Tractors

There's no doubt about it, Skeet is definitely his Daddy's little man. He absolutely loves tractors. Not even the roar of the engine starting up scares him. He grabs the steering wheel and makes noises like he's driving. The rice has just been cut, so Kirk wanted to take Skeet down to the Forks to get pictures with the combine. Those were good, but by far not the best ones we took. Here's my favorite...

11 Months Old

We finally gave in, and on August 11th Skeet got his first haircut. His hair was tickling his ears, and I know it was driving him crazy. He was an angel! Jeannette was so good with him; all it took was his daddy with an ice pop and she was able to cut around his ears, across the back, and trim up the front. We just couldn't cut off all his little curls in the back though! We were feeling like he was such a big man, but then later that evening he proved he really was by taking his first steps! He turned away from the couch and took three or four steps toward me, before diving head first at me. Today is the 29th, and he's gotten some better at it, although he can't quite balance on his own for more than a couple of seconds. He won't do it unless it's his idea either, so don't even bother trying to coax him into it! He now says "tractor" and "kitty", which is so cute watching him and Kirk sit on the floor reading a book saying "kitty kitty". I still can't believe that in less than a month he'll be a year old!

10 Months Old

I've gotten a little behind! It just seems to fly by. Skeet loves playing with his John Deere tractors and his fire trucks. I think it's the wheels he likes so much: he flips them over and spins the wheels, or he'll grab one in his hand and crawl all over the floor pushing it.

Nine Months Old

He's getting so big! I know, I say that every time, but seriously! We took Skeet to the doctor for his nine-month check up, and he weighed in at a whopping 25 pounds 5 ounces! He's also 30 inches tall: in the 93rd percentile in height and 95th in weight, so even though he's a big boy, at least he's proportionate! Skeet is doing so much now, crawling all over the place and getting into everything. But he can also just sit on the floor forever and just play with his toys. He has an electronic book sings and talks when you open it up. He opens it, and as soon as it gets to a certain point in the sentence he slams it shut. Then opens it, and shuts it...it's so funny to watch him. He pulls up on the couch, and just started cruising. I'm telling you, if he could he would be running! Still won't say "Mama", but definitely says "Tigger" (it's more like "GRRRR") when he sees his stuffed Tigger or our cat named Tigger. I forgot to mention that at the Frio, Kirk's dad and I were standing in front of Skeet, and I would say Mama and he would say PawPaw, and sure enough, after a couple of minutes, he popped his lips together a few times and said "PawPaw"! Kirk's dad looked at me and said, "Did you hear that?!" I did. And he said it 3 more times while he was looking at him. Little turkey! I'm okay though, because I know he knows who I am!

Frio River

On Sunday, June 13th, we left for our annual vacation to the Frio River in Concan, Texas. Kirk and I debated back and forth as to whether or not we would go, mainly because it's a six-hour car ride--on a good day. But Skeet was a trooper; he slept half the way there, was an angel in the restaurant at lunch, and smiled and talked to me the rest of the way. He was great: he slept every night, all night. We only had trouble with him one night going to bed because he took a late nap while Kirk and I floated the Frio (he stayed with Kirk's parents). We actually floated 3 days, and took Skeet down to the water one day to play. We can officially say he "floated the Frio": Kirk took him in one of our floats down some manmade chutes for about 100 yards. He absolutely loved it, as you can tell by his face in the picture. Hopefully we'll be able to take him all the way next year!

Swimming!

On May 24th, just three days after he turned 8 months old, we took Skeet swimming. He absolutely loved it! We put him in his froggy float and he kicked and laughed. When we'd take him out of it, he would try to put his face under water. Not yet!

8 Months Old

Eating out at IHOP

My little man is growing up so fast! There's so much to say; he's just all over the place. He's finally crawling on all fours, verses army-crawling on his belly. He is also adamant on pulling up on everything he can, even me. He pulls up onto the couch, lets go, and proceeds to turn around like he's going to walk. I swear, if he could run, he would! I don't think it will be long before Skeet is walking. Lord, help us all! On May 28th, he had been feeling bad for a couple of days, being fussy, rubbing his ear and the back of his head, and his eye was cruddy, so I took him to the doctor. He had an ear infection, and what looked like pink eye, but I don't think it was; it cleared up the next day. He's much better now!

