First steps!!

Hunter took his first few steps last night! Here is the video!

Also, had to post this funny video from yesterday morning. He never really showed any interest in pushing his shopping cart walker around until now. He cracks me up!

Memorial Day Weekend

We have been pretty busy over the past few weeks! Sorry for the lack of updates. AJ's boss invited us to their lake house a few hours outside of Dallas over Memorial Day weekend and we really enjoyed ourselves. It was about a 3 hour drive and Hunter did pretty well in the car. There were about 18 people and 7 dogs there so he had plenty of entertainment and was beside himself that there were so many dogs to look at! He rode on a boat for the first time and didn't care much for the life jacket.

Check out his hair blowing in the wind!


I think he is going through a growth spurt because he is eating like a horse! We're to the point where I can order meals at restaurants for him most of the time which is more convenient but more expensive, of course! I'm trying to give him finger foods of things that I used to puree for him and he's continuing to be a great eater. He has another top tooth that has looked to be on the verge of popping through for days so I'm expecting it any time!

I love this pic from the park last week!

Here is some video of him being silly the other morning. Might have to do something about that console table!!

13 months

We didn't have a doctor appointment this month (won't until 18 months) but my stats at home show Hunter between 19-19.5 lbs and about 29 inches long. He is mostly still in his 6-12 month clothes but does have a few 12 month that he fits in.

It seems like he is doing something different every day! He is already practicing to be a Hoosier because he can put his basketball in his hoop now. As a matter of fact, he is pretty much obsessed with balls at this point. He can spot one from a mile away and points and says "ball, ball, ball" over and over again. He likes to read his books and will look through a picture book that he has and point out all of the words he knows. He is getting closer and closer to walking - he cruises EVERYWHERE and can stand alone for several seconds but still hasn't attempted that first step! His hair has really grown quite a bit over the past few weeks and he is looking more and more like a little boy!

Here is some video of Hunter playing basketball with his friend Owen:

We also started Gymboree classes. Hunter is having a blast!

NYC

Hunter and I tagged along with AJ to NYC last week while he was there on business. I had never been there before so it was a great opportunity to get to go while still being able to see daddy. We only had a couple of days to sightsee so I definitely want to go back but we had a great time and packed a lot into those few days!

We stayed at a hotel on Times Square. While AJ was in meetings, Hunter and I walked down to Central Park. We spent most of the day walking and stopped off at FAO Schwarz on the way back. The next day we took the subway to the Manhattan Children's Museum and then went back and met AJ at the hotel. We all went down to Ground Zero (not really much to see here but I wanted to go there anyway) and Rockefeller Center. The next day we rented a car and drove to Newark to see AJ's grandparents and had breakfast with his mom before we flew out on Saturday. Busy, busy! It was a great time and I'm looking forward to going back.

Here are a few pics from our trip:
An exhausted Hunter checks out the lights on Times Square after a day of travel -

Clapping for the break-dancers at Central Park -


First time on the subway (self portrait) -

Manhattan Children's Museum -

First time touching sand - not really sure what to think about it! -

Grandpa

Well, it has been a very emotional week. My grandfather, John Hunter, passed away last week on April 20th at the age of 82. Hunter and I flew out on Wednesday morning and AJ met us in Indianapolis on Friday. Grandpa was a good, good man. He was patient and kind and I truly never heard him say a bad word about anyone. He had many qualities that I sometimes lose sight of on a daily basis but am now trying to remember to make them a priority in my life. There were hundreds of people that showed up to pay their respects at the visitation on Friday. It was truly a wonderful testament to how many people he touched.

Grandma and Grandpa would have celebrated their 62nd anniversary on Friday. They actually met in Texas and loved to spend the winter months down here in their RV. I flew to Harlingen the last time that they were able to come down and spent a couple of days with them which I will always cherish. Grandpa very talented in woodworking. He made us little Cabbage Patch doll swings and cradles when we were little, among many other things. I have the kitchen table that was the family dining table for my mom and her brothers/sisters growing up...made from his own two hands. I remember him coming over to fix anything around the house - he just knew how to do it all.

His death wasn't unexpected, however, we are still all so sad to lose him. As his eulogy stated - he was immensely proud of his family--every single one of them: his wife, his children and their spouses, his grandchildren and their spouses, and his great-grandchildren. And we're happy to have made him proud.

Hunter was the model traveler on the plane. He made things so much easier and I was so proud of him. Since his birthday he has added several more words to his vocabulary. He is talking up a storm! He can now say dog (points and says it at the same time), apple, ball (points to it as he is saying it), nah nah (for food), Maggie and Andrew. I swear, he is a genius baby!! :)

12 month checkup/stats

Hunter had his 12 month well check with Dr. Terwelp on Wednesday afternoon after we dropped Mimi and Papa off at the airport. He had to get 4 shots and really cried this time. :( He is officially 28" long (5th percentile) and 18 lbs, 10.5 oz (4th percentile). Still a little guy so far! Dr. Terwelp thinks he will be around 5'9" by the time he is fully grown though based off of my height and AJ's height. He checked out perfectly and looks great! He won't have another well visit until 18 months.

We went to Picture People today to get his one year pics taken. I'll post them once I get them scanned!

Happy 1st Birthday!

I can not believe that my little baby is now a year old! To look back at pictures and think about how we felt this time a year ago is almost overwhelming. Time goes by way too fast. Hunter has brought us so much joy and laughter over the past year. I never could have imagined how incredible parenthood would be!

We had a wonderful week of celebration for him as Mimi, Papa, and Aunt Whitney flew in to see him and help out with his party. They were so much help that I have no idea how I would have put together his party without them!

Even though his birthday is today, we had his party on Saturday the 10th. We had several friends come over to help celebrate and we were so happy to have them here. The highlight was Hunter's first experience with cake. To say that he loved it is an understatement! He devoured that thing! I made a "one" cake for everyone and a mini "one" cake for him to smash, and boy did he smash it.

Here are a couple of pics of the cakes:

And here is Hunter enjoying his:

We went to the Oasis for lunch today. Hunter's new thing is pointing...

And the birthday boy with Whitney:

The bluebonnets are in full bloom right now so we went out to take the obligatory pics of Hunter in bluebonnets today. It was naptime so he wasn't such a fan but we did get a couple of good shots.

Happy Birthday sweet baby boy!!!