Dylan's 1st Birthday!

Mike and I both agree that this has been the longest yet shortest year of our lives. Dylan is such a good boy. He is so smart, loving and fun. Even though the start of his life was rough for Mommy and Daddy, he's an absolute pleasure to have around.

Planning Dylan's party was a thrill. He always starts clapping and dancing when he sees Mickey Mouse, so the theme was a no-brainer.

In this picture, Dylan is seeing his Mickey balloon for the first time.
It's funny how anything can become a weapon. Boys will be boys.

Everybody wants a turn on the piano.

Cake Time!!

He had never felt or tasted such a wonderful, squishy delight.

Dylan had his 12 month check-up this week. He weighs 21 lbs (35th percentile) and is 30 3/4 in (80th percentile). Tall and thin... sound familiar??

12 months

Here's my little 12 month old monkey. He is so much fun.

Poor Tucker. He is going to live with a new family that can give him the love and attention that he deserves. Dylan is going to miss him, but we have plenty of friends that we can visit who have dogs that don't mind kids wallowing on them.

11 months

It wasn't long after I posted the last blog that Dylan started walking. Of course, it wasn't full-time, but walking none-the-less. Now, if he needs to get anywhere, he is walking.

Big smile, silly boy.

He loves climbing on his rocking bug.

Getting ready for his first birthday. He told us that he wanted a Mickey Mouse theme this year.

He finally took the plunge and crawled in. It was a chore getting him out.

His first busted lip. Mike's first instinct was to grab the camera.

10 months

Life is definitely not boring here in the Stobie house. Dylan is full of excitement. I think that 9/ 10 months is my favorite age so far... even though I said the same thing at 6/7 months. Dylan is all over the place finding new things to play with and making new games.

This is one of his favorite games that he made up- He'll hide behind the stroller and when you ask "Where is Dylan?" That little head pops out and he starts laughing.

Here he is in his socks and shoes. I can't believe he's not walking yet, not that I'm complaining! He wants to badly, and he'll take a few steps here and there, but he's just not sure enough to go all the way.

Another favorite game- Playing in the laundry basket. Daddy even carries him around in it, but Mommy can only push him around on the floor. Dylan loves to push the basket all around himself. It's his walker.

Here he is first thing in the morning. That's a happy little sleepy face. I could just eat him alive.

Other accomplishments/favorite activities:

Around 7 months Dylan started to call me Mama or Mom

This month he started calling Mike Dada

He has 4 teeth

He loves picking up and eating his Cheerios and Puffs

He has taken 4 steps in a row; he can stand alone

He knows "more" in sign language

He loves to knock on the door before entering a room

He really enjoys opening and closing doors

He likes to play in cabinets; play the drums with pots and pans; roll and chase his ball; take all the books off of his bookshelf

catch up time

Catch up time!
6 months 7 months

8 months

9 months

Weight Update

Dylan is 17lbs 14oz and 27.5 inches. He's perfectly healthy. We thought he was going to weigh more. He feels like he's 30 lbs.

Mike is now working a split shift for a test they are running on a satellite. He goes to work anywhere from 1 to 3pm and comes home around midnight, so I am on my own in the evenings. It's a lot of work, but I'm used to it. The only problem I am having is that for the past two nights the weather has been terrible. There have been tornado watches and warnings all over the place. It makes me so nervous. I feel like I need to sleep in the basement with the baby. The TV always goes out, so the only way to know if something is coming is to get online.... which means I don't sleep until the warnings expire.

Back to the baby- He had sweet potatoes for lunch today and LOVED IT! He gobbled the whole container down. He would open his little mouth as wide as he could when he was ready for the next bite. There was no mess to clean because it all actually went in his mouth. He is just too cute.

More Photos

Here is a picture of Diego Garcia. Poor Mike. He had to look at this every day. Sitting on the beach and drinking Coronas was really difficult, but somehow he made it through.

Dylan had his first play date on his 6 month birthday. Here he is with Joseph, my friend Claudia's son. He is about 2.5 months younger than Dylan, but they had a lot of fun strolling around the mall and watching Joe's 4 year old brother play. They are going to be good buddies.

Ready for action.

Getting ready to make some Dylan Stew.

Every bath time we say "This is the last time in this little tub!" Dylan tries to climb out of this thing and it is very messy, but he's so cute in it!

6 months

Happy 6 months to Dylan! He is such a big boy. I will have to report his length and weight after his 6 month appointment on Monday. All I know is that he is HEAVY. He loves being in the Baby Bjorn so much, but it's starting to take a toll on my back. One of his favorite things to do is look around in the grocery store while in the Bjorn. He refuses to be strolled in his car seat because he has to lay back. Those days are over. The Bjorn and the umbrella stroller have saved me.

This is what happens as soon as you lay him on his back.

This is Dylan's new "trick." He wants to be upside down as much as possible.

I'm fine.

My "vacation" is over. All is well. I am happy to be home and see my sweet baby again.

For those that do not know, I was in the hospital because of a MS flare-up. It attacked my right eye. It was very painful, but I didn't completely lose my vision this time. It's just blurry, but I expect a full recovery.

I can't say it enough- Thank goodness for my Mom! It was really good timing for me to have an attack. It was a lot for her to handle, but she did a great job. Jeremy changed his ticket so he came in a day earlier to be here for moral support. But lets be honest- he really wanted to get here sooner to see his boy.

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers, even though most of you didn't even know anything was going on!

Mike will be home this Friday.... hopefully! Crazy things keep happening, like planes breaking down.

I'll get some pictures on here soon of my growing boy!

More Pictures

GreatPa and GreatMe (or GreatMa or Mema The Great... I'm not sure what we're going to call Mema)

Whoops. This is the same picture.

5 months

Hard to believe he's already 5 months old!

Dylan rolls like a champ now. The other day he rolled across his room and got stuck under his crib. I swear he is going to crawl soon. He knows how to get on his elbows and knees, but he's not quite strong enough to get on his hands and knees... thank goodness! I'm not ready for crawling yet.

Mike will come home next week. I am so excited. It feels like he's been gone for a year. I don't know what I would have done if my mom were not here. I could not have managed it. It's going to be hard to take her to the airport. I'm sure I will cry all day.

Dylan is finally taking the bottle and I am done with breast feeding. Thanks to a good kick in the rear from Melissa, I quit cold turkey. It was time. I truly believe Dylan was not getting what he needed. He completely quit eating off of one side and he was waking up more and more at night to eat. The first night I fed him with the bottle he slept for 7 hours straight. Unfortunately, I did not sleep a wink!!

Loving his banana cereal
Into Everything!

More pictures

Dylan and Grandpa. They became buddies.
More Sears pictures. Mike and I really didn't like any of the pictures with us in them. We were so hot under those lights and had to hold each pose forever before the lady took the picture.

But the ones of Dylan are super cute! This is our favorite.