Catching You Up Some...

Our deepest apologies once again for our incredible slackerdom. Instead of groveling, we'll just get you the update on this kid.

Boden's means for engaging people are becoming more creative and demanding- perhaps we should ignore him a little more- about a month ago, the feller decided to stick each of his thumbs in my nose, and proceeded to make shadow figures on my face. It just seems a bit extreme.

The kid is eating like a champ now- too much on some days. He's been ralphing up the last couple nights when he hit the tipping point. I guess this is better than not eating at all. It has even gotten to the point where Mr. B. is trying to feed himself- he still has the difficulty of figuring out which end of the spoon goes in the mouth- and sometimes he has a hard time knowing where his mouth is... but at least it keeps life a little interesting.

Boden's now been to the zoo three times. The growling that began with his stuffed animals has extended to all things critter at the zoo... giraffes, elephants, bears, penguins... But at home, not only does he growl at all of his stuff animals, he also wrestles them down to the ground, gives them the ole flying elbow, then tries bite their noses off. (His momma would like to insert that he also gives a mean snuggle)

And the walking... oh, the walking. Boden took his first steps about three or four weeks ago now. He's completely on the run now (more on that in a later blog). There is no stopping the boy at this point. We can only hope to contain him. Away from the toilet. Away from the stairs.

In addition, the boy has become ever-so-gregarious... Steph took him to the grocery store the other day and couldn't get out of pasta aisle because the boy kept saying "Hi!" to anyone that would pass by. We caught him telling jokes and carrying on with the kids at school today- if only we could understand him. It'll come I suppose.

That's all for now. Cheerio.

Things are a'happenin!

Admittedly- I have become somewhat of a slacker. Life has suddenly gotten very hectic... and like most very hectic times, I'm mostly too busy to even know what is making it so hectic. But that's just part of living I suppose. During all of this, Mr. B. has started doing and discovering new things at an incredibly rapid pace. And- I might add- his meteoric rise to stardom has begun.

As you can see- this kid is looking a lot more like a little boy everyday. It both exciting and a little sad. He's officially grown out of his infant seat- so we've bought one of those bigger honker seats and we need to get a second one.

The boy has started to realize that he's to dad-gum cute for his own good- There's a bit of manipulation and working the momma as you can see. Even when she's wearing his viking hats, he still know how to push the buttons.

It took the boy eleven

months to start sprouting tooth number one. Now we're working on number four at 13 months, so chewing has taken on a whole different meaning. This is good for the actual food department (still digging cheese by the way- especially mac & cheese), bad for mommy's shoulder.

Words are coming slowly but surely. He still can't pronounce eocinophilic esophogitis. The 6th syllable keeps tripping him up. But we're working on it daily.

Life experiences are starting to come a bit more rapid as well. We're selfishly holding the kid back from taking on acrobatics and gymnastics- we can't quite stomach the head diggers off the couch. But we are eating outside most often, turning around backwards to go do the stairs and trying to chase Elway around the house.

Boden recently went to the zoo with his cousins Addison and Quinn. He's fairly certain that the peacocks were the best- although I kind of think it was the polar bears in reality- they just didn't get as close.

This boy went to Rangely to visit Grandma and Grandpa Petersburg and realized that he's not sure what to think of town grass. Mountain grass is a little mores sparse- and you're usually having to avoid the ole elk doodie. In town you can actually get down and crawl around on the stuff... crazy. I tried to put some video on- but didn't work. Just imagine a cat with a sticky not on its foot and you'll get the picture. Grandma also put him up to the piano for a little sweet music. That'll need some work.

Dinner has become the nightly adventure. Boden has decided that he really likes to put things in jars and try to cap the buggers. We're now dipping pears, chicken, tacos, green beans, cheese... you name it- in sweet potatoes, green beans pears chicken (blended up, no doubt), blue berries... you name it. He's slowly learning to use a spoon too. The problem is remembering which end to stick in the mouth and which end to stick in the jar. Its all so confusing.

Perhaps the cutest thing (according to Mr. B's momma) is that Boden is all about sharing the love right now. Most of the time, he's doing it in an appropriate manner. "Snuggle Puppy" has become his favorite buddy- supplanting Tariq from the early years. This- is appropriate. Boden also likes to share the love in a more... exhibitionist way. We cannot keep the kid from standing up naked in his window. Thankfully the neighbors don't seem to mind. But we're worried about flashing the wrong people on the golf course. This- maybe not so appropriate. We'll let you decide.

Hopefully all this will work. I've been trying to provide you with all kinds of video here- but we're having the infamous "technical difficulties." If it doesn't, I'll try to do it for you again a little later... Cheerio. Happy June to you.

Its Birthday Season!

Mr. B. is now officially one year old. We're a little slow getting up his birthday goods, but better late than never.

At one- the little fella was a hair under 18lbs. So we're making progress in the weight department. Suddenly, and I do mean suddenly, Boden has become somewhat ravenous with the appetite. He's still keenly shunning his vegetables, with the exception of butter-laden carrots... But his pappy is not much for salad either. What boy in their right mind would be any different.

This kid certainly got

spoiled. The party made him think that he's the center of the universe. Momma is trying to instill a good sense of our Scandinavian heritage... Viking hats for all! Viking hats for cake! Viking hats for dogs! Viking hats for cupcakes! Yep, those are chocolate covered frozen bananas. And a frozen cadbury egg for the top (that was my part).

In addition, we had to stick to our western Colorado and Iowa roots, so the kid got outfitted with his first set of cowboy boots and John Deere schwag. Now he's riding a deere... on the back porch. So long as mom or dad are

pushing him.

