Alistair's Many Christmases

Alistair thoroughly enjoyed his first Christmas again and again and again....he endured 5 Christmases in all and did a really good job! Saturday started off with Martinson Christmas (usually celebrated Christmas Day) on Fox Island. Fun was had by all as we enjoyed a delicious meal and opened presents. Alistair got to size up his cousin Carrie - she is 3 months younger than him and they are the same height and weight (Alistair is small for his size)!We stayed the night down there to save driving back down the next day as Christmas Eve was celebrated in Graham with the Harris clan. We had our traditional Seafood Quiche which was delcious as always. Then we headed to church at St. Thomas in Bellevue for Christmas Eve Mass at 7pm. We celebrated with Slade Gordon. We don't know if he is a regualr member or was a visitor as we have never seen him there before - he may usually go to the earlier mass on Sundays.

Christmas morning we got up and opened gifts at home. Alistair didn't quite get the whole opening presents thing and we didn't go overboard on giving him stuff since we would just have to turn around and unwrap what we wrapped! (: We then headed back to Fox Island and celebrated Christmas with my family. Both Natalie and Alistair were loaded down with presents from Papa and Nana (the rest of us didn't make out too badly either!). Alistair got a cool animal train set and a cuddle and learn puppy. His two big presents were a Radio Flyer plush bouncy horse from Nana & Papa and a Tickle Me Elmo Extreme from Uncle Jeff, Aunt Michelle & Natalie (although I am pretty sure it was all Jeff's doing!). The horse is quite popular with Alistair...he loves to sit on it and bounce and try to chew on the handles, etc. The Tickle Me Elmo he is not too sure about it, but it is quite entertaining for the rest of us! Sadie doesn't care for it, but that is no big shocker! Next time you are over, please ask for a demo! Natalie wanted to see Alistair in his Gingerbread costume, so we put it on him and she agreed to hold him and pose for some photos. She seems quite enamored with him all in all. After Fox Island we headed to Olympia for our final stop. We had a nice time with the family, opening silly stocking stuffers and some great presents. Alistair was showered with clothes and more toys. His favorite gifts at this stop was the puppy blanket his Grandma made for him. It is one of those small blankets with a stuffed animal head and arms attached to it. It is very cute and quite soft!

We got home today. Seth has the rest of the week off and we are tackling some projects around the house. Christmas was fun and it is hard to believe the holidays are over! Alistair will be 7 months old on Saturday. He is getting to be a big boy, where did the time go?

Ho! Ho! Ho!

We took Alistair to go see the Nordstrom Santa in downtown Seattle last Wednesday. What a haul! We got downtown and in line at about 3:20 or so and at about 4:40 we finally got to see the big man! We were on pins and needles the whole time waiting for Alistair to break-down because he was 1) fed up with not doing anything and/or 2) Hungry. But much to our delight, neither occured and he enjoyed people watching (as did we) and just taking in the lights and decorations around us. When we got to Santa, Alistair just looked at him with his big eyes. The photographer showed me where to place Alistair once he got the picture framed. When he gave me the greenlight, I set Alistair down on Santa's lap. For a split second I thought he was going to loose it, but he didn't and instead started looking around and immediately checked out the person holding him. Seth and I flanked the photographer and began trying anything to get Alistair to look our way and smile - clapping, making faces, making funny noises, the whole bit. We did get some smiles out of him. I resorted to running up and tickling him under the chin. The photography studio sent us 2 different photos - I think they were torn on which pose to send, so they just sent both! He is smiling in the other photo, but looking up at the ceiling (there were twinkling christmas lights). The best part is that Santa sits in a store window and the line wraps down that way, so I am sure we were a good show to watch while waiting for their turn! All in all I think Alistair enjoyed meeting the infamous Santa...but if he is anything like his mommy, that will all change in the next few years!

