I just wanted to share some funny pictures of the little man trying to figure out my soda bottle.

We continue taking advantage of each warm day.  It was even warm enough the other day for our little man to experience grass!

He wasn't too sure about the grass between his toes.  Maybe because the ground was a little wet still. 

He enjoyed sitting in it though.

This last weekend we had grand plans to take our baby boy to the zoo.  We were all so excited!  But we should have done our research because once we reached the zoo, we discovered that it doesn't open until the middle of April. 

We took little man to a pet store instead, where he had a great time with a friendly dog and some fish. 

The rest of the day was spent on a project this mama has been anxious to finish for a while....decorating our bedroom!

My hubby did a great job making a headboard for Christmas.  Now he has also built shelves to match and helped me hang pictures and drapes.  I love it! 

While we were working on the room, little man was playing on the floor and on the bed.  I found him quite happily playing with the cord to my computer.

Since he's been known to chew on cords, I had to take it away.  Now you get to witness one of my little man's famous tantrums. 

They keep getting bigger and more elaborate.  In fact, he's started squeezing out a few tears in addition to kicking and screaming.  I can't *wait* for the terrible twos.

Since hubby won't be here for Easter, we had an early Easter celebration.  It's my favorite holiday and I have been really excited to share it with little man.  We'll probably extend the celebration through to April 8th. :)

I let little man help pick out his Easter basket.  His daddy wanted him to have a camouflage one, since this kid has always been a huge fan of camo.  I let him pick out the color.  

Little man really loved the chocolate bunny we got him.

And with help from his mama, he also enjoyed grabbing all the eggs we left lying around the room for him.

Although I did get him a chocolate bunny, all of our little man's eggs were filled with appropriate baby snacks: raisins, cheese crackers, and strawberry puffs. 

Little man has the cutest way of walking around.  We all have different ways of describing it.  My brother says he walks like a Nazi.  His grams thinks it's more of a Frankenstein walk.  You be the judge:

So sorry I didn't post yesterday!  We had a busy day full of travel.  Little man did awesome though.

While visiting my family last week, we caught the little man "helping" with the laundry.

Hubby is home for a visit before heading to a new work site. Baby boy and I are both very excited to have him with us. There are things a boy can only learn from his father...because women just don't think about them (at least...not this woman!) One of the fun things our little man has already picked up from his daddy is how to properly play with cars. It is possibly one of the cutest things ever!!!

I found some bubbles on sale when I went to the grocery store the other day.  On a whim I bought them, thinking maybe little man and I could have some fun with them.

We definitely have!

The other day little man got himself stuck in the corner.  At first he was pretty upset, but like any mom, I still stopped to get a picture.  And as soon as he saw what I was doing, little man put on his best smile.  He's so funny.

Happy Pi Day!  Also, happy birthday to one of my best friends in the entire world.  Perhaps today Little Man and I will make a pie in her honor.  :)

Yesterday I dragged little man around for three hours while I ran some errands.  I am happy to say that he was good the entire time, and actually spent most of the trip chatting.  He's so cute, and when he's so happy and well-behaved...well, what more could a mama ask for?

Little man and I are taking full advantage of every sun-shiney day we are having.  Saturday we went to the park to play.

Baby boy was super interested in all the people there, I could hardly get him to look at me because he was so busy looking around.

On our walk the other day, little man and I stopped to get a drink.

Irish cream caramel Frappe'.  Yum.  I tried offering my little man a sip but he couldn't figure out the straw.  He kept licking it.

So instead I had put some in his mouth, using the straw as a dropper.*  He loved it.  Probably not the healthiest thing I've ever let him taste....

*Note: Don't worry, I am not crazy enough to give my child caffeine.  This was a caffeine-free beverage.

Some friends introduced little man and I to a local cat shelter.  We went the other day and I think my baby boy was in heaven.  He laughed and smiled and literally shook with excitement.  He made a lot of friends.  One cat even tried to snuggle right up in his face. 

I think we will be going back for more visits in the future. 

Monday it was a balmy 45 degrees Fahrenheit, and little man and I took advantage of the warmer temperature by taking a nice walk.  I think we both needed the fresh air, because my little man was in a fantastic mood and talked to me the whole time we were out. 

We visited this beautiful building and thoroughly enjoyed the sunshine and the company!

I'm hoping the weather will allow a lot more walks like this in the future.

P.S. Doesn't he look so cute in his sunglasses and dinosaur hat?  I giggled like a school girl when we put them on and I saw how adorable he was. 

A little while ago I discovered that little man likes to imitate noises he hears.  I noticed it one day when he heard a little girl crying and began matching her pitch.  I noticed it again when I kissed him and he smacked his lips to try and recreate the sound.  Finally I was reading a story with animal noises in it and he was working hard to imitate the noises.  Since then, we have been practicing different noises. Sometimes he just looks at me like I'm crazy, but I love the moments when he grins and follows my lead.

Now that he's mobile, my little man is all over the place.  I can't turn away for even a second without finding something like this:

or this:

or this:

or this:

or this:

or (this one is the most horrifying for me) this:

 He's such a busy baby!

Little man has never been one for conventional peekaboo.  He loves it when his daddy will jump out from behind a couch, wall, etc. and ROAR! 

In hubby's absence, I've been trying to play the best I can.  I'm not good at the deep, throaty roar.  But the other day when a blanket fell on my little man's head and he began giggling, I took advantage of the situation.

It turns out Mama's version of peekaboo is pretty cool too. 

Some days my little man is just so chatty!  I always wonder what it is he's talking about, because he gets so into what he's saying.

P.S. Guess who is 10 months old today? He's growing so fast!!!

The other day I read an article in an LDS monthly magazine about God.  The beautiful way it was written made me look at things in a way I never had before.  I was taught from my birth that I have a Father in Heaven and He loves me individually.  I've never really taken the time to stop and think what that means though.  Then I read this quote from the article: "Regardless of the circumstances of our mortal birth, we are all spirit sons and daughters of heavenly parents. God is a righteous and loving father. Our spirits came into being out of love and a deliberate choice to give us life and opportunity."

It hit me so powerfully and I sat back and realized...I was made with a purpose.  My heavenly parents chose to have me, and they love me.  How do I know this?  Because I am a mother. I love my son.  I told someone just the other day that my baby boy is my world.  He is my sun, my moon, my stars, my everything.  I would do anything for him and I want him to have the best things in this life.  I want him to always be safe and feel loved.  I want him to be healthy his whole life long.  I want him to be smart and do well in school.  I want him to make lots of friends, to recognize feelings of trust and loyalty.  I want him to experience triumph.  I want him to work hard and feel that great feeling of accomplishment.  

Those feelings I have for my son?  That absolute love that takes my breath away and makes my eyes fill with tears?  There is a God in Heaven, my Heavenly Father, who feels that way about me.  And guess what?  He feels that way about you, too.

(P.S. Happy Anniversary to my own sweet parents.  26 years and still going strong!)