Our "Little Man" or 9 Months Old

It is hard to believe how time flies! David is nine months old and growing up too fast. We often find ourselves calling him nicknames like Dave, Davey, Bubba, Little Man, Monster, and Baby David (this name stuck because it is what our wild child nephew calls him). He has started to get really wiggly and a bit messy. He loves pulling things out of baskets, cupboards, and drawers. He enjoys opening and closing closet doors and playing with anything that isn't a baby toy...especially shoes and paper. He'll pull himself up and walk along all of the furniture. He loves to climb the stairs. David isn't afraid of dogs and other live animals; this makes me a bit nervous. He really loves it when his Dad comes home from school.

We called him snaggletooth for awhile...but it looks like the pearly whites are now coming in nicely. We sure love you Baby David.

Little Monster II

Well what can I say? He just loves to get into things...literally. His new favorite is climbing into the bathroom cabinet after pulling out all of the towels and washcloths. The other day Brad left David downstairs and came up to talk with me for a minute. Next thing we know we hear the thump thump of a little crawler coming from the UPSTAIRS hallway. David had quickly and quietly climbed the stairs (thanks Brad for neglecting the baby gate) to find us. We both felt pretty stupid but glad that he is such a proficient stair climber and didn't get hurt.

Library Story Time

I was pleased to find that the children's section of the local library is very baby friendly. They offer a baby story time for kids under one year. David and I left early so he would have a chance to play beforehand. He really loves the big cars and trucks they have there. (Note to self--boys LOVE things with wheels--probably obvious but to a Mom who grew up with girls this is fascinating.) I thought the story time would be a little silly but the lady did a good job and the babies seemed to like it. David was the oldest one there and at one point decided to karate chop the book that was being read. Luckily everyone (including the reader) thought it was funny. Hopefully they'll welcome him back next month.

"Yard" Work

Sometimes we are sad that we aren't homeowners yet but we decided we could still do something with the little strips of dirt on our front porch. We spent a much needed Saturday at home! The dirt was overgrown with weeds and looking really awful, we figured we could at least cover the area with mulch until we decided what to plant. I was surprised at how easily the weeds came out of the dirt--one benefit to not living in Arizona. Brad actually kept David outside in the stroller while he worked and allowed me to get a few things done too.

Imagine VERY TALL weeds here before. They were so ugly I didn't take a picture.

I think it looks a lot better with some mulch. Now we'll decide what (if anything) to plant. Brad really enjoyed having a project and an excuse not to study. :)

Little Monster

When I caught David after he had pulled every piece of his clothing out of the dresser I said "Well if you wanted to get dressed you could have just asked," in response he gave me a very big grin...I think they know when they are being naughty! I'll have put his clothes away somewhere else from now on. Having a very mobile baby is challenging because even though they cause lots of extra work sometimes you can't help but laugh at what they do.

Happy Birthday to Me...

Birthdays seem much different now than they did when I was in school or working. It was pretty much a normal somewhat boring day. :) I am beginning to wonder when I'll feel more like a grown up. I still don't. Anyway, I did spend a lot of the day on the phone with family and friends; I spoke with Danielle several times because she was flying London that evening. (Check out her new blog--danielleduffy.blogspot.com--it already has tons of details on her adventures in England.) Brad came home with a nice perfume set for my gift. I was excited about that. I have bottles and bottles of scented sprays but nothing "special." We ate Taco Bell for dinner. Aren't we so gourmet? They are few and far between out here and it is my favorite fast food. I feel asleep watching an episode of our new favorite TV on DVD series Smallville. I'm not much of a party animal I guess.

On Saturday afternoon we went to see Dark Knight. We hired a sitter and the whole bit. I'm usually not a fan of a movie like this but after Danielle and Brad prodded me enough I watched and really enjoyed Batman Returns. My step-dad was concerned that Brad was taking me to see an action flick for my birthday, but I assured him it was by choice. The movie was great but much darker than the first. We got out early and did a little shopping without our little monster. We came home to find our house cleaner than we had left it and a happy David. PHEW! Even though the movie was cheap by the time we paid the sitter I realized why people find it so hard to go out. It was expensive and this young lady doesn't even charge the going rate. I fell asleep early again...maybe we'll have a night on the town next year if I can manage to stay awake.

Sacred Grove, Book of Mormon, & Whitmer Farm

I hope that Heavenly Father blesses us for our efforts even when they don't turn out. Translation: after what we thought was very careful planning we ended up half hour late to sacrament meeting wearing jeans. We decided it was best to just sit in the foyer. We enjoyed the Sacred Grove for the rest of the morning. In retrospect it really wasn't a bad way to spend our Sunday.

Our next stop was the building where the Book of Mormon was first printed. This was my favorite. I don't know if it is the historian in me, but I was really touched there. I enjoyed learning about the printing process and how many things had fall into place to make the first 5,000 copies possible.

We ended our Church History trip with a visit to the Whitmer Farm...again I just didn't feel like taking pictures there so you get another Book of Mormon building picture...

We made the long drive home and I'm really embarrassed to say that I missed an exit and drove around sixty miles past it! In my defense it was pretty obscure and I was driving in an unfamiliar place. I was pretty upset when I figured out that we'd be home at midnight instead of 9:30. Brad was incredibly patient and not at all critical. What a wonderful husband I have. Luckily David did really well in the car even with the added time. That makes trips like this easier to do. We were all exhausted when we got home and glad the next day was a Monday holiday.