Ten Months!

E.J. is 10 months old today! He has really progressed in his ability to walk since my last post. He took three steps from me to Eric this week!! He will be walking soon.
This weekend we are in Minnesota as Eric is recruiting at a big tournament at the Metrodome and I will be visiting family. Two of the pictures are from our road trip from Lincoln to Minneapolis. E.J. loves "driving" while we gas up and I had to get a shot of him actually sleeping since it is so rare!
Last weekend we were in Colorado and you can see how EJ loves to stand (with my parents) and wave (picture with Eric and I). Now that he can wave we are going to start working on clapping and high five.
And finally, a shot of E.J. with his buddy, Forsberg. I found them together in Forsberg's kennel one morning. E.J. just made himself at home. I'm not sure how Forsberg felt about it but he was sweet to his "house guest" nonetheless. Now that E.J. is pulling up he tends to use Forsberg to balance. Thankfully, Forsberg is very gentle with him but it isn't without benefit. Forsberg gets plenty of food from E.J. when he sits in his highchair and tosses food his direction. A mutually beneficial relationship for sure!

Bad Habits...

EJ found the toliet paper and likes to have his way with it. He learned this at Grandma Bobbie's house and made his way to our bathroom right away. He also loves these plastic pool toys and treats them like cigars (not that he even knows what a cigar is). He is a riot!

Now everyone can see that I have my hands VERY full! The look in his eyes says it all! AND...I just found out on babycenter.com that he'll also be able to imitate actions he's seen as long as a week before. So now I have to start behaving. :-)

Swim!

Danni and Ty came over to play in the baby pool yesterday. It was EJ's first time in the pool and he loved it! Danni and I have been friends since we were 3 years old so it's great that we have boys just a few months apart.
EJ put his head under the water a couple times and came up choking on the water so we have some work to do to help him understand how the pool works. He also kept taking his hat off and throwing it in the water. You can see that he isn't too happy to have it on in the picture!

Nine Months!

Today E.J. is 9 months old! As you can see, he has an odd fascination for licking things. I took these pictures in the last couple days so let's hope this phase passes quickly.
I've also noticed that he is starting to show some shyness towards others. When someone approaches him, he gently puts his head on my shoulder or puts his face into my neck. It doesn't take long for him to come around as he is a definite "people" person.
He is still a big kid. I haven't weighed him lately but I did start volunteering in our church nursery and he is as big or bigger than the 11 & 12 month old babies. I have to take the stroller everywhere we go because he is so heavy.
The weather has been wonderful here in Lincoln so we go on walks everyday. The picture of both of us is on one of the paths we like to walk on. We have a lot of fun together and everyday I thank God for him.

My First Mother's Day!

Today was a special day for me! I've waited so long to be a mom and Mother's Day in the past always proved challenging for me emotionally. The day started out with Grandpa and EJ making me breakfast in bed! EJ was quite the help and even wanted to eat my blueberry pancakes!

We had Mother's Day brunch at my favorite restaurant on a golf course here in Lincoln. Dessert was compliments of Kellie and Uncle Andy. They had a cake sent to me in honor of my first Mother's Day. As you can see it was beautiful! I think it was a also a sweet day for my friends who have walked down the hard road of waiting with me...thanks for your calls, texts, cards and celebrations!

Reunited!

My parents, Grandma Bobbie and Grandpa John, arrived in Lincoln today. It's been two months since they have seen EJ so they couldn't believe how big and mobile he is. We are looking forward to a fun visit and a great first Mother's Day next week!

EJ

Here is EJ in our backyard playing with Forsberg. He is so curious about his world and the only time he isn't running in high gear is when he is sleeping. He loves crawling and investigating everything. He still goes easily to anyone and has a very sweet demeanor. His hair is getting more blonde and I think it is starting to curl. Eric had curly hair starting about a year old so we expect that to happen to EJ as well. His sleep has consolidated nicely and he is still taking three naps/day. Forsberg and Daddy are his favorite "toys" with any kind of ball a close second for his attention. The Nebraska baseball bib was a gift from my friend Kelly's mom. EJ will have his first baby buddy in Lincoln when Kelly's daughter is born this summer. Now that it is warming up I am looking forward to taking him to the swimming pool and going for walks around Lincoln.

Texas!

We had a nice visit in Texas when Eric's team played Baylor. We took 2 games of the series and are still in the top 10 in all of the college baseball polls.
The first picture is hanging out with the Flickners. One of the things I hated most about our move was the fact that EJ and Isaiah wouldn't be able to play together every week as they grow up. We had so much fun catching up with them and Isaiah is a wonderful little boy. The next shot is at the Saturday game with the Rick and Kaye Shelton and Uncle Brian. Grandma Carol met us there but she was taking the shot so you don't see her. Next, EJ got lots of love at lunch with Patty and Courtney. On Sunday, we met up with Kay and Jana Miller before the game. They got to meet EJ and we celebrated Jana's engagement and upcoming wedding. The last pic is EJ's first time playing the piano. My friend, Cindy, introduced him to the piano where he found licking the keys as fun as banging on them. :-)
Now that EJ is mobile it is harder flying with him. He did a great job but I had to work really hard to keep him occupied and out of everyone else's business.