Baby business...

Kirk loves his bathtub bubble machine that we got him for his birthday.  He demands that it be turned on at the beginning of every bath!

Kirk and his Poppy

We went to visit the Gibsons in Lexington on Saturday, August 28.  Kirk shared his puffs with Suzana.  He loved playing with her and she was so good to him. 

She will be a great big sister soon!

playing outside at the Gibson's

Kirk liked the swings

He really liked Suzana's kitchen, especially all the doors to open and close!

Suzana tried to teach him how to open all the animals.  She had a toy just like his!

We had a great time visiting with Suzana and Rachael (Josh had to work all day...boo).  We are all so excited to meet new baby Leo when he comes.  I know Suzana will be a great big sister and will love helping her new baby brother.  Kirk is excited to have 2 Gibsons to play with soon!

Our baby boy is ONE!

This picture was taken when Kirk was one day old.  I can still feel his little tiny warm body in my arms.  When we were in the hospital, he would lay on my chest and sleep for hours.  He had such dark hair and perfect little lips.  He barely opened his eyes, but when he did, he looked right at me and I knew my world had changed.  I had no idea how much it would change. 
That little baby has grown into my big one year old boy.  He is funny, smart, strong, and fearless.  He looks at Jeremy and I with such love and when he stretches open his arms for me, my heart swells bigger than I ever imagined.  I never knew how strong love could be.  Holding onto him is like a part of my own body.  In the last year of my life, I have really started to live.  I love my little boy more than anything in the world and I can't wait to see what the years ahead bring to us.  He is an amazing blessing, and I thank God for him several times each day.  The laughs, tears, sickness, sleepless nights, celebrations, and love that we have all shared is priceless.  Happy birthday, Kirk Daniel Walker!  Mommy and Daddy love you!

Kirk had a small birthday party at home on August 7.  This is a picture of his cake.  It turned out great!

This is Kirk's smash cake.  Just wait to see what happens to it.....

Kirk got his own car from Gramma Debi!  He loved it!

Kirk had some help opening gifts from his friend Riley.  He loved the musical instrument set she gave him!  Thanks Riley!

                                               

Kirk loved his four wheeler from Auntie Megan!  Thanks Megan!  Kirk loves to ride around the living room...over top of Astro, into furniture.....he has a blast! 

                                         

I have no idea what he is doing here, but you can see his cute little birthday outfit well, so I thought I'd include this one.

                                          

This picture was taken right before the cake....we had no idea what was to come.....

                                  

Can you believe this?  He shoved the whole cake in his mouth at once!  He had such a tight grip on it, he held it there forever and just filled his mouth full!

and he kept eating.....

and eating.....

until we finally called it quits for him! 

He was a mess, but I think you can tell he enjoyed himself.  I was certain that he'd make himself sick with all that cake, but he slept great that night and was his usual happy self in the morning.  We laugh everytime we look at the pictures of him eating that cake!  I can't wait to send some pictures to Pat (cake lady)--I think she should use them in her ads!

 
Happy birthday sweet baby boy!

Kirk is eleven months old!

     It is SO hard to believe my baby boy is eleven months old!  It is even harder to believe that he is walking!  He took off walking across our living room floor on Sunday, July 11th, and hasn't stopped since.  He still drops down to crawl when he wants to be really speedy, but he is taking off more and more on foot.  He smiles and giggles while he's doing it....he's so proud of himself!  He likes to roll balls back and forth and push buttons on anything.  He has started taking off giggling when we say, "I'm gonna get you!" and tries to get away from Jeremy and I.  He likes to play "baby races" with us and hold our hands while we "run" fast. 

     He has really become interested in building a relationship with Astro (to his dismay).  He looks under blankets on our couch for him (Astro likes to burrow).  Kirk can turn pages in a book and has really shown interest in books with babies in them.  He LOVES to watch Jeremy mow the grass and likes anything on wheels.  He is a great eater and eats just about anything.  Some new foods we've tried lately are avacado and kiwi.  He still really loves yogurt, blueberries, and bananas.

This is a picture of Kirk's first steps (well, the second set of steps, the first ones we were too busy clapping and cheering!) 

