Walking Update

Brian's baby book states that he took his first steps on July 3rd. From that date on, even though we knew he COULD do it, he didn't show much initiative in wanting to do more walking unless Mommy or Daddy took his hand and initiated it. Then, on July 21st it was like a switch had been flipped and all of the sudden, he couldn't seem to get enough time on his feet! He continues to get more and more steady on his feet with each passing day. Even though he still makes excellent time getting from point A to point B by crawling, in our opinions, Brian now spends at least 50% of his travel time on his feet walking!

New Tastes

Mommy read somewhere that you should attempt introducing new foods as many as 15 - 20 times over a period of several weeks or months. If your little guy still turns up his nose to a particular food at that point, accept it and move on. So, over the past couple weeks, Brian has been trying a variety of new table foods. This was one of his first tries......bananas. Over all, not a huge success on it's first outing. On the plus side, Mommy and Daddy have also been learning a few things about introducing new foods as well. For example, these bananas were cut just a little too small. The combination of their size and the slick feel to them made them hard for him to pick up which caused him to loose interest in them very quickly. With this knowledge under our belts, we will try bananas again soon to see how it goes on outing #2!

As we have said in a previous post, crackers were a HUGE success and continue to be fun for both Brian and Walter, who enjoys all items that fall off the high chair.

Scrambled eggs were also tested a couple weeks ago. At that time, Brian didn't have a lot of interest in them other than just for play. However, given the number of things he has been willing to sample off his parents plates over the past week, we think he is ready for another go-round with these too. More details as they become available!

Dupage County Fair

Yesterday, Brian attended the Dupage County Fair with his Mommy and Daddy. Having now spent the past two weekends attending two different county fairs, Brian feels ready to rate his fair experiences. Last weekends Kane County Fair rated very high with a score of 4 corn dogs out of a possible 5! The Dupage County Fair this weekend however - not so much - only coming in with a 1 - 1/2 corn dog rating. These pictures are from the Dupage County Fair's petting zoo. Instead of all the animals roaming around in one big pen, these animals were tied into their own pens. Brian didn't seem scared of them, but he was still a little hesitant as to how close he should get. We probably won't have the opportunity to go to any other local fairs this summer but Mommy and Daddy have high hopes for next summer. They are hoping to take Brian on the whirlwind tour of fairs that they have been wanting to go on themselves! That tour would include stops at the Minnesota State Fair (which would be attended with Uncle Corey) and the South Dakota State Fair (where we would get to go with Grandma and Grandpa Hansen)!

Goodbye Old Friend! (AND - I'm 11 Months Old Today!!!)

Daddy took a very big step today by selling his convertible. Granted, it hasn't been driven much in the past two years and okay, so it probably doesn't qualify as much of a "family car", but it had been his fun little sports car for the past ten years! There was some talk about our filling up the trunk with packing peanuts so Brian could ride back there - but after further discussion, we opted for staying with his car seat instead.

Even though Brian never got to go for an actual ride in the Miata, he will always have the memories from this picture....and so will Daddy!

Lace-Ups!

You have already seen the pictures of Brian's first pair of shoes, but he isn't real excited about keeping them on his feet. They are just a tiny bit too big and therefore, are more toys to him since he just wants to pull them off his feet and insert them directly into his mouth. So, today he got his first pair of lace up shoes and he is absolutely adorable in them! (We don't think we are at all biased on this comment, but who are we to say - so judge for yourself!)

Tool Of The Day!

Brian's choice for this week's Tool of the Day is a classic in any workshop and also happens to be one of his favorites. It's the Makita 6916D Cordless Impact Driver! This is an excellent tool when you need to drive in screws quick and efficiently. Some laymen out there may refer to it as a "cordless screwdriver", but if you are going to use proper tool terminology (which Brian of course does).......it's an Impact Driver!

There were a couple folks who ventured a guess on last week's Tool of the Day and one was correct! All of the tools shown last week were air compressor tools. Had anyone guessed that they were all in the nail gun family, that answer would also have been accepted. Thank you for your feedback and feel free to leave comments anytime!

The Toy-Loan Program!

