I Can Walk!!!

So it has been some time, seems I use that line quiet a bit, but I do have some exciting news. I am officially walking now!!! As you all know I have been trying for some time now, but I took my first official few steps the first weekend of the month, and I have not stopped. The only reason that I write now is because Mommy told me I needed too, because it has been a long time. I am having a lot of fun with this walking thing, and Daddy was right, it is easier than crawling. I wouldn't say that I am the best at walking, I've only been doing it for 3 weeks, but I am getting the hang of things.

Also Mommy is getting me really excited about Christmas. I have been able to open a few presents early that have come in the mail or through other avenues, but I am getting really excited. We went up to Nana and Pops house in Scottsdale this past weekend and I got to open some Christmas presents up there, because we will be in Chicago for the holidays. Also we got to celebrate Pops' birthday. He got some really cool presents, and we had a really good meal. To our surprise Uncle Lance was there!!! It was nice seeing him, since the last time I saw him was in Hawaii.

Well I wanted to keep this brief since I have some walking to do. But check out the webshots page, Daddy updated it with new pictures. I have added some below, but there are more on webshots.

Happy Holidays to everyone if I don't write again before Christmas.

Love,
Jeremy

Yep, that is me, not hold on to anything, walking on my own.

I tried to put on Daddy's shoes, only to find that he is just a size or two bigger than me.

Mommy and Daddy at the Vikings game. Daddy said that I couldn't go, but that he would take me one day to see our team play. I still don't know why Mommy was wearing a Cardinals jersey.

Mommy and I by the Christmas Tree getting ready to go get Christmas/Family pictures taken.

I got to ride Pops' 4 wheeler, but I had to bundle up. I think Mommy and Daddy were just trying to get me ready for the cold Chicago weather.

Thanksgiving and Christmas Set Up

In my last blog I talked about almost walking. I have progressed a little more, but I am not fully comfortable with doing it on my own yet. I have taken a few steps but get a little nervous and grab for something. Or I will let go of the couch and run as fast as I can to Mommy or Daddy. I have stood up by myself in the middle of the room, I think I will be full on walking soon. It is just easier to crawl wherever I want to go.

Mommy and I went up to Nana and Pops' house for Thanksgiving. Daddy couldn't go because he had to work. I had a good time with Mommy and it was nice seeing Nana and Pops. We had all the fixings-- turkey, potatoes, stuffing, it was great. I got to try a little bit of everything and I really liked it all. Mommy and I left on Friday to head home to have Thanksgiving with Daddy.

Last night Mommy and Daddy took me to a new restaurant. It was really cool. I felt like I was back in the Wild West. There were a lot of people dressed in old clothes and they had gun fights. The restaurant had a lot of ties that were stapled to the wall. Daddy explained to me that ties were not allowed in the restaurant and if you were caught wearing one, it was cut off and stapled to the wall. It was really neat. I might have to wear a tie the next time we go there, so I can be part of the show.

I woke up from my nap today and found that the house had been transformed. The Christmas Tree had been put up as well as lots of other Christmas decorations. There was a little village above the TV, a nativity scene under the Christmas Tree, and Stockings were under the breakfast bar. Seeing all the Christmas things up is starting to make me really excited for Christmas. Mommy and Daddy told me that we were going to Chicago for Christmas, I am super excited about that.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and that you are getting as excited about Christmas as I am.

Love,
Jeremy

Me and my Mommy.

Might be hard to tell, but there is a tooth there between Mommy's fingers.


Our Christmas village above the TV.

All of our Stockings waiting to be stuffed.

The Nativity Scene under the Christmas Tree.

Christmas Tree

Nearly Walking

It has been sometime since Halloween, and to be honest with you I have been to busy moving around. Before it was easy to write a blog entry, I was not mobile and just sat around. But I have been working on my walking legs and I have been running around keeping Mommy and Daddy busy. I started pulling myself up on the furniture a few weeks ago, and shortly after that started walking along side the furniture, holding them for support.

This walking thing is a lot of fun. I have tried a few steps when the couch is just out of reach. Good thing it is soft, cause I have hit it pretty hard from time to time. I have also been pushing my blue wagon all over the place as it has really helped me learn to put one foot in front of the other. I have even started teaching myself how to put my leg over the top and to ride it around the family room.

