The Last of San Diego

All I have left are some random photos of San Diego. We had such a great time and it was fun to spend time with my whole family. Thanks mom and dad for an amazing trip!

I'm trying to forget the chaos of traveling with Deacon. It was pretty much torture but looking back it was a bit comical. Trying to keep him entertained at the airport and on the flight was no easy task. Deacon does not like to be held and likes to be on the move constantly so it was a bit rough.

 Basically this blurry picture sums up our airplane experience...Deacon trying to get out of my arms. Our flight going to California was basically my worst nightmare. I was the annoying mom with the screaming baby. 

 This water bottle was my saving grace at one point. He thought the flip top lid was pretty cool. 

 Deacon was obsessed with all the toys at the house my mom rented. 

 Millie and Deacon crawling around together. 

 Alan wasn't able to come for the whole trip but he did surprise us and came a day early. 

I love this picture of the cute cousins in the hammock!

{Deacon, Holden, Millie}

 My sister took these darling pictures of Deacon one afternoon at the pool. 

This was our best attempt at a family photo or in other words pure chaos!

 

And it was nearly impossible to get a group photo of the cousins! It is so fun having them all so close in age. I may be biased but they are the cutest kids around!

Weston, Millie, Luke
Holden, Deacon, Leah

Lounging around in pajamas. 

Until next time San Diego...

Mission Beach Boardwalk

Of one my favorite things we did in San Diego was go to the Mission Beach Boardwalk. We walked around, went to lunch and celebrated my sister's birthday, and the kiddies hit up some rides. 

I was a little worried to put Deacon on the boat ride alone when they told me no adults were allowed. My sister assured me it would be fine and off Holden and Deacon went in the boat. 

Deacon was a bit nervous at first....

Then he was obsessed...

I seriously could have died watching these two. It was so hilarious/cute watching them in the boat all by themselves. 

Next stop was the carousel and Deacon thought he had died and gone to heaven!

He was so proud of himself and honestly was acting as if he was in a parade!

I think I have watched this video one million times because it is just too cute. And it was even cuter in person. Every time we would go around and pass my mom he would wave. 

We have decided everything is so much more fun with kids!

11 months

I can't believe the next time I'll be writing a monthly update Deacon will be one. I'm learning that time goes too fast with kids. I am so grateful I get to stay home and savor every moment with him. I already feel like Deacon is no longer a baby but a full blown toddler! He seems so much older to me than he really is. The other day we were at the park and I couldn't help but just stare at him in disbelief wondering how the time has passed so quickly. Just last night he woke up at 5:00 a.m. crying, which he never does. I went and got him out of his crib and miraculously he laid his head on my chest and let me hold and rock him for five minutes or so. It was amazing seeing as he hasn't done this since he was a couple months old. Such a special moment with my boy and I'm hoping he gets more cuddly as time passes. 

Deacon has had a rough month as far as sickness goes. He got his first ear infection which was pretty rough on him. He started feeling better and we went to Utah then as soon as we got back he came down with some sort of stomach bug. This, along with teething, has made him pretty fussy and needy. He wants to be held a lot and just doesn't seem like himself. One thing about Deacon is that he is such a happy boy that when he doesn't feel good I can definitely tell. He has his two bottom teeth and his top right tooth and more are on their way. Teething has not been kind to this boy. 

Deacon LOVES life and doesn't want to miss a thing around him. It is pretty comical to watch him because he can whip his head around so fast when he hears the slightest sound and is always so observant about his surroundings. He has the best ears. The second he hears Alan's key in the door after work he rushes as fast as he can to the door to greet him. The other night we were eating dinner and the door was open and he was so intent on listening to the birds outside and kept pointing out the window. Whenever I'm in the kitchen he wants to be in on the action and stands at my feet fussing until I pick him up to see what is going on. He is actually quite good when I take him grocery shopping or to run errands because he loves checking everything out. 

Deacon is completely on the move! He no longer crawls and walks (practically runs) everywhere! If he falls he pops right back up without even blinking an eye. He is pretty tough. I have absolutely loved watching him toddle around the house! He hates being restricted and wants to explore at all times. He usually tries to dive out of our arms when we are holding him. 

We have noticed lately that he is really starting to understand words and simple phrases. Sometimes we are pretty surprised at the things he knows. He is starting to point out body parts and definitely can point out our teeth. He thinks it is hilarious to touch them. He will follow simple commands like "go get your horse" or "go get your blanky". Sometimes Alan and I just look at each other and laugh at the things he does because he is always surprising us with new things he knows and does. 

His independence is really starting to show. He is such a determined little guy and is very strong willed. Lately, he will hardly let me feed him and only wants to do it on his own, including using utensils. This means that mealtimes are messy but I love watching him learn and it makes him so happy. He is a good eater still. He loves all fruit and recently really likes mandarin oranges. He likes cottage cheese, bread with hummus, smoothies, yogurt, and eats what we have for dinner. If he doesn't like something he definitely shows us by gagging to the point of throwing up and immediately tries to get everything out of his mouth and off his tongue. 

He now shakes his head "no" if he doesn't want something. He is very opinionated and dramatic! He can throw a pretty good tantrum when he wants and he gets really mad when we take things from him.