Pretty good all in all. I think we've endured a relatively smooth first year on the job with this ankle biter without any major failures or catastrophes.

Other important discoveries and items of endearment from the birthday season... Tunnels- both expandable and engineered, sand boxes with age appropriate

toys, tents/forts/things to crawl under, all objects that can fit inside an oral cavity- and preferably items that can be shared with the nearest available adult whose willing to put the sloppy item in their own mouth.

THE SWING!

Aunt Lisa and Uncle Dennis got little Mr. B. a swing way back for Christmas. The problem with swings in the place we live is all the darn snow... But its starting (ever so slowly) to go away. Never mind that we got about six inches earlier this week.

Now we have the thing up (Thanks Coozin Jason!)- its been up for a few weeks and we've maybe been able to use it about half the time. Boden so loves to go out, spend a little time in the swing and go look at trees, that he's learned what his jacket means and will get just a bit giddy at the sight of it. The boy lives by one simple premise when he's in the swing... The higher, the better.

To top it off- Bestafar (Lars) and Barb got this kid a turtle sandbox for the deck. Not quite like a trip to Bora Bora... but Boden really likes it.

So, the boy is starting to fall in love with the back yard. I think he'd spend all day out there if he could. We might let him if we could keep the kid from eating elk poop. However- somehow, "Boden, don't eat the elk poop" gets lost in translation from us to him. But he still spends a whole lot of time out back.

Dancing Man!

This little fella likes the dancing. There are different things that he digs... Beyonce (he likes girls...what can we say), John Denver, Jack Johnson... Boden definitely hits all genres.

Most of the dancing is hard to sustain- I think that's because either: a. The computer won't load the music video fast enough... b. The boy-child gets distracted by other play items on the fireplace... c. Momma thinks he's too young to be dancing to that kind of music. But the rhythm is always just bubbling below the surface.

Mr. B. has also been honing other talents... placing cheese in his onesie, throwing fits, snuggling up with all the stuffed animals. The changes are coming almost daily. In fact- just the other morning we went to get that boy out of bed in the morning and found the kid with his head above the top rail, standing up and waiting to be pulled out.

Eating At Last!

Okay... so Mr. B's still not eating like a crazy man- but we are making progress. In the last week or so he's finally had a couple of teeth poke through on the bottom and we think... or are at least hoping, that Boden's appetite is picking up.

At the very least, the boy is having a lot more fun shoving things in that hole of his. It's probably more fun than eating to be honest- but there are certain things that go right in the gullet.

Just tonight, Boden got his first helping of bacon- its about time if you ask me. Steph got him to eat a little ham on Easter too- so he's starting to get to the man food. He's also taken to vanilla wafers, strawberries, nasty processed cheese from the plastic wrap, shredded cheese, string cheese (catching a pattern here? He is a lot like his momma!) and some other bits and pieces here and there.

The teeth have become a huge source of entertainment. This boy has been pulling his bowl off the table and starting to stick his face in the bowl as far as possible... only to to want to chew on the side of the bowl. It has nothing to do with actually trying to eat anything. Soon after that, Boden will inevitably wing the bowl, the spoon... the food... as far as he can across the kitchen. But at least its fun.

Anyway- we hope you enjoy a little bit.

Spring Time in the Rockies

We tend to get most of our snow in March and April... and to show you how far behind we are- Steph and I thought that we would put up some of our recent snow pictures from the end of March.

Some friends of ours gave us a hand-me-down sled for Mr. B. In our last big storm, we thought that we would spend a little time on the deck when it was 60 degrees the day after and then take the kiddo out to the golf course down the street to do some donuts.

We Boden likes the snow- but its a little hard to tell since we haven't just dropped him in it- yet. I think Steph plans to wait till next winter for that...

Splish Splash

So Boden really likes his bath now...and it has become much messier for Mama and Papa. We've actually had to change shirts afterwards because we are so wet. This video is a little grainy because of the steam in the bathroom, but you can see his joy in making a complete mess...This went on for at least 5 minutes one night. It sure is a good way to get all the parts clean!

Our Little Viking

Calling all ladies with blonde hair in braids - Boden the Boogery is here! We haven't seen "How to Train Your Dragon" yet, but we got the hooded towel paraphernalia because it was so darn cute. Obviously Boden has room to grow a viking sized head and needs to learn how to handle his horns, but we are seeing real potential - he can already plunder our living room and pillage his toy basket...

Spring Break Party!

In the middle of March- we had the chance to head south like a bunch of snow birds and hang out in Phoenix for a few days with Stephanie's side a little bit... Mr. B. was a little tired of the snow- so it worked well. He was ready to trade snow angels for farmer tans. So- we loaded up in the ole 737 and jumped ship down south.


Probably the highlight of the entire trip was getting to have the chance for Boden to get a good chunk of time to spend with Stephanie's grand dad. Otherwise affectionately known as Boppa. It works well, because Boppa calls Boden... Bogie. I guess it has a certain ring to it- like a seventies sitcom or something- "The Big Bop and Bogie"

We had a lot of firsts on this trip: The Zoo, Swimming Pools, A Baseball Game, Shrieking like a Banshee in the airplane, meeting an overly friendly large man with a beard and gold chains... But what's life if you can't have experiences- heh? We're just making sure our son gets a good early life knapsack full o'fun.

It was a ball getting to have the whole family around- Auntie Brook, Uncle Don, Tia Korona, Z-man, Erik the Great, Boppa and of course, G&G Mac... The only real mishap was a big cup of coffee placed in an unfortunate location next to the white couch and within striking distance of a 10 month old. It could be worse...