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Henry is crawling!!

One last chance to say Merry Christmas!!

I want to brag a bit about Jim's handcrafted mantel.
Jim took a fallen Juniper tree from our family's ranch and took it from a raw piece of forest to a gorgeous and refined piece of furniture! I just love it!

O Christmas Tree! (I'm sorry, I still don't know how to flip vertical pictures!)

Here is a Christmas tree complete with our new Pennsylvania Flyer train set that Grampop deBeaumont sent for Jimmy and Henry. I'm sure it will be a Christmas tradition for years to come.

Here is Henry as baby Jesus during Christmas Eve service at Dody's church!

and us...

This baby is MOVING!
He's all over the place.


First he was just doing pushups and figuring out how to turn in a circle.
Just in the last week, he has figured out how to pick his hands up.
He's even pulled himself up a few times... like here on Christmas day at Papa & Ninis'...up on those tiptoes!

Go Susquehannock Warriors!

6 month checkups

Well. He's a healthy growing boy! 6 months on the 17th.

Height: 25 inches
Weight: 15 lbs. 6 oz
Head: 43 cm

All in line with his earlier growth in 50th/75th percentiles.

It's beginning to feel like Christmas

Hey Mikey, he likes it.

Looks like he's ready for something serious to really sink his chompers into. hee hee

The eating frenzy begins!

I think I know why the boy has stayed so lean. Now that he's moved into solid food, he just can't get enough. It's like his appetite went soaring into hyperdrive. They recommend starting slowly with one meal a day for awhile, but he just isn't satisfied with that. So we bumped it to 2 yesterday and might need even more. Sweet Potatoes have been a big hit. Now we've moved into Pears. He likes them, but does seem to make a lot more faces and gags. Maybe its a texture thing. You gotta see his faces. We'll try and get a video soon.

So much to be Thankful for

We enjoyed an absolutely splendid Thanksgiving together here at our new house. Our first Thanksgiving. Jim did an unbelievable job on our Pitman farms turkey complete with a sage rub and plenty of basting. It was truly the highlight for me. Coming in a very close second was Ayla's delicious pumpkin pie. Everything turned out just beautifully and tasted just as well.

We have been truly blessed and it felt amazing to take the day to reflect on it all. We are so thankful for our new home, for its warm fire, and endless local wood supply from my dad, for our beautiful and healthy baby Henry, for the health of our families, for 2 cars, for grandma babysitters and aunts and uncles to spoil him with love, for our pets, for salmon fishing and deer hunting, for big sisters, for work and its continuous supply of income, for Southwest Airlines direct flights to Baltimore, and for art and music and good good food. For all of this and much much more we are so thankful.

We celebrated the moment by giving Henry his first solid food ... the inside little speck of a sweet potato. He gummed it down like a champ. So... we have now graduated into the world of solid foods and not looking back.

Happy Veterans Day, Daddy!

New office updates

I didn't end up finishing in that one weekend I was shooting for...but here's the latest.
Phase 1:
We were able to paint the walls and we bought the new desk (wood door and cabinets).

Phase 2:
This past weekend Jim installed the shelves (Thanks so much, Jimmy!!)... don't they look great! And I've officially clearing out the brown desk, to which we are selling (anyone interested? $100 and its yours!). I've been pecking away at clearing off the computer so I can give it back (it's a loaner). It's painfully slow... I download onto a 2 GB thumb drive, then transfer to the PC and burn it to a disc and back to the MAC for more ... any ideas how to do this faster/easier??

I've got most of my books for teaching up on the shelves and out of their boxes... such an amazing feeling to get organized after months of being here and a month of teaching.

I also brought my herbs in. I like them here in the sunny window and they are close to the kitchen for easy access.

Phase 3:
Finish the transfer of files and give back MAC and sell brown desk.

Phase 4:
Install some kind of homemade bench/couch/reading/napping nook where brown desk currently is.

Catching up

Hard to believe its been over a week since our last entry. A busy week indeed. Last week, Henry went in for his 4 month checkups. He's just a picture of good health. Length: 24 1/4 inches.(@ 2 months = 23 inches)
Weight: 14 lb. 10 oz. (@ 2 months = 12 lb.4oz)
Head: 41cm (@ 2 months = 39 1/2 cm)
Doctor said he's staying in the same percentiles... 50% for height/75th for weight. But it looks to me that he's leveling out a bit.