Deacon learned the sign for dog. I have been doing sign language with him since he was a baby and it cracks me up that this is the first sign he learned because I am not a dog lover! We were on a walk one day and we heard a dog bark and he started doing the sign. I couldn't believe it and ever since he makes the sign anytime he sees or hears a dog whether we are inside or outside.

Deacon is typically very social and loves being around kids. I have gone to the mall play place a couple times recently and he tries so hard to keep up with the older kids. He seriously acts like he is one of them. I am thinking of enrolling him in a music class so he can be around other kids his age plus he loves music and loves to dance. 

Deacon can now open any drawer or cupboard and I pretty much let him with the exception of the ones with cleaning supplies. This results in large messes everyday but he totally loves it and it is so fun to see what he does with everything he pulls out. He really isn't too interested in his toys lately. He recently has been having a lot of fun in the bath. He has gone through lots of cycles where he hates the bath so this is progress!

One of my favorite things Deacon started doing is pointing! It is so cute to see him pointing at things he sees and wants to show us. There is something so rewarding about knowing things are "clicking" in that little brain of his. 

I feel like a lot of changes will be happening during the next month. I'm planning to have him completely off bottles when he turns one, with the exception of nursing in the morning. He doesn't seem as attached to his bottle lately so I'm hoping this won't be too hard. It will probably be harder on me since it is the only time he really lets me hold him. He has gotten pretty attached to his pacifiers and I don't like him to have them throughout the day so I'm slowly trying to wean him from those. He still takes two naps a day...from about 9:00-10:30 and 2:00-4:00 and he really needs these naps or he gets super fussy!

This little man definitely keeps us on our toes but we wouldn't have it any other way! We love him so much and feel so lucky to have him in our home! I'm going to drag this month out as long as possible...I'm not ready to have a one year old!

The Beach

This is my third attempt at this post. Both previous times all my pictures were somehow deleted after I uploaded all the pictures...so annoying! I am going to really try to finish posting about our trip to San Diego since it happened clear back in July. I'm so behind!

We had so much fun taking Deacon to the beach. It wasn't his first time since we went to Florida when he was just 3 months old but he had no idea what was going on back then. 

We had the best time seeing him dig in the sand and he loved every minute of it. Get ready for a picture overload because I had the hardest time narrowing it down. 

 All the cousins digging!

{Deacon & Holden}

Our attempt at getting a picture of all the cousins was basically a joke!

{Luke, Weston, Deacon, Holden, Millie}

 I was pretty leery of him eating the sand but got over that quick because there was no way of stopping him! 

 The cutest sandy toes I've ever seen!

 Oh my heck I could die looking at this picture!

We missed my brother and his family at the beach. 

{The sisters minus Angela}

 This picture totally melts my heart...I'm the luckiest!

I wish we lived closer to the beach...such a fun place to go with kids!

10 Months

I can't even begin to express how much we love our Deacon! At 10 months he is the happiest, sweetest boy and he brings so much joy into our home. His personality gets cuter by the second and we find ourselves in awe at everything he is learning. Children are truly amazing! I keep telling Alan that if our other kids are like Deacon I want a million more...ok maybe 2 or 3 but I'm serious he is the best! We have been surprised lately at how much he understands and we can tell he recognizes familiar names and words. We feel so blessed to have a healthy boy! 

 Here is the latest on Deacon:

Took his first steps on August 31, 2012. He will take between 2-6 steps but he doesn't like it when we force him to walk...aka walking to mom and dad. This fits his personality to a T and I'm sure he will walk on his own terms. 

He is so fast and can get anywhere he wants in a matter of seconds. 

He has started to do a "bear" crawl where he crawls on his hands and feet. 

He will give kisses on command...sweetest thing ever!

He loves his Jellycat dinosaur that he sleeps with and shows it to me every morning when I come in to get him. 

He loves to dance and loves music. He loves it when we play music on our phones...especially Steve Miller Band. He waves the phone around and dances like crazy. He dances (moves his arms) any time he hears music. 

He loves pushing cars and makes an adorable car sound while he does it. 

He eats basically any table food and doesn't want much to do with baby food anymore. It's hard to think of his favorite foods because he really has been such a good eater lately. 

Got his first tooth on August 24, 2012...bottom right tooth and we think the other one is on it's way. 

He loves standing up and pushing anything that will move. 

He is obsessed with water and drinking out of a straw. 

He started using utensils. He makes quite the mess but he loves it!

He is OBSESSED with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse....especially the hot dog song. He watches it after his bath at night while we put his pajamas on and he gets so excited the second the first song starts. 

He loves rocks and will sit in our backyard forever grabbing rocks, looking at them, and putting them in a bucket. 

He loves going on bike rides in his new WeeRide. 

He is learning to throw things and it is so cute to see him figure this out. 

He loves putting things "in"whether it is the back of his truck, a bucket, cup...anything!

He isn't too fond of swinging anymore but he loves going down the slide. 

He jabbers and talks all day long and has the cutest little voice. He says both mama and dada specifically. 

He copies sounds we make and imitates a lot of things we do like brushing his hair. 

We have a mirror by his carseat so we can see him. He loves looking in it and gets bashful when he sees himself. He will wave at himself when we say, "wave to Deacon". 

He is obsessed with waving and waves anytime he hears the words "wave" or "bye". 

He loves standing up at the back door and looking outside. 

I am so amazed at how many new things Deacon is doing every month. We love watching him grow and fall more in love with him every day!