15 Months and skinny!

We had our 15 month check up on Wednesday. Vince is very healthy and very smart. He is at the level of an 18 month old. Which is great, except that he is not able to express himself fully at this age and whines a lot. The doctor suggested I give him choices for meals (such as "Do you want A or B for lunch today?") I thought no way would he understand me, but I tried it anyway. Turns out, he wants to choose what he'd like to eat and is much less whiny and eats more now! He is very tall and skinny--21 lbs and 32.8 inches tall. Growing like a bean pole I guess.

Despite his tantrums and occasional whines, he is a lot of fun. He is still a busy busy guy. We inherited cousin Jack's old Elmo workbench and Vince loves it! He played with it for most of the day today. Although it hasn't taken place of his favorite thing, a ball. He is doing very well in Kindermusik and dances to the songs and claps his hands. He turns around and moves his arms about while dancing now. He used to just bop up and down. Vince got an early Christmas present from his Gram and Gramp P. A beautiful red wagon that he just loves. We went out in it today since the weather was near 70 degrees. A few days ago there were icicle's on our pool. This Texas weather is crazy--among other things here ;)

We are still very active in our play group. It's nice to have such wonderful moms and kiddos to meet up with each week. I am trying to teach Vince that it is not okay to hit the other children. Some days he doesn't bother them, other days he out to get 'em. We went to a stocking stuffer play date and each mom brought enough goodies for the kids and we filled their stockings. We also went to a ornament making play date.

We are excited to visit our families in Missouri for Christmas and have Santa bring Vince some neat goodies!

Finally! A new post!

Obviously we have been very busy, hence the lack of any new postings! There is so much to say about Vince, I don't know where to begin.

The one thing that a lot of people say when meeting Vince is "Wow! He sure is busy!" Yes, he is a busy little guy. Always moving and playing. He loves to play "peek-a-boo" with us while we eat dinner. See the video for that one, it's really cute! Vince is really into Elmo now. Loves to kiss Elmo whether he is in a book or the stuffed version we have. Vince will shake his head "yes" when he understands things or if he gets a word right and I confirm that it's correct. He calls a belly button "butt" and will poke at it quite often. His walking is getting much better and he is even running now. He loves going to the park now and likes to slide down the slide or swing. He just generally likes being outside. The weather has been nice for him to do that. I keep the pool gate closed and let him play on the patio with his ball. He also loves to run circles in our cul-du-sac. It's really hard to get him to come back inside. He is definitely getting to the age where he needs to go out and play. He gets bored couped up in the house playing with his toys. I try to make sure we get out and about. We recently went to a park in Allen with our Mom's group and fed the ducks. Vince had fun doing that. Although I gave Vince some bread to feed the ducks with, and he ended up eating it!

Vince had fun with Grammy VB while she was here in late October. She went to Kindermusik class with him and all the kids were dressed up in costumes. The teacher said it was interesting how each child was wearing a costume that fit their personality, and Vince was dressed up as a surgeon! Mommy is a little hopeful! Matt also came to that Kindermusik class and got to participate with us. After Grammy VB came to visit, Gram and Gramp P. came down to babysit while Matt and I went to California. They said he had lots of fun with them and I am sure he was spoiled the whole time. I think my Mom said she was pretty tired after they left! 5 days of Vince will do that to you! Vince enjoys "reading" books. Gram P. got him two Sesame St. books that he loves to sit and turn the pages and every so often he will point at things that he knows and say the word. Elmo is "Durh" and he says "Bo" for monkey. I've heard that as long as they are using the same sound over and over for an object, it means they know it, but they just aren't pronouncing it properly. I am afraid Vince is becoming addicted to the TV. He knows where we keep his DVD's and goes over to the cabinet and whines and cries to watch one. He has been sick, teething and VERY fussy this past week so he has been watching some DVD's to keep Mommy sane! Otherwise, I'd pull all my hair out and Matt and I would never be able to eat dinner peacefully!

Just like Daddy!

