Wednesday, September 15, 2010

More Chores

One of Robby's favorite things to do lately...

...Vacuum the floor with our little sweeper vacuum....


Check him out! Doing douby duty!

I wish this love of "doing chores" could carry over into his teenage years...
He is quite the little helper! Haha...


Unfortunately, he makes way more messes than he actually cleans up. 

While I am busy trying to clean up one mess...

Robby is busy making another!

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Other Highlights from our Utah trip

Hanging out with cousins

Hugging the girls
Robby LOVED all the girl cousins! He would just attack them and hug them! He doesn't quite know how to be gentle, so they got a little overwhelmed by him sometimes!

Climbing up and down stairs...over...and over... and over....
We don't have stairs in our home in Ohio (at least not ones inside our actual part of the duplex). So, Robby hadn't really been exposed to them much. But, he has always been a climber. So, he found great joy in climbing up the stairs at both grandparents' houses! And within a day or two, he was able to go back down safely as well.


First time in a big swimming pool
Steve's parents have a pool in their neighborhood. Robby enjoyed it right from the start!


Hanging out with Toby
Robby was very interested in my parents dog from the first night we got there. But, he was a little nervous whenever Toby would come towards him.  But, by the end of the trip... I think Toby would get a little nervous every time ROBBY would come towards HIM! I was impressed that despite having his hair pulled and his head sit on, Toby never tried to bite Robby.

Update

Robby is almost 13 months now, but still doesn't walk. He will stand there for a while, but hasn't tried taking steps yet.




It is the opinion of many that his efforts have been more focussed on his vocal/vocabulary skills than on trying to find a new method of mobility. 

He jabbers away all the time.  The other day, when I was at a store, the lady in line behind me commented, "When he starts talking for real, he is never going to stop!"

When Robby hit the 12 month mark, he could say two words...maybe three:

Hi
&
Cheese
(No, not smile for the picture "cheese,"..... food cheese. Have I mentioned this kid loves food?)

 He also said
Down
Although, that word isn't ennunciated with perfection quite yet, we know that is what he is saying. It is more of a "Dahh" accompanied with an arm waving towards the ground. (He says it when he wants to get out of his high chair).


In the four weeks since his birthday he has started saying the following words:

Eye
Dad
Bye
Uh-Ohhh (see video below)
Ball
Uh-nana (banana. see video)
Duck
Toes
Juice
Brush (toothbrush)

Four or five of those words were just within the past week! I swear he does something new every day-- whether it is saying a new word, or stacking blocks (and clapping in pride at his success), or crawling into the kitchen with a piece of paper and attempting to open the garbage can and put it in (haha, he did that twice yesterday).

It is amazing how fast he is learning and progressing.



"Uh-Oh"




"Banana"



In the "Banana" video, you see him clap after spitting out the banana. That is how he signs "more." He has done this for several months now. He doesn't actually do it right. The hands are supposed to be like this when bringing them together:
(pardon the goofy picture... of a random guy)

However, that was a little difficult for him when we first started teaching him, and he adapted it into a flat handed "more" instead. But, we know what he means. He has made good use of that sign for the past several months!

It's about time...

Now that he's one, we expect Robby to do his share of the chores...




(Really he just climbed up there when Steve was unloading the dishwasher and decided to start pulling things out and handing them to Steve. It was really funny. This was actually a couple weeks ago.)

Friday, August 27, 2010

Mountains

My parent's live at the foot of the mountin in South Weber, Utah.
The view from their house (which is where the following pictures were taken) is BEAUTIFUL!

Mountains are one thing I miss when living in Ohio.



Girl's Outing


My mom, sister Megan, niece Kahri, and I went and got pedicures together while we were in Utah. My first pedicure ever.

Thanks, Mom, for taking us!

And thanks Chris for watching Robby for me!

And thanks to the shaved ice stand out in the parking lot for providing me with a raspberry daiquiri shaved ice :)

Annual Kirkham Family Reunion-July 29th-31st

An event I look forward to each year.  I was glad to be able to attend this year.
Nothing like getting together with a large group of crazy Kirkhams!
I love my family!


Helping uncle Daniel prepare for the song they would perform in the program that night.

My brothers and Dad sang "Man of Constant Sorrow."  It is always fun to hear/see my family do things like this together!




Robby and Noah (my cousin Jill's little boy.... Robby's 2nd cousin?)
Staying cool


No camping trip is complete without roasting 'mallows.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

One Year Old

So, I read this cute idea of something to start when your baby turns one:



Take a picture of him...



...wearing clothes that are meant for someone much older....





....and every year, around his birthday, take a picture of him in those exact SAME clothes...



...until they finally fit!

We've got many years to go!
Here's to year number ONE!

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ROBBY!

Robby turned a year old on August 4th.
We decided to have a party out in Utah so we could celebrate with our families before heading back to Ohio.
EVERYONE from our families-- my side of the family AND Steve's side--was able to come! So all of Robby's aunt's, uncles, and cousins were there (Even Steve's grandpa joined us). The only person missing... Steve :(

So, 25 people gathered at my parents house on Sunday, August 1st for a dinner and a Birthday PAR-TAY!

(a little pre-party music)



I strung up pictures of Robby as decor.
 It was fun to look back through pictures from the past year and remember how much my little boy has changed over the past year.



No party in the Kirkham house is complete without balloons... and for this party, my dad fetched one HUGE balloon! He even got this net thing so we could rig it up like a little hot air balloon!

Each of the cousins took turns picking a present out of the basket of the "hot air balloon" and helping Robby open it.



At cake time, I wasn't sure what to expect. Would Robby dig right in? Would he be timid and not want to make a mess? (unlikely, considering his usual disregard for how messy he is)

As the candle was lit and everyone sang, he looked around-- a bit bewildered.


Then, when he looked over and noticed the cake with flaming candle coming towards him... he appeared a bit nervous!

Finally, he stuck his hand into the frosting and seemed quite pleased with the feel of it...
...but still didn't seem to quite understand what this was, as he just sat with his hand in the frosting for a while.

So, I decided to help him out a bit. I took his frosting smeared hand and put it to his mouth to give him a taste (and then returned his hand to its spot on the cake).

Even after that, he still just sat with this hand on the cake for quite a while! He obviously still didn't know what he was suppose to do with this thing.

Eventually, aunt Jamie suggested giving him an eating utensil.


"Sweeet! A spoon!"
"...Oh, I get it...!"
Dig in!

Cousin Rylie did NOT approve of Robby's messiness.


After a quick bath in the sink, Robby talked to Daddy on the webcam so he could be a part of the party, too!


I think everyone had a lot of fun. I know Robby did.
(Three Robert Tollers)

The little girls topped off the night with a dance off!

Thanks everyone for a fun party!
HAPPY BIRTDAY, ROBBY!