Teddy Bear is TEN months old!

It is hard to believe Teddy is already ten months old. I just got used to telling people he is 9 months old!!! I know I say this every single time, but this month really flew by. In fact, two days ago when someone asked me how old he is, I responded "9 months old" and I really thought he was! Anyway, here are the monthly pictures. And I have to admit these first two are my favorite pictures of him yet! (That's saying a lot because I am obviously pretty fond of the little guy.)I took Teddy to his first Halloween party today and he had a great time! The Moms group we just joined visited a nursing home, and the residents there absolutely LOVED Teddy!

With our crazy weather, I wasn't sure he'd even be able to wear his Halloween costume. It cooled off a little though, and luckily the air conditioning was on at the party!

Our little bear!

(above): Mamma Bear and Baby Bear

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I took some more monthly pictures of Teddy in the morning:

Teddy is definitely keeping me on my toes... here are just a few of the many out takes it took before getting the above picture!

This last picture is totally unrelated but I had to post it. Feeding Teddy new foods every day is so much fun. He is a really great eater (you can probably tell he doesn't miss a meal), and he generally likes new things. I was so happy that he seemed to like one of my favorite foods:

Teddy loves his mamma's spaghetti!

Standing Tall

Teddy's favorite thing to do these days is stand up. He pulls up on just about anything, and recently has started letting go and standing my himself momentarily. We went to lunch with our friends last week and Teddy was very very excited to have another baby riding with him in our car!! Judging from the picture, though, I'm not sure she's quite as equally excited:

Teddy smiling at Phoebe: Teddy has had a rough week- he had his first "sick" doctor appointment today. Luckily he just has a cold paired with lovely teething (the doc said his gums are swollen in the back where the molars come in!) I was a bit surprised when the doctor recommended Jack Daniels... but maybe he meant that for me? Poor Teddy has been very congested and had a lot of difficulty sleeping both at night and for naps. I was so relieved one day last week when Teddy finally fell asleep for his nap that I snapped this picture:

Despite the cold and teething, Teddy finds plenty of time for playing and smiles:

Teddy and his daddy cheered on the Hawkeyes on Saturday as we listened to the game online in our front yard:

Go Hawks!

A perfect Saturday:

On Sunday we finally got to take Teddy out on the lake in the canoe. Here's Teddy's view:

Teddy seemed to enjoy it, although he definitely let us know when he was ready for the ride to be over! Later that day we went to watch cousin Jack's baseball game. Teddy had fun playing with his cousins and watching all the big kids:
But he really wanted his dad to share the giant pixie stick with him:

Cousin Jack the baseball player!

At Mc Donalds with the baseball team after the game. Teddy had fun with cousin Maggie, though I'm not sure who made the sillier face!

Teddy was excited to receive a package this week. Grandpa Steve sent him some really cool shoes. We love the shoes, but Teddy especially loved the box they came in!

Thank you for the shoes Grandpa Steve!

(above) Teddy tests out his new shoes

(above) It only took Teddy about 60 seconds to take the shoes off!

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I thought I'd add a couple of videos. Teddy is becoming more and more verbal and active and is so hilarious. You can tell by this first video how excited he gets sometimes. Though I am not sure who is having more fun... Teddy or his crazy parents!

The other night Teddy was practicing standing alone and was so funny- he did this over and over again. Probably because of the way Shae and I reacted- we got so excited! You can't tell from the angle of the video- but when he lets go, Teddy is standing up completely on his own. Such a big boy!

Well, that's it for this update. We hope you are all doing well. Here's one last photo from the weekend:

Happy Birthday Aunt Stephanie

We want to send another long distance birthday wish out... this time to Aunt Stephanie!!! (My goodness we certainly have a lot of family members born in October!!)

Go Hawks!

Happy Birthday Uncle Jamie

We got to celebrate Uncle Jamie's birthday two times this week. That's because it was a very special birthday. But I'm not going to say how old he is, that would be rude...

Let's just say it was a "big" one! We went to their house on Jamie's actual birthday for cake and presents. My very creative sister decorated for the event:

(above) Teddy played with Henry

(above) and the balloons

(above) Jamie blows out the candles on his tombstone shaped cake

These babies are party animals... partying in their pj's!

Little did Jamie know, Thursday was just the start of his birthday celebration. My sister threw a surprise party on Sat. night for him. Even the 48 hot dogs in the refrigerator the day before didn't tip him off (I have to give it to him though- anyone who has seen my mom's freezer would think 48 hot dogs is nothing!) Jamie played golf all day and when he returned home this is what he found:

(above) Teddy hangs with cousins Caroline and Maggie waiting for Uncle Jamie to get home

(above) Jamie's cake... again I'm not tell how old he is!

We hope he had a great birthday! By the way- Shae sadly missed the surprise party because he was in Detroit at the Iowa game. I'm glad that he was able to hang out with his buddies and see the Hawkeyes win! But, spending the whole weekend with out him made me once again very thankful for all he does to help and very impressed with all the single moms out there!

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One last picture for this update- I just thought this was funny. This is how Teddy has figured out he can play with two of his favorite toys at one time: