Santa Claus

2014

 

2013

 

 2012

Christmas Jammies!!

Christmas Creek Tree Farm

 

This was the first year we actually cut down our own Christmas tree at a tree farm. The experience was fun in spite of the fact that it was very cold, wet, and muddy. I bet Parker would actually argue that it was fun because of those things. He had a great time running around and although the line to sit on Santa was far too long for our kids as they neared melt down stage, Parker was happy enough to just go off to the side, wave, and say 'Merry Christmas Santa' from a distance. I'm also pretty sure the below picture is basically 'what not to do' when it comes to babies and saws. When David insists he can in fact cut down the tree while he has Conway in the Ergo, what else can I do but get out my camera and document the ridiculousness.

 

 

 

 

Conway's First Hair Cut

 

 We finally said goodbye to Conway's reverse mullet. The long hair in the front was getting a bit out of control so we gave it a little trim. I think the shorter hair makes him look so much more like a big boy!

 

 

Thanksgiving '14

 

We had a lot of fun visiting family and eating way too much on Thanksgiving. Over the course of the long weekend we got to see lots of family at Grandma Dianna and Grandpa Terry's house and at Grandma Connie and Grandpa Bob's house. Food, grandparents, aunts, uncles, great aunts, great grandma, cousins, farm animals, golf - so much to be thankful for.

 

The boys got some good love from Great Aunt Betty.

 

Hard to tell who's having more fun in this picture.

 

Great Aunt Sue is a trained professional in the art of baby holding.

 

Cousin Anjali stopped playing with Parker for long enough to sneak in a smile for her uncle Dave...okay now back to playing.

 

I think this is intended to resemble the game of golf.

 

Apparently Anjali has declared herself the winner.

 

  

And over at the Jackson-Dean house Conway got to meet his cousin Lucian. Believe it or not, Conway is actually 2 months older than Lucian.

 

 Lucian left before we could get all the kids lined up on the couch for a picture, but these four are pretty cute.

 

Parker and Great Grandma Lois enjoyed some quiet reading time.

  

 Conway LOVES his cousin Philip. We saw this face a lot over the weekend thanks to Philip.

 

  Parker had so much fun with Grandma Connie. I thought he would love the horses, but the cats in the barn were far more exciting. Bonus: he got to wear his boots and stomp in the mud.

  

 

We celebrated Philip's 5th birthday while we were in Camas. What!? Philip is 5 years old?!
 

 These two just couldn't get enough of each other.
 

 Parker enjoyed jamming on Uncle Matt's guitar.

 

 Conway + Grandma Connie = Love
 

 Happy Thanksgiving! Happy Birthday Philip!

Conway is Nine Months Old

 

Conway at 9 Months

Height/Length: 29.5in (87%)

Weight: 19lb 2oz (39%)

Head Circumference: 45.3cm (54%)

 

This post is soooo late, but here it is. Conway is nine months old and every day he's looking and acting more and more like a little boy instead of a baby. Besides mastering crawling and breaking records for how quickly he can crawl across the room, his most notable gross motor skill development this month is that he can now pull himself up to a standing position. He doesn't yet move his feet while he's up and supported by whatever he's holding onto, but he sure does love that he has a whole new view and a whole new set of things to grab and get into.

 

Conway's increased mobility has been a real challenge for Parker. While Parker still loves picking out toys to share with Conway, he isn't so thrilled with Conway doing the choosing. And our strategy of putting things on the coffee table or couch to play with them out of Conway's reach no longer works. Parker is not impressed that Conway has his own agenda and that what he wants is usually to grab Parker or what Parker is currently playing with. I think I've said the words "be gentle" so many times now that they are basically white noise to Parker. Parker sure does love to make Conway smile and laugh, though, and Conway still thinks pretty much everything Parker does is hilarious.

 

Conway is eating solids like a champ. He eats about 3 ounces at breakfast and lunch and about 7 ounces at dinner. His meal usually ends with some Cheerios, less for nutrition and more as a strategy to keep him occupied while the rest of us are still eating. And he's getting really good at picking them up and getting them in his mouth. It's pretty cute to watch, actually.

 

Thankfully, there isn't much to report when it comes to sleep. Conway generally sleeps from 7:45pm to 7:00am and he takes two 90 minute naps during the day. He does still make some noise sometime between 6:00am and 6:30am, but he almost always stays asleep/goes back to sleep until about 7:00am. I'm not sure if he's actually awake when he makes noise at that time or not, but either way, he's usually asleep and silent again until about 7:00am. He continues to wake up happy and basically rolls around, pulls himself up to stand, and babbles to himself until I go get him at about 7:20. 

His current schedule is...

7:00/7:20           wake, nurse, breakfast

10:00 - 11:30      nap then nurse & lunch

2:30 - 4:00         nap then nurse

6:30                   dinner

7:15                   bath, jammies, nurse

7:45                   lights out/night-night

 

 While he's mostly sleeping great, the few minor disruptions to Conway's sleep this month have been from teething I think. He now has two bottom teeth and three top teeth and at least a couple more are trying to push through. He sure does look grown up with all those teeth in his grin. This guy just keeps getting cuter!

 

  

 

 

Parker at 9 Months

Height/Length: 28.5in (75%)

Weight:18lb 7oz (25%)

Head Circumference: 44cm (25%)