Merry Christmas!

I just had my first Christmas and I had no idea what I was in for! Mom and Joey made a bunch of cookies and we got the house all decorated. I really liked the Christmas tree and enjoyed pulling on the lights, branches, and ornaments. I really liked a gold heart that mom had dangling off of the bottom branch. Our tree was dying pretty fast so needles flew everywhere when I played with it!

On Christmas Eve we went to church. It was VERY crowded, but we got the last seat. I was good and made it through the service. Then we went to G&G Sekel’s house for dinner. I got to sit at the table in my hippo chair while everyone ate. I had my own baby snacks. Then we sang Christmas songs. It was getting late and I started to get fussy. Suddenly we heard a stomping and jingle bells from upstairs. Santa was there!! Everyone took turns sitting on his lap and getting gifts. When it was my turn dad took me up to him and set me on his lap. I cried! Joey told me that it was ok, but I just wanted mom!

After Santa left we opened more gifts. I got some books, clothes, and a couple of small toys. After gifts we got jammies on and went home. It was WAY past my bed time!

On Christmas morning we all woke up and mom put new matching jammies on Joey and me. Then we went out to the tree and Santa had put more gifts there too. It was a frenzy of paper and bows flying. Joey went fast and opened a bunch of toys. I kinda just sat there and took it all in.

Mom got me a new church bag like Joeys and a snowman blanket like Joeys also. We both have our names and a picture embroidered on them so that we know which one is ours. Joey loves his snowman, so I probably will too. Santa brought me my first dump truck, a boat for the tub, and a Jack-in-the box.

After we opened gifts it was time for the DePrisco’s to come over. More Gifts!!! I ended up getting a cute Fisher Price Zoo that I love to play with. I bob up an down to the music. I also got more books, an art easel toy, and some other little boy toys. Everyone was in a good mood and being silly while we opened. Someone said “yay” or clapped and then guess what!? I clapped for the first time! The next few minutes were spent with everyone making silly smiley faces and trying to get me to clap again. They were sooo goofy that I did clap. Yay!

Mom said that Joey’s first word, “mama”, was said on Christmas…it must be a time of “baby firsts”! We spent the rest of the afternoon napping and playing with our new toys. Christmas was a lot of fun!

I am 42 weeks old now and growing up quick. Like I said I can clap now and also wave. I say “mama”, “dada”, “yay”(while I clap), “dog”, & “ball” (dog and ball are “da” and “ba”, but I make the same noises every time I see them so mom says that counts!). I am scooting all over on my tush and pulling myself up on everything. I stand up in my crib and the bath tub too. I also lunge forward onto my hands and knees from sitting, but don’t crawl yet. I am eating more finger foods and starting to nurse less and less. I like to eat bananas, baby apples, carrots, beans, baked beans, noodles, rice, toast, cheerios, crackers and pancakes. Yummy! I still haven’t been sleeping through the night, but lately I haven’t gone to bed until closer to 9:00 and then I only wake up one time. I’ll keep working on that.

I think that is about all of my news for now. I will let you know how my 2009 starts out!
Love,
Moxon

What A Day!

Hey guys,

We came back to our house this morning and the power and electricity were back on. We got to play in the basement again. I accidentally hit myself in the face and got a bloody nose! Mom says that I clot well because it stopped pretty quick. I've also scratched myself on the face several times even though mom cut my nails, and I didn't nap well so my eyes are puffy from crying. What a mess I am. Mom took a picture of my condition of course...

Maybe tomorrow will be better!
Moxon

It's Really Cold!

Hey Guys,
Have you heard about this big ice storm? We had to leave our house on Friday morning and head for Grandma and Grandpa Sekel’s house because they were the only ones around with power! Most of Van Wert and Fort Wayne is without power and it could still be out for a while. We camped out at their house until Sunday morning. While we were there I got to play with some toys that mom brought and we watched a lot of different Baby Einsteins. I got very relaxed and watched them for quite a while. Joey and I also got to take a bath in Grandma’s blue tub. Mom and I slept together in Aunt Annie's room. As you can see, the noise of falling ice from the trees onto the roof was not enough to keep me awake! Oh, and I got to eat real applesauce too! It’s much better than Gerber’s version!

