Baby's First Christmas

It sounds so cliche but this was my baby's first Christmas! Actually it was Christmas X 3 - we did Christmas in Ohio with Chris's family the weekend before Christmas, Christmas at our own house (can you believe we didn't have any plans on Christmas Day?!) and then Christmas at my parent's house the day after Christmas. We like to draw things out! Simon had a blast at every single celebration. He especially loved the bows and all of the paper.

All of the hoopla was not without sickness - first Simon had a cold, then I got a horrible cold and now Simon has an even worse cold. Good times - like I said we like to draw things out! Enjoy some pictures of Simon's first Christmas!

LOST POST! Caught in the Act...

....of pulling himself up for the first time! I couldn't believe it! Considering I work full-time I feel pretty blessed that Simon has done quite a few things for the first time on the weekends or in the evening. Right after I got off work one day I was folding laundry and Simon just decided to show how strong he is. He was a little crooked but he did it!

(This happened back in the middle of December and somehow never posted it... :)

Didn't He Just Turn 6 Months?!

Yet another month has flown by and Simon is 7 months old! I actually squirted a tear last week because he is growing up too fast. He is at such a fun age! He is army crawling all over the place, he's pulled himself up twice and he just started clapping his hands - did I say he is so much fun?! He is eating just about every fruit and vegetable we've tried after a slow start to solids.

Isn't he a cutie?!!

SURPRISE!!

My long-time friend, Kat, is having her third baby in early February. It's been 4 years since she has had a baby and this is her first boy so she needed some new little boy items and some essentials. Did I mention this was a surprise?! And we pulled it off! That was my favorite part! Here are a few pics from the evening....





No party is complete without some food

The diaper cake!

Kyla relaxing on Bernie

Simon's First Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving we packed up and headed west! Well to western PA anyway to the family cabin in the woods. It had been 5 years since we were all together at the cabin for Thanksgiving - the year Chris asked me to marry him the day after Turkey Day!


Anyway, there were 9 adults and 4 children all gathered for the festivities. We played games, rode 4-wheelers, played ping-pong, ate some amazing food, took naps, read books, ate some more food and then ate some dessert!





Our pastor spoke about gratitude this week and it was a great reminder of how much we have to be thankful for. It's easy to focus on the things we want or do not have but so often we have so much more than we really need if you think about it. I am so thankful for a healthy baby, a family that loves me, a job in tough economic times and most importantly eternal hope. What are you thankful for this year?








Aunt Ali and Simon on T-Day morning

I love this picture - Papa just tallied the score and Micah likes what his score is!!

Simon and Daddy waiting to eat!

Look at that belly - he is stuffed!!!

The cooks in action

I caught my dad in the act of sampling the turkey!!

Riding the rocking horse for the first time

Reading books with great-Mema (such a sweet picture)!

Look Who is 6 Months Old

Here's the Simon Update:

Yes, he is 6 months old as of Nov. 14 - I can hardly believe it! He is such a ham when it comes to the camera. As you can see below he was flailing his arms and "laughing" hence the funny little smile. He is such a happy and content baby most of the time.



Simon is our "average" baby as he was in the 50th percentile for weight and heigh - 17 1/2 pounds and 25 1/2 inches. He is above average in that he is saying ma ma ma ma (although he doesn't really know what he is saying)! Chris claimed that I won since he said ma ma ma before da da da!


My hand was in front of the flash but this expression is priceless as Simon was tasting some pears! He's not keen on bananas or pears or sweet potatoes. Who doesn't like the sweet stuff?! Perhaps he is not my child as I go for all things sweet! We're having a little success with the sweet potatoes and he still loves his oatmeal cereal.In another 6 months I will be blogging about his 1st birthday....slow down time!

I Love Ranch Dressing

Why do the "non" toys seem to be the most entertaining to a child? The remote, the cell phone, the Ranch dressing bottle! Hey, it at least kept Simon occupied and us entertained while we ate dinner!

Computers are of the devil!

Yes, sometimes they are! Our home computer has been quite the "peach" lately so I have not been blogging because I just get frustrated during the blogging process! Anyway, I'm trying to catch up as so much has been going on!

Here are a few things to look forward to:
* Simon turned 6 months old on November 14
* We had a baby shower for my friend Kat
* Simon's first Thanksgiving was spent at the family cabin
* And I'm sure I'll find another thing or two to add the blog roll

Stay tuned few and faithful readers!!

