A Day at the Zoo!

Okay, so the holidays got the best of me, and it's been too long since I last posted any updates.  Looks like Thanksgiving passed us by in less than the wink of an eye:

Arjen enjoyed Thanksgiving with many relatives, and a big Turkey!

Then on to Christmas...he enjoyed all of the musical trinkets around the house, the lights on the tree (and ornaments too!), and plenty of new toys!  (how is it possible that one kid can have so much stuff??) Our little family's xmas celebration started when Arjen woke up on christmas eve... before the crack of dawn.  Arjen headed straight towards the one unwrapped gift that Santa left under the tree for him...

...his first bike!  Santa got Arjen a "strider" this year...a bike without pedals.  We'll see how he does!

Being so close in this pregnancy to the time that Arjen was born prematurely, my doctor advised me against flying to Wisconsin this year for Christmas.  I had already requested the week off from work before finding out we wouldn't be flying, and Andrew is off for the week as well, so we've been enjoying a relaxing week at home as a family.  We figured we'd take advantage of the free time and take our first family outing to the zoo!  A few pics from our day with the wild animals...

Watching the crazy monkey swinging from a tree

The crazy monkey!

Big Cat Aunt Shannon

The look on Arjen's face when we took him to see his Aunts - wasn't quite sure what to think!

Dad was in heaven with the goats at the petting zoo

Watching the crazy elephants eating cardboard!

Can we go see more monkeys mom?

Ring-tailed Lemurs

Careful with the caged animals!

"But the Lemurs get to roam free..."

Spookiest animals at the zoo...baby Lemurs?

Getting up close with the Tortoises 

Wiped out, ready for naptime

The past month or so...

Well, birthdays for our little family are done for the year, and holidays aren't quite here yet, so what better time to update this little blog o' mine! 

A quick update on our little man:

• Arjen turned 12 months and 1 day and decided he was ready to walk and never look back
• His 4 teeth have now become 7 going on who knows how many are hiding back there!
• he loves to climb...Gma Cherie even discovered Arjen standing on two stuffed animals in his crib, trying to figure out how to reach his leg over the top edge...needless to say, the crib is officially empty now
• he still loves his watering can...he is developing quite the little green thumb, as he loves being out in our garden "watering" the plants
• he still loves keys...and we consider "keys" his first true word (even before he got mama and dada straight!)
• he loves his dogs, and knows they say "woof", and fortunately both of them seem to enjoy him, or know how to get out of his way fast enough
• he still loves taking things apart and putting them back together, flipping them over and back, and in general is the epitomy of curious george

A few photos from the past month, or probably two, of our amazing Arjen. 

enjoying the slide at frog park (our backyard park)

enjoying dinner...

...shockingly, this is not how he got the food all over

the remote still tops the list of fave toys

aaahhh!!!  :)

lounging with dad

practicing a few necessary guitar riffs

you always want to blame the crazy on your spouse's family, but i suppose i can't argue this one

baaaah!

we went to Devi's neighborhood for halloween to take our first stab at trick or treating and found a circus show! Arjen really was having fun, i promise!

Devi did a much better job bringing home the loot

Arjen still figured Devi could "share" her goodies

The First Birthday Party



are all these people really here for me??

"Ggma, thank you for coming to my birthday party!"

The Keane-Miller ladies, an Anderson boy, an honorary keane-miller girl, and of course, a watering can

Arjen, Aunt Casey, and yes, the infamous watering can

not really understanding the "blow out the candle" bit

Every birthday boy must wear the special birthday hat!

What's a birthday without licking the frosting off the candle?

starting to try the cake

getting a little more excited about eating it

definitely getting more excited about wearing the cake

impressing us all by trying to eat up the crumbs with a fork

opening presents..."you climb up on it like this right?"

practice "sister-baby-brother" doll...big kisses!

Arjen's fancy belt

you're not a true Wisconsonian until you have your own cheesehead!

again with practice "sister-baby-brother"...now wowing us with his babysitting skills

Arjen's first really audible word?  "keys."  go figure...

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!" 



He really did have a fabulous day.  The parents did too!  Considering he pretty much didn't nap the entire day, he really did his party well.  Thank you to everyone for helping make it such a wonderful memory! 

It's official! I'm one year old today!

It's amazing how fast time flies.   Particularly when watching this amazing little person grow and change right before your eyes.  Andrew and I consider ourselves extremely lucky to have had this little guy pick us for parents. He puts a smile on my face every day...what more could a mom ask for?!?

As a tribute to his first year of life (thanks to Kelley for the idea!) we've been taking monthly pictures of Arjen since the beginning, in a white onesie, in the crib.  Granted, the photographer was not the best about being consistent, and the subject for sure has a mind of his own, but here's a little trip down memory lane to see the changes that bring us to today...Arjen's 1st birthday!

was he really that little?

with the xmas goat

all of a sudden he's looking like a baby boy!



and then he started smiling for real!

learning to sit with a little help from his friends

sitting on his own by 6th months!

starting to lean...getting ready to move at 7 months!

pulling up to stand at 8 months

back with his goat buddy

testing out the wing span at 10 months

had to coerce with a bottle to get any photos taken this night

back to the one month pose but now one YEAR!

couldn't resist including this one  :)