8 Months!

Daniel is 8 months old!!!! When did that happen???
His stats:

Weight: 18 lbs 5oz

Height: 26 inches
 

I can't believe my baby is already 8 months old! Time is flying by way too fast. He is learning so much though and is such a busy boy. He is such a curious boy and is getting to be so much fun now that he is playing more and doing more. He loves to be in the middle of everything and is such a great "helper". We love having him around for all of our activities and watching him follow us around the house. He is such a sweet little boy and is happy the majority of the time! We just love him!

- Daniel is doing the army crawl now and he is super fast! He can get onto his hands and knees and rock back and forth but when he wants to get somewhere he drops onto his belly and just goes. Its crazy to see how fast he is. He loves cords, tags and socks. If he sees one of those things he moves with determination to put it in his mouth and play with it. Unfortunately we have hidden all of the cords but the face he makes when he sees one being put out of reach is super cute.

- He is wearing size 3 diapers (they're a little big but the 2's couldn't get him through the night anymore). He is wearing mostly size 6 month clothes but some stuff is 6-9 months. 

- He loves being around people for right now. He is very social and loves to smile and play. He really loves anyone who will pay him attention. 

- He is eating solids now like crazy! So far he likes green beans, carrots, banana, pears, sweet potatoes and peaches. He has had peas but doesn't really like them so much.

- He still enjoys bath time and he also really likes being naked. Lately he starts to get upset while he is getting dressed but he is fine once the clothes are on.

-Daniel still does pretty well in the car. Now that he is more mobile he does have issues with trips over 2 hours. Once he hits 2 hours he starts to get a little fussy and we just have to remind him that we're still here. He gets frustrated that he can't move but its funny because if one of us goes back there with him then he's fine to be in the seat. Maybe he's lonely? Either way he is silly. 

- He has a crazy sense of humor. He will laugh at anything. Lately he starts laughing if we just say his name in a funny voice and look at him with funny faces. He also starts laughing like crazy if we play peekaboo while he is on the changing table.

- He is still sleeping through the night (about 10 to 11 hrs) like a champ! I love that he is such a great night time sleeper, it makes life so much easier for us.

- Daniel got his first tooth during Christmas which is fun. He wasn't too bad during that process, just a little cranky but nothing a little extra cuddling wouldn't fix. I think he has another one coming in but it hasn't come through yet. He is chewing on everything again.

- He loves books, music, going out, going for walks, cords, string, the color red, being swaddled for bed but not naps and mommy and daddy. (My new favorite thing is that when we come home, he starts to crawl towards the door to say hi with a big smile on his face)

- He doesn't like getting dressed, being too hot, peas or the Sound of Music soundtrack (seriously he cries every time we turn it on).

Sometimes I have to trap him so I can get stuff done....he ignores the toys and tries to escape

I love this pose

His "you caught me" face

He loves to eat feet...anyone's if we would let him...but mostly his

Charleston Marathon 2015

I just want to brag about my husband a little. He started running last June and now he has already run 2 half marathons and a 5K. I'm amazed that he can run a half marathon and he runs that distance for fun to practice and train. He wants to run a marathon this year and 4 half marathons...amazing!

He did a great job in the Charleston half marathon. Over 3000 runners were registered for the half marathon and he came in 186th place and finished in 1hr 41mins. It was his personal best time and he averaged a 7:44 mile. He is a great inspiration for me. I love exercising but I hadn't been running but he has inspired me to start running. He is so amazing and I am so proud of him for working so hard and pushing himself to do better :)

Trip to the Park

The weather this January has been so strange. We've had quite a bit of rain but this past week we actually had a day that was sunny and about 65 degrees. Since it was so nice and Daniel is finally feeling better, I decided it was time for his first trip to the park. I was so excited to see if he liked the swing since he loves to swing in the one in the house.

Just chilling in the swing

He started smiling as soon as I put him in the swing. He just sat back and relaxed in the swing. I think he would've gone to sleep if I had just kept him moving haha. He also really liked going down the slide with me. Hopefully we keep having nice days so we can keep getting outside. I just can't get enough of that sweet smile and those chubby cheeks :) He is so easy to please and its so much fun now that he's a little bigger to get out and do stuff.

