Happy 1st Birthday, Davis!!

Davis turned ONE on Monday! I think his first year went by even faster than Carter's, if that's possible. He is a very active little guy and we just love watching him grow and explore and learn. He continues to have a laid-back personality which is a nice contrast to his big brother!

Yesterday was his one-year visit with the pediatrician and everything looks good. He is just shy of 20 pounds, so I think we will wait awhile to turn his car seat around. He has a huge appetite these days and we are starting to introduce whole milk this week. So far, he's not really fond of it but hopefully his little tummy tolerates it and the taste will grow on him. I am ready to save some money and ditch the formula!

I will say that Davis is not as verbal as Carter was at this age (I really hate to do that comparison thing, but it's difficult not to), but the pediatrician said it is too early to be concerned & he meets criteria for his age group by knowing three words: "mama", "dada" and "baby". He did tell me that this is very common for second children (versus the first-born) because they have an older sibling who can "talk for them". We will see where he's at at 15 and 18 months. Since he started walking a few weeks ago, he is now practically running around the house and climbing like a little monkey. It's going to be a long Winter trying to keep these two cooped up in the house!

Davis is certainly a light in our lives and I cannot imagine life without this sweet little boy! We love you, buddy! Thank you to everyone for the birthday cards and gifts! What a lucky little guy! Here are some photos of the boys enjoying Davis's new toys:

This Jeep tent was the best $10 ever spent!

Pretty happy to be opening gifts!

Showing off my seven teeth!

Playing with my new racetrack.

Bedtime on my actual birthday--whew, what a day!

It's a Fort

Yesterday was "make your own fun" at the Beilman household. The boys and I built a fort out of furniture and towels--a good time was had by all!

We Have A Walker...

Here is a video of our big boy walking! Over the past couple of weeks he has perfected his moves and we officially have a "toddler". It is pretty cute to watch him go!

Happy Birthday Aunt Debbie!

Davis and I took my Aunt Debbie out for lunch today while Carter was in school. Last week was her birthday & we finally got around to celebrating it with her! I took these photos after our lunch in the Highlands. Davis sure loves his Aunt Debbie...it was so cute to see him responding to her. He laughed and "talked" with her like he hadn't talked to anyone in years. Happy Belated Birthday, Deb! We love you!!

First Haircut

This afternoon I took both boys to get a haircut. It was Davis's first and he did so well! He only got upset for a second when she spritzed his hair with water. Mostly, he was really into the combs he was holding and the airplane he was sitting in! He was running the propeller and everything...it was pretty cute! Even though it is a subtle difference, his hair looks so much better. It was getting a little ragged around the ears and in back. His little curls really stood out after she trimmed the back & we were able to bring some locks of baby hair home for a keepsake. Today was yet another sign that my baby is becoming a big boy! Sniff.

Mom, is this really necessary?

Just a little off the top, please.

This was my attempted "after" picture...go figure!

Nice view of Carter's new 'do. They couldn't be bothered to actually look at the camera.

A Nice Surprise...

Look what I found in Carter's cubby at school! His teacher told me that he came up with the sentiment on his own & she wrote it for him. She even added that Carter is "such a sweet boy". What a good big brother! (Most of the time.)

Happy Halloween!

This was Carter's first year to Trick-or-Treat and he loved it! He got to be a caterpillar, just like he wanted. Davis was a robot, but people kept thinking he was an alien. We had fun going over to Aunt Natalie's sister's house so that her niece, Neeley, and Carter could collect candy together. It worked out perfectly and Carter had a blast going door-to-door with his new friend. A big thanks to Natalie's family for having us over and welcoming us into your Halloween festivities.

When we got home that night, Grampy answered the door to a big group of Trick-or-Treaters. Carter ran to the door to see the kids, too. He had already changed and loudly told them "Carter had a costume, too! Do you guys like caterpillars?!" It was hilarious. I don't know where he comes up with this stuff. The kids at the door were less-than-impressed and really just wanted to get their candy, but Carter didn't seem to notice. :-)

Davis just wanted to eat the antenna off of Carter's head.

Headed out to our first house!

Carter and Neeley. She was little orphan Annie and her baby sister was Sandy (the dog)--sooo cute!

Party On!

Carter got to re-celebrate his 3rd Birthday at Mimi & Grampy's house. We also celebrated Davis's 1st Birthday a little early, since they won't be with us for Davis's real birthday. Any excuse to eat cake is fine with us! The boys loved their own cakes and of course, more presents! We had a yummy dinner from Smokehouse and enjoyed the time with family.

Carter & his cool "Cars" cake

One big Mizzou family!

Hmmm...what does this cake taste like?

Yummy!! I love it! Thanks, Mimi!

Union Station

Day two in KC was spend at Union Station. They have a very cool Dinosaur exhibit right now that has life-sized animatronic (sp?) Dinos. Carter was a little freaked out by them at first, but once he figured out he could work the buttons to control their sounds and movement, he enjoyed it. After the Dinos, we went upstairs to Science City so the boys could run around and explore. It was a BIG hit!

