SPRING TEASE

We had the most beautiful weekend in Virginia last weekend. Actually almost the entire week was nice. We got outside and took advantage of it as much as possible. Friday afternoon we went to the park and enjoyed the swings. After that we walk a couple of blocks to a friend's house who has mini horses. Richter loved them. There is also a trampoline and DH bounced him on it. Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me because he thought it was pretty neat.

Saturday afternoon DH was golfing so Richter and I walked to another playground that has more stuff for kids Richter's age. We had a lot of fun.

I love this, once he got to the platform at the top of the steps he turned around and slid down the slide backwards. He comes down steps that way so he didn't think twice about it.

Earlier in the week we took our first walk in his wagon. Boy did he think he was BIG stuff! It is so hard getting him to look at a camera right now. Any suggestions?

I have been really busy this week with work which is very nice. Believe it or not the real estate market here is pretty good right now. I am very happy for my boss. Time to get my nose in the books and keep it there!!

Happy Tuesday!

OUR VALENTINE IS 14 MONTHS OLD TODAY

Richter is 14 months old today. (well yesterday, I started this draft and didn't get it finished in time) It is hard to believe that he is in his second year of life. He is so smart and learns more every day. He is walking all over the place and is just learning how to get up on his own. Having a child and watching him grow has been the most amazing thing in my life to date.
"The decision to have a child is to accept that your heart will forever walk about outside of your body." --Katherine Hadley






Let's see, Richter weighs close to 24 lbs. now and I'm not sure how tall he is. We go for his 15 month check up next month so I will get the specifics then. He is wearing 12-18 month clothes. If they are either 12 OR 18 months, we're holding strong at 12 months. He is also wearing size 4.5 shoes. He eats just about anything but just because he likes it today, doesn't mean he will eat it tomorrow, which doesn't mean he won't like it again in a couple of days. (he's a little like his Mommy) He says more and more everyday. Getting him to say please is like pulling teeth sometimes but if he wants his "pap pap" or his froggy he'll say it over and over again! I have always called his pacifier just that...pacifier. I wanted him to come up with something on his own and not drill one of the 100 slang terms for them in his head. Just last week he started pointing at one and saying "pap pap" so I guess that is what it will be. Thank you, stinky, Dora (AS SOON AS HE SEES HER), bad, and juice are just a few more words in his vocabulary. He puts his finger to his mouth and says shhhh and just this morning he was blowing on a piece of his banana like he was trying to cool it. I'm going to have to start keeping a notebook with me so I can write down all of the new things he is doing. There are so many now days.

Sunday were the finals for the annual pool tournament at a local dive bar (with very yummy food) in town. Our friend Ed has won it a couple of times and pretty much always makes it to the finals. He made it again this year and won his first match but unfortunately lost the second. We all had a great time and Richter did really well considering we were there for 4 hours. He dipped his "pap pap" in UB's water for quite some time to entertain himself.


3 generations of Neiswander boys! Love this picture.


Hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day! xoox

"NAKED BABY"

Richter Ewing Harris LOVES bath time. When it is a bath night we ask him who wants to get "naked baby" and he gets so excited. We love baths. Normally we take baths at bedtime. I like to give him a warm lavender bath and then put the lavender lotion on him before he goes to bed. Actually, I really think it helped when he was a newborn but now, when it is bedtime, it. is. bedtime. DH and I take turns saying our good nights to him and now all he is thinking about (and reaching for) is his crib. So sad, but so great at the same time. So the last couple of weeks we have been taking baths in the morning. My boy is so happy in water and I love it.



I know, and thank god everyday, that I am blessed with an amazing little boy who loves life and discovering new things every minute. I am thankful that for the most part I am able to be there for almost everything. Keep on keepin' on REH, I am behind you and will guide you the best I can every step of the way. xoxo

SLEEPY MONKEY

Richter is NOT a great napper. He does take a nap every day but never longer than an hour and a half. (and that's stretching it a lot of the time) Today he took his normal nap early afternoon. When I got home from work we played a lot. I must have worn him out. Around 5 he got his pacifier and froggy and headed for his chair. Within 10 minutes he was out like a light.
He must have been super sleepy because he ended up sleeping for 2 hours. (which was ok with me because then he didn't go to bed until around 9 so we got to dance to a little Widespread Panic together tonight!)

UNHAPPY STEELERS FANS

This is how happy we are about the outcome of the Super Bowl this year. Richter is sporting DH's hat from when he was a child. I love that!

I am going to try to be better about blogging in February (promise)

WALKIN' ...FOR YOUR LOVE

I know I know, it's been a while. A lot has been going on here. Richter is pretty much a walker now days. He definitely still crawls but walking from point A to point B is now his first choice.

In the last week he has gone from having 4 teeth to 8!! The bottom two were a complete surprise. I just noticed them yesterday while we were playing and he was belly laughing. I think we were so focused on the top two. Poor guy! Needless to say there have been a few sleepless nights on Ridgewood Dr. We brush our teeth together every morning and he usually loves it. Now it makes sense why he hasn't so much lately. Hopefully we will have a break before the next "batch" come in.

Richter is also talking up a storm. His vocabulary really increased in January. He says Mama, Dada (sometimes even Daddy), MoMo (for Morri, our dog), cookie, please, thank you, no no no, bye, and uh oh (over and over again). He says Papa and occasionally Nana. (We are working on MeeMaw) He knows a duck says quack quack, a sheep says bahhh, a cat says meow and can make a monkey sound. When he plays with his cars and trucks he makes a motor sound for them and when he runs into something he says BOOM!

We are so proud of our little guy and how much he has accomplished in his 13 months.