Our Baby Boy Is 16mths Old!!!

Sixteen months old... it can't be. Our sweet boy is growing and learning so fast we can barely keep up... actually, we can't keep up!!!

One of Warren's favorite things to do right now is dance with us, esp. to his new favorite song "Can't Be Tamed" by Miley Cyrus. He has even started dancing on his own - he walks in circles, waves his arms, and squats down. I've tried to get it on video, but no luck yet.

The other thing Warren loves doing right now is WALKING EVERYWHERE! He esp. enjoys pushing or carrying toys or throwing balls as he walks around. This is his push chime his Grandma Brown got him in June.
Today we took Warren to Baylor's Mayborn Museum, which he seemed to really enjoy (probably because he got to walk by himself all over the place!) Nothing is off limits there, so it's nice to just let him loose. Their traveling exhibit is the Lego Castle Adventure - all things built with Legos... including this dragon!
Driving the bus in the transportation room.

Playing in the energy room with the water table art.

He really liked this giant piano which makes sounds.

Mixin' up some tunes with Daddy!

Today was basically the end our summer vacay. It has gone quickly but has been so fun to be home with Warren everyday and watch him learn new things.

Warren starts his new daycare next week. He has visited for about two hours everyday this week and done so very well. It should be a smooth transition.

I am so proud of you, sweet boy. I love it that you follow mommy's directions (usually) and that you say "woo" really high like daddy taught you when you are jammin' to music. I love how you give me the sign for "more" and the smile you get on your face when we sing "Open Them Shut Them." I love that you ask to play the Wii and that you think you can only play it in the high breakfast table chair because that's how daddy does it. I love that you focus so hard when using your fork at meal times. I love that you pull up my shirt just to see my belly button and that you push in your belly so you can see and touch your penis while in the bathtub. I love that you have already learned you need to brush your teeth before bed and you ask me about it if I forget. Finally, I love that I love so many things about you, I just can't list them all!

Announcement!!!

It's official! Baby Garton #2 is in the making!

Due date April 3.

Vacation in July

Last Saturday, July 17, Warren took his first plane ride! Here he is while we were waiting at the gate. He was looking at the airplanes and luggage vehicles driving around.

Warren grinned as soon as we got on the plane and it started moving. When it started to take off he looked out the window, grinned really big, and fell off to sleep. He slept the whole trip (55mins)!

We went to Tulsa to spend some time with family. I didn't bring my camera because I had this grand idea that I would just take pics using my cell phone... sadly most of them were too dark, so I have very few to post.

On Sunday we spent the day in Tulsa with Grammie, Papa and Sarah. Warren was getting fussy on the way home, so Sarah decided to entertain him by putting her brand new princess panties on his head!!!!

Sarah and Warren shared a frapp. She was the only one that could get Warren to say "please."

We stayed with my parents' through Monday. Warren adores his Papa and gives him lots of attention. He is not a Grammie's boy yet... but he did give her a couple long hugs. He also got to see Roy's mom (Nina) and his youngest brother, Gregg.

Tuesday - Wednesday we went back to Bartlesville to stay with my sister. Warren had a blast playing with his cousins. Here he is playing with cousin Sarah's kitchen.

Warren loved seeing John and Sarah's gerbils. He would say, "bils, bils" when he wanted to see them. We did some shopping, playing, eating, and a tiny bit of sleeping while there. Great time with all the family before school starts.

Thursday morning we left the airport in Tulsa at 7:45am. We barely made it to our gate on time because we were busy enjoying a Starbucks blueberry muffin!

After Roy picked us up at the airport, we headed over to Arlington to the Parks Mall. They have a big play area that Warren loved.

After some time at the mall, we ate lunch at the Salt Grass Steakhouse and then headed back home to Waco. No matter how fun vacation is, it's always great to be home.

Here are some random pics of Warren taken in July:

This is Warren and his friend Jack. They had a playdate and painted... which was very messy; Jack didn't want to put his paintbrush down, so he carried it around. So cute. Warren is staring at the dog outside. Jack's mommy, Suzanne, told me all about how she uses timeout, which helped me figure out how to implement it with Warren. He gets it, but sometimes seems to like it. Thanks for the advice, Suzanne!

First taste of cotton candy!

Playing at the mall in a quarter machine spaceship!

Our summer has gone by way too fast. Next week is our last week to be together all day. I am always excited to go back to school, but I am dreading leaving my Mr. Warren.

Family and the Zoo

For the July 4th holiday, my sister, bro-in-law, and niece and nephew came and stayed with us. Somehow I didn't get very many pics, and none with my sister (ugh), but here are a few to share the memory:
John enjoyed "fighting" with Roy... umm, I think Uncle Roy won this round!

Warren really enjoyed playing with his cousins. Sarah thinks Warren is hers. She loves to help with him, play with him, and just pretty much be right next to him at all times. Mostly Warren enjoys this, but he did give her the occasional furrowed brow look he gives, which being interpreted means, "Give me some space, Woman!"

