Friday, December 28, 2012

Christmas 2012

It was our first Christmas as a bustling little family. Matthew began crawling even more -- and his mobility got him to the tree, but thankfully he wasn't very interested in pulling at ornaments or any of our decorations. He was fascinated, however with our rocking reindeer that sings "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer."

The wrapping paper and his new 3-in-1 Zebra scooter/walker toy were an absolute hit. We enjoyed spending time with my parents and relaxing in the quiet moments of the holidays. Here are a few photo highlights:
Matthew's First Christmas

Matthew's First Christmas

Matthew's First Christmas

Matthew's First Christmas

Matthew's First Christmas

We're so blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family in our lives! Happy holidays everyone -- here's to a great New Year ahead!

Monday, December 03, 2012

Visiting with Santa

On Sunday, we took Matthew to see Santa, and he did amazingly well for his first Santa trip. (Especially since he didn't have much of a nap, and woke up just before we walked into the mall!) He did give Santa's beard a little tug (or two or three), but Santa simply chuckled and wished him well. All in all, it was a positive experience, and we look forward to more milestones this first Christmas season with Matthew.

"What's this on your face, Santa?"

Smiling for the camera with Santa.

We've decked the halls for the season -- maybe we went a little too far with dressing Matthew up as a Christmas tree too? Nah...

Our little elf is ready for the season!

Sunday, December 02, 2012

9 Months Old!

Today marks nine months that Matthew has been in our world. I can't believe how quickly time has gone by! It has been a blessing to watch our son learn and grow. And my how he has grown:



Every day, it seems that our son is learning or doing something different. Recently, he's been engaging with us -- babbling away, and playing contentedly with his toys. He's getting more and more mobile too, scooting around the floor on his bottom or rolling over until he gets what he wants. Standing while holding onto us or furniture has become more prevalent as well. What fun to see our son grow before our eyes!

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Thanksgiving 2012

We have had the opportunity to share Thanksgiving dinner with family friends, which means that we don't have to do much cooking at our house, and we get to enjoy a quiet day at home decorating for the holidays and enjoying some down time. This year was no different.

Matthew's first Thanksgiving dinner in pictures:
Like I said: we decorated the Christmas tree on Thanksgiving day... and we couldn't resist dressing up our little present for the holidays too!

Matthew with two of his adoring fans. :)




Matthew fell asleep during the salad course of our meal. We couldn't resist putting a plate in front of him for this photo opportunity!

This Thanksgiving, we have many things to be thankful for -- friends, family, love, our health, happiness, and the promise of experiences to come. We are grateful for everyone that we have in our lives, and we hope that you find yourself richly blessed this holiday season.



Friday, November 02, 2012

Eight Months Old!

Matthew is eight months old -- he's growing and changing right before our eyes. Some mornings, it seems like he has grown over night! His babbles have become louder, with more syllables, and are even more fun to listen to. While he's not crawling yet, our little one is scooting all over the floor, and is on the verge of being mobile. Look out world -- here he comes!


PB040938

PB040940

PB040942

I like to think that we have the cutest, smartest kid in town... although I may be a little biased! :)

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

First Halloween

Fall seems to have flown by -- the leaves have all turned and are falling off, the pumpkin patches are bare, and the trick-or-treaters have almost all gone in for the night. We had a great time with our little dragon this year. He got to spend the day with Lennie, and then we went down as a family to enjoy the downtown Duvall trick-or-treating event.

Downtown Duvall was packed! We thoroughly enjoyed seeing all of the kids and parents dressed up while walking around town. It was fun to stop at our daycare's booth and help hand out candy, and then we went over to Serendipity Photography for a free photo of Matthew. (What a great way to engage with the community!)

While Matthew may not yet know the meaning of Halloween, we certainly had fun with him this season:


"Raiding" the candy bowl.


Happy Halloween from our house to yours!



Sunday, October 21, 2012

Pumpkin Patch

While we were out and about this past weekend, we got to take advantage of a rare break in the weather to enjoy a trip to the pumpkin patch. On our way home from our errands, we stopped at Fall City Farms. The experience was fantastic -- the farm is well run, and had a band playing music while kids could go through a hay maze and watch small pumpkins get launched across the field. We had a great time!













Tuesday, October 02, 2012

Seven Months Old!

Guess who is seven months old today! It's amazing to see how much our little one has grown:

PA020886

PA020885

PA020883

Saturday, September 08, 2012

Happy Birthday Lennie!

Today is Lennie's birthday -- we're so excited to celebrate another year of life.


2012-09-08 10.17.33
Excited to wish Daddy a happy birthday. :)

2012-09-08 18.22.09
Helping Daddy with his birthday candle...

I love you babe, and can't wait to see what the next few years brings!

Sunday, September 02, 2012

First Hike

Today we took Matthew on his first hike. We explored a beautiful riverfront park near Carnation -- complete with a trip across a suspension bridge and Matthew's first ride in our jogging stroller. He enjoyed looking around and riding in comfort while we all took in some of the late summer sunshine. It was a beautiful day to be out in nature.

2012-09-02 16.58.09

2012-09-02 17.14.27

2012-09-02 17.14.18

2012-09-02 17.14.13

Six Months Old!

Our son is six months old today. This Labor Day weekend, we celebrate the beginning of college football, while also training our son to root for the correct team -- Go Huskies!

2012-09-02 14.56.09

2012-09-02 14.58.17

2012-09-02 15.00.42

Monday, August 20, 2012

Roll Over!

They say that every child reaches milestones at a different pace -- although there are some general guidelines that most fall into. Matthew reached another milestone yesterday when he started rolling over on his own. We're very excited about this turn of events, especially since we have a very hard time getting Matthew to do any sort of "tummy time." It seems that Matthew would rather be standing (with our assistance, of course) and checking out the world than laying on his stomach and working on his muscles. (I can't say that I blame him, to be honest...) Since his first unassisted and unprompted roll over yesterday, it seems that he has been showing off his new skills to his grandparents all day today.

Rolling over today, scooting and crawling tomorrow... look out world! :) Here are two videos about rolling over to help put a smile on your face and to help us celebrate Matthew's milestone:



Thursday, August 02, 2012

5 Months Old!

Time really does fly when you're having fun! It's hard to believe that our son is five months old today.

2012-08-02 19.47.05

2012-08-02 19.45.18

We sure love you, son, and can't wait to see what the next few months and years bring!

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Happy 5th Anniversary!

Happy fifth anniversary to the love of my life! Today marks the five year anniversary of our marriage, and I can honestly say that every day and every year continues to get better. I couldn't have asked for a better partner for this life adventure, and I'm very grateful to have you by my side.




I love you Lennie! Here's to another great year together!