A Boy & His Dad

Doesn't get much better than this!

The WHAT Squad???

I must say, it's a tad bit disheartening to look out my window to find this sitting across the street:


Now, I imagine if there were any real threat of danger, I would've been notified by the officials to promptly grab all that is dear to me (i.e. son, photo scrapbooks, possibly the cat) and evacuate the premises immediately. So, since no one came to my door bearing any resemblance to an NNU or bomb squad official, I stayed inside my house and wondered to myself what they might be searching for. The only conclusion I came to: They were making sure the building across the street ~ the one that used to house science laboratories with who-knows-what-kind of chemicals inside ~ was clear for it's new day-time inhabitants. I'm sure the Social Work Dept is grateful.

Oh yeah, and I'm sure I would've grabbed the cat. ;D

November's End

I don't know if you're aware... but we have such a big boy now! And he's still so cute! He's 2 days shy of being 11 months old already! I just can't hardly believe it!! In a month, we'll have a 1 year old!!!

Here he is, sitting on the floor in front of the fridge, playing with a magnet that holds his photo. In the big picture, he has a look on his face that I haven't seen before... And it makes him look so grown up. I don't know why... maybe because it looks as if he's explaining something to me that I should understand, but don't. Anyway, I love it. :)

Sunday Pics

You can't really tell from this angle but Mac decided to let go of the fridge... and for half a minute, he was balancing on his own!! Walkin' is just around the corner - I'm sure of it! And I'm pretty sure Mac's ready for it! :)

Mmm, I think I'll try the Flaxseed Oil caps again. Those were pretty tasty last time.


Take a knee gentlemen... here's how it's gonna play out: Mac, you swipe the Ranch...

Mmm (pucker), this stuff (pucker) is so (pucker) gooooood!!! (pucker) ;)

Thanksgiving, Revisited

Since we ended up getting a turkey... but didn't need to cook it on Thanksgiving Day because my sister was cooking her much larger bird... we went ahead and cooked it today: the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It's kind of a "re- post- Thanksgiving Day meal," if you will. And this time, Brent decided that he wanted to fix most of the meal. So I let him. He even stuffed the bird! I don't know that I've ever put the stuffing inside the turkey before! I'm so focused on other things, it's always just an afterthought. Well, I must say, it turned out fabulously! It looked perfect! Way to go, Brent! Now you can be the one in charge for every Thanksgiving Day meal!! ;) He also cooked the potatoes and the corn. Yummy! I was the one who mashed the potatoes and made the scrumptious gravy from the turkey drippings!! (Probably the best gravy I've ever made, if I do say so myself! And I do!) And I just had to bake some sweet potatoes too. All in all, it was quite the feast for the 3 of us. We had plenty of left overs... just the way Brent likes it. ;D Also, since I allowed Brent put the giblets into the stuffing, he broke down and ate a few bites of the sweet potatoes that I cooked. What a trade-off, huh?? Here's what it all looked like:

Even Mac thought it was all pretty tasty. The turkey was still somewhat chewy for him... but he thoroughly enjoyed the stuffing and sweet potatoes! He even liked the jellied cranberry sauce! Yay, Mac! :)

Now it's time to go for a walk... or do some Christmas shopping... or something to get out of the house! Don't really want that turkey-coma to hit us again today. :)

Searching

For what? I don't know. Perhaps for the Christmas gifts that he'll never find... because they're so cleverly hidden... on the floor... in our room... in plain sight. ;) Maybe he can't find Henry, our cat. Who, by the way, has been seemingly warming up to Mac lately. Anyway, I just thought these pictures were so funny. Taken randomly of Mac movin' around the place, of course. But it looks like he's on a wild goose chase with the pictures all in succession like this. :) Enjoy...

Happy Thanksgiving!

We did things a little differently this year. My sister, Jodi, thought her kids would be spending most of the day with their dad so we ended up doing a Thanksgiving Day Brunch. They came to our house at about 10:30am and we made a slew of yummy breakfasty items: French toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, cinnamon rolls, hot chocolate, orange juice. YUM! Some played games while others helped with getting brunch ready. It was a wonderful morning! Since the kids ended up not leaving so soon, they stayed a little while longer to visit and play more games. In the meantime, Jodi had a turkey baking at her place and a pie baking here at our place for dinner later.

