Vampirette

This morning was kinda hectic because Holden decided he didn't want to go down for his morning nap until 11:15ish. He woke up at 7:10 and usually goes back down within 45 minutes to 2 hours. He was yawning and fussy but he just wouldn't go to sleep, and he didn't want me to put him down or be more than two inches from him. Meanwhile, Adi wanted my attention also and she decided she really wanted me to paint her face. I ended up putting Holden in his walker and placed it right next to me and began on Adi's face. I was able to get half of it done and then Holden decided he was over the walker. I finally got him down for a nap and then finished Adi's face. None of this would have mattered much except for that I was meeting the girls for lunch at noon and I still hadn't showered and I was still in my pj's! It always seems to work like that on the days I have somewhere to be. Anyway, here's the little Vampirette - not too shabby for my first time! :)

7 Months

Holden turned 7 months last Friday, July 24th. He just had his well-baby checkup and he is doing great. He weighed in at exactly 20 pounds (almost a 2 pound gain) and is still 27.5 inches long. He didn't grow in length at all! Poor little dude might be a shorty like mommy and daddy. No, actually the doctor said it doesn't mean anything right now and that he could have a major growth spurt and next time be 3 inches longer. Here's to hoping he's tall like Gramps and Great Grandpa Gerald! Let's see, Dr. says he is constipated. He went from 7 in a day to one every 4 to 7 days. He has a lot of difficulty going still so doc says to continue with the suppositories and the "P" foods, such as pears, prunes, peas, sweet potatoes, etc. I can also give him some diluted apple juice to help. He got 3 shots today but seems to be handling them pretty well. He did seem a little warm and a little extra clingy this evening so I gave him some Tylenol right before bed. Hopefully he'll sleep ok. Just got his two bottom teeth in the last week! The right one came up a week ago Monday and the left one just popped through on Tuesday. He's such a smiley boy and we are having soooo much fun with him. He really seems so much happier than the first 4 months of his life.

At 7 months Holden loves to jump up and down (over and over all day long - quite the arm and back workout), play on the floor with his toys (most preferably with someone sitting with him), bounce on a knee, swing outside, swim in the pool, and tickle sessions. He's very vocal and can say mama and dada pretty well. He's fascinated with the fan in our room and the vacuum (I put him in the Bjorn yesterday and he helped me vacuum the house - he loved it and I got something done - win win!!). He's not crawling yet but he is working on pulling himself up. He started doing it in his crib so we had to lower the mattress. He might follow in daddy's footsteps and skip crawling altogether and just walk, but who knows? He has been going down in his crib every night for the past few weeks. Now that he can roll over really well and hold his head up I put him on his tummy to sleep and it has really helped. He'll go down anywhere from 45 minutes to 3.5 hours for the first chunk. I usually nurse him and then put him back in his crib, which lasts anywhere from 20 minutes to 1.5 hours and then he comes to the couch or bed with me where he nurses off and on until morning. His dislikes include getting his diaper changed and getting dressed, oh and being in his car seat for long stretches at a time.

I say this every month and it's so true, I can't believe he's already 7 months old! Holden is the light of my life and I am having so much fun with him. My favorite noise is the sound of him laughing. I can't get enough. Some people are against bringing your baby to bed with you, but I absolutely love waking up next to his smiley face!

Playing with his bus - one of his new favorite toys

Our Monkey boy! He loves when we make monkey noises.

Grabbing onto the table to pull himself up....

Working hard at it....

And he's up (with just a little help from mommy)...

Yay! Look at me - I'm standing!!