Go Kirk, go!

Ok, so neither one of them looks very happy...haha!  Kirk was forced to "pet Astro gentle" (I tell him this all the time, especially when he tries to whack Astro to death!) and Astro was forced to endure it.  They will love each other someday!

Birthday Celebration

Kirk's birthday is coming soon!  For those of you who have asked what he would like for his birthday, I thought I would include a short list of ideas...

• 18 month clothes, pajamas, and size 4 shoes and socks
• large bibs with snaps (he is a MESSY boy)
• any toys that he can push or manipulate (cause and effect)
• outside toys (he loves bubbles...a battery operated bubble blower would be great!)
• anything he can ride on or in (He LOVED the pink push car pictured in the previous post!)
• Barney or Elmo DVDs (He has taken a liking to these guys.  He bounces and giggles when Barney sings!)
• anything that plays music, he loves to sing and dance!
• Board books of any type  (sturdy enough that he can't rip or tear them easily)
• musical instruments (he loves to shake and bang things)
• Marshall shirts/clothes to wear to football games this fall....GO HERD!

Kirk really likes anything.  He is starting to be much more "active" and is a little rough on things sometimes, so just make sure anything you get him is durable!  We are so thankful that he has so many people who love him and want to celebrate his birthday!  It is hard to believe a year has gone by and that he has grown so much!

Happy 4th of July!

Kirk, Jeremy, and I spent our 4th of July at the Chapman family reunion campout.  Kirk REALLY liked being pushed around in this little pink car!  Kelsey is pushing him in this picture and he is steering the wheel like he is really going somewhere.  He laughed and smiled the whole time.  Several people took turns pushing him around in the heat.  We think Kirk was trying to tell us that he would LOVE a car like this (in more masculine colors) for his birthday!  He had a blast!

                                           

Kirk is hanging out with Gramma Debi.  He was forced to take a break from the pink car!

                                            

Poor Astro.  I think this is only the beginning of his torture.  I took this picture right before Kirk put Astro's ear in his mouth.  Astro just sits there and looks pitiful and disgusted.  I think he dreams about his life before Kirk pulled his ears and pinched his tail.  Maybe that's why Astro has started chewing up his toys....retalliation?

                                              

I had to include this picture of Astro pretending to be a cat!  Apparently he enjoyed laying on the back of Neuhaus's couch while we were in Myrtle Beach and thought that he should find a place to continue his window watching at our house.  I almost screamed when I walked into the living room and saw him on the back of this chair.  First of all, how did he get up there without disturbing a thing, and second of all....why would he want to teeter himself on the back of a chair??  It's crazy, but that's Astro.  He's a bit of a strange dog.  I think he is confused about his identity.  I swear Kirk's first clear words will be, "Astro, HUSH!"  Hahaha!

Beach baby...

We just returned from our first family vacation to Myrtle Beach, SC.  This picture is of Kirk's first time splashing in the ocean and touching sand.  He absolutely LOVED the sand, water, and waves.  He even dunked his head under a few times.  He would laugh and squeal when the waves would come and wash over him.  Jeremy and I held him and would laugh and laugh at his excitement.  He would crawl around on the sand and even learned how to dig with a shovel.  Jeremy found lots of seashells and showed us lots of sand crabs. A few times Kirk took off crawling right for the ocean!


 We had a good time, but now Jeremy and I need a few days of vacation to rest up!  We definitely appreciate the benefits of being home in our baby-proofed house now.  Kirk is a very busy baby, and he loves to get into things.  He learned to reach his arms out in response to "How big is Kirk?"..." SO BIG!"  It is really cute!  He also learned how to throw things "up," which I thought was a great idea, until he started throwing everything "up!"  We are glad to be home safely and will enjoy a few more weeks of summer at home (before I go back to school.)  I can't believe in a few weeks we'll be celebrating his first birthday...what an amazing year it's been!

Jeremy and Kirk in the ocean.  Kirk didn't seem to need much help figuring out what to do!

Kirk climbed in his pool float on the beach.  He liked wearing his shades!

