It's all about the smiles

He really can put a smile on my face like none other.

Here is a happy face wet with drool from teething and leftover tears from a recent meltdown.

We went to the park today and Seth really enjoyed the swings for the first time. We all needed a family outing like this- it had been a while. It's around 70 degrees here and Manny was in shorts in a t-shirt. Usually he's not so brave about cooler weather. :)
He's not quite in focus here but I had to post it anyway, you can see why.


Oh yes, and I posted a few of Seth's "Christmas Pictures" on my photography blog.

Christmas Tree!

The place where Christmas trees are bought in Florida... since there are no "tree farms" here. (btw it was probably in the 80 degree range that night!)

We got a kid who was working there to take our picture.

Seth and I were looking for the perfect tree...

...and we found it, and brought it home. I love his face in this photo.
Little hands always ready to grab.

Examining the first ornament to go on the tree.
And after trying to chase the lights around and having more the one meltdown about something dangerous being taken away from him, and laughing at the Christmas tree... Seth finally fell asleep, and Manny and I were able to finish the decorating job. I like it.

Another New Seth Movie

I had to post this because it captures some of Seth's newest accomplishments. He has just started to "share" things with me and it is adorable. He tries to feed me his cheerios, and he'll hand me toys as you can see in this video. He's such an active and (most of the time) happy baby!

Seth is 10 months! (Yay!)

He loves playing with pots and pans (and paper bags, etc) in the kitchen while mommy cooks!



This is from the day he started clapping- he does it all the time now- so cute :)



He loves rolling a ball back and forth- it's his favorite game.


Our little guy is growing up so much! He "pulls up" on everything and has started "cruising" a little- walking while holding a table, etc. He is very smiley and happy and has learned to wave goodbye and clap his hands. He is perfecting his crawling skills and we're sure that he'll start walking in the next few months. I can't believe my baby boy is almost one- it just doesn't seem possible.

For those that don't know already, my mother-in-law, Jackie, is currently undergoing chemotherapy in the hospital. This has been a hard time for our whole family. Please pray for her health and that she can be home again soon. I'll be posting more often here so that she can have plenty of updates on her grandbaby!

Beach Baby

We went to the beach for a while today. We hadn't been in a while and Seth absolutely loved it! He always did like going, but of course he used to just lay or sit on the blanket or towel. Now it's a whole new story. He was covered with sand just minutes after we arrived. He surprisingly didn't try to eat it, but was rubbing his hands in it and trying to crawl around. I went and dipped him in the water, which he was not even the least bit afraid of, and whenever a wave would come and touch his feet he'd squeal with laughter and kick his legs. We had a blast.
And now he is sleeping peacefully.
Bliss.

Mamameeee!

^ this is what Seth says when he is sad and wants to be picked up :)

He loves to crawls around and play, but there are just those times when he has to be in someone's arms, usually mine.

I never knew that having a child would bring me this much joy. He is awesome and such a blessing.

Today he pushed himself from crawling to sitting for the first time.

I love when something really random makes him laugh, it makes me laugh too.

He literally gets more grown-up each day. It almost hurts to watch.

Have I mentioned how much I love this kid?

Nine Months In, Nine Months Out

Seth has officially been alive as long as I was pregnant with him. I think that there are theories about everything getting easier at this point, but I haven't noticed any really magical changes. He is much, much more mobile now- hmm maybe that's what the changes are supposed to be :) He loves to explore and get into things, and now that he is doing very well feeding himself finger foods, he thinks that everything has potential to be finger food. So I am always trying to prevent catastrophe.

I love being Seth's mom. He is such an awesome baby, and now watching him become less and less of a baby is so cool. He says "mama" a lot now, and it absolutely melts my heart every time. He is very smart and very observant- I am really looking forward to seeing what he's like when he's older, and having conversations with him.

He got his first vaccination on Tuesday. We waited to start, and are following an alternative schedule, because from the extensive research I have done I feel that it is less of an assault on his immune system this way, and will put him at lower risk for adverse reactions, and also the vaccines will be more effective. This was probably the hardest decision I have had to make as a parent- whether or not to vaccinate Seth. There are risks either way, but I feel that we made the best choice for our family. Anyway, I was a nervous wreck before his appointment on Tuesday, and I gave him homeopathic ledum which was recommended, and then when they gave the shot he didn't even cry!
Besides the shot, Seth's nine month appointment went well. He has only gained four ounces in the last month, so his pediatrician asked us to come back next month to check his weight. I think it is because he is so active now that his weight gain has slowed. He still nurses a lot- day and night- and he likes his solids foods too. I'm sure he's just fine, but they want to keep an eye on it.

Our lives have been very busy lately. I am trying to balance working from home with being a mom and maintaining our home, and it isn't always easy. I have times when I feel utterly defeated, but I am trying to keep plugging away and telling myself it will get easier. Seth gets bored if we stay at home too much, so I try to go to playgroup events and get together with friends as much as possible. That has really helped me feel less lonely, too.

I have just started a new blog, so I'll have a personal one that is separate from my Etsy business blog. It's http://spicygranola.blogspot.com.

Finally, new Seth pictures (I know that's why you read this after all!)

More pictures mom, seriously?

Look I can stand! (With help from chair.)

I think I'll do a little reading now... (he loves to turn pages- it's so funny to watch!)

Crawling around

Strolling around downtown