We have been busy busy busy these past few weeks. A lot to update on! Vince is almost done cutting all of his one year molars! They have caused him a lot of pain and discomfort and we just have one more bottom one to break through. It also looks like he is getting more teeth up top. It's always teething, teething, teething around here. He has added some new words to his vocabulary. He says "pool" when he sees the pool out back. He also knows the shape 'circle' and babbles something that may resemble "circle" when he sees one. His favorite color right now is blue and points to things that are blue when he sees them (such as his bedroom wall color or the blue circles painted on the wall at daycare). He LOVES his ring toys! They go everywhere he goes! He woke up early one morning screaming because he saw one on the floor outside of his crib and he wanted it. At Kindermusik they have a few minutes of free play time and the teacher has a few of those rings for the kids to play with. Well Vince assumes they are his and takes them and it's so hard to get his little grip off of them when it's time to put the toys away. Last Monday he saw where the teacher hid the toys behind a door, and he ran over to that door and pounded on it crying. So, yes, he is obsessed with those rings! Vince loves to dance, but his version of dancing is just bopping up and down. Matt and I recently taught him how to stomp his feet while he bops up and down. It's cute! At daycare on Tuesday he kissed a little girl on the lips! He really likes her. Two weeks ago he fed her cheerios. He must have known that it was our last day there on Tuesday and wanted to give her a proper good-bye. (I will no longer be working there) I thought you'd enjoy the picture of Vince playing with the gameboy in his diaper. Just like Daddy!

Vince and his little boy face!

A lot of people told me I'd hate it when Vince starts to walk. Well, I actually LOVE it. It's so nice that he is more independent and can go where he pleases. He is not the type of child to get into things and tear them up, so I really don't have to worry about him too much. Walking has been a huge blessing and we are enjoying it very much!

As you can see from the pictures, Vince was being quite the little ham on Tuesday evening. Can you believe his face in this picture to the left?!? What a little boy! I can't believe how fast he changes. I've never realized how big his head is. He has such a skinny little body and this cute bobble head! What a doll.

Vince is really into taking his toys and placing them all over the house! I will find little toys everywhere. He is also quite good at receiving directions. For example, he is enthraled with the washer and dryer and if I ask him, he will help me take the wet clothes and put them in the dryer. A dryer sheet fell on the floor and he picked it up and put it in the dryer. Such a good little helper! Like I said, this new phase of walking and helping is GREAT! Now if we could just get him to mow the lawn....

Vince is ONE!

Well, Mr. Vince Von Brock had a VERY Happy First Birthday! Over 30 people came to our home to help him celebrate! It was a really great party. We were surprised that Vince didn't dig into the cake more. I made him his own special little banana cake with yogurt frosting (had to make it somewhat good for him!). I ended up pushing his hand into the cake to get him started. He had a few bites, but overall it wasn't his thing. He received a ton of really nice gifts. He loves playing with his new toys and looks so cute in all of his new clothes. He is set for the next year! For those of you that would like to view pics of his birthday visit this link:

http://www.mattvonbrock.com/bday/

We start a new session of Kindermusik on Monday. If he knew it, I know he would be really excited!

We've been busy doing errands and other things. Been to the mall play place, he really likes to climb all over the place there. Target and Wal Mart and still apart of our weekly routine. Not that exciting, I know, but it gets us both out of the house. I started my job a few weeks ago and it's going okay. It's not easy taking care of other peoples kids while your own is crying at your feet. Vince is extremely jealous when I have to bottle feed another baby or hold them. At least this is only one day a week. If it was more than that, I don't think either of us would enjoy it.

At Vince's 1 year checkup he weighed 20lbs 7oz and is 31 inches tall. Very skinny and tall. He is at the level of an 15-18 month old for social and verbal skills. Still on track to go to Harvard! I bought him numbers flash cards yesterday since he enjoys when we count to him.

My baby is growing up!

Well it is the eve before my son's first birthday and what an emotional time this is!! I was so stressed out running around and doing last minute preparations for the party. Cleaning, baking, cooking, decorating...Then Vince cried (he was sleeping) and I ran upstairs to him. I rocked him and sang songs to him and instantly felt relaxed. He brings me so much joy and love that it is almost indescribable. This past year has been the most amazing year of my life and I look forward to so many more together.

Vince is WALKING!!!!!!!

Woo hoo! Vince is walking! He started to take baby steps two days ago and yesterday he just went at it and walked back and forth around the house. Today I took him to the mall play area and he walked all around there too! Sometimes he is unsure of himself and will crawl. But if he's up and ready to go, he just goes! It's pretty great to see him do this. I never thought this milestone would be so exciting, but it is! I am so excited that he started before his one year birthday. I was thinking he was going to be a late walker. I have some pictures of him at the play center today and he was walking, but it's hard to tell in the picture. It just looks like he is standing there, but that picture was taken mid-stride. We have video too, and I will try to upload that later this week.

Stop Screaming Vincent

Vince is now screaming, high pitched screams, and a lot! HELP! He is not doing it because he is angry, tired or hungry. He is just plain doing it. I can't wait for this phase to stop. So I decided to look it up online in hopes of some answers. This is what I found: "The toddler years are some of the most physically and emotionally challenging times for parents. " Fantastic, as if I am not already tired enough now we start the toddler years :) ha ha!