The doctor encouraged us to start him on solids within the next month. I've been reading up (Thanks Wendy for the GREAT book!) and getting schooled on how you do this properly. Visions of me feeding Ayla a baked sweet potato for the first time are haunting me ... she loved it, so I kept feeding it to her and KEPT feeding... I figured she'd stop when she was full ... she ended up eating the WHOLE thing and then her right eye swelled up and started oozing and her face, chest and knees broke out in a rash. Not to mention the sweet potato bombs in her diaper the next few days. So, at least I know how NOT to do it. ;)

This is Henry's newest thing. When you pick him up, he leans back a bit and holds his arms open wide. So symbolic of his approach to the world. He's just wide open... taking it all in. I have to watch it cuz we've knocked things over not realizing how far out he's reaching!

Also last week was the finale to Ayla's fall volleyball season. It was a nailbiting clincher to the very end. Her team was matched up with the #1 team and really played well against them. They lost the 1st game. And were ahead most of the 2nd game until point 20. Then it was neck and neck points until Ayla's team scored 25 and they thought they had won it... but realized they needed to win by 2 points. All of the parents and team members were on the edge of their seat! So it was Ayla's serve (can you believe it!!) and she served beautifully, but her team didn't get it over giving the other team the advantage and eventually the win. Ayla played amazingly well and was having a lot of fun. She said their final game was the most exciting game she'd ever played. Go girl!!

It's time for more birthday wishes!

Henry would like to wish both his grammy's... Janni and Granma Joan... a very Happy Birthday to you both! With today being the 15th... Jan's birthday was 2 days ago... and Joan's birthday is in 2 days. So... HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY WISHES!!!! love, Henry.

Little precious

We've had a bit of a rough week. Mama's been working a lot, which makes me tired and extra emotional. Yesterday it all came to a head after dropping Ayla off at volleyball, after hearing him cry the entire 45 minutes of us fighting traffic back to our house, and my supervisor calling to see why I wasn't at work already. I lost it. And in my time of desperation and need, Jim couldn't have been sweeter and more helpful. I am so blessed to have such an amazing husband.

The deal is... I am so hypersensitive to having to wake sweet Henry up from his restful naps to go barrelling down the highway. I'm stuck in that "life's just not fair" feelings. I think the fact that I'm not happy about being in the car all day might be the true culprit.

We also tried to transition Henry to his crib which went fairly well, aside from the multiple trips up and down the stairs for mama. I've decided its just not worth it at this point. I'm just not willing to give up sleeping with Jim or my own bed yet to sleep downstairs on the extra bed in Henry's room.

Some great news is Henry has been rolling over for the last few weeks. We still haven't captured it on video to share, but will do when we get the chance. He's such a strong and happy baby. Henry and I have started a "Mommy and me" class on Friday mornings. I love the group of moms. They are all around my age. Just what I needed... a support group for both me and Henry. 2 good things.

Amongst all the chaos and emotional breakdowns.... there's always this little precious face that just melts my heart. Enjoy the pix.

So cool

Oprah did a show on this new cookbook by Jessica Seinfeld called Deceptively Delicious. I'm sure my mom has been doing this for decades, cuz it just makes perfect sense. She purees vegetables and "sneaks" them into familiar kids (and adults!) recipes. I'm always talking to Ayla about getting her 5 fruits and veggies a day... sometimes its really hard. But with recipes like chicken nuggets and mac 'n cheese that have veggie purees hidden in them is so smart. Such a cool idea, I just love it!

I admit, I tried this idea once a year or so ago... I pureed kale and put it in spaghetti sauce. It didn't fool Ayla one bit. I'm sure the fact that the sauce was a black/brown color didn't help. ha ha.

I can't wait to try these out.

Happy Birthday Sissy Ayla!

Big sister Ayla turned 12 on Wednesday. We had a great day celebrating her. WE LOVE YOU AYLA! When I was 11 or 12 I got my own checking account complete with an official DMV ID card. With checkbooks taking the backseat these days... we opened Ayla her own checking account complete with debit card. Happy Birthday big girl!

