

15 mths

Hi Easton...it's Ama!

My goodness, has it really been a whole month since I posted my last update? You got to spend the night with me and Papa last night, and we had a big time. You slept so good and you woke up at our regular getting up time. Mama and Daddy came to get you around 10:30 or so. You were glad to see them, but were so busy running around outside that you barely took the time to say hello. They know what a busy little guy you are and don't have time for things like hugs and kisses. Those have to be fairly well stolen right now!

The months are going by much too quickly to suit me! And you are in such a rush to grow up. There are so many things you want to explore...the world is your playground, and I have to stay on my toes to keep that playground safe for you. And that means letting you try things on your own but with a watchful eye and a nearby hand to catch you if you get in a tough spot. Sometimes I can anticipate when you are about to get an owie and can reach out to keep that from happening. But sometimes I cannot stop the inevitable, and you take a tumble, or bump your head, or skin your knee. Sometimes you cry if it is a really hard tumble, but most times you just rub your head or make a face and keep right on going. Needless to say, you always have a bruise or three or four!

You are such a persistent little toddler,too. You do not give up easily and will try and try until you get something mastered. Right now the skill at hand is climbing! If you are trying to climb up on a chair, you will tug and pull and reposition yourself until you figure it out. Then you will sit there for about 2 seconds and it's back down to try it all again. You have at least learned to turn around feet first to get yourself down, but sometimes you forget, and I have to be right there to catch you before you fall head first out of a chair or off the couch. Needless to say, there are a lot of closed doors around here to keep you out of harm's way. However, I haven't figured out a way to keep you off the couches and chairs...they are fair game.

By far your favorite place is the toilet. I have to really be on the lookout for an open bathroom door! So far you have not discovered how to raise our commode lids, although you have figured out the ones at home. It won't be long before you see that the same trick works here as well. I am very careful to keep the doors closed, but every once and a while I forget. When I hear the splashing, I realize my mistake and make a beeline for the waterhole. Since we have to wash our hands from that, I can distract you by letting you play in the sink while we wash up. Water is your favorite play toy at the moment, and I can't wait til we can get out in the yard in a little pool. Pools are so much more fun than toilets. I know you will have a big time climbing in and out of a wading pool. So far, the weather has kept that from happening, but I think in the next three weeks we will get some 'swim' time in.

School is almost out, Sweet Pea,and our daily stays together will end for a while except for the occasional playdate during the summer. I will certainly miss our time together, but I know Mama and Daddy are so looking forward to spending some time with you. Next month on your 16th month, we may all be at the condo and playing in the water and the sand. Your cousin Austin will be here and that should be a really fun post.

See you tomorrow, Sweet Boy!
I love you.
Ama

Thursday, April 16, 2009

14 months

Hi Easton...it's Ama!

Today you are officially 14 months old and a full-fledged toddler! And I am here to tell you that you are into that stage of development where the world is your playground! You can find the simplest things to entertain yourself...sticks in the grass become drumsticks, empty boxes and cartons become treasures for storing blocks or balls or whatever you can fit into them. Everything is new and exciting. You are gaining in the vocabulary department if we really listen when you babble. I hear "here it is" or "there it is" when you find something you are searching for. You say shoes, socks, bye, dada, mama, fish, ball, light, hot, toast, please, woof woof, and I am sure other words that we have just not figured out yet. And you have learned the sign for 'more', which was also Austin's first sign. You are amazingly responsive to language and music. Oh how you love music! You will take it in any form, any rhythm, any way! You dance, you sing, and you search out anything that will play songs or make noise. You've learned how to find the on-off buttons on most of the toys that play anything at all. And you love BALLS...all sizes. They are your favorites right now, but you will throw anything that slightly resembles something round. Your Easter eggs became missiles but those didn't work out so well because they came apart when they hit the floor. Your throwing arm is developing quite nicely...we are going to have to work on what we can throw and what we can't.

So all in all, you are a delight and the sunshine of my days! You and your cousin Austin continue to be the focus of my thoughts and plans. I enjoy you both so much and never cease to be fascinated at the things you and Austin are learning and doing. I am looking forward to seeing you two together this summer to see how you react to him now that you are so aware of other kids. You are drawn to other little people like yourself, or older ones who will play with you. I wish I knew more people with little ones that we could play with. Most of the time you have to settle for the grown up playmates like Mama and Daddy and your grandparents! We all love playing with you, but it is not the same as having playmates your size. Thankfully, you are content to entertain yourself with your toys and inanimate objects that intrigue you.

