enthusiasum

our boy has energy. like so much energy that as soon as he picks up one toy he is ready to move on to the next. so much energy that his favorite activity is wrestling & he will literally never tire of it.

we have started bathing rodeo in the kitchen sink & if you cant tell he kinda-sorta likes it a little. i love that these images capture just a hint of his crazy zeal for life. his smile is mostly open-mouthed & his laugh is squealing uncontrollably.

my joy & my song

life has handed us its fair share of trails. the manchild has been combating four ear infections within three months, has cut his two bottom teeth & is simultaneously working on the remaining four top teeth all while being slightly sleep deprived. all combined with my tumultuous personal emotional roller-coaster has resulted in a filthy, unorganized home & literally no home-cooked meals.

amidst all the mayhem, that has become my life, the silver lining remains constant & that is that we oldhams live a beautiful life, share a wonderful home & love each other unconditionally. because even with reoccurring ear infections, teething & sleepless nights our nugget brings us joys that we cannot express. he is, in every sense of the word, my happy place, the apple of my eye, my joy & my song.

i am fully aware that the majority of these pictures generally look the identical. i am still obsessed with each of them equally.

little people.

big world.

i love rodeo's sweet, inquisitive, little hands all over these toys that we revived, over Christmas break, from the time when my tiny hands were playing with them.

the little people have come full circle.

once upon a time.

like, around december of 2011, we, family of three, headed off to my hometown. portland treated us well & thanks to our trusty ole' phones we have a few candids to prove it.

i stopped by the local walgreens in the ush portlandian garb - stocked up @ trader joes - took the max train to visit the tree at pioneer square downtown - snuggled with my boo - caught a crawler exploring mimi's house - enjoyed cinnabons on christmas morning - ate dinner with the family christmas evening - enjoyed a little christmas concert a'la cousin style - mowed down on burgervilles fish & chips & fresh berry shake - let the nugget stay up after bedtime to watch some football - snuck in a little date night with the mr. - took the mr to my secret spot in portland - licked my plate with the mr @ papa haydens - hiked multnomah falls with nugget on board - watched old movies while eating peppermint ice cream, by the light of the christmas tree - visited cafe' yumm twice & walked out with my cravings fulfilled

book worm.

never mind the fact that i have about a zillion photos to edit & document here from the holidays. never mind the fact that my carpets need to the cleaned, my couch needs to be vacuumed & the cushion covers need to be washed. never mind the fact that i have a load of laundry to fold & put away & a few more waiting anxiously to be started & dried. never mind the fact that there are toys strewn about my house & remnants from a certain someone eating breakfast is all over the kitchen floor. never mind the fact that the dishwasher needs to be unloaded & re-loaded.

never mind all those facts because, all of those are irrelevant when it comes to caring for our dearest nugget bebe.

aaron said sarcastically to me this morning, "good thing Roe has a million books." my cheerful reply, "ya it is." but really though. & everyone knows that you can never have too many books - duh. & it really is a good thing because our child has become quite the 'reader'. he would much prefer pull a book off the shelf & flip through its pages than mess with the slew of toys that are all over our living room. so, no thanks to aaron & i {both self-proclaimed non-readers} our son has become quite the book worm. not only does he flip through the pages on his own, but he will toss a book on the floor & chuck it my way while saying "bo, bo" & insist for me to read.

the best part of all of this though, is that all the while the nug sits like this:

also, never mind that all the above photos are blurry. you get the idea & in true mom form, i still love. every. single. image.

on the ninth month.

to my milkdud, the master of the house, my heart & my world,

you have truly changed my world for the better. i have never known the trials that i know now, but when you smile at me, find comfort in my arms or willingly plant a slobbery, open-mouth kiss on me i know, that it is all worth it. this ninth month {that has now come & gone} has been my very favorite thus far. you have learned & accomplished so very much.