Tomorrow we are heading out to the ranch for a campout party and sleepover in a huge tent. Should be a really fun time. Let's hope the rain stays away!

More like mom or more like dad?

You decide...

Remember little buddy Jude?

Well... little Jude aint' so little anymore. He's pretty much neck'n'neck with Henry around 14-15 pounds. He's a shooter! 6 weeks younger and catchin' up fast. They are so cute together and are always finding each others hands. Don't they almost look like brothers?

Happy Birthdays!

Yesterday was both Henry's Aunt Susu and Aunt Cindy's birthday! It was such a hectic day here we didn't get the chance to tell everyone how much we love them and wish them the best day!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR SUSU AND CINDY....
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

We need more pictures of you, Cindy! Sorry...
(Cindy is standing behind Aunt Linda in red.)

A day off

3 weeks ago today I started back to work... and I haven't had a day off since. If I wasn't working on-site somewhere I was cramming my curriculums together for teaching. I won't teach again until NEXT Thursday night, so I have a whole week to recoup. So far, I've celebrated with a well earned nap and tummy playtime with Henry. Oh the joy of actually being able to focus and play with him again without the dreaded list of to-do's squeezing the fun out of it.

With my new found freedom... I'm going to tackle the office and its new look. I'm going to prep tonight and actually paint tomorrow and HOPEFULLY assemble on Sunday for a total makeover weekend. We'll see how much I can actually get done during Henry naps.

Just so we can marvel in its transformation... here's some before shots of the office:

Teething time

The pediatrition said we shouldn't be worrying about teething until 6 to 8 months, but I'm convinced that Henry is going to be sprouting his teeth earlier. He's drooling like crazy, constantly putting his fists and fingers in his mouth, upset at "nothing" and wanting to nurse a lot but not really eating when he gets there. The funny thing is when he chomps down on things... he wants them in the back, near the molars. I'm guessing its just because of the pressure. It's tempting to want an xray to see just what's going on in there.

Jack, Amy, Samuel and "kernel" have made it back safely from their trip to Colorado. We've missed seeing the whole family at Sunday night dinners, so it was great to have them back!

I had another CRAZY week last week. I taught 3 new curriculums. I was super busy trying to get them together in time. This week is just 2 nights and one is a review night, thank goodness. Also this week,I officially begin my training and work with Margaret and her Quickbooks business... I'm SO looking forward to this new job and working with her. I'm also looking forward to getting my office setup. I've been trying hard to gather all the pieces, now its time to assemble. We are going to paint, install shelves and a new desk, and simplify down to one computer. I canNOT wait to get everything together and FINALLY unpack all the office boxes that I've been wrestling with for weeks now trying to find all my teaching materials.

Today is Uncle Eddie K's birthday... HAPPY BIRTHDAY NEWLYWED ED!

What a full week

* I worked nearly every day in some way. Yay!

* Jim finally put in a normal work week after MANY overtime weeks in a row.

* Ayla had her second volleyball game and has been challenged to get organized with her heavy 6th grade homework load.

* Dody watched the kiddos while Jim and I had a datenight on Thursday. It's amazing how a few hours alone can feel like an entire vacation together. Thanks Dody!

* We had a beautiful time this weekend celebrating my little brother Edward at his wedding to sweet Abbey. Friday night was the rehearsal dinner out at the Salt Lick. So yummy and a beautiful evening. Saturday was the wedding.... Abbey was so gracious and gorgeous. Such a treat to be a part of their weekend. We love you both so much and wish you a lifetime of happiness.

* Saturday was also our sweet dog Max's birthday, so today, Ayla insisted we take him out for some celebrating. There's no place on earth Max would rather be than at the Ranch... so we packed up a picnic and let Max have a birthday romp. He swam, and ran, and rolled in everything he could find. He LOVED it. Jim caught a few fish and tested out his waiters he bought for his salmon fishing trip next month. Henry had a great time hanging outside in the buff. (After a big poop, I realized I didn't pack any extra diapers... oops!) Dad and Jan saved the day with a spare at their house. HAPPY 7th BIRTHDAY MAX!





I am exhausted with such a full week and weekend, but grinning from ear to ear all the while. This week is a little more low key during the days... but I'm teaching 2 nights and all day Saturday, so I've got a lot of work to get that info together.
Yall have a good week! ~ Mama s