Vaughn's first!

Mmmmm, Frosting!

I imagine that is what he was thinking...as he really enjoyed sucking on his fingers...that is until he decided to rub his eyes and his head thus spreading the orange icing EVERYWHERE!

Vaughn's first birthday went very well. We had a bunch of great friends, a couple of playmates, some fun new things to play with and good food. I know he won't remember this party but perhaps all the pictures he will see when he is older and the love he is feeling...he will know he one lucky boy.

He absolutely loves talking on toy telephones! So, with his cuteness and charm, he got his mom to create this cake based on the Fisher Price Chatterbox Telephone.

And THAT is where the cake was taken away, he got cleaned up and the gifts came out!

Here is the video of his first cake eating experience!

Hey, everyone's looking at me, oh wait, who is THIS guy?!

Vaughn was having a good time until he turned and to see where he was sitting. I think he thought everyone was looking at HIM! At least we got one good picture before he was traumatized for the rest of his life!

Vaughn's almost 1!

I can hardly believe it but Vaughn will be 1 year old on Wednesday!

Vaughn can say dada, mama, uh-oh and baba, bye bye, hi and yeah...but not always for the right things. He has 6 teeth (4 top, two bottom). He is moving into the toddler room soon as he becomes a "big boy" and eats all the school food, wears shoes to play outside and now naps on a cot. So weird for mommy to hear! He is even working to get rid of those bottles! He has walked for months now but as he sees the other kids in class, it makes him want to do more big kid stuff!

Babble from my babe...

Here is a short video of Vaughn making some noise. It is a couple weeks old but it still makes me smile. Don't worry, it will turn the right way after a few seconds...

Our little Blockhead!

Here's Vaughn at the school Fall Festival! He was a hit! We also dressed him up for the Downtown trick or treating. Obviously he doesn't quite "get" the trick or treating yet...and unless people are handing out Goldfish crackers, he can't eat it but...we had fun seeing him and the reactions to all the different costumes.
Now here in the south, there is some question as to if we are to trick or treat Saturday or Sunday...which is actually Halloween. We will see!

Fall fun



a cute shot that micah got when we were in Vermont...Vaughn has a great furrowed brow.



Vaughn at Patterson Farms in Mooresville, NC

Vaughn in Brandon, Vermont (thus the hat!)

October is already half over! I can hardly believe it. Vaughn is walking all over like he owns the place! And you can tell, he thinks he is pretty cool now. Here is a video showing his moody side...He isn't always smiling. I think his teachers and us are the only ones who see him like this.

And here is another video showing Vaughn in his favorite spot. Looking out the front door. We sometimes open the storm door and put up the baby gate. He loves to hang out there and rattle his cage. Here, he is watching Micah mow the lawn.

We had a great time in Vermont visiting Courtney and Jon. We got a chance to check out their new farmstead, the market garden and surrounding towns for a few days. The GPS took us on an adventure through the Green Mountains in which it thought we were in Georgia for a time. It was quite interesting! The fall was arriving and there was a nip in the air. The tree lined country roads were beautiful. Vaughn did really well traveling despite a cold. We scoured the local small markets for comforts like infant tylenol and Vaughn's familiar formula (there was a recall on his and Vaughn's discerning palette noticed the similar brand change).

We had a great time and it was good to see my dear Court in her pregnancy. I can't wait to have her experience the craziness and wonderfulness of becoming a mother for the first time.

Court's homestead in the fall



Vaughn unsure about the cow guest as we were waiting on our Ben & Jerry's tour



a beautiful Vermont landscape...

Daddy and Vaughn

Is Vaughn Ben or Jerry? I didn't catch that on the tour.

Court and Vaughn. Vaughn will be 1 year older than baby Satz!



The next blog entry will have Halloween pictures of the little man! I'll give you a hint...AAARRRRGGGHHHH!

Brute of a boy!

I just cannot tell you how FAST this boy is getting places and growing! It is AMAZING! He is fully walking now...If he wants to get somewhere, he usually chooses too stand up and at least TRY to walk there. If he stumbles a little, he will go back to crawling...but only for a little while.

I must point out in this video, I say he is walking at 9 1/2 weeks...obviously I mean Months!

And you also get to witness how quickly Vaughn's mood can change!

