Happy Thanksgiving!

{The Jackson-Dean grandkids all lined up}

We have a lot to be thankful for this year (and every year really) but an abundance of family tops the list. We celebrated Thanksgiving with the Jackson-Dean crowd on Thursday and then the Totten family on Friday. You know you have a lot to be thankful for when you have to spread Thanksgiving get-togethers out over multiple days.

{Grandma Connie and Sami all suited up in their aprons and ready for some cooking}

{Parker's favorite thing these days: entertaining Monroe :-)}

{And he's good at it!}

{Grandpa Terry with all four of his grandkids}

Happy Thanksgiving!!

P.S. Giving Thanks 2015, Thanksgiving 2014

Thanksgiving Day Run For the Hungry 5K

Thanksgiving this year started off with a Run For the Hungry 5k. I know what you're thinking. "But you hate running, Treva." And you're right. But I caved to the peer pressure of my dear brother-in-law, Matt, and us Tottens joined the Johnsons on the run. And it was actually awesome! It started at the Washougal High School football stadium (our arch rivals growing up), wound around through some neighborhoods and then took a turn into the woods. I generally hate running, but I love hiking through the woods and that's basically what this was. Plus I got to chat with Sarah through the whole thing so there basically wasn't a downside. David and Matt probably didn't enjoy pushing the plethora of kids we have in strollers through the muddy wooded section of the run, but they can both run a 5K without breaking a sweat so we didn't feel too bad for them. Everyone of the kids except Philip did a 5k ride, but Philip ran the whole thing!! 

Lil' Kickers - Fall 2016

Coe School Dress Like A Teacher Day!

Mrs. Ruppert isn't actually Parker's teacher, but I think he nailed her look for "Dress Like A Teacher Day" at school.

Monroe Is 5 Months Old

This was a pretty steady/uneventful month for Monroe...until the very end. And now he has all kinds of things going on.

Last month Monroe started rolling from his back to his belly and it took almost a whole month for him to figure out how to roll back over to his back. So, it was an interesting month. It didn't have as big of an impact on his sleep as I expected, but it did mean he generally woke up crying when he realized he was stuck on his belly. And now that he can roll both ways we have to be extra careful about where we leave him. If I lay him down on the floor in his bedroom and leave him there long enough, I generally come back to find that he has rolled/scooted all the way across the room.

Another development at the end of this month was the appearance of Monroe's first tooth and now he has both front bottom teeth peaking through. They're sharp little things and although they don't seem to affect him too much when he's awake, his naps have been a little unpredictable lately so I'm hoping that can be blamed on the new teeth.

Monroe also basically gave up his early morning feeding at the end of the month (with some strong parental encouragement) and is instead pretty much sleeping right through until 7:30 or 8:00am. He still generally wakes up at some point and makes a bit of noise and then goes back to sleep on his own. Now, if only I could keep from waking on my own during the night. The rest of Monroe's schedule hasn't really changed much this month.

This little guy loves watching his brothers and they love putting on a show for him. Monroe also loves grabbing at toys, but his newest obsession is with his feet. My favorite is when he tries to put them in his mouth. Monroe's back is getting pretty strong too so he can almost sit up on his own. It doesn't take long before he topples over, but he's getting close. I feel like he's really starting to look like a little boy instead of a baby all of a sudden - with the exception of his bald head and his chubby cheeks of course. So thank goodness for those!

{Parker really wanted in on the photo op}

P.S. Parker is 5 Months Old, Conway is 5 Months Old, Monroe is 4 Months Old

Front Row Seats

{The view from David's front row seats at the Hawks game}

{The view from Treva's front row seats at home that same night :-)}

Liz & Demetri Got Hitched!

...which meant that us grown-ups got dressed up to attend their wedding and celebrate with them!

Parker's First School Picture: Kindergarten