More Austin Pictures.

Mark had a wonderful time with Grandma's dog Daisy. I think Daisy enjoyed all the extra treats she received from Mark during mealtimes. Daisy often would lie down under Mark's high chair during mealtimes to catch any falling pieces. Mark laughed and smiled when he saw Daisy. He sometimes would say "dah" (dog) when he saw her.

Since Mark likes to get into everything, Grandma had a cabinet in the kitchen that he could explore safely.

We are back home! Mark and I had a wonderful time in Austin. Here are a couple of pictures that were taken at the park near Grandma's house and one taken at Grandma's house. I will post more later.

Hello from Austin, TX!
Mark and I are in Austin visiting family. It has been raining here but we managed to get in a walk and a trip to a park between rain showers today. Mark is having loads of fun at grandma's house. Today he fed the dog his leftovers from breakfast, explored some cabinets, went for a ride in his stroller, swung on the swing at the park, and crawled around on playground equipment. Mark is trying new foods last night he ate some taco meat and guacamole. Of course those were a hit. There is a lot of entertainment especially when Auntie Nicole and Cousin Kylie come over. Today while we were eating lunch I guess Mark felt he wasn't getting enough attention so he started to cover his eyes in order to get someone to play peek a boo with him. Mark sure knows how to get attention when he wants it! I've been taking pictures and I will post them when we get back.

He Stood!

I was watching Mark pull himself up against a cardboard box. Then, he let go of his grip, and briefly stood for about a second before he started falling over forwards. I thought he was going to fall on his face, but he landed in a crawling position and came across the room with a big smile on his face.

It was a bit unsteady, but it's the first time I've seen him attempt to stand with no hand support.

Way to go, Mark!

Our little Diaper DolphinToday was the last day of Diaper Dolphin swim class. Mark appeared to enjoy it and laughed and splashed during some of the class. As you can tell by the picture with his swim instructor, Mark does not like to lie down on his back in the water. Otherwise Mark did all the other activities today without a fuss. He went underwater and even went down a slide into the water. After the class was over each child received a ribbon. I have already signed up for the next class so Mark and I will continue swim classes together over the summer.

New Words!
Mark is starting to use some more words. He says "nana" for banana and "du" for duck. He also uses the baby sign for bath. Mark is also developing his oral motor skills. Today he stuck out his tongue and moved it from side to side. After studying speech development for so many years, it is so exciting to see this development in my son.

From our first day together to our first year together. It has been a great adventure for our family!

Look how much our little guy has grown and changed in one year! This year has been a wonderful adventure for our family. We are so glad that we get to share stories and pictures of Mark through this blog.

Happy Birthday Mark!

We had a wonderful first birthday, opening presents and tasting cake and ice cream for the first time.

Jan, Shelby, and Granny joined Mike and Joanna for dinner and Mark's party.

Mark enjoyed all the new toys he had to play with. At the end of the day, he was so tired -- he basically just zoned-out during his bath time. Lots of things to take in today. And he was such a trooper -- he started out this morning with some immunizations at the doctor's office, then had to sit still for a photography session, then he had this party.

We can hardly believe it's been a whole year already!

Mark and I went to swim class this morning. After class was over, Mark's birthday was recognized. They sang Happy Birthday and gave him a purple balloon. Mark thinks the balloon is great, he can pull on the string and make it bounce in the air. Only a couple more days and Mark will officially be a one year old.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

We introduced Mark to one of our favorite Mexican restaurants today. I think Mike wants to make sure that Mark likes Tex Mex too. Mark ate some of my chicken enchilada, refried beans, and potatoes. He kept signing "more" so I guess he really liked it. Since it was Cinco de Mayo, a mariachi band was playing at the restaurant. Mark seemed to think that was fun too. After lunch we went to swing at the playground. Mark really likes swinging. He smiled and laughed.