The Jazz

We took Hunter to his first Jazz game on Jan. 25th against the Phoenix Suns. He was decked out in his little Deron Williams jersey and I even tried to give him a mohawk but his hair is too long (and Josh won't let me cut it...)

We ate at the Gateway food court before the game and Hunter ate McDonald's french fries and drank orange Hi-C. Not a very nutritious meal but he loved it (and I gave him something more substantial before we left home - so don't judge me! :P )

When we got to the arena, Hunter was just in awe. He kept looking around at everything and was pointing at all of the lights and the people. We got there just in time for the starting lineups and we thought he would think it was cool with all the lights off and stuff... but he didn't. He looked nervous and wasn't liking all of the loud screaming. As soon as that part was done though, he relaxed and started to enjoy himself again. He was jabbering and pointing and clapping with everyone and was even watching the game! There were a few times that he couldn't see where the ball had gone, so he would lean forward to see where it went! It was so cute! And he just sat on either my lap or Josh's lap and just hung out! He never tried to get down and run around or anything! He was so good!

He made it through 3 quarters but we decided to leave because he was extremely tired (he kept trying to poke his eyeballs out) and the Jazz were losing by 17 at that point. As soon as we were in the concourse area of the arena, the crowd erupted into cheers. The Jazz were making a run! They had cut the lead to 9 as were were walking out of the arena! I gave Josh a look like, "Ah, can't we stay?" and he said,"We need to go, he's so tired." I was bummed but my little man comes first.

We listened to the game on the way home and the Jazz ended up making a comeback and won! :D When we got home, I went to get Hunter out of his car seat and he was SO asleep! His little head was flopped forward (I haven't seen it that bad since he was a little baby) and he was totally out of it. So it was a good thing we left the game when we did.

We all had a fun time and I'm glad that Josh convinced me to take Hunter with us. I had my reservations about taking him but Hunter crushed all of those reservations... He was a little angel and I wouldn't mind taking him again anytime! He's a true Jazz fan in the making! :)

Walking!

Ever since my post a month or so ago, Hunter has just been taking a step or two on his own terms. We tried to encourage him but he was never in the mood to walk - he would just bend his back and refuse to stand every time we tried. So, we decided to just let him do his own thing and when he decided he wanted to walk, we would help him.

On Friday, January 8th, we were over at our friend's (the Lamb's) house. We were eating dinner and since Hunter had already eaten, he was playing with the kitchen cabinets. I was talking to my friend when out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hunter moving towards me but he wasn't crawling... he was walking! I looked over at him and he had made it halfway across the kitchen! As soon as he saw me looking at him, he immediately dropped to the floor and crawled the rest of the way to me. It was so awesome! We tried to encourage him to walk between me and Josh the rest of the night but he had no desire to.

The next day after church, Hunter was playing in my room. He was opening a drawer that has hats in it and he decided he wanted me to wear one of the hats he found. So, he WALKED halfway across the room to put it on my head! I tried to encourage it again and this time he cooperated! I stood him up at the footboard of my bed (so he could grab something to get his balance) and he would walk from the end of my bed to me! It was like 2 - 3 feet of space!

When Josh got home (he is the ward clerk so he does tithing after church), I told him what had happened, so he wanted to see for himself. I stood Hunter up and had him walk to his dad! It was like a scene out of a movie or something - it was adorable! Both of them were very happy!

In the past week and a half, Hunter has gotten very good at walking. At first he would just walk if I encouraged him to but with every day that comes and goes, he is crawling less and less. In fact, today is the first day that he has been walking around more than he has crawled around! It's so amazing how far he's come in such a short amount of time! He is even walking around with stuff in his hands! That's one of his favorite things to do now... he picks up an object then walks it to me to show me what he found! He also walks around with his arms straight in front of him for balance. He looks like a little Frankenstein walking around the house! It's so cute!