At about 5:30pm, we all went back to Jodi's place where she graciously hosted the Thanksgiving Day Dinner. With all the kids still there, Jodi, her boyfriend Joe, and the 3 of us... it was quite a gathering in her not-so-big place! It was cozy, however, and the food was great! We didn't stay too long since we had already made plans to get together with some friends later in the evening for dessert and games.

Brian and Jamie came over at around 7:30pm. We played Dominoes, ate pie and drank hot apple cider until quite late. It's always fun getting together with them. We all had a fabulous time! Today just proved, once again, that there is so much to be thankful for!

Mac & Mom

Apparently Brent felt it was necessary to capture me in the same fashion that I most frequently capture him. Figures. ;)

Oh, and, not funny.

Sleepy-bye.

Just a couple more sleepy-time shots of a boy and his dad. :) I remember when Mac was just half the length of his dad's torso!! My goodness, how they grow! And so quickly, too.

Piano Playin'

We've had this piano for at least an entire year before Mac was born and haven't plunked even one note on it!! (I suppose it'd help if we could read music in order to play the silly thing.) So today, I thought I'd clear off the lid and open 'er up. Now that Mac has been pulling himself up to a standing position for the last month or two, I wanted to see if he could reach the keys. Might as well get some use out of it... even if it is just an overgrown toy for right now. Sure enough - he could reach! And he loved it!! Now I'm just praying that he continues to love it and wants to learn how to play as he gets older. :) He was having so much fun with it... and it was nice to hear even the miscellaneous notes that he was "playing," I've decided to leave the lid open. Perhaps he'll return to plunk out a dissonant A/B combo once in a while. ;)

Restaurant Firsts

We made a last minute decision to grab a bite to eat at a cheap pizza place after church today. And since it was unplanned, we hadn't brought any of Mac's baby food jars with us - only a bottle. So, we thought we'd give "having his own plate" a try. I gotta say. It wasn't half bad! We gave him cut-up bites of cheesy pizza and a few items from the salad bar like: peas, tiny ham cubes, shredded cheese, peaches, and pudding. It was a hit!! Especially the ham cubes. He loved those! :) Oh yeah, and he's figured out how to drink with a straw! Smart boy!

Mmm, soooo yummy!! :)

Look Mom, all gone!

Ok, I really am done with this now.

Look at me! Drinking from a straw!! All by myself, even! :)

Is it time to go home yet?? :)

A Few Faves...

I love the mellow sleepy-time pics. They remind me of peaceful times. ;)

Then this morning, as I'm changing Mac's diaper before church, he decided to try a new game! After I removed his diaper and wiped down his booty, he quickly turned over and started standing up! Well, I was curious to see where this would lead, so I let him go. He just stood there, holding onto the edge of his play yard, and turned to look at me as if waiting for me to "get" him! I eventually played along... but not before snapping a classic:

:) He's really got the cutest little bum! :D

Follow The Leader?

Mac's not used to this game yet. I think he wasn't quite sure what to make of being followed while crawling. Plus, he may have been getting a little sleepy at this point. It looked like he was laughing and having a grand time... but the laughter quickly turned to crying and wanting to be held when he pulled himself up by my pant-legs. Poor little fella. :)

Cousin L.J.

I think it's safe to say that Mac is fascinated with his cousin LJ! Of course, he loves it when anyone will sit down on the floor with him... so he thoroughly enjoyed having LJ come over and play! ...How does this toy work again??? :)

More Mail

Mac got his 1st Thanksgiving Day card today! I'm pretty sure he enjoys opening his mail... although, it can be a challenge to see if we can reach it first in order to read it before he starts chewing on it! ;) Thank you G'ma & G'pa Jackson and Aunt Shawna!

Everyone Wants In

For some reason, if there's a closed door, either the kiddo or the kitty want in that room!

Yes, we've arrived at the point in a family's life when it's time to baby-proof... Everything! And what can't be or hasn't been baby-proofed quite yet remains hidden behind the notorious (yet ingenious) "closed door."

Now I realize that keeping doors closed to keep kid out means cat will inadvertently get shut out... or in (whatever the case may be)... occasionally. And that, I'm sure, is hard on a kitty who's used to coming and going whenever he so desires.

Today, Mac wanted in the bathroom and Henry wanted in the bedroom. Aww. Poor guys. :) Maybe tomorrow. Then again, maybe not.