One of my favorite places to hang out, when Mommy and Daddy have their bedroom door open is in Dee's cage. I crawled in there one day and thought it was a fun place. Also Mommy laughed at me when I went in there and I like making Mommy laugh, so I try to hang out in there when ever I can.

This morning the whole family went down to the big bike race in town, El Tour de Tucson. Daddy's work was volunteering at the event, so we all went to help out. We got to work in the water booth giving out water to the racers after they finished. It was really cool seeing everyone with their different color jerseys and different color bikes. We helped out for a little while then headed home so I could continue to practice my walking.

Thanksgiving is coming up and I am excited to head up to Scottsdale to see Nana and Pops. Mommy and I are going to spend a couple of days with them and celebrate Thanksgiving with them too. Daddy has to work on Thanksgiving so he won't be able to join us. From what Daddy has been saying, I'm not sure we are going to see a lot of him for the next month. Hopefully everyone will order Christmas gifts off Target.com and keep Daddy really busy.

I hope everyone is doing well. I am so close to walking and will keep you all posted when I do walk without the help of the coffee table, couch, or wagon.

Love,
Jeremy

Giving it a go with my blue wagon.

That is right, self taught how to get on the wagon. I'm good.

I know that this is my toy box, but I'm allowed to hang out in there because it's my toy box.

I bring the hammer into Dee's cage.

Charlie and I taking it easy after a long day of playing and walking. I love her.

Halloween

Halloween was yesterday, and it was awesome. During the day Daddy and I laid around and watch college football, my favorite thing to do on Saturday. And from watching the games I knew it was going to be a good game. Illinois won!!! That doesn't happen, so to me it was a sign that it was going to be a good day.

After the games were over Mommy, Daddy, and I got dressed and went to a Halloween party. Mommy dressed up as a pirate, Daddy and I were Doctors. Since Daddy and I are going to have our own practice someday, I thought it would be best if we started to pretend now. We got dressed up and went to a Halloween party at Mommy's boss's church. There were a ton of kids there with a ton of different costumes. I saw Buzz Lightyear, Tarzan, Minnie Mouse (she was cute), Transformers, and a whole lot more.

It was fun, but I got tired. Mommy and Daddy took me to see Uncle Spirit and Aunt Amelie on our way home to try to get more candy. They were not in costume, but Uncle Spirit said they got dressed up the night before for a party. He said they were Batman and Robin. Typical of Uncle Spirit.

I have include pictures below of our costumes. Enjoy.

Love,
Jeremy.

I loved my costume, but did not like the hat Mommy put on me. So this is my disapproving of the hat.

Doctor Talyor and his partner Doctor Taylor. In like 25 years.

Daddy was holding my candy bag, it's a better shot of our scrubs.

Mommy the pirate. Arghh matey!!!

Pre-Halloween

Last weekend Daddy took Mommy and I to Buckelew Farms to pick up pumpkins for Halloween. We had never been to this farm and it seemed like forever to get there. Once we were there though, there was a huge field of pumpkins. Every shape and size. It was amazing. Mommy helped me pick out the perfect pumpkin, as well as other pumpkins for the rest of the family.

When we got home Mommy and Daddy carved the pumpkins. Mommy made a jack-o-lantern, and Daddy made a pumpkin with our name carved into it. It was neat to see them light up when Mommy put a candle in them. I have put some pictures of it below for you to check out.

So Halloween is only a couple of days away, and I cannot wait to go trick-or-treating. Daddy tells me it is a great time and you get free candy from people. I hope they give me Brownies instead, I have decided that brownies are my new favorite food. And they do a great job at getting ride of colds and being sick. This Halloween I am going to go as a Doctor, so I am excited to dress up.

Oh, I have also included some pictures of my new jersey. I got a Brett Favre jersey for my birthday and it finally came in the mail, so I had Mommy take a picture of Daddy hold me while I wore it. It is really cool, and Daddy thinks I like really good in it too. Check out the pictures below.

Love,
Jeremy

Charlie, Daddy, and I before we carved pumpkins.

Checking out Mommy's fine craftsmanship. Well done Mommy, well done.

Our three pumpkins. They only lasted a couple of days before they started to droop and die. Oh well, at least they looked good after they were carved.

Rockin' my new Favrerererererere jersey.

I agree with Daddy, thumbs up!!! Go Vikings!!!

Hiking in my New Pack

So for my birthday, one of the gifts that I got was a hiking backpack. Pretty much, it will allow us to go hiking as a family, but I don't need to walk, I get to ride on Daddy's back. So this morning we decided to go hiking before it got too hot out.

