Barton Creek Greenbelt

Two weekends ago we took Lil' D on his first hike on the Barton Creek Greenbelt. We are in such a drought that there was no water in the creek but there were lots of rocks for Lil' D to explore.

Dry creek

Lil' D exploring nature

Such a big boy!

Building some muscle picking up rocks

Can you find the beautiful cardinal?

Eleven Months

At 11 months, Lil' D is flying through milestones left and right. He is cruising along furniture, toys, walls, pant legs---anything to get him where he wants to go. He is practicing standing without holding on. He is now an expert present unwrapper after a fruitful Christmas and is looking forward to his birthday where Mommy plans to wrap empty boxes...maybe. Lil' D has quite a personality and is beginning to show signs of stubbornness, especially when he does not want to nap, have his diaper changed or be strapped in his car seat. His new words are "La, La," "Na, Na," and "Arrf, Arrf." He can be found reading books, working on his problem solving skills, playing with the vegetable steamer, practicing brushing his six teeth, spending time with Daddy, and trying to remove the baby gates blocking the stairs.

Christmas 2011 Decorations

I realize it is no long Christmas or 2011...but this is my scrapbook.

Thank you Pinterest for new decorating ideas!

Lil' D's 1st Christmas ornament!

2012 Pursuits

I've never been a fan of New Year's Resolutions, and I feel that "resolution" has a very negative connotation because so many people make unrealistic ones that are doomed to fail. I also think people need to be more original in their resolutions. I often avoid the gym in the month of January because of New Year's resolutions! I don't think it is a bad idea to start the New Year with some new goals. So this year, I have some goals or pursuits. It would be nice to do this every year and reflect/revise/add new goals at the end of every year.

1. Plan and Save for kitchen renovations--We are not living in our forever home, and we have already decided that before we look at selling our house we need to do some kitchen renovations. I say, why not do them now so we can enjoy the kitchen, especially since we spend so much time there? Nicholas and I both have a lot of ideas, so I want to start writing them down, researching options and looking for deals. I feel that we have made so many reactive changes to the house and would really like to start making proactive changes!

2. Learn to cook with more of the food I want Lil' D to eat. I want Lil' D to be a "foodie" snob like his mom. There are so many foods that are jam packed with vitamins and minerals that I have really never eaten because I don't know how to cook them. I want to learn to cook with more foods like beets, quinoa, kale, and brussels sprouts. I like variety and want my family to, as well.

3. Let Nicholas do more. It may surprise you to know that I take on a lot of responsiblity. I have so many things I want to do...cook lots of food, make my own bread, homemade chicken broth, make creative finger food for Lil' D, blog, make scrapbooks, do needlepoint, and take pictures. There are also so many things that go into running a house with an 11 month old. I try to do it all and the reality is that is just not possible since what I really want to do most is enjoy my baby. I need to allow Nicholas to do things around the house without feeling bad that he is having to do it or I am not doing it and NOT try to tell him how to do it!

Personality

At church Sunday someone asked how old Lil' D was. 11 months, Saturday! Then she mentioned something about him having personality, so I wanted to take this opportunity to document Lil' D's Personality.

• Bedtime Silly Time--When it is close to bedtime, Lil' D gets really playful. Currently, he likes to practice standing up and then fall down on Mommy or Daddy. When Nicholas gets him ready for bed, he puts him in the crib to take off his clothes. Lil' D starts bouncing around and plays peek-a-boo through the crib slates. And there are LOTS of giggles!
• Peek-a-boo--Speaking of peek-a-boo, Lil' D loves it! He will play peek-a-boo with anything and anyone! Coming back from Dallas in December, Lil' D woke up about 45 miles outside of Austin. We found him playing peek-a-boo with passing cars using a blanket he found within reach of his car seat. He also will just move his head back and forth and close his eyes to "hide." And strangers are perfectly good peek-a-boo partners! Lil' D is such a flirt!
• Car seat Meltdown--Lil' D is not all smiles and hugs. He definitely gets upset. Currently, he is unhappy about getting in his car seat, despite loving to go places. He starts screaming, arches his back, and straightens his legs. Despite Lil' D's amazing strength, it is still possible for one person to get him strapped in, but it is a little easier with two people!
• Problem Solving--Lil' D is quite the little problem solver, and Nicholas loves giving him problems to solve. This morning he was trying to open the bottom drawer of the china cabinet. The drawer is filled with large candles, so it is heavy. There is a big box currently sitting in front of the cabinet that was preventing Lil' D from opening the drawer. He figured out that the more he tried to open the drawer the more the box would move and the further he could open the drawer.
• Inquisitiveness--Lil' D is very curious, and he has a very serious face when he is examining something.
• Mommy's Little Helper--Lil' D is beginning to be very helpful. He helped me fold diapers the other day by getting them out of the basket and handing them to me. Tonight he was handing me Tupperware lids.
• I Know What I Want (Sometimes)--Lil' D is starting to point at things that he wants. It seems that distance is no obstacle. If Lil' D is being held, he will likely point and try to leap in the direction of his desire. Often he likes to reach for Mommy if Daddy is holding him and then immediately reach back for Daddy (and vice versa). If something happens that he does not like, he will make a sound that is a mix between a grunt and a scream. Sometimes he will clench his fists, flap his hands in the air, straighten his legs, scrunch his nose and mouth and close his eyes real tight or make a tight frown with his eyes open and his neck muscles flexed (like a Gila monster).
• Some things Lil' D does not like: not knowing what he wants; not eating when other people are eating, or more appropriately when said people are not sharing; not getting his food fast enough, unless he is full, in which case he will drop the food on the floor; getting strapped into his car seat; laying down to have his diaper changed;
• Some things Lil' D loves: reading books; Mommy and Daddy and people he knows; smiling and giving kisses; eating; nursing; exploring new places; playing with musical toys; playing with stacking toys; Peek-a-boo; dogs; being held by tall people
• Lil' D is shy when someone first starts paying attention to him. If we are holding him, he will laying his head down on our chest/shoulder so he can still view the new person and will most likely give the new person a shy smile.