Joey keeps telling me that Santa is coming soon. I’m still not really sure what all of the excitement is about, but I think that it has to do with toys! I’ll let you know how my holiday turns out!

Love,
Moxon!

Woah Baby!!

Guess what I can do!? The other night I slept from 7:30pm-7:45am without waking up. Mom was so happy with me. She snuck in to take my picture and I was actually awake. Here I am, sleepy and cute? (I didn't realize how shocked/evil I was looking first thing in the morning!) I also surprised her by kneeling in my crib and holding on to the bars. Now I can pull myself up on my own and stand. I love to stand.

I am still scooting on my tush and I'm getting into everything now. I like any cord that I can find and I also like the Christmas tree. Dad got the baby gate repaired and Joey helped mom put plugs in all of the sockets.

Here are a couple of cute "tree and me" pictures...


...and for your enjoyment....Baby Giggles!
(this was taken at 9:30 pm...way past my bedtime! I was wired and very giggly that night. Mom thinks they laced my flu shot!)


It's really starting to snow and I think that there's supposed to be more tonight. Hopefully we can make it to our play date in the morning!

Night!
Moxon

I'm On The Move!!!

Hi guys!

The other day we got to go to Grandma's house to play with Alex while his mom was at the hospital visiting Uncle Phil. Joey and Alex are CRAZY!!! I tried to stay out of the way most of the time, but they were really fun to watch. After everyone came back to Grandma's we had a birthday dinner for mom. I slept through the cake part, and I hear that I really missed out!

Today dad saw my other top tooth coming in. That means I have 4 on top, 2 on bottom now. That should be about all of the teeth for a while. I'm still feeling a bit under the weather and haven't been chowing down on the food like I was, but I'll get back to normal soon.

I have really been on the move lately. I've told you how I scoot on my tush, but now I get all of the way across a room in no time. It's pretty easy for me to pull myself up if I have something small enough for me to grab on to. I don't know how to get up on the furniture yet though. I really don't want to crawl, so I hope that I start walking soon. Today I even made it from the living room to the stair rails a couple of times. Dad installed the baby gate at the stairs just in time. Joey broke it the other day so dad will need to get the plastic hinge replaced very soon. I appreciate Joey trying to break us free so that we can get to the basement, but I'm scared of falling down the stairs!

Here is a video of me in action, and a couple of pictures of the mischief that I've been getting into. Joey thinks that it's pretty funny when I scoot around, but doesn't like it when I get his stuff. He also tends to tattle on me to mom when I'm doing something that I'm not supposed to! What good is he!?

That's about all for tonight...

-Moxon-

39 Weeks Old!

Can you believe that I'm 39 weeks old already!? I have two new teeth now, making 5 total and at least one more on the way! I have been drooling and snotty all week! I hope that this is over soon. At least my new teeth have lead to me being able to eat a bunch of new finger foods. I love bananas, green beans, baked beans, noodles, and I'll try pretty much whatever mom gives me. Joey even shared his goldfish crackers with me today!

I am getting more mobile too. I still don't stay on my belly to learn crawling. Instead I scoot and spin around on my tushie. I have been reaching far in front of me by going up on my knees and then plopping back on my butt. Mom said that this is a start into the crawling position from sitting, but I just don't want to try. I can also stand at the couch or in my crib if I'm holding on. I just about have the hang of pulling myself up onto mom or an object unassisted too. It won't be long until I am walking...watch out mom! Dad put my baby gate on the basement stairs and mom lowered my crib mattress, so we're all ready for my next milestone!