You are also cutting your one year molars, but they are not quite in yet. I can tell that they bother you some because your fingers are always in your mouth and you rub at your gums, and drool a lot, again! I will be glad when they all break thru and you are done with teeth for a month or so.

Outdoors is a favorite place for you, too. You love going out to play in the sandbox, or with rocks and sticks or just walking around in the grass. I am so glad the days are finally starting to get warmer so we can get out more. You love going high in the new swing, and you always want to feed the fish in the cement pond.

Life is good...we are blessed.
I love you, Sweet Boy!
Ama

Monday, February 16, 2009

One year old!

Happy 1st Birthday, Easton...it's Ama!

Today you are one year old! Can you believe it? One year ago today we were admiring you as a newborn, cooing and gooing over how cute you were and how very precious. You came into the world with wide eyes and an awareness of all things around you. That has not changed one bit! You take notice of everything!

As a one year old you are so aware of sights and sounds around you, and you have those big blue eyes that sparkle with mischief and laughter. We love that laughter that comes so readily when things amuse or tickle you. You are quick to smile and show your delight about so many things. You love the dogs and your toys. You love your mom and dad and all those who love you back. You love most everything we give you to eat, and if you don't, we know it right away. You love coming to Ama and Papa's house and are always so glad to see us on those mornings when Mama and Daddy have to go to work. You've had a delightful first year, Sweet E, and we are so looking forward to the next and the next and the next...
With love,
Ama

Friday, January 16, 2009

11 months old

Hi Easton...it's Ama.

Today you were 11 months old! In just one more month you will celebrate your first birthday. As a matter of fact, Papa and I just got our invitation to your birthday party today. While I am excited to help you celebrate your first brithday, I am also a little sad to see our little baby boy growing up so fast. I know we can't stop the clock and keep you little forever, but time just passes too quickly to suit me.

This past month you have been a busy little boy learning to walk. You have spent the last 30 days practicing your walking skills and spend every waking minute walking and walking. You are getting much more steady and you are certainly done with the crawling unless it is to get to a standing up place. You are not yet ready to stand up without support, tho you can do it when you forget that you want help getting up. It is so much fun watching you toddle around here, making the circle from the kitchen thru the den and living room back to the kitchen. You are always in such a hurry and start walking so fast sometimes that you tumble and fall. But that doesn't stop you. You just get right back up and off you go. The hardest part of having you up on two feet is that you are always falling and bumping your sweet little head, and I just hate that! No matter how much I try to keep you from hurting yourself, it just seems that it happens before I can prevent it. Sometimes it doesn't phase you, but other times, it really hurts and you can't help but cry and cry. But all of your practicing is beginning to pay off because you are doing better and better every day.

I know this next month will go just as fast as the past 11 months have gone, and you will officially pass from being an infant to a toddler. You are an amazing little guy, and the sunshine of my days.

I love you, Sweet E.
Ama

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Happy New Year, Sweet E

Hi Easton...it's Ama,

Happy New Year, Baby E. This is your first New Year celebration and it comes just a month and a half before your first birthday. The time is going so fast and you are just growing by leaps and bounds...already walking and just a bundle of joy. You are such a happy little guy most of the time and cheer everybody up that comes around you. I am looking forward to getting back into our routine here at Ama and Papa's house when school starts up again for Mama and Daddy. Your great grandmother is here, too and she is looking forward to being here for a little while so she can get to know you better. We will have a good time this first week of the new year. Your cousin Austin is still here and you just love to follow him around. He is a little impatient with you and doesn't always want your attention, but that will get better as you both get older. He is learning to share with you and to not be rough with you. I am hoping that you will be great friends when you get older.

Your other cousin Daniel was at your house for New Year's Eve, and you got to spend some time with him today at your Nana and PawPaw's house in Waco. They love having you too. You are such a lucky little boy to have so many people who love you so much.

My hope for you is a great 2009. There will be so many changes in the months to come in your growing and learning new things. I can't wait to see what new things you'll be doing each and every day.

I love you sweet boy! See you soon.
Love,
Ama