Daddy's Helper

Little does he know that he is helping put on locks so he can't get into my laundry room cupboards anymore!

If mom hands you a banana...

figure out a way to eat it! Baron was not happy in the car on the way home from the grocery store so I handed him a banana to play with. To my surprise he was able to open it and eat half of it before we were home. Perhaps he wasn't cranky about being in the car - he was just hungry!

Now that I am 1...By Baron Holstein

I have been extremely busy since my birthday. I have a lot of responsibility now that I am 1!
I have to put about 5 miles on my truck everyday.
As you can see, it is hard work!

If mom needs to get something done, I can keep myself entertained.

I am not afraid to let people know how I really feel.

I also know how to take off my diaper if I need fresh air.

Some things don't change when you turn 1 though...I still love to play with my dad every chance that I get! Especially when he plays in the sensory table with me.

More Holstein Family Adventures to Come

I started this blog on March 2nd for many reasons. The first was to share with friends and family the new joy in our lives. The second was to remind myself of all the positive things in my life since I was depressed about searching for daycare and returning to work. Lastly, I knew I needed a simple way to document Baron's important life events.

Alot has changed in our lives since the beginning of this blog. Nearly 300 posts later - I am now a stay at home mom, we celebrated 1st holidays and the big 1st birthday and tonight Baron took 3 steps on his own!! I am so thankful for all of the readers who followed the blog. I did my best to do it daily as I promised in the beginning. I want to let you all know that the blog will continue even though Baron is now one (and I only made the commitment to myself for one year). The posts may not be daily, but they will be often. I think the habits of picture taking and documenting will be hard to break. However, in August the posts might not be frequent at all. The reason behind that is Baron will become a big brother on or around August 9th and another adventure will begin. Stay tuned...

Cousin Time

We watched Clinton for a couple of hours this morning while his mom and dad did a few things in Portland. We learned that Baron is very sensitive to other babies crying (or just making noises that sound remotely close to crying). Every time Clinton would make a peep Baron would start to cry. Nate said that we better figure this out before the new baby comes in August or there will be ALOT of crying in our house! Right after making that comment, Nate snapped this picture. I think I was beginning to panic - and the thought "what have we done!" is going through my head. I think Clinton was trying to say "don't set me this close to him - he tries to poke my eyes out!"

Clinton was much happier sitting on the floor with his uncle and letting the fan from this toy blow all that hair!

Time to PARTY!!

The extended family and a few very close friends joined us today to celebrate Baron's 1st Birthday. It was a typical 1st birthday - very simple, but it still managed to overwhelm Baron at times. I made some decorations and the cake. I thought I wanted to learn how to decorate cakes, but now I'm not so sure. I am not giving up, but let's just say that my work won't be featured in magazines anytime soon. It is harder to do than it looked!

After we served lunch, Baron opened his gifts.

Nate burried him in the balls from the super cool sensory table that his Aunt Alyson built for him. Blog readers will see many more pictures of this table in the near future because Baron is all about the touch sense right now!

It was finally time for the cake! Baron loved everyone singing Happy Birthday to him. He was slightly confused by the flame on the candle.

It took a little of encouragement from mom, dad and his friend Espen before he really dug into the cake.

He got the hang of it though!

He didn't eat very much of it, but he would have played with it all day. He smelled like frosting until bath time.

The party ended and it was time for Baron's nap, but really who needs a nap when you can play with dad on your new toys??!!! So he skipped his nap (for the 3rd day in a row). He had plenty of energy. Perhaps he ate more cake than I realized.

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY BARON!

This seems to be a difficult post for me to write. There are so many things I want to reflect on that have taken place over the last year...too many. Instead I will just reflect on the day. Nate took the day off so we could spend it as a family.
Nate was so excited to turn the carseat around so we did it on the first day we could. Although our carseat could have kept him rear facing longer, we decided he is big enough. He is much happier now that he can see more and his legs look so much more comfortable.

We went to the Portland Children's Museum for the first time. Baron was a little overwhelmed by all the kids running around. Once we were in the baby room he was ready to play. This was a small stream (very little water - so little you couldn't see it) and it had fish you could move down it. He really liked it.

His favorite thing in the room was the fish tank. He stood there and watched the fish for quite a while. Everytime they would move it would suprise him a little.

After about an hour and a half of play time at the museum, we went out to frozen yogurt. This may have to be a special tradition to celebrate both of our birthdays - especially at this place because they have tart yogurt which is my favorite. Baron really liked the apricot mixed with vanilla.

It was such a good family day. It was all about Baron from breakfast to bedtime as it should be when you turn 1!

