One Year of Baby

11 months

12 months!

We have a one year old. Hold the phone, whaaaaaat??? Ryan and I have decided that the walking stage is our favorite (oh yeah, did I mention that Walt is like a pro walker now?). Its just so fun to watch this boy revel in this newfound level of independence. Perhaps we will change our minds later (maybe when he actually gets a concussion from all the head injuries sustained in this phase), but I don't think so. He is chatty and opinionated regardless of his lack of actual words. I can see the slightest hint of the coming days when books will be fun to look at and decipher, not just fun to stack, topple, throw, and chew. So obviously, I'm pumped. Sleep remains an elusive beast and a dream. Although he did sleep through the night for the first time in eight months this past Sunday. Naturally we had stayed up a tad late playing Codenames with my parents, so we didn't necessarily get all that sleep too, but it was still a major improvement that next day. 

Soon Walter will run. He is determined. He already gets so excited that his head and torso go faster than his legs, and then he splays out on the floor wondering why his feet aren't doing as they're told. Otherwise he is quite stable. He loves to copycat funny sounds with you in an ever-escalating back-and-forth match of babbling that ends with claps, giggles, and those dimples of his. Walt was pretty funny at his party. He took a long time to actually destroy his little mini cake; initially picking off pinches of frosting, one little lick at a time, until finally getting handfuls of it all. Ryan's mom came out for his birthday, and my parents came out the next weekend. So much grandparenty goodness packed into two weeks! Needless to say we miss them more than ever and wish our visits weren't so short.  

Oklahoma alternates between rainy 50 degree and bright 90 degree days, so we alternate visiting friends and scouting out the best parks in town. All our love, from the officially-a-family-cause-we-got-photos Binghams. 

I said, "Giddy-up, mom!"

I get to run free? I love this place

I love the park!

Adventure is out there!

I'm particularly adept at
playing the Double Sticks

Hugs from Grandma Bingham

I'm one! Walter, after his party

They let me eat cake? Walter, on his
actual first brithday.

Saying goodbye to Ama

Saying goodbye to Grandpa Hansen

Look, we're officially a family now. :)

Adventures in Baby-proofing

So here is a photo essay of our adventures in baby-proofing since Walter started crawling at about 6 months old (so beginning of October-ish).  It starts with the most recent "Oh, no! Mommy caught me exploring this new thing!" and goes all the back to one of the first nights Walter crawled. Walter has been walking for about a month now and is quite the cruising one year old.  P.S. Sorry for the blurriness of my phone's camera.

This just cracks me up. We like to keep things casual here
at the Bingham house. Of course I won't
push myself over backwards, pfff.

Look what I found! The magic
 stick of destiny!

So skilled I walked right
 out of my pants

Open all the drawers! Empty
all the contents!

OoooOOOoooOOooOohhh!
I wonder what they keep in here!

Of course I can help you fold laundry! See? Helping!

Oh my goodness, Mom, did you
know all this paper was in here?!
Best day ever!

Now, let me just...umpfh...ah..Got
it! Now I'll finally reach that remote

Hi! Don't mind me practicing my
baby ninja skills in this-am I
in the way at all?

Mmmmm, yes, this yarn is
delicious. You weren't using it,
were you?

What is this thing?

*Whips around* Oh no!
I've been spotted!

They left me a bag of goodies!

A box of boxes? My favorite thing!

Nothing to see here...

Who put this chair in my way?
Whatevs, I can still reach this.

"Thankfully, it was just water."
She thought as he slapped it
into the carpet.

Cords!!!!!!!

One of the first nights he could
 finally explore the apartment
he bee-lined for every
dirty/dangerous thing

Renal Update

9 Months

8 Months old, standing with help

 I should probably talk about our last check-up with Walt's urologist, since it was the whole reason he was induced a week early. It was before Christmas and essentially we received the same news we have at each appointment: MEH. By which, I mean, "It's not better, but it's not worse. We'll just check again in a couple months." (Actually, at one early appointment we discovered that instead of just his right kidney being swollen, his left was also swollen.  But at the following appointment the left had returned to normal, so back to an overall "meh".) So currently his right kidney continues to be swollen at a 3 out of 4 scale, with 4 being the worse. AKA, we swell to 4, we have an emergency surgery. I'm no urologist, but sometimes I think we might benefit from a more detailed scale with more than 4 increments. There seems to be a lot of room between a 3 and a 4, or as my anxiety calls them "Meh" and "Emergency!?!?!?!" But I digress, and in truth, I feel quite satisfied with our doctor. We'll check again when Walter is 1 (oh my word, how do we almost have a 1 year old!?), and in the meantime he continues to grow well and is generally not sick. I mean, look at those thunder thighs, am I right? :)