I am also starting to babble all sorts of sounds and ma-ma is one of them. I don't think that I officially have "Mama" in my vocabulary though. I am also working on "cause and effect". If mom is holding me but watching something else I will twist over and stare at her face until she looks at me. Then when she goes back to what she is watching, I do it again! I also have learned how to "feed" mom with my spoon when she is trying to feed me. If mom opens her mouth I stick my spoon in! Who knew that I was so smart already!

This past weekend we also took a trip to COSI in Columbus with Jen and Alex. I was a little small to participate in most of the activities, but I got to sit at a water table and splash around. IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!! I would have sat there all day, but the boys were ready to go. I even got so wet that I had to give up my pants to be put in the clothes dryer!


I'm gearing up for Christmas. I hope that Joey has asked for good toys for me since I can't talk yet. Here is a cute picture of me laying under the tree playing with ornaments.

Night,
Moxon

A Video of Me Laughing!

Here is just a fun video of me laughing...enjoy!


Moxon Laughing @ Yahoo! Video
'>.

Hey Everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving...I had a good one! Mom hosted a dinner over here for the Sekel Family on Thursday. She had been really busy making food, but eating real sweet potatoes was worth it! (See my new top teeth?)

Then on Friday we went to G&G DePrisco's. First we made a stop at the St. Joe Tree Farm to pick a Christmas tree. They were really busy and it was cold so we just picked a pre-cut one.

Grandma had her tree up already and I liked looking at all of the lights. Mom has hers up now and it is very pretty. I can't wait until next year when I can walk over to it and touch all of the ornaments!

On Monday we went to the mall for my 9 month pictures!! I'm getting old=) After pictures we were heading to the food court and we saw Santa! I guess that he's a big deal, Joey was excited. I sat on his lap with Joey and he talked about bringing us toys. I wasn't scared and it was fun having my brother sit with me on the big chair.

Today we are just playing at home since we had such a big day yesterday. Joey is teaching me how to drum and we're playing in the basement. I still love my walker and have been scooting around on my tushie when we play on the floor. Mom caught me thinking about pulling myself up on my activity table but I didn't quite get standing. I can officially do 'baby sit ups" if someone holds my feet. Hopefully I can figure out how to move around better. Joey has so many cool things that I'd like to get my hands on!

On Friday we're heading to Alex's house for a visit. I hear that there are a lot of cool things planned for us to do. I'll tell you all about it next week!
-Moxon-

Hi everyone,

Joey and I have been doing so much stuff lately that I haven't had time to update! I am 36 weeks old now. I still just have 3 teeth, but I am all about eating the baby food now. I am even starting to eat pieces of banana too. Last week I had my first "brother inflicted boo-boo"! I was laying on my floor getting changed. He was playing in my room with one of my books. He dropped it on the ottoman and it bounced off and landed on my head! Ironically, the book was the "Pajama Bible", so I must not have been hurt too bad! I barely cried, but it wasn't pretty! But as you can see, we still love each other!

I also saw my first snow! There wasn't enough to play in, but Joey seems to think that it is fun!

This weekend we went to Dayton to see Austin and Brady. We both got to eat dinner in in our walkers. Mom also caught a picture of my tongue out. I have been sticking it out very far lately. Mom says that my tongue is rather large, but I think it's funny to stick it out. On Sunday after church we went to Boonshoft, which is a science activity center in Dayton. We were a little small to play, but there were a lot of neat things to look at. Here I am with Austin...

Here I am watching Joey catch fish...And here I am doing an experiment with tops...The day wore all of us out. We left mid-afternoon and slept the whole way home! I've been having a hard time sleeping some nights, and sleeping pretty good others. I'll get the hang of this sooner or later. I'd better get ready for bed before I get too tired to type!

Love,

Moxon

More New Teeth!

Hey Everyone,

I am 8 months old now! Mom weighed me and I'm right at 23 pounds! (Joey weighed himself too and he is 32.5 pounds! That's 9.5 pounds difference between us! Holy Chunky Monkeys!!!) I'm also getting some more teeth. I have the bottom left and top left in the front, and then the top and bottom right are also sort of poking through. I feel like the one next to my top left is also coming in...that's about 5 teeth that I'm working on right now. I've been doing pretty good with it though, however I'm still waking up a lot at night.

