14 months and Halloween

Chase has been gone every week this month to Sacramento finishing up a big job. Luckily he made it home in time for Halloween. Hunter was a monkey this year and enjoyed pulling candy out of his bucket and walking around in his costume. We went trick-or-treating around our neighborhood for a little while then headed over to Crossroads Church with Monte and Nancy. They were holding a huge "trunk-or-treat" which I had never heard of before. Its where all the cars park and decorate their trunks in themes and pass out candy. So we just walked in a big line, car to car, seeing all the creative costumes and decorations. They had music playing and food stands, bounce houses, it was amazing.

Earlier this month we went to Tom's Farms out here in Corona for the pumpkin patch with "Nana" (Vicki), which is where we took this great picture of Hunter.

Hunter has also added a few more words to his list including nana, papa, uh-oh, and no. Nana has the following meanings: 1. grandma vicki 2. phone 3. banana (his absolute favorite food, you cannot let him see one or he wont give up until you let him eat the whole thing, he's obsessed! and forget about going down the produce aisle in the grocery store. he will yell NANANANANA when he sees them and point until you go over to them, its a crack up.)

13 months

It has been one hot summer this year and I am so happy that some fall weather has started to appear. September has been a fun month with Hunter's birthday, a few Disneyland trips, the LA county fair, Chase has been working in town 2 weeks in a row, birthday parties and weddings.



Hunter had his 1 year check up and he weighs a whopping 27 pounds, and is 33 1/4 inches tall! He has remained in the 97th+ percentile throughout this first year in both weight and height. He has been saying "mama" constantly for the past few months but has recently added "dada" to his vocabulary. The two most important words in the english language, to me at least. :) He does a few tricks on command, (most of the time) like clap, wave, kiss, hug, pat, stomp, dance, and he knows where his head and tummy are. He knows his "monkey" and "hippo" stuffed animals if you ask him to get them, his fire truck, books, ball, train, car, blocks, and bucket. He loves playing with all of his birthday gifts except he has a fear of riding in or on anything. I'm sure he will warm up to the idea though soon.

He is officially eating regular family meals, meaning no more baby food, but still with restrictions, and still on his schedule. I replaced his bottle with his sippy cup with absolutely no struggle within about 2 weeks. How did I get so lucky to have such an easy going kid?

We joined Gymboree now that he is a year old, which is a class once a week where he can play and learn with other kids his age. At first he would just push and pull hair and steal toys away but now he's gotten used to it and thinks he rules the climbing tower. Its amazing watching his personality form and seeing him grow into a little boy.

Dr. Suess 1st Birthday Party!

Happy Birthday, Hunter!

One whole year has flown by us already. One whole year since bringing him home from the hospital and starting our new lives as a family of three. I never knew one year could bring so many blessings and happy memories. I always knew I wanted to be a mom to a child but I never realized how much I wanted a child for myself, if that makes any sense. I feel like the term "my cup runneth over" is the only thing that comes close to the love I have for this little boy. He has made me a new person and taught me to love like I never imagined possible. A love that can instantly bring happy tears to my eyes and an ache that only his hug can cure. Happy birthday to my angel!!!!!

11 Months

One more month and Hunter will be a year old. I can't believe that time has gone by so fast. Hunter is walking everywhere and anywhere his little mind can take him. He likes to push and pull things around and loves playing in the water. Especially the hose.



Fourth of July was great, our Big Bear camping trip was a success and Chase even caught a few fish with his bow and arrow.
We are excitedly planning his Dr. Seuss themed birthday party and looking forward to his big day.

10 months

We have a walker!!! Yep, on the 24th Hunter took his first confident steps and by the evening he could walk across the room. He is doing so well and is still such a happy boy. His seventh tooth came in a week or so ago and he is eating pureed meat with his meals now. He also learned how to wave and clap his hands. Every night before bed we have story time and he loves to turn the pages, and tries to grab all of the pictures.


We all enjoyed Chase's first fathers day this year, we took Hunter to church for the first time, then had a nice BBQ at our new house with our families. Looking forward to Hunter's first camping trip this weekend for the 4th of July at Big Bear.

9 months

This overdue post is due to our wonderful new house. We were without internet and time for the past few weeks and now as I am sitting here looking at a bunch of unpacked boxes, I decided this takes priority :) Hunter has adapted well to our new home and I look forward to making use of our large new backyard and community park at the end of the block. Once we are all organized and settled I will post some pictures. Hunter now weighs a whopping 25 pounds and is 31 inches tall. Tall, not long. I say that because he is mostly vertical these days. He pulls himself up with ease on whatever he can get his hands on and moves to the next item. He crawls quite a bit too, but prefers to stand. He has 6 teeth total now and his hair is getting blonder by the day. He has learned to wave and as of today can clap his hands. Hunter is getting more affectionate with tight hugs and will pull on your clothes as he reaches up if he wants to be held. There are still no signs of stranger anxiety as he smiles and "talks" to anyone who pays him any attention.

Chase is still loving his job and has been sent on a few out of town trips. The three of us went to his company picnic over the weekend and it shows that he is very much respected and liked by all of his coworkers and bosses. He earned a spot on a fishing trip to Mexico with the owner and 6 other workers, which he is very excited about. Everything is going well and as long as our air conditioning holds out, we are ready for a very fun summer.