Fall Update

A lot has happened since my last blog. First of all Cullen turned 1 about a month ago. We had a small puppy dog themed party at our house. His cake was in the shape of a doggy bone, we ate hot dogs, and had a grand ole' time. Cullen had lots of fun playing with his friends Carter & Lily. He also had fun opening his presents.

The daycare thing ended up not working out, and we still have not found someone to keep Cullen. So, as of right now my mother-in-law stays with us during the week. We're hoping to find someone soon, but I'm not going to hold my breath. He's still on a waiting list to get into a little Christian school, but we won't know anything until he's 18 months.

I mentioned that Cullen started walking in August. Shortly after his first steps he learned how to jump and run. His new thing is to run full force across the living room & slam into the back door. We think that he likes the sound of the blinds hitting the window. So, we have to keep a close eye on him. I worry that he's going to break the glass.

Cullen still loves his puppy dogs. Cullen likes to take Millie's green bone and run away from her. It's pretty funny watching him run around w/ a 50 lb. golden retriever hot on his tail...Cullen just laughs & laughs. She eventually catches up with him & takes her bone back. Then the scene is reversed. Millie runs around the house with Cullen hot on her heels. He takes the bone back, and I'm sure that y0u can see the outcome....One tired baby and dog.

One of the main reasons that I have not had time to update our blog is that we've been super busy on the weekends. Nate & I enjoy taking Cullen on little weekend field trips. One weekend we went to the Houston Zoo. Cullen had a ball watching the other kids, but didn't seem too interested in the animals. Then we took him to the Natural History Museum to see the dinosaur bones. Two weekends ago we went to the Scarecrow Festival. He had lots of fun at the petting zoo, and the weather was absolutely beautiful! His girlfriend and her parents went to the festival with us. This weekend Nana (my mom), my sister, and I took Cullen to Dewberry Farms to pick out his Halloween pumpkin. That was by far the coolest farm ever!!! There was a corn maze, hay rides, singing chickens, petting zoo, etc. Cullen was still too little to do a lot of the stuff, but he enjoyed watching the other kids & playing in the pumpkin patch.

I'll try not to wait so long between postings in the future. We've just been so busy, and now that I'm working weekends are precious. Every minute our little family can spend together is a precious commodity :( I miss being at home with my baby so much.

Walkin' & Talkin'

Cullen's vocabulary has started to EXPLODE since his first word. He now officially says hi, dog, Dada, baba (we think he is actually trying to say Mama), and look. In addition to his words he still constantly mumbles his adorable gibberish.

Two days ago he took his first step. He bravely took three steps from the coffee table to the sofa. On the same day he pulled up on his toy chest, took a few steps, and then took a nose dive into the floor. As of this afternoon he can walk all the way across the living room. It's CRAZY! We figured it would take a week, or a few weeks for him to start walking long distances. We were SO wrong... He grins from ear to ear, and giggles his funny giggle as he waddles from place to place. It's so adorable.

On Saturday we took Cullen to Gymboree @ Discovery Park in downtown Houston. Our friends, Cody & Kristy, came w/ us and brought their little girl Lily. She is two weeks older than Cullen, and they play really well together. We've dubbed her as "his girlfriend". Anyway, we took the love birds to Gymboree. The kids had a ball! I've attached some photos of our day in the park- ENJOY :)

Tomorrow morning is Cullen's first day of "school". We've decided that instead of scurrying to find a nanny that we are going to see how he does at day care. It it works out- GREAT, and if it doesn't then it buys us time to find someone to come into our home. I'm anxious to see what happens.

Look Who's Talking!

Cullen said his first word while we were on vacation. He will now wave at people and say "Hi!" The week after vacation he said Mama, but I'm not counting that word, because he only said it once when he was really hacked off. So, his official second word was dog. He started saying gog, and by the end of the day it was dog. He's so smart :)

Month of Firsts with a Side of Infectious Disease

July was a month of firsts for Cullen. It seemed like he starting doing all kinds of new things all at once. He's growing so fast, and we're loving every minute of it!

Cullen has cut all four top teeth, and by the 31st it looked like he was cutting the final two front, bottom teeth. Teething wasn't too bad, but I'm glad it's almost over with for the time being. Cullen is also standing alone. He will pull up on someone and stand all by himself for up to 30 seconds. He'll be walking any minute.

We took Cullen on his first vacation to Florida this month. He was pretty good on the flight over there, but coming home was a little more difficult. We had to sit in an airport for 4 hours, and it was difficult keeping him busy for that long. He LOVED Captiva! This child loves swimming. He had a ball in the pool with Maw Maw, Paw Paw, Uncle Sam, Aunt GG, and us. We took him to the beach, and he enjoyed trying to eat the sand. I took him down to the water, and a tiny wave took him out...I expected him to pitch a fit, but he set up and started laughing. Nathan enjoyed putting Cul in the Baby Bijorn, and taking him fishing. I have some of the most adorable pics of this.

