HAPPY EASTER 2008!

Yep, we celebrated Easter today! Such a beautiful afternoon... Raymond looked like he had no idea what was going on, however he enjoyed every moment of it!

HAPPY EASTER EVERYBODY!!

T'was the day before Easter...

Raymond's first Easter was spent at home with his Mommy & Daddy. We colored eggs on Easter-Eve, then went to a "Hip Mamas" BBQ where Raymond passed out in the baby swing exactly at his bedtime! It was SOOO cute!

Busy day planned tomorrow... Egg hunt might be the day after Easter!

Raymond won't notice either way. Babies are cool like that. :)

Month 9

"Blu" is 9 months old today!

He stands for a few seconds at a time on his own and doesn't care for belly-time... Tries to crawl, but kicks and rolls a lot instead! His cute little voice babbles and says "Hi" & "Da-Da-Da" & "Ba-Ba" indiscriminately. There are times that he does try to say something -- and actually, I understand, so I suppose he really did say those words. I notice that if I really pay attention, he is talking sometimes and he has hand signals that tell me perfectly what it is he wants.

And if you could only see how happy he gets when I get for him whatever he's asking for... He wears his happiness all over his body and isn't afraid to share it. My wish for him is that this purity of emotional expression survives through to his adulthood. Just think of all the problems he would avoid just being comfortable being himself. :)
We sure love our little 9 mo old Buddy Blu!

St. Patty's Day!

Ramond celebrated in good ole Irish tradition!

We dressed in green... went to baby Jack's house for an AWESOME Irish dinner with a bunch of friends... came home EXHAUSTED! Here are some pics!

Family pic and Greg with his hands full-o-babies!

Jack's walking at 9 months!

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!

Happy 3rd Toothday!

Raymond's Grandma & Grandpa D. (my parents) visited this past weekend! They flew all the way from MI to see their precious grandbaby. We were so EXCITED to see them again! We hadn't seen them since Christmastime.

And oh, what a blast we had! We really packed the days full of fun activities. There was so much to do! Raymond stayed up way past his bedtime every night!

What did we do while Grandma & Grandpa D. visited?

Well, we went to Cracker Barrel (HAHA!), the huge Fountain Hills Art Fair...

...a huge group meditation & pot luck, the Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show...

We watched 2 pretty darn good movies...

...AND we celebrated their 30th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY with some great Seafood... What a great time we had! We sure love them and miss them.

Needless to say, Raymond has been well-loved, as always.

In addition to all the excitement of the weekend, Raymond popped a tooth today! Top left, second over from front. I was told when the second over begins to come in, then all 4 will probably come in at the same time. Nothing like getting it done all at once! :)
Raymond's been teething excellent. I think the first 2 toughened him up. He's a real PRO now!

Happy Birthday, 8-Month-Old!

Sure enough, today Raymond turned 8 months old... Wow, seems like yesterday he was a tiny newborn. I'm so amazed that although I do my best to savor every moment with him, time continues to fly!

In case you're wondering, mommyhood fits me very well. I feel I was totally prepared for it and I LOVE it! There is nothing like the love I have for this little man... I never knew this kind of love existed until I had him. I think other parents can totally relate.

Enough with the sappy stuff! What did we do today?

Well, Raymond sat through a ton of 8 mo pictures (taken by mommy)... he visited with mommy's friend Jeanette... we walked all the way to the pet store to get cat food & back... we had a great dinner & talked to daddy on the phone/internet many times... Raymond had a babysitter after he went to bed so that mommy could attend her Spiritual Development Class... and Raymond woke up during

the HUGE Thunder-storm we had at 10pm...

It was a LOUD T-Storm with lots of rain... Raymond's first real storm and it was scary for him to see all the lightning and hear the thunder while alone in his dark room. He cried so sad! So, Raymond & his mommy curled up in a blanket outside on a chair and watched the lightning & trees and listened to the wind, rain & thunder... Raymond just needed a little comfort from mommy (and a little MILK helped, too) before settling back in bed for the night.

Cutting Teeth (again)!

Yes, there are two big bumps on Raymond's top jaw & he's been fussy... Here come the front teeth! The poor kiddo... It seems SO painful and they haven't cut through the skin yet.















Valentine's Day was a REALLY busy day for us... We went to a Valentine's Playdate with a ton of other kids where we mingled, passed out Valentines and played with toys for hours.
After a good 3 hour nap at home, we packed up again and visited Raymond's best buddy, Jack, for more play & dinner! What a wonderful day it was!! A memorable 1st Valentine's Day. We hope yours was as exciting!

Jack & Ray say:
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, EVERYBODY!!!

We're trying new things!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, EVERYONE!

Yes, it's been a while. I must admit being mildly discouraged after typing a nice, long blog a couple weeks ago, only to lose it while trying to attach a video... So, I took a break out of frustration. But I'm back and ready to make up for lost time!

So, Raymond is growing like a weed! He's eating a variety of veggies, cereals and some apple & prune juices daily. Oh, and Cheerios... does that boy love playing with his food! He loves to eat -- anything. Attached is a video of his first taste of CARROTS last month... FUNNY! He eats them no problem now.

At the 6 mo. check-up...

Raymond had his 6 mo. check-up and shots at the pediatrician's office yesterday morning. Of course, he's looking great and is very healthy. He weighed in at 18lb 8oz -- that's 4 oz less than his 4 mo. well-check in November! He grew 4 whole inches to 28.5 inches long. In the 95th percentile for length, but just a tad above normal for weight now! I KNEW he was thinning out!

Raymond's eating both rice cereal and oatmeal now. He doesn't seem to care what it tastes like as long as it's food. Cool! Maybe he takes after his mommy and will love broccoli! *fingers crossed*

We found out his blood type is O POS, just like his mommy's... At least he got something from his mama! HAHA! Well, daddy doesn't know his blood type and honestly, people tell me he looks more and more like his mommy everyday!

Here's a great pic of the kiddo's teeth!