brush away tooth decay ...

... up and down, all around

von both helps brush teeth and is also an avid tooth brusher himself (he has 7 toofers to keep clean now)!! :)

papoose

project basement is moving right along!
today was painting day and von was quite a trooper. we gave him a few grapes, strapped him onto daddy's back, and started throwing paint on the walls. it took maybe 3 hours in all, and von hardly fussed one bit. granted he napped on daddy's back (awwwwwwww) for a good majority of that time, which helped workflow go even faster. *note, we did snap the 'hood' on his carrier so that his little head had some support, but that picture was too cute and i wanted to share ... josh says von was just inspecting the ceilings.
anyways, walls: painted ... trim: painted ... carpet: ordered. just a few more tasks til our basement is set for our 'cool summer wonderland' ... YIPPEEEE, CANNOT WAIT!

blowfish

we had a little photo shoot the other night before bed :)

mini frank

i've always thought von looks quite a bit like his grandpa frank ... and fellow olean-ites are starting to notice too:

last week, ed the electrician came to our house to do some work. his first comments when meeting von were how he was absolutely blown away by how much he looks like frank.

von & i were at his doctor's appointment a few days later and before leaving the exam room, dr ilustre turned to us and said 'you look a lot like your grandpa. wow, i cant get over how much you look like your grandpa.'

cant miss those baby blues and killer smile ;)

ma's birthday weekend

while the big boys (aka daddy & pa) continued to finish our basement project, von enjoyed some quality time with ma & mommy ... and as an added bonus, it was ma's birthday!!! von was in bed by the time we got into the ice cream cake to celebrate, but nonetheless, we had some nice weather, a few fun excursions, and lots of snuggles/waves/kisses for dear ol' ma & pa.

*as a side note: the basement is really starting to look pretty awesome, thanks to many long hours of hard work from josh & dad!!

wagging his tail

von was just a mobile ball of energy today. crawling, climbing, standing .. and seemed like i could only catch the tail end of him every time i grabbed the camera (plus his puppy outfit was too cute). we also went to the dr today for his 9 month well check-up, and here are our stats:
30.25 inches (90% percentile)
21lbs (50% percentile)
oh, another fun milestone today: von now waves 'hi' non-stop to everyone and anything :)

dinner bell

we have quite the eager eater. you name it, he'll try it. and if it receives the 'lip smacking seal', then you know it's good. tonight's features where spaghetti and seasoned french fries (totally normal combo, right?). however, hands were also optional tonight (von would NOT touch the french fry) .. hmmm, maybe he's been watching ollie eat??

KING OF THE MOUNTAIN

well, check another milestone off your list .. von has now conquered the stairs!

playground

the weather FINALLY cooperated for our first trip to the playground!! grandma came over and we walked to the park where we enjoyed the swings, slide, merry-go-round, and all of the other goodies too. von seemed to like it .. he giggled and laughed on the swing and merry-go-round (just dont go too high or too fast)! if jack frost can stay far far away for a nice long summer, i see many more trips in our near future :)

mum

i LOVED my first mother's day!!
we churched it with grandma /grandpa & aunt chris/uncle mud this morning (also our first trip to coudy!), brunched it at the golf club, then did some afternoon napping and just plain relaxing. von also surprised me with some beautiful flowers and a nice book. perhaps a macaroni necklace next year :)




e

like father, like son

looks like von has inherited josh's dancing skills :)

non-stop

we had an absolutely amazing day today. it was so wonderful to hang out as a family around our house. love our life!
first von folded some laundry:



then we went for a walk:


next, it was time to 'fly' with daddy:



followed by some crazy cuddling/drooling on mommy:



and finally, a little jumping to end our day:

water water everywhere

this is what von's socks look like every night after my shower because he enjoys playing 'peek-a-boo' while the water is gushing from the faucet. call me crazy, but i love the fact that my son cant peel himself away from me for even a few minutes :) it's his smile and laugh, they melt my heart every time!

ho-hum

"i lost a sock ... so i decided to sit here and eat some cherry puffs. yup, i live the good life. happy thursday, mom."
(the above is what von said to me when i walked into the living room today)