Grampy, Carter & the T-Rex

(These photos are completely out-of-order.) Carter visited the "Build-A-Dino" shop (run by Build-A-Bear), courtesy of Mimi! He has never gotten to do this before, so it was quite a treat! Carter named his dinosaur "Greeny".

Davis got a baby Dino!

Putting a heart inside...

Fluffing him up with stuffing.

Getting shoved at the water table.

Getting ready for take-off...

Playing in the bus.

Flying the Space Shuttle

Mommy & Carter loving the Dinosaurs.

Mimi & her boys!

Carter running the controls.

Daddy & Carter

Are these real, Mommy?

We all wore Gold & Black for the Mizzou game later that afternoon. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to help our Tigers.

Pumpkin Patch in Kansas City

Mimi had lots of fun things planned for the boys while we were in town. First stop...Carolyn's Pumpkin Patch! We had so much fun exploring the grounds, riding the train, feeding the animals and running the kids ragged. Natalie & Josh brought their niece, Neeley, along who is a year older than Carter. The two of them had a great time together and the rest of us just tried to keep up!

Trying to get the kids to keep their faces in the pumpkin holes was next to impossible.

Uncle Josh with Davis

Neeley and Carter riding the tire ponies

Aunt Natalie & Davis (trying to eat the straw he found)

Mimi & Davis on the train

Choo-Choo!!

Neeley was winning Carter over with her beautiful voice. She was singing us the songs from "Annie". Carter danced while she sang & then chased her down to give her a snuggle. :-)

Sean teaching Carter how to lasso a bull.

Another try for pumpkin faces...

11 Months Old!

Here are some photos from Davis's 11-month birthday on October 22nd. He has started walking some and doesn't even seem to realize he's doing it. It's pretty cute, he looks like Frankenstein with his hands out in front of him for balance. I'll try to get some video of that soon...

Davis now has seven teeth (he cut the top four simultaneously) & has decided he is done with baby food. Of course, I had just gone to the store and gotten a bunch more jars of it. Anyway, he pushes it away and only wants to eat what we're eating & feed himself. He has a healthy appetite! He will often finish off whatever Carter doesn't eat, in addition to whatever else he's already eaten!

I cannot believe we will be celebrating his first birthday in a few short weeks. Mommy might shed a few tears for that one...my baby is just growing up too fast!

Lawrence!

I am very sad to say that I think I accidentally lost all my Lawrence photos (except for those that I already posted to Facebook). I tried to update the blog in KC, using Sean's netbook, and it was a disaster. I am going to keep trying... BUMMER!! Here is the post I started:

After driving all night, we rolled into Lawrence to visit Grandad & Grandma Nancy early Tuesday morning. We had a short two-night visit, but we got to take a walk downtown and eat dinner at a favorite local brewpub. On Wednesday, we drove to the Topeka Zoo and had fun seeing the animals up-close and personal. Aside from being in Jayhawk Country, we had a great time (as usual) and enjoyed a relaxed visit with Grandad. We are looking forward to having Dad and Nancy to our house for Thanksgiving in a few weeks!

3-Year Well Check

Carter had his Well Child visit a couple of weeks after his 3rd birthday & everything looks great! It was his easiest by far, as he didn't need any vaccinations this year. Our only concern was the bedtime routine that has become very stressful with a stubborn 3-year-old & and the fact that the boys are sharing a room. Dr B. gave me some good ideas and we are ready to tackle this! He did warn me that it will likely be a rough couple of weeks as we transition with this new routine, but I think it will be worth it in the long run. I think we will wait until after we return from our KC trip to start, though.

Developmentally, Carter is at a 3 1/2-4 year old level. This was wonderful to hear because we think he's smart, but I'm sure every parent thinks his/her child is the smartest/cutest/best...so it was nice to hear from an unbiased source that Carter is doing so well. However, his growth has tapered off a bit, with his height actually staying almost exactly the same for the past six months. His weight is also down to the 12th percentile, but he is healthy and that's all that matters. We are very happy with Carter's love of school and the progress he is making with learning to share, take-turns and be a good friend.

He is also staying dry at night about 90% of the time (yippee!), but still no #2 in the potty. Hopefully by Christmas we will be done with potty-training!

Gimme Three Steps...

No, I'm not talking about Lynyrd Skynyrd--Davis took three steps yesterday! I don't even think he realized he was doing it. He was wanting to get to one of Carter's toys and just let go from where he was standing and walked to it! (I'll try to get some video next time. It just happened so fast!) Earlier in the day, he had taken a couple of sideways steps, then fell down. I am still thinking it will be a while before he walks, but he is showing serious interest. Carter walked at 11 months and Davis will be 11 months on Friday, so we will see what happens in this next month. Who knows, maybe he will be walking by his 1st birthday! Hopefully his big brother won't stand in his way...