The eyes that melt mommy's heart

Wharf to Wharf

What an experience! One I will never forget! Megan and I signed up to do the Wharf to Wharf race in Santa Cruz so we packed up the kids and our moms, piled into Meg's car (yes, 4 adults and 3 kids in car seats) and were Santa Cruz bound on Friday morning. The house we rented was really cute and right in the heart of The Village in Capitola - just a block from the beach! We had a great time....sunny beach, margaritas, shopping, wine, and mimosas! Then came the race on Sunday. We had to be in Santa Cruz by 7 where we caught a shuttle from the parking garage to the wharf. The race started at 8:30 so we stood shivering for over an hour. 15,000 people run this in race from all over the World, including Olympic hopefuls. Can you imagine 15,000 people running on a two lane road? I couldn't either and it was crazy! We lined up at the 9 minute per mile marker and it took us 5 minutes to reach the start line after the gun went off! Yes, 5 minutes and 18 total to finish the first mile!!! There were so many people that we walked most of the first mile until it finally started to filter out a little. We had to step it up a bit since we started off so dang slow. Oh and there were 56 bands that were stationed and playing all along the course - that was cool and really did energize us. We finished in just over an hour and I'm happy with that, especially considering how slow the first mile went. I made the goal to run in this race about 2 or 3 months ago and I reached my goal - yay!!! I hope to do it again next year too!

Cool Mohawk dude!

Gramma and HJ chillin' in their red fleeces

6:30 AM- just about to leave for race

They took our picture with about a half mile left - that's Meg's hand on the left

10 minutes after the race

Fell asleep next to Susie - so cute!

One more trip to the beach before heading back home

Fun With Food

My son is a typical boy - very messy! He gets so dang messy while eating solids. He much prefers his food when not mixed with cereal and I can get quite a bit more down him. But most of it ends up all over him. Check it out...

Yummy carrots!

Sissy feeding him squash

Ut oh! We turned our heads for a second and he got the bowl!! Squash was everywhere!!

Arizona

On the 4th of July we took a trip to Arizona to surprise Jeff for his birthday! Despite the humid heat (it's monsoon season right now) we had a great time! Holden did great traveling, too! I was a little nervous as it was my first time on a plane with a baby but he fell asleep for about an hour both ways and we were able to entertain him the rest of the time. I don't know how he will do when he can walk though - he won't want to sit down. When we got there on Saturday, Kimberly picked us up and we met Jeff's family at the house. We had a couple of hours to relax before heading to Jeff's game to surprise him. Holden freaked out on the way to the game. Lance and I had never heard him this upset and it sorta freaked us out. I think he was just exhausted from traveling and being over stimulated. I got him to calm down and we made it to the game. We walked up to the game and Jeff saw all of us and was completely surprised! It was awesome! The game was sooooo hot and I got Holden to fall asleep in his stroller for a bit. Then we headed home a little early so we could get the kids to bed and head out to the sports bar. I was very hesitant to go because Holden usually wakes up every 45 minutes to an hour or so and I didn't know how he would react when I wasn't there. He ended up sleeping for almost 3.5 hours!! I didn't have to leave the bar (I only had half a beer) until just before closing time! On Sunday we just hung out and went to the pool and bbq'd. On Monday we hung out and Kimberly almost killed me on a run/walk because we went at 11:00 when it was 105 degrees! I am not used to working out in that kind of heat and in the direct sun so I got very hot and dizzy. Thanks Kimberly! :) That night we enjoyed watching the Bachelorette, eating frozen yogurt and drinking a few much needed glasses of wine!

First plane ride! Just landed in Arizona.

Surprise Jeff!!

I've gotta get one of these little couches (I did!)

Ri Ri being silly!

Emmy and Holden playing together. She is definitely taller than him but he is definitely thicker than her and a little bit heavier.

These pictures crack me up because it looks like he is holding up the mirror for her to see herself. But in reality she's watching him eat the mirror and thinking how she might like to try that too. They just kept taking the toys from each other. Each wanted what the other had.

Hanging out at the pool. I sat in the pool with Holden and he loved it! He had a blast splashing in the water.

More Pictures From Coast Trip w/ G&G

Got some more pictures from mom and dad....

Gran & Gramp's Summer Visit

Gran and Gramps came to visit this July. They were here for a week and they got to see the kids get baptized, Jim and Lance played golf, we shopped, and headed over to the coast for a few days. We had so much fun, as we always do when they are here, and were so sad when they had to leave. Thank you for everything gran and gramps! We love you so much and miss you already!!!!

Ready for bed

All bundled up because he just loves to be outside more than anything.

The houses we stayed in each had a hot tub and Adi couldn't get enough of them! Here's our cutie pie having a ball.

Playing with Gran & Gramps

Enjoying his second only teething biscuit!