Des Playing

Dad just chats with Desmond while he plays.



Dad and Des then spend time by the tree.

Des Doing Floor Work

Des playing on the floor with modified crawling.

Dad Makes Fun of His Stockbroker Look

It's a cute but ridiculous outfit. Dad then talks stocks with him.

Des After his Haircut

His hair was looking cleaner. He's just playing on the ground here.

His Hair Was Long at this Point

Mom videoed him from behind to catch him dancing. She eventually moves up front and films him dancing.

Des by the Christmas Tree

Santa entertains Desmond by the tree.



Desmond spends some time talking on the floor as he plays.

Daily Des

Mom tried to video him dancing. Didn't work.



Dad videos him standing up by the couch.

Des Eats a Cookie

He was just munching on a cookie.



Des and Dad spend time looking at the tree. He speaks quite a bit.

Dad Gets Des Laughing

He had some big belly laughs in this one.



We then watch the Rudolph special. Dad discusses how Santa sounds like King Moonraiser.

Des Stands Up, Looks at the Tree

Desmond manages to hold onto his gate-cage thing.



Dad and Des then check out the tree.

Close Up by the Tree

Some close up minutes with him by the tree.



Merry Christmas.

The Stockbroker

Here's his stockbroker outfit. We recap his Thanksgiving.



He spent the day after Thanksgiving just listening to Christmas music as the tree went up around him.

On the Floor, Rolling Around

He loves to play on the floor.



He loves rolling. Next is Thanksgiving morning when he watched the Macy's Parade with mom.

High Chair Hijinks and Floor Play

First, we get some high chair action. He's learning the whole feed himself routine.



Now he plays on the floor.



He's full of energy, but still waiting for the crawling to start.

Some Swing Videos

The swing is nearing its end of service. It has served Desmond well, but he might be a bit too big for it now.



Who doesn't like Lawrence Welk?



He is pretty coy with his dancing for the camera.

Des and Dad Talk

Desmond lets out some whiney jibber jabber.

Dark One of Him With Mom

Bit dark here for a picture. He had been dancing to the Dire Straits, and then he clammed up.

Desmond Likes Grover

Desmond really reacted to Grover when watching Sesame St.

The Haircut

Desmond has always had a good amount of hair.  It finally reached the point that it just HAD to be cut!  He got it cut last Wednesday and he did great.  Unfortnately for the hairdresser, Desmond "danced" the whole time.  He literally swayed his head from side to side almost the whole time!  I have no idea how she cut his hair!  He got a full 2 inches taken off his whole head.   I posted a few before pics that were taken on Thanksgiving.  The reason he does not have a shirt on in the after pics is becuase he had so much hair on himself that i took it off.  He got a bath shortly after.

before:

after:

AJ Says Arf

AJ shouts arf with some encouragement. She and Des play on the floor.

Des, AJ and Meg

The three of them hang out on the floor.

Des Plays with Aunt Meggy

Des plays with Aunt Meggy.

Des Trying to Crawl

He plays a game with the camera around the 1 min mark and is pretty much the most adorable baby ever.

Des in the 'Saucer, AJ Helps

AJ just wasn't in the mood to give Desmond a kiss.

AJ and Des on the Floor

More of AJ and Des together. It is pretty cute to see them working together.

I Wasn't Kidding. It Was Lawrence Welk.

Mom dances him around for this number.

They Watch The Lawrence Welk Show

Who would have thought they'd like Lawrence Welk? AJ does some yoga.

Des & AJ Playing Together

Des and AJ play on the floor. Cute moment at the 1:30 mark.

Floor Play with Des and AJ

AJ and Des play on the floor. AJ was fighting taking a nap. Lots of gibberish in this one.

Des in the Leaves w/Dad

Some more playin' in the leaves; this time Dad is in there with him. Even AJ goes into superbaby mode.

Morning Playtime for AJ and Des

I try to get AJ to say 'kunkin', but we'll settle for watching them play. AJ says hello into her phone.

More Playing in the Leaves

Desmond, AJ and Meg play in the leaves. Desmond breaks into a dance at one point, and AJ walks off to explore the back yard.

Playing in the Leaves

We recreated some childhood memories of my sister and mine except now we, and my older niece, played the roles of Patti, Scott, and Beth. AJ was a bit nervous at first. She joined in the fun.

