April 5, 2009

Yesterday we had a spring winter storm! Here in Iowa, weather is strange and sometimes these weird events happen! Brad and I both played at church (actually, they ended up canceling the gym services, so just Brad played). Anyhoos, Saturday night I told Brad we needed to ride together, because there was no way I was going to drive back home after church if we were suppose to receive what we were told that we were going to get. Unfortunately, the weather people WERE right w/this one! So, during the morning while we were at church, first there was freezing rain, then slush, then the snow started...and kept going and going and going. By the time we left which was a little before 1 it had pretty much stopped. Thank goodness! All though, during the process, the roads were HORRIBLE! They ended up having to close I-35 from Story county to Hwy 20 b/c of semis that had jack-knifed. Thankfully by the time we got back on road, Hwy 30 was pretty clear. (it also helped we were following a snow plow!) However, on our way home (which is about a 20 mile stretch) we saw 15 cars in the ditch! At least no one had a major accident! 

Boone received 6-1/2 inches of snow! UGG! Now need I remind you that snow has been completely gone for over a month! However, I'm sure it will all be melted w/in a week, because the temps are suppose to be back in the 50s and 60s starting tomorrow. Again, crazy weather! Of course, my husband was THRILLED having snow again. He likes winter :P 

Here are some pics!!! 

The sidewalk I shoveled (Yes, I volunteered to shovel!)

Close up of what I shoveled. It was HEAVY b/c the bottom layer was of a slush/ice mix. 

Which is why it came off the shovel as chunks!

The backyard

The grill

Bosco investigating

Taking a 'winter' photo w/our stocking caps

Back inside

(just wanted to throw in a photo of him sitting on his own! hee-hee-hee)

Strummer's New Pal

Yesterday Strummer and I drove to Ankeny to go play w/Holly and Brayden! As I've said in a previous post Brayden is just 3 weeks older than Strummer so it was fun having them interact with each other! I think our first playdate went very well! It'll be fun getting together again, especially as the boys get older and having more of a concept of playing together! :P  Here are some pics from our day! 

Brayden was nice enough to share his toys

Strummer was concerned on why Brayden was upset

Happy Baby

Another happy baby!

Pals

Brayden wanting to give Strummer a hug!

(yes, Strummer is a bit taller!)

Fruits and Veggies

Hmm...

I don't know

I think it's good!

This is a bit strange

I like it! It makes me happy!

But why am I so dirty?

The past couple weeks, we have introduced Strummer do the new textures of baby food! He seems to enjoy eating these new things! The first week he had peaches, which he really liked. The next week he ate green beans. The face w/the green beans was classic! He wasn't sure what to think, but he still ate them! Also - a green food does not look to appetizing when it's all over, oppose to an orange color :P

3-Month Photo Shoot!

My extremely talented brother-in-law Brad took Strummer's 3-month photo shoot! (all though technically, he had just turned 4-months, but close enough....hee-hee-heee)

It was awesome! Strummer was a bit tired b/c he didn't take a nap that morning, so he wasn't as 'animated', however the photos still turned out REALLY well! 

Thanks again Brad!!! It's so fun having a photographer in the family!! I will be looking forward to our 6-month photo shoot!  

BTW - I would totally recommend Brad for your photography needs even if he wasn't family! His work is FABULOUS!!

Here's the link the Strummer's photos. The password is: grout

http://www.bradleyjensen.com/pickpic/gallery/jump.php

(You can also click on the title of the post to go to his website)

Have a terrific day! :o)

Meeting Holly, Brayden and Nicole

Holly, Brayden, Strummer and I

Sara with her nephew and godson

Getting love from Nicole

At the end of the night

I LOVE my sisters!!!

A few weeks ago Nicole had a Pampered Chef/Premier Jewelry party...and my sisters and I ALL attended!! If that wasn't awesome enough, Holly and Brayden were there as well! So Strummer was able to meet new people. It was a lot of fun. I don't think I have seen Holly since her wedding (as crazy as that seems) and last saw Nicole when I was like 8 months pregnant. 

So - it was a GREAT night of reuniting w/my wonderful sisters and friends I hadn't seen in a LONG time! 

It was totally fun being able to see Holly and Brayden! Brayden is exactly 20 days older than Strummer, so it will be a blast getting the little guys together since they are SO close in age!  

So - THANKS Nicole for having a party! We were able to see old friends and I was able to spend some time w/my sisters....at the same time! Which RARELY happens!!!

