Teddy's First Trip to the Beach

We were SO excited to go to Florida to visit with Shae's side of the family and to show Teddy the ocean and beach for the first time. Teddy loves his Grandma Susie:

But of course, to get to the beach, we had to drive in the car. It was a long drive, but Teddy did fabulous... even though we woke him up really really early....

and he had to travel with two crazy parents!

We brought lots of toys to entertain him. But I have a question about this next picture....

which is rounder? The ball... or the cheeks? When we finally got to Florida we were so excited to show Teddy the beach. He was not very impressed...

Maybe it was because the sand was extremely cold, but Teddy did NOT want to touch it the first day! He did want to touch something else though:

not the beer Teddy!

On Sunday we were able to go visit Shae's friends Jim and Christina. We were excited to see their 3 year old Olivia, and also to meet their new twins Noah and Caroline. Olivia showed Teddy all of her toys:

while Shae played with the twins!

We had a great visit with them, but then we headed back to North Redington Beach to play with COUSINS!!!!

Teddy had a GREAT time with all of his cousins. We had a lot of time to play since it was pretty cold out for the first part of the week. Here Amy shows him the stairs (later she convinced him to crawl up them all!)

Grandma Susie had so much fun with all of her grandbabies:

The adults got to play as well. Did someone say, "Yahtzee?"

We went out to lunch one of the days to celebrate Christmas. All of the children did really well... although I am glad I didn't have to clean up after them!

Even though it was cold, that did not stop us from hanging out on the beach:

Finley showed Teddy how to dig in the sand (with the beloved pink shovel):

Although we were on vacation and completely off of our routine, we stuck to one very important ritual:

Hhhhmmm...... Father and son really do seem to like to take naps. I wonder where they may have gotten that from....

Can you say, "copy copy?"

We did attempt to get some group photos of Grandma Susie with all of her Grandchildren. After a trial run, we decided to add the moms to the picture. That worked MUCH better!

Then we got a shot of Grandpa Steve with all of his children and grandchildren:

Shae sported some of his new Chanukah gifts. (Thanks Miriam for them!)

(as if there was a doubt!)

It gradually got warmer over the next few days and luckily we were able to spend more time on the beach. Also thank goodness Teddy warmed up to the sand (as the sand warmed up).

Beach Babies!

Grandma Susie offered to babysit so that we could go out one evening. We had so much fun at Friendly's Tavern! Here are the girls with our rendition of Mountain Music (WITH a dancer):

Shae also took the microphone. Here he sings a dedication to Teddy:

"Won't you be... my teddy bear!"

(above) Grandma Susie, Teddy, and Shae enjoying a beautiful day on the beach.

It finally got warm enough to not only stick our feet in the water...

but to get in it too!

(above) Shae took a kayak out and enjoyed the water. And on the last day, we were all crazy enough to get in the ocean:

When it finally warmed up and he was comfortable, Teddy seemed to really enjoy playing in the sand:

Like all of our visits with family, the week flew by and before we knew it, it was time to pack up the car and drive home. We had a wonderful time with everyone and were sad to see the week was over so fast! On the way home, we stopped at Chick-fil-A and let Teddy stretch his legs in the play center:

It's a long drive, but at least if you can sleep in the car, it goes by faster:

It was really nice to get home and sleep... or nap... in our own bed!

Of course the best part about our vacation was getting to spend time with family. I got a quick video during one of my favorite moments from the entire week. (Sorry I forgot not to turn the camera again).

Finley is an AWESOME dancer!!! We had so much fun with you!

Teddy's First Chanukah!

Teddy has enjoyed celebrating his first Chanukah!

(above) Teddy figured out how to roll his ball off of the stack of presents!

Shae and I are grateful to have so many family members that live close to us. We got together on Saturday night at my brother and sister-in-law's house to celebrate the fourth night of Chanukah. Jenn cooked traditional potato latkes along with the less traditional potato-broccoli latkes.

(above) Hal and Jenn ate on stools because they didn't have enough chairs for everyone.

