9 months

He turned 9 months this week. He is alseep in my arms as I type this.




He is still nursing, but has started solids. He is in size medium diapers and 9-12 months in clothes. He loves to climb-he has been caught at the top of the stairs in the boys room twice! There's a baby gate up full time now. He likes to jump on Alyssa's trampoline and play in Alyssa's room. He loves to sneak into Daddy's office and play the drums. His toes are tickleish. The pictures with the bear are getting harder, I had to bribe him with my chapstick.




I love his silky little noggin, his squishy little self, sleeping snuggled up with him every night, the way he puts his head down when he wants to crawl faster, when he smiles at me as he nurses.




He's still so little and yet so big. I miss and cherish the little, but enjoy the big. He took his first steps this week. He will be a year old in only 3 months. I hope it's a slow 3 months.

Happy Easter

A Good Day

We finally found a weekend that worked out for us to spend a day at the beach. It was awesome and much needed. I love the east coast and have missed it since our days in Virginia beach. This past year has felt as though it was dominated by a to-do list and while the list are still there, lurking in the background, that's all they are, background. I'm ready to "seize the day" again. I lost sight of the fun stuff and got caught up in the to-do stuff. Sure the to-do stuff still needs to be done, but I refuse to let it take over. It's time to get back to the fun and this was a good start.




It started off cloudy and in the 70's, but after 4 years of living in Iowa our kids think that is perfectly fine for swimming!
*love how Thatcher appears to be 12 feet tall in this one*




After a short nap in the tent, Parker was ready for his fisrt trip to the coast. He was not apprehensive in the least. He crawled through the sand like he had been doing it all of his life. He ate most of the sand on the beach!





Alyssa felt like it was her first time too. She hasn't been to the beach since she was barely a year old.



I think all of us had missed it. We drove down to the beach the night before. And the anticipation was almost to much as we walked down the boardwalk. My toes were excited to walk in the sand, my ears were excited to hear the waves crashing, my nose was excited to smell the salt, my skin was excited to feel the breeze....ok, so you get the point, right! We were glad to get away for the day.

Jacob worked, cause that's just what he does...




This move from Iowa was hard. We miss our friends. This was good for us.









Did I mention Parker can write his name now?