Almost There!

Giggles and squeals are all that can be heard when Vincent is pushing his walker around the house. I didn't have my camera with me, but we also took the walker out for a spin up and down the street recently, too. I wonder if this will be the month Vinny lets go (pics will soon follow with him holding onto Gramma's hands).

A sixth tooth emerged this month, too, so we've taken to the chewy teething toys once again.

Playtime Adventures

We've been getting out and about more these days now that Vincent is more active. I didn't get too many shots while we were there, but this first picture shows Vincent's fascination with the monkeys at the Phoenix Zoo. He tends to study everything around him, but this was the first time he tried to interact with the monkeys by waving at them. It was so adorable.

Now that Vincent is getting down to one nap a day, if we're lucky, we've been going to Story Time at the Library in town. He loves the little finger plays, but is favorites are any poems and rhymes that require Mommy to lift him high in the air. So Vinny has some fun and I get a workout. The second half of the time is spent playing with the toys and musical instruments. It's always interesting to me to watch him interact with the little friends. The first time we played, Vincent bulldozed his way over the other little kids to get their toys. The next time we attended, he was much better at sharing. :)

After Story Time, we walk behind the Library to the pond and feed the ducks. Here, we stopped along the path to spend some time visiting with Elvis, the puffy headed duck.

Another one of our adventures was to a playgroup called Tot Town. A church in Peoria opens its gym every Monday for playtime. A teacher friend of mine introduced it to me when we bumped into each other at the Library. It's a nice time for the little guys to play and moms to chat. Although, since Vinny is not quite walking yet, I need to chase after him and help him make choices. There are tons of ride along toys, scooters, trikes, with lots of room to move. Vincent loves his favorite though, the walker. I just love how proud he is of himself!

New Food Experiences

It seems that Vinny has been eating real food for a long time now, but it's only become really fun within the last month or so. Lucy is never out of arms reach, and Vinny just loves to share his veggies with her. While she'll lick up every last drop of mac and cheese, she leaves the mushy broccoli for me to clean up off the floor. Still, she is helpful, and boy do I miss her when we eat at a non-dog house. I don't know how those moms do it. Ugh, sweep after every meal? No way, not for me.

We all sat down to a spaghetti supper on Valentine's Day. Vinny loved it. It's definitely a plastic bib meal, that's for sure. It's really a special thing to sit down and eat as a family. Ant and I look forward to breaking in that dining room set over the next 20 plus years. For so long it's just sat there, filling space. To think we get to create all those experiences that we had in our parents' homes...weeknight suppers, Sunday dinners, homework (no finger poking to the forehead Boppo!), school projects...it's so cool that Vinny is going to have all those same memories, too.

Blueberries! He wants to use that fork himself, but it's just so tricky to keep round, bouncy food on it! Seriously, this kid will try anything we put in front of him. He does have some mood swings, and will love love love something for a few days, and then push it away. Some other things that seems to appeal to him lately are broccoli, bread, scrambled eggs, strawberries, melon, and chicken. Oh, and french fries-lest I forget to mention french fries. Like father like son. Clearly, eating makes this kid happy.

We've been enjoying our lemon tree this winter. Vincent was intrigued with the fruit...so of course he had to bite it. We didn't cut it open, but he did seem to love the rind. Most of the lemons have fallen off, and the tree is now covered in new buds, which perfume our backyard with the most beautiful scent by the way, and we even have a bunch of baby lemons that have emerged.

Top Chef!

It's hardly a new idea, but I've found this to be the best way for me to get chores done in the kitchen and keep the little guy occupied all at the same time...open up the cabinets and let Vinny play away. Who knows? Maybe we'll have the next food network star on our hands?

11 months!

Vincent has been keeping me busier than ever. It's becoming quite the challenge to keep up with the baby books, the blog, facebook, and overall picture taking. Now that Vinny is so mobile, it's way more fun to play with him than take pictures of him.

Some of his more recent accomplishments include eating everything we put in front of him. He really doesn't turn down much, and I'm hoping his love of peas and broccoli rubs off on his daddy.

