Thanksgiving week

This was a wonderful week full of friends, family and good food. Who could ask for anything more? To begin the week, Hunter continued to grab my face. You can see that he's holding my glasses, because he was constantly pulling them off of my face. How do I think I got an eye infection to begin? :-)



Hunter tried bananas for the first time, and I think he agrees with his Daddy about this fruit. He's evidently not a big fan! I just had to capture his disgusted face because I think it's SO cute.

Alexa and Brian were in town from Seattle. We hadn't seen them since their wedding in August! Brian is definitely ready for a little Hunter of his own, and thoroughly enjoyed playing with our baby.

Alexa was pretty taken with him too.

The Thanksgiving scene: We were lucky enough to have Terry Parker join us! That means both of Hunter's grandpas were with us for his first Thanksgiving.

Here is Terry holding our tired (but precious) little guy.

Surprise face?

Gramma Susie with our little guy

Before Thankgiving Hunter was in a different outfit...this is me and him on Thanksgiving Day. I was so thankful for him!

And here was Daddy and baby being thankful for one another. Hunter is going through a phase right now where he is definitely obsessed with his Daddy. It's VERY cute, but not helpful when I'm trying to feed him or something, and Brian is across the room.

On Saturday night we went on a walk (yes, we're real party animals). Here is Hunter hanging out in his Baby Ergo. I LOVE this thing!

On Saturday we got to see Kaew and Eric. Kaew was visiting from Seattle (are all of our friends in Seattle?!). Kaew is also very excited about having babies and enjoyed playing with Mr. Adorable

With Aunty Kaew

At first this picture looks like a mistake, but I was trying to capture how funny my son is. When we go out in the car, Thor, Nala and Hunter sit in the backseat. Hunter tries to grab the puppies as they move around in the backseat. This is Hunter's little hand reaching out in an attempt to grab a handful of puppy fur. How quickly they learn! They know how to stay just out of reach.

Jeff, Susie and Brian on Thanksgiving (after a vacuum demonstration).

On Sunday we went for brunch and a walk with the Burkes. Here are the proud Daddies with their little sons.
This was Hunter's first night at Lawry's. Brian was very excited about sharing this tradition with his son. SO here is Hunter sitting on the booth beside me....notice how hungry he looks - I think he wants some prime rib! (No he did not get any).

And one of my favorite things - Daddy and baby snuggling in bed on a Sunday morning. How cute!!!

Mommy and baby at dinner. We don't even like one another, in case you can't tell! :-P

Hunter can pull himself up to a stand - watch this video!! Amazing!!

Baby keeps growing....and growing...and growing

Hi there,
Last week I didn't take a lot of pictures, mostly because it hurt to be awake. I love being a mommy, there is nothing better than waking up every morning and knowing that you get to spend the day with your precious little bundle of joy. That being said, there are no sick days in mommyhood. Last week I needed a few sick days. Brian was nice enough to stay home on Tuesday and Wednesday, but by Thursday I was on my own again. And it was rough. Anyhow, excuse the lack of pictures from last week, but I have some from earlier this week and today.



This is at home on Monday morning. Hunter promptly pooped on his pants and needed to be changed, but he was cute while it lasted. He really likes doing this with the ball. Maybe he wants to be a seal and perform at Sea World?

Dare I say it, this is what mid-November looks like in Manhattan Beach. unter and I went for a walk on the Strand and I couldn't resist taking a picture of my beautiful town.


And then Hunter took a nap..is this not the CUTEST outfit? Yay for Siberian Huskies!!

These following pictures are from My Gym. He loves to go to his gym and play with the other babies there. Our class is pretty small (6 mommies, 4 this week). He's on the older end of the spectrum, so he has to start another class in December (7-12 month). We really like the people in our class though and have been making plans to hang out with them outside of class. Actually, on Friday we went to a pot luck with them.

Hunter LOVED the trampoline. I jumped over him and he laughed and laughed. He even started jumping with his legs, which showed me that he understood that I was doing the same thing that he likes to do!

Then he went on a space shuttle, which is like a zipline but for babies. Look how grown up he is!

Yesterday we went to the Farmer's market. This is Hunter's "pimp suit". He looks like such a little man in it, and the ears really add a special something...

On Monday night Emily and her boyfriend, Alex, brought over some dinner. It was great to see her and to get to know Alex.

Tuesday night he played on his play mat.

The dogs can't seem to get enough of him lately...I'm getting used to it, but still don't love all of the licking. Hunter ADORES the puppies and is constantly reaching for them. He even puts his little fingers in their mouths and they just lick and lick.

One o fmy favorite occasions of the day is nursing. I love the bonding that takes place when we just look into each others eyes and he eats and is comforted by mommy.

Do you think his winter coat is too big? It was on sale, so I had to buy it!

Playing in the curtains

So, our little man is starting to move, slowly but surely. He'll get up on all fours and then crash onto his tummy. He mostly likes to roll onto his back and then backwards scoot across the floor. I can get him to forward tummy scoot if I tempt him with his favorite toy, my cell phone. Watch and see!