you have perfected the art of standing & walking-while-holding-on-to-furniture. grandma oldham watched you the other day & counted the 30 times that you made your way around the ottoman in our living room. like i said, you've perfected this art. you are so proud of yourself & excitedly breathe in & out so quickly that your dad & i are certain that one of these days you will in fact hyperventilate. you can pull yourself up on anything {furniture, the wall, drawer handles, cabinet doors, the oven, our legs} & i thoroughly enjoy the freedoms that this has allotted both you & i. exhibit a - i can stand at the kitchen sink doing dishes & you can find your way into the kitchen & turn the lazy suzan to your hearts content.

although many moms complain about messes that their children make, unless you are coloring on walls, i am thrilled with messes. messes mean that you are finding a way to entertain yourself & that makes me a happy mama. you tear down just about anything that is stacked or sorted within your reach. me & your dad got quite a kick out of this just the other morning when we stacked small piles of dvds on each corner of the ottoman. sure enough, after flinging one stack on the floor you made your way to the next stack & then the next & then the next making certain that every last dvd was swiftly cleared off the ottoman. it was hilarious. you are hilarious.

when you first learned that you could rip the books off the shelf you seemed on a die-hard mission to removed every last morsel off the shelf, but you have now graduated to a much less manic removal of the books & now take breaks from creating mayhem to sit & flip through your books. you have always had an affinity for turning pages while we read to you, but you have mastered holding & flipping on your own now & it is thrilling to watch you. you turn the book upside down & read it backwards & will then turn it over & read it again. you repeat this process over & over as if it were a new book each time you turned it. i certainly hope that you love books as much as you do know when you finally realize that they are more than just pictures {something that is lost on your father & i}.

you have become quite the conversationalist & a fabulous mimic'er. 'mamamamama' means you want food, you want more food, you want mom or you want to nurse {all of which are geeeenerally the same thing}. just in the past few days you have been saying 'yes'. not just 'ya', but 'yes' with an S. it has alarmed us a few times, but me & your dad are certain that you are now saying 'yes'. besides your usuals, 'dada', 'bye' & 'hi', you mimic every little thing that we do. any sound effect that we make while feeding you, while we are driving around town or while we are reading books you mimic to the very best of your abilities. i dont know why i am even slightly surprised that you want to be talking so much, you are in fact your fathers son.

you still love it most when you are outside. you love bananas & green beans best. you love music & playing anything as if it were a drum. you love waving at strangers & clapping for yourself. you love, love, love bathes. you love spending time with your dad. you love being tickled & wrestling with us. you love scooting around the house on your tummy, getting into the fireplace & attempting to climb into the tub. you love sleeping in your own bed. you love watching older kids play. you love the attention of both parents at once & we love giving it to you.

forever, your mama

instagram mash up.

although some days it doesn't feel like it, i promise that we do leave the house every once & awhile. thanks to the trusty iphone for providing living proof that i {sometimes} get ready & that as a family we do in fact contribute to society.

bundled up to watch the nephews championship football game.

lunch date with daddy. passed out in the car running errands.

picking up mimi from the airport for a visit. my handsome little devil.

supporting a pal @ his first concert. family trip to the riverwoods mall to see the lights.

my littlest rascal. cuddle time on a sunday morning.

hottest buns around town. shopping for oh christmas tree.

a mover & a shaker.

to my tiniest boyfriend,

you turned eight months old in the middle of november & since then our lives have been a whirlwind.

daylight savings turned out to be a little miracle under our roof because you started going to bed @ 6:30pm & it works fantastically for you. i will even go one step further & say, i think you quite enjoy it. for a few weeks you slept from 6:30pm to 6:30am & would go back down after nursing until around 9am. but per usual, a good thing cannot last long.

you must have known that you were a month older & wiser because on that very day when i walked into your room to retrieve you from your nap, there you were kneeling on the side of your crib grinning with pleasure. i had been waiting for this moment; the moment when i would start to worry about you leaping from your crib. that same day, i had your dad lower your mattress. now, my little adventure seeker, you have learned to stand up in your crib & i think you are quite confused with this new power. on the one hand, your daddy & i cheer you on as soon as you pull yourself up on the ottoman in the living room & we encourage you as you attempt to climb the stairs in the kitchen. on the other hand, while alone with your accomplishment in your crib, you cry & scream as you hold on tightly to the side-rails, absolutely petrified to let go. this has proven to be quite a challenge, as my once fabulous napper has turned into a boy that will not lay down in his crib. as hard as it has been on both of us, i could not be more proud as you learn more & more each day.

