Our Little Bookworm

Walker is a big fan of books. He loves being read to and loves looking through his books. Turns out, they also make a great teething snack. Mmmmmmm... cardboard!

Bear Boy

Sorry we haven't posted in a week. Jack and I came down with some wicked food poisoning. Ugh. But we're healthy again and back to our old antics. Here is Master Walker sporting a bear cap that Grandpa John picked up from a street vendor in NYC. We're getting ready for Halloween!

Sunday in the park with...

Walker is finally big enough to hold his own on the swing set!

Peek-A-Boo

Yay for new games! Our long curtains provide the perfect prop for a sweet game of peek-a-boo! I'm sure there will come a day when he tries to swing from these curtains... but until then, we'll leave them up.

My Dinner With Andre

Just finishing up a little lunch with Walker:

Stroller Skating

Walker and I went with some other brave Dallas families to the Thunderbird Roller Rink for a session of, what is cleverly referred to as "stroller skating". From 9-noon on Thursdays, the rink opens up the floor to parents with little ones in strollers. Now, I haven't been on a pair of roller skates since 1992 because eighth grade is the upper end of "cool" roller skating age. So, after I got my bearings and realized that my center of gravity has shifted a little since Michelle Rossier's 13th birthday at Flipppos Skate Harbor in Morro Bay, Walker and I enjoyed an hour and a half skating to "Raspberry Beret", "The Safety Dance" and other nostalgic music. A friend of ours snapped the photo below - its a little out of focus, but you get the idea. I think we might make it a weekly event. But we'll see.

Up in the sky...

Play time on Carlisle Street! As if we needed a designated "time" to play. As some of you know, we live on the flight path for Dallas Love Field Airport and Walker's new game is pointing out the planes when they pass by. Check out Walker's sky scouting skills below.


And here is Walker crawling around and enjoying the blue fish tunnel from Great Grandma Doris Atkinson. He loves this thing!

Pumpkin Patch Kid

We spent the morning at the Pumpkin Patch in Flower Mound because we were attending a birthday party! The place was packed with elated children dressed in orange and black ensembles, running from themed bounce house to bounce house. We took a hay ride and Walker pretended he was Linus waiting for the Great Pumpkin. I should have thought to bring his blue blanket. We had a great time!

11 Months - step, step, step

Walker is 11 months old! We're quickly coming up on a year and as usual, I don't know where the time went. As a little 11 month anniversary present, Walker took his first steps. He was standing at the edge of an ottoman and I was seated on the couch. I opened my arms and said, "Come here Buddy"... and he did! He let go of the ottoman and took three wild, out of control, Bambi-on-ice steps and fell into my arms. He was so thrilled that he wanted to immediately do it again. But he was so anticipatory during the second try that he catapulted his body to the floor before ever getting a foot down. So, it may be a while before we sign him up for tap lessons. Here are some sweet shots of our BIG BOY!

Play, Pose, Yawn

We spent the morning dragging out all manner of kitchen utensils. Tupperware is always infinitely more interesting than Fisher Price. Here are some sweet shots from our morning playtime.

All aboard!

Today was the first cool-ish day we've had since last Spring! (Its sad when 74 degrees constitutes "cool-ish".) So we broke out the long pants and enjoyed an afternoon at home digging through the toy box. Now all we need is the engineer's cap to go with the overalls.

Guitar Hero

Both Grandpa John and Uncle Joel recently treated Walker to some one on one time with their guitars! Walker was, of course, entranced and is well on his way to being a music man. Here are some shots of Grandpa John and Walker followed by a video of Joel singing an impromptu ballad to Walker's baby fingers.

Pumpkin Head

Walker is working on two whopper-sized front teeth this week. Luckily,we've stocked up on teething tablets and frozen rings. But even with a minor earthquake exploding in his mouth, Walker is in great spirits. Here are some sweet shots we took this afternoon!

Words, Words, Words

This video is from three weeks ago - ancient when you think about how fast Walker grows. I love the pre-speech chatter that Walker rolls out all day long. He is a talking fool. I can't wait until all this jabbering turns into articulate speech! What in the world will he say? Until then, enjoy the clip below!

Uncle Joel in California

Walker and I just came back from a quick trip to California where we spent a day at the park with my brother! Every time Walker sees his uncle, he lights up and looks at me with an expression that seems to say, "Hey! I LOVE this guy! Where's he been?" So here are some gems from our time at the park with Joel.

Up, Up and Away

Walker has a first word. The clarity and delicacy with which he says "up" is heartbreaking. And the perfect stop plosive "p" at the end of the word makes his diction coach father supremely proud. This is my first post here on Walker's new blog and I'm excited to see what you all think!