Forgot to mention...

Oh! We forgot to mention that The Dude is now feeding himself with a spoon!
Forgive us for the poor quality of the video, it was taken with a cell phone. But it was the closest thing to us as he discovered how to maneuver the spoon...

Lost Lake

It didn't seem so lost to us...But you wouldn't have thought that given the road we took to get there! Thank goodness for the new Subaru! Go AWD!! (We took a goat trail of a road over the mountain that was mostly one lane and gravel... talk about amazing views!)

Once we emerged from the forest, the beautiful Lost Lake was before us. The Dude had been there before, but it was while he was still inside, about a month before he was born.

THIS time, he could enjoy all that the place had to offer - his four favorite things:

-Family (Nonna, Auntie A, Uncle S, Nora, Poppy and Gram-Manda were all in attendance)
-Dirt
-WATER!
-Rocks


We had a great day of playing in the water, snacking, and taking turns in the canoe with Captain Papa.


Before we know it, these two will be heading out on their own....

Another one down...

It seems to us, each time we post we mention something about how quickly the time goes by.... so we will spare you. But HOLY COW, does time sure fly!

The Dude is now 11 months old. According to the shipping computer at Papa's work, he is around 18.5 lbs, standing like a pro (sometimes unassisted!), eating like a horse, constantly babbling, imitating words and sounds like crazy (not always getting the right sounds, but definitely nailing the syllables), and definitely going thru a "Mama Phase".

No sure signs of walking soon, though when lead by the fingers of the lovely Gram-Manda he struts his legs like a toy soldier. He's getting the idea, and trust us - we are in no kind of hurry.

"Sleep" is still a four letter word in our house, but some nights are better than others. Chalk it up to developmental beasties, teething or separation anxiety... who knows - but we've given up obsessing about it and given in to the fact that will probably never go back to our pre-baby, well rested look. *sigh*

But the payoffs are HUGE. We have a happy, goofy, active little guy who is the light of our universe. And when he plants a sloppy, wet kiss on you, you can't help but forget about how tired you are.

Let the preparations for The Great First Birthday Extravaganza begin!