We went to Douglas Springs, which is not to far from the house and I got to ride on Daddy's back as we went hike. I had a ton of fun sitting in the back and taking in the surroundings. It was fun. Though it would have been more fun had Daddy moved faster. I don't know why he wasn't going very fast.

I don't know how far we hiked exactly, Daddy said like 11 miles, but we were only gone for an hour, so I think his calculations are off a bit. Mommy said maybe a little over a mile, I think she would know better. Daddy seemed to get really tired, really quickly. He needs to work on his stamina, so we can hike his 11 miles.

I don't have any pictures from our hike, someone forgot the camera. But I do have pictures of Daddy and I modeling the hiking pack from my birthday. You can check them out and get a better idea of how I roll. Enjoy.

Love,
Jeremy

So this is my new ride, I like to call him Daddy.

Though this picture may say otherwise, I really like this thing. It is a lot of fun.

My Birthday!!!

So I am now officially 1!!! My birthday was on Thursday, but I talked Mommy and Daddy into letting me celebrate all weekend. I think I sold them when I told them that I would only turn 1 once.

Thursday the 8th, was my real birthday and the day was great. Mommy was off of work and was able to hang out with me all day. We ran around town running errands, I had a lot of fun with her. When Daddy got off of work we had dinner, and then I got a cupcake. Mommy said I had to wait until Saturday to have a real birthday cake. After I ate my cupcake, I got to open presents. I got this really cool tunnel and a wagon that I can stand and walk with. Mommy and Daddy gave me a lot of DVDs. I got some Baby Einstein DVDs and Elmo DVDs.

Mommy and Daddy both had to work on Friday, so I went to day care. I have a lot of fun at day care--the kids there are super fun and Ms. Brandi takes really good care of me. I only had to be there half the day cause Mommy picked me up and we then went to the airport to get Grandma and Grandpa Taylor. They came into town for my birthday party on Saturday. I always have fun with them when they are in town.

So my big party was Saturday, I was surprised to wake up in the morning to the house completely decorated. There were streamers on the ceiling, a ton of balloons around the house, and Happy Birthday signs hanging up. The house looked ready for a party. A ton of people showed up to wish me a Happy Birthday, and they all brought a lot of gifts with them. I had some much fun at the party.

Mommy and Daddy got me a Finding Nemo cake and I got to eat a piece all by myself. It was awesome!!! I have included a picture below of the cake and the aftermath. I got a whole bunch of gifts, that I can't remember them all. Let see, I got a big truck, stacking blocks, V-Tech helicopter, V-Tech frog, Cookie Monster stuffed animal, stuffed monkey, University of Illinois clothes, and a Brett Favre Vikings Jersey. Everyone was very generous with the gifts--don't forget that Christmas is coming soon. I will post my Christmas list so everyone knows what I want. Thank you to everyone for the presents, I really appreciate it.

There are a lot of pictures from the birthday weekend that I had Daddy upload onto webshots. He started a new file, so you don't have to sort through hundreds of pictures. Here is the link to the new file http://community.webshots.com/album/575062435MKWkzL. Enjoy.

Thanks again to everyone for your birthday wish and your gift. They were all awesome.

Love,
Jeremy

My birthday cupcake. I tried to pinch the candle out, but Mommy taught me how to blow it out instead. Thanks Mommy.

Check out my new set of wheels. I am going to learn how to walk so much faster now.
Look out!

My awesome Finding Nemo birthday cake.

It was so yummy.

I was having so much fun with them, Charlie was checking out the new stuff and Grandpa was watching guard to make sure that Charlie did not walk off with anything.

Pictures

I talked Daddy into posting pictures on websites. I know it has been some time, so he has put like 50 pictures up there. Here is the link to check them out. http://community.webshots.com/album/569501633smlFkN

This past weekend, since Daddy was off, we went to the Sonoran Desert Museum to see the animals and the other things that they have there. It is really cool. It is like a cross between a museum and a zoo. There are a bunch of desert animals as well as other things, like rocks and exhibits and stuff. Mommy really likes the rock they have there. I liked the ice cream that Mommy and Daddy bought me after we saw everything.

I forgot to mention it in the last posting, but Mommy got a new car!!! She traded in the red Mazda and she got a really nice and fast black Hyundai Santa Fe. She really likes her new car and I like riding in it. I don't have any pictures of it, but I will see if Mommy can take my picture in it tomorrow.