The other day, Aunt June stopped by with a toy that Brian's cousins used to play with. Now that he is spending a lot more time on his feet, she thought he would enjoy playing with a toy that would allow him to stand while he plays..........

.....and boy was she ever right! He has been having a ball listening to the music it plays as he pushes all the light up buttons and knobs!

Daddy's Soda

The other day, Daddy opened up a case of soda that he set by the back door, which is also by the doorway to the basement. Some time later, Brian decided that both the box and its contents needed to be examined closer. Shortly after that, Mommy heard the noise of something thumping and bumping down the steps into the basement. The door was closed, so she knew (thankfully) that it wasn't a little boy.

When she peeked around the corner, what she found was a

certain young man gazing up with his ohhhh so innocent look. There was one can of soda missing from the case and it appears that somehow, it had mysteriously fallen through the pet door and down the steps into the basement. I'm sure Brian had nothing to do with that though.......it was probably a poltergeist or something else that made it happen!

What A View!!!

Brian's Mommy and Daddy could have waited another month until he officially turns 1 year old. But since he meets the safety guidelines for height and weight last Sunday Brian's rear facing car seat was switched out for his new forward facing one! What an amazing change this must be for him! Now, instead of being forced to only look at the head rest of the chair his car seat is in, he now has an actual view AND he can also see the screen for the DVD player. Now he can watch movies as we travel! Of course, all that being said and even though he seems to really enjoy his forward facing rides so far......he still has more fun just playing in the box that the car seat came in!

Sunday Dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's!

The water was a bit too cool for a dip in the pool today, but it was a perfect day for a BBQ at Grandma and Grandpa's house. For added fun, Brian's cousins Krista and Erika were also on hand to play with! At this moment, I believe they had decided to all be "cargo" in Grandpa's truck!

Kane County Fair!

Friday night, Brian had an overnight at Grandpa and Grandma's house and normally, this is where I would post a photo or two of the adventures that they had together. However, due to our computer being temporarily ill, unfortunately those photo's will come at so me point in the very near future. In the meantime though, Saturday, Brian and his Mommy and Daddy went to the Kane County Fair. This was a day of more new experiences for Brian, mainly in some of the

things that he saw. Up to this point, he had never seen real live animals up close and personal! With Mommy being from South Dakota, and Daddy having strong ties in Iowa, they both want Brian to understand what its like to be around real animals and not just the stuffed variety. So, here are some pictures of our adventure! He also saw rabbits, pigs, and cows......but I couldn't post ALL the cute pictures we took!

There was also a petting zoo where Brian got to see some baby goats, a baby calf, chickens and ducks, a baby donkey and something he might not run into on just any farm........this baby lama! By the time we make it to another petting zoo, Brian will probably be a little better at keeping his shoes on his feet so that he can walk around instead of having to be held by Daddy!

May I Show You The Door?

These are the doors between the kitchen and the living room. I love playing with them...opening and closing them....just banging on them......you know, all the fun stuff! But for some reason, whenever I start playing with them, Mommy or Daddy are constantly saying things like "No Brian!" or "You are going to have some pinched fingers Mister!" or other random negative comments. Usually when they tell me to stop or get away from them, I turn to them and give them one of my cute looks like I'm doing in this picture! For some reason though, they don't seem to be falling for them quite as often as they used to.

Here are a couple more random photo's with my new shoes that Mommy says I look cute as a button in. I'm not sure what that means, but she was smiling when she said it so I think its a good thing!

Tool Of The Day!

Happy Thursday one and all! Recently, Brian has heard some feedback from some of his blog viewing friends as to how the comments section of this page works. So, today's post will serve two purposes. First of course is - the Tool of the Day! As you can see, in this photo our little tool man is surrounded by a group of tools that are all from the same tool family. Brian would like to know how many of YOU can identify which family they are all tool members of. To make your guess you will need to leave a comment, which brings us to the second purpose of this post, the instructions on how you do that.

