Birthday Celebration for Uncle Dave

Marshall was pretty excited to visit his family and celebrate Uncle Dave's Birthday. He's been pretty shy lately - spending too much time at home with Mommy I suspect - but Marshall always loves spending time with MiMi and Grandpaha. Even better is when his cousins are also there to play with.

It is so great that Marshall is now old enough to play and interact with his cousin Caroline. She is so cute in how outgoing she is - she is so sweet and naturally loving and fun baby. Here she is trying to hug/kiss/love Marshall.

Frisco Fire Safety Town

Marshall had his first Trick or Treat Experience at Frisco Fire Safety Town. It was their second year hosting this event and it was a lot of fun for our whole family! We really enjoyed the whole experience (even though the line to get in was 45 minutes long). He was a little shy on the school bus to the Fire Town, but there were hundreds of kids all dressed up and it was so much fun for us all to people watch. There were some really great costumes out there.
Marshall got to meet a few Policemen, Firemen and play on a Firetruck (but the siren was a little loud and scary for him). He also wasn't very happy about meeting a clown.

Having Fun at Home!

Marshall has become quite the giggle-box (FINALLY!). He will start giggling over a wide range of things: Mommy Dancing, His Doggies, Bouncing a Ball high and the most random thing yet, pulling a straw in/out of a Sonic cup…

He also laughs on command. He does this fake laugh when you ask him to do it. He says HAHAHA. I think he must've picked it up from his favorite TV show - Elmo because he started to do it after hearing Elmo laugh. Now it's just funny because he'll do it to people in public when they say he is cute.

He also used to be a snacker when it came to feeding him his bottles (tablefood has never been an issue – he loves feeding himself a wide assortment of food). Well per Dr. Baker we shifted him to Whole Milk - cold turkey - and he sucks down those bottles like I've never seen before.
Marshall is excited because Mommy let him "hold Chloe" (about half a foot away). She's trying to figure out what I am doing to her.

Playing with his new house.

One Year Old!

To Commemorate the occassion, Marshall's last monthly milestone photoshoot. He was adorable as always, except when it came time to put the spider costume on (but to his credit we had to take Chloe's pictures too).

We went to the Pumpkin Patch in Aubrey for Marshall’s Birthday. He seemed to enjoy the Hay Ride and pounding on the pumpkins (which are his favorite color), but he really didn’t like the feel of hay and put up a fit over that.

Week 52: 1st Birthday Party

Marshall was so excited to have his family and friends come and celebrate this special occassion. We had so much fun!

I cannot believe that a whole year has passed and my little boy is no longer a small baby. We have had a great first year though. Chris and I love him so much and the memories we have created this first year are the happiest of our lives and we are excited to see what the new year will bring us as a family.

Video Slideshow of pictures from Marshall’s Party.

Video of him eating his cake and eating ice cream:

Week 51:Nash Farm Fall Festival

Chris and I are so excited to get to do family events like the Nash Farm Fall Festival in Grapevine. It is so nice to be able to get out of the house and do something new with the kids. Especially as Marshall gets to be old enough to realize his surroundings and be curious. He enjoyed being pushed in the stroller and seeing kids running around. The first animal we introduced him to was a donkey, goat and bunny, which he was pretty unsure of at first but it warmed him up to the Cow and the chickens. He Loved the chickens. He was so excited about them that he almost grabbed a handful of feathers.

Video of Marshall hanging out with Mommy and his doggies. He loves saying "a Dog" over and over again. It is his favorite word other than "Bottle."

Look at that Cute Smile - he actually smiled when I asked him to!

Marshall, the Binky-meister. He loves grabbing those from Baby Sister.

Photo from our Dinner with the Govier Family - next time I hope that we can do this with Josh and Owen. It was interesting taking two kids out to a restaurant at the same time. Luckily both were on their best behavior. It was kind've nice, somebody came up to compliment us on how well behaved Marshall was during the meal. He really was pretty awesome, but he is good whenever we take him out generally.

Our full back seat! This is what it's like juggling two babies. You have to have a huge bag (thanks Catherine Strange for the awesome bag) and plan for twice the number of contingencies that may occur on any occasion (diapers, toys, bottles, snack foods, extra cloths, books, wipes...)

It is so much fun to push baby sister in our swing.

HAIR!!!!

Mommy's Little Pumpkin-head

Week 50: What a Big Boy!

We find ourselves saying that a lot lately - What a Big Boy! I can't believe his birthday is just over 2 weeks away! It is strange; when I held him before Chloe was born I don't remember him being quite so big (Not too big since he is still only 18 lbs and wearing mostly 6/9 month outfits).

He is starting to get really comfortable on his feet. And will now take up to 5 steps before falling down/cruising into our arms.

He also really enjoys playing with his toys. Mommy and Daddy bought him an activity table for being such a good boy this week and it is his favorite! You can see how happy it makes him. I didn't get a photo of it yet, but he really loves playing with his cars. He will push them from room to room and will laugh when Mommy makes screeching car noises. I can't remember if I mentioned it before but Marshall is so funny with his toys that play usic, his little head will move up and down to the beat. It is just adorable.

Separation Anxiety is still an issue at night so Chris and I find ourselves waking up 3-4 times a night some nights, and other nights it will be 1-2. (Last night it took me 3 hours to get him to sleep and no night wakings but the night before only took 5 minutes to get him down but had to get up 2 times - Point is, you just don't know what sort of surprises the evening will hold). At least he doesn't wake up until 8 a.m. so it is nice to catch some additional ZZZ's. What helped out a lot this week is we tried some "Lovies on him." Basically its a transitional object for him to cuddle with.

Marshall seems much more comfortable with his baby Sister. For the most part he seems to be okay with her. I think the only time she is an issue for him is when he is cranky/tired/hungry. But he would be upset even if she didn't exist for him. He will even kiss his sister and pat her on the head (and rock her in their swing).

He also is very fascinated with her small fingers (holding her hand).