We also had our first illness this month. I took Cul to the doctor for poopie problems, and we left with a diagnosis of the Chicken Pox. So, for the past week we've been quarantined to the house :( Apparently, he caught the little boogers at either church nursery, or YMCA Gym Scoot class. He had a very mild case (MAYBE 20 spots), very low fever, and really didn't seem all that bothered by them. I'm just glad that we have this behind us before school starts.

Well, I've made the difficult decision to go back to work come Fall. The PERFECT job came my way, and it would have been silly to pass it up. So, we've decided to send Cullen to daycare on a temporary basis until he's 18 months. We have him on the waiting list at a local Christian school, but he can't go there until 18 months. I just hope there's an opening for him, because I really love this little school.

It appears that August is going to be just as busy w/ him starting daycare, and me going back to work. I'll keep you guys posted on our milestones.

Craziness @ Casa de Whitman

This month has been insane! Nate has been super busy at work, and it's looking like I'm going to get to spend another year as a house wife. Apparently, the local school district is in the middle of a hiring freeze. I have mixed feelings about not going back to work. On one hand I'm not ready to spend that much time away from my son. On the other hand I could use some adult interaction. Oh well, whatever happens-happens.

Cullen has also been a busy little bee this month. He cut four top teeth, and is in the middle of cutting two more bottom teeth. He also learned how to wave at people. Yesterday we went shopping at Katy Mills. Cul was in his stroller waving at everyone who passed. It was so cute! In addition to waving he has also learned how to clap his little hands. He can also stand in one spot for about 30 seconds, and then he sits down and crawls. I'm sure he'll be walking by next month. His favorite activities include splashing in the pool/bath, and waving at himself in the bathroom mirror.

Cullen hasn't had his first word (on purpose), but he is making a lot of noise these days. He says "gagagaga," "babababa," and he'll click his tongue. Oh, he also makes these silly little birdie noises. It's hilarious!

We're looking forward to our trip to Florida. This morning Nate asked if I thought Cul could still fit into his Baby Bijorn...He then said that he wanted to strap Cul to his chest and take him fishing on the beach. I'm not sure if I'm ready for my baby to have hooks flying above his head, so I'm thinking that fishing will have to wait a few years.

Milestones

We’ve had quite an eventful month as far as milestones. Cullen is now crawling at the speed of light. You would think that I pump him up on caffeine & sugar, but he is just naturally full of energy. His new things to do are cruising & shaking. He enjoys cruising along cabinets, coffee tables, and anything else thigh high. We had our first major accident yesterday. I was mixing a bottle and he was playing under my feet. Before I knew it he tried to cruise along the oven door & the door flew open. Had his diapered bum not broken his fall, I’m sure we would have had to make our first ER visit. Of course, this scared the daylights out of me, and I make a trip to ghetto-r-us to buy latches, bumpers, and all of the other over priced home safety devices.

His second hobby, shaking, is also a very dangerous activity. Cullen will grab things such as end tables, baskets, bar stools, etc. then he proceeds to stand up and shake them as hard as he can. It's only a matter of time before I have to move furniture out of the house. So, if you come by to visit plan on sitting on the floor (just kidding).

Nathan & I are amazed at what Cullen chooses to play with. He has an entire box full of those silly educational toys that light up, buzz, sing, and do everything besides balance your checkbook. Instead of playing with these Cullen enjoys playing with DVDs, Cds, Wii Games, and his favorite toy of all would be any kind of electrical cord. I told Nate that we should have saved our money and bought the boy a case of blank Cds & an extension cord. So, once again I go on the offensive and safely tuck all Cds into drawers, and make sure that electrical cords are safely tucked away.

As you can see we’ve had a very busy month. My baby is now mobile & we’re frantically trying to keep up with him. Even though we’re constantly chasing the little booger around, we’re still having the time of our lives watching him grow. Being a parent is so much fun. Even though we know that we’re really going to be in for a wild ride with Cullen. We were really hoping that he would have my husband’s sweet, kind, gentle manner, but it looks like he’s got my stubborn, strong willed streak instead. Oh well, those are fabulous characteristics to have. He'll never be accused of being a bore, and he'll keep his teachers on their toes.

Whirlwind of a Year

Where should I begin? In September of 2007 The Whitman Duo became The Whitman trio. Cullen came into this world at 10:57 AM on September 27, 2007, and nothing has been the same since that glorious, life changing, moment. Shortly after Cullen’s birth Nate decided to take a job that didn’t require him to travel as much. Major change number three was picking up and moving from Lafayette to Houston. Adjusting to our new town, home, and having Nate around all the time has been a challenge. Don’t get me wrong it’s a welcomed change, but it doesn’t change the fact that old routines have to change. Those of you who are parents understand the complete devastation that a routine change can cause in both the lives of little ones and their parents. Needless to say we’ve backslid to the wonderful world of sleep deprivation. Oh well, watching Cullen grow & to witness the adorable things that he does it totally worth all the changes that have happened in our lives over the past 8 months.