Tim

My awesome little brother is in Africa! He left Wednesday to go spend 3 weeks travelling, most of which will be spent in Tanzania. Tim has a friend from college who is a teacher/missionary in Tanzania through the Project Kesho. Tim will be helping them out for a couple weeks as well as doing some sightseeing. Please pray for a safe journey for Tim as well as lots of amazing experiences. I will be sure to get some pictures from him upon his return. Love you Tim!!!!!

Oh, I have to mention hoever that the Christmas truck has made its return this year even with my brothers absence for most of the Christmas season. So if you see it rolling around town it may be my dad or Ryan driving . . . are there any volunteers out there wanting to spread a little Christmas Joy??????

Happy Thanksgiving!

This whole blogging thing seemed so easy . . . then we had Sean, who is wonderful, however, when I have free time the last thing I want to do is log onto blogger and spend that time writing, downloading, typing, forgetting to spell check, forgetting to proof read, etc. I would much rather be hanging out with the kid and Ryan. . . .so I am sorry for the lack of posts and subsequently the huge posts as of late. I refuse to give it (this blog) up, however, since I know many family and friends, especially all those who are out of town, appreciate the pictures and updates of this little guy. So I will stay to course because I suppose you can’t just join the party, but you actually have to participate in it. Ahhhh, the joys of technology!

That all being said, here is my big post that covers the last week or so:

We traveled back to Montana over Thanksgiving to see Ryan’s parents and stopped in for a quick “Hello” to my sister and her family while we were in big sky country. We had such a blast being on the ranch. It was Sean’s first time there and it was BEAUTIFUL! There was snow on the ground and wildlife everywhere. Sean had so much fun playing with Grandma and Grandpa, and Ryan had so much fun helping his parents out with the horses. Ryan looks so comfortable and natural on the Ranch working with his hands and doing what he loves – it is so good to see him enjoying those things. Did anyone see the latest People magazine? The Sexiest men alive edition? I am pretty sure I saw a picture of Ryan in his Wranglers and Cowboy hat in that one. And now for the pictures:
The first few pictures are from our time spent at the Ranch (where Ryan grew up).

Sean on Thanksgiving getting a little taste of mashed potato!

The babies under a full moon

Ryan's parents raise and train quarter horse race horses

A little buck in the driveway
If you enlarge the next three photos you can see the deer, coyotes, and elk that were wandering around outside the house.

We also managed to stop in and see my sister and her family on our way back home - here is Sean and cousin Addison

And what would a trip to Montana be without a raccoon skin cap?

Back home with a new do!

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving - we have so much to be thankful for and on the top of our list is our wonderful family and friends! We love you all!

busy days

Life has been busy lately hence the lack of posts for a bit now. I will give you all a quick update along with plenty of pictures to look at.

Sean has been slowly taking to solid foods - his fist week or so was give or take - not real into it, but lately he has been digging it a little more. In fact last night he ate almost a full ice cube size sweet potato puree. We actually jumped right into doing the fresh fruits and veggies instead of rice cereal - he just seems to like them better. His favorite is when we hand him a piece of pear and let him just chew away. It is pretty cute. This is a video of the first time he tried solids - I don't know if he just liked chewing on the spoon, but didn't seem to get much of the food in his mouth.

This past weekend my sister and her family were in town for a worship conference and wedding. They did manage to find some time during their busy schedule to hang out with us. Here are a couple pics of the cousins hanging out (Addison just turned 2):





Sean was also dedicated at our church this last Sunday by our pastor Richard. We were so blessed to have so many friends and family there, physically and in spirit, to support us and to pray for Sean as we dedicated his life to Christ. It was an amazing experience and we want to with all our hearts love this child like Christ loves us.

On memorial day it was free educators day at the aquarium. So my mom and dad went down with Sean, Ryan, and I to enjoy the day. Sean LOVED it! I couldn't believe how into the fish he was. He really like the tropical fish and would just follow them all over the place, he watched the salmon hatchlings for a long time, and even fell asleep on Grandpas lap as we watched the salmon, shark, and sturgeon swim by. It was a great day out.





we didn't realize we were standing under that sign, but it makes for a funny picture . . . .
And finally, here is what Sean has to say about all these busy events:

busy days

busy days

one half year

Our baby is a half a year old! It has flown by so fast it is crazy. As I look back and reflect on the last six months I am overwhelmed with the changes, emotion, love, and joy that we have experienced. Sean is amazing and I cannot imagine life without him. Happy 6 month birthday!

The first month
Stats: Born May 1st, 2007 8:30 pm
6 lbs 9 oz (dropped to 6 lbs 3 oz)
18.5 inches long

Month highlights:
clogged tear duct
had a bad diaper rash
went to church
Bodily functions galore!
It was a glamorous month

The Second Month
Stats:
approximately 8 lbs

Month highlights:
Started smiling for real, not just cause of gas
Started sleeping through the night around 8 weeks
First road trip to Montana/Canada to see Grandma Mary & Grandpa Ed

The Third Month:
Stats:
11 - 12 lbs
23 inches long

Month Highlights:
Aunt Kristi, Uncle Bart & Addison came to visit
Standing up with help

The Fourth Month:
13.5 lbs
24 inches long

Month Highlights
Rolling from belly to back
first trip to the zoo
smiling all the time
still sleeping good!

The Fifth Month:
Almost 15 lbs
25.5 inches long (dad is so excited this was in the 75th percentile)

Month Highlights
You found your feet!
Beginning to reach for things
Sitting like a tri-pod
first laugh

The Sixth Month
15.5 lbs


Month Highlights
first plane ride to Uncle Will & Aunt Stacey's wedding
plays peekaboo
rolling from back to belly & back over again
First little cold
First 2 teeth!!!
Sitting up good
talking all the time - favorite word (sound) dada
First solid foods! baby rice, sweet potato, & a little taste of carrots
Still sleeping good (thank you thank you baby!)

Six months appointment Stats:
16 lbs 2 oz, 26 inches long & perfect!

In the first photo Sean is 2 weeks old, in the second he is 5 1/2 months old

Harvest Party & Pearly Whites

Sean got to attend his first Harvest Party last night - It was CRAZY! Our church was swarming with what seemed like thousands of babies, toddlers and little kids in costume. It was so fun to see everyone dressed up, but it kind of felt like a scene out of a Christopher Guest movie. Welcome to parenthood I suppose! The babies all looked so cute, here is Sean (in the costume his grandma gave him while I was still pregnant) and Sean with some of his bigger friends:





Sean also got his first two teeth this past week. I guess this means he is ready to start eating solids . . . which also means a fun video in a few days. He turns 6 months on November 1st - I can't believe how fast it has gone, and how much fun we are having each day! We treasure this little boy and every moment God gives us with him!

woof woof

So the other night we were reading one of Sean's books, which he loves doing, and he was really getting a kick out of the animal noises I was making to go along with the pictures. He smiled at the roar of the lion, liked the meow of the cats, and chuckled at the chirping of the birds. But when we turned to the page with the puppies. . . .well take a look for yourself:

I also wanted to post a beautiful picture of Ryan's brother and sister in law at their wedding. The couple looked so beautiful and the night was straight out of a fairy tale. Thank you Will and Stacey for making our trip so special and for letting us share in celebrating your wedding!

The family (minus me)

many people say Sean looks like my brother Tim, but I think I can see some resemblance to his Uncle Will as well . . what do you think????

new tricks

Sean - that kid is crazy!

We are still working on 4 rings:


Speaking of new tricks, Sean rolled from back to belly today! Yet another mile-stone I get to obsess over as a new mom.