15 month stats

Hartz went to Dr. Amber a couple days after his 15 month birthday.

Latest stats:

Height: 30 3/4" (50th percentile) Dr. Amber predicted he will be around 5 ft 10 1/2 inches when he is a man
Weight: 22 lbs 12 oz (20-25th percentile.. I can't quite remember)
Head: It was 75th percentile (lots of brains)
Passed the pediavision screen!
His pee was normal
Passed his autism screening
Got the flu shot and his Hep B shot

He seemed to get most upset about the thermometer held under his arm than the shots that pierced his legs later. Go figure.

So thankful for a healthy, thriving boy. We are blessed.

15 months

Hartz is 15 months. 1 year and 1/4.  Chris told me the other night that, "Hartz gets more fun everyday"... I think that pretty much sums it up.

                                          Catching rain drops with daddy


Latest words:
uh oh
na na .. I think still is mama or if he wants something (guess that really means the same in a babies' brain)
da da (all the time)
this
that
brooo (mooo for a cow)
panting noise used to just be for a dog, but has moved over to describe lots of animals. He also uses it when I tell him something is hot...

Major Issues: PLANKING AND NOSE PICKING

                     

Actions:
Blows kisses
WALKS like a pro
Opens cabinets and closes them (tupperwear cabinet is his new hang out)
Dances with both arms out and moves them like he is patting the floor instead of raising the roof
Loves to stand behind you if you are sitting on the floor and giggle when you turn to see if he is there
Likes being chased... usually crashes or falls, so mama is not such a big fan
Uses a fork and spoon pretty dang well
HUGS the cat, girls, boys, anyone. (definition of hug: laying head on someone/something)
Waves hi and bye
Loves putting things inside other things
Stacking
Does "shoo fly" with his hand and laughs
Twirls his hand in a circle at the fan
Turns his sounds machine off and on all day long

Has become a huge fan of glasses

       AND hugging the cat..... 

Food:
SMOOTHIES (daddy takes care of making these, since they usually include banana)
Oatmeal with yogurt and cinnamon
PB & Honey still a usual go to
Sweet Potatoes
Zucchini Cakes were a hit
Still pretty good at trying new things even though it might take him 20 min to build up the courage to taste it. I have moments of impatience with him and food, but realize from a wise friend that he is learning so much by exploring food. So, we are definitely in an exploration, hour long mealtime phase.

                      Super Talented ... can use a fork and spoon at the same time

Sleep:
Still 2 naps a day (9am and 2pm)
Bed by 8pm and we are working on sleeping till 7am again. Right now he wakes up between 5:30 and 6am. Working on him learning that he gets to stay and rest in his crib until 7am.. he doesn't quite get it yet.

This pretty much sums up how Uncle Robert's 40th birthday party started and ended

Hartz, you are becoming little Mr. Independent and I truly believe this is my favorite stage. (Don't worry I will think the same thing next month). You are more than anything we could have dreamt up and I am so thankful for the gift God gave us in you 15 months ago. I feel like I blink these days and you grow... I am sure I will feel that way when you are 16 and talking about some girl. ahhhh! I need to stop. We love you.

A Five Year Retrospective

Chris here. Heather and I just celebrated five years. So I'm offering up a little retrospective of our last five anniversaries!

0. Our wedding day! The night before the wedding was a little crazy, so I was a little under the weather, but everything else about our wedding was awesome. Heather looked great. The food was great. Everything went off without a hitch.

1. Year One. We celebrated our first anniversary in beautiful New Mexico. My parents own a condo in Taos and they graciously let us borrow it for a long weekend. We rented a car and we got a PT Cruiser convertible! I guess that's cool. This pic is us driving up into the mountains with the top down. Hair blowin in the wind. Not a care in the world.

2. Year Two was spent at Disney's Wilderness Lodge. Thankfully we got upgraded to the Executive Floor (or something like that). Free hors d'oeuvres, drinks, coffee, the whole nine yards. This is us getting ready for our romantic dinner. We had seafood. Nothing but the best for my bride!

