Alright, spoon is in hand. Not quite sure what to do with it, Warner decides to just use his other hand to feed himself.
Yes, that is the plan. Just eat with the left hand. 
Wait, the spoon is coming toward the mouth ... no, that's your nose Warner. The spoon goes to your mouth, not your nose.
Maybe next time.
Warner is fascinated with the computer. Our Mac has a program called Alpha Baby that essentially locks the keyboard and mouse. It brings up shapes and letters whenever the keyboard or mouse is moved.
It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it.
Kevin's parents came up Saturday to watch Warner so Kevin and I could go to a wine party. He loved the time with them (as usual) and we enjoyed the night out.
The party was a wine tasting of sorts, where each couple brought an unmarked bottle and we then voted on our top three favorites. A $10 bottle (Elvis "The King") beat out the pricey ones, so maybe Kevin will quit making fun of me for buying cheap wine now!
Like....
After running 3 miles with his Mom,
Grocery shopping with his Dad,
Being fed his favorite snack (cheese and crackers) out of his high-chair,
Playing in the kitchen cabinets while his Mother prepares supper, and
Wearing whatever his Mom and Dad can wrestle on him. Warner will let you be the judge.
My cousin MaNell and I have always been close. With an 18 month age difference, mothers that are very close sisters, and a childhood spent living nearby, it's not surprising. But after losing Meredith, I am even more thankful now for our relationship. 
We got to see our Muncie family, including Great Grandma and Grandpa Warner. Warner was partial to my Aunt Kathy, probably because she looks and acts so much like my mom. But the peanut butter, brownie, and ice cream she fed him probably didn't hurt either.
Warner fell outside on the deck today and busted his lip. You can't see it that well from the pictures, but he's pretty banged up on his chin and bottom lip. 
I of course freaked out and cried right along with Warner. He bled for a while but it seems to be healing okay. I called the pediatrician (imagine that) and they told me they don't put stitches inside mouths, so I guess there isn't anything we can do. In the meantime, I'm thinking about making a sign for Warner that reads: "My mother does not abuse me, I'm just learning to walk".
Warner was a turtle on Friday for Halloween. After wresting him into the costume for the fourth or fifth time (we had lots of Halloween activities this week, and I'm a mean mother) we tried for some pictures on the front stoop before trick-or-treating. 
As you can see, Warner was more interested in rolling the pumpkins off the stoop than getting his picture taken. We then played in his house a bit before heading out.
Warner wasn't so sure about the whole idea of walking up to neighbors and getting candy.
After visiting a few friends on our street, we headed to the other side of the neighborhood where my Bible study friends live. We met my friends Kelly and Candace and their sons Ethan (chef) and Will (pirate) there. 
Warner managed to chew open a package of jujubes and swallowed one piece before we could stop him. We did let him have a pumpkin cookie, which he loved. I'm sure the no-candy-policy won't go over so well next year.
I'm excited to report that we made it out of Portrait Innovations for less than $100 (a first), and got the entire session on CD. 
Probably should have rolled the pants ... they're a bit too long.
We're working on the word "no". So far Warner's favorite "no-no's" are playing with the fireplace, unrolling toilet paper, splashing his hands around in the toilet, and throwing food on the floor from his highchair. It's hard to be consistent and I often get overly frustrated when I've said "no" one too many times. But I want to remember those moments, too.
He's figured out how many things work. We'll hold him up to a light switch and he'll flip it up, then quickly turn his head to the light to see that it's come on. He also points the remote at the TV to try to turn it on, and has figured out how to turn on the singing snowmen my mom got him (thanks Mom, it's not Halloween yet and I've heard the singing snowmen 100 times already).
Each night Warner takes a bath. We start by crawling up the stairs. This could take 20 seconds, or 10 minutes, depending on his mood. I generally put his milk on the top of the steps as the bait to get him going in the right direction. Once upstairs I chase Warner around his room, trying to pull off his clothes while he's busy pulling clothes out of the dresser or books off the bookshelf. Once the tub water starts running, it's only a few seconds before he shows up in the bathroom, ready to be set in the tub. Bathtime isn't over until Warner tries to throw each of his toys out of the bath and then look at me and laugh. It's so funny to watch me put each of them back into the tub.
He wasn't too sure about it when we first put him in the chair ...
But thankfully Jo had a hairbrush for him to chew on.
As long as the brush was in his mouth, he was okay with whatever was being done to his head.
The finished product!
We enjoyed a few holes of golf this weekend in Somerset. Nanny, Grandaddy, Warner, Kevin, and I played together Thursday night. 
Warner was interested in driving the cart and playing with the extra golf balls. Whenever we'd let him on the green he'd pick up the balls before we had a chance to putt. It kept the game interesting.
Nanny got an eagle on a par-4, so I think Warner was good luck!
We visited Primary Pediatrics today for Warner's 12 month check-up. He weighs 24 pounds 4 ounces (75th percentile) and is 31 inches long (85th percentile). I write this partly because some of you might care, but mainly because I'm bad at updating Warner's baby book and I plan on referring back to my posts for this information some day.
Warner got to sit on Betsy the cow (we learned all about milking cows).
And we each got to pick our own pumpkin.
Tomorrow we have a Moms Club meeting and the kids get to wear their Halloween costumes and "trick-or-treat". I can't wait to put Warner in his turtle costume. Next week there's a special story time at the library where the kids get dressed up, and of course October 31st is next Friday. So Warner gets to go through the torture of being a turtle three times this year. At least we'll be getting our money's worth for the costume.
The festivities began yesterday at 4pm to accommodate for the birthday boy's nap schedule. Guests included family-only so as not to overwhelm Warner, although in hindsight this was probably silly since our family is both large and loud, which equals overwhelming. But Warner did surprisingly well!
We did a monkey theme, so here is my sad attempt at a monkey cake. Notice the piece of paper on the counter - we used a picture of Curious George as our inspiration, but sadly still ended up with this. It's the thought that counts, right?
Warner enjoyed opening presents but was quickly distracted ...
... and needed a juice break. The real fun was watching him devour his birthday cake. He began quite slowly, enjoying the icing. Then he realized there was cake beneath the icing - a pleasant surprise! He eventually went in for the kill with two hands:
... and then got pretty into it near the end.
A sugar-coma quickly followed.
The cake was certainly worth the price of admission. I think Warner was pretty surprised that this world of sugar existed and believe he's anxious to enjoy it again.
Happy birthday, little man.
