Planes, trains, and automobiles, plus a pony!

I know, stupid title, but I couldn't help myself. Dan and his dad drove down to LA this weekend to help his brother move and ended up flying back up on Sunday. Jackson and I decided that we would be no help with the move, so we spent some time in Santa Rosa checking out the local scene at Howarth Park. A train, pony rides, a carousel and so much fun.

Ponies with Grandma and Papa Bear

 Getting his shoes adjusted for the train ride

 Inquisitive on the train

 Mom and me

 Wave to the train.

 On the pony. He was very shaggy and his name was Rusty.

 The pony went fast and I had a hard time keeping up!

 Petting Rusty

 With Auntie

 Kiss from Uncle Dubb

 Carousel with Auntie.

 And the third type of "horse" of the day.

 Go buckaroo!

 Loves to go high on the swings

 Walking practice. I call him Frankenstein because he doesn't bend his knees.

  Trying to get him to take steps. So far we've witnessed 3 independent steps.

 Being upside down makes anything better. He also got his first taste of frozen yogurt that afternoon and seemed to like it.

 Reading time at Grandma's house

 Auntie introducing technology. She lets him play Angry Birds and Cut the Rope. Dan and I don't have smartphones, so he normally isn't around such interesting gadgets.

An Amazing Day!

Jackson wowed me today by hitting 2 huge milestones, all before his 2:30 nap! First off, he had his very first steps today! It was about 1.5 steps on his own from holding onto my knee to grabbing a hold of the bathroom cabinets, but they were independent steps, so I'm counting it as "First Steps." He can also stand without support for 5-10 seconds until he grabs hold of something or falls on his bottom.

Secondly, I introduced Jackson to the potty today. I just wanted to get him familiar with his little potty chair and show him that sitting on it is fun. We read books and talked while he sat for a while and he seemed to really like it. The second time I put him on the potty, he actually went potty! I did not expect him to actually go for a while still. He grabbed himself and made it squirt all over both of us, but most of it ended up in the potty, so it was a wonderful achievement for him. I'm sure we have many "exciting" potty experiences ahead of us.

 At 9 months

Park Play - Part 2

We hit up another park this afternoon and it was sunny and wonderful outside. I took way too many pictures, so here is a sampling of the best ones with some commentary.

Baby and Mommy, determining whether the stick is delicious. It must have been because he wouldn't give it up.

 

  Baby's learning to walk. We went from the picnic blanket (where the picture is being taken) to the corner without stopping for a sitting break.

 Climbing up on Daddy. Look Daddy, standing with no hands!!!

 

 More practicing and balancing.

  He's blowing us away with how stable he's getting and how he wants to try to take steps on his own.

 Love these duck lips. He also uses this face to spit out food he doesn't like without bothering to open his mouth.

 A silly series of pictures on the slide

 Handsome men. I'm such a lucky lady to have these two at home.

Park Play - Part 1

The weather turned beautiful this week and we hit some local parks as a family. It's getting really fun now that Jackson can play on the little kid play structures (with a lot of help so that he doesn't take a big nose dive). I'm envisioning a hot summer full of running around outside once my Little Man is fully walking. We're enjoying the baby steps along the way as he learns to walk and explore.

 Crawling in the tube and wearing new shoes. Well, he wouldn't really wear them. When I put them on, he just stares at his feet and flaps them until the shoes come off.

 He's looking so grown up to me.

 Really getting into the swinging now. He even leans into it to get more momentum.

 Showing off the only 2 teeth he has.

 Practicing

 Doesn't want the hat on.

 I love these guys!!!