Easter & the Ocean

The two happenings this month were Easter and our annual trip to the ocean. We had a nice time celebrating Easter. Shaun was dressed up in his first tie!!! I think he was so handsome! He also said his first word: puppy! Everything is puppy, puppy, puppy!

Our trip to the ocean was fun. The weather was okay, not the best as it has ever been, but it only sprinkled for a tiny bit on one day. It was bright and sunny on Friday, but really windy, so cold. We were all bundled up on the beach. Saturday was cloudy and windy, but Sunday was not very windy at all, the warmest day. Shaun loved toddling on the beach and playing in the sand. He loved looking up at the kites. All of the dogs and kites really fascinated him. Shaun even slept pretty good in his play yard (travel bed). We were kind of nervous about how sleeping and naps would go, but I think it could have been a lot worse. Friday, he slept for about 2 hours on the drive there. It was a bit early for nap, but it worked and he wasn’t even ready for bed early. He slept really good both nights, sleeping until at least 6am. That is not quite as good as at home, but I will take it!

It’s official, Bill has his degree. He got it in the mail this past weekend:

Swingin’ at the park video:

More pictures linked at the right under April 2009.

Next month we are starting swim lessons!!!

March!

Bill finished school! He now joins the ranks of those who have a Bachelor’s degree! I am really proud of him. It is a big accomplishment. He had good grades too, mostly As and a few Bs, finishing with a better GPA than I did. He would say he could have done better because he seems to be a perfectionist in the grade department, but I think he did great! He is going to go through the graduation ceremony with a few of his friends in June. They only have one ceremony a year on this side of the mountains. It will be at Benaroya hall in Seattle for all the Central campuses on this side of the mountains. Sounds pretty prestigious to me! Bill is getting excited for spring, so Shaun and he can go play outside at parks or wherever during their playtime.

Shaun is becoming a walking pro! Shaun picked up where he left off a little while after recovering from the flu. He has come a long way in just the last week or two. Some evenings he does laps in circles around the living room because he likes walking so much. He tries to go faster than he is able, so falls, but then sometimes laughs and giggles about it and gets right back up. He wants to run already!

Next month, we are looking forward to Easter and our annual trip to the ocean!

Sounders Fans!

The Hunter family are Sounders soccer fans! We got a Jersey for Shaun, a warm up jersey for Bill and a t-shirt for me! Don’t we look like fans! We even got Shaun a miniature soccer ball. I think it is just about the right size for Shaun!

Dad & Shaun

Mom & Shaun

Full view of Shaun's jersey!

Future player?

The Sounders played their first game ever last week, and won 3-0! A team member even got player of the week from the whole league! They played their second game last night and won 2-0! Bill even checked out some soccer books at the library to learn about all the details and rules since he hasn’t ever played and I haven’t played since I was about 13. We may even go to a game this summer, depending on if we need to choose between the Mariners and Sounders.

Also, Shaun’s buddy, Mady, won the Sounders photo contest! Click on this link to see the winning picture! Go Mady!

http://www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=284&sid=148670

First Hair Cut!

Shaun got his first hair cut today! His hair was getting in his eyes and looking a little shaggy, so we figured it was time. I searched around for a kid’s hair place (not considering the one where Kirin probably got lice) and found one in Country Village. Last week I thought we had found one in Lynnwood, but it had closed.

Shaun did really well. He fussed a little when he first was put in the chair, but he was fine as soon as Elmo came on the TV. He got to sit in a Blue Angels chair! He fussed again a little at the end, but she said that he was really good for his first hair cut and being so young. She had two others earlier today that screamed the whole time. He looks like such a different kid, so grown up!

Here are some pictures!

Before

Getting started

Look at Shaun in the mirror watching Elmo!

Checking out the cool buttons

The cool Blue Angel's chair!

Almost done!

Finished Product!

Tough Week!

Last week was a tough week around our house. We were all sick with the stomach flu at various times. First Shaun threw up Saturday morning. I didn’t think too much of it because he was acting normal and eating fine for the rest of the day. So, then we went to my Grandma’s 90th birthday party that evening. We had a great time there, but little did we know, we may have passed the bug around! :( Then, Sunday mid day I started not feeling well. I quickly went down hill and pretty much just laid on the couch while Shaun played until Bill got home that evening (it was his reserve weekend). I felt absolutely awful when I went to bed, but then I felt somewhat better when I woke up. I stayed home from work on Monday because I definitely was not normal and pretty weak from lack of food. By Tuesday I was ready to go back to work after taking it easy for a couple of hours in the morning.

