A look into our world

Mommy thinks I look like such a big boy in these pictures. I will be 7 months old tomorrow! I'm still loving sweet potatoes, and I really like squash, too. I'm not super hot on green beans, although I eat them just fine. I'm just not quite as interested as when I'm getting the yummy orange stuff! Dad says I'm just like him - not a huge fan of green food. Mommy's determined to try to help me like green food. I'm feeling a little under the weather this week, but I continue to stay pretty happy regardless. A runny nose and cough aren't the most fun things in the world, though. Sometimes Mommy wishes I was one of those babies who wants to snuggle with her when I am feeling sick.....I can't figure out why anyone would ever want to stop moving! Hey, if she can't have a snuggler, at least she has a smiler!

I'm working so hard on my crawling! Last week I finally got up on my hands and knees....and then wasn't sure what to do from there. Since then I have taken a tiny little stride forward here an there with my knee, but Mommy and Dad don't think it's quite enough to constitute true crawling yet. I sure am doing great, though! Soon I'll be crawling all over the place! One thing I know is that I love all the cheering that happens from my parents when I get up on my hands and knees :) They're so easy to please!

This past weekend we took a trip to Big Cedar and Branson with our friends Jeff, Kara, and Hudson. It was super fun! We did lots of shopping, and this picture is of me in my big-boy stroller. I loved looking out and seeing all the people, lights, fountains, and decorations. It's a whole new world facing forward and getting to look out at everything! "Hudson, I want your blanket!"

I'm getting so good at sitting! I can do it all the time now. Sometimes I still topple over if I'm reaching for a toy that's kinda to the side and behind me, but I've been balancing so well! I love sitting and playing with my toys and my Dad and Mommy. They think I sure am fun!And this is the face I give Mommy when she says "all done!" with my sweet potatoes. Even though at this point I've already eaten lots of rice cereal with bananas and a whole serving of sweet potatoes, I don't want the sweet potatoes to end! Yummy to my tummy. And this is me this morning in my cute "Baby's 1st Christmas" outfit! I also have a Christmas egg shaker with a handle that I got in my class yesterday, and I LOVE shaking it around! At first I just put it in my mouth, but Mommy showed me that it makes a fun noise when you shake it, and now I shake, shake, shake and have so much fun.

I LOVE SWEET POTATOES!! They are so yummy. They are definitely my favorite so far, and I just can't get enough! I'm getting very good at eating now and am not quite as messy as I used to be. I like this eating-real-food stuff! This is me in my new coat and hat! I didn't have a winter coat yet, and it's been very cold outside, so Mommy and Dad thought I definitely needed a good coat. Right by the coats there was this hat, and they thought it was too cute to pass up. I'm not so sure what I think about the hat yet, but Mommy hopes that I'll get used to it and like it. It sure will come in handy for our Colorado trip!
My cousin Jamey and Aunt Karyn and Uncle James came over today to play! We had oh so much fun together. I really like my cousin Jamey. We played good together, and our mommies even worked with us on sharing. Jamey did very good, and me, well, I'm not really old enough to know the difference yet. I don't really care if someone takes my toy! Give me a few months, and I'm sure I will :) I got really excited and worked up when we were playing together...everyone thinks I'm quite social! Here's a picture of Jamey and me playing together on my exersaucer. Thanks for coming over guys!!

This is my really nice sweater and socks that my Grandma Lou's friend Ami made me. Aren't they really nice? Mommy said I looked "gorgeous" in it and had to take pictures. I didn't know boys could look "gorgeous", but Mommy said to trust her. It was okay with me; more opportunitites to smile for the camera!
And here I am with Santa! I smiled just a few times, but I was too quick for them and they never could get that part on film. I looked up at Santa real intently, and then I decided he was a little bit scary. This was the closest we could get to a "happy" picture...Mommy said "good enough!"

Here I am with our Christmas tree! I LOVE our Christmas tree. One of the best parts about it is that it is right in front of a big mirror, so when Mommy stands with me in front of the tree, I can see the baby in the mirror too! I love looking at that baby in the mirror - he always makes me smile so big! Mommy lets me touch the tree; it's one of my favorite things to do these days. Mommy had to take this picture of me during one of my naps this past weekend. When she came in to check on me, this is what she found. I was all scrunched up sideways in my bed with my head smashed into my bumper pad. She and Dad felt so bad for me and the crick I was bound to have in my neck. But I woke up just fine and happy when I was done sleeping!
Here I am playing with Bella. I just love my puppy Bella! She always makes me smile. I think she's pretty funny and so fun to play with!And here you can see my tooth! I'm also practicing my sitting, but as you can see by Mommy's hand, I was falling over. Isn't my tooth so cute?!? I'm actually getting another one right next to it!
As you can see, we had to use a pillow to help my sitting. I was all better once that was in place! I'm getting better and better at this sitting thing...it's a little hard to balance! Just you wait, I'm sure in no time I'll be a pro!

Here I am last Tuesday - my first time to try peas! I started out pretty excited... once I got my first bite, I wasn't so sure about peas...
they made me gag...
then I was fine and ready for another bite.
Peas weren't so bad after all!

The only thing is that the next day when I ate them (like a champ, I might add), my chin got splotchy. So the nurse on the phone told Mommy to wait on the peas and try them again down the road on a later date. To tell you the truth, I don't really think I'm going to miss them all that much.

What a big boy I am!!
Aunt Sherri and me.
We roasted hot dogs one night, and Dad let me help!

Aunt Shannon and me taking a nap together. I loved swinging on the porch with M'laine.
Ready for football!
Cousin Lauren and me in the leaves.
My cousin Payton really likes holding me! And yes, that is a necklace around my neck - all my girl cousins are already dressing me up!

Sweet Mommy and me.Yummy leaf... M'laine showed me all her fun Christmas decorations!
And I wanted to touch all of them. Uncle Dave and me.

I love my cousins!!


Here I am with my Mommy and my sweet Aunt Stacey.

We had such a fun Thanksgiving weekend! We got to go down to Papa and M'laine's house with all the rest of my Dad's family, and we had a really great time. There were so many people who wanted to hold me and rock me and play with me...Dad says my feet never hit the ground :) I sure loved all the attention and appropriately gave lots of smiles to everyone. I had some really special time with each one of my aunts, uncles, cousins, and Papa and M'laine. I'm so thankful for all my family! I am sure one blessed baby, that's for sure. And guess what? I got my first tooth yesterday!! It's the bottom right one (in the middle), and it's just poking through. M'laine noticed it yesterday morning, and I didn't even act much different than normal! Mommy says she'll try to get a picture of it to post so you can see. She says it's a very cute tooth.

Here are just a few pictures from the weekend - Mommy and Dad's camera ran out of batteries, and they didn't bring extra, so all the other pictures are on Papa's camera. When we get those, we will be sure to post more pictures, as there are many more fun ones!Bella is so silly! She makes me laugh all the time. What a fun puppy I have! Here are my 4 girl cousins - Alyssa, Lauren, Payton (who's holding me), and Holland.
And this is my Uncle whiskers, I mean Uncle Scott. I was pretty fascinated with his whiskers and really liked touching them!