Unfortunately, Hunter is also figuring out how to pull himself up...he's gotten onto his knees so far. I am discouraging this activity because I'm not ready for a cruising baby - I can handle crawling, but not cruising.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I hope that everyone is taking the time to count their lucky stars for all that they have. I hope everyone will take inventory of all that they have in their lives. It is not what you have, but WHO. Keep that in mind. Many people are losing their jobs, their savings, their houses. it's sad, but so long as your loved ones stand beside you, you can get through just about everything. So, be sure to let those around you know that you appreciate them. I appreciate all of you, my friends and family, who take the time to read my weekly blog. I am MOST appreciative, however, for Brian and Hunter. They have taught me so much about life and love and without them I would not be who I am today (for better or worse).

This is mine and Brian's EIGHTH Thanksgiving together. How crazy is that?!

The eye

Yesterday....

Today...

Hunter's 6 months old!

Hunter has his 6 month birthday this week. It is amazing to me that he is such a grown up little boy!! He's very interested in dentail hygiene, as you can see in this picture of him chewing on his toothbrush. It's actually a GREAT teething toy!

On Thursday we took pictures for the Holiday card. This is what I was wearing.

Brian spent a lot of time bonding with our little man this week. I love watching the two of them interact.

This makes Hunter laugh hysterically. Brian has a way of making Hunter a very happy, laughing baby. Of course, it isn't too hard considering what a happy baby he is anyways!

My adorable baby fell asleep while nursing. Isn't this outfit SO cute?!

Bridget and Keegan at lunch on Saturday. We went to Hennessey's in Hermosa with Brian and Morgan. Then we had dinner with them later in the evening. It was a very fun day.

This is how Hunter sleeps. I know it's controversial to have toys in the crib, and to use a blanket. However, considering that our parents put us on our tummies and gave us blankets, I think it's okay. I'm not a big stresser - I know he's a very strong baby and could get things off of his face if he felt they were blocking his air.

Our good friend Dana came to visit Hunter. SHe was thrilled to finally meet the little guy, and you can tell that he's thrilled to be in her arms.

While we were waiting for Dana, Hunter wanted to practice his driving skills.

On Thursday while we were taking CHristmas pictures, Hunter wanted to practice standing. He's almost pulling himself up to a stand already!!!

The fires were not close to us, but somehow all the winds blew the smoke over the South Bay. This is what we saw on Saturday after lunch. Later we noticed that it was raining ash and quickly went indoors.

At the Burke's house on Saturday night we watched the football game - Go Booty!

Hunter reaches for Keegan - they're the best of buddies already.

Hunter started to get really tired, but Keegan was still up like a little party animal. So, I put Hunter to sleep in Keegan's crib.

After he slept in the crib he fell asleep again on the couch. His onesie says "Little man of the house" - and oh, how true it is!

This is the little face that greets me when I open up the car door. Who can resist him?!

This is the ash all over a car parked in front of our house. We took this picture on Sunday morning, but the ash was still raining down.

Does this count as Hunter "feeding himself"? The pediatrician wants me to give Hunter oatmeal cereal to provide him with Vitamin D and iron - my breastmilk no longer has enough to support him. He REALLY likes the oatmeal though, so it's not a problem. His favorite food so far is peas, but he also really likes carrots.

Hunter and I playing on the floor.

Hunter is up on all fours and rocking!! How long until we crawl?! I am SO proud of my little man.

Bath time! Isn't he the cutest little bather ever.

On Sunday night we had dinner with the Calef's. Look at how big my niece is! She's drinking out of a straw!!

The cousins are bonding...kind of. Hunter is really more interested in the table at the moment.

Then he wanted to hold her hand. How cute!

Then, as usual, Hunter passed out at dinner. I can't say it enough - HOW CUTE IS HE?!

Because we go out of town on Christmas this year, we will not have a Christmas tree. When we saw a tree in the town center area, we went and took Christmas pictures.

Sorry this took so long to post! I actually uploaded all of the pictures on Sunday night. I didn't have time to do this on Monday and then yesterday I woke up in excruciating pain in my eye. I have come to find out that I have an ulcer in my eye which is making it impossible to see out of it. I can't drive (or shouldn't) so I'm stuck at home. When your eye doesn't work, it isn't much fun to watch tv or anything - it isn't even that much fun to play with the baby because it hurts to focus on the toys!!! Thankfully my magnificent (yes, magnificent) husband is taking good care of me. He took me to the doctor twice yesterday and will take me again today. I took a picture of the eye, so I will post it to gross out all of you.

Next week is Thanksgiving and so I've been thinking about all the things that make me thankful...and there is a long list. Of course, I am thankful for my hubby and my baby - my house and my dogs. I'm thankful for my family, myfriends and for the beautiful weather we have here in So Cal (it's about 80 degrees outside right now). I'm thankful for my life as it is - even if I have an ulcer in my eye, it doesn't change that my life is near perfection. I hope all of you can think of the things you appreciate and share them with your loved ones this holiday season