After

These are the after pictures! What do you think?

Before...

I apologize for not posting in a while... This is why! We have been working hard on fixing up our house! These are the before pictures...

My Teddy Bear

Last year at this time Escher had the same little bear coat (only a lot smaller, of course!) Anyways, I loved it so much that when I saw it in an 18month size (the largest that it comes in!) I had to get it. I'm sure we only have a few more weeks of him being able to wear it, since he grows so fast, so I snapped some quick pictures of him to remember it by.

So Long Sweet Summer

As the days get shorter, the color of the sky turns to a deep, rich blue. This makes for picture taking at the beach even more exciting! Snapping pictures has become quite the obsession of mine over the past few months. I love being able to use this gorgeous light to catch some incredible memories. After sorting through the 122 that I took tonight at the beach, I came up with these 4 shots that make me smile.

I have a lot of pictures of him walking away from me!

It took me 5 minutes or so of fiddling with the settings on my camera to finally capture this shot!

Little birdie feet.

Probably one of my favorites = )

Puddles!

Yesterday, Escher discovered puddles for the first time! We explored the neighborhood after the rain stopped and found a few good (and messy) puddles for Escher to splash around in.

I am really enjoying finding "big kid" stuff to do with Escher, now that he is walking. I feel like it opened up a whole new world of possibilities! We walk to the beach, play at the park, go "exploring" around the neighborhood. It really is just a fun age, and an excellent time of year to explore the world outside. The weather has been so gorgeous here! A beach girl at heart, I am so sad to see summer leave us. I am desperately clinging on to the last rays of summer sun and grudgingly pulling out my long pants and ugh, shoes too. I am loving open windows, cool breezes and excellent sleeping weather at night though!

What are your favorite things about fall?

Spaghetti!

I'm honestly surprised that it has taken this long to get a plateful of spaghetti in
front of that cute little face. It was worth the wait!

Thankfully, it was bath time right after!

Weee!

By the end of the day at the beach, he had probably ridden the boogie board about 12 times!

More Beach Fun

Just thought I would share a few of my favorite pictures from this weekend. And yes, Escher LOVES to boogie board = ) I'll try to upload a video soon!

Duck Duck, Quack Quack

So Escher and I had, the other morning, what I would consider our first "conversation". Matt was in the shower getting ready for work and I was getting breakfast ready for the dude while he was toddling around the house playing with his toys. This is how it went:

Escher: "Dada? Dada?"
Me: "Escher, Daddy's in the shower."
Escher (his eyes got really big and he whipped his head around to the bathroom where he heard the water running) "DUCK DUCK DUCK?!?!"
Me: "You think Daddy is taking a shower in your duck tub?"
Escher: "Yes. Fish!"
Me: "So Daddy is in the shower, in your duck tub, with your fish?"
Escher: "Yesh! Ha-haaaaa!"

For those of you that haven't heard it, Escher has a really sarcastic "haha" laugh that he does when he thinks that we think something is funny, and he joins in to laugh too. I'll try to get it on video sometime. Anyways, I just had to share our little tub story. Stories like these are the reason why I wanted to start a blog... so I could look back and remember all the funny things that happened. Almost TGIF friends.... almost!

Popsicles

Escher has embraced summer's favorite treat, the popsicle, with open arms. Or maybe I should say mouth = ) Popsicles have become a common treat in our house, especially it has been so warm lately. Don't want Escher to throw toys/shoes/towels/etc out of the cart on the way to the beach? Give him a popsicle to eat while he rides! Need a few minutes after dinner to clean up? A popsicle saves the day! Now, I've started to be a little concerned about the amount of not-so-healthy popsicles that he eats, so I'm thinking about starting to make my own. I would love to hear some ideas!

Meanwhile, let's decide what popsicle color looks best on Escher:

Magenta

Dark Purple

Green

Or the classic red.

Not sure which I like best, but I do know one thing: That boy can eat some popsicles!

12 Month Well Baby Checkup.

Escher had his 12 month well baby check up today! He is 32 inches long (holy cow!), 22.9lbs, and I forget what his head circumference was, but it was off the chart. That brain of his has been working hard, too! He has really started to communicate with us. The other day, he was fussing and I was doing something in the kitchen. The next thing I know, he had walked himself over to his high chair and was showing me the sign for food (fingers to mouth) and saying "mmmmm, mmmm." After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I put him in his high chair and gave him lunch. He was mighty pleased with himself = ) The next day, he started signing "more", which is putting your fingers together. Then he connected "more" sign to "food" sign when his tray was empty. Wow! I feel like everyday he says and does such big kid stuff! He walked and drank out of his sippy the other day. I can't even walk and drink at the same time!

As for words, he says: mama, dada, puppies ("pup pup"), woof woof, ball ("bah"), duck, quack, and fish ("eeeesh").

He got some shots today, he cried for a little, then calmed down when he got a sticker! Actually, two stickers, one for each hand = )

Here are some pics and videos from the last week or so!
http://picasaweb.google.com/trishamundell/EscherIs1Year#

Hope everyone is having a great summer! Stay cool!

Happy Birthday Escher!

Our boy is one! Where did the year go? We celebrated Escher's first birthday on the beach with family. The night was perfect! We grilled hotdogs and had fresh fruit and veggies, and snacks. There was even a funfetti monster truck cake! The night ended perfectly with Escher taking his first steps right before bedtime. Love that boy!

