Boston's First Swim

Boston got to swim for the first time today. We got him all slathered in Water Babies, put on his 'lil swimmers diaper and boardies, and busted out the camera because he was so cute! Check him out in this picture - he just noticed I had the camera and went for it!

Here he is crawling, trying to get ahold of it!
And here he is cheezing it up before heading for the water!

Here's Boston in the water, in his little froggie floatie... he totally loved it!

He was splashing like crazy, squealing, giggling, and kicking all over the place. He absolutely loved his first little swim! So dang cute!

Chocolate Milk Chaos

The other day I decided to let Boston try chocolate milk from a sippie cup. We had him stripped down to his diaper because we were outside working in the yard and it was so stinking hot, so I handed him a sippie with chocolate milk while he played in his pack-n-play. At few minutes later, I went to check on him, and this was how he looked!

Really, these pictures do not do justice to how much chocolate milk was ALL OVER him. Check out his left eye though... so funny!
I think he really enjoyed the little bit he actually got in his mouth, though.

And this is about the goofiest little smile I've ever seen him give. So funny!

Macaroni Madness

I know it seems like all my posts lately involve Boston eating something in his high chair. I swear it's not the only thing he does. We don't just stick him and there and feed him all day. That being said, he is definitely aware of food now. The past week or so he has refused to eat any of his baby food. Mark was having a hard time getting him to eat while I was at school one day and decided to try mac-n-cheese. What do you know, he loved it! Here he is with a few noodles on his tray (and spoon in hand, which he now demands). It was so cute to see his little fingers work together to grasp the noodles!

Of course, we haven't quite mastered putting spoon with food in the mouth, but we've got spoon alone down!
I thought this was so cute - check out those greasy little fingers!

Since then, Mark and I have really made a conscious effort to eat more healthy, since Boston is obviously going to demand to eat what we eat. So lately, here are some of the things Boston has enjoyed: fresh bananas, pumpernickel bread from Cheesecake Factory (not so healthy, but who wouldn't love that), feta cheese (seriously, are you kidding me?), cottage cheese with pears, and a vegetable medley of squash, zucchini, tomato, and spinach. I can't believe our little baby is so big!

Silly Boston

Boston is getting so big these days. He has been doing some "big boy" things lately, like sitting in his high chair and feeding himself snacks, and playing quietly in his pack and play while mom and dad clean/study/whatever. Here's our big guy in his high chair eating an afternoon snack. Notice anything funny?

If you didn't notice, here it is closer up. Boston got one of his snacks stuck in his ear, all by himself. He didn't even realize it was there. I cracked up when I saw it!

Boston has enjoyed playing in his pack and play lately. I thought he might last week when I stuck him in the laundry basket. The pack and play has become a morning routine now. Boston wakes up, eats, gets held for awhile, and then plays in his pack and play (while watching Oso or Mickey Mouse) while I get ready for school and Mark sleeps in a bit. Looks pretty happy with the arrangement, don't you think?

He is so cute in it!

The best is when he stick his face right up against the netting and makes faces at us. Check him out! We just love this kid so much!

Eating can be so much fun!

Boston was cracking up last night as he was eating. He was giggling like he has never giggled before! We sat and enjoyed him for a long while, and then we thought, we really should be video-ing this. By the time we got it ready, the laughter was starting to die down, but this video is still totally cute (and so is this picture)!

Unfortunately, I can't figure out how to rotate the video... but it still gives you a little preview. And this is seriously the END of his laughing spell! So cute!

Not quite a play pen, but...

I put Boston in the laundry basket today with a few toys, just as a little joke, but he totally loved it! It killed me! He is still in it, as I blog, and he is showing no signs of fatigue! He has just been chillin' with a few toys and babbling and having a good time!

'Sup mom!

I love this extreme close up! Check out those eyebrows (and that red hair)!

This is totally fun, mom!

And my favorite... I just love this little guy!

Tent Time!

Boston has been crawling underneath his exersaucer a lot lately. It totally makes me laugh... he will just sit or lay underneath and play! The other day, Mark decided to add blankets over the top to see if he would like a little tent. Well, he did! He crawled on in and set up camp with a few of his toys and absolutely loved it!

I've got my blankie, my ball and bat, and I'm ready to roll!

Is that the cutest kid, or what?!

9 Month Well Check

I can't believe Boston is nine months old! We had his well check today, and here are his stats:

Height - 29 inches, 75th percentile
Weight - 21 lb 10 oz, 50th percentile
Head - 95th percentile (of course)
Cute-o-meter - 100th percentile (although this one was only documented by me!)