Overall, Lil' D is a calm, peaceful, easy to laugh, smart, curious, problem-solving little boy. We are most certainly blessed, but so is he. He is surrounded by people that love him, interact with him, and teach him new things everyday.

2011 Recap

After an usually busy December, we find ourselves thrust into 2012. There will be more posts about Christmas, but here I will pause to reflect on 2011.

January

We spent January preparing for baby! Nicholas was busy with the TSE jewelry project and spent long hours in his studio. We were blessed with two baby showers!

February

We celebrated Nicholas' 30th birthday, and we became parents. We spent the month of February experiencing life with a newborn and pretty much only leaving the house to go to the doctor. We had lots of visitors excited to meet Lil' D.

March

We started taking Lil' D out and about. We made our first visit to church, took Lil' D hunting for bluebonnets and enjoyed his first smile. Nicholas was very busy preparing for his shows in April. Lil' D and I spent a lot of time together, just the two of us.

April
I turned 30. We had more visitors, and took our first road trip to Dallas. Nicholas had two very successful art shows, and finally got to spend some more time at home with Lil' D and I. Nicholas and I had our first night out away from Lil' D.

May
I enjoyed my first Mother's Day and hosted the first annual Mother's Day Muffin Mixer. We took our first airplane trip with Lil' D to Colorado for Jeremy's graduation from Colorado State University. We had lots more visitors and celebrated Lil' D's baptism.

June
We took another road trip to Dallas and met new people. Nicholas had a great Father's Day, and Lil' D went swimming, something he loved! Lil' D also attended his first and second weddings in the same weekend.

July
We flew to Alabama to visit my aunts. Lil' D started eating solid foods! I was hot hot hot in Texas.

August
We took another road trip to Dallas and met more new people. Lil' D started crawling and pulling up to stand! Lil' D attended his third wedding. It was dreadfully hot in Texas!

September
We flew to Santa Fe to visit Nicholas' aunt and uncle. It was still dreadfully hot in Texas. We had family visitors from Dallas and Alabama. We all attended my cousin Chris' wedding. Nicholas and I started teaching Sunday School.

October
Lil' D's first Halloween! We spent a lot of time at church, teaching Sunday School and enjoying family events. We had many pumpkin photo shoots, enjoying the hint of Fall in the air and lots of time at the park. I changed jobs and Nicholas and I spent our first night away from Lil' D.

November
Lil' D and I made our first solo road trip to Dallas. He slept the whole way there and back. He woke up the morning after with his first stomach bug! Lil' D enjoyed his first Thanksgiving and some of his favorite foods--pumpkin, squash, and turkey. We took another trip to Dallas as a family.

December
Oh so many firsts! There were lots of Christmas presents, Christmas decorating, and tree hunting. We made an impromptu visit to Dallas for my Granddaddy's funeral. We stayed in Austin for Christmas and did lots of celebrating. traveled to Dallas the weekend of New Year's to spend Christmas with my family. Lil' D became an expert gift unwrapper!

Family Pictures

A couple of weeks ago, we had a little family photo shoot at the Huebner's. We started with testing the lighting with some very willing models.

Then Adrienne took some great pictures. Lil' D cooperated enough to get some nice pictures.