With my new chompers I have been working on eating better. I usually eat a baby food/cereal mix for breakfast and then some veggies right before bed. I still nurse to sleep, but sometimes I wake up and don't fuss when mom puts me in bed. That's an improvement! I'm also getting the hang of my pincher's too. I have been picking up puffs and cheerios but sometimes I can't get them in my mouth and get very frustrated. I also like to eat crackers and lil' crunchers, and biscuits. Those are easier to get in my mouth though!

I'm also working on walking. Mom puts me in my walker down in the basement and I run all over. It is one of my favorite things to do right now. I can even stand on my own outside of the walker as long as someone balances me a little bit. Usually mom puts her hands under my elbows and I just stand for a minute. I can't wait to walk on my own. I even made it all of the way from the living room to Joey's room walking with mom holding my hands. (forget about crawling, I still flip right over when mom puts me on my tummy)

The last thing that I have been working on is talking. Until recently I have been saying "aahhhhhhhh, Ahhhhhhhh, ahhhhhhhh" and that's about it. Now I've added a "thhh" sound and dah-dah (close to dada, but I don't recognize the name with my daddy yet). So, that's a few new sounds, but no talking other than that. Oh, I can make kissy smacks with my lips and a 'fish' face with my lips too.

This week the fun event was finger painting! Mom made us pudding to finger paint with. It was goopy and messy, just the way I like it! I think she is still cleaning chocolate pudding off of my chair and wall!

That's about all for right now. The weather is really cold now so I think mom is going to finally take it easy and stay home for most of the week!

Have a good one and bundle up!

-Moxon-

Tooth #2!!

Hey Guys,

My second tooth poked through tonight. Mom was telling me that my gums looked a little funny and white up top and it seemed like I might get a tooth in a couple of days. Well, instead of getting my other bottom tooth, I got the top left...right above my first bottom tooth! My mouth is going to be a little lopsided, but at least mom might start giving me some new foods. I don't know how many teeth she expects me to have, but she keeps telling me that I can't have things because I don't have enough teeth!

I am getting good at eating Ritz crackers. I actually bite them and chomp with my mouth. Watch out if I get a chunk though, I usually gag and sometimes puke on myself! (I'm not a real fan of texture yet!)

That's all for now,
-Moxon-

Happy Halloween!!! (And Many Other Things!)

Hi,
Well, a lot has happened since my last post. First of all...Halloween! I was a Dinosaur for Halloween...

You'll have to read Joey's post to see what he was, but we were a theme! I had fun dressing up and trick-or-treating with Joey. We went down Washington Street on the weekend before the holiday and then to Evan and Daniel's Grandma's house for pizza and playing. We also got to carve pumpkins. I had a little one and mom helped me with it. I touched the guts but wasn't very interested. Then on Halloween day we went to trick-or-treat at G&G DePrisco's house after my doctor appointments. I got a couple of books and some monster stuffed animals instead of candy. It was fun. We didn't get to dress up for G&G Sekel since they were out of town for a funeral. Maybe I can dress up next time I see them.

Speaking of doctors...Joey and I had to go to Dr. Barb's on Friday. I got my flu shot and a booster that I missed last visit. I was a very good boy and only had a pout when the gave them to me. I was more mad that mom was making me lay down. I got two band-aids even though I didn't bleed!! After the appointment we headed south of town to Dr. Smith. He checked my tummy and said that it is a 'happy' one. I'm pretty much cured of my reflux and things will only get better as I start eating more and eventually start to crawl and walk. Yay!!!!

