6.5 months

So much has happened in one month!! Jalen has tried a couple new foods and is basically crawling - does the army crawl count? He's still working on crawling on all fours, but getting close. Today I finally got an idea of why mom's always tell me to enjoy the days of being able to put him down and leave him. I turned my back for just one moment and found Jalen was already inches away from crawling onto the dog bed and playing with the vacuum cord. Time to baby proof everything!! We still enjoy going to Gymboree each week where Jalen get's a chance to see his friends and practice his skills. Papa came to visit Martin Luther King weekend, which was wonderful. We always love it when family makes the trip to see us.

He loves carrots!

Full and happy!

The best part of feeding babies is the cute little mess they make.

Peek-a-boo

Jalen and Papa

Tickle that tummy.

Mommy and Jalen

...and he's out.

Jalen LOVES his cousins!!

Prior to Christmas Jalen got together with his cousin Ellie and cousin Ayden to take pictures for the grandparents. Here are a few of our favorites...

"Goof-Ball"

Home For The Holidays

It was a very special Christmas!!! Spending time with family in Idaho and celebrating Jalen's first Christmas was incredible. Jalen was so excited that Santa came to visit him at multiple houses this year...what a lucky boy he was! He had a great time opening presents and was especially entertained by the paper and bows...with a delayed response to his actual gifts.

Family photo on the McCall lake

All bundled up for a walk to the lake.


Ellie was loving the snow and was such a champ.

Devin and Scott with the little ones.

Auntie Abbey making Jalen giggle on Christmas Eve at Grandma's.

Naughty...

and Nice

Great-Grandma (GG) reading to Jalen.

Merry Christmas Jalen! We had such a great Christmas morning at Papa's house.

Who needs all those Christmas PJs when you look this cute wearing next to nothing.

Vandals are number 1!!!

Papa and Jalen playing peak-a-boo.

Grandma Kellie reading to Jalen.


What a nice Santa to come visit Jalen in McCall too!!!


Jalen and cousin Ellie hanging out in their Christmas PJs (both loving the caroling piggy).



What's even better than opening all your presents...playing with them the next morning!

Happy 39th Anniversery Skip and Linda - CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

Papa and Jalen after dinner at Auntie Aubrey's

Jalen and Elliot

Stephanie and I have been friends since we were 2 years old. We've seen each other through every milestones...the first days of kindergarten, junior high, high school, and college, new jobs, new homes, and marriage. One of the most amazing milestones we have ventured through together is motherhood. I can't believe we are now parents and watching our own children play together! It's so fun to see Jalen and Elliot interact. Here are a few shots of our visit over x-mas break. Thank you Stephanie for a great breakfast and morning together.

Getting Ready For The Holidays

The last few weeks have been very busy for us as the holidays draw near. We had fun decorating the tree and house, shopping for presents, and preparing for our trip to Idaho. We joined our mommy & baby friends for a little x-mas party, attended work x-mas parties, visited Santa with Drew Reinke, attended Jalen's daycare x-mas program, and went to the Portland Zoo for their "Zoo Light" display with some friends.

Zoo Lights - waiting for the train.

Santa was so nice to work around our busy schedule...he dropped off Jalen's present before we headed to Idaho.

Jalen was so happy Santa cam to visit!

Shopping after seeing Santa.

Enjoying lunch with the Reinkes.

Jalen did a good job sitting on Santa's lap (sneaky little thing though, trying to snatch a candy cane from Santa's basket).

Jalen and Drew weren't too sure about Santa.

If you look closely, you can see Little Santa had something to say...he had enough of the picture taking.

Jalen with all his buddies.

Happy Birthday Grandma!

My mom's birthday was Friday Dec. 18th, but we celebrated on Monday when we were all together. It was great to see everyone and play with the kids. Happy Birthday to Auntie Annie as well, they were gone in Atlanta for the weekend, so we hadn't seen her yet.

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Auntie Abbey and Auntie Ari getting their snuggle time with Jalen.

Uncle Dan and Auntie Aubrey with Jalen.

Raindeer Ayden

Grandma with her two grandboys.

Ayden had Jalen laughing all night.

It didn't take much for Ayden to get Jalen laughing. He would just smile and play with him a little and Jalen started his "old-man" laugh.