Des w/AJ Some More

AJ uses the baby remote as a phone. They play with a book.

Desmond and AJ Play

As you can see, AJ talks and walks now. She says simple words while Desmond still utters complete gibberish.

Nickname Review

We go over his nicknames, and with a new face he makes, he already has a new one. It is a miracle he responds to his name Desmond.

Some Belly Time with His Piano

Desmond does his 'snake dance' ont he ground to the piano music and duck music. He pops up on his knees a bit.

Stuffing the Sausage

Without comment.

Des Dances to Awesome Tunes

Des likes to shake to music. He wiggles some, falls some, and laughs some.

Des Saying "DADADADA"

Despite seeign the camera, he does spend a solid two minutes talking.

Morning with Des Moving his Feet

Desmond plays in his high chair one morning. Dad makes a Caddyshack reference. He'll still want to watch it and laugh at it right? It's not like those jokes are time specific. It's not Murphy Brown where half the comedy is lost because of the topical jokes.

Desmond and Dad Chat

Sometimes it really is this much fun.

Des as Chewy

So we dressed Desmond up as Chewbacca for Halloween. Mom was Princess Leia and Dad was Darth Vader...



Of course we had to set him up for photos.



Plus Dad needed some time with him.

Des Eats Puffs

Des has soem puffs and entertains us.

Desmond with his Grandparents

Desmond spends time with his Gramma and Grampa. He claps at 'yeah' now.

Des Watches the World Series

Desmond was watching the World Series.

Desmond Eats a Cookie

Desmond eats a cookie and chats in his high chair. He throws in some Frankenstein sounds.

Des and Mom on The Floor

Desmond talks to his workbench and plays. At one point, he turns his head way over to the side to look at it better.

The Swing.....1.5 months vs. 10 months....

As Matt likes to say, after the two of us, the MVP of Desmond's first year are his two swings. He started out in a full sized swing and he loved it so much that we invested in a portable one as well for the upstairs (and we found it came in handy for trips as well!) He still loves his swing but (thankfully) does not need to be in it for hours on end any more. I really think at one point, he was in there for 8 hours a day! Now he only uses it some nights when he is tired but we want to keep him up later, if he does not feel well (teething), if he wakes up earlier in the morning than mom wants him to get up (stupid daylight savings) or won't take a nap (we are always guarenteed a nap when he's in that thing!). Many days he does not even use it. It's a good thing too as at 28 inches he's quickly approaching the height limit and it's days are numbered! Luckily his full sized swing is a bit bigger should we have any sleep / illness emergencies, we can still use that one! I posted this picture back in March but I think it was taken around the end of Februaray making Desmond about a month and a half. I just took the second picture tonight (he is just 3 days shy of his 10 month birthday).

Des Spends 2 Mins constantly jumping around.

He knows the sound of the camera turning on. He is a bit of a spazz in this video.

Des and Dad Playing

We were just hanging out on the floor for a minute Mom recorded it.

Desmond Gazes Outdoors and Listens to Oldies

Desmond was watching the leaves blow around in the backyard. The Moody Blues provide the soundtrack.

Desmond Talks and Plays on Saturday Morning

Desmond spends a few minutes playing with his bowl and watching the leaves in the trees. He does utter gibberish throughout the video.

Desmond in his High Chair

Desmond plays around in his high chair. Dad entertains Desmond as Mom cooks behind them. Dad and Desmond box a bit.

Desmond Listens to "Angel"

We discuss listening to sad songs. He's playing with some of his new toys. Dad mentions Desmond's intent staredown of objects and his shaking of them.

Desmond Plays Ball

Desmond and Dad play some ball.

Desmond Teethes

He's still learning how to use that workbench.

dad's old snow suit

grandma gave us dad's old snow suit that he wore when he was around a year old.  i SQUEEZED desmond 9.5 month old self into it today.  let's jsut say, it was rather, ah hem, snug.  looks like he's much bigger than his daddy was at that age!  hilarious video of my trying to put it on him to follow at a later date.....

please excuse my hair - i had just gotten back from dancing....had desmond not looked so cute in this one, i wouldn't have posted it!

fun in the leaves!

matt was doing some raking.  he requested i bring desmond outside.  below is what happened next:

The Dancing Baby

normally the pictures and videos on the blog are recorded 2-4 weeks before they actually reach the blog.  however, we recorded Desmond dancing tonight so i just had to post it ASAP!  the TV was on and some music came on - he started be bopping right away and continued after it was done.  of course we took out the camera, rewound the show and hit record.  enjoy!

visit from grandma and grandpa

grandma and grandpa came to visit this past weekend. desmond had a great time!

the presents that desmond got:

with grandma:

at russell farms:

cutest scarecrow:

looking at the donkeys w/ daddy:

driving the John Deer:

on a bale of hay:

Mom Gets Desmond Laughing

Lots of laughter here.