Jeremy and Kirk are digging in the sand...we didn't have the heart to tell him that he'd make more progress with the rake turned over.....

Kirk and Jeremy in the ocean. 

Jeremy and Kirk found a BIG seashell

How big is Kirk?  "SO BIG!"

Jeremy and Kirk relaxing at Barefoot Landing

The Walkers on the beach

Kirk was all wrapped up in his beach towel.  His lips were quivering!

All the Walker toes are in the sand.  Kirk liked to dig his in!

Kirk is ten months old!

It is hard to believe, but Kirk is ten months old!  He is growing so fast and amazing us every day.  He is such a busy baby...always climbing, pulling, laughing and playing.  He has taken a few little shuffle steps on his own and is standing independently for several seconds.  He eats just about everything and seems to really like blueberries and bananas.  He is getting much better at drinking from a cup and has become a much better sleeper.  I am really enjoying spending time with him at home and we have developed a nice little routine.  He is so much fun to play with and we sing and dance all day.  It will be REALLY hard to go back to work in August.  I am thankful for the time I have, though,  and I will enjoy every minute.  He is so precious and time is slipping by so fast. Happy ten month birthday to Kirk! 

Kirk has a new interest in climbing the stairs...very quickly!  He can make it to the second floor of our home in seconds now!  We put up a gate to keep the little monkey downstairs!

He made it to the landing and turned the corner to keep on going!  He sure keeps us busy!

Kirk enjoyed a few drinks out of Jeremy's drink during our Father's Day dinner.  He grabbed the cup and took a big drink from the straw.  He also enjoyed a few nibbles of his food.  He is very interested in what we are eating and drinking these days.  We had a great dinner and we are happy that we got to celebrate Father's Day together! Happy Father's Day to a great Daddy!

Kirk had a little trim from Gramma Debi on Saturday, June 19.  She took a little off the top and trimmed around his ears.  I don't think it will be too long before we can have a real big boy hair cut!

Kirk, Jeremy, and I walked with "Caden's Crusaders" in the Cystic Fibrosis walk at Ritter Park on Sunday, June 13.  We were happy to give some time and love to a great cause and support our friend Caden!  Notice Kirk's terrible bruised eye...he had a bad fall at home and had a pretty bad shiner for a couple of days!  Poor baby!

                                  

I reposted this picture (from Christmas Eve, 2009) in honor of Kirk's Great Granny Walker who passed away on June 10, 2009.  We are all so very sad and miss her greatly.  I realized after her passing that I don't have very many pictures of her with Kirk....opportunities just passed by.  Kirk did visit with her about once a week, and she enjoyed spending time with him.  She always talked about how "sturdy" and strong he was.  The last time Jeremy took him to visit with her, Kirk destroyed her TV Guide.  She really must have loved him, because she let him do it!  She was a big part of our lives and her sudden passing has left us all very sad.  We will miss her and be sure to tell Kirk stories about her.  She left us with a lot of memories and we think about her everyday.  We are so thankful for our friends and families who have reached out to us and prayed for our hearts to heal. 

Summer days...

Kirk really likes his new "big boy" car seat!

This is a picture of Kirk's first time in his little pool in our backyard.  He reminds me of Animal from the Muppets!  He splashes as hard as he can and laughs when water gets in his face.  We are headed to Myrtle Beach in a few weeks, so we'll see what he does with the big water!

                                     

Kirk loves all of his new table foods, especially diced carrots!  He really likes eating them with his hair styled in a mohawk! 

Kirk has a new fondness of exlporing underneath things.  This is a picture of him starting to shimmy on his back underneath a dining room chair.  He squats down and looks underneath furniture and rolls his toys underneath things just so he can get down and look for them!

Kirk and I started Time For Music classes last week.  We are in class with cousins Bella and Holden, and our friend Caden.  We get to sing, dance, and play instruments.  Kirk seems to like anything that isn't too loud and really likes Miss Joni's balls and shakers.

It's Kirk's turn to play Miss Joni's guitar.  He usually grabs the strings and won't let go!

These are a few of Kirk's nine month pictures.  He posed and smiled so cute!  We think they turned out great!