Here are the pictures from the beach: http://picasaweb.google.com/trishamundell/EscherSBirthday##

And, because I have been lazy on posting, I uploaded another album with some newer pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/trishamundell/Summer##

Enjoy!

Busy Busy

I'm sorry I have been slacking on posting! The past few weeks have gone by so fast! Escher got to be a lake baby over Memorial Day weekend! He loved the water, it was so fun to watch him splash and play. Here are some great pictures we got!

Monday, May 31 was my birthday! We celebrated by playing at the beach with our friends Dave and April, Matt and Lara, and Holly. Lara made the most yummy cake! Isn't it gorgeous?

Thanks again Lara! Matt grilled me some salmon for dinner, which was amazing. Escher loved it too! He also helped us eat some birthday cake! Check it out!

In other news, Escher got his first hair cut! His bangs were starting to get in his eyes, so the other day I attempted to trim them. It turned out a little crooked because he kept trying to see what I was doing, but hopefully it will grow out well.

That's all for now! Hope everyone is having a great week!

New Stuff Everday!

I feel like it hasn't been too long since I've posted, but in that time Escher has just learned so many new "tricks" as we like to call them! Everday he does something new and exciting... We love it! It is so fascinating to watch him learn and grow, and accomplish something new! Here are some new things that he is doing!

• shaking and nodding his head! not really in context... although sometimes its fun to pretend that he knows what he is doing. And he can't nod just his head... his whole body moves back and forth!
• His new syllable of the week is "GA" If you ask him something he will either shake his head, or say "ga!"
• He has been pulling up and cruising on the couch for awhile, but now he is getting much more ambitious and letting go for a second or two. He is also pulling up on the walls/front door, the table, baskets, and the fireplace doors (which are baby proofed, thankyouverymuch!)
• He tries to grab your nose if you say "nose". He also likes to play with your ears!
• He makes a "vrrrooooom vvvvrrooom" noise when playing with his trucks! This was absolutely phenomenal to watch, because matt and i make noise when we play trucks with him, and he has started to imitate us and have imaginative play! Oh, the possibilities of play! Love it!
• He is trying to say some words. I'm pretty sure he has said "ball" a few times, and he tries to say "puppies" and he will look to the back door for the puppies if you say "puppies". He knows to look for me and Matt when we say "mama" or "dada", although he only says "dada". Escher needs to get the memo that my birthday is next week and all I want is for him to say "mama" : -)

Thats all I can think of for now. I'm sure there is other stuff. Everyday is just so much fun with him, I love playing and laughing with him!

We are off to Lake Gaston for our first lake trip of the year on Thursday! I hope the water is warm enough for duders to go swimming! I'm sure we will have lots of great pictures to post when we come back. Until then, check the newest ones out here- http://picasaweb.google.com/trishamundell/51010##

Hope everyone has a great holiday weekend!

Watermelon!

Today Escher had watermelon for the first time! Needless to say, we think he liked it :-). I was very excited about giving him watermelon because, well for one, its one of my favorite fruits. And two, its just so fun to eat! He had juice dripping down his chin :-)

Hooray for summer fruit season!

Check out the video!

"talking"

One of Escher's favorite ways to express himself is saying "ah dah." This phrase can be used in many contexts. For example:

• "AH DAH!" He is excited and playing with his toys. Maybe he discovered something new!
• "AH dah." He often replies to something you say like this, like he understands and accepts what you are saying.
• "ah daaaaaah." Could be tired or frustrated...

Anyways, the funny thing about this phrase is that it has started to be a favorite saying of Matt and I too! At the end of a long day when we are crashed on the couch, "ah daaah" is very appropriate. Or, if we are stoked about going outside or eating a yummy dinner, "AH DAH!" has been known to escape from our lips : )

We love to listen to Escher babble. It seems like more sounds and syllables come from him everyday. I can't wait to hear what he has to tell me when he wakes up from his nap!

The beach!

We went to the beach on Sunday! This was the first time we really got to walk over and spend some time on the sand as a family. I think one of my favorite memories will be walking Escher down to the water's edge and listening to him squeal as he watched the waves crash. He didn't even mind when his feet got wet! He just loves every aspect of the ocean. We set him in the fishy tent, but it didn't take long for him to scoot out and go exploring! He reminded me of a baby sea turtle scuttling across the sand to the ocean after they are born! By the time we left, he had sand EVERYWHERE, in his eyes, nose, ears, arms, legs. You name it, there was sand in it. But the funny thing was he just didn't even seem to care!

We look forward to making lots of fun memories on the beach. If you are ever out our way, please let us know! Our plan is to put our cars on the street every morning, so our driveway is up for grabs for beach parking. First come, first serve! See you soon!

Easter

We were blessed with beautiful weather this Easter weekend. And we took advantage of it! Matt and I kicked off the weekend by riding bikes down at the oceanfront on Friday. Sunday we met my family at Dockside, a favorite restaurant, and enjoyed sitting outside in the beautiful sun :-) We hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Yay for spring!

Press the play button! Its a great video of Escher laughing!

Bike Ride!

What a beautiful day for Escher's first bike ride! He loved it!