Fun at Grandma's House

In the following pictures you will see the Meiss cousins having waaaaayyy too much fun at Grandma's. I'm so thankful for family (& that my mom likes taking pics!).

Eleven Months

The eleventh month mark has come for Moses. He continues to be joy to us. Aaron and I are learning that things Moses does that we think are brilliant are actually quite normal for an eleven month old. And other things that we may assume are "normal" are not! We sit, watch him and think, "this kid is smart," while he takes Aaron's keys and tries to reach up and put them in the doorknob. Then, we are snapped back into reality with conversations like this:

Emily: "Oh, Moses, you are so funny! What is that noise?"

Me: "What noise?"

Emily: "That one!"

Me: "Wait, you mean Livey doesn't make a really loud 'DOI, DOI, DOI' sound all of the time?"

Emily: "Nope, I think I can say that I've never heard that noise from a baby before."

I guess that's what you get when you're a first time parent :-)

Moses refuses to walk. He gets noodle legs when we try to have him stand on his own. He absolutely LOVES walking with the push toy. He thinks he's pretty big stuff.

We also have another tooth to report. After popping out eight teeth, Moses took a couple months break. That all changed a week & a half ago. Moses cut his first molar. Poor kid is in quite a bit of pain.

59 years!

Sunday we celebrated Grandma & Grandpa Meiss's 59th wedding anniversary. Fifty-nine years. . how crazy! We tried to get a picture of the Great-grandkids with Grandma & Grandpa, but it didn't quite turn out right.

Micah tried to play "catch" with Moses. He doesn't have as much patience as Aaron & I do :-)

Great-grandma was a little shocked when Moses gave her one of his famous open mouth kisses (those who know her, know that she is a germ-a-phobe, so that makes it even funnier).

I was told that I should wait until Moses was 10 months to give him spinach. I was so excited for him, since it is one of my favorite vegetables. As you can see from the picture, he did not share my enthusiasm for the spinach! I'll keep trying :-)

10 Months

Moses is beginning his 10th month of life. His personality is definitely showing: ornery grins, temper tantrums, laughing loudly when we "get him," and a bit of stubbornness. Moses has been fighting various colds and even had a double ear infection this past month. He's drooling like crazy working on more teeth (if that's possible!). He hasn't been too interested in walking on his own yet, but he cruises around using furniture, legs, or the wall.

We've enjoyed visits from Grandpa Dohner, Aunt Dawn, Uncle Zach, and Great-Aunt Marilyn & Great-Uncle Garry these past few weeks. Basketball season is winding down, and Moses has been a trooper! I have to laugh on game nights when I'm putting him to bed a couple hours later than normal he lunges for his crib. Poor kid.

Moses loves to play with his farm from Grandpa Dohner. He knew right away how to work the chicken and the eggs. I guess he's just a natural :-)

I thought I'd include a picture of whiny, sick Moses. Reality check: he's not always a happy, smiley baby :-)

In the video, I was trying to show his favorite skill: making spit bubbles. When he started doing this about a week ago, I thought for sure it was on accident. Although I'm sure it wasn't on purpose to begin with, it is now a staple during his day. He even does the exact same "mmmmuhhm" sound each time. It makes us laugh.

First Kiss

A few weeks ago, we thought Moses had mastered the art of the wave. Since then, he has regressed and refuses to say "hi" and "bye" on command. It worries me a bit, but I'm sure it's just his stubbornness. Moses has a new skill (I am trying not to say "trick" as that makes him sound like a dog!). He will give kisses when asked. He'll even stop a tantrum to do it when asked. I'm sure the novelty of the kiss will end soon, but I'm loving it right now as only a mother could (if you watch the video, you'll understand what I mean!).

Moses passed the 9 month milestone on Thursday. He's 3/4 of a year old and growing so quickly! Well, I think he's growing, but according to the doctor's office he's shrinking. The nurse measured him at 27" in October and on Wednesday Moses was measured at 26.25" Aaron told me to chill out about the measurements, but it would be nice to know! He weighed 19.25 lbs, which is accurate. Obviously, the doctor wasn't too concerned since he didn't even comment on Moses's stats.

Moses is enjoying making loads of noises with his tongue. He continues to crawl and pull himself up on anything that will hold his weight. This past week he showed me his desire for independence (or maybe stubbornness?): He was trying to grab a ball (one handed) out of a toy basket and he couldn't quite get it. I thought, "He made a good effort, I'll help him out." I reached for the ball and as I did, he hit my hand, looked away, and pretended to be uninterested in the ball. So, I let go of it and watched him turn back to the ball and proceed to cup it between his fingers and wrist and pull it out. Really, Moses? I just had to laugh.

Here are some pictures. I somehow messed up with the sizes and can't figure out how to put it back. Sorry!

The above picture shows that he does have hair :-) It is starting to come in now, thankfully!

Happy 2010!!

Happy New Year! We spent our New Year's Eve in Gridley, ringing in the new year in style :-) Moses didn't quite make it until midnight (I think he was asleep by 8), but he was able to celebrate for a bit before his bedtime with Finn, Olivia, and about 15 other kids.

The kids were able to control the karaoke for a few songs before they all headed to bed.

A party's not a party without a good spread. Emily and I enjoyed the delicious food (above), as did Eliza (below).

We are so thankful for all that God has blessed us with in 2009 and are excited for what 2010 will bring!