Under each of the blog pictures you will see the word "Comments". If you click on that word another box will pop up on your screen. This box will have your text box in it, which is where you type in whatever message you would like to leave. (Keep in mind that whatever you type here will be visible for everyone who reads this blog to read.) After you type your text you can select to either post it anonymously or as "Other". If you select "Other", a name box will appear for you to type the name you would like to be posted as. Next, select the "Publish" box and.....your done, that's all there is to it!

Once a comment has been made, the "Comment" word under the photo will show the number of them that have been left. To read them, just click on the "Comment" word and another box will pop up which shows all the messages left for that post! So, your assignment from Brian, should you choose to accept it.......is to guess what tool family he is proudly displaying today and to leave your guess as a comment! Next Thursday he will post the correct answer in that weeks Tool of the Day post. Good Luck everyone!

*****This post has been dedicated to Brian's Great Aunt Marian in Florida. He wants you to know that Daddy has assured him, he will NEVER run out of material for this Tool of the Day segment. :-) *******

Farmers Markets

One day a week, many of the area suburbs have a Farmers Market. Brian and Mommy have a lot of fun traveling around to these various locations to check out whats available. The neat thing about going to these Markets is that you can keep going back to the same location week after week because as we get further into the summer, the produce available continues to change. In this picture we were in Orland Park and Brian gave this particular Farmers Market two thumbs up! In addition to all the fresh flowers, fruits, veggies and breads available, they also had fun stuff for kids to do! Granted, Brian was satisfied to just sit in his stroller and watch - but the other kids were having a ball jumping in the moonwalk, listening to the storyteller and whats more.......free balloons for everyone!

I Scream - You Scream.....

....we all scream for ICE CREAM!!!! Brian was born into a family of ice cream lovers and he has no problem with that what so ever! The funny thing is, he has never been a huge fan of cold food, although he is getting much better at trying foods right out of the refrigerator. However, when he had his first taste of ice cream, he had NO problem with its temperature - he just wanted more! If Dairy Queen ever wants a new spokesperson, we have their man!

Baby Needs A New Pair Of Shoes!

The time has come for Brian to have his first pair of shoes (or as they are also known around here - "shoe ball covers"). Whenever his parents have seen perfect strangers with infant kids wearing these shoes, they have quizzing them as to where they bought them. Armed with our new found knowledge, we set out yesterday on our shoe quest. Unfortunately, we didn't have any luck. Today Brian and Mommy made one more attempt and as you can see from this picture, we had success! I'm sure that having something on his feet for the first time must be a very unusual feeling, but Brian didn't make any attempts to pry them off out of protest. His first few steps in them did have his Mommy and Daddy chuckling. Instead of the "heal-toe" movements people who have been walking for longer than a week normally use, Brian went with more of a "Frankenstein" move by lifting up his entire foot and then stepping down flatfooted. Granted, it was very funny to watch, but you would have though he won an Olympic race the way his parents clapped and carried on after he took a couple more steps!

My Older Cousin!

Daddy and Brian stopped by Grandma and Grandpa's house yesterday where they also got to hang out with Brian's cousin Krista who just happened to be having an overnight sleep over there last night! After Brian enjoyed some lunch and splashed around a bit in the pool, Krista read him some books AND they even had some ice cream! I ask you......what more could you ask for????? Later on, Brian was filling Mommy in on his day when he asked; "Mommy? People seem to be very interested in how many teeth I have, and I tell them that I have 2 on the bottom. But, Krista has a mouth full of teeth that she worked several years to grow. Would you believe that after they all grew in, now they are starting to fall out! In fact, she just had ANOTHER one that fell out a couple days ago! With all the other stuff I have to do (like learning how to walk better, and to talk, and how to drive, etc, etc, etc), why on earth would I want to grow all these teeth only to have them fall out so I have to grow them back all over again?????" Fortunately, before Mommy had to come up with an answer, he was off to play with some toys and lost interest in the whole teeth thing. He does raise a valid point though!

Uncle Seth!

Last night Mommy, Daddy and Brian went out to dinner with Mommy's brother, Uncle Seth! He is in the area attending a referee clinic (yup - Uncle Seth is one of those guy's some people like to yell at as he runs up and down the basketball court in his black and white striped shirt!) He will be kept pretty busy on this trip so we took advantage of the free time he had last night for a fun visit and yummy dinner!

