Peek a BOO! I see you!

Thank you cousins for outgrowing such an awesome outdoor toy! WE LOVE IT!

Thanksgiving 2009: no camping this year......a heavy dose of life set in.....hopefully we'll be back camping next year......we threw together a Thanksgiving dinner in 12 hours! it was delicious!

Baby's First Thanksgiving! and yes, we forgot to take photos DURING dinner.....can you believe that? He loved the squash but not the potatoes......no turkey for him this year daddy fried it in peanut oil.....yummy for us, not good for babies.

One Year Ago today: prelabor had begun....we didn't know it but all the classic signs were there: eating a big meal (breakfast at Cracker Barrel after Black Friday Shopping), burst of energy (made a big meal and invited friends) and preparing the nest (insisted that Jason decorate the ENTIRE house for Christmas).....

I can't believe we are HERE, talking about "one year ago today". This year truly has FLOWN by....and we would not be here with a...baby is who is talking, walking (running), eating solids and still not sleeping thru the night... if it were not for our family and friends who surrounded us with LOVE and SUPPORT, brought us food, helped us care for our baby when we needed it, told us that we were doing a good job (even when it felt like we were failing) and reminded us that babies will survive and thrive with LOVE even if you mess up the small stuff. It really does take a village to raise a child and we live in an AWESOME village......THANK YOU!

Coming up: Baby's FIRST Birthday! Please come celebrate with us: Sat. Dec. 5th, 10am

Rotovirus is disgusting!

I had hoped to have lovely photos and hilarious video for you this week.....but instead I have spent the past six days taking care of a sick little baby.

It started out with what I thought was "teething" (low grade fever, fussy baby with loose stools) and progressed in two days to "SICK". Turned out it was Rotavirus/Gasteroenteritis.........and let me tell you....it's was DISGUSTING! (I'll spare you the details).

I did feel blessed to be able to be HOME with my baby.....to hold him and cuddle him and let him sleep in my arms until he was better.

It was a slow recovery but he is finally on the mend.......just in time for Thanksgiving and his BIG BIRTHDAY PARTY!!!!

Photos soon!

One More Photo:
My beautiful sister, her beautiful daughters, me and my little man......at the local pumpkin festival.....

Sorry for the delay:

We MOVED! and I lost my camera charger.....so for the past several weeks I have had no camera, except in my phone.....but I'll share some photos that family has emailed to me :-)

We have moved back to our "old" house (where my mom has been living for the past year), which many of you remember fondly. We had to make the decision quickly. So we canceled our dream vacation to Sedona, and started packing and fixing up our house to get it on the market.

We got most of mom's things packed and into storage, packed our entire house, and got it on the market all in less than 10 days. And all of that with a 10.5 month old who decided to start WALKING half way thru the week!

So we are all here: me, Jay, JJ and mom in our old house.

And my in laws have finally arrived. They are officially "snow birds".....staying here in DFW for the winter. We are OVERJOYED!

It's been an interesting month to say the least. We are all still adjusting. JJ could not be happier.....he has all of his grandparents around him and he is walking......or more accurately running everywhere he wants to go.

We are making preparations for the holiday season as well as a party to celebrate the successful completion of our FIRST YEAR AS PARENTS!

Many thanks to family and friends for helping us to move, keeping JJ happy while we moved and helping us to keep our sense of humor about the changing seasons of life.

Why it's been so long since the last post:Good Bye Dear Melon,

You were the best dog EVER! You were our first "baby". We became a family the day we picked you up. We will always remember how you used to boss us around, tell everyone who entered the house "the rules", cuddle when we needed it, protect us from everything you could hear, see or smell, try to sit on mamma's lap and S-T-R-E-T-C-H to put your head on dad's arm when we were in the car, chase every ball you could get your mouth around, find wiggle-giggle even if we hid it in the washing machine, and mostly how you made us feel important. We were "your people".

I know you told us in the best way that you could that you were sick and tired. We did everything we could to keep you happy and comfortable and in the end you made the hardest decision for us, a comfortable one.....you are our angel and you are missed.....

And as always: Life Goes On.....

and for us that means CAMPING......

Canoe ride.....on beautiful Broken Bow Lake.
Train Ride....at the park

The river is amazing. Only trout OVER 20 inches are "keepers" here. We can't wait to come back and have more time for fishing....

Melon was missed on this trip, she would have loved the car ride, the squirrels, the sleeping in the camper......Micron did enough napping for them both :-)

We saw a Golden Eagle and a Bald Eagle flew back and forth across the river near our campsite ALL weekend. They are amazing creatures!

And finally a video:

The next few weeks are filled with changes for us.....might be a while before I can post but I will soon!

On September 15th JJ took his first step!!!!!

Camera was not on but it looked something like this:

He has yet to do it again :-D

Thanks to Auntie Liz, JJ looked ADORABLE at Stroller Skate today. Hawaiian Shirt and Cargo Shorts on a 9 month old are just TOO CUTE!

JJ's favorite toys right now are WHEELS (cars, trucks and strollers), he loves to spin them and eat them. I had no idea that wheels were so amazing.....

We LOVE camping!

Our first camping trip, was hard....JJ was teething and we were not sleeping.....but this time....we had a BALL! JJ loved being with his family, especially his cousin Maddie.

Uncle Stephen caught a catfish!

There is nothing like a nap in the camper!

We're off camping again this weekend......in the rain......JJ is sleeping REALLY well.....we just might all move into the camper in the driveway if he keeps this up :-D

Nine Month Check Up:

Wt: 20.4 pounds (46%)

Length: 30 inches (92%)

Head Circ: 18inches (68%)

He has hit all his milestones and then some :-) Yes, I know I was concerned about a few of them but all is well now (as soon as you say it out loud, they do it). JJ is standing on his own for a moment here and there.....walking is just around the corner.

Look for camping photos soon! We had a lovely labor day weekend of camping. JJ did just wonderfully! he LOVED his canoe ride, playing with his cousin, auntie, and uncle. Going for walks and a ride to walmart to take a nap :-D

We are hoping to continue Stroller Skating and add Kindermusic soon. The busy fall season is upon us: Camping, Camping, Trip to Sedona, More Camping, Halloween, Family Birthdays, Our 13th Anniversary, Thanksgiving, FIRST BIRTHDAY, Hanukkah, Christmas and New Years!

It's the most wonderful time of the year.....