Boston is such a fun, cute, sweet little boy! We are enjoying every minute we get to spend with him. Here's what Boston is up to at age 9 months:

1. He is ALL OVER THE PLACE. He cannot hold still for two seconds. He will not allow you to put him in the exersaucer anymore - he is simply too busy to sit and is always on the go! This is probably why his weight went from 90th percentile to 50th!

2. He has learned to sip from a sippie cup, as long as it has a straw! Halelujah on this one! His doctor says we should start introducing cows milk slowly over the next three months so that he can transition easily when he's a year.

3. He loves to eat and wants to eat what you are eating. He is on the stage 3 foods and is loving MOST of them. He still does not love green veggies, but he will eat them if he's hungry. We have been giving him little tastes of our food. He had garlic mashed potatoes and went nuts for them at dinner on graduation night (don't know if that was a good idea). The doctor says we can feed him what we eat (with the exception of eggs and nuts) as long as he won't choke. So we will continue to slowly introduce him to new foods.

4. He loves those little Gerber graduates puffed cereal snacks. We sit him in his high chair with a bunch on his tray, and he goes to town and will sit quietly for a long time just enjoying his snack!

5. He has four teeth. The bottom two are all the way in, and the top two are still working their way out. His gums are still so swollen and owie looking up there!

6. He still has the cutest, deepest little baby voice. I love to hear him babble all day long. He is so dang cute!

7. He is wearing size 12-18 months clothes, although a few 6-12 months items still fit. We are switching him now to size 4 diapers, since the 3's barely cover his little bum crack!

8. He still loves watching Playhouse Disney, especially Special Agent Oso, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and Handy Manny. He recognizes the theme songs and cranes his neck around to watch and smiles when he hears them. I might be in trouble...

9. He has tried (and LOVES) coke. I know, I am a terrible mother.

Here are some pictures of him enjoying his cereal snacks today after his well check. Such a cute, big boy!

GRADUATION!

The day has finally arrived (and passed)... we graduated from dental school on May 8, 2010! I remember thinking 2010 was AGES away! I cannot believe it finally came! Mark's Mom, Dad, Annie and Brayden, and my Mom, Angie, Ryan, Brent and Catherine all flew out to be with us for the occasion. Ryan got to "hood" us, which was really neat. Mark and I started the tradition this year for IU in having family member hooders. It was really cool to have Ryan up there with us, rather than just faculty members. It was a LONG ceremony (assisting students and hygiene students graduated along with the 100+ dental students), but we can now call ourselves "Doctor." Here are some pictures taken throughout the ceremony, thanks to Annie. I can't believe Mark and I forgot our stinking camera!

Here's Boston chillaxin' with my mom during the ceremony. Apparently, my mom and Angie kept him quiet throughout the entire two hour hoopla by feeding him Ritz crackers. What a cutie!

Here we are after the ceremony with our "diplomas," AKA empty cardboard tubes for "show" which will soon be replaced with our diplomas.

And here's the three stooges! Me, Mark, and Ryan Pini... it seems SOOOO long ago that the three of us used to stay up all hours of the night at our house studying for bi-weekly exams back in first year! Holy crap! It's finally over!

And here's Mark with his proud parents! Yea for Drs. Simkins! But Mark still has three more years for perio... haha, glad it's not me!

Boston and Brayden

Boston got to meet his cousin, Brayden, for the second time this past week. Mine and Mark's family came out to Indy for graduation, and little Brayden got to come along for the ride. Boston had so much fun bugging him (AKA, crawling over to him and trying to touch him, pat him, smack him, poke him, etc). They were really cute together - it was funny how aware they were of each other. Here are a few pics of the boys in their little baseball outfits.

It looks like Brayden is bigger than Boston in these pictures, but it's just the angle. Brayden is quite a bit smaller (4 1/2 months) than Boston (9 months), but he really held his own with all the poking and smacking Boston did to him! And don't worry guys, we didn't let Boston hurt him... he was just VERY interested in his cousin.

Big Boy, Biter Biscuits!

OK, I have lots to blog and catch up on. So much has happened the past little while, so we will start with what Boston has been up to lately. Boston is now nine months old and has learned a few new tricks. Aside from crawling like a maniac, he has learned to "self-feed." He discovered biter biscuits about a week ago and absolutely loved them. They made a huge mess (we learned he has to be in his high chair or everything is covered) but it was totally worth it! Here is our little cutie enjoying his biscuit... or rather, here is how our little cutie looked after enjoying his biscuit!