One of Warren's favorite times was when Sarah pulled him in the wagon that Papa made for his blocks. He would just grin from ear to ear. It was so cute.

This was my favorite time with Warren and Sarah together... reading! Actually, my niece was reading to him, and he was loving it.

I will leave out the part of our weekend where Kim and I took the kids to the outlet mall and Sarah had a giant fit and then Warren had a fit... needless to say that trip was exhausting, but it was fun to be in good company. On Sunday we did some shopping and watched the fireworks. Oh, and yes, on Sunday while we were all eating at Pei Wei, Warren pooped out of his diaper and it got all over Roy's hand and pants. Sarah started to move in close and Roy said in the most dramatic voice, "Stop! Sarah, don't move!" It was so funny. He acted like it was a bomb she was about to set off or something. I had to hold Warren in a Superman position and "fly" him between the isle to the bathroom to get cleaned up. Teething diarrhea - fun, fun.

Today Warren and I went to the zoo again. This time we were only there about an hour or so because it was SO FREAKIN' HOT. Seriously, one should not be dripping sweat at 10am!!! This was the first time we've gone to the zoo since Warren's been walking, and it was nice to be able to let him out of his stroller to run around.

He really liked the waterfall

And the komodo dragon statue... he kept pulling its tail

He also liked the tepee and didn't want to leave

So I got in it with him!

I guess the heat zapped Warren, too, because before we every even backed out of our parking space, this is what happened:

Nothing like a sweet sleeping baby.

15mths Old

The summer is flying by, and Warren seems to be growing quicker every day. Here's what he's up to these days:

1) Weighs about 23.5lbs
2) Walks all over the place, then walks some more (who needs toys when you can walk?)
3) Says so many words I've decided to stop trying to keep track
4) Makes sounds for some animals - cow, dog, chicken, cat
5) Still loves VH1 music videos - right now he really likes "Can't Be Tamed" by Miley Cyrus and "Nobody Loves Me Like You Do" by Angel Taylor. Otherwise he is disinterested in TV (except when the Two and a Half Men theme song comes on; he loves that!)
6) Obsessed with the book The Diggingest Dog and insists it be read to him before he sleeps
7) Has nine teeth, but the tenth is about to pop through any day
8) Likes to stick his face in his bath water and has figured out how to lay on his belly in the tub
9) Loves to be chased
10) Pulls up our shirts at the most inopportune times just to see our belly buttons
11) Has discovered his manly parts! LOL
12) Favorite fruit is blueberries and strawberries
13) Favorite snack is still yogurt covered raisins, but his Goldfish pretzel crackers are running a close second.
14) Points and says, "What's that?" ALL THE TIME!!!!!!
15) Gets either super silly or exceedingly evil when he is tired
16) Enjoys "helping" with anything, esp. loading the dishwasher and cooking
17) Plays well with Cleo and chases her around trying to get her tail
18) Keeps his plate on his tray and doesn't throw it on the floor; he hands it to us when he is all done... his cup, on the other hand, is still a work in progress
19) Continues to get into Cleo's food and water bowls - yesterday he stuck his foot, shoe and all, in her water bowl.
20) Is wearing 18mths in most clothes, and a 4 in shoes
21) Obsessed with seeing the neighbor dog, Shadow - we are trying to teach Warren that Cleo is a dog, too, but seeing that even Cleo doesn't know that, it's been rather difficult.
22) Mr. Independent, all the way
23) Has had so many haircuts, I've lost track. I think five. He doesn't even cry.
24) Likes arcade car games and kiddie ride machines
25) Is learning how to play with Playdough

Warren, everyday that I am with you, my heart melts and explodes all at the same time. Daddy and I are so proud of you, and we are working hard to help you make the right choices even now (like sharing - you don't really like that idea much).

You have been walking for about 10 days now, and you are so steady and confident it's as if you've been walking your whole life. It makes me a little sad, but overwhelmingly proud at the same time. You have a fabulous sense of humor and you seem to do things on purpose just so we'll laugh at you. It's easy to wake with a smile at 5:45am when I know I'll get to see your face and hold you close.

Bye-bye Paci

Today Warren had to get his MMR and chicken pox vaccines - one in each leg. Later when we got home, he noticed the bandaid on his leg and just kept looking at it. He would go and sit in the corner, pull up his pant leg, and "talk" about his bandaid. Then he would go to his chair, and do the same thing all over again. It was so funny, but just showed how much he is growing and maturing.

This afternoon we filled up the pool and played in the water. Warren loves the garden hose, and he kept drinking water out of it - so much so we turned off the water for fear that he would drown himself! LOL He thought daddy needed to play with it, too.

Of course no day in the pool is complete without a freeze pop. You can't really see it, but the green juice had stained lips and around his mouth.
Warren started walking on his own while we were in Ponca the first of this month, but the past couple days, he has been walking all over the place. We caught it on video today.

