watch this

This is the coughing thing I mentioned in the previous post. Its his new thing. Plus, check him out in his new high chair. It has been SO NICE to feed him in this. And look how huge he looks in the bottom picture. Makes his legs look so long!

tis the season

Remember these pumpkins? Did I mention they appeared on our doorstep before halloween? Did I mention it was the sweetest little surprise as a gift from our landlords? And guess what, they did it again! Look at the beautiful wreath they put on our door and the fun little lights they put on the walkway leading up to it. We are so lucky to have such great landlords and friends, Kim and Seth. They have been so kind and helpful, and have become our new friends. We couldn't have hoped for it to be any better. It seems like every time they come down to visit or see crew, he gets so excited. And Seth has been the man behind all of these job opportunities for Jared. Thank so much for all you guys do, we LOVE living with you! I feel like it was meant to be!

And this is a shot in front of our tree. It reaches the cieling exactley! Guess you can't really see too much of it, but we have one!

seis meses

Guess who turned 6 months old? Our little baby Crew bird. He weighs 17 lbs 14 oz and is 27 inches long. The doctor said his weight is average, and his height is slightly above average. He's really good at rolling over now, and does it immediately after we put him on his tummy. He loves doing errands with me, and he makes new sounds and noises all the time. Today I was at the grocery store waiting in line and Crew was making this funny half cough/half laugh sound over and over. The lady next to me kept looking over and finally asked . . . is that your baby making that noise? After I affirmed she came over and he gave her the hugest smile while continuing to do his funny sound. His hair is coming in more and more and it sticks straight up in the back like a fuzzy little duck. He loves playing with his dad and his uncle Jared.And SOMEONE remembered and gave us a nice little phone call to wish Crew a happy 6 month birthday. Thank you sweek Kristen! We love you and we miss you.

to the park . . .

So you can see he is still little in that swing. The coat makes him look kinda top heavy with little legs sticking out :)

This is the park that is right across the street from our house. I had taken Crew a few times, but we finally got around to a family trip. It was really cold that day. And no, I hadn't showered.

Our Thanksgiving

We had a great thanksgiving with Jenny and Xing and their family. They have three adorable kids who were a lot of fun. On thanksgiving day we drove with them to Cambridge and had thanksgiving with their friend Chen Ying. She was so nice to have us all spend the night. We walked around harvard campus and harvard square that night. A really beautiful campus.

Boston Temple.

Chen Ying did a fantastic job on her first turkey. Her mashed potatoes were really good too- she used the recipe from the Pioneer Woman. Jenny made some delicious pies and a tasty sweet potatoe cassarole.

Chen Ying's house had a plaque on it - apparently George Washington spent the night there during the revolutionary war. Cool! Pocahontas even showed up!

My handsome boys.

With John Harvard. Everyone touched his toe so it was all bright. Ryan wanted Crew to touch it. Nice kicks Crew. Converse - thanks Grandma.

We had planned to go to Boston on Friday to see some sights, but unfortunatly I got sick and had to stay back. Ryan ended up staying back with me and Crew and some of the kids. Jared went with Jenny and Xing and got to do the freedom tour and see the USS Constitution. Overall, it was a really fun weekend.

Sitting

Sorry, please ignore my annoying baby talk.

He's a growing

Can't believe Crew is already 5 1/2 months! He's getting so big and so fun. We started giving him rice cereal and some baby foods. He still isn't really into the whole spoon thing, so I'm trying to be patient. He'll eat off of my finger, but doesn't really last too long sitting in the bumbo with his bib on. We're still figuring out how to make this work best. I think he's teething, because he has seemed a little extra fussy, and I can feel the very end of his sharp little tooth - on the TOP. I thought the bottom teeth came in first!?

Check out his evil right eyebrow (your left). The thing sticks straight up into a point no matter what I do! Its so funny!

On another note, I am in the midst of practicing making rolls for thanksgiving. Can't mess it up on the actual day and be left roll-less on Thanksgiving, right? I tried yesterday and the first batch was too burned, then I cooked the second batch too little and there was dough in the middle. I might try one more time today, but I'm about ready to go buy a bag from wal-mart because I'm pretty sure they will be way better, cheaper, and take 1/8th of the time.

Ryan is working hard in school, and has been doing really well. He teaches sunday school at our church every sunday - and he does a really great job. I get stopped in the halls every week by people telling me how wonderful he is, how he just has such a nice, happy, countenance, and what a great teacher he is.