Hennessey Refugee Camp

This has been quite the end of last week and now beginning of this week. After the incredible wind and rain storm left most of Western Washington without power, we were fortunately left standing with our power. We did lose it for all of 4 hours Thursday evening, so we went to Canyons and had a leisurely dinner and watched the pathetic Seahawks game. We are usually less fortunate since we are in Snohomish County - our neighbors behind us in King County (the county line is our fence) have power when we don't. However the tables were turned and seem to still be. Because we do have power, we are lucky to be able to help out our friends and family. Gabe, Ranae & 7-day old Sully are out of power and most likely won't have it back until Monday or Tuesday. So they have been staying with us since Friday afternoon so Sully has a warm place to be. Carolyn and Njord didn't have power Friday either and they also sought refuge with us. They did have it back last night, however Jen (Ethan-less as he is in Germany) didn't and came up to stay with us. She may be back tonight, but she is hoping they have power. Tomorrow night Seth's dad returns from a long weekend trip to visit the Minnesota relatives (Judy is on a work assignment in Detroit and met him in MN) and will come to stay with us as they won't have power until most likely the end of the week! Our doors are open and we welcome you to come warm yourselves. You can spend the night, but we can't promise a bed - depending on how many other people are here! Couples with infants have first dibs on the guest bed! After that it is an air mattress and then the couches!

****UPDATE****

Gabe, Ranae and Sully fortunately had their power restored today and were able to return to their house. Jen has her power back as well. As for David, I think he might head to Olympia and stay in their trailer. He can turn on the heat and the clean water tank is full. We will see! But our doors are still open to those who still don't have power.

Party at Alistair's Crib!

Alistair really likes his crib these days. He has discovered the little spinning things on his aquarium and will lay there and play with them whenever he wakes up - 12pm, 5pm, 1:30am...whenever. It resonates very well over the baby monitor. I have turned down the one in our room so that we can still hear him cry, but any other noise is not as audible. He hardly cries anymore when he does wake up, we just hear the crab or starfish spin and go in to get him up. The other thing he has gotten into is rearranging his friends that hang out in his crib. They are usually arranged at the head and foot of his crib:

But now that he has his go-go gadget arms and gripping devices, anything within arms reach and easy to grab gets grabbed and hurled around. He also rocks back and forth from one side to the other which moves him up or down his crib and closer to things to grab. Many times when we go in to get him up, his crib looks like this:He also has figured out how to role over onto his tummy, but has forgotten how to role back over to his back - a skill he had mastered before he figured out how to role onto his tummy. So he will sometimes role over onto his tummy, give up and go to sleep. Or he will get mad because he can't get back over and then howl until one of us goes in and recues him. He doesn't do that too often though. More often than not, he has a party in his crib and then they all collapse where they are and go to sleep (or at least that is what it looks like!).

Welcome Sullivan!

The Sandholms had their baby on Friday, December 8th. Sullivan Franklyn Sandholm is his name and he looks just like his daddy. Everyone is doing well. Ranae had some complications, but she is on the mend! If you would like to see photos of him, here is a link to their blog: http://www.sandholmranch.blogspot.com/. There is also a link along the right side of our blog! Congrats to the Sandholms and we look forward to getting to know Sullivan!

What we have been up to in the past week

Alistair started Rice Cereal this week. He has been doing very well with it. We have found the thicker, the better as far as his preferences are concerned. The first day I followed the instructions on the box and it was fairly soupy. So each day I have added a little less liquid and he is consistantly finishing the bowl now. It is only a tablespoon of food and a tablespoon of liquid, but still! (: He eats sitting in his Bumbo on the dining room table. He isn't big enough for his high chair yet. We have also been playing dress-up with him. One of my friends sent him the costume below for Christmas. He didn't seem to mind it too much, despite the look on his face!
This Christmas outfit is courtesy of his 2 grandmothers. Nana Martinson bought him the Christmas pajamas while Grandma Hennessey knitted him the Christmas tree hat. While many people have made comments about how mean we are to our child by dressing him up...let me just point out that WE didn't buy any of these items! (:

6 Months Old!

Our little baby is getting so big! It is hard to believe he is 6 months old already! One day he is tiny and fits in the palm of your hand and the next he is 14 pounds of little boy. He is 25 inches long now. He is fitting pants in his size range much better now! He is constantly changing - he is getting closer to rolling onto his tummy from his back (already has the tummy to back down), he reaches for everything and if he gets it, it goes right into the mouth! We had his pictures taken at Sears yesterday. The photo above is one of many cute shots they got. Incidentally, the photo below is one from a session I tried 2 weeks ago. With a more professional camera I might be able to do-it-myself and not pay for it! (:

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

Not really, but it seemed like the thing to say. So it snowed a little up here in little old Bothell. I measured about 6 inches of frozen precipitation we have received thus far and more is set to come this evening. The good news about that is it will be followed by rain which will melt all of this white stuff and make it go away. Can you tell I am not a fan of snow? It is pretty, I will give you that. But it is also a royal pain to deal with when it falls. We are more or less paralyzed where we are. You have to go up some sort of hill to get to our house and it seems as though the ice has become super thick around us! We had an au pair of sorts Sunday night through Tuesday afternoon. Grete was on her way back to school in Bellingham after spending Thanksgiving with her parents in Eastern Washington. However the drive became an ordeal and then of course Whatcom County was literally paralyzed by the snow. So she hung out with us and helped out with Alistair. It was nice having her around and I think Alistair likes Grete! (: We decided that we needed to get a photo of Alistair in his first snow. So we put his Bumbo seat on the deck and bundled him up. Doesn't he look thrilled about his first snow expereince?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving was another resounding success this year. We gathered at the Hennessey's house in Olympia for a delicious dinner. Jeff, Michelle and Natalie and my parents came as well as Jen and Ethan and Jen's parents Don and Jean. One of David's buddies, Ernie, also joined us for dinner. We had lots of great food and managed to eat all day while watching LOTS of football. Alistair had a great time, he did really well and definitely enjoyed all the attention he received. Here he is sporting his preppy look while standing on the new kitchen table (the only person who got to).

Last weekend we celebrated Thanksgiving with the Martinson family up in Woodinville. Almost everyone joined us, but unfortunately we were missing my brother and his family. We had a nice day and in addition to eating good food, cheered the Huskies on to victory in the Apple Cup! The two babies (Alistair and Carrie) had bouncy seat races while the rest of us ate!

I think if he could talk, Alistair would agree that he had a good first Thanksgiving!

Yurting at Cape Disappointment

This past weekend we went to Cape Disappointment State Park and stayed in yurts. The park is located on the South Western tip of Washington, right where the Columbia meets the Pacific. In addition to us, both of our parents, Auntie Ann & Uncle Bob and Gabe & Ranae joined us. We had a nice time. The drive out was making us all wonder why we were even going out in the first place - driving rain, wind and cold temperatures not to mention some mechanical issues with vehicles. But we all made it and got up Saturday morning to blue skies and sunshine! The weather stayed this way most of the day, a tiny rain cloud went through midday, but for the most part it stayed dry. We got up Sunday morning to gray skies and eventually some rain off and on. Overall we totally lucked out on the weather. Alistair seemed to enjoy himself and of course all the attention lavished on him from 10 adults! I think we managed to keep him warm enough - layers are the key!

Future Model?

So I wanted to post this photo sooner, but didn't want to spoil any suprises for Ranae's babyshower. I ordered some collegiate fleece off the internet to make one of those no-sew tie blankets for Baby Sandholm - Iowa Hawkeyes of course! I had ordered 2 yards of it and when I got it, there was definitely way more fabric than I needed for a baby blanket. Being the talented seamstress that my mom is, she suggested we make a few more items out of the leftover fleece. We decided on a hat and then she decided to make a matching jacket. Alistair is modeling the outfit to show how it fits and possibly how it fits him for a future set of his own (not Hawkeye though, no matter what Ranae thinks!).

Alistair's Baptism

Alistair was baptized yesterday at St. Thomas. It was a nice day, but LONG ceremony/mass. There were 9 other babies being baptized along with Alistair! He did very well. He fell asleep right before it was time to go up. Luckily we were able to rouse him enough to be somewhat awake before they poured the water on his head. That would have made for a rude awakening otherwise! Jeff and Michelle are Alistair's Godparents. The Baptism Gown was hand crafted by his 2 grandmothers and will now be a family heirloom that hopefully subsequent Martinson/Hennessey babies will wear for their baptisms! Thank you to everyone who joined us for the ceremony, it was nice to have you there!

MOO! Happy Halloween!!

Happy Birthday Seth!