Tuesday, Bill started getting a queasy stomach, and by the time I got home from work he was in bed and looking awful. He was down most of Tuesday, but on Wednesday he was up and about again. He wasn’t totally his normal self, but much better. During all of this time, Shaun was feeling pretty well, just with some diarrhea issues and not his full appetite back. It was our first experience dealing with diarrhea with a baby/toddler and it really brought us to another level of parenting! I won’t go into any more detail than that!!! I’m sure all you parents know what I’m talking about! We stalked up on Pedialite, and various foods that the nurse suggested to help, but it just had to take it’s course.

The 3 of us are better now and glad to be!

I was also thinking of going to get Shaun’s first haircut soon at a neat kid haircut place that one of Shaun’s buddies, Kirin has been to twice already. However, Kirin’s mom informed us earlier in the week that he contracted lice from somewhere and suspects in might be that hair salon. The only other places it could be from she said were our play group and baby class, and no one else has it. So, I think we will be picking another hair place!! To make matters worse for Kirin, he had to get his head shaved because that is the only way to get rid of lice on a child under 2. This is a little guy that was born with a full, and I mean full head of thick hair and has already had 2 hair cuts. I’m sure he looks a lot different! Lice are something that I hope we can avoid now, and in the future!

On another note, Shaun is getting 2 molars, one on each side on the bottom! I don’t know if they helped contribute to his feeling off last week or not, but he now has 10 teeth! He has been extremely cranky the last few days. I can’t wait until teething is over for good!

Birthday Month!

February has been a busy month! The big milestone was Shaun’s first birthday!! I can’t believe that my baby is already 1 year old. The entire year has gone by in a flash. We had an Elmo themed birthday party on the 14th. He really loves Elmo and especially loves the Elmo balloons that are still in our living room. He points at them all the time. Great Grandma got him an Elmo chair, which he really enjoys too.

The week before his birthday Shaun was sick. During the weekend he developed a really bad sore throat. He didn’t want to swallow anything, even his saliva. That Monday we took him in to the doctor to have him checked out. The doc said he had Croup. Croup is a virus that usually involves a lot of coughing because of the narrowed/inflamed throat. Shaun never had a bad cough, just a slight one. And then after a few days his throat was feeling better, so he could get back to eating like normal. He lost his voice though, so was hoarse for about a week, but otherwise okay. Thankfully he was well enough for his party.

Shaun and his buddies moved up to the “big kid” baby class. It is the class for 12-24 months. They look so big sitting in chairs and eating their snacks while listening to a story!

Shaun also had his 1-year checkup. He is doing really well. The two shots didn’t even really bother him at all. He got the MMR & Chickenpox shots. Here are his stats:

Weight: 22 pounds, 36th percentile
Length: 30 inches, 56th percentile
Head: 49cm, 99th percentile!!!

We also got his 1 year pictures taken and a new family picture taken since the family picture from when he was 1 month seems a little out dated now! Click on the 1-year picture at the right to see the rest of the professional and February pictures.

Also, Shaun is done with the binky!!! He weaned himself off when he was sick, so we didn’t give it back to him when he was better and he hasn’t missed it. He didn’t want his binky when he was sick because his throat hurt too much to swallow, and I think sucking means more swallowing. We also have started Shaun on whole milk instead of formula. The doc said that he is now getting all of his nutrients from the food he eats, so he doesn’t need the formula for that. We will slowly finish up the supply of formula we have on hand. He eats whatever we are eating for dinner! No more buying baby food jars! Next step is to get rid of bottles. I don’t know who is going to be unhappier, Shaun or I. I love the snuggle time we get each morning and evening.

Tomorrow morning I am getting my wisdom teeth pulled, so I am writing this before hand so I can just relax and recover all weekend. I just have the top two wisdom teeth and they tell me that those are the easier ones to get out and to recover from, so I am hoping that is true!

A Cupcake Mess!

Tonight was our playgroup birthday party! All of Shaun’s friends are turning 1 this month, so we had to have a party! They played around like usual and then we had cupcakes. What a mess! It was the first time eating cake for all of them.

Ready to try it out!

This is good!

Num Num

MmmmmmMmmmm

I like this cake stuff!

And here is a video of some of the action!