the escapee

I walked into Christian's room tonight and found him standing on his window sill.

We're so lucky he didn't fall backwards.

When I heard him yelping for help I was slightly annoyed, figuring I'd find him in his crib begging for some milk. Of course, my feelings changed when I opened the door.

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. So I called Shane in for his reaction.

To get to his window Christian must have climbed over his crib onto the dresser (where he knocked over the stereo and speakers we use to play him lullaby music) and from there stood up and crossed onto the window sill. He then probably enjoyed a minute or two looking out the window into the parking lot before realizing he was completely stuck. He couldn't bend his knees to let himself down without pushing himself away from the window pane and risk losing his balance.

Again, we're so lucky he didn't fall. I don't even want to think about what could have happened.

Of course, Christian was completely unaware of any real concern. He was just relieved to be freed from the window sill but also weary of being scolded. Instead he was hugged and allowed to sit on his dad's lap for a few minutes while we watched the end of "The Social Network." So much for our tough parenting skills. ;)

Before we left to spend Christmas with Shane's family in Idaho, Christian escaped from his crib two nights in a row. Once we found him on the dresser, once we found him standing on the bottom rail of his crib trying to get back in. We planned to convert his crib to a bed when we returned but held off when we realized he hadn't escaped since. Now I guess we have some decisions to make. For starters, it's probably time to get that dresser far away from that crib.

For those of you with kids, are we right in thinking we need to ditch the crib at this point?

P.S. For those wondering, we both enjoyed "The Social Network" -- there were a few moments where I was worried we needed to do some editing but the story was well-paced and very interesting. Although now I really don't like Mark Zuckerberg.

first day of nursery

{modeling his "scripture specs" from nursery}

Christian officially attended nursery for the first time during the second and third hours of church this past Sunday. Some kids really struggle adjusting to nursery but when Christian saw all the kids and toys I don't think he even looked back. No shock there. Not only is he super social, he's been getting dropped off with a babysitter each week since the beginning of July. Still, it was a big deal for Shane and I to let him go because it means he's growing up, whether we like it or not.

Of course, this new development means I was able to attend Shane's Sunday School lesson for the first time in months. It's good to be back. Although now I'm afraid he will start cold calling on me again which means I had better be prepared.

totally in denial

...that this little guy will be 18 months old in just two days.

This is what I get when I tell him to say cheese.

It's not easy saying no to this face.

Who gave him permission to grow up anyway?

16 months

Today Christian is 16 months old. All I could think about at church this week was that in just two months, he'll be going to nursery during the second and third hours of church and Shane and I won't know what to do with ourselves. We'll actually have to sit quietly and participate in our classes.

While I worked on dinner tonight, Christian emptied the laundry basket and decide to scoot around in it on our tiny kitchen floor. This kid is so busy that you never know what to expect from him. He's always discovering something new or conquering another challenge. He definitely keeps us on our toes and ensures there is never a dull moment around here.

I had to include this picture -- this is Christian finishing off every last drop of his pasta sauce tonight. I couldn't resist grabbing the camera when I saw what he was up to. Hilarious! (And definitely his mama's boy -- my favorite meals growing up all include marinara sauce -- lasagna, spaghetti, and pizza.)

Couple of notes:

• Lately Christian goes out of his way to cuddle. He's such an active little boy but every now and again he reaches out for a big hug and is often willing to give you a kiss on the lips as well. When he lays his head on my shoulder he'll give a sweet little sigh too, saying "ahhh." It's really cute. Maybe you just have to be there.

• Also, out of the blue, he decided to start blowing kisses. Sure, I've worked on these with him before but he never showed much interest. Now all of the sudden he volunteers them. Love it.

• This little monkey still loves jumping in his crib. We'll put him to bed and it will be quiet long enough that we assume he's asleep. Then, all of the sudden, we'll hear the springs creaking and his little excited babbles and we know he's in there jumping away. At some point he tuckers out and snuggles back up in bed. Even though this has become a pretty regular occurrence it still makes us smile every time we hear it. It also makes us wish we had a video monitor -- just to get a glimpse.

christian vs. yogurt

Christian insisted on feeding himself yogurt this morning. It's not often that he lets us feed him these days. By the time he was done I had to laugh at what a mess he had made -- and he had just been showered too. At least I had the sense not to get him dressed for the day till after breakfast.