4 Months Today!

Playing in the ExerSaucer

Rolling around

Rolling Around

In the waiting room

Showing my toe-sucking abilities while waiting for Dr. Parsons

Somehow he fell asleep during the 2 min. drive home. He stayed asleep for nearly an hour!

Showing how strong my back muscles are sitting high in the Bumbo

The cool new band-aids after Strummer's shots were all done

Today Strummer turned 4 months old! It's crazy how fast things have gone! So here are his stats from his doctor's appointment! He is now measuring in at 27 inches which puts him at the 97th percentile for height and 'heaviness factor' is now 15 lbs - 13 oz. Which puts his weight at the 50th percentile for his age. SO - incase you forgot how big he was when he was born. He has gained nearly 7 lbs (off by 1 ounce) and grown 5-1/2 inches in 4 months! He seems to be changing every day. Strummer is a very happy and animated baby! I'm always amused by the different facial expressions he has! He recently started giggling in the last couple weeks and it's SO fun hearing him giggle, along w/his many conversations he has! Just lately he has really start 'verbalizing his thoughts!'. He just LOVES to talk-talk-talk! 

Other things he has started doing w/in the last couple of months is: rolling over - he LOVES to roll! Tummy to back, or back to tummy, he's mastered the skill! He also does the 'inchworm' as I like to call it. He doesn't quite have the crawling figured out, but he will certainly scoot himself from one point to the other. Our kid is just made of muscle! He LOVES to stand. Recently we have started holding him up by his arms and having him practice walking. He has taken a few steps. If he realizes what he's doing, who knows. However he will move his feet forward! It's pretty crazy on how much he can already do! It also sounds like he says certain words like "mom" and "hi". He probably doesn't know what he's saying, but it's still fun to hear! Another recent 'obsession' of his are his feet! When he's on his back, he is always grabbing his feet, and w/in the last week, has started sucking on his toes! It's pretty humorous! He is SO flexible!! :P   He has also started taking interest in his toys. He seems to understand if he presses a button, it will make a noise. We have also had him start playing in an ExerSaucer and he seems to enjoy that pretty well! He also enjoys reading. We almost always try and read to him everyday. As long as he doesn't fall asleep, beforehand I always read him a big b/f I put him to bed.

Hope you enjoyed the pics from today! :o)

A Day of Visiting!

On Friday (February 20th) I had the day off. So - Strummer and I decided to go visit some friends! We headed out of the house by 8AM and first stopped at Ver Helst Chiropractic, where we saw Renee and Dr. Mark (Dr. Kurt was w/patients). They were excited to see Strummer, since they have not seen him since he was 2 months old! Then we were off to the office. Everyone LOVES it when Strummer comes for a visit! He always has so much fun and is always very 'helpful'. After that we were off to Jen Tevis' house! I had not seen Jen since I was like 5 months prego...I think. It's been a LONG time. So she had yet to even meet Strummer! We had a nice long visit and it was great seeing her and seeing her kids!!! Then we headed off to run some errands, while Shawn was running errands! The plan was to also meet up w/Sara, but unfortunately, that didn't happen. We certainly tried though! Our plans just didn't sync for the afternoon! Finally Shawn called saying she was back home! HURRAY! So then we headed off to Shawn's. Since we didn't meet until the afternoon, we also were able to see her hubby Matt and her other 2 boys Aaron and Noah! Matt had also not met Strummer! We stayed there for a bit to catch up w/things, and having the babies 'play'. Her son Micah is 4 months older. It was a busy-busy day in Des Moines, but we had even more fun to have later!  Once we arrived home and rested, it was time to head out again! We had a card party to go to! So, Brad, Strummer and I all went to the Johnson's house to play cards. There was even a special visitor! Nicole! My good buddy Nicole used to live in Boone, but just recently moved to Michigan after her hubby received a job w/the Coast Guard! She was back in IA for a visit and it was AWESOME! As the trend continues, she was the final person of the day to MEET Strummer! All in all, a VERY fun-filled day! Here are some pics from our day. (you can click on the pic to get a full size view!)

Playing w/airplane w/Natasha

Smiling at Sam while being held by Kelly

Helping Kelly w/her paperwork

Hanging w/Kailey and Kaiden

Playing w/Keziah and Jen

Posing w/Shawn

Chillin' w/Micah

Hanging w/Nicole