I have been doing better with my baby food. I eat a "stage 2" jar every night. (unless mom feeds me some gross veggies...I'm a fruit man). My favorites are always anything with bananas, and now I love pumpkin/pear. If any babies out there are reading this, tell you mom's to take you to Wal-mart and buy their Nature's Goodness brand of pumpkin/pear....you'll love it! I think maybe it is just out for the fall since we've never seen it before. Yum=) Joey has been trying to feed me dinner, but it usually doesn't work out too well.

Joey and I have been playing and reading together a lot this week. Mom brought up a few toys from the basement and took our old ones from upstairs back down. We have a bunch of farm animals, a barn, and a tractor up here to share. Here is a picture of us playing together. He is usually pretty fun until he picks on me!

We've also been playing together when we're in the basement. I love to be in my real walker because I can 'walk' all over in the basement and investigate everything. Joey will hop on his Harley and tell me to race him. He can go a lot faster than me, but I try my best to keep up. There is so much to do in my basement =).

I also got to play something really fun this week while Joey was sleeping. Mom gave me a bowl of flour and a wooden spoon to investigate. It was AWESOME. I played for about 20 minutes on the kitchen floor. It was fun banging the spoon on the bowl and feeling the soft flour between my fingers. Mom thought it was funny to put the bowl on my head, but I didn't think so!

Joey and I also got to help dad take the last of the corn off of the field. This was my first time driving a combine! Corn is a lot more fun to combine than beans or wheat. I loved it. It was fun seeing the corn load up in the back of the combine too. Maybe I'll get to ride more next year when I'm bigger. Right now Joey always gets to ride and I have to stay with mom.

I have discovered my tongue and toes this week too. I like sticking my tongue out at people and wiggling it around. I have known about my toes for a while, but this week I have figured out how to hold my foot up in the air. I also can bend all of the way over and suck on my big toe! Good thing I don't walk...my toes are usually clean!

I have been doing a little bit better sleeping at night. Mom has been putting me to bed around 8:00 and I stay in there until midnight or so. (I was waking up every hour or so last week). Maybe my shots have made me more tired, or maybe eating right before bed has kept my tummy fuller. Mom said that my days in her bed are numbered so I'd better figure out how to stay in my bed all night. I have been better about getting myself back to sleep on my own though. I usually wake up around 9 or 10 and sleepy-cry myself back to sleep in a minute or two. I'll keep working on it. Naps are another story. I have not been napping too good during the day. One day I was so tired that after eating dinner I fell asleep in my high chair before I even got to eat my biter biscuit! Hehe!!!

I think that is about all for now. I will try to update a little more often so that you don't have as much to read at once next time!!

Have a good week,

Moxon

I Forgot to Tell You!

Hi guys,

Hey guys, I forgot to tell you a couple of things yesterday. First of all, I have started giving mom baby "kisses". I usually grab her by the hair or cheeks and suck on her face! She says that it's slimy, but I love my mom! Speaking of loving my mom, I am also starting to get into a phase of separation anxiety. I do ok playing on my own when mom is in sight, but the minute she goes around the corner I start crying. If she walks close enough for me to touch her I freak out and try as hard as I can to get her leg! I don't even like to let dad hold me at night when he gets home. Mom has had to say right by him so that I don't cry and then I spend most of the time leaning over and trying to get her. Don't get me wrong, I love dad too...but I do better playing with him in the mornings!

Here are a couple of pictures that we took yesterday after I posted my blog...

This is one of all of the "kids"

Here is one of me eating the famous "bitter biscuit"

That's all for now. It's a rainy day so we're wearing comfy clothes and staying home. Maybe I'll consider taking a nap...alone!

-Moxon-

****Update*****
(By Mom)
While the pictures we downloading Moxon was fussing on the floor. He fell asleep in the middle of all of his toys before I got to a stopping point to get him. It's funny 'cause he is wearing a 24mo. Oshkosh sweat suit that is just a bit to long for him. He sucked his arms and legs inside of the body of the outfit! Cute baby=) Maybe since this is the second time that he has fallen asleep on his own for the morning nap, we are on our way to independent sleeping!!!!