Today is Seth's 31st birthday! For his birthday, on Sunday, I rented him a Ford Shelby Mustang GT-H. 325 horses under the hood and a loud VROOM when you start her up or stomp on the gas. We had her for the day and drove to Anacortes for some delicious grub at Storks - the restaurant in the bowling alley. They are apparently known for their fish and chips but we have only had and still have only had their breakfast. Next time you are in Anacortes and looking for a place, go there. They are excellent! After breakfast we drove to Whidbey Island. We stopped and walked across the Deception Pass bridge. There were numerous Sea Lions playing in the water below the bridge. It was fun to watch them. Then we drove to Clinton, took the ferry to Mukilteo and got back to our house. Both sets of our parents were there babysitting the grandchild as were Ethan and Jen. Seth was all too happy to take people out for spins and then we gathered for a dinner of homemade pizza followed by an awesome Ice Cream cake from Ben and Jerry's. It was a very fun and day and I think it is safe to say that Seth enjoyed his brithday present! Happy Birthday Seth!

Bouncy Seat Part Deux

Alistair and I have this routine every morning. He has his bottle and then we go downstairs so I can wash all of the baby-related dishes and have my cup of coffee while he has some quality bouncy seat time. So imagine my surprise when I turned around to find him in the positions below...having a grand old time and really trying hard to flip right out...


He is such a stinker...

Natalie is 4 years old!

Our niece, Natalie, turned 4 years old on Monday. This past weekend we celebrated her birthday at the pumpkin patch. We did a corn maze and then picked out our pumpkins. Then we went back to Michelle's parent's house for a party and to carve our pumpkins. It was a fun day. For an added bonus, Alistair wore his Halloween costume and new snazzy sunglasses.

Natalie also decided she wanted to hold Alistair. Once she got him on her lap, she didn't want to give him back. She was quite content to sit there and hold him and talk to him. She has grown up so quick! It is amazing!!

Crazy Bouncy Seat Sessions

Alistair has really gotten into his bouncy seat and the fine mechanics of how it works. He has figured out if he grabs the fish that hangs down that more noises or bubbles occur. He will just hold it and wait for the time to pull it again. Sometimes he will stare at you while holding it and then jusy lift it up enough to make the noise - like he is saying, "look what I can do just with the tip of my hand...what can you do, huh?" He also loves kicking in it and making the seat really go. Because of this I sometimes don't strap him in with the safety straps because he has so much fun when he isn't limited. Of course I do this when he is in sight of me and never on high surfaces! I took him upstairs in it yesterday as he was having too good of a time to take him out. So while I pumped he bounced away and kicked and made happy noises and all kinds of stuff. Well he had so much fun and worked so hard that he practically bounced himself right out of the seat. See the photos below of the before and after of his bouncy seat adventure:

Before: Sitting up high, feet right where he can kick the fish or seahorse

After: Slouched, feet hanging off, right side lower than left side. I think he was trying to roll off the right side as well - he kept bringing his left shoulder over and pushing off with his left foot! You can kind of see the little devilsh smile he has when I took the picture!

19 Weeks

Alistair has just passed 19 weeks! We can't believe how much he has changed and grown! He is stepping on the heels of 12 pounds (within 1-2 ounces) and is now sleeping through the night every night. Last night was his first night in his own room, in his crib. He did a good job, no freaking out or long, drawn-out crying sessions. We are still working on rolling over, but he can lift his head while on his tummy. His favorite activity is standing on your lap, the sofa, bed or whatever surface in available. He is standing against the couch in the photo below, but he does a pretty good job just holding on to your thumbs too!

Oregon Coast Camping

Over this past weekend, we joined both sets of parents for some camping on the Oregon Coast. We camped at Nehalem State Park. We stayed in a Yurt while both sets of parents pulled their trailers. It was a fun trip! The first day was not too nice - raining and cold. We took a ride to Tillamook for some ice cream from the cheese factory and kicked around some other stores before we headed back to hopefuly less wet conditions. Monday was gorgeous. It was almost in the 70's if not in the 70's and not a cloud in the sky! We ventured to Cannon Beach and walked through the little downtown area. Then we headed to Mo's for some famous clam chowder and then walked out onto the beach to view Haystack Rock. We spent the remainder of the day kicking around the park, took the dogs out to the beach and just generally relaxing. Alistair had a good time overall, although the huge challenge was keeping him warm enough. I think we accomplished this for the most part!