I think the yogurt definitely won...

one little monkey jumping on the bed

Recently, Christian got a new crib recently and he was super-excited. Well, I should say he finally got a crib. He's been sleeping in a pack'n'play in our room almost his entire life. I thought he'd have a hard time adjusting to life in his own room, but he's doing just fine. If anything, Shane and I are the ones having a hard time adjusting. It's weird not to see him pop up out of his crib in the early hours of the morning begging to sneak into our bed. The other night he wasn't sleeping well and it was kind of fun to have him nestled in between us like old times.

as promised: birthday party pics

Yes, I'm finally posting some pictures from Christian's birthday party. The good news is I waited so long that I now have more to choose from. He and two neighborhood pals all turned one within three weeks of each other so we had quite the celebration for our three cute birthday boys.

the invitation (courtesy of Miranda's amazing skills)

the birthday boys: Liam, Christian, Milo

sporting their cool birthday shirts

not sure what all the fuss is about...

posters displayed a few favorite pics during their first year on earth

beautiful party hats, made by Erin

the eating/drinking/snacking station

Shane spent most of the party pushing Christian around in this car

funny how each dealt with their doughnut differently...

sweet boy and his demolished doughnut (he did finally taste it and realize it was good)

the partiers and the party planners

as promised: birthday footage

We took a lot of video and pictures on Christian's big day. Unfortunately, half of them are on other people's cameras so I have some gathering to do. Here's some raw footage:

Cake time. We did sing. Luckily Grandma Larsen got that part on camera. This is the aftermath.

All-time favorite gift..? Just might be. Not sure how we'll top it.

toothy, goofy grin

Check out our one-year-old's toothy, goofy grin this morning. I got so spend some extra time at home with him before work and he was all smiles.

Notice he's folding his arms. For some reason he's been doing that a lot lately, not just when we coax him to do it to pray. He'll walk around the house with his hands clasped and arms folded, all the while trying to stay balanced. He's so funny to just sit back and watch -- a constant source of joy and entertainment.

teaser: christian's one-year photo shoot

we just got a glimpse of a few "teaser" pics from christian's one-year photo shoot and i thought i'd share a couple. this kid totally cracks us up and danelle empey did a great job capturing his fun personality. can't wait to see the rest!

{christian's GQ pose...not sure how/when he did this but she caught it}

his birthday is actually tomorrow (thursday, april 8). my, the year sure has flown. i'm kind of in denial that my baby is really a very capable, sweet and stubborn little boy.

park day

christian and kayla spent some time at a few neighborhood parks this week, thanks to some sweet friends who invited them along. the weather was just perfect at the start of the week. it's finally beginning to look like spring in the d.c. area, much to our relief.

dancing king

from the start, christian has been quick to react to music. but it wasn't until we watched the dance scene from "500 days of summer" that we saw him react so fully to it. he couldn't stop rocking, bouncing and waving his arms in the air. when the scene ended he was so sad! he started whimpering until we backed up the dance scene and started it up again. this probably happened five times before we realized we needed to distract him with something else if we didn't want to watch the movie all day long.

sadly, we didn't capture that day on film but we did pull up the scene on youtube a week later and he still gave us a little bit of a show {i'll just apologize now for my laughter and squeals...couldn't help myself!}:

he had more energy when we turned on the "dancing with the stars" version of "bleeding love," although i'd still stay the "500 days of summer" song is his all-time favorite for now. we're going to have to buy the soundtrack because it makes him happy day or night. {although he still prefers to actually watch the dance scene while he moves to the beat, rather than just listen. too funny.}

{don't you love christian's old school striped shirt? another hand-me-down from shane's babyhood. it kind of reminds me of what ernie wears on sesame street. awesome.}