you love reading books. & by 'reading', i mean turning the pages. you have an affinity for two books in particular & i am not sure what it is about 'go dog go' & 'goodnight moon', but i have them both memorized now. beyond turning the pages you love hitting the book we are reading like a drum & then you often follow the hitting with a slobbery kiss on the pages. i hope that this hunger for books stays with you always because your daddy & i are in no way, shape or form "readers".

we do everything together. while i do my hair, you sit in the hall & watch me until you cannot stand it any longer and lurch forward to clammer up my leg. i have mastered the art of brushing my teeth & applying my makeup with one hand because you love being in my arms taking equal time to look at yourself in the mirror. we go shopping together & you sit so proudly in the shopping cart these days. we eat out together & you look forward to any scraps that i send your way. just last week i had to renew my costco card & got a new picture . . . with you in it. i can kiss you all day & you have recently learned to give daddy & i hugs on command. you, my littlest friend, are the boyfriend i never knew i was missing.

you have turned into a fabulous eater & although you would prefer a banana & applesauce day in & day out, you are tolerant of many things & have never put up a huge fight against anything we have given you. you are great at feeding yourself & would prefer it that way. you have gotten so good at this art of feeding yourself that even when a tiny morsel of banana or broccoli falls to your lap your tiny fingers scramble to save the scrap & bring it quickly to your mouth. this has proven to be messy most of the time, but i would not have it any other way. you relish in these small accomplishments, as do i.

now that you are sitting up so well, bath time has become on of your favorite pass times. you love being naked & bask in my undivided attention so on top of being able to splash in the warm running water i will dare say, bath time is your favorite time. you love holding your little hand under the faucet & have recently started putting your open mouth under the faucet like a thirsty little bird. your bath toys dont give you as much amusement as does the water around you, but you still splash in the water with caution. after the water has run cold & your feet & hands are sufficiently pruney i wrap you in a huge towel & you happily snuggle with me. you love, love, love being enveloped in the big towel & i love having my arms tightly around you.

your daddy & i love you to the moon & back and are so very proud to call your ours.

<3 mommy

we are family.

i love saying "family". sure, aaron & i were a "family", but now with the nugget on board we really are a "family". thanks to the fabulous & talented nicole christensen, we have the below beautiful images of my sweet, sweet little family.

festive.

we enjoyed the halloween season, mainly because the weather was supreme & our friends hosted a gamut of social events for us to attend that allowed us to really get into the spirit. monroe still doesnt get it, but that didnt stop me from forcing him into costume a few times.

as you can clearly tell our son is a tad confused on how to feel about all of this. poor {darling} chap.

the mess.

i have previously mentioned that prior to the nuggets arrival i thought that i wanted to be one of those mothers that maintained a household where not a trace of baby could be found. obviously, those plans have not worked out as well as i planned. i would not have it any other way. i love that our babe permeates our very existence & that there is not a doubt that we have a baby due to the toys, diapers, crumbs, socks & mayhem that is the state of our abode.

this last picture, KILLS. ME. he is turning into mr. personality, let me tell you.

looking up.

roe & i have been soaking up this fantastic weather & spend our afternoons taking adventures crunching the leaves beneath our feet & looking up into the rapidly changing fall colors above us. we strolled to a park the other day & although each attempt to capture God's grandeur around us failed miserably i was able to catch my darling kiddo on camera. of course.

my life in a nutshell.

those lips.

well my little roe buddy - you have reached your seven month mark & both you & i are still alive, phew. i would be lying if i didn't say we have our rough days, but each & every day gets better & better. each day you learn a new trick, get into something different or agree to eat a new food & my life could not feel more complete.