Happy Halloween!

We had a good time this halloween! Desmond went trick-or-treating and a good time was had by all!

Desmond Mumbles a Bit and Rocks

Desmond can mumble. He also moves and bops to tunes in his head.

More Jello Shaking and Maniacal Laughing

Just average fun we have together.

Desmond and Dad Listen to Pumped Up Kicks

This was the official song of our trip to Maine. Des likes it. Dad sings it to him (and whistles it). He wails himself with that disk sometimes.

Desmodn Pets Boo

He's learning to pet the cats. It's a work in progress, but we don't want to see a cat end up in a drawer or closet in the near future.

Maniacal Laughing

Desmond plays around. Dad and Desmond engaged in soem maniacal laughing. Dad suggests a horror movie story.

The Bowl of Jelly

Dad likes to lift Des up and give him a mini-jiggle like he is a bowl of Jello. He usually laughs up a storm.

1 Minute of Desmond as R2D2

It's another minute of Desmond as R2D2. I move him around a lot in the chair this time.

Desmond and Boo Making Friends

Desmond and Boo bonded, then Desmond screamed. Boo ran away.

Goy Goy Goy Returns

Desmond talks in the 'saucer. He is saying goy goy goy again.

Desmond Laughs at "Bib"

Desmond cracks up over the word 'bib'. He shows some teeth.

Desmond has Baby ADD

Dad does voiceover narration for Desmond's average 2 min experience in the 'saucer.

Desmond as R2D2

Dad likes to move Desmond while in the high chair and does R2D2 noises.

More Time With Quackers

Desmond really likes Quackers. He chews at him, hugs him and laughs at him.

Desmond Playing

Desmond plays with his toys (Girard the Giraffe) while Dad hopes society jumps to LED lighting because CFLs are weak.

Where Does He Get Those Wonderful Toys?

Just Desmodn playing in the 'saucer with a new attachment.

The Baby Potter Photo Shoot

It was a promise to Kenny and Erica that Dad had to keep. The HP photo shoot.

Desmond Moves his Feet

His feet are always in motion.

Desmond Tracks Erica's Dr. Pepper Can

He is becoming aware.

Mornign with High Chair Toys

Desmond froze up for the camera a bit, but this is one morning with Desmond.

Desmond Plays with Quackers

Desmond gets along with his stuffed animals, especially quackers. Quackers can talk back, which is why we think Desmond likes him so much.

Mom Bitign Desmond's Tummy

Desmond enjoys it when you bite his tummy. There is enough to bite.

Desmond Talks and Laughs at the Baby in the Mirror

Of course he's smiling, the baby in the mirror is so cute.

Desmond in the Pool

Desmond spent time in a small, inflatable pool with his mom.



He enjoyed toys being thrown at him in the pool.



I'm trying to find instances of other babies enjoying this....

Pink Bee Makes Desmond Laugh

The pink bee entertains Desmond. Desmond whines a bit at the end.

Sitting Up with the Green Disk

Desmodn sits up and plays with his green disk.

Good Morning!

This is what i get to see every morning.  He's so darn cute!  You'll notice in the second picture,  he is laying the wrong way in the crib.  we don't put him in there like that.  He's becoming pretty moble in there!  Guess we'll have to lower the mattress sooner rather than later!

Desmond's Pumped Up Kicks

We went to a HUGE consignment sale the other day and picked up some shoes for The Des.  As you can see, he's very proud of his new accessory.  I had to put him in the excersaucer to get a close up of them since he kept hitting his shoes together in the high chair (they make noise you know!!!!)

The Harry Potter Shoot

Erica came to visit.  This is what happened.....

The Shades

Joe Cool finally lets us put shades on him!

Two Teeth

For those of you not on "the book" here's a picture of Desmond's new teeth!  unfortunatley i can't figure out how to get this going the right way.....