Mommy and Daddy always look forward to visits from family and friends, but as you can see, Brian was especially happy that he got to see his Uncle from South Dakota!

Our Little Ladies Man!

Daddy called this morning to ask if Mommy and Brian could run an errand for him. This errand allowed us to stop by Daddy's job site which is always fun on it's own. In addition, it gives Brian the opportunity to spot check the quality of his work - which Brian is happy to say, has always been extremely good. But today we got an extra treat because Daddy was working at Julie's house! Julie and Brian have a long history (and frankly, I think Brian has a bit of a crush!) Julie was one of the directors for our church's Boars Head Festival that Brian participated in last December. Brian (and his Mommy and Daddy) hope you will enjoy your lovely new window!

Tool Of The Day!

Earlier this week, Daddy came home covered in dust from the job he had been working on. Before he even had a chance to step into the house, Brian said "Hey Daddy, I bet you could knock a lot of that saw dust off with the Porter Cable 4-gallon portable air compressor. Do you want me to help you?" Daddy normally uses this tool with the power nailer, but Brian made an excellent suggestion so they went out to the shop for a little quick cleanup.

Polly.....er....Brian Want A Cracker?

Yesterday, Brian and Mommy had lunch with our good friends Diane and Chris! While we were out, Diane introduced Brian to restaurant crackers and he found them to not only be very tasty, but also great fun to play with! When we got home, Walter the dog gave Brian the complete sniff over to ensure there was no remaining salt or crumbs on him that he would need to "help" clean up. Later that night, Mommy got this picture as Brian showed Daddy his fine art of cracker eating.

Lawnmower Man

A while back, Daddy made the announcement that as soon as Brian was old enough to get a handle on this whole walking thing, there would be no reason why he couldn't start mowing the lawn! Since he is practicing his walking, we thought he would appreciate a "Trainee Lawnmower" to practice on as well. Instead of standing up and pushing it, currently, he prefers to just push it from either the seated or crawling position. We will also have to do some more lawnmower safety work with him as he is big on tipping it over while its still running. Mommy has commented that she will have to draw the line at him wanting to mow while being barefoot....shoes will be a requirement for this young man.

Wait For Me!

Yesterday was another toasty one outside so taking an afternoon dip in Grandma and Grandpa's swimming pool was a welcomed relief! We are going to have to begin checking to see if Brian's toes are starting to web because he absolutely loves being in the water! But, since all good things must eventually come to an end, after drying off to have some dinner and a bath, Brian watched his cousins run upstairs to play. Not wanting to be left out, Brian was in hot pursuit! Mommy and Daddy watched him crawl to the stairway, but since he has never encountered steps before we didn't know how he would react. As you can see by these pictures......he acted like he had been crawling up steps for months!

Two Tickets Please!

Our neighboring suburb of Lombard has been having a festival this week called the "Taste of Lombard". Yesterday Mommy, Daddy and Brian braved the heat for a little while to go over and check it out! While Mommy and Daddy tasted some of the yummy foods, Brian waited patiently, knowing that eventually at least one of them would get some ice cream that he would get to nibble on as well. Since no trip to the fair is complete without some carnival rides, we went to pick out which ones Brian wanted to go on. Unfortunately, before we even made it past the ticket booth, we noticed that according to their measuring chart, Brian was not quite tall enough to go on any rides yet. He took the news very well and said that he is going to eat lots and lots of veggies so by next year, he will have grown big and strong enough to be able to go on all kinds of rides!

Do You Know The Muffinman?

Brian is starting to get a little more adventurous in the kinds of table food he is trying. We don't think its so much that he doesn't like anything in particular yet, he's still just getting used to all the new textures and flavors of the different foods! Then there is the fact that he only has 2 teeth to work with! Granted, they are as strong as little beaver teeth, but I'm sure it does make it a bit challenging to bite into anything with much of a crunch with a limited number of chompers! He eats a lot of the Stage 3 jarred baby foods which are thicker and have larger chunks of food mixed in to help him get used to chewing. This picture was taken today as he enjoyed some of Daddy's muffin with him!