Below: Cousins hanging out

In the next picture Teddy is watching his Uncle Hal light the menorah that once belonged to Teddy's Great Grandpa Fischer.

(yes.. in the background that is the traditional Chanukah football). After we sang the prayers and lit the candles- it was present time. Between a Grandma who loves to shop, and several aunts who also like to spoil Teddy- he got plenty of practice opening presents. Good thing since his birthday is coming up!

I think he got the hang of it:

Below: Teddy plays with the best thing ever- the box his present came in!My goodness, is there a baby in all of that mess???

My sister admitted she is turning into my mom. She bought all of the cousins these adorable PJ's and then asked that they put them on and pose for a picture:

COUSINS!

Teddy wasn't the only one having fun:

(above) yes, that is Maggie's headband on Shae's head!

Violet's big present from her parents was a kitchen from Ikea. Although she did not seem very interested in it, Teddy seemed to love it:

Teddy snuggles with Shae after a fun night:

The next morning I put together some of Teddy's new toys. He LOVED playing with them.

Shae was happy Teddy's presents are diverse. Here Teddy plays with his new farm set. Note: Teddy's cows are only grass fed, and his chickens are cage free. Teddy also received this awesome recycling truck:

Teddy gave us a concert from his new piano:

On Sunday night, we hosted the family for our second annual traditional Chanukah Taco night. Shae prepared his mom's delicious taco shells:

And they were a hit! Maggie, on the left, typically does not have a very big appetite. However, she stated, "I can't stop eating these tacos" as she helped herself to her 4th taco!

Teddy LOVED his Grandma Susie's taco shells! He also loved the hamburger meat.

After we ate, it was time to light candles and sing the prayers again.

Goodness there are a lot of people here:

After we opened presents, I enlisted the Gibson children to help me make our "chocolate dreidels" out of marshmallows, Hershey kisses, pretzels, and frosting. Wonder why they love to help with this activity?

My goodness hosting is so much fun.... but it is also very tiring!

We went to my parents' house on Wednesday night to celebrate the last night of Chanukah.

Here's a shot of the Best Profile EVER:

Teddy got even more toys. Caroline and Maggie love playing with Teddy:

This next picture is for cousin Amy. Teddy found this little champagne glass and carried it around pretending to drink out of it. I guess he is fancier than his cousin who sticks to beer!

Teddy loves the ball he got as a gift. Here he is with Grandpa Bud:

We had a wonderful holiday and are most thankful for our family and health!

In other news- Shae was taking care of Teddy Monday night while I was at clogging. He was surprised to notice not one, but two new teeth that have broken all of the way through. Neither of us were aware of them. They are in the back, past the incisors, so we had not seen them. That makes 9 teeth before the age one. I guess this little man wants to be able to eat!

Lastly, December is an extremely busy month for us. Not only do we celebrate Chanukah and Christmas, but we also have our anniversary, and Teddy's birthday. Add a trip out of town, and we have one very hectic month. I have found myself making list after list of everything that needs to be done and it's deadline. Check off Chanukah.... now on to preparing for travel. We are so excited to see Shae's side of the family. But before I can start packing, I better do the laundry:

Teddy is ELEVEN months old!

I can not believe that for our next monthly picture, Teddy will be a year! But let's not jump ahead. For now, he is 11 months old:

Teddy continues to be a very happy and healthy little boy. He is generally very very happy, unless he is hungry or tired. (Wonder where he got that from...) He is really outgoing and smiles and babbles at everyone wherever we go (that I really don't know where he got. Maybe from some of his outgoing aunts). He continues to be so much fun, and he loves playing, exploring, and being silly. Although he is not walking yet, he is faster at cruising and will stand on his own for several seconds at a time. He is just growing SO fast!

You'll notice that the sign has now been moved way over Teddy's head.
because of this:
These pictures got even more difficult this month, as Teddy has taken on the hobby break-dancing:
in a rocking chair...
Here are some pictures I snapped over a span of less than a minute. They are in the order I took them to give you and idea of Teddy's dance number:
umm... can I get a spotter please.....?

I'll end this post with a silly little video of our silly little man: