My Baby's Gonna Crawl!

Not that I am ever rushing Walker's stages in life... but after 9 and a half months, he still was not crawling! The pediatrician was not concerned. Most people thought he'd skip the stage since he found a way to be very mobile without crawling -- it's the roll and pivot method! Walker was very efficient with it. Then today, August 23rd, he quit the RNP (roll and pivot) and began "army crawling" and making forward progress on his belly. It's funny how he literally changed methods of transportation over night!

Check out the video:







I also learned that one does not need a DVD player to entertain Walker with a DVD:

9 Months Old

When did nine months go by? He's almost as old as the time I spent pregnant :) It's been an exciting and busy month - School's been out so I've been home with Walker and we've had quite a number of adventures!

• Our Air Conditioner went out, so we spent 6 days with Grandma and Grandpa. We have a brand new HVAC now, just in time to put the house on the market this Spring!
  

• We took a trip up to New Jersey and New York with Deirdre to see Elyzabeth and Al, and Elisa and Ian! Walker was a great car rider. He took his naps right on schedule and we learned that the New Jersey turnpike rest stops are great places to stop to stretch our legs, get fresh air, and eat lunch.

• We flew to Chicago to see Ellen and Pat, and Ben and Jamie. Again, Walker was an excellent flyer! We found his favorite book about animals on the farm and it kept him entertained for the entire hour and a half flight. On the way home, Walker slept sweetly for the last 30 minutes, just like his daddy!

• We drove down to the Outer Banks so as to not miss our annual camping trip at the beach! We took off at 9pm so Walker was fast asleep. It was definitely a different trip this year. Not quite as relaxing, but super fun!
  

• On August 2, Volleyball started up again so Walker went back to Ms. Carmen part time! She missed him so much in July :)

Check out the video of Walker with his teether... still no teeth yet!

Walker is 8 months old!

A lot has happened in the last month! Lucas had his first Father's Day! Mom finished school for the year and Walker started his swim lessons with Ms. Leah at her pool!!! Check out these videos - At first he was unsure about the cold water, but as he got used to it he loved it!

Over the fourth of July weekend we went to Lake Anna for two days with Taylor, Cristina, and William. Walker LOVED the lake and his new raft. :)

Seven Months!

On Saturday, June 5, Walker Huse turned 7 months old! As usual, this past month has been jam-packed with new experiences and milestones!

• We graduated to a big baby crib! We outgrew the co-sleeper and thanks to our good friends, Hanna and David Chang, we now have a nice big crib! (Yes, in our bedroom with us.... it all fits!) Walker didn't know what to do with all the space he had.

• Walker now sleeps on his side and turns over while sleeping! We often hear he's awake, go in his room, and he's on his belly, happy as can be!

• Walker can roll continuously on the floor. Sometimes while he's on his belly he pushes his butt into the air! He'll be crawling pretty soon! Dad tries to teach him and promote it, Mom is satisfied with him doing it on his own time... even if it's "late."

• He's talking a ton, but we are working on making some consonant sounds. We hope to have some of those by our 9 months Dr. appoinment.

• First Mother's Day! That weekend we also spent the day with Auntie DD and Auntie Elisa having lunch and shopping in Clarendon!
  

• Walker had his first sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Mom and Dad went with the Tovars to Chris and Theresa's wedding in Connecticut.

• Mom turned 28!

• Walker stayed with his first paid babysitter, Hadleigh Rhodes!

• Walker finally got to meet Ellen and Pat McKenna! They came to town from Chicago for the long-weekend.

• We all drove to Pennsylvania to see Steve, Amy, Olivia, and Ella. What a great visit and a great, historic house!

• Walker experienced his first Memorial Day! (and Falls Plaza annual cookout)

• Lastly, Walker had surgery! On Friday, June 4, Walker had surgery at Inova Fairfax Hospital (the same place he was born) with Dr. Gibbons to repair his hypospadias. The hospital, doctors, and nurses were wonderful. Of course they LOVED Walker and commented on how happy he was and how well he responded. Walker had to be under general anesthesia but the procedure was pretty simple. It took about an hour and there were no complications. He did get weighed though, and was up to 18 pounds!!

A video of Walker pre-crawling:




Coming up next month.... Mom wraps up the school year, and Vacation Bible School so she has an entire month off to spend with Snugglepuppy before volleyball starts.

Walker is 1/2 a Year Old!

The Easter Bunny showed up at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Walker got 2 new books and a really cool teether to suck on:



This month was a big one in the McCann household. Mom went back to work full time so Walker began full time day care with Ms. Carmen. Of course, Walker loved it and did great! Dad gets him up each morning, feeds him from the milk that Mom pumped at 5am before she leaves for work. Dad dresses him and drops him off with Ms. Carmen, then Mom get to pick him up between 4-5pm.

Here's Walker on his first day with Ms. Carmen!



Walker also starting rolling over on his 5 Months Birthday and has been doing it ever since. We can place him on a blanket on his back and he'll start rolling and end up a yard off the blanket. Here's some videos!






This month we also added some new foods to Walker's diet. We got the Beaba Baby Cook Steamer and food processor. You dump fruits and veggies into it and it steams and purees them all with one machine. On Saturday, April 17 Walker tried (and loved) sweet potatoes! Next was fresh avocado, then fresh bananas!

He loved everything we had him try. OK, so it took two tries for the pears. He did NOT like the first batch I made, check out the video. After this incident I made more pears and cooked them for longer and he loved them!




There have been FIVE babies in our Sunday School class since October.... and we have two more on the way! Here's four of them on Easter (Hudson was too young to stay for class):

Walker Turns 5 Months Old!

First of all -- I'm tired of writing in the blog from Walker's point of view, so from this point on, it's his mother writing!

Walker Huse turned 5 months old on Monday, April 5. We had a lot of firsts this month! It FINALLY warmed up and we got to wear some spring clothes!

This past month we celebrated Lucas's 1st birthday as a dad:
Walker celebrated his first St. Patrick's Day:



We took our first trip in the jogging stroller. It was a sunny day, but not the warmest, so W is all bundled up. He really did enjoy it, the look on his face is reacting to the sun being in his eyes!

We hung out with our friends. This is Walker with Anna Pae and Addie:


We made it through church without having to have clothes changed due to a diaper blowout!


Walker had his first bite of "solid" food. The rice cereal was very watered down at first, but now it's cream of wheat consistency and he LOVES it! Next month we'll try some other things.


Walker found his feet... and he can't get enough of them!


Walker got a new infant bathtub. This was his first bath immersed in water! Again, he loves it and has a bath almost every night :)



Walker had his first Easter. We went to church, and then went to Grandma and Grandpa's afterward for a DELICIOUS lunch with friends and family.

Walker Learns a New Skill

So at first my mom thought this new skill was rude and that I shouldn't do it, but then she learned it's actually a developmental milestone that babies need to reach, so now she encourages it!!

Check me out:

Walker Turns 4 Months

Friday, March 5 - Walker turns 4 Months old!


This past month it snowed a whole lot! My parents promised me Spring was coming and that i would love it. As the snow melted we wore some nice Spring outfits to get ready!
Here he is in a nice Spring church outfit from Ellen:


I like to join my parents for dinner -- while I still only drink milk, I like to watch my parents eat real, grown-up food! Now they have my high chair set up so I can join them a little more appropriately :) I'll probably start rice cereal in a month or so.

The Flash! Thanks for the shirt, Uncle Nick!


I can check out myself in my play mirror!


I rode up to Baltimore one night to see my grandpa who lives in Houston!


I can still nap like a champ:

I hung out with my friend Anna Pae -- She's two weeks older than me but I think I've surpassed her in size.


I hang out with my friends, Anna Pae Wojo on the left and Carly Melissa Patterson on the right. Addie Lynn joined later, I've got a lot of ladies to pick from!

My classic photo face :)


On my 4 month birthday my mom set up the Johnny Jump Up. After 15 minutes of just kind of hanging there, I figured out how to make myself move on my own! Check out the videos!

Happy Valentine's Day

Wishing everyone a Happy Valentine's Day:




I've also been very busy while I was snowed in. My favorite part is that my dad was home for four days during the week! Lucky me! My mom liked that part too. I didn't get to see too much of the snow, but here are some pics of when we did go out:


My 6 Months size bearsuit: The blue 3 Months one is too small now :(



Daddy helped me work on my Tummy Time. My hair stuck straight up for a few days. Whatever my parents do with my hair when it's wet, it stays until the next bath. Dad brushed it straight up so I had my hair sticking straight up for a few days:


On President's Day weekend my parents left me for the longest time yet Saturday night (almost 7 hours!) with my grandparents so they could go to a wedding reception in Annapolis. I had the best time with them! I talked to them a lot and watched some Olympics with my Grandpa.

On Sunday, I had my first Valentine's Day and it was so exciting! I got to wear a new red t-shirt that said, "Mommy's Sweetheart" to church but I messed it up before anyone got a picture. After church we had a pancake party at my grandparents' house. Lots of friends were there so I got held by a lot of people and those pancakes (7 different types) sure smelled delicious! My grandparents got me two new books (my favorite) and a sweet card. On Valentine's night I went to bed at 8pm like usual so my parents could have their 7th annual Valentine's Lobster Dinner. My dad is SUCH a good chef, he made lobster bisque with fresh lobster and then two steamed lobsters for them to eat straight. I was asleep but I know it was delicious! It's important for my parents to be able to spend time together without me sometimes.