And nothing goes better with a muffin than.......some nice cold milk! Well, actually, it's still formula - at least until he turns 1 year old - but it was yummy none the less!

Another Milestone!

A couple of days ago - July 3rd to be exact, I mentioned that Brian was getting much more stable when standing without the support of someone's hand or a piece of furniture. Later that evening, shortly after we had all had dinner, Brian sprung his newest trick on us! He started by taking his standing position on the floor where he stood for a moment smiling at Mommy and Daddy. That alone had his parents cheering and clapping! So, imagine their surprise when he then lifted one little foot off the floor and took his first couple steps! Needless to say, he got lots more cheers and applause as well as lots of hugs and kisses! Granted, he is still much more comfortable getting down onto his hands and knees where he knows he can make much better time getting across the room. However, now that we all know that he CAN walk, he is getting lots and lots of encouragement to keep practicing!

Tool Of The Day!

We have been asked how the tool's of the day are selected. The answer to that usually happens at bath time. Daddy gives Brian the great majority of his baths and they have some pretty serious conversations over the sink. They like to quiz each other on the best tool selection of various jobs Daddy will be or is currently working on. Earlier this week when Daddy was installing the mailbox's at church, he quizzed Brian asking what the best tool to plane down boards would be. After giggling and assuming the question would be a little more complicated, he answered with the obvious - the Delta 22-560 12 1/2" Portable Power Planer! Not only is it handy to use since its portable, it got those boards planed down in record speed! If you are looking to add to your personal shop, Brian feels this is a must have tool!

Happy Independence Day!

Brian, Daddy and Mommy attended Villa Park's 4'th of July Parade today! Brian decided he only really needed to see about half of it to get the total effect, so we missed the last few entries but aside from that, fun was had by all! Next year, Mommy and Daddy will be better prepared and pick a spot along the parade route where we don't have to wait patiently for quite as long before the parade gets to us. Had we done that, we are sure that Brian would have made it through the entire thing.

This afternoon we went over to Grandma and Grandpa's house for their annual 4th of July holiday picnic! Aside from all the fun everyone had chatting and catching up with old (and new) friends, we all had our fill of BBQ'ed favorites as well as an assortment of other yummy goodies! Thanks to the magic touch of Great Aunt Ronnie, Brian did get a good late afternoon nap in, so he was ready to stay up late and see his first ever fireworks display! Grandma and Grandpa's back yard looks out to the park where the village hosts their annual display so we all had perfect seats for the evening! Mommy and Daddy were prepared if the noise bothered Brian, but just like at the parade earlier, it had no effect on him, in fact, he was absolutely fascinated by the fireworks! The evening did get a little long for him and he eventually fell asleep.......during of all times, the fireworks grand finale! We hope you all had a safe and happy holiday as well!

Hey Look At Me!

Brian is still much more comfortable being on his knees and shooting across the room at his high speed crawl.......but he can do this free standing act now too. As long as he gets his legs planted firmly, he can stand for several seconds. At that point, I'm not sure if it's that he loses his balance or if its more that he just doesn't want to stand still. He seems to be very aware of the fact that if he just flops down, he can be back on his knees and mobile boy again! Either way, he is one "step" closer to walking!

Got Mail?

Daddy has been working on a woodworking project of designing, building and as of today - installing a new mailbox system at our church. Brian has been watching the project come together out in Daddy's shop and when he found out they were being installed today, he insisted that Mommy drive him over to the church so that he could verify the work was all being done correctly. Who is Mommy to deny such a request so off we went! I'm sure that it was a great relief for Daddy to hear that Brian thought he had done a terrific job and they look incredible! His only question when we left was, "Which slot is my mailbox??????"

Pool Boy!

Brian took Mommy and Daddy to Grandma and Grandpa's house today anticipating his first swim in the pool! He was hoping to do it last weekend but the water was just a little too chilly. This is young Brian preparing for his first dip...

......and after getting suited up with his suntan lotion and hat (which he didn't keep on for long but you get the effect here) he LOVED splashing around!

Brian wasn't the only person who had fun in the pool, both Daddy and Mommy enjoyed splashing with their little fish too!