We continue to Skype with Gramma, Papa, and Auntie Missy, which is great fun. I couldn't resist this Kodak moment with Boppo. Vinny sat there for quite some time, chatting with Auntie Missy in Virginia. Sitting in laps is becoming a favorite activity, especially when book is involved. Some of Vinny's current favorites include Moo Baa La La La, You're my Lovey Dovey, Dear Zoo, and a lift and flap barn book.

If he can shake it, Vincent wants it. He loves his set of noisy blocks, as well as his trucks and cars that are so much fun to push across the living room floor. He's also showing a lot of interest in his cookie jar toy. With a little help he does a good job of pushing the shape "cookies" into the holes. He loves his jungle toy, and has figured out how to makes the balls roll down the spiral slide and through the elephant's trunk. In fact, he puts lots of small toys on the slide and in the elephant's trunk. I wonder how long before those toys make their way into the DVD player?
Vincent is also taking steps around the coffee table, which has us very excited. Perhaps he'll be walking in the next month or two. The way he zips around the kitchen in his walker, you'd think he'd be walking already! Better make sure that flip cam is charged!

Surprise!

My grandparents and godfather once flew to Arizona as a surprise to watch me receive my master's degree. My father once showed up at our door, nearly knocking me off my feet. Well, recently it was my turn to return the favor. It had been in the works for only 3 weeks, with only my brother and Sarah knowing the plan. I was nervous about flying alone with the baby, but once again, Vincent was an awesome traveler. Cheerios certainly make life easier, too! Here's Vinny on his 3rd cross country plane trip in his first 10 months of life!

My mom's reaction to our surprise was priceless. While I thought there'd be a watershed of tears, there were none. Her state of shock precluded her from processing our arrival fast enough to cry, which was probably a good thing. Sarah and Brian asked my parents to babysit, but instead of carrying in Blaise, Sarah had Vincent in tow. It took a while to register, and when it did, we had a good laugh. Listen carefully for Blaise's contribution, "'Prise!"

Just like at Mommo and Boppo's, Vinny loves to kick it old school in a kitchen sink bath!

Cousin Blaise was so nice to share his blueberry donut with Vinny. Vincent ate quite well this trip. Life is so interesting now that the little boy has teeth and can eat real food. Among some of his new favorites: muffins, pierogies, and apple pie. Yum!

We timed our trip perfectly with Papa's birthday. Dad was in his glory sitting down to a dinner with his two favorite boys. Blaise was precious. In between making the biggest mess the Bugaboo waitstaff had ever seen, he summoned the talking moose to "c'mon, wake up moose." Meanwhile, Vincent did his best to keep up with his big cousin's mess, spilling more cheerios on the floor than into his mouth.

So happy playing with Gramma and Papa!

Vincent with Uncle Walter

No fear!

With Auntie Diane

With Uncle Tommy

Serious eaters...

I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to bring Vincent home for this surprise visit. Even though my parents will be out here for Vincent's first birthday in March, I feel so blessed to sneak in an extra visit with his great grandparents before our next trip in the summer. It's also so great to watch Blaise form a relationship with his little cousin. Even though they live 3000 miles away from each other, it's fun to catch a glimpse of what kind of buds they'll be as they get older.

Way to Go Daddy!

Anthony has spent the last 6 months or so training with Team Diabetes. Here he is after finishing the PF Chang's Rock and Roll Half Marathon. Not only did he run, even after injuring himself, but he raised over $1000 thanks to our generous family and friends for diabetes research. Vinny and I are so proud of him!

Here is our big boy standing up whenever he can. Good thing Anthony lowered the crib all the way!
Vincent wakes up so happy every morning. We've listened to him talk and sing to himself for upwards of 45 minutes before going in to get him up for the day. Sometimes I wonder if he could stay longer, but since he sleeps clear through the night, he has one wet diaper and I can't bear to let him sit in it any longer. Here he is after a nap. Seriously-what a cutie!

First Visit to the Zoo

For Christmas this year, we received a season pass to the World Wildlife Zoo right down the road from us. It's a great little zoo. You can get so close to the animals and it's never too crowded. Being so close to home makes it an easy family outing, so we spent our first couple weekends of 2010 visiting the giraffes, monkeys, and noisy birds.