Some new things: I rolled over from my tummy to my back twice last Friday! It kind of surprised me. I'm working on doing it again so my dad can see. I was propped up on my forearms and pushed off a little and then it happened! Also, my parents put away my pack n play from the living room. Now that I take regular naps, I have to take them in my bed. My parents have decided to stay in the condo another year so I can't be taking up more than my fair share of the 559 square feet :) The pack n play will now be used for travel, so I can nap or sleep when I go to friends' houses with my parents.

I'm 3 Months Old!

As I turn 3 months old, I'm saying goodbye to my 3 Months clothes :( I'm now wearing my 3-6 Months clothes and 6 Months in some brands. I can go through the night without a feeding, but I still wake up once or twice because I'm caught up in my swaddle. It might be time for Mom and Dad to ween me off of my swaddle if it's causing me to wake up! We also have decided to stay in the condo another year, so I'll be sharing a room with my parents a bit longer. I'll need to sleep better so I don't wake them up at night :)

One reason I like living in the condo is that after almost two feet of snow, when no cars were able to pass on the roads, my dad was still able to walk to Giant to get us more milk, a bottle of wine, and more goodies! Giant was open and well-stocked!

While my bedtime is 8pm, my parents still wake me up at 10pm to eat one more time since they're still up and that helps me make it through the night. They are going to slowly start moving that 10pm feeding back until my last feeding is at 7:30 and I'll sleep for 11 hours! I can do it!





My parents are wondering which sports I'll be good at! I give them some hints:



My Bumbo chair helps me learn how to sit up. I can sit up on my own using the Bumbo but my head still bobs a bit.


My last time wearing my favorite ducky jammies -- they're just getting too short and I can't straighten my legs:


Mom tries so hard to capture me smiling in a picture, but once the flash goes off I stop smiling and bug out my eyes like this so we have lots of pictures of me with my eyes bugging out!




I can entertain myself on a blanket with a new mirror/toy from Mommy and Daddy's realtor, Mrs. Szymasnki and a toy for me to play with:





On my 3 Month birthday, it started to snow... and it kept snowing the whole next day. I've seen more snow in my three months of life than some people see in their entire lives! This is my second BIG snow and my 5th snow that accumulated. This picture was only halfway through the storm! Hopefully tomorrow my parents will take me out in my bearsuit to play in the snow and I'll post more pics!

Tummy Time and Wee Wee Blockers

First of all, I need to toot my own horn -- Last night, on the eve of my 12 week birthday, I slept for 9 hours straight! Mommy and I were so well-rested the next day that we had such a good day! I even got way better at Tummy Time and didn't fuss!



Mommy and Daddy have several tricks to keep me from peeing on them while they kindly change my diaper. I like to pee so much, especially when I have no diaper on. There are some GREAT inventions out there to block the pee pee. Mommy's co-worker bought us the original "Pee Pee Tee Pee". They look like little party hats with terry cloth inside to absorb:



Aunt Hanna gave us a "Wee Block" that she received as a gift, but my friend, Matthias never pees on his mommy and daddy so she thought we could use it. It's like a sponge jock strap covered in soft cloth.


But I like to kick and move a lot while being changed as you can see in the picture above so sometimes these fancy things fall off my pee pee, so mommy and daddy also use the classic, washcloth!

New Tummy Time Mat

Grandma got Walker a surfboard for him to work on his Tummy Time on. There's things for him to look at as he's struggling to push up. We'll post a pic when he finally gets it!

Walker makes a statement

Check out Walker's shirt from his Uncle Ryan. This shirt was a hit! His girlfriend, Anna, said it's ok... FOR NOW!

January 2010

This month we are working on holding our head up more than 45 degrees while on our tummy. We don't like "tummy time" too much, probably because it's frustrating. Can't see anything! Check out some pictures and videos!

PS -- I slept 8 hours on the eve of my 10 week birthday! Mommy was so proud of me (and well rested)

I'm wearing a t-shirt of my favorite band. The lead singer visits me regularly! How lucky am I? (I also know the other guitarist/singer/writer :))



Check out my hat -- it's wearing a hat of its own! This is from my mom's cousins, the Phipps. :)



We all like to nap :)



Check out my booties from Natalie!



Here's a video of me trying to hold up my head -- it's very hard and it frustrates me:




Here's a video of me on my 10 week birthday after sleeping 8 hours straight -- see how happy and well-rested I am?





Walker's cousin William's birthday is January 14. We went to have lunch with him and Aunt Cristina to give William a gift!