New York, New York!

Sept 14: David Takes Manhattan! We made our first family trip to the big apple on a beautiful fall weekend. First stop, Central Park for a picnic. 

David LOVES people watching

Horses!

not a fan of the big horsie up close!

Next stop, FAO Schwartz! The huge stuffed animals greeting us at the entrance were life-like enough to give David a bit of a scare. But the stuffed dogs were much less frightening :) 

We had a fun sleepover - first time all 3 of us have shared a room since our California trip! David did great! And we had fun camping out in the bathroom so we could still have some light & talk :)

Sunday we took a walk through Times Square - David loved all the sights and sounds.

Daddy had the idea to top off the TS visit with a walk through the Marriott lobby & to ride the cool elevators :) 

It was a great weekend in the big city - we can't wait to go back!

11 Months & GDKQT

David spent the past 2 weekends with his grandparents and doodles and my cousin Karen (Grandparent, Doodle and Karen Quality Time (GDKQT!)). And we celebrated 11 months in between! 

First up, a visit from Nana, Grandpa, Truman & Brady. David got lots of story time and floor-playroom time during the visit. We realized after David went up for his nap that the dogs managed to stay fairly calm & not engage in any horseplay the whole time David was crawling with them on the floor - amazing! :)

Josh and David also got to spend some DD(daddy-david)QT together (daycare in-service day...). Here are the 2 shots I got from their day of shenanigans :) 

Sweet-potato face! 

Selfie in the nursery :)

The next weekend, we went to LBI to visit my cousin Karen, Bob, and Mom-mom & Pop-pop. Franklin had an upset stomach, so it was just me & David (MDQT!). We got to hang out with Wilbur & Stanley, the original doodles :) David decided home base for the weekend would be Stanley's dog bed. Luckily, Stanley didn't seem to mind the company (& the ball thrower!)..

Everybody wanted to chase the ball!

David did a lot of exploring, looking and listening to all the sounds of the seashore. 

Looking out at the jet skis & seagulls with pop-pop

Enjoying the cool breezes with mom-mom

Staring up at the cool ceiling fan with pop-pop

And of course David got some real good DKQT with Karen :) 

Karen let him borrow her walker too!

& one final shot with mom-mom (he looks SO BIG here!) :)

Back on the homestead, David got a little cold, so we got to play hooky on Monday - yep, another day of just MDQT :) Here are some shots of my cutie :)

Still no walking unassisted, but man does he tear around in his walker!

LOVES playing hide and seek in his playhut :)

And last but not least, here is our 11m photo shoot! 

Trying out some new kicks!

Striking a pose..

PS, David started sleeping on a nap-mat at daycare! He seems to be doing really well with it, averaging at least 2hr naps on the mat (on the floor!)! Here's a shot of it - custom made on Etsy. Soft as can be - wish they made adult ones! :)

Walking (assisted), Signing and Sipping!

On August 18th, after a visit with our big-kid friends Ben, Taishi, and Sienna, David decided to take his first legit (assisted) steps! We held David's hands as he walked around the couch, the kitchen, and the dining room, kicking toys on the ground like a professional soccer player! He discovered that walking the walker was a fun new trick (we never got much use out of it so glad it's coming in handy now!) and Franklin joins in the fun by walking in between your legs to take a closer look (haven't gotten a pic of this yet but we will!). 

The same week, David's top 2 teeth came through, he graduated to a big-boy carseat, figured out how to sign "more" (only when he really wants more of something, like spiral pasta or watermelon, his current favorites), point to words/pictures as you read, and how to hold and sip from his sippy cup! And this week he conquered climbing up an entire flight of stairs! It's been a busy couple of weeks around here... here are some pics to prove it :)

The boys :)

David is a big fan of the wagon.. but only when it's moving!

First time meeting Kohji!! 

It's impossible to get 4 kids in a pic - forget about having them all look :)

Big boy convertible car seat!

Chipmunk :)

Professional soccer player :) Going for a walk with Laura.

Walking the walker

Hanging with Franklin...

Bath time silliness..

Empty cabinets = great hiding place :)

no bath tonight, Franklin...

And oh, the fascinating fridge!