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!