The second wind

I am learning alot about Baron and his "second wind" of energy. He was so tired today because he skipped his morning nap. He needed to go to bed early, but as soon as Grandpa and Grandma Weber arrived that second wind kicked in! He wanted to play and show them everything. Even though he tried to act like he wasn't tired, his eyes don't lie! Why do children fight it so hard? Wouldn't it be nice to sleep 11 or 12 hours at night and take about 3 hours worth of naps a day?!!

A special treat...

ICE CREAM!!

Independent Little Guy

Nate had to work in Seattle today so he left early and didn't get home until 9pm. Baron loves when his dad comes home because it is a change. I love it because it is a break! As the day went on I kept thinking how I probably wouldn't get to clean up the kitchen until Baron was in bed for the night. To my surprise, Baron decided to play very independently after dinner. He was sitting in the living room reading his books to himself (which always melts my heart). Of course as soon as I went to take a picture of him he started doing something else. Thanks to his independence I was able to really clean the entire kitchen and dining room. It was so nice. Maybe I am not the only one who needs a break at the end of the day?!

Hummus...YUM!

Baron learned to dip his food at a very young age. Unfortunately ketchup isn't the most nutrious condiment. He also loves to chew on carrots and celery (I think it feels good on those teeth). A friend of mine told me to try humus and I am glad I did. I love hummus and so does Baron! I am so happy he loves it because now it can become a staple in our fridge.

Playing is hard work!

Ahhhh...dry weather! Not warm, but dry so we'll take it! We decided to play on our dead end street after going for a walk because we were enjoying the fresh air so much.

Baron was using his bike as a walker. Silly boy - he thinks that he needs to hold onto something to stand. Does he realize he lifts his bike about a foot off the ground so it is not supporting him??!!

Whoops! That was a close one.

Walking with mommy.

Walking with daddy.

ROCKS! His touch sense is going wild these days!

This picture cracked me up because it looks like he is marching. Maybe he'll be in a marching band someday. He would make a great drummer.

Hanging out with Dad

Baron and his dad spent the day together while I had the day off to celebrate my birthday (a few days early). They must have been busy while I was gone because there was a fantastic dinner, fresh flowers and one tired boy! I do know one thing about the day...Baron managed to sneak outside with Gus so Nate snapped a picture.

Clean UP

Tonight Baron was helping clean up. Nate lowered his high chair so he could push it. Now we just need to teach him where it goes.

Baron and His Dad

Dear Baron,

You have had your dad's heart from day one!

The two of you have always had a special bond. When you were a newborn you loved to fall asleep in your dad's arms. He was the one who was able to soothe you. He knew just how to swaddle you and rock/shake you to sleep. That is because he was a big believer in "The Happiest Baby on the Block" theory. Boy am I glad here learned those steps! As you grew and became more active, your dad's excitment grew. He immediately started playing football with you when you could sit up. You loved that game and clapped wildly when your dad would say "Blue Thirty Two!" Your dad has always liked to play little tricks on me. Now you are his sidekick. He taught you to come up and tap my shoulder while I am doing dishes. When I turn around you say "boo!" This game always makes you giggle no matter what time of day it is.

Every weekday at 5pm your dad comes home from work. Gus usually hears him first, but you know exactly why he runs to the door so you follow. As soon as dad comes through the door you clap and smile. I hope you are always this excited to see your dad at the end of the day and give him that kind of welcoming! He deserves it and his love for you will never change.

Love, Mom

Growing up together

Macaroni mess!

Baron is at a stage where he enjoys feeling new things - especially if he can cover his hands in them (remember the post with the bells?). Today I opened a box of uncooked macaroni and we played with the noodles. What started out as a fairly clean activity quickly turned into noodles all of over the living room. I didn't care though. Baron was having so much fun. He liked the feeling of me pouring them into his hands and onto his feet the best. He would put a few in his hands and pour/throw them at my hands to return the favor. I am so excited for this summer. I think a sandbox will be on our wish list!

Bubble Bath

It is the answer to bath time boredom!

Lawn boy

Baron made a huge mess at dinner tonight so we took his shirt off for the last hour of playtime. He loves (and I mean LOVES) to be naked! In fact by bath time he had managed to pull his pants off on his own.

While he had his shirt off he was pushing his toy around and it looked like he was mowing the lawn. I was laughing and calling him "Nakey" which always makes him smile. He was definitely in show off mode...so much so that he didn't realize he let go of his toy and was standing by himself. Once he noticed (and the camera snapped) he was terrified, but eventually started to look more confident.

Growing Tall and Reaching High

Baron is tall enough to hold onto the top of our dining room table. We have been playing alot of games with our friends and he is very curious to see what is going on. I love those big blue eyes peeking up at me!