Carpet Speed Bump

Derek is now beginning to figure out how to really get around these days. He's on the verge of "officially" crawling. But, he has been army crawling/scooting for the past month. He's one fast little man. In fact, call child protective services cause he has scooted himself off the bed...twice. Yeah, that's right. You think I would have learned the first time. I can't turn my back on this guy for 1 second without him getting into all sorts of things...computers, cell phones, calculators, remotes of any kind. What can I say, he loves technology?

See the determination in his eyes? He's probably fixated on either the dog or my cell phone...

These next 3 pics, he seems to be enjoying a new delicacy...the carpet. You ask why he started doing this? My answer to everything else about this little guy....I have no idea why he does the things he does. He's slowly figuring out his world by putting everything in his mouth...

King of the House

Since Derek seems to control most aspects of our lives, we thought it would be a appropriate for him to have his own throne...

Lovin' it

Letting someone else have a turn at King

Baby It's Cold Outside

Nothing new really going on with us. I feel like January is the one month of the year that goes by slow for me. Maybe it's cause the holidays just zoom by and not much happens in January? I don't know. But, I've always felt that and this January is not much different. Needless to say, we have enjoyed getting back into our routine at home and watching our little man grow up. 6 months on the 19th. He is getting bigger by the moment. Here are some things that he enjoys: playing with Fletch (playing isn't quite the term but he does enjoy having Fletch around him-he smiles at him all the time), eating solids (oatmeal, sweet potatoes, avocados, bananas, squash, and carrots so far-not a fan of pears and rice cereal ), going on walks, biting everything he gets his hands on (including my face), being with his Dad (I think he's a Daddy's boy), army crawling (mostly using his right arm), playing peek-a-boo, and being thrown up in the air...he is such a happy, sweet baby and we are loving each precious moment.

"I don't know how I feel about this cold weather Mom"
(He seems to make every kind of facial expression that you can imagine with the use of his eyebrows and his lips)

Magazines look mighty comfortable to take a nap on...weird dog

A man after his Dad's heart...already going for the Xbox

He reverted to just sucking the banana off the tray (wasn't able to get that on camera).
He is already a problem solver

Mr. wide eyed about to make a move for it...

Slowly inching forward

Christmas and Such...

Not much to say other than that we had a great time at Christmas, seeing a little of both of our sides in Portland, Oregon. We feel so blessed to have both sides living near each other and we were very blessed this holiday season. We were also able to bless Derek while we were there too. Be prepared to be overloaded with pictures...

Our family

Derek's blessing outfit

I love this little man

Derek loves his cousin Madison

He loves to eat bananas...and his spoon for that matter

Todd must have taught him his manners

Mmm...squash and oatmeal

And, sometimes he would prefer his toes

Derek was baby Jesus this year (my family acts out the Nativity on Christmas Eve)

Some of the Grandkids (8 are missing out of this picture)

Some of the men in the family

And some of the women

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas time and a Happy New Year!

Tastings and Talents

Tasting #1: Root Beer

Last weekend, Todd and I decided to get crazy and have a rootbeer tasting contest of some local rootbeers in the area (or the midwest, really). So, the winner was...Sioux City Rootbeer. Even the "top rated NY Times" one (the one on the far right), to me was nasty. We still really like the rootbeer at Brick Oven, good 'ole A&W and Henry Weinhardt's. It's a toss up with those...

Talent #1: Jumping

Derek is our little jumping bean! He loves to jump and he jumps in this thing for a good 15-20 minutes until he needs a little break...over stimulation, perhaps?

Tasting #2: Oatmeal

He tried some oatmeal this week. He looked at me like, "Whatever this is, it is nasty!" It's an acquired taste, I tell him...

Talent #2: Toe-touch

"Oh, there you are little feet, you've been hiding."
He does this a lot these days...grabs his feet whenever he gets the chance.
Sometimes, I even catch him sucking on his big toe...pretty flexible.

Thanksgiving and then some...

Thanksgiving just crept up on this year. We were happy to skip town and head out to stay with Todd's family and were also able to see some of my family too. We are lucky to have them both living in the same area :) We had a great time with family and are now getting back to the realities of life back home. Todd has been very busy at work, logging in some long days. Nothing new for me has been going on. I partly decorated for Christmas. I have yet to get our fake tree out. I'm wondering if it's even worth it now. But, I love Christmas and the Christmas tree (although I prefer a real one, maybe we'll get a real one next year). The pictures below prove that Derek is growing up, slowly (weight, that is) but surely. He is still our little banana baby...tall and skinny. These are just a few random pictures of me messing with the camera. My goal is to learn how to take some great shots of our kids, as you can see, I have a lot to learn...

Anyone ready for turkey?

Derek is now beginning to have the technique down of grabbing and pulling on Fletch's hair...he doesn't mind a bit (However, the Santa hat that I put on him is another story)

This turned out dark but I wanted to show that he sits up (kind of...before he topples over)

His little mind at work

4 Months Already

I really can't believe that Derek has been with us now for 4 months and Thanksgiving is right around the corner! Crazy how time is continuing to fly by. So, what has happened over the past few weeks?

1. We have thoroughly enjoyed the weather...although it is starting to get quite a bit cooler for our morning walks.

2. We almost found a new family for Fletch but at the last minute, I just couldn't do it. We decided that even though he can cause me some added work (with his exercise requirements, etc), we love our furry friend too much. I felt like the part in Marley and Me when they give their dog away for a little bit but realized after he wasn't there anymore, that they wanted him back. Absence I guess makes the heart grow fonder...

3. We have been battling a nasty stomach virus this past week. It started with Todd, then Derek, then me. Pretty sad when you see your little baby having the dry heaves...I know that must not have felt good. But, we are all good now and ready to eat lots of yummy food for Thanksgiving

4. We have enjoyed watching Derek getting bigger and bigger. He's our little "Banana Baby"- long and lean but boy does he like to eat. He has started to roll over...changing diapers is a new adventure. Every moment he gets, he wants to flip to his belly. Anyways, here are some new pictures...

He loves his Sophie giraffe

Best friends

Fletch usually won't go inside after our walks until Derek is inside...how cute

Our furry child