Playing with Papa

I've had requests for more Von videos, so tonight I filmed him playing with Papa. He gets a bit distracted by the camera, but I think we captured the fun. And yes, that is a brief shot of my pregnant belly.

Dirty Hippie Baby

Aaron and I didn't bathe Von for 6 or 7 weeks after he was born. I loved finding vernix in his creases and cracks and rubbing it in to his soft baby skin. We called him our dirty hippie baby. :) We would wipe his chin cheese with wipes, but eventually it was time for a bath. And, he hated it. Because his skin is so sensitive and he has eczema, we bathe him only when necessary, and until recently, he would scream and cry. But Aunt Erin sent him bath toys for his birthday, and that has helped him enjoy his bath a little more. Also, now that he's so big, he's in need of a bath more often and he has grown to really like it. He squeals when he sees the bathtub, and he LOVES his rubber ducky--often, he wants to sleep with it. So tonight, we taped a bit of his bath time so you could see how much fun he has. And, as an added bonus, you can see him doing his head bonking.

One-Year Pictures

It's hard to believe that Von is almost 14 months! I love this stage where his personality is really starting to develop. He has a super sweet disposition and is very patient, except when waiting for meals--once he's in his high chair, he thinks he's dying of hunger. :) Otherwise, he rarely ever cries; however, a few weeks ago he was teething pretty seriously, and he did cry a few times. When he cried, I ran to him right away--I knew that if he were crying, he was definitely not okay. So now he's figured out that crying is a sure way to get me running to him, and he tries to conjure up a cry. He wrinkles his face and makes a squeaky sound. It's REALLY funny, and I'm trying to get video of it. It reminds me of when Lindsay Bluth tries to cry.


Anyway, I wanted to post his one-year pictures. He is so much fun! I hope you enjoy.

  

 

 

Visit from AB and UG

Last month, my Aunt Brenda and Uncle Gary (Daddy's brother) came through town on their 40th wedding anniversary trip. They graciously made time to spend with us and meet Von. Von LOVED them, which warmed my heart. It was so fun to see them with him as he laughed and played and reached for Uncle Gary.

 

Happy First Birthday!

Von is one! Aaron and I were saying yesterday that this has been the happiest year of our lives. Being parents has deepened our love for each other, and Von has brought so much joy into our home. At one, Von has eight teeth--four on top and four on the bottom. He weighs around 22 pounds, which is around the 50th percentile for weight, and he is close to 32 inches long, which is around the 90th percentile for height. He sleeps 12 hours a night and plays in his crib in the morning for 30-40 minutes before calling out to me. He still takes two naps a day. For breakfast, he eats three cups of baby oatmeal and half a cup of applesauce. At lunch, he eats two fruits and a baby yogurt with baby cheese puffs afterward. After his nap, he gets graham crackers for a snack. For dinner, he eats two meats and three to five veg followed by baby cookies. He has weaned himself and refuses cow's milk, so for now we are giving him vitamin D drops. The doctor is not concerned, which is a relief to us. He loves to play in his playpen and watch "Thomas the Train Engine." His favorite activity, though, is going for walks. He absolutely LOVES being pushed in the stroller--the longer, the better. He is a champ in the nursery at church and is becoming more and more social.

The Saturday before Von's and my birthdays, Aaron had planned a fun day away in Pueblo. I have been wanting to get to the river walk, and he knew of a couple delish restaurants to try. We had planned to meet up with Bob and Deanne, who were spending the weekend nearby. But a few days beforehand, I got a sinus infection and Von came down with a high fever. He wanted to do nothing but cuddle with Mommy, so I knew he really didn't feel well. On Von's actual birthday the next Wednesday, we were driving to Texas to go to celebrate Aunt Vicki's life with family. We were obviously gone that Saturday as well. The next Saturday when we were home, we all three had colds! So we were unable to celebrate Von's birthday until this weekend. We opened all his presents and then he tried his first cupcake. I apologize for the length of the first video--I had no idea how long it would take him to actually taste the cupcake!

Pre-cupcake picture!

Von didn't appreciate Papa's keeping his hands away from the flame!

So at the end of the day, Von actually did enjoy his cupcake. 

Daddy's boy

Every day when Aaron gets home from work, Von hears the key in the door and then goes crazy until Papa picks him up for kisses and wrestles. It's possibly my favorite part of the day.

Standing up!

Von has been pulling himself to a stand for about two months. We set up his portacrib, and he loves playing in it. It's a little hard for him to pull himself up because of the design of the portacrib, but I still got it on tape. This was about a week ago, and now he's walking around the edges of the portacrib. Such a big baby!

Fun with Papa

Von has a new game where he tries to eat Papa's face. We were laughing so hard! I'm not sure how clearly this video captures it, but hopefully you'll get the idea.

Jumping around

You might remember this blog post from about 6 months ago. Well, Von has officially outgrown his jumperoo, and here is why...

Once he saw the camera, he got distracted, but in the beginning you can see how aggressively and roughly he can jump. He'll do this for 20-30 minutes straight, pausing to see if Mommy is watching, and then he'll start in again. But since he's so tall and so aggressive, we did have to retire the ole jumperoo.

Bahaha!!

Papa is so funny. Mommy spends alllll day with Von trying to coax smiles and laughs out of him and is successful maybe 7% of the time. But the moment Papa walks in the door...

England 2013

In January, Von and I went to Bristol, England, to visit my sister Caitlin so we could help out after she gave birth to her newest delight, Caleb Peter. We were there for 2.5 weeks and had a marvelous time! Of course, with all the kids, it was a bit crazy--Lael is 5, Gabby is 3.5, Mattea was 20 months, Von turned 10 months while we were there, and of course, the newborn. There was not a dull moment! In the middle of our visit, my sister Erin came for a week with her baby, Aidan, who is 7 and was a great help and a big trooper with all the little girls clamoring for his attention. Although it was very difficult to be away from Aaron for so long, it was the trip of a lifetime, and Von and I miss the Lieders so very much! We did undertake going to Bath one day, and in the midst of the busyness of six kids under 7, I didn't get a single picture to prove that Von was there. It will be fun someday to tell him of all our adventures with his cousins.

Bible-reading and prayer time with Aunt Caitlin

Aunt Erin and baby Caleb

Just the boys!

Caleb, Gabby, Aidan, Mattea, Lael, and Von

Playing with a saxophone on the bed

Lunch after swimming lessons. It was a crazy adventure!

On our way home, with food all over his face. He was a super traveler and did great!

With Mattea, who is twice his age. Next time they see each other, she'll think twice before snatching his toy. Or giving him all kinds of kisses. :)

Christmas in Montrose

We spent the last half of Christmas break in Montrose with Aaron's parents. Von loved all the attention from Grammie and Grampie as well as all the fun toys they had for him. Oh, and I can't forget Miss Kitty! I wasn't able to get a picture, but Von was quite enamored with her. Here is a taste of our fun visit.

Out to breakfast at The Daily Bread.

Nepalese dinner with Grammie and Grampie. Well, Von ate baby food, not Nepalese.

Opening gifts!