HO, HO, HO

The bub was not at all scared of the Jolly Old Elf

that showed up at the church Christmas party.

I suppose it was that familiar twinkle in his eye

or the fact that he sounded a lot like Daddy.

Mommy just couldn't resist either.

mobility is a mixed blessing

The bub is not yet crawling, but I will put him down on the floor in one spot and come back to find him somewhere different. He sort of wiggles, rolls, rocks, kicks, squidges, and wills himself wherever he wants to go. At the moment his chief desire is anything made of paper...

...like the do not remove tag under the chair.

He removed it.

Sometimes this less than coordinated effort ends in frustration.

Such as, when the arms and legs get all tangled

and that sparkly Christmas tree ends up being all poky and stuff.

I think we have the makings of an Olympian

Bathtime is one of our favorite times.

So is play-on-the-floor time.

Especially if the bub can get ahold of paper!

Dress up is really only fun for mommy!

Optional clothing is always fun too.

here is tired, happy, and cold mommy

A First Halloween

So I had this great idea that I would make/find a gorilla costume for the bub, give him a barbie doll, and make myself an Empire State Building costume out of boxes and tinfoil.

In the end, I had enough on my plate being in charge of Trunk-or-Treat,

so I bundled up Ian in his Pooh bear suit and markered his nose.

He is still just as adorable.

(I went as a tired, but happy mommy.)

a joyful life

Fall has come to Ohio and winter is stepping on its heels.

We have spent the last week processing and canning 5 gallons of the yummiest, sweetest, all-natural applesauce for the bub.

He helped too.

Later, I caught these moments...

"Mo-om!"

Tickles...

Daddy knows just where they are!
I also giggle at Jack and Bailey, mommy, and sometimes myself.

Mom can't get enough of me either...especially after my bath!
Ohh! If you could smell this!

4mos, 17lbs 2oz

And sometimes I just get too pooped!

Fat and Sassy at Four Months

What the bub has been up to...

1) Hiking in Hocking Hills

2) Grabbing everything within arms reach

3) Grinning and giggling

4) Standing

5) Eating solid foods

What he has no desire to do:

1) Roll over

2) Sleep through the night

Communication 101

Enough said!

In other news, the garden is finally winding down. We still have a tableful of tomatoes, but are happy to let the grasshoppers finish off whatever they please. We harvested the corn. Due to the drier cooler summer, the yield was not nearly what we had last year, but we have a little for the winter. The bub seems to be enjoying the harvesting too.

We also finally got the glass for our coffee table. Derick found this table for $15 but it had no glass. The quarter inch tempered, glass was about $50. Not really a hardship, but we just hadn't bothered. It turned out to be more of a bother than we thought. Tempered glass can be very temperamental. (I once sent the pieces of a large pane of it flying all over the basement of the BYU Bookstore, but that is another story.) Well, after four trips and some decent grinding, the beautiful table is finally in our living room. Consequently, its arrival necessitated a larger rug, which we found for $35 at Menards. Not bad.

Another First

For those of you who are unfamiliar with The Way of the Hicks, let me enlighten you. Every yard has a charred circle somewhere where various unwanted items are discarded to be burned. When the pile is as tall as a man, it's time to douse it in gasoline, toss in a match, and invite all your friends. Usually, the occasion is accompanied by a sinificant amount of alcohol. For us more sober types, however, it becomes the quest for the perfectly browned marshmallow--crisp on the outside, gooey on the inside, no char. You know it's a good blaze when you here the sirens. Couches and chirstmas trees usually produces quite a show. We took advantage of the unusually cool weather and indoctrineated the bub.

And this one is for you Granny!

Here! Giant hungry caterpillars! Just eat the rest of it!

Oh, sometime about March, usually when I am sick of eating mealy, tasteless, store-bought tomatoes, and paying $2/lb. for them, I dream of a lush, green garden burgeoning with lucious fruits and veggies.

Come April, I delight in plunging my hands into the rich, dark soil

and gently nestling each tiny seed in its own spot of earth.

Then, I water, and watch, and pray.

Come end of May, time for transplanting outside, and my tiny sprouts still look pathetically frail, I pray harder.

Then come the thunderstorms and the weeds.

Weeding, weeding, always weeding. Weeding and watching. Watching as the buds come on and still dreaming of those juicy, ripe tomatoes.

Then, everything grows overnight.

Numberless cucumbers and beans are pulling down their trellises, hulking zucchini are lurking just under all those leaves, and then the tomatoes!

Oh the tomatoes! They are bursting their cages.

Endless legions of red!

I have pickled, boiled, blanched, and stewed,

and still the wagons, and baskets, and counters are full!

Now in the heat of August, I have lined them up on the front porch to sun

and secretly hope that a passing car will stop and steal them all.

If this doesn't happen, I may just begin to launch them into the street!

I would rather be doing this:

and a little of this:

New Skills

I was asked what do I do all day if I am not going to work.

We play...

in the tub...

on the bed...

The bub is learning to lift up his head and roll over.

He does not like performing for the camera

out on the hammock with Bailey...

Alright, so we take naps too...

Lots of naps!

We play peekaboo...

and we are learning to talk (and spit!)

We do get out of the house occasionally.

We love playing with our family!

Swimming, smiling, and stuffy noses

(Sorry, I didn't flip this before posting, so it looks like Ian is dangling from the air. HEHE)

This week brought hot weather and the bub's first swimming lesson. After 4 ton of sand and 18,000 gallons of water, Papaw Graf finally got the pool up. Ian took to the water like a duck. He didn't even mind getting his head wet. In fact, he tries to turn his head to the side so he can drink the water. Mom is so relieved. She doesn't know what she would do with a boy who didn't like getting wet.

We don't have any pictures from the pool yet. Balancing a slippery, wiggly, wriggling thing and not completely soaking the camera is not something I have accomplished yet. The bub has also begun to really smile, and mom has yet to catch that elusive picture. It usually comes in the wee hours of the morning just after a good feed. He stares at me contently with those big blues and then cracks the hugest toothless grin.

With the heat, came an increased pollen count. So, the weekend brought sniffles all around. The bub thought I was killing him squirting saline up his nose only to suck it out again and then pounding on his back and chest. I had to keep reassuring him it would make him feel better.

Yeah right MOM!

Daddy didn't feel good either. I think the bub is telling him that Mommy will make it all better.

.

Growing like the weeds in our garden

I love these little feet!

They are the longest feet I have ever seen on a baby.

He also has the uncanny ability to spread out his toes

--just like his mommy and his aunt Sariah.

Though he enjoys sleeping in mommy and daddy's soft bed,

he has successfully slept through the night in his own cradle.

On July 5, 2009, Ian was given a name and a blessing by his father. Derick's parents, brother and family, and Grandma Goldena came to see. All of mommy's family that could make it were there too. It was a beautiful day. Ian was blessed with peace, a desire to follow the Lord, and the Spirit to be with him all his days. He was also blessed to be a light to those around him.

He is definitely that to his family.

The bub blew out the back of his diaper. Mommy calls it the "Tectonic Bum."

Derick's Mom and Dad

Just for your viewing pleasure.

He makes the funniest faces.