3. Year Three: Savannah. We stayed at some hotel right downtown. It was real swank, and haunted too. We traipsed around the city during the day and hit up all the tourist spots. The highlight for me was our lunch at Fuddruckers. Heather loves that place. We did class it up one night and eat at a fancy restaurant (the Pink House), but we headed over to Outback after dinner for some drinks so I think that cancels it out. The above pic is us right after we checked out our hotel room. I'm wearing the exact same shirt right now!

4. Year Four: ????? Neither of us really can remember exactly how we spent this anniversary. Hartz was only a couple of months old, so we were both pretty frazzled. I think we went to Houston's, but I know for sure that I did get her some flowers and I have a picture to prove it.

5. Year Five: Kansas City. For our fifth, we wanted to do something huge. So we decided on the biggest city of them all... Kansas City (Missouri side of course). Well actually, I had to go up there for work and Heather decided to tag along and visit her sister. The Walkers were total troopers and babysat Hartz overnight so we could go out and celebrate. We stayed at the Southmoreland Bed and Breakfast in the Plaza area near downtown KC. The place was gorgeous and Heather was a little surprised and nervous for leaving her little baby, but he was in good hands.

We splurged and stayed in the Carriage House. The room was cozy, the weather was beautiful and we even had a bottle of sherry next to the bed. We walked down to a restaurant called Starker's for a fancy dinner among Kansas City's elite. Heather got a steak. I went with the halibut.

We finally had a chance to sleep in a little, but were able to drag ourselves down for a wonderful breakfast. Above is a picture of me checking my blood sugar before eating the pineapple dulce de leche. The main course was some sort of egg dish. It was delightful. Heather snapped a pic and said "This one's for Brittany."

Looking back at all the things we've gotten to do over the last five years makes me feel pretty lucky. There's no one else in the world I'd rather spend time with than my beautiful wife.

Kansas City Trip

We got super lucky when we heard Chris had to go back to Kansas City, Fort Leavenworth to be exact.. which meant Hartz and I could tag along and visit the Walkers as well as some of the other Teske Family.

Our journey began on September 5th with a morning, non-stop flight. Hartz did amazing. Auntie Amber recommended a smoothie in his straw sippy cup during lift off to help with ear pressure (genius) and after nursing a little, Hartz was fast asleep for an hour. The rest of the flight he explored some of his new toys (slinkie!!) and watched some cool stuff on the IPad.

He loved looking out the window and smiling at all the people behind us. No one seemed bothered by his sweet self.

We landed in Kansas City and got in the rental car and made the 30 minute trek to Blue Springs to the new Walker Home. It is absolutely beautiful and I didn't realize how good it would feel to hug my family. We brought a couple treats for Joe and Tes. I think mustaches and tattoos make us the coolest aunt and uncle ever.

Our days were filled with tons of cousin playtime and beautiful weather. Hartz walked like he had never walked before and was spoiled rotten with new toys and fun people around the clock.

Joe was pretty fond of his cousin who can walk and play now. He even told me one evening that "Hartz is so adorable, Auntie"

Tes loved Hartz too. She was able to read Hartz's mind a lot. She would tell me "Auntie, I think he needs his water" or "Auntie, Hartz wants me to play with that toy (the toy he was holding)"

Hartz has learned a new trick. Joe and Tes wanted to experience the fun as well.

Saturday we headed out to Deanna Rose Homestead. My cousin, Tonya and her family came, as well as my dad and Jean. It was $2 to get in and it was a full out petting zoo.. where they also have pony rides and fishing with live worms you put on the hook yourself (ick). Hartz was particularly fond of the area where you were able to feed goats with bottles of milk. He loved petting and chasing after the goats. Trust me we washed hands well, especially since daddy refused to enter the area due to the memory of the ecoli outbreak of 2001 at the Strawberry Festival petting zoo. ha.

It was a really great trip. Here are a few more cute pictures from the week.