Radek's 1st Christmas and 1st Birthday

It's December 18th and we packed the car and drove to Phoenix, Arizona to celebrate the holidays with Penni (aka Mimi) and the family.  It took us 2 days as we spent the night in Orange County with good friends Jarod, Jenn and their son Justin.  It was nice to hang out with our friends, let the kids play and take a breather from the driving.

Arriving in Phoenix we were welcomed by a household of family.  My Uncle Fred and his wife Denise plus their oldest son Fred and his new wife Amber joined the family fun.  My other Aunt Ginni and Uncle Jim made the drive from Tucson to hang out too.  Some of them hadn't seen Radek since he was a couple of months old.  So to their surprise he was growing, and growing fast. 

Still on the "family visiting" adventure we hopped in the car and drove north to Flagstaff, Arizona.  In Flagstaff, Dieter was going to meet some of my other aunts/uncles/cousins for the first time.  The weather was cold up there and Radek enjoyed his first snow day. At my Aunt Charlene and Uncle Mike's house we enjoyed meeting up with my cousin Terry, his wife Sara and their three young kids.  Also my other Aunt Margie and Uncle Bob came over with their oldest daughter Kaye and her three grown kids.

                                                                    Uncle Mike and Radek

The Joehnk's

                              Aunt Margie                              The Coates and Radek

It's finally Christmas and we had a relaxing and comfortable Christmas Eve at my sister's house.  We were joined by Rob's family, enjoyed a good German meal and got to hang out with our niece and nephew Branden and Ashley. 

As the morning rolled around we noticed that Santa came to visit.  Radek was full of smiles as he opened his Christmas presents.

                                ...loves the cell phone                             Elmo

                                         Cousin's - Ashley, Radek and Branden

                              1st Christmas ornament from Oma and Opa

We made it through the holiday's and we have noticed our little guy being more adventurous and getting into things more often.  I know this is the part of parenting where we should be saying "no" but really he is so darn cute and e find ourselves running for the camera to capture the moment.  PLEASE BE ADVISED and have no worries...he was immediately removed or the item immediately taken away after the quality photo was taken, please enjoy!

Radek is on the move and will probably be walking on his own soon. Although if there is one valuable piece of advance that we learned from parents and friends it is "if your child is quiet they are most likely getting into something."  True to that advice as Radek sits in the small space behind the sofa and the outdoor slider playing contently with the dog toys.  No words can express "Remote Chewing 101." 

Radek has his moments and will probably bring some more interesting tales in the future but at his age now he is interacting in so many ways.  He babbles conversation, pats the dog/cat and bounces up and down to dance music all bearing a huge smile.  He wants to help and interact like grabbing his plastic hammer to help daddy build his new toy.

February 18, 2011 as Radek was born one year ago.  I can not believe it has been one complete year.  He has grown so much and how time flies.  We absolutely love parenting and the joys it brings.  First birthdays only come once and we will always remember his birthday party.  I decorated the house in true Kristin style, we celebrated with about 25 friends and 8 babies/toddlers.  We offered a kids zone, kids snacks, pizza and adult beverages which mommy and daddy needed to get through the day.  It was craziness but we wouldn't of had it any other way. 

Kids Zone

Carrot Cupcakes and amazing Cake Balls

                               Cousins - Alex, Radek and Mitchell

                                                   It's CAKE TIME!!! 



                                          All done...time for a bath!

                                          See you in the spring!

 

It's fall time in the Wittenberg house. We have tons of new experiences to share...

In late July we all went to Lake Tahoe to celebrate Matt's 30th birthday (good friend of Dieter's).  It was a warm day on the lake and Radek enjoyed hanging out with his girlfriend Natalie (Matt and Mindy's daughter).

As October rolled around Dieter and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary on October 3rd at the San Francisco Giants game.  This was an exciting game as it was Radek's first baseball game and the SF Giants clinched the NL West series.  This amazing game lead the Giants to win the World Series!!!

We had some great visits in September from Oma and Opa and Mimi in October.  When "Mimi" was visiting we took another trip to Lake Tahoe.  My mom had not been to Tahoe since I was Radek age.  We had so much fun and the weather was amazing.

Happy Halloween!!!  My little panda bear.  To be honest I wasn't going to dress Radek up but I got pressured into it by neighbors and friends.  I belong to a mom and kids fit club called Stroller Strides that does a stroller workout three days a week.  Our Stroller Strides class had a Halloween parade at the park and all the kids got to showoff their costumes.  Radek and his buddy Bennett (dressed as a pumpkin) shared some fun after the parade!

We have another first!!!  Radek is now officially babbling.  His first connected sounds has been dadadad!  Yes, I lost the first word bet but that means Dieter has to get him now every time he cries.

My "Firsts" So Far...

First Fourth of July in Annapolis, MD at Oma & Opa's house.  Radek was a gem on the long flight over by sleeping almost 4 hours and then smiling at all the flight attendants.  Oma and Opa enjoyed spending time with Radek and introduced him to a "Bouncer," in which forced us to buy one when we returned home.

Over the weekend Radek tried some rice cereal for the first time.  He did very well and did not refuse it.  We tried the cereal because he was very interested in what Dieter and I were eating.

Last night we went to the California State Fair with Uncle Kerry and John & Stefania who also have a young son named Bennett whose about 6 and a half months old.  We all walked around touring the exhibits and eating our way through the plethora of fried food.  Kids did great, only fussed a bit as bed time came closer.  Adults ate too much fried food, but all agree that the deep fried Snickers was the best.