BALIN HAS MOVED!

BALIN HAS OUTGROWN HIS BLOG HERE

AND MOVED TO

BALINHUNT.COM !

happy birthday, B.

Latest batch of pictures, and some firsts

After almost a year of nursing and eating all organic foods, Balin tried some of our adult food last week.

Sun. July 1. First pizza
A piece of crust from a BBQ pizza from ZPizza by Springfield Mall. He ate a little piece, and then held onto a larger piece tightly in his grip for about 48 minutes while we went into Home Depot and then drove home.

Wed. July 4. First pretzels and grapes
Apparently pretzels aren’t an acquired taste. The second he saw one come out of the bag he lunged for it and started chomping right away.

Sat. July 7. (Sugar-high day) First cake, frosting, and lemonade
A healthy day all around, Balin had a bit of cupcake (that looked like it offended him at first), and tasted white frosting, which was perhaps why he was able to stay up until 10. He also loved fresh lemonade and wanted to finish dad’s entire cup–but he only got a couple sips.

Here are some of the latest pictures. Enjoy.

Some New Skills

These days our boy is fond of crawling like a lizard (swinging his head from side to side as he goes), shaking his head side to side, and clapping.

He claps with his hands at the level of his forehead, and he smiles big with his new teeth, which are now big enough to chomp Os and cheese and graham crackers.

We’ll post some pictures from Gran and Abby’s visit soon.

Oh yeah, and he can stand now.

Balin and the Sorcerer’s Blocks

After finishing Book 6 months ago, Balin is getting excited about the new Harry Potter. To celebrate, he’s been practicing his magic tricks–I mean, his illusions…

PS: He’s now 11 months old.
PSS: This movie was me experimenting with video editing on the Mac.

Another Good (if odd) Bedtime

So, tonight we hang out with him before bedtime as usual, give him hugs, then set him down in the crib and say good night. Normally. the second he realized we’re going to leave he starts crying. Tonight, he sat up, picked up a toy we had left for him, and quietly watched us go as if to say, “I’ll get to playing as soon as I know you two are out of the room–thanks for the good day.”

It was weird – but great. He was asleep when we checked on him about 45 minutes later.

Also, for the last two days he has gone to the pool. He likes splashing.

First No-Cry Bedtime / First Pushing Cart Standing Up

1. Tonight after dinner we set Balin down in front of his push-cart toy thing (to help him practice walking), and he pushed it 6 or 7 steps on his own, standing up. Definitely a first.

2. Then, when it was time to go to sleep, we said good night to everything in the room, and then he laid down–but got up to his knees–but then we comforted him and he laid down again, and went to sleep without crying once. Another first.

Go Balin Go! We’re so proud of him.

Here Come The Visitors

Last Friday Gran and Grandad said goodbye to Balin and headed back home. It was Ok, because Grandma and Grandpa Weers arrived the same day. They’ve left now too, but they’ll be back within a week. This summer should be full of guests and fun for the B. After Grandma and Grandpa, he’ll meet Nick (hooray) and see Nicole and Bill, and (we hope) Sam and Kristin. Gran will be back several times in between too.

Then, we’ll close the summer with a fun trip to the Minnesota State Fair. I hope Ye Olde Mill isn’t too scary for a 1 year old…

The Little Balin That Could

A couple weekends ago we were at the mall, and we decided to wander into the toy store. Balin is close to standing on his own (he can, he just prefers not to), so we thought we’d look for something he could stand and push. While Sherri was looking at something else, he and I found these combo dump-truck/wagons, and he immediately took off with it.

He pushed with one hand and propped himself up with the other, and went all the way to the front of the store. The boy was on a mission. So, we got it for him to push down the hallway at home. He likes it (but he may like the blocks that came with it more.)

Smiling B

Almost a month ago, Balin got his first tooth, but it’s still eluding our photographic record. The diagram below shows the order teeth usually appear. Balin’s first tooth was the tooth on the top right side (labeled with a 3 in this diagram showing the order teeth usually appear.

Within the past week he has been doing some major teething as exhibited by his super drool and more frequent night wakings. He now has two teeth through the gums and two more almost there (all still on top.) The middle two on the bottom are also nearing the surface.

Showing his friendly nature, Balin is now waving hello to friends and sometimes strangers. We think that he even sometimes says “hi.” He also has been learning to drop things and put things in and take them out of some little cups.

Happy 10 months, Balin!

On Sunday our boy turned 10 months old. He’s been rather busy lately, going to Philadelphia for a wedding (where he did the Electric Slide), riding around looking for a watch for Mom, and hanging out at the food court like a teenager. He’s still crawling furiously and he still loves his tunnel–although he likes peeking around it–and then peeking through it at you–perhaps more than crawling to the other side.

He has a doctor’s appointment tomorrow because his iron was low at the last visit, but he’s been eating Os and cereal to make up for it, and we hope he’ll be fine.

Get your scroll buttons ready, because here’s a short chronicle of his latest adventures:

The Happy Couple (Clint and Jen)
Clint’s entrance was, “Star Wars Throne Room” — well done, Clint.

The Liberty B

His Wedding Suit

10 Months Old!

Beauty and the B

The Electric B