Almost Crawling

8-Months

We're sitting here watching Patrick both in awe of how much he has changed in this last month. He has always been a chatterbox, but now there are lots of mamas and dadas. He laughs when we laugh and gets excited when we tell him "he did it". He is still working on getting his two top teeth and any day now I think he is going to take off crawling. How fun it is to watch him grow and learn.

Last week Patrick took his first cab and plane ride to Texas. He loved looking out the window in the airplane and was a very happy traveler both directions. It was nice to have a little break from the arctic chill that doesn't seem to be leaving us anytime soon. Patrick also attended his first livestock show and pig race while we were there, his cousin Stephanie's lamb won 4th place in its class. Congrats Stephanie. It was great to see Aunt Denise and Uncle Pat too. We had such a relaxing weekend with the Hoopers and Grandma and Grandpa Jackson. We can't wait to visit again for Jonathan and Tammy's wedding.

Gym Class

Patrick has been to Gym class three times in the last week. His regular day is Thursday, but we have a few to make up so we went on Saturday with Dad and Grandma and Grandpa C. Today all of his little friends (actually their Moms) were impressed with Patrick's ability to get into the crawling stance. When I go back to work (blah!) it will be fun to have Dad join us every week. Thursdays are mostly just Moms and Nannies, but Saturdays have lots of Dads and Grandparents that attend. Here are a few of the highlights from Saturday.

7-Months

Patrick turned 7-months last weekend. We celebrated by heading up to Northern Michigan again for a long weekend of skiing. It was chilly but lots of fresh snow. I don't think it stopped snowing the enitre weekend. We had a great time. Both Charlie and I can't wait until Patrick is old enough to join us on the slopes!

This week Patrick has started to become a bit more mobile. Today he scooted backward across the floor and he can go from sitting up to his hands and knees. Both Patrick and Miko have become a bit more interested in each other. Patrick loves to pull hair so we will definitely have to keep an eye on the two of them. So far, Miko has tolerated the new attention.

Time with Dad

Patrick and the Duck Bath Tub

Hey Everyone. Mommy and Daddy thought I would like a new bathtub now that I am sitting up on my own. I look scared but I really do like to splash around with my little duckies.

6-Months, Christmas, and a Happy New Year

What a fun and exciting couple of weeks we have had. It started out with a visit from the Hooper family. Patrick finally got to meet his cousin and soon to be cousin Jonathan and Tammy. He has a lot of fun playing with Kristen, Jonathan, Tammy, Aunt Janet, and Uncle Charles. Thanks to Uncle Charles for babysitting so that I could take a shopping trip to Crate and Barrel. Patrick also cut his first tooth while they were here.

Then we had a fun visit with Angie (my friend from high school) and her son Judge. We had a great time catching up and visiting Navy Pier. Hopefully they will visit again soon. Patick turned 6-months while they were visiting. It is hard to believe he's already 1/2 year old!

Patrick and I had so much fun visiting Navy Pier, we went back on Friday. It was the one place in the city that didn't have a wait to sit on Santa's lap. So we hopped on the bus and spent a few hours walking around, getting Patrick's picture taken, and listening to the entertainment. Then Charlie met us for dinner.

Saturday we headed to Michigan. Patrick was really good in the car (he slept most of the way). Grandma and Grandpa C got the stomach flu so we were pretty low key Christmas Eve but Patrick put on his Christmas pajamas and we put out cookies for Santa. Christmas Day we went to church and then Patrick opened his stocking from Santa. He loves his sock monkey.

We had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Kacey, Uncle Aaron, and Nora the rest of the week. Patrick got his 6-month pictures taken, we visited Petoskey, Patrick tried sweet potatoes with Dad, and RELAXED. It was great to have the extra help and Nora and Patrick are really starting to notice eachother. We packed up for the weekend to go skiing and celebrate the New Year. Patrick got another cold so he was a bit fussy, but we were able to ski a bit and RELAX a lot more. The Wells family met up with us New Year's Eve. Most of us were in bed before the ball dropped, but we still had a great time!

Now we're back to the grind....at least Charlie is! I still have a couple more months. I know it is going to go by quickly! I am trying not to think about it. Charlie found out he passed the PE today! We are so proud of him. Quite the accomplishment passing it the first time especially since our house wasn't the most quiet, study friendly place over the summer/fall!

We're looking forward to our trip to Texas in February. Enjoy the pictures.