Sooo many pictures!

We haven't updated this for awhile. Sorry about that. Gunner is a full-up little dude these days...no more baby left. We've entered the Terrible Two's but so far, they're not terrible at all (and he's not really two yet). He's saying lots of new words every day, running and climbing over everything, and is truly a joy to be around. He's definitely mischievious and can bring on the cutest little smile when he wants something he knows he's not supposed to have (like candy).

He'll be moving up to the two year old room in day care any day now. I'm sure he'll learn lots more bad habits after that. :-) Ever since we got the tubes in his ears Aug 25th, he hasn't had any more ear infections and he's doing great! What a smart thing that was.

So, enjoy the pictures and the videos on the right.

19 Months.. Ready for Vacation!

This month started off with an ear infection (either #4 or #5, we're not sure). Then, on day 10 of antibiotics, he had an allergic reaction to them. The picture below was actually the first day of the reaction---it got MUCH worse. Poor kid. He cried in his sleep and itched and scratched for about 4-5 straight days. Luckily, he's much better now! Luckily, his Grandma and Grandpa May stopped in for a couple of quick visits to spoil him and get his mind off the itching.

Gunner's favorite pasttime is eating. He loves anything that gives him a big ole' mustache. He loves smoothies, PB & J, and mustard.
I think he's just trying to look like his buddy, Ronald.
He also LOVES playing outside!!

One and a Half!

We had Gunner's 18 month check up and he's Perfect!! A little top-heavy, with his nugget in the 80th percentile while his weight is in the 25th percentile. His height is right at 45%. He's doing well and is now starting to talk up a storm. Yesterday at breakfast I was sitting next to him and I said, "Hello." He responded with a big, "Heyyo." He was so proud.

Gunner had a great week with his Grandma and Grandpa Hyland while Mike and I went to Disneyworld! They took him to the zoo where he rode a train all by himself and they also gave him his first experience at McDonalds. He climbed all the way to the top of the playground. He sure is growing up fast!

17 Months Old

Gunner is keeping us busy! We had our first "parent-teacher" conference a few weeks ago. The feedback was that he is very advanced on his gross motor skills (climbing, running, jumping, and generally scaring the heck out of us). He has a lot more energy that most of the kids and he eats A LOT more than the other kids. The rules of the Child Development Center (CDC) where he goes include that kids will get two servings of food maximum. But, they also say, "never let a kid go hungry." Gunner's teacher didn't know what to do with that conflict so he eats three servings every meal! But, he's still on the small side because he burns it all off with the climbing, running, jumping, etc. So, we're very busy!

He's famous at the CDC (and at home) for his hugs. He loves to hug people...anyone! At the store, in the mall, you name it, he'll run up to any stranger and give them a hug. A few weeks ago we were at Wal-mart and Gunner kept smiling and grinning at the guy working behind the desk at Customer Service. Then, Gunner tried to go around and see the guy. The girl working there said, "Aww, he wants to see you. You should go around to the front." So, the man walked around and Gunner put his arms out to let the man pick him up. The girl working there said, "He really needed that today." We eventually left the store. One week later, we were back at Wal-mart and the girl at Customer service recognized Gunner. She stopped us and said,"That day that your son gave John a hug was the best thing ever. His wife had just died and he really needed that." That made us feel good that we had such a friendly kid! He's awesome.

He's babbling like crazy but still just says the same few words: Fish, Shoes, Juice, etc, but he knows what we're saying. It's just a matter of time...

That's all for now!

Happy Easter! (16 Months Old)

Gunner is almost 16 months old now and he's had some big changes in his life lately. Two weeks ago, he started going to the Child Development Center on base. He (and we) were sad to leave Stacy and we all miss the one-on-one time, but Gunner seems to love to hang around with all the other kids and he loves the activities he gets at his new school. His care providers were amazed he had never been in daycare before because he adapted so easily--never cried. Of course, he had a cold by the end of his first week. I guess that'll be the biggest drawback of daycare.

This morning he went on an Easter Egg Hunt on base. He didn't even cry when he met the Easter bunny!

He's saying a few words: fish, shoes, light, dog and juice. We're still trying to teach him "F-16."

The videos on the right are new...he found a new favorite pasttime--having Mike pull him around on the "sheet train." He still terrorizeds Maisy every chance he gets.

14 Months Old

Wow, so it's been a couple of months since we've updated this Blog. Gunner sure has been keeping us busy! Since our last update, he hasn't hit any new major milestones other than having his first ear infection and eating sushi! Yes, our kid LOVES raw fish. He is practically running these days, he babbles a lot, and he looks more and more like his dad.

Gunner got to meet his 2nd cousins Monica and Mark a few weeks ago and we all went up to a condo in Keystone. It was a blast. He is also getting to meet his first cousin, Scot this weekend! Scot is only a week old and he's the son of Gunner's Aunt Sarah and Uncle Stephen. I'm sure they'll get along great.

Enjoy the pictures!

Two Videos

Gunner got a new rocking horse from his Aunt Linda. He loves it! Here's a video of his first time riding it!

He also got a ride on the train at the mall after he saw Santa. He thought that was fun.

Christmas week photos

Just a few pictures...Gunner got to ride a train at the mall, ride a rocking horse at home, and he got to see Santa again (the same Santa from last year).

ONE Year Old!

Gunner's ONE! He had a fun birthday on Saturday. We baked him his own cake and let him dig in with his hands. He didn't actually eat very much of it but he had a glorious time squishing it between his fingers and putting it in his har (video at the end). It was very entertaining!!

Today was the 1 yr well-baby appointment and Gunner is 20lbs 7oz and 29" long. That puts him in the 50% for height and 25% for weight. His head was 50%. So, he's grown and he's perfectly healthy. Yay!!

Next up, terrible twos!

Video proof of Walking

Ok, so the video is a little dark, but we finally got him taking a few steps. He still prefers to crawl when he's in a hurry, but he's walking more and more. He's the proof!

He's WALKING!

Gunner took his first steps this past Sunday Nov 2nd! All of our cadets that we sponsor were there to witness it, but Mike was at West Point for the football game. Gunner walked about 3 steps to get his toy numerous times, but the most he walked was about 5. It was fun to watch. He's still much more content crawling because it's faster, but he loves to run full speed while he's holding our hands. I think he'll be walking/running unaccompanied soon. I'll try to get some video.

We had a fun Halloween. Gunner had two costumes--we dressed him up as a monkey to trick or treat at the next door neighbors and then he was a scary cat at home when the trick or treaters came to get candy. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get good pictures of him in the cute little cat outfit.

First Haircut!

Gunner finally had his first haircut. His hair was about an inch past his ear (and we can't possibly have him out of regs). He sat patiently while Mom, Dad and Grandma took turns trying to figure out how to cut his hair. The last picture is after the haircut--unfortunately, he had yams all over his face!

Back in regulation!