uh oh.

he's officially pulling up on EVERYTHING...so the breakable mixing bowls, measuring cups, etc. that i had moved to the higher shelf on our little island will have to be moved again! when he first started pulling up, he couldn't get down and would cry until you helped him. it only took him a few days to figure it out...it's so cute to watch him slowly squat down onto his bottom.

catch up.

so obviously it's been a while with no updates...stetson is growing and changing so much. he has 8 teeth and is starting to gnaw on things toward the back of his mouth so i think he might be getting some back there soon. he started standing up on his own the day before he turned 14 months!...i'm partially relieved to have confirmation that he's developing...we have to go back to the doctor at the end of this month so they can see how he's doing and determine if he needs physical therapy. i'm hoping he won't. he hadn't started crawling on all 4s or putting weight on his legs at his 1 year appt. so we've had a lot of progress. i've finally figured out that he won't do anything until he's good and ready. he's also eating all kinds of table food now...a couple of months ago i couldn't get him to eat anything but baby food. he loves just about any kind of bean...green beans, black beans, refried beans...rice, chicken, potatoes, corn, strawberries, watermelon, cucumber, green bell pepper, toast, cheese grits, oatmeal...and just about anything you give him off your own plate. he still doesn't really like sweets which is just fine with me. and his favorite snack is the little gerber cheese puffs. his naps are a little chaotic right now. he just wants to practice standing up instead of sleeping. but he's still sleeping really well at night...most of the time from 8pm to 8am at least. that is a treat! he still tries to mimic us a lot...whatever sounds or words we say. and i'm still surprised when he actually does what i tell him to. it's amazing when you realize they know what you're saying and are capable of doing it. all in all, he is still such a joy and i'm so thankful to be his mama.

great's house.

stetson and i took a road trip to see his great grandparents and great aunts and uncles in tennessee...it was a 7 hour drive and he did really well considering he only slept 1 of those hours both ways! no total meltdowns, just some complaining here and there. we had such a good time staying at great aunt holly's and uncle T's...unfortunately i didn't take any pictures of him or us with them or grandma and grandpa. i always forget to take pictures...but i did manage to get a couple of him with my phone. he had just started standing up...not on his own but he would let you stand him up....this was major progress.

a little more culture.

every june charlotte has "pops in the park" which is where the charlotte symphony performs outside and tons of folks bring picnics and whatnot and listen...stetson went once last year when he was 5 weeks old but he enjoyed it a little more this year...it took him a few minutes to warm up (as usual) and he wouldn't get out of my lap at first...but then he was happy sitting on the blanket playing with whatever we gave him...he eventually kept trying to crawl to other people's blankets...we had no idea how long he would last because we didn't go until 6:30pm and the music doesn't start 'til 8 but he did great...he didn't start rubbing his eyes until 8:45...it was lots of fun picnicking with our friends and getting to hear the charlotte symphony.

the great outdoors.

this was stetson's first time in his own baby pool in our backyard...he liked it but eventually was more interested in the grass...he's been weird about textures so i was surprised he like crawling in the grass...and i was nervous that something was going to bite him...i'm trying not to pass on my bug phobia to him so i try to not completely freak out in front of him if there is some sort of bug...but you know...do the best you can.

QT with dada.

james was in town father's day weekend and he took stetson to our friends' pool that saturday while i was at work...it was his first time in a big pool and he loved it but got bored eventually...guess it's not quite as fun for him as a baby pool where he can crawl around and play with toys.

busy little bee.

it's officially getting crazier at our house.  stetson is (finally) crawling on all fours and starting to pull up so he is all over the place.  for right now i'm enjoying it because we didn't know if he was ever going to.  he hasn't actually pulled up to a stand yet but is either on his knees or one foot, one knee...baseball picture style.  he's tearing up all our magazines and trying to eat them.  he's just being funny in general.  he claps all the time now (especially when he's eating) and shakes his head no when he's done eating or i tell him no.  he loves big boy milk...we're just trying to get him to eat more table food.  (the pediatrician would like that to improve over the next few months.)  he's had refried beans a few times and liked them...we've gotten him to take a few bites of scrambled eggs.  and of course he LOVES baby goldfish and the baby cheese puffs.  he's more open to crunchy textures.  he is still such a good baby and sweet boy.  he catches on to things really quickly...i am discovering that they understand  much more than you think they do.