I Have Guns Like My Daddy

First off Simon's faces are so funny in these pictures! He is getting so STRONG and pushing up on his arms a lot more. Once in awhile he will get his knees underneath him but no interest in crawling yet which is fine with me! Take your time becoming mobile, son! It's so fun to watch him learn how to do new things like getting from a sitting position to laying down. I guess I take for granted how easily I can do those things for myself! He is growing up so fast so I'm enjoying every moment!

Two Teeth!

Do you know how hard it was for me to get a picture of these teeth?! Yes, those are two teeth on the bottom there. Simon got these in about a month ago (right after her turned 5 months old - I'm a little behind with blogging!) but I was just now able to get a picture of them. One night I had to use Ambesol (sp?) and Simon HATED it! He cried and cried because it tasted so bad, then it made him salivate even more and then he coughed/choked on the saliva! I tried to calm him down by putting his Nuk in and he wanted no part of that! Ever since then he won't take a Nuk which I think is hilarious that he probably associates the Nuk with the Ambesol :) That's ok with me - Nuk's can be great but it's just one more thing!!

Who's in the Window?!

Simon saw his reflection in the window one night. It was highly entertaining watching him try to wave to his little friend in the window!

Halloween Humbug!

Why yes, I probably was a Halloween Humbug this year considering I decided to go buy candy two hours before Trick or Treating started and I didn't dress my kid up AT ALL!! But that's ok with me! Simon was actually pretty sick the night of Trick or Treating and he slept through the whole thing! I did get a picture of him with his Boo! shirt on and him posing with his fingers as fangs! Next year we will dress him up because he will be oh so cute then!

To Anyone Who Has Ever Met My Dog

Bernie is our black lab, our first baby. And by baby I mean yes, a baby. He is 7 years old but is attached to my hip literally. I work from home so he spends the day in my office and if I get up to go to the bathroom he follows me. Annoying? Slightly. Bernie is not too overly impressed with Simon joining the household but he tolerates him! Simon is certainly aware of Bernie, though, and I happened to have the camera close by when Simon was trying to touch Bernie. I wish I had video because Simon was lunging and not quite getting there and then he'd fall back in his exersaucer and would repeat this. But the pictures are kind of cute!



Reaching as far as he can to touch Bernie!

Just missed!

Sooooo close!

Fall is Here!

We have a beautiful tree in our front yard. I think it's the prettiest tree on the block! Simon wasn't too crazy about the leaves at first but we managed to get a few smiles!

Just Hanging Out

Just Chris and his mini-me hanging out on a Saturday morning!

5 Months

Somehow the 14th of every month comes around way too fast. October 14 came and went last week and my baby turned 5 months old! He is wanting to sit up more often (with assistance still) and sleeps worse each month! I honestly do not know what to do. Bedtime is a fight every night and sleeping through the night rarely happens anymore! Good times!


Speaking of which, the day he turned 5 months he napped terribly - hence the photo shoot below. No smiles because he was soooo tired!!



Distracted by the busy pattern

Hmmm...my pants are distracting too!

Fine, I'll look at you but I won't smile!

This is sooo lame, mom!

Again these pants are so exciting!
So much for a smiley day :)

Falling over in boredom!

SWAP Party!

This weekend was the SWAP Party! It was so much fun! If you missed my prior post about the SWAP Party basically you get together with a bunch of friends and everyone brings some things that they no longer wear, use (or fit in)! Some people brought a lot of items, some people not as many but it didn't matter - everyone got to take home some "new" to them items and it was fun to shop with friends! There were books, purses, shoes, jewelry, name brand clothing and the list goes on. I forgot to take my camera to the actual event but we had 3 table fulls of items. Here is a picture of a few of the items I scored - fun, huh?! You should do this with your friends, too!

Isn't He Cute?!

Simon is sooooo curious about everything right now. He was so interested in the laundry basket one Saturday so I ended up putting him in it. He loved it and of course just wanted to eat it. :)

What is this stuff?

Simon has discovered grass before but this was the first time I set him in it by himself. He did pretty good and didn't fall over! Here he is checking out Bernie and his tennis balls!

This stuff feels funny!

I think I like it, though!

I'm so happy sitting here!

It looks so different than the carpet inside!