Crawling, Climbing, Sitting Up...all at the same time!

Alistair has suddenly mastered a few skills all at once. He is crawling on a more consistant basis now...although he still resorts to rolling occasionally. Now that he is crawling, he has become intrigued with the stairs in the living room (sunken room, two shallow stairs). He LOVES climbing them both, climbing one and sitting on it or just using the bottom one as support while he stands. He also has figured out how to sit himself up from crawling - although he hasn't completely mastered that skill yet. Sometimes we will go to sit and his hand is too far out and he doesn't have the strength to push off. Then he will resort to whining until someone helps him or going back down and moving on.

This photo is just funny. He has just finished a teething biscuit and has it pasted ALL over his face! Obviously it was a bath night!(:

New Camera Test Drive

Our current camera is starting to fall apart (literally) and so before we were rendered cameraless, we decided to purchase a new one. We went with the Canon Powershot SD1000. It is a nice, compact little camera with lots of features. Our other camera is nice too, but sort of clunky and definitely not a pocket camera. This camera will allow us to take it along more often as it will be more convenient to carry. I did some test photos the day after it arrived. It has a face framing setting, so you are focusing on the person's face and not the flower on the ground or something. It also has red-eye reduction which means it has a orange-tinged light that shines on the subject right before the photo snaps. If you are focusing the camera and waiting for just the right shot, then the light continues to shine on the subject. As you can see below, Alistair is NOT a fan of this feature: It's a little better in the next photo, but still clearly not a fan:
Sadie didn't seem to mind, and brought Ken along to pose with her: This photo is much better. We took Sadie to the dogpark yesterday and Alistair had a great time. He loves watching the dogs run and play. Some even come to say Hi to him. If you click on the photo and get a larger version, you can see his tooth fairly prominantly! Sadie is ducking into some shade as we haven't hit the water yet and she is HOT!

Happy Easter!

Happy Birthday Sadie!

Sadie turned 5 years old yesterday, March 29th....which also happens to be Judy's birthday (she also turned 5!) While out and about today with Natalie and Alistair, we stopped at Cupcake Royale in Ballard and got Sadie a Carrot Cake Cupcake with Cream Cheese frosting. We only gave her half as we don't want to suffer any consequences at 3am tonight! (: It's hard to believe we have had her for 5 years now...she is such a good girl!

Swim Class!

Alistair and I have been going to a swim class at the YMCA since the beginning of March. Today was our fourth class. So far Alistair has done ok. Each class he gets a little more relaxed. He doesn't smile and giggle yet, but I think we are getting there. I have signed up for next session. I think we will keep this up for a while. It's fun to have something like this to do on Wednesday mornings! Thanks to Carolyn for being the official photographer of today's class!(:

Doing laps...paddling back
Hey Carolyn, why aren't you swimming with us?
Flying Fish!
Riding the wave mat

A Matter of Perspective

Happy Belated St. Patrick's Day! Alistair looks very shell-shocked in the photo above...but if you don't catch him in the middle of playing with something and just pose him, this is the look you get!(: We had my family over for a delicious dinner! We had corned beef (which Natalie informed me, upon asking what we were having for dinner, that she like beef and corn), mashed potatoes with cabbage mixed in, Irish soda bread and roasted root veggies and for dessert we had a Chocolate Orange Guinness cake. We also drank black and tans or just straight Guinness. We had a nice time and Natalie got to spend time with her cousin and her favorite dog in the world! Natalie held Alistair a couple of times and then informed my mom that she could pick him up. My mom didn't think she could by herself, but maybe with some help she could. So mom held him out and she grabbed him and held him off the ground. She did this a couple of different times and I snapped a couple of pictures. It's funny how different angles can change the perspective of size. In the top photo, Alistair appears to be the same size as Natalie, but the one below shows Alistair to be a bit smaller and more baby-sized.

Despite the look on Alistair's face in all 3 photos, he did have a good time and was happy. It just happened to be that we caught him at off moments! (:

It's Raining, It's Blowing....Let's Go Camping!!!

Yes, the crazy Martinson/Hennessey clan went camping to the beach this weekend - Grayland Beach. We headed out Friday with my parents and spent most of the weekend indoors. Seth's parents joined us for a Saturday afternoon snack and visit before they head off to Hawaii this week (lucky!). We stayed in a yurt and as you can see above, we got quite a bit of rain over Saturday night! Let's put it this way, there was no water under the yurt -AT ALL- all weekend until last night! Also, our yurt was next to the bathrooms and by Saturday evening our shortcut was cut-off and a lake formed!

So most of our weekend was spent in either the yurt or the trailer, but mostly the trailer. My parents brought the highchair (the one Jeff and I used as tots) so that Alistair would have a place to sit while we ate and while he ate. He seemed to have quite