For the past week we've only let Warren have his paci at bedtime, but tonight we had him throw them all away in the trashcan (he LOVES throwing things away). Then we had him carry the trash bag to the trash barrel outside and say bye-bye to his pacis. When it was time for bed he cried a little, but not too much considering what he had just given up. I'm hoping for a smooth night.

Oklahoma Visit

June 2nd, we left for our summer family visitation in Oklahoma. This time we left after I got off work, drove to Ardmore (3hrs), and stayed in a hotel. It was nice not to have to drive the full 8hrs at one time. We stayed at the LaQuinta Inn and Suites (highly recommended, esp. if you have pets). We were just leaving the hotel in this pic.

Warren just has to help us with everything now - even luggage.

While we were in the hotel, Warren occupied himself with the ice bucket and toilet paper. Don't worry, we cleaned it all up before we left.

Thursday we drove about 3hrs and arrived in Tulsa to see Grandma Brown, Janice, and the kids, and Cristy and Kheara. Somehow I only got a pic of Gma Brown. We had so much fun with them. Warren even got to swim twice!

After a couple days in Tulsa, we headed to Ponca City to see the rest of our family. Unfortunately, Warren was a bit moody from not feeling well (he cut another tooth!). Here are a couple pics of his "drama."

Bathtime is always fun, no matter what kind of mood he's in.

Warren started walking by himself while we were there! Here he is walking to his Papa, whom he adores. One of Warren's favorite times during our trip was when he got to ride in Papa's wagon with his cousins, John and Sarah.

Warren got to help his grammie make spaghetti sauce!

While he was a little shy off and on, it didn't take Warren long to adjust to all the family members this time around.

Here he is with his Aunt Kim.

With his Aunt Sumer.

With his "Nina" (Roy's mom).

With his Uncle Gregg.

I can't believe this is my little baby! He's doing so much more now and saying so many words I have decided it's impossible to keep track of them all!

14 Mths Old

While Warren seems to be slow to walk on his own, he is not slow to speak. He says the following words: boo, dog, book, Cleo, juice, vroom (I guess that officially a noise, but I'm counting it!), banana, bath, broom, mama, dada, papa, brush, boat, ball, bye, hi... There may be more, but that's all I can think of at the moment.

His favorite foods right now are pizza and bananas. He also likes ravioli and spaghetti and meatballs. He likes to eat cheese and enjoys snacking on yogurt covered raisins. He doesn't turn down cheese puffs, either! He just started on orange juice and seems to like it too. He is still very picky about drinking milk or soy and would prefer juice any day. In fact, he knows when juice or milk is in his cup - if it's milk, he often won't even take a drink, but if it's juice, then he'll drink it. I am going to try him on rice milk this week and see what he thinks of that, but I am trying to stop worrying about it all. He likes yogurt, so he can get fat, protein, and calcium from that. He really likes to feed himself, and gets rather upset if we try to feed him or help him eat.
He still makes a funny face on demand, but also furrows his brow when he's not happy or when he's unsure.

This is his concentrating face:

He loves to dance and watch VH1 videos. Right now his favorite songs/videos are "Bulletproof" by La Roux, "OMG" by Usher, and "Break Your Heart" by Taio Cruz.

He has two bottom front teeth, four top front teeth, and two top molars - which are still working their way in fully.

He has done well since his tube surgery. He is sleeping through the night and hasn't pulled at his ears in about a week now.

His favorite toys are his vacuum and his blocks in his wagon from papa. He also really likes to look at his picture book I made on Shutterfly.

He has become much more cuddly and likes to rock on our shoulder while holding onto a blanket or his dog lovey.

On Tuesday he will get his fourth haircut! Then Wednesday we are on our way home to Okla. for a couple of weeks. I can't wait to see how he responds to everyone.

You light up our life, Mr. Warren, and daddy and I love you with all our hearts.

Ear Tubes

Warren got tubes in his ears today. He was such a trooper. The doctor said he didn't start crying until they starting messing with him getting the mask on and all. The surgery went to plan and he woke up quickly afterward, though he was very fussy and flailing around and could not really hold up his own head. He drank a whole juice box and ate some fruit almost immediately. The nurses said he was doing great, so we just trusted what they told us.

We stayed for about ten minutes after he woke up, and then headed home. He fussed for about 30mins more, and then he was out.
An hour and a half later when he woke up, he was good as new! He seemed to have no clue what had happened to him just a couple hours earlier. He was hungry, and had to have his morning banana.

By afternoon time, he was our normal playful little boy!

We went outside and he used his walker to go all over the back yard.

Tomorrow he goes back to daycare for the rest of this week and part of next. Then he won't be in daycare again until August. We are moving him to a new daycare in August, and I am looking forward to just being with my baby everyday this summer. Any mommies have activity ideas for us?