Togetherness

(Disclaimer: I wrote this post at the beginning of January, I swear.  I just now got around to adding the pictures so I could post it.  Oops!  Life happens.) As I type my first post of 2015 - the first post of the first full year in which we are a complete family of four, I am still on the high of 2.5 weeks of family togetherness.  Greg has been on vacation and we have just been basking in lots and lots of TIME.  Time to just be is a true gift.  I have to give massive props to my husband for giving the entire house a rigorous cleaning before Christmas, and along with just the luxury of having someone else around to tag-team with the kids, these past weeks I really feel like I have begun to feel like myself again.  Those hazy, foggy, sleep-deprived days of infancy have given way to a new normal and many hopes and dreams for a happy and well-balanced 2015. We had a good Christmas the year - everyone was healthy (fingers crossed that this continues) and Davis was enthusiastic about Christmas festivities.  We enjoyed fun times with family and friends and Davis is already asking when it will be Christmas again - haha!

From Loving the Life We Live

8 Months

Today is such an exciting day in our house.  It's Christmas Eve and, not unimportantly, is also Adam's 8 month "birthday." Just within the past week, Adam has suddenly become a proficient creeper.  His crawling technique is interesting . . . For some time, he's been sticking his right leg straight out to the side while lying on his tummy.  Now, his crawling method consists of sticking his right leg straight out and then pushing off with that foot to propel himself forward.  He can maneuver himself anywhere in the room in this way, persisting until he is successful in his quest to obtain the remote control or other tantalizing non-toy object . . . which, lately, is the Christmas tree.  (He like nothing better right now than to pull needles off the tree.)  It was so odd because he had a couple of very fussy days where I felt he was frustrated at his inability to crawl - then the very next day he suddenly "got it" and now he is exploring a whole new world with his newfound mobility.  Life is very exciting for Adam these days, and the rest of us are having to learn how to keep on our toes again so that he doesn't get ahold of anything dangerous!  He is starting to practice some of the movements that he will need to get from prone to sitting, and experimenting with trying to get up on his hands and knees, although his super chunky thighs are making that position difficult to master. He shows exceptional strength in bearing his weight on his legs when you hold him in a standing position.  He is now babbling and sometimes gets into quite a talkative mood.  One day he looked at me and said "ma ma."  I realize that this was purely coincidence and not a first word, but it still brought a smile to my face!  And, in other exciting news, Adam is cutting his first tooth!! I loooove the mobile stage of babyhood and am so excited to watch Adam continue to learn and grow rapidly over these next few months!

From Loving the Life We Live

Joy

From Loving the Life We Live

7 Months

Adam recently marked his seven month birthday.  Yes, he did finally learn how to roll from back to front!  He did it for the first time on October 27 and quickly realized "hey, I've got this rolling thing down!"  Now he loves to roll around when he's feeling active.  I have started seeing some indications that he may soon be attempting to creep (pull himself along the floor/pre-crawling).  He has become very adept at reaching for toys from various postures and angles.  One of his favorite hobbies is pulling off one of his socks and stuffing it in his mouth.  I get the giggles when he does this because he looks like a little puppy dog, sitting there with a sock hanging out of his mouth.  He recently learned how to stick his tongue out and also how to stick his bottom lip out, which is super cute.  We visited family in Missouri for Thanksgiving and everyone commented on what a "good" baby he is and how he's so calm you forget he's even there.  It's true that if he would just take long naps in his crib and sleep all night long, he would pretty much be the perfect baby. ;)  He has also experienced his first trip to the zoo (for ZooBoo) and his first haircut (sigh) - it was just a trim of his bangs because they were soooo long and in his eyes, but it changed his looks so much already!  Here are some pics of our sweet angel. before getting his bangs trimmed and after hanging out at the zoo loving on Grandad!

From Loving the Life We Live

Halloween Flashback

I know I have to get a Halloween post in before Thanksgiving (yikes!), so here goes!  Davis was a cowboy this year and Adam reprised the role of Little Pumpkin that Davis performed so well three Halloweens ago.  We did a trick or treat event on one of the trails at our local park again, which was a good thing since Halloween itself was bitter cold and rainy.  We braved the elements to visit several houses in our neighborhood, but Davis was quickly ready to call it a night!  This sadly led to less candy collected for Mommy to pilfer Davis to enjoy, but we still had a good time. A damp and concerned pumpkin

From Loving the Life We Live

Autumn Adventures

 

Our family loves the fall, and it seems like this fall was particularly beautiful. Alas, I type this as I look out my window at the thin blanket of snow on our lawn.  :(  This makes it all the more desirable to reminisce about the fun we've had the past few months. From attending my 10 year college homecoming, to enjoying a hayride and trip to the pumpkin patch, to hiking in Brown County State Park, we made beautiful memories together this fall, and I want to share some of my favorite pictures of our autumn adventures. Davis and best buddy Nolan running across the mall at Manchester toward Petersime Chapel  Adam stopping to smell the roses in the Peace Garden Davis was delighted with playing in the fountain in the Peace Garden Family picture attempt #5,243 (seems like!) Pumpkin fun at Aunt Shalimar's house...   and at the Nehemiah Ranch pumpkin patch!   Yuck!   Playing with his pal Silas at Brown County State Park   Picture perfect day Davis was a real trooper during an unexpectedly loooong hike! Meanwhile, Adam napped on Daddy's back.   Zaharakos Ice Cream Parlor in Columbus Davis climbed to the top of The Luckey Climber at The Commons in Columbus with no hesitaton. Fearless!

From Loving the Life We Live