Last Saturday Vince went to his first Major League Baseball game! Matt's work had an anniversary picnic and paid for everyone to go to the Texas Rangers baseball game. At the park, we put Vince in a bucket swing. He liked it at first, but then he cried! Even though he was holding on, he was shaking around in it. I think he was too little for it.

Nice Hair Vincent!

When Vince woke up from his morning nap this morning, his hair was a total mess! I just had to capture this moment on camera. Too cute!!

Learning to Walk

Vince is learning how to walk with his walker/push toy. Although I don't think he loves doing it; he'd rather be on the floor crawling around or playing with toys. He'll get bored with it very quickly.

He has become VERY interested in the toilet and I have yet to go to the bathroom without him hanging onto my legs! He has a bad diaper rash right now so I've been giving him time without it on and he has peed on the floor three times already. (at least it was on the tile and wood floor!)

His vocabulary is still increasing. He is very interested in knowing what things are. Today he has been saying "cow" a lot. I am not sure if he means an actual cow or if that is just the sound that is coming out.

Vince has been very sweet this week. I received a lot of wonderful hugs and kisses!

Lake Pics

Here are some pictures of us at Table Rock Lake. We had fun visiting Gram and Gramp and riding their jet ski. Vince is too little to ride the jet ski, but he enjoyed floating in his raft in the lake!

10.5 month update

Vince is now completely off baby food! I can't believe it happened so quickly. He actually now just refuses to eat it. I am not quite sure how much he eats now since he feeds himself finger food, most of it ends up on the floor which in turn ends up in Roxie's mouth! Today we had a play date at our house and I had the moms bring snacks that their baby liked to eat to share with the group. That way we had the opportunity to try things without buying them first and know what the babies will actually eat. Vince ate grapes and cheese, both of which I have offered him before and he wanted nothing to do with them before. He loves Cheerios now. He'll have yogurt as a snack between lunch and dinner and the past few times he has had it, he will make funny noise with his mouth and blow yogurt everywhere!

He is all over the place crawling around and cruising. My stainless steel appliances now have finger prints and hand prints on their lower half! He loves to take the balls from his ball pit and put them in the wine rack in our center island. He did try to get into the wine so I moved those up. He broke one of the oil bottles that was on a shelf next to the wine rack. Today he broke off a piece of a ceramic rooster that I had on another shelf! So far, he has not try to get into any cabinets. Which is great because we have not put any locks on them yet. He has become more content playing with his toys on his own. I was able to vacuum the stairs today while he was in our play room upstairs and he didn't make a peep! He was just happy playing with all of his toys. When Matt and I play with him, he thinks it's hilarious to put the toys in our mouths. Vince is also interested in our Nintendo Wii as you can see in the pictures above.

We are getting ready for his first birthday already! Matt is going to work on the invitations this weekend and I have already ordered the plates and such. Yesterday I hugged him tight and gave him a bunch of kisses and I told him "You'll always be my little baby boy!!"

More pictures...

Here are some more pictures of Vincent. Yesterday morning, Matt asked Vince "Where is the fan Vince?" and he said "Up!" and pointed up to the ceiling fan in our family room! We were so excited!! He is our little genius :)

Climbing Stairs~

Forgot to post that Vince can climb up our stairs! He went all the way up the front staircase and crawled into his room last night. :)

More Words!

Vince seems to amaze us everyday, but isn't that what kids do? He said "up!" while standing up and pointing towards the ceiling. He loves to point at things now, so curious about what everything is. He also can say "ball". He stills says "dog"; over and over and over again! He will point at things and say "Dog" and look at me like "is that a dog?" He'll look up when you say fan or light and while outside he'll look up if you say bird or airplane.

We started our second set of Kindermusik classes today. He was very happy to be back there. I think the interaction with other babies and the music really helps his development.

We've also been busy with play dates and first birthday parties! Vince loves to pull hair of the other babies and if it's a girl wearing a bow, Vince is sure to rip it out. See the picture above of Vince and his friend Chandler, they are holding hands...too cute!

I am pretty sure he is teething. The past few weeks have been very difficult for me. He has been whining constantly and it's hard for me to get anything done. He also wasn't napping or eating very well! I think I see some teeth coming in and have been giving him Tylenol and that seems to help. He is napping better, but still picky while eating. He wants to feed himself and wants nothing to do with the jar foods. I practically put on a Broadway production of singing and making faces just to distract him so I can shove food in his mouth! I am worn out and some days I think "Oh lord help me!" There are good days, great ones in fact, where I am so consumed with him that I think it's impossible to love him any more than I do. I hope he doesn't grow up with some weird complex from his Mommy kissing him too much! :)