E.T. Phone Home

We decided not to pile him completely up with his animals, but he has MANY more than what are shown in this photo. Alistair is going to be 4 months old on Saturday! It is very hard to believe, time is going by too fast! It is fun to watch him grow and change.

Going to the Chapel

This weekend marked the wedding of my little brother to his wonderful bride Michelle. It was a fun weekend filled with laughs and family. Everything was beautiful and well done. Michelle pretty much planned the entire thing and did a great job (a girl after my own heart!). Jeff impressed me too. I have never known my brother to be very expressive or outwardly emotional, but he blew me away with his speeches, his actions, everything. Michelle is obviously the right woman for him because she certainly seems to bring out the best in my brother! Congrats to the two of them and here's to a lifetime of happiness! Welcome to the family Michelle! (:

Kick, Kick, Kick!

Alistair has found his feet! He kicks and kicks and kicks...especially in his bouncy seat. We no longer need to make it bounce for him as he gets it rocking all on his own! He also spends a lot of time throwing his hands and feet into the air when he is on his back! Some of this new found energy and talent could be attributed to the fact that he is beginning to sleep through the night...not every night, but he is starting to trend that way! We thought this was never going to come. Seth was out of town all last week in Nashville for a conference and the first night he was away was the first night Alistair slept all night. Maybe he wanted to make sure I was good and rested to do a whole week of Alistair care without help! (: Here are a few shots of him hanging out in his crib, kicking away!

Look mom, all my limbs can go in the air at the same time!

Coy Boy!

15 weeks Old

Alistair had an appointment at Children's today. Another good check-up! Things are getting better and looking great! He is up to 11 pounds now and is 24 inches long! He is getting so big!! He is very strong too. He holds his head up pretty much all the time and loves to stand on your lap or the bed. He really likes looking out the window, especially if they are sky lights! He changes just a little every day, it is fun to see what he will do next!

Labor Day Weekend Camping

Alistair had his first camping trip this weekend to Dosewallups State Park on Hood Canal. He also had his first ferry ride. It was a gorgeous weekend and we had a good time. Papa and Nana Martinson were kind enough to let us sleep in their trailer to make Alistair more comfortable - and to make it a little easier to deal with middle of the night feedings and diaper changes. Alistair seemed to take to camping just fine. He liked hanging out outside and of course enjoyed all the attention and being held all weekend. His next trip comes in October when we head to Nehalem Bay State Park in Oregon and then again in November when we go to Cape Disappointment State Park. The boy is getting exposed to year-round camping!

Alistair and Daddy hanging out and watching the dogs play in the river

Swinging in the morning while the group eats breakfast

He's a 10 pounder!

Alistair is now officially double digits in the weight department - 10 pounds! Quite a difference from the 5 pounds and 6 ounces he dropped down to in the NICU when he was first born! He had a good time at the Mariner's game as he cheered them on to victory in their sweep of the Boston Red Sox - or at least as good of a time a baby can have since he didn't really watch the game too much and didn't seem to like the cramped seating - can't say I blame him really! (: We decided he could cheer on the Bo Sox when they aren't playing the Mariners!

12 weeks old and changing every day!

Alistair is such an amazing little boy. Every day he seems to do something just a little different. Today was posing for the camera, almost. I happened to catch him in a really smiley mood and found it fairly easy to goad a few more smiles out of him before he got tired of it. In general he is doing well and growing quickly! He is up to 9 pounds and 14 ounces now. He has actually outgrown an outfit! He has also rolled over (from front to back) twice now. The first time we thought it was a hoax as he popped over right after we put him on his tummy. But we put him down another time and he rolled over a minute or two later. In a week from Friday, Alistair is going to experience his first camping trip and this weekend he is going to go to his first Mariner's game. Good thing he doesn't understand baseball yet, it should be more enjoyable that way!

5 years and more to go!

Today is our 5 year wedding anniversay! Hard to believe 5 years has gone by - and now we have a house, a dog and a son! So much in so little time! We are going out to celebrate tonight with dinner at El Gaucho while the Sandholms watch Alistair! Should be a good time! This was us 5 years ago today!