Friday, July 31, 2009

Beach Baby

It's been sweltering here in New England for the past week, so Dash and I decided to go to the beach on my day off Wednesday! It was Dashiell's first time enjoying the beach in warm weather (the other times we've been to it have been CHILLY). He loved playing in the sand, and he LOVED the water, too. He was so sad when we had to get out and apply more sunscreen, but then remembered that he liked playing in the sand as well as the water so all was okay.


We went with our friends Shawn, Michele and Sophie. Sophie is a couple of years older than Dashiell, but they have a great time together despite their age difference.


Dash discovers the joy of digging in the sand. This was early in the morning, before the beach got crowded

Dashiell and Sophie filling up a bucket with sand, one handful at a time

And here they are running in the sand:

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Those were the days

Doing a little reminiscing this morning and looking through old photos of Dash. I'm just amazed at how much he's changed! So I thought I'd share some of the photos that I don't think ever made it to the blog way back in the day...

This is what people mean when they say "sleeps like a baby" (Lord knows it has nothing to do with sleeping at night!). He could sleep like a rock, as long as he had a comfy lap to rest on. Of course as soon as I would try to move him to his bassinet, he'd wake up within seconds. He was about 4 months old at this point.
Here he is in his high chair, also around 4 months. He looks so small in it! Note the foot on the table--he still loves doing that! Also note the swing in the background--he barely tolerated it. Once he could sit in the highchair (or bumbo), the swing moved up to the attic. And to think we registered for 2 of them! Thankfully we were able to return one but still, everyone said it would be a lifesaver and we were sorely disappointed that Dash didn't love his.

This was when he was around 7 months old. He just looks so comfortable snoozing away on Rick's shoulder. This was part of our bedtime ritual--I'd nurse Dashiell, Rick would hold him upright for 20 minutes to give his little belly time to digest. Dash was big on spitting up. :)
And here he is about a week and a half ago, looking a little sleepy and surly and drooly. :) That's my big guy!

Thursday, July 23, 2009

More words!

The other night when I was posting about Dashiell's ever-growing vocabulary I knew there were words I was missing, but I couldn't for the life of me remember what they were! So here are a few additions to the list! "Baby" (bee-bee)--he says that any time he sees a picture of a baby, a baby in person, a picture of himself...it's super cute. "Hat", which is always accompanied by his hand touching the top of his head. I've heard him say "da" a few times when we see dogs, though he sometimes says "woof" instead. This one I'm a little ashamed to admit--"TV". We don't watch a ton of tv with Dashiell but when we do it holds him captive. Especially Wheel of Fortune, which we figure is ok to watch since it's all about letters, right? ;) Dashiell will yell out various letters during the show (he's partial to "D" and "T"), and loves the bonus round at the end.

Huh, maybe I should erase that whole WoF section...not only am I admitting that we let Dashiell watch it, but I'm admitting that we watch it too! I mean if it was Jeopardy that'd be one thing but the Wheel? Totally not cool!

Yesterday we were looking through photo albums and I was pointing out people in them, and of course he got daddy (da-DEE), but also said mommy (ma-MEE). Then he said "Lee-la" when I pointed out aunt Lisa, and "Dee-dee" for Lisa's girlfriend Denise. He was having a hard time saying "grandma" and was saying "ba-ba" instead, but hey it's a start!

This video is not the greatest but it was my attempt to record him saying "lisa"--you can barely hear him say it but really, he does!


Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Busy busy

Playing with bubbles in Meghan's backyard (apologies to Crispin for Dashiell's hand in front of his face)

Over the past couple of weeks (excluding today) summer finally arrived on the east coast, and it's been excellent! Since Dashiell is still napping a lot during the day we don't have a ton of time to get out an enjoy the sun but we do what we can. We've been to a petting zoo, a public pool, an outdoor concert, plus birthday parties and other fun friend-based activities. We tried to go berry picking on Monday with Meghan and Crispin but alas, the farm we wanted to go to didn't have Monday hours. After spending time frolicking in the grass in front of the farm for a while (and getting the evil eye from passers-by who seemed to think we had something to do with the farm being closed), we ended up hanging out over at Meghan's house in the yard instead, which was also fun. Meghan made the comment about how our guys just keep getting more and more fun, and I have to agree. Sure we have the occasional whining fit, but it is nothing compared to his joyful laugh and playful smile--which are thankfully much more frequent occurrences! Every piece of furniture, doorway, or tree is an opportunity for peek-a-boo, and how can you go wrong with that?

Feeding goats with Daddy

I think I've neglected to mention in previous posts that Dashiell has said actual words recently! Daddy of course was the first, long ago, and we get some "mamas" here and there, but he's also said pizza, cookie (I swear we don't only feed him junk food!), clock, and I know I heard papa in reference to grandpa Hanson, though no one else has heard him say this. He'll also say hello if you put his "phone" to his ear (the phone is a wooden block, but hey it works!). It sounds kind of like "ai-loo" but you can tell he means hello. If he wants to read Dr. Seuss' ABC's, he says "E-E-E", which is the cutest, really. He's got a few animal sounds down, too (thanks to Sandra Boynton, Dashiell think pigs say lalala...). More and more fun, to be sure!

The fuzzy beard looks fun...

Friday, July 10, 2009

15 month appointment

Our little guy isn't so little anymore! We had his 15 month Dr. appointment yesterday, and his weight gain is off the charts! Well, off the charts for him--we saw the little graph showing a nice even upward gain for height and head circumference, but his weight totally spiked! I knew he was getting heavy but I never expected that--he still looks so svelte! Well, ok, his belly does stick out but the rest of him still looks long and lean, really! :) No cause for concern, though--according to those growth-chart things, at 27 lb. 8 oz., he's between 75 - 90% weight. He's now 31.5" tall, too. Not too shabby! The above picture was taken about a month ago, but it illustrates his round belly nicely, don't you think?

We've confirmed his fear of enclosed spaces, which I suspected a couple of weeks ago when he suddenly decided he didn't like elevators. He's been in elevators a million times before, but one day he freaked out as soon as the doors closed. Then it happened again. And again. :( Then at yesterday's appointment he started crying as soon as the nurse closed the door to the exam room and wouldn't stop until we switched to a room with a window. Now, as someone who doesn't particularly care for small enclosed spaces too much herself, I completely understand this. But it does make things difficult, and I hope this fear of enclosed spaces does not translate to fear of airplanes since we have a trip to MN planned for mid-August. That could be pretty miserable for us and for anyone sitting near us. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

A little bit of summer, finally

It's been really damp and depressing here in Massachusetts for the past month, with the exception of this past weekend--3 whole days in a row of decent weather! No rain!! And just in time for the 4th of July, too. Of course since then the weather has turned back to its raining badness, but it was nice while it lasted...here are just a few pictures of our weekend!

Sunday was cousin Kayla's first birthday! She and Dashiell spend some quality time with the great-grandparents.

Rehydrating after hours of running around

Sampling the greenery

Dashiell and daddy enjoying Kayla's b-day party

Dash checks out the kiddie pool on Monday--our last day of sun