Jared is in between jobs - his last job ended friday and he is on the hunt for a new one. His last boss gave him a very nice UN-SOLICITED letter of recommendation about how he did such a good job and was so pleasant to be around. Job prospects are looking good right now.

Love it

I finally propped the camera on a stool when he was super happy today to record the action. It took me a minute to get him to focus, but the second half of the video is pretty good.

Baby Steps

You know you're really progressing when you put your baby in the car, and leave him there long enough to push the grocery cart back where it actually belongs.

Halloweeeeeeen

I know, this post has too many pictures that are basically the same thing. But I had to get this one in because its the whole fam.I had to get this one in because he is cute.

Had to get Jared in on the action. Plus, I think its a good picture of jared. It really looks like Jared. You know how some pictures don't make you really look like you? He looks genuinely happy, so I like it.

Had to get this one in because Crew got so excited and jumped in this one.

And had to get this one for a good smiley close up of the nose.

Happy halloween ya'll.

He's a giraffe by the way.

A neck-less giraffe. And it was the cheapest costume I could find at Wal-mart (6 bucks). And I was worried all week feeling like I wasn't a fun mom who had planned their baby's first halloween since the day they were born with a creative home made outfit. But I realized that the baby makes the costume, not the other way around. And I was very pleased with the outcome.

talk like a man

Crew has been doing this more and more lately. He chats and chats away, its so funny.

jump baby

For Fun

Yesterday we were playing around taking pictures of us with Crew. We were trying to see who could make the best "Crew" face. This got me thinking, and I dug up some of our baby pictures from our wedding slide show. For your viewing pleasure: This one is included just because he is so cute.

Haha, I look like a creepy vampire or something.

When your baby is not done pooping. . .

and you attempt to change his diaper. This may occur: Is that totally inappropriate? I'm sorry, but Ryan said I should post it. I'm feeling nervous for some reason, like maybe I shouldn't do it. But you have to admit, it is kind of hilarious. That is some serious distance. Its like 2 feet! Anyway, now that I have an OK from Ryan AND from Jared, here it is for your viewing pleasure.

The Havens Visit

My mom got a contract for work in Ronkonkoma! Precisely the town we live in, so my parents got to fly out for work and a visit. It was so fun having them, even though it was only for the weekend.
Here is the whole happy group. We played Scum one night, which was pretty fun. Until my Dad and Ryan were the President and Vice president for the whole game, and started talking in fancy english voices, and being overly proud of their achievements. Then I started being a sore loser.

Crew watched a little football with Grandpa.

Couldn't resist mom. We were trying to get a Crew to smile, so my mom was tickling and trying to get him all excited. This is the only pic he is smiling in with both my parents, but I think its cute of my mom too. It makes you look so fun, mom!

It was so fun having you visit. Crew misses you already.

The White Coat

This last weekend, Ryan had his white coat ceremony at school. The pictures may be deceiving because he didn't actually recieve his white coat. He already had it, and had been wearing it for certain required occasions. They just officially put it on him at the ceremony. Apparently, most schools have this ceremony at the beginning of the semester. I think that might have made the white coat part of it a little more exciting. But it was still fun to be there.
This lady was in charge of the hand shaking, as well as puting on everyone's coat for them.

Adventures in Motherhood

Few can truly appreciate the significance of these photos. Our dear son was born loving his tummy. We suffered at first, because we slept him only on his back. But it wasn't too long before he became accustomed. He soon loved sleeping on his back, arms and legs completely sprawled. His newfound love for back sleeping caused him to hate tummy time. Oh, he hated it. I tried and tried, and all he would do was rub his face in the floor, stick his arms straight out, and scream. He would seriously last like 5-10 seconds before he was completely angry. And then he would be grumpy until I fed him again. Because of this, he didn't always get the full amount of pediatrician prescribed tummy time in day. I tried everything. Pillows, rolled blankets, the boppy, I layed on the floor with him, talked, sang, played with toys, and even layed him on my tummy. I started feeling like such a bad mom for not being more persistent earlier on.

But last week, something just happened, and all of a sudden, he got it! Now he can officially go onto his tummy for a duration of time without crying, and come back onto his back, STILL HAPPY! Yahoo. I feel so relieved, and so proud. Proof that he can do it? Two happy tummy time pictures in two different outfits on two different days.
He has some weeks where it seems like he changes SO MUCH. His hand eye coordination has changed so much this week. He is a lot more precise when he grabs, and claps for things. We put his mobile close above him just to watch him grab a hold of the animals and pull them right towards his mouth. The destination of choice. And when I drive I can hear him grabbing hold of the toys hanging in his car seat. So fun.