Our first family Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with our Ada and Will and a house full of family and friends. "Auntie" Dana's family was here from Seattle, Grandma Cindy and Chip, Aunt Carolyn, and "Uncle" Ian's mom Vickie, added to our usual crew. "Uncle" Tony barbecued a turkey, James and "Uncle" Ian made prime rib. The rest of the herd chipped in to make quite the feast. "Uncle" AJ's individual pumpkins for dessert took the cake...

Our most special Thanksgiving guests were our very dear friends Hayley and Thayer, who made the trip from Seattle to meet Ada and Will and spend the holiday weekend with us. Catching up with them was a perfect excuse to stay bundled close to home, in pjs, make an extra pot of coffee and take leisurely strolls to the park. Also it was wonderful to have their loving hands to help with twin patrol AND kitchen patrol! They are missed in more ways than one. Guys want to move in?!

This Thanksgiving, Ada and Will have opened a world of gratitude in our lives that James and I could never have imagined before them. Cheers!



















In our Thanksgiving best



















Little Thanksgiving meltdown. I think Will looks like such a handsome gremlin in his sweater vest. :)



















Will wanting his turn at Thanksgiving Bocce ball. A beautiful desert Thanksgiving, 63 degrees and sunny!















Ada and Will didn't quite make it to dinner but enjoyed turkey leftovers the next day. Gobble Gobble!






























Baby attack! Hayl and Thayer baby juggling like pros.















Couple park swing shots courtesy of the Fishers. Pink hi tops courtesy of Ada's awesome mom.





























Ada learned to clap while Hayley and Thayer were here. Now if you say "Ada yaaaaaay", she claps her hands together in little girl delight.



















Sipping from a straw, no big deal... Will doesn't really get it yet. He will just chew on my straw. Ada, sip.















Morning Will....what cha doin' there?



















Ada also has a new game where she like to stretch tall, arms up, and throw herself down onto whatever is in front her--James or I, Tully, a pillow pile. She then promptly looks around to see who saw how hilarious she just was.






























Sharing, playing with dad's stethoscope before work.















The Will point.







































Ada tornado. Girl does. not. stop.















Desert mornings are getting a little chilly. James papoosing Ada in his fleece during morning plant rounds.
















The week after Thanksgiving our house was plagued with our first real baby sickness. Will had a 104 degree fever on Monday that persisted, despite antibiotics, for most of the week. Pediatrician says ear infection, by mid week he broke out in a classic roseola rash. Poor babe was miserable and spent most of the days and nights close to us.



















Auntie Rachel was a big help, came Monday and Tuesday to cuddle Will in his fever, and distract Ada from her mounting cabin fever. Rach is a Thanksgiving miracle!



















Baby boy feeling better!

November 2010

We have had a busy month. It started out with Nana and Papa Ludin coming from Wisconsin for Grandpas birthday. We had a great, long weekend together--at the farmers market, Sunday dinner and football, REI run, plant nursery, and a fun birthday dinner at Margaritaville! The following weekend our friend Kristen came into town for some R&R and mommy practice, as she is 30 weeks (30+ now!) pregnant! Ada and Will got lots of snuggles with her here, walks, and play time in the park! Ada, Will, and I also took a day trip to Payson AZ, in the mountains, to visit my work buddy Joyce, who had her daughter and grandson visiting. It was our first time meeting Tyler who is just a couple weeks older than Will and Ada.

November is a beautiful month to live in the desert. Will and Ada love being out and around people. Will is standing unassisted, and James and I saw him take a first step! He doesn't seem to get that he can get from point A to point B by walking though. He'll spend minutes standing in place until he wants something even a step a way, then quickly gets down on the ground to speed crawl to it. He waves hi and bye-bye, shows us and gives us things like his toys, and looooves to point. He wakes up pointing--at me, the ceiling fan, the dogs, the microwave. Points all the way to his bedtime bottle, pointing to his nightlight, the clock, a frame....

Ada Marie has learned to imitate sneezing. I didn't think she could do something cuter than sneezing until I heard her imitate me (fake) sneezing. She is turning into quite the joker. She will fake sneeze, toss a toy, or squeal, and promptly look around to see who is laughing at her hilarity. She is also a little monkey, darting all over the house--in the dishwasher, linen cabinets, clearing off end tables, baskets... She presently has a quirky obsession with the refrigerator. When she sees it open she speed races over to it with all her might. When it closes before she can get into it to dig inside, she throws a fit, yells, cries, and stomps her fists and feet. Like she cant believe the injustice of us keeping the contents of the fridge from her.

Funny "toys" they are into include a marinade brush, our PETCO pals card, and a bottle of bath oil.

Oh, and Will and Ada turned 9 months old!

Here are their stats:

Will: 18lbs 14oz (24 percentile), 29.25 inches (82%), head 45 cm (42%)

Ada: 18lbs (35 percentile), 28.5 in (82 %), head 44.5cm (67%)

Enjoy!















Grandma time. Ada trying to make one of her classic get-aways, this time across the porch table.















Story time.















Here, one of like twenty attempts at a booty shot to show off their booty decor. Getting harder to hold two wiggle worms at once. Ada thought this was hilarious fun.
















Papa Al's birthday dinner at Margaritaville. Will and Ada at the head of the table.



















Moms with babes. Will be trickier next time holding three :)












Swinging in the park


































Will and Ada with their buddy Tyler.



















Love to share food. Up to 3 meals a day, and eating most foods.


































Goofing around with dad in the morning.

Next series depict a typical morning for Will and I. We usually have the house to ourselves from 5a-6a before even the dogs get up. Here playing with his bath oil in the dog bowls.













































































Ada and Amy smiling at James :)

The many faces of Will

In my photo review this week, looking for Halloween pictures, I couldn't help but notice how expressive our little boy has become in these short weeks. I wanted to dedicate an entry to the many faces of Will. Boy sure wears his heart on his sleeve.