Comparison of the Cuteness

Before the haircut

...and after - what a stud!  Watch out ladies!



Snip Snip

After many discussions, Matt and I finally did it!  We brought Warner to get his first haircut.  He was beginning to get the shaggy dog look and that just doesn't fly with us.  I know what they say about cutting a baby's hair before they are a year and I say whatever.  Warner's hair was significantly over his ears, growing down the back of his neck and when he woke up from a nap it looked like an animal had licked his hair and he was getting ready to fly away!  So on Friday we took him to Little Dudes and Divas and sat and watched as his first haircut took place.  To be perfectly honest, there was not much sitting by either Matt or I as Warner was NOT happy about it.  Even though they put him in a toy jeep, and had a DVD of Elmo playing for him, he was not pleased.  So we gave him his pacifier to make the experience tolerable as the crocodile tears streamed down his face.  The stylist was great and quick and our little baby now looks like a little man and even more like Matt if that was possible!



First Bobo = Popsicle?

So the dreaded day finally arrived on Sunday- Warner's first bobo.  I knew it was coming since he started crawling, but it didn't make hearing that cry any easier.  We had the house open since the weather has been so beautiful lately.  Warner, being the outside lover that he is ,wanted to see his bird friends so he crawled toward them for a closer look.  He didn't realize that the elevation changes from the house to the deck and did a grade A face plant into the deck busting his lip in the process.  Matt picked him up and I came accross the house (as Matt was watching him at the moment) and got him a washcloth to wipe the blood away from my poor baby's lip.  It immediately started to swell and we were trying to think of a way to get some ice on it without W going nuts.  We proceeded to come up with the best solution ever- a popsicle!  We sat W on the deck and gave him the popsicle to eat at his leasure- little did he know that he was helping his lip in addition to getting messy!  The lip went down and all was well in the Marshall house- until the next bobo of course:)



Polo anyone?

This weekend we took Warner to his first Polo match!  The weather was so beautiful and it was a great chance to hang out with firneds and catch up.  W was a really good boy and I am now convinced that my son can sleep anywhere!  We were there during afternoon naptime and know that if our little man does not get his sleep we are in trouble.  We also realized that lately Warner has been going to sleep in his crib by himself for naptime- no rocking anymore:(.  We simply put him in there with his pacifier and lovie and he puts himself to sleep.  So we tried simply putting him down on a blanket in the shade and away from the crowd and walked away.  This was a nogo, but the stroller did the trick and before long he was sound asleep lovie and all! 

I couldn't tell you who won the match or how many points were scored, but we had a great time with firneds!  We laughed and simply enjoyed good friends and food!

Happy Baby!

Chillin with mom

Playing with Daddy!

What an ice chest looks like after kids- notice the sippy cup with the beer!

Hello people!

Polo is exhausting!



Play time!

I have enrolled Warner is 2 different play groups and he is loving both of them so much!  I really feel like that he is getting to the age where he needs to interact with more kids around his age.  Is it wrong that I want kids to take toys away from him?  I want him to learn how to react in various situations and not be abruptly shocked when he starts pre school.  In the meantime, Warner is enjoying the exploration of differnt toys, textures and friends.  Here are just a few pictures of all of the fun that he is having!



Just like daddy!

I bought this shirt so Warner could be like Daddy!  His cuteness simply takes my breath away! 



At the end of the day...

At the end of the day, we all must ask ourselves what truly matters.  It is not all of the material things that consume our daily lives, but the family and friends that mean the most to us.  When something significant happens in our lives, we don't pick up the phone and call our favorite high heels, or tell our new dress.  We call the people that we love to share the exciting news or lean on them in time of need.  It is this love that we must celebrate today, Valentine's Day.  Let's look fondly on our significant others, but also to everyone in our lives that we love and tell them that we care about them. 

I think that Warner has truly taught me what it means to love unconditionally and that little smile can brighten even the most dreary day!

Playing with my Mimi

Laughing with PawPaw

Opening presents with Gigi

Hanging with Pappy

Meeting Pop Al when I was little

Hanging with the folks

Grass, Foam Floor and Butt Paste- Oh My!

These are a few of Warner's favorite things.  He may not eat the delicous new food (I can't even call it baby food, because it is just that good) that I slaved over for hours in the kitchen, but he will put butt paste in his mouth!  In W's defense, he doesn't put the butt paste in his mouth-just the container.  I know that some of you are probably thinking "Oh my gosh!  She needs to take that away from him."  If that is your reaction, then you do not know Warner these days.  I can take something away a million times and he will just find another way to get it.  I have chosen to pick my battles and not say "no" to everything.  I learned this very valuable lesson while sitting in the parking lot as Warner was sleeping before a playdate.  I happened to find the Baby 411 book in my car as I was debating about what to do for the remaining 15 minutes before class started.  So I read...and I learned...pick your battles!  In the maentime, my little guy will enjoy his new fiber source -grass, his new carb source- foam and his favorite new condiment-butt paste!  You have to have a sense of humor when you have a child or you will go crazy.



Mikey come back!

So I am trying not to jump to any conclusions, but I think Mikey may have left the building.  Who is Mikey?  Well, that is what we called Warner because he ate everything!  I mean everything!  We recently started feeding him little bites of things on our plate and he ate them.  So as he continues to grow, we continue to intrduce more new things.  I went to the store on Friday after searching all of my kid cookbooks for new recipes that were age appropriate.  I bought lots of fresh produce to mix with his oatmeal cereal, ingredients for brin booster muffins and even some meat for baby meatballs.  Everything that I have made so far has turned out great except for one tiny detail - Warner spits it all out.  This started yesterday afternoon and has continued this morning.  I am trying not to get discouraged that all of my hard work in the kitchen was for naught.  I am hopeful that one day he will find the new recipes simply delicious and say "thanks mom" in his own little way.  For now we will just keep trying new things and hope that the spitting stops for good:)  In the meantime all of the yummy new recipes will find a good home in the chlly temperatures of our freezer.


PS- The muffins were so good that Matt and I ate them for breakfast.  At least someone is eating them!  No worries about my little big man.  If you haven't seen him lately let me tell you that he is storing food in that big belly for days like this:)  He is a healthy boy!

When my child still ate everything!

Warner these days- not eating, but still happy!



Don't say cheese!

I have been trying to get "action" shots of Warner lately and to no avail.  Why, you might ask?  Well, my little photogenic man loves to look at the camera and smile everytime I want to take a picture.  I mean everytime!  Now some may think that is a great thing, but for someone who really wants action shots it is not so great.  Don't get me wrong, I think that Warner is the cutest thing ever and I love his smile!  I just want to document  some of the great things that he is doing and sometimes his sweet little smile (or big smile and scream) doesn't show the whole picture.  I guess that I should just be thankful for the happy litte boy that wants to show his smile to everyone!



Thankful...

The last couple of days have been filled with the deepest sense of gratitude.  I am so thankful to have a healthy and beautiful little boy, an incredible marriage and a career that is truly fulfilling.  I feel like I have the perfect balance of career and family life.  Warner is doing all kinds of new things and is just so fun these days.  His hugs and giggles truly brighten everyday.  So today, I will just encourage everyone to think of what you are thankful for in your life and truly appreciate it.