7 Months Old

My beautiful little baby! He has grown up so fast. His two front bottom teeth came in a few weeks ago, so you can't really put your hands in his mouth anymore--he bites! He can sit up all by himself now, but wiggles around so much. He's figuring out how to go from sitting to tummy and from tummy to sitting, and is trying really hard to pull up. He can pull up to his knees with no problem, and last night he got to his feet with a little help. He is such a big flirt, smiling at everyone he sees.

Easter

Mommy and Skeet at the church

Skeet and his Easter basket

Kirk and I took Skeet to church Easter morning. THAT was fun! He was so sleepy, but fought it the first 30 minutes then finally fell asleep. After that he was so happy! He didn't hunt Easter eggs, but I did take him out in the yard to get some pictures with his basket--I only got one good picture (shown). He is so precious!

6 Months

Oh my how he's growing! At his 6 month check-up, the doctor said he was completely rid of the RSV and right on track for everything. He got three shots, and took them like a champ, only crying a little. He weighed 21 pounds and was almost 28 inches long! I'm not sure what percentile he's in, but he's big! Last night we took him to his first rodeo and he loved it! He watched the horses and bulls with big eyes, and when we tried to get his attention he totally ignored us! I was worried that it would throw off his sleeping, but I got him to bed by 10:30 and he slept til 8:00! Everyone loves him and thinks he is the cutest thing. His mommy and daddy sure do love him!

5 Months

Skeet's growing like a weed! Right around the time he turned 5 months, he started getting congested. I took him in and they gave me decongestant drops. That was a Wednesday; by Sunday his eyes were red-rimmed, his nose was running, and he was coughing. I took him in on Monday, and sure enough, he had RSV. We started breathing treatments right away, and by Wednesday he was much better. After two weeks of treatments he was back to his normal happy self. A week after he was diagnosed, he hit milestone after milestone. He officially sat up without support, drank from a sippy cup, ate a cracker, and found his feet, all in one week. The following week he started rocking on his hands and knees, and trying to lurch forward. He's going to be crawling before we know it! He still sleeps all night, which is a blessing. We finally get some sleep!

4 Months Old

Skeet turned 4 months old on January 21st. For the whole week he had been trying to roll from his back to his belly, with no success. Finally that night he did it! I had left for dance class, and Kirk was keeping him. Kirk had to call me at class and tell me the news. Now he rolls to his tummy and gets upset because he hasn't quite figured out that he can roll back over. On Friday we took him to the doctor for his checkup. He weighed 17 pounds 5 ounces and was 26 inches long. Big boy! Although they said he was in the 90th percentile for both, which means he is still proportionate, just bigger than 90% of babies his age! He got two shots, and only cried for a minute. He squeals and talks all the time, and is such a happy baby. He now plays in his Exersaucer and loves it. The past two nights he's had trouble sleeping, so we've had to hold him so that he could sleep. I'm exhausted!

All Smiles

I was checking up on my blog to see if anyone had posted a comment (if you're following, by the way, please let me know!) and I realized that I had absolutely no new pictures of Skeet smiling! He is always all smiles and such a happy baby, so I thought I'd put a couple of him being really happy on here!

Christmas Miracles

3 months old

Christmas Eve!!

I took Skeet to the doctor the Monday before Christmas because he was congested. They thought he might have RSV, but didn't test him or even take his temperature! He never ran a fever, and after a couple of days of Baby Vicks, a vaporizer, and TLC, he was better. I was concerned about Skeet not lifting his head when he laid on his belly, and the doctor said that if by 4 months he couldn't lift up on his arms we'd have to have him evaluated. Well, mama hen freaked out and immediately started leaving him on his tummy. So lo and behold on Christmas Eve, he could hold himself up on his arms! I took a picture of him, but he wouldn't smile so I tried to take another. He cocked his head to the side, grinned at me, and rolled over to his back!!! I went nuts! I ran to get the video camera and made him do it again. Then on Christmas morning, he laughed the biggest, cutest laugh! On New Year's Eve we made it home before 9p.m. and everyone thought we were crazy. But he had slept two or three nights in a row all through the night, and I didn't want to mess him up. Even to today (January 3rd) he has slept all night! Now if I can just get him to sleep in his crib...