Below are some pictures. I hope you enjoy. I am getting really excited about Thursday and Saturday. Thursday is my official birthday, and Saturday is the big party. I can't wait. Thanks for reading.

Love,
Jeremy

I'm trying to get into this whole swing thing. I think it is going to take a little more time.

Daddy allowed me to feed myself Mac n Cheese. Then took a picture with me afterwards. Daddy has gone back to feeding me. My plan of making a mess so Daddy would continue to feed me worked perfectly.

The bath tub is where I learn my name. I am not sure why this picture is upside-down, but it spells out Jeremy. Don't worry, I spelled it correctly.

I cheated and opened a birthday card early. I am in the process of reading it to Mommy, so she knows what is says.

Oh, the anticipation is killing me. Daddy likes making me work for the ice cream. Oh so good.

Update

I do not have any new pictures to post as Daddy has been very busy and has not been able to download them on the computer. But I'll get everyone up to speed over the last little bit. Aunt Missy came to visit a little bit ago. She was in town for the weekend to hang out with Mommy and I while Daddy was at work. It was really nice having her, the last time I saw her was at her wedding and I was a little over a week old then. Mommy had a great time with her too and was sorry to see her leave.

Daddy is doing well at work. They have asked him to move departments to help the building out. Along with the move in departments they asked him to switch shifts. So Daddy will no longer be working during the weekend, but instead will work during the week. Daddy will now be working Tues-Fri and will have the weekend off to spend with me and Mommy. I am excited because now Daddy and I can watch football together all weekend.

With Daddy's new schedule and Mommy still working during the week, I will start going to day care a couple of times a week. The lady watching me is really nice and she has 2 boys of her own. I am looking forward to playing with other kids, but I know that I am going to miss Mommy and Daddy. I start day care on October 7th and am looking forward to it.

One last thing, as you all probably know, my birthday is coming up on the 8th. I heard Mommy and Daddy talking about a party or something for it, so I am excited to see what they have planned. So if anyone is interested in coming for the party, let me know and I will have Mommy or Daddy get a hold of you and let you know the details.

Hope everyone is doing well. Blackhawks season starts soon!!!

Love,
Jeremy

Home Construction is Complete

So the work on the house is finally done! All the floors are installed, the work in Mommy and Daddy's bedroom is done, and Daddy is done doing all his panting in the bedroom too. It was a long process, but everyone is glad that things are done. My favorite part are the wood floors. I love them!!! I am able to walk and roll all over the place now that there are wood floors everywhere. The wood floors slowed me down a little bit with crawling as I found myself sliding backwards, but I have the hang of things now and am tearing it up on my crawling. I have attached some pictures below of the finished house, so you can check out the upgrade.

Other than crawling and walking in my walker, I am working on talking. I can say Dee-Dee, when I mean the dogs. Dee thinks I am talking about her. I really like to say Dee-Dee and have to come to me and then chase her in my walker. That is a lot of fun! I am trying to put more words together, but I find some of them a little tricky to say. Mommy is a good teacher, she is trying to help me with some words. Soon I'll be walking and talking up a storm.

Hope everyone is good. Thanks for reading.

Love,
Jeremy

Oh no, I was caught eating my letters in the bath.

Luckily I have a good humor about things.

Here is the front room and the dining room with the new wood floors.

Mommy and Daddy's new bedroom.

Newly tiled shower, the new door is going to be installed this week.

Pictures

I talked Daddy into posting the pictures. So he has put them on the webshots webpage. I will attach a few of them, but here is the link to check them all out. Enjoy. http://good-times.webshots.com/album/569501633smlFkN

Love,
Jeremy

Charlie loves rubber ducks, I was teasing her with 3 of mine.

Uncle Jim, Grandma Taylor, and I at Windy Point on our way up Mount Lemon.

Uncle Spirit and Aunt Amelie, now Mr. and Mrs. Messingham.

Family photo.

I fell asleep trying to crawl in my crib, Daddy snapped the picture, then Mommy helped me lay down. Or so they say.

Visitors, Construction, and a Wedding

It has almost been a month since I last wrote and I am surprised that I have not heard from anyone about that. I am really sorry. Things have been really busy around the house with visitors and remodeling that I really haven't had a whole lot of free time. But things are starting to slow down so I figured I would get a posting in here. There aren't any pictures as Daddy has not downloaded the newest ones yet, so I will get on him to do that tonight.