Mike's Birthday

On December 21st, we celebrated a very special birthday. My hubby turned 27! We had a very relaxed day since it was Sunday and also right before Christmas. We spent the morning at church listening to my parents wards Christmas program and we spent the afternoon playing games and watching movies. It was raining and Sunday so we couldn't go out :( A few days after his birthday we did go out to dinner at Panera Bread though :)

After a yummy dinner of taco salad, we had delicious cookies and ice cream for dessert. It was a quiet birthday but we had a fun day together as a family. Happy 27th birthday sweetie!! We love you! You're the best dad and husband in the world and definitely one of my greatest blessings!

Happy New Year!

 Happy New Year!!!!

We had a quiet new years eve this year. We were still in Charleston with my family and we spent the evening eating homemade lasagna (very yummy) and playing games until midnight. We rang in the new year with the traditional martinelli's.

2014 was a big year for our family. We had lots of ups and downs. We also received the greatest blessing in 2014 which is our sweet boy Daniel. Regardless of what else has happened in 2014, we have been blessed with a healthy and happy baby boy and we couldn't ask for more than that. My family definitely makes up for anything negative that has happened during 2014.

Our greatest blessing :)

We are looking forward to 2015! This is another big year and we are labeling this year as "The Year of Finishing". Mike will graduate from Sherman college and be an official chiropractor at the end of the year, Daniel will turn 1 in May- finishing his first year of life, and my brother graduates from high school. We have also set lots of other goals that we hope to accomplish this year. Happy New Year everyone and I hope that 2015 brings health and happiness for all of us.

Daniel's First Christmas

This was the best Christmas ever! Having Daniel here, even though he had no idea it was Christmas, was so much fun. Daniel starting doing the army crawl during Christmas so had a lot of fun exploring the house. He loves the color red so he was in heaven. He crawled under the tree to get to the red tree skirt and he got a candy cane off the tree. Luckily we caught him before he got to the actual candy :) He actually opened one of his presents from his Grandma and Grandpa Epperson early so we had to re-wrap that one silly boy. Its lucky he's so cute and sweet...it makes it very hard to be too upset with him.

A few days before Christmas, my mom and I were busy wrapping presents and baking so we left Dan to play in the living room. After a few minutes, we both realized it was way too quiet. This is what I found in the living room. Dan had pulled the stockings down and had also unplugged the box of lights. He looked up at me and smiled and yes instead of fixing the situation, I ran and took a picture, he was just so pleased with himself :)

 It is a tradition in our family to leave cookies out for Santa (and milk of course). Josh and I have taken this picture every year since I can remember. This year I was so excited to have Daniel take the picture instead. It was fun to have Daniel take the picture and be part of the tradition.  After we took this picture we all went straight to bed to wait for Santa :) I was so excited for Daniel's first Christmas that I had trouble sleeping, he however slept all night without ever making a sound, such a good boy.

We always have to take the picture on the stairs together. At this point we're ready to go downstairs and see the tree. We aren't allowed to go into the living room until everyone is awake and ready.

Daniel was fascinated with the tree. We put him down and he started scooting right for the presents. He got to one and tore the bow right off. I think we could've just sat and watched him explore the tree for a few hours but we wanted to get on with the morning.

 

Daniel got some fun stuff right from the start in his stocking. I think he could've stopped right then and have been totally happy. We were able to open a few more presents but then we did stop and let our boy take a little nap. While Daniel took his morning nap, we ate our traditional coffee cake for breakfast. It was so yummy. I always eat two pieces because honestly I behave every other day of the year so this is the day I just go crazy and it was worth it. 

Once Daniel was awake, we were back at it :)

Daniel's favorite part of Christmas...playing with leftover wrapping paper and bows :)

Daniel had a great Christmas and was very spoiled by his wonderful grandparents and other family members. However, Mike and I were also very blessed this Christmas. We received many wonderful gifts. Mike surprised me by getting tickets to see Taylor Swift in June :) I'm super excited! Mike got lots of running gear and airplane models which will give him lots of stuff to do after stressful days at school.

After we opened everything and facetimed with Mike's family in Washington, Daniel seemed like he missed them. So we considered shipping him there to play ;)

We had a wonderful Christmas! We enjoyed spending time with family and especially getting to make so many wonderful memories with Daniel. Merry Christmas 2014 everyone!