10 Months: 22 lbs. 3oz, 28 inches, 5 teeth!

Flashback time! August 2016:

Our next trip after coming back from Arizona was to Utah. Walter flew for the first time, and it went rather well, providing Dad stood in the aisle with him... :) We stayed with Ryan's mom, and enjoyed the western summer. We got to celebrate Ryan's nephew Jaxon's birthday with everyone, and Walter discovered his feet. I got to meet up with my cousin Hannah and her family for lunch, where Walter got to meet his second cousin Harper! (AKA the meeting of Chocolate and Vanilla Second Generation.) One weekend we drove up to Idaho to visit Grandpa and Grandma Bingham. The weather there was beautiful, and the chance to introduce Walter to his great-grandparents was wonderful. We went to the Salt Lake Temple with Tristyn & Chase and had Cafe Rio afterwards. I spent an afternoon with Walter in Provo, introducing him to my old roommates and showing him around part of campus. We had a lot of fun in and out of Ryan attending a seminar, which was the technical purpose of the trip. Nothing like a baby to help you appreciate time with family. All our love, from the OK Binghams

b: Bree, Kaylin, Bonnie, Ryan, Walt, Kim, Tristyn, Chase,
Teran & Justun f: Ginger, Jaxon, Brandon,& Liam

Discovering Feet

With Aunt Teran

4 Generations

With Great-Grandma Bingham

With Aunt Tristyn

With Great-grandpa Bingham

Chocolate & Vanilla Second Generation
Meeting Hannah and Harper

Manda, Panda, Bon, Walt, & Melanie

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Babies sure do change quickly; Walter is now 7.5 months old, about 20 lbs, and almost 27 inches long! He has two teeth and can army crawl surprisingly fast. The teeth and crawling all happened in the same week, so you can bet that was a fun one. He's also now met most of his extended family! From my dad's sibling reunion in Arizona, to a trip to SLC for Ryan's work, and to Virginia for my friend's wedding, we had a whirlwind end to our summer. His first plane ride went rather well (especially when compared to his first cross-country car ride). He's a good eater (assuming you mean milk not veggies) and a poor sleeper, but look at those chubby cheeks!

4 Months

5 Months

7 Months

6 Months

At the beginning of August, my parents drove to OK to pick up Walter and I on their way to my dad's sibling reunion. It would be best to forget the circumstances that led to them driving the whole way instead of flying. I'm told I was permitted to come, because Walter needed to meet his great-grandmother, and it's best to keep the food source nearby, haha.

Here is a photo essay summary of that car trip. I have determined that grandparents really are the best creation. So here we have a selection of Walter's feelings on his time in a car seat across several states:

 Next we all discovered the fun of Fry bread in New Mexico, and more importantly the importance of mistrusting your first impressions. (Thank you, spirit of Elizabeth Bennet) Cause this place certainly looked questionable in its isolation, but proved friendly enough and had a full parking lot of visitors by the time we left.

Walter, Ama, and Grandpa loving the break from the car

Gotta love those desert caves along the
 side of the road to break the monotony

"California Chinese Fast Food Dine In
 Carry Out Everything is $1.80"
 Absolutely nothing suspicious there

After some dubious food stops we finally made to Arizona! Is there anything sweeter than kisses from (great) grandma? I'm so glad Walter could meet ReNee as well as many of my aunts and uncles.

Starwberry, AZ is beautiful, especially
 when the elk come your back door

"Fist Cousins, once removed"
My cousin Jack was so nice to Walter;
they played peek-a-boo nearly every day 

4 Generations of Hansens, girl-boy-girl-boy

Hopefully no one will mind my posting this last photo, but it seemed to display the main focus of the reunion, that is, these kids spending time with each other and their mother. There were lots of things I'll not post photos of for the sake of space, but let's not forget all the crafts, tie-dye, the Hawaiian night, chats on the porch, naps on couches (cough Kenny cough), little cousins playing games together, the intense thunderstorms, the craziness of that rental house, and plans to meet again.  Trips like these renew my fascination with family history (the good, the bad, and the hilarious) and with any luck, someday Walter will enjoy it too. All our love from the OK Binghams

"The Hansen Core" - 8 of the 9 siblings made it