you are talking more & more & every little happy sound you make makes daddy & i smile from ear to ear. you still babble out 'dadadada' however your current favorite phrase of choice is 'bababababa'. you prefer to speak unprovoked & have come to simply respond better when we talk to you like an adult. there are so many instances when i talk to you & i really think you understand what i am saying. in fact we ran into some friends at the mall the other day & when i asked you to say bye, you waved & said what sounded freakishly like 'bye-bye'. since then you have waved goodbye to many a stranger & shown off your new talent to daddy in the mirror just today.

your wide toothless grin may not be toothless for much longer. no pearly whites have physically appeared, but you did have a recent tantrum spell where you would wake up in the night screaming & refused to nurse. lucky for mommy & daddy, we got to stand with the freezer door open while we finger fed you ice chips, since that was the only means of soothing you at four in the morning. we have recovered since then, but i am nervous for those teeth to rear their ugly heads.

you are an ambitious little fella & determined as all get up. you have perfected the scoot & can easily make your way to anything on the living room floor. of course the cords under the TV & daddy's shoes by the front door are your toys of choice, but for the most part i am just elated that you are moving. mothers talk about how they miss the days when their child couldn't get into anything, but i could not be more excited that you are into everything. i watch as you learn that if you pull something down from too far above that it will inadvertently crash onto your face. i cheer as you reach with determination for the books on the shelf & beam with pride when you finally pull one down & hit its pages with joy. & although frustrating, your daddy & i laugh when you squirm & roll out of a diaper change & charge for the nearest interesting object.

i was nervous that we were never going to get you to eat anything since you defiantly rejected everything at first, but the recent days have proven otherwise. you favor applesauce & peas, but have been a great little eater, downing green beans, yams, bananas, avocado & rice crackers. you still just bang your own spoon of your highchair tray, but open your mouth wide when we feed you, bite after bite.

your personality is growing each day & your intensity for life makes us crazy happy. you giggle more & scream more. you cry more intensely & laugh more fervently. you love the outdoors & stare in awe at other babies & kids. you climb out of our arms easier, but also spend many sweet moments snuggled in our arms. you listen very intently while daddy plays radiohead for you & calm down as soon as i start singing itsy-bitsy spider. recently, when you get really excited or really frustrated, you clench your fists along with every muscle in your face & body. obviously your daddy & i find this more than amusing & laugh & laugh. when we laugh you laugh & your smile permeates my very soul.

you, my handsome boy, are the joy that i never knew i was missing. even after spending just a minute with you everyone comments on what a happy & beautiful baby you are. imagine what my life is like, being in your presence always? bliss, i tell you, absolute bliss.

my whole heart is yours - mommy

insta update.

last night aaron & i spent most of the night catering to a seemingly helpless teething babe, but this morning i am counting our ever so small victories & basking in their glory! first, we found another food that our sweet babe will enjoy - enter, yams.

my second, third, fourth & fifth victories? the bed is made, my car is clean of clutter, make-up is on my face, a brush has been through my hair & i am ready for the day. furthermore & most importantly roe is sleeping sweetly {hopefully making up for last night - poor guy}.

these victories allow me to update our blog with photos of our recent happenings. before all this crazy cold weather hit we took a family bike ride to station22 on provo center street - roe loved it & snuggled with us in the crisp fall evening air.

we spent a majority of our summer sitting on our front lawn & since those days are certainly numbered now, i have been soaking up each day of sunshine with our little outdoors boy.

thanks to instagram for keeping track of our life photo-style! here is to the small {yet enormous} victories!

follow me on instagram @kaytioldham

fallin'.

of course aaron & i have fallen head over heals in love with our little nugget. i joke about this with friends, but even though i giggle about it, i am being deadly straight serious when i say that even when roe is not giggling on the floor or snuggling in my arms i am thinking, talking or editing images of roe giggling on the floor or snuggling in my arms. he really is my entire world.

this sunday we handed the camera over to my fabulously talented SIL joanna oldham & shot a few {hundred} photos in the beautiful fall leaves. thanks again jo, it was so refreshing to not be the one behind the camera!