So, without further ado, here is a video of him walking! I "jimmy-rigged" my camera in his high chair so I could record this without Josh being home... pretty crafty, eh? This video also includes a couple of other things too... him doing a weird dance and him laying down next to me when I lay down (he does it EVERY time I lay down - it's one of my favorites). Enjoy! :)

New Year's 2009

On New Year's Eve, we went quite a few places. The first stop was Josh's parent's house. Hunter and I only stayed there for about an hour while Josh set up his drum set at his friend's house for a little "gig" they were playing for friends and family later that night. After our stop at the grandparent's house, we joined Josh for his "gig."

Hunter LOVES guitars and drums (any musical instrument really...), so he thought it was so awesome that there were both in the same room! AND multiple guitars! Josh let him sit on his lap while he drummed and Hunter helped him hit one of the drums while they played a song. I thought that he wouldn't like all of the loud noise but it didn't phase him one bit. He alternated between smiles and looks of concentration as he helped his daddy drum. It was very cute. See for yourself... :)


After the "gig," we went to our other friend's house. By that time, it was about 9:30pm - way past Hunter's bedtime - but he was still going strong! So we let him play with the other kids while we visited and played "Bunco." Hunter loved ringing the "Bunco" bell! After about an hour of him playing, we decided to get him in bed because he was getting pretty delirious and silly. But surprisingly, he wasn't awnry...

We ended up just hanging out until midnight and when the new year rang in, our friend lit off some roman candle fireworks. Then we played The Simpsons Scene It game and after that, we called it a night.

Hunter had a fun night and I've gotta say that 10:30pm is probably the latest he's stayed up since he was a little baby! I wonder if he could've made it until midnight... hmmm... maybe we'll test it out next year! :P

Christmas 2009

Has it really been a month since I made a post? That's bad... :( Well, better late than never!

Hunter had his first Christmas where he actually somewhat knew what was going on. He got that he was getting new toys but didn't really enjoy unwrapping them. In fact, I think he tore open maybe 3 presents total the whole day... the rest we had to unwrap for him and show him what he got. He was very excited after all of the wrapping was off and he could play with his new stuff!

Josh and I decided to each get him something for Christmas and then do a stocking and a big present. Josh got him a Deron Williams Jazz jersey (and it is so cute because he can say "Jazz" - it more comes out "ZZZZ" but it is still adorable). I made him a fleece blanket because he needed a warmer blanket for the winter and he loves blankets with those ties on the edge of them (I tied 2 pieces of fleece together - it turned out way cute). When Hunter got it out of the bag, he loved it! He kept cuddling with it and rolling around on the floor with it! It made my day! :) In his stocking, he got some books, crayons and punching balloons. He loves punching balloons! (If you aren't aware of what a punching balloon is, it is those huge balloons with the elastic on the end of it and you "punch" it...)

For his big present, we got him a big boy car seat. Yes, I know, that is a VERY lame big present for a little kid but he needed one and he didn't really know that he was getting "jipped." Actually, now that I think of it, it's funny that practical gifts for kids are considered lame... well, I guess when you can get away with it, do it! ;) I decided to keep him rear facing because his pediatrician told me that they are suggesting you keep toddlers rear facing until they are 2 years old now because it's safer. Josh didn't really agree with this decision but it turns out that Hunter isn't even 20 pounds yet, so we couldn't flip him anyways! (I will post more about his 15 month appointment in another post). But Hunter enjoyed his first ride in his new car seat to Grandpa and Grandma Nielson's and he looked like a little king in his throne! LOL!

Hunter got a lot of fun toys and some cute clothes. I would have to say that his favorite toys on Christmas day were a fridge magnet alphabet airplane (we had to hide that one so he would accept his other presents), a big yellow Tonka truck (he liked - and still does - to climb in the back of it) and a little Fisher Price desk that has a little chair for him to sit in. Those were the ones he really liked on Christmas day but since then, he loves all of his new toys - especially since they are out of their boxes!

It was a fun day but you could tell by the end that he was spent. I seem to remember him just sitting in the middle of my parents living room just staring off into space... :P I'm sure he was overstimulated from all of the new toys and seeing all of his family in one day. But it was a very good Christmas!