Where to start. Well shortly after getting back from San Diego we started a home remodeling project. Mommy and Daddy got the shower fixed and upgraded because it was leaking, they are getting their bedroom redone and wood floors are being installed throughout the house. It has been a long process but the guys are nearly done. Should only be another couple of days. The house was a mess for the longest time with the old carpet ripped up and the concrete and dust. Mommy was going crazy wanting to clean everything, but know that it would just get dirty again. There was a period of time where everything in my room was sitting in the office and in the front room. Most of the floor is laid now, and it is awesome!!! I have this great walker with wheels and I can walk all over the house chasing Mommy and Daddy, being chased by Mommy and Daddy and my favorite pestering the dogs.

In the middle of all the construction we had visitors. Grandma Taylor and Uncle Jim came out to visit for a week. It was great being able to spend time with them and show them around Tucson. Grandma had been here before but Uncle Jim hadn't, so I took him to all my favorite places; the zoo, the mall, hiking, Mt. Lemon, everywhere. After a week Uncle Jim left and Grandpa Taylor came. So Grandma was lucky enough to stay with us for 2 weeks. During her 2nd week Mommy and Daddy left for a couple of days to go to San Diego for Uncle Spirit and Aunt Amelie's wedding. So I was able to hang out with just Grandma and Grandpa. We had such a great time. Mommy and Daddy need to go out of town more often. Grandma and Grandpa took me swimming everyday in the pool. It over 100 outside and the pool was a nice way to relax.

Aside from walking with the walker with wheels I have began toying around with the idea of crawling. I am a little unsure sometime with where my hand, or knee, or head should go, but I am testing the waters. I think Mommy is excited for me to learn how to walk and crawl, but she is a little worried too. She had Daddy put locks on all the cabinets today, I don't know why? I just want to explore and see what they have hiding in all of them.

Again, I am sorry that there are no pictures, but I will bug Daddy to get them posted tonight and I will get them on here as soon as possible. I will let you know when he updates the webshot page with all the pictures so you can check them out as well. Lastly congratulations to Uncle Spirit and Aunt Amelie for finally getting married. Sorry I couldn't be there, I was hang with Grandma and Grandpa. Thanks for reading.

Love,
Jeremy

Stay Classy San Diego

So I am sorry that I did not write last night. It was a busy day and I wanted to get some sleep for the car ride today. I'll get to the ride later, but I need to fill you in yesterday. We started the morning out heading to Coronado Island. Uncle Spirit and Aunt Amelie are going to be getting married there next month so Mommy and Daddy wanted to see where it was going to happen and they were looking at hotel rooms. The hotel that the wedding is going to be going on is really old, and a little creepy, but looks really nice. I have included some pictures below. We were going to go in the water there, but it was really overcast, the water was a little chilly, and I fell asleep.

After Coronado Island we went to La Jolla to see the beaches where the sea lions like to hang out. We got there around lunch time and La Jolla was really busy. So busy that Daddy could not find a parking spot. So we did not stay in La Jolla, we went back to the hotel so we could go swimming at the pool.

Now today, wow what a car ride. I expected another long drive, 7ish hours, but it ended being a lot longer than that. Everything was going well this morning, we stopped for lunch at Cracker Barrel, great food, but ran into a lot of traffic about 60 miles from Tucson. There had been a pretty bad accident by Picacho Peak that closed the Interstate down for 5 hours. It had just been re-opened about an hour before we got there. However the traffic was still backed up that we went 4 miles in 2 hours. So instead of us getting home in 6.5-7 hours, it took us a little over 9 hours to get home.

I am happy to be home. It was a great trip to San Diego despite the long ride home. We saw and did a lot of cool things and I cannot wait until we go back again next month. Daddy posted the pictures on webshot. You can click on this link to check out all the pictures that I could not post here http://community.webshots.com/album/573718934oFTGnB, Enjoy everyone.

Love,
Jeremy

Hotel Del Coronado, the future site of the Bredas-Messingham wedding.

Mommy and Daddy on the beach. I'd like to take credit for taking this picture, but it was not me. You will see why below.

Yep, I was sleeping.

Playing in the pool. I had a lot of fun.

Daddy was teaching me to swim, but I wanted to pose for the camera. In the end, it was a win-win situation. Daddy taught me and Mommy got the shot, with me looking.