First Thanksgiving

Sitting on the fancy table (with a little help from daddy)
Stuffed after eating so much yummy food

Mom and Eric
Jeff, me, Grandma Hargrave

Daddy is so silly!
The beautiful and festive Thanksgiving table setting

I am thankful for all the people in this room

My Grandpa is the greatest!

Yesterday Nicholas celebrated his very first Thanksgiving. He's too little to eat turkey...but he did try some yummy carrots for the first time! We had dinner at my mom and dad's house which was so scrumptious that we stuffed ourselves! Later in the day we went to Chris and Eva's house for even more delicious food and played some games until mommy and daddy had to take our little sleepy boy home and put him to bed. It was a great day! We are so thankful for all of the blessings in our lives-especially our family and friends!

Baby's First Baketball Game

Mommy and baby watching daddy (sort of). Nicholas seemed more interested in his froggie rattle!
I'm just so happy to be here!

Court action
Man, watching those guys run so much makes me thirsty!

Daddy dribbling the ball

Tonight Jeff was invited to kick-off the Washougal High School basketball season by playing in an alumnae game. It was the even grad years against the odd grad years with Jeff playing on the even team. The evens were up about 8 points the entire game until the end and they had trouble making some of their final shots. The final score was a tie: 55 to 55 and it was really fun to watch! Both Nicholas and I were impressed with Jeff's skills...he played great and made most of his shots!

Baby Babble

I have just started noticing that every single word I say around Nicholas ends in a long 'e' sound. Here are some examples of words I use on a daily basis: blankie, binkie, nappy, sleepy, baby, silly, froggie, beary, bathy, story, bookie, diapey, duckie...ok, I think I'll stop now. I could probably go on and on, but I think you get the idea. Jeff informed me that I have been talking like this since Nicholas was born, and I think it's kind of funny that I didn't even realize it until he was six months old! Now I am hyper aware of my speech and try as I might...I just can't stop the baby babble! Oh, I'm sure when he starts acquiring words and repeating them I will pronounce things correctly, but until then I'm just having fun making up silly words for our little guy!

On another note, our poor baby caught his first cold and has had a runny (there I go again!) nose for two days. He's such a sweetheart though. He hasn't been fussy at all and just keeps smiling and playing all day. He has been taking longer naps, but other than that you wouldn't even know he wasn't feeling well! We are lucky to have such a laid-back, easy-going baby.

Baby's Half Birthday

Today is Nicholas' half birthday-he's 6 months old! I gave him a present by letting him play with some "new" toys. The blocks have been sitting on his bookshelf since before he was born and my cousin, Koby, gave him the musical turtle which has been there just as long. He loved laying on his blanket and reaching for the blocks and was happy to find out they jingle when you shake them! He also liked looking at the turtle that makes sounds and sings songs when you press its buttons.

It has been a wonderfully delightful 6 months of parenthood and I have treasured every moment I get to spend with our son. Here's to the next 6 months which I'm sure will bring us even more joy and laughter!

6 Month Check-Up

Long and lean
Yum! Green beans!

Boy are these good!

Trying out the sippy cup

Today Nicholas had his 6 month check-up with his pediatrician. He has grown a lot in length...he is now 27 inches long so he's in the 70th percentile for height! Yay! He's taking after his daddy! He only weighs 14 pounds 11 ounces though so he's definitely a long and lean baby. Tonight he had his first taste of "real" baby food-green beans-and he loved them. He gobbled them up as fast as he could! Dr. Thompson suggested we started introducing him to a sippy cup so it's easier to get rid of his bottle after his first birthday, so tonight he had his first try. He's not really sucking on it yet, he just likes to put it in his mouth and chew on it, so we will keep trying. I cannot believe that our baby will celebrate his half birthday on Thursday...where in the world does the time go?!

The Many Faces of Nicholas

Joy
Tickle smileConfusion?

Peace

Contentment

I need some privacy here, please


These photos were taken my my best friend, Lyndsey, who was here in August for Nicholas' baptism. She is a talented photographer who is starting her own company and working on finishing her art/photography degree. She captured so many of the adorable faces that Nicholas makes on a daily basis that I just had to share them!

Night Out for Mom & Dad

Jamie Rist and I
The birthday girl, Brenda, and myself

Jeff's longtime friend, Brenda, turned 27 this week so she invited us to her birthday celebration on Friday night. We had a yummy dinner at her apartment then headed to Chopsticks to have a drink and listen to other people sing karaoke. I love to sing...but usually just in my car...not in front of a whole room full of strangers! My parents were kind enough to come to our house to watch baby Nick so he could sleep in his crib and not have to be disturbed when we came home. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Marriage Blessing

Father Gillette blesses us
Exchanging rings

Prayers of the FaithfulEveryone who celebrated with us

Jeff's family who attended

My family that attended

Jeff and I had our civil marriage blessed in the Catholic church last weekend. It was quite a long process...we started all of the preparations back in March! It was a beautiful, inimate ceremony and Jeff and I both appreciated having our family there to celebrate with us.

Wedding Fun

Family of 3 all dressed up
The Bride and Groom with the Best Man and Maid of Honor

My little brother Eric

Yesterday we attended our good friends' wedding. Ryan was like a brother to me when we were growing up and he finally married the love of his life, Anne. We had a great time at their wedding and enjoyed visiting with many friends who we don't get to see very often. I would have taken more photos, but Jeff accidentally put my camera in Nicholas' baby bag and when my parents took him home they took the camera with them. Oh well...we really enjoyed our evening celebrating with good friends! Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Simms!