Kirk is nine months old!

It is so hard to believe nine months have gone by! My little baby is growing up way too fast! He is crawling all over the place and starting to stand up and let go. He can stand by himself for a few seconds and Jeremy and I are amazed at how strong he is. He can shake his head "no," although it seems he does it at very inappropriate times (like when we're trying to feed him!). He says "mama" and "dada" and a few other sound combinations. His bottom two teeth are coming in quickly and they are very sharp! He still likes to eat everything and has enjoyed some of the foods I made for him. He really likes bubbles and being outside. He really loves to play with his toys and is paying much closer attention to things these days. He likes his basketball hoop that Auntie Megan got him and his new hammer that Daddy got him. He also really enjoys his ball popper that Daddy got him, I included a picture of him playing with it below.  Ok, so maybe he likes eating the balls, but that's fine, too!  Ha ha! 

Kirk is so funny playing with this toy, he puts his hand over the hole that is blowing air and the balls can't "pop" out!  We have to keep removing his hand so that the balls can come out and move around.  He also likes to stand over the hole so his hair blows in the breeze...he is a funny little guy!

Happy Mother's Day!

     What an amazing thing it is to be a mother.  As I celebrate my first mother's day with my sweet baby boy, I look back on how my life has lead me to this wonderful place.  I remember the joy I felt during my college years, hanging out with friends and having the "time of my life."  I think about how proud I was to graduate from college and graduate school.  I remember meeting Jeremy and feeling the butterflies in my tummy each time he held my hand.  I remember standing at the altar on my wedding day, thinking that it would be the best day of my life.  I remember my first group of students and how I loved becoming a teacher.  All of those moments are still important to me, but they fade in the shadow of my precious baby boy.  Each day is so much brighter, each laugh feels so much better, and my smiles are so much bigger.  I watch him explore the world with no judgement, no fear, and full of love. 
     I never imagined that I could feel this much love and look to the future with so much hope and anticipation.  I feel like my heart is outside of my body.  He takes it with him wherever he goes, and I don't want that to be too far away from me.  I want to make the world a better place so that he can enjoy his life and be successful.  I want him to feel supported and challenged each day.  I want him to know that his mama loves him more than she ever thought possible.  Jeremy and I are so incredibly blessed to have him in our lives.  I want to enjoy each day...laughs, tears, bumps, bruises, hugs, kisses, and most of all, love.  Thank you, Walker boys, for making me a mother.  Life is so much sweeter.

Kirk during our Mother's Day lunch at Chili Willis

"You are so precious to me, sweet as can be, baby of mine".....Baby of Mine, Dumbo

(my favorite Disney tune)

Go GREEN, Go WHITE!

The Walkers went to tailgate for the Green and White game today.  We were thankful that the rain held off long enough for us to enjoy our friends and tailgate for the HERD.  We are all excited for a new football season this fall with all the growing babies!  Today Kirk played with Kendall; he really enjoyed her pink purse!  It is hard to believe that the babies are all getting so big.  We saw lots of friends and Kirk had a great time smiling at everyone.  We had a great day and we're ready for some HERD football!  Tailgating will be so fun this fall!

Kirk and mama

Tailgaiting apparently was too much for Kirk...he took a little bit of a snooze!

Kirk is eight months old!

It sure is hard to believe that eight months have gone by.  Kirk is getting so big and time is flying by.  He is crawling all over the place, and getting very fast.  He pulls up on everything, and crawling under tables seems to be his favorite thing right now.  He loves to play with toys and is able to push and pull them so they will  make noise or light up.  He babbles a lot, mostly "da-da-da-da"  but I've heard "ma-ma-ma" just once.  He throws in a lot of other sounds too, and he thinks blowing raspberries is hilarious!  He is a great eater, and seems to like all of the baby food we've given him.  He's getting much better at sleeping longer at night and taking naps.  He still loves to play with all the kiddos at the babysitter's and he breaks his neck to watch people when we're out.  He smiles from ear to ear when strangers say, "Oh, what a cute baby!"  I swear, I think he understands them and cheeses even bigger.  He is a tough little guy, and has already had a few falls and bumps.  It scares me to death, but I guess I need to toughen up too.  Being a mama of a wild little boy is rougher than I thought!  I can't believe in a few months I'll be typing about his first birthday.  I want my baby boy to stay little forever!

Kirk is ready for some spagetti at Rocco's!  Maybe in a few months...haha!  We had a good time, the waitresses kept saying how cute and smiley he was...of course he kept grinning even bigger!

Kirk fell asleep on our walk and I parked him in the backyard so I could get some yard work done.  Look how he propped his foot out, I thought it was so cute!

We're getting ready for a walk; it was a very sunny day!  We had to wear our shades....too bad Kirk didn't keep his on very long!

Kirk is enjoying some watermelon in his mesh net thing.  He seemed to really like it and liked banana even better.  He makes a little bit (well, maybe a lot) of a mess, but that's okay!

Kirk on his first Easter egg hunt at Granny Dean's.  He found this blue one himself!

Kirk with his first Easter basket.  He liked his octopus toy!

Our family on Easter Sunday

Hippity, Hoppity, Easter's on its way!

Kirk and Bella visited the Easter Bunny on Wednesday, March 31.  Erin, Zac, Jeremy, and I smiled and lauged at the two of them sitting there with that big furry bunny.  Kirk was all lounged out and Bella was happy for a bit until they took one picture too many.  She made a really sad face and started to cry a little bit, but all we could all do was laugh!  The photographer told us to enjoy this year's pictures, because next year they proably won't go near him.  I must admit, I find it a little creepy to think of sitting on the lap of an oversized bunny with a HUGE head.  I won't mind a bit if he's a little freaked out, too.  We got this year's pictures and I know that our families will love them.  It is so fun watching them grow!

Baby days...

Kirk really likes his talking cookie jar that Riley got him for Christmas!  He especially likes pulling off the lid!

Kirk likes his new rubber ducky tub!  He grew out of his other tub...he could pull up and crawl out of it!  His rubber ducky tub even quacks when you squeeze his beak!  Kirk loves to splash and play in the tub, and he will stay in there until his little baby toes wrinkle.  He's really active and likes to hold a toy in each hand and bang them together....very loudly!  He is so much fun to play with!

  Happy Easter everyone!

Kirk likes to party!

Kirk went to his first birthday party!  He went to J.D's fifth birthday party with Daddy on Saturday, March 27th (I had a baby shower to attend).  Kirk liked all the action and enjoyed the inflatables.  He wasn't big enough to do very much, but he liked crawling around and rolling the basketball.  Happy birthday, J.D, and thanks for inviting us!  Kirk had a great time!