Christopher's Walking!

Christopher took a couple of steps towards Grandma and Mama and never looked back. He started out walking like a little Frankenstein with his arms out in front of him, but as he got the hang of things he lowered them a little. Now he loves to walk all over the place!

When Words Are Not Enough

Look at Me

Our Christopher is one step closer to walking!

Play Time

When Words Are Not Enough

Allergies

Christopher's eczema wasn't getting any better so his doctor sent us to an allergist. The allergist wanted to do a skin test on his back, but it was covered with eczema. There was so much eczema on Christopher that the only place they could do the test was a small patch on his arm. I had to hold Christopher down while they poked him over and over. The worst part was when I had to continue to hold him for 15 minutes in order to keep him from scratching his arm. Although they didn't get to test for everything they wanted to, we did make some interesting discoveries. It turns out Christopher is allergic to A LOT of foods.

After the skin test, the doctor sent us to the lab to have his blood drawn. Christopher REALLY hated that! I had to hold him and keep him very still. (Not an easy task, he is very strong.) Once we were done, Christopher couldn't wait to leave. He was waving bye-bye to everyone.

We are still waiting for the results from the blood test, but so far we know Christopher is allergic to: Wheat, Eggs, Milk, Peanuts, Tree nuts, Soybeans, Chicken, Shrimp, Lamb, and Beef. When we get the rest of the results, we'll let everyone know.

Another sad part of this was the fact that Christopher had to be weaned. He didn't like it and it was really rough on all of us, but one week later, he had moved on.

However, once all the foods had been removed from his diet, Christopher's eczema really cleared up. He still has trouble with it, but it isn't nearly as bad.

Bug Hunting

Christopher was crawling around the kitchen when he noticed an ant. He started to watch it very carefully, and then decided to try and pick it up. He look so cute trying to pick up this tiny bug, that I just had to share it.

Check Out The New Doo

We decided to wait until Christopher turned one to give him his first hair cut. On July 12, we took him to a place called Mop Tops. They specialize in cutting little kids hair. Christopher did pretty well. He got to sit in Daddy's lap while Mommy took pictures. In order to help keep Christopher calm the stylist gave him a dumdum. It was his first lollipop. Christopher was so excited about his candy that he really didn't seam to mind the cut......until the stylist took out the trimmers. The noise scared him, and even the candy couldn't help. It didn't last too long, and in the end Christopher had a great new hair cut. Of course, I saved some of his hair.

(Before.)

(During part one: the scissors.)

(During part two: the trimmers.)

(After.)

Party!

Christopher's 1st birthday was a blast. The theme for the party was simple, "ONE". We had plates, napkins, table covers, and a big balloon which all matched. There were so many friends and family coming and going it was hard to keep track of everyone. All the kids and even the adults had lots of fun playing the games and winning tickets.

After a while everyone gathered around Christopher and sang "happy birthday" to him. Christopher didn't really like having SO many people singing to him all at once. We tried to get him interested in the cake, but he was getting tired. Everyone else really enjoyed it though.

When it came time for the presents, Christopher decided to watch as Charlie and I opened them. I felt like a big meany every time we opened something because we would put it off to the side and Christopher would get really mad. Christopher ended up with a lot of nice clothes and plenty of fun new toys to play with.

As people said good-bye, we made sure that they signed Christopher's guest book and took home a goodie bag.

(The table was all set for the big party.)

(Christopher's grandma Mary got him the perfect cake.)

(Lots of Christopher's family sit and enjoy the food and good company.)

(Charlie takes Christopher to the "bad boys" table.)

(We got the cake ready with a number one candle.)

(Christopher was a little more interested in his car then the cake.)

(Christopher started to get his hands a little dirty.)

(Then he got Daddy a little dirty.)

(Diane shows off her stylish new hat.)

(Elva also shows off her new hat.)

(The poor tired baby is ready to go home.)

Happy First Fourth of July!

(Okay, it wasn't technically Christopher's first Fourth of July, but since we spent his first one in the hospital, we aren't counting it.)

So, for Christopher's first Fourth of July, he got some special visitors. His cousins Alicia, Ruben, and Carmen drove from Texas to meet him for the first time.

Alicia and I started out the day by giving Carmen and Christopher a bath. It was the first time Christopher took a bath with another baby. At first he wasn't sure if he was going to like it, but soon they warmed up to each other. After their bath, they played with Christopher's grill out on the porch. They both made yummy BBQ. Perfect for the fourth!

Then we all piled in the car and headed to the aquarium. Carmen had never been to an aquarium, so we knew this would be a fun trip. Carmen really loved to see all the different sea life. She got really close to the glass to get a good look at everything. Christopher seemed to look much more closely then the first time we took him. A little later, Millie, Theta, and Bea, meet us there. With three babies we had extra fun. We then headed to the big pumpkin where Carmen and Bea had lots of fun exploring. After we looked at all the fish, we went had a bite to eat in the restaurant. The babies had lots of fun eating together. We had a really fun day.

(Christopher's keeping an eye on all his toys.)

(Carmen shows off her great big smile, and Christopher looks at the camera.)

(Christopher is all dressed up for the Forth.)

(Carmen is grilling up a yummy hot dog.)

(Wow! What great chiefs.)

(Christopher is very interested in the sting rays.)

(Carmen is also very interesting in the sting rays.)

(Carmen leans in for a closer look at the fish.)

(The big tank really captured Carmen's attention.)

(Carmen points our her favorite fish.)

(Carmen gets really excited as a fish goes by.)

(Christopher decides to get up close and personal with the sea creatures.)

(Here fishy, fishy.)

(Bea finally joins the party. All the babies were dressed for the holiday.)

(Bea looks at Christopher as he starts to get sleepy.)

(We end our journey with a quick photo of all the babies.)

At the end of the day the poor babies were exhausted.