Now because of this learning process, he is still a bit unsteady. We got a call from school this week to tell us that Vaughn was walking and fell into a plastic toy bin, hitting his nose so hard that his nose bled a little! OH MAN! I was a little freaked out, but they assured me after a little crying...he had recovered and was happily playing. And two hours later when I arrived to pick him up (and sign the accident report), there was no sign of this stumble. This stumble into being a big boy.

He has now shed blood...the first of probably many in his journey into being a boy.

He is the first in his class to be walking, and not the oldest...so now the race is on to see who will follow his lead! I wonder if any of the other babies saw him do that and think, "I am NOT going to do THAT if a bloody nose comes of it!"

We are expected to be in the 70's this weekend...it will be a welcome additional cool down.

I wanted to show our awesome artwork that my friend Lauren did for us! One is of Vaughn and the other is of the girls. They are in our bedroom. We love them!

Turning 35 and baby steps!

Uncle Lucas came to town! Vaughn just loves playing with him!

Lucas coming to North Carolina was a total surprise for me that Micah set up. Lucas and Micah were waiting for me in the Lowe's lobby on Thursday afternoon. I had NO idea! Micah just told me that he had something to give me Thursday before the birthday weekend. I didn't ask questions, just headed down to see what it was! It was SO much fun. We spent a couple of days getting ready for the 35th birthday party and a couple more days recovering from it...or at least I did!

Here is the video of cutting the cake at my 35th birthday party. We all ate and drank a lot...and kept on eating that cake for days!

My mom and Dad sent this chirping racoon/chipmunk thing. Vaughn got a kick out of it.

And here is a few more steady steps to see...

Micah worked really hard to get the back yard set up to be usable. He did a great job and turned an odd corner around the hot tub into an awesome entryway with landscaping plants and lights with a walkway and stairs. It is wonderful to walk through and relax in. Take a look:

Cooling out in NC

Vaughn (with his red cheeks) and Da-Da

We FINALLY cooled off a little in NC. I don't know if it had anything to do with Hurricane Earl in the gulf, all I know is that we are thankful! We spent a lot of time out on the deck this weekend enjoying the shade and breeze.
Vaughn is really starting to vocalize himself lately. While happily smiling and screaming is disturbing in a restaurant...most other times, we welcome the babble. He also has a cute little huh-huh when he sees something that he is happy about. It's like his little baby chuckle. I included this video so you can hear some of the chatter that comes out of his mouth. We were at Borders and Vaughn was all too happy to get out of the stroller to walk around. A young girl was looking for a playmate and Vaughn loved watching her move the beads on the wooden and wire toy thingy. Why is it they always have these things in doctors offices and public places where you know they never get cleaned? I just know that I rubbed a wet wipe over his hands as we left. Notice I turned the video off once I realized he was trying to bite one of the beads. Gross. It was then time to leave!
HAPPY LABOR DAY!

First steps!

It is all happening so fast! Vaughn's second tooth is coming in right behind the first AND our little man has decided it is time to start walking! He has lingered standing quite a few times but we have a few small little steps the last time or two! It is such a proud moment that we just had to share.

Yay Mad Men and Modern Family! Two great shows!

He's a big boy!

Oh...I am a little sad and so excited for our little boy! He finally cut his first tooth and he is enjoying scraping it on anything he can get his mouth around. It is sharp! I was really starting to wonder about it. He is getting close to 9 months old and all the kids in his class already have them. Now it is here and I can stop worrying.

Also, Monday marks another milestone as Vaughn moves up to the older infant side of the day care room. He is SO mobile now and this room will be easier for him to get around with his crab walk and cruising. He will also be with some other kids that are walking and seeing that will definately make him want strive for it. I have confirmation that if they see him walking at school...that they will not tell me and let me see it for myself. I told them I would be crushed if I missed it and they said I wouldn't be the first parent to express this concern.

And I am going to officially say his first word is Da-da. I wasn't ready to call it for a while because we always got a string of da-da-da-das but now it seems pretty definate. Video above is him babbling.We hear Ma-ma every now and then and I swear he is working on doggie next.

How cool is that?

He is growing up so fast!!! Our family pictures (above) were over 2 months ago!
Love to all our friends and family looking in on us from afar!

Baby's first trip to the beach!

Vaughn got to go to the beach for the first time. He wasn't thrilled. How could you with 100 degree heat, blazing sun, sticky sunscreen and a mouthful of sand? Mom and dad learned our lesson and I think we need to wait for baby to be older to try this again. We did relax while we were in Wilmington but Micah didn't get the beach time we went for. Baby had other plans.