I'm Not Sure...

...which Mac likes more: reading the books, or eating them. :) Either way, he does enjoy a good book! ;D

Just...

...another darling picture of my adorable son! :) Hangin' out in the play yard so mom can get stuff done. ;D

Winter Coat

Well if this doesn't keep him warm and cozy, I don't know what will. :) We got the 12-month size so he'll have a little room to grow... and hopefully it's the only coat we'll have to buy this winter. We had to make a slight adjustment to the car seat straps because of his increased girth with this thing on... but otherwise, we're good! And if you happen to see someone carrying around what appears to be a small-ish, blue Michelin man... don't worry! It's prob'ly just us, toting our son in his new winter coat. :D

The Scary Duckling

I tried. I did everything I could think of to ease Mac's nerves about this big, inflatable, yellow, duck bathtub. I thought it would be so fun for him to take a bath in a duck! The baby in the picture on the box looked like he was having fun. I was sure Mac would enjoy it! Regrettably, no.

And another thing. The picture on that box was completely deceiving! The baby looked to be about Mac's age, but he only took up half the tub. I think they must've had him sitting on a chair too, because the floor of the tub looked to be higher than it actually was. Mac's bum went clear to the bottom of that tub and he took up the entire thing! He probably would've been too big for it by the time he got around to liking it! :\ Figures.

But before we deflated it to return it tonight, we had to get a picture. Daddy had to be sitting right next to Mac in order to even get him inside the silly thing. And we had to distract him with the remote control. Ok. One picture. Great. Now let's go.

I can think of a couple ways to better spend $10.49 anyway.

Hooray!

... for yellow monster shirts. :) I just thought Mac was being so cute today. He thinks it's fun to raise his arms over his head now. He's been doing that a lot lately. And I think it can have specific meanings for different occasions. In his high chair, for example, raising his arms could mean that he's done with lunch and he wants out. And that's most likely the case here... but I took pictures before setting him free. You're welcome. ;D

Another New Hat

It's one of those cozy winter hats that comes down over the ears. (I'm pretty sure I'd even like to wear this kind of hat... that is, if they even dared to look good atop this massive melon on my shoulders! But, alas, hats and I have an understanding.) Anyway this one was such a deal because it came with mittens! Even better when dealing with below freezing temps! And it's so darn cute on him, I just had to show you:


Next stop: A nice winter coat to keep him bundled and warm! :)

Santa's Little Helper

I'm not sure if he's helping me search for the deals... or if he's making his own wish list. But he was certainly having a grand time with the newpaper! Did you know it makes a really cool crinkly sound if you grab hold of it right in the middle and wave it up and down? :) I think at one point he may have even thought it was his shirt - or a cape - because it looked like he was wearing it! Oh what fun it is to play...

Winter Is...

... just around the corner, you know! Here's what we woke up to this morning:

I realize it's just a dusting... but it's snow nonetheless. We were even out late enough last night to be driving in/through it. And at that moment, we were thankful that we had the foresight (and weather forecast, I suppose) to change the tires last weekend. In a world that doesn't come to a stand-still when it snows a few inches (unlike most parts of western Oregon), it's nice to have our trusty snow tires when our little corner of the globe becomes white. :)

So Like Dad

Seems like there's something new every day. Another surprise that Mac has up his sleeve. Continually giving me reason to say: You are so your father's son!! Today, this:




If you know Mac's daddy, you know what I'm talking about. I'm kinda surprised he's not juggling in this shot! That'll come next, I'm sure. :D

Gettin' Around

Mac is so mobile these days... it's downright nerve-wracking! :) He's been doing the "real" crawl (hands and knees) now for a few weeks and he's getting pretty fast at it. He likes to spend as much time as possible on his feet too... which means he's bound to be walking soon! (Too soon, I'm sure.) Even when left to "wander" around the house somewhat aimlessly, he still moves with gusto - like he's on a mission! Perhaps he feels like he's "broken free" and needs to go see everything there is to see as fast as he possibly can before he's in the clutches of someone's arms again. Otherwise, he may never get the chance! So today, I followed him. ... Through the hallway ... To the bedroom ... To the bathroom ... To the high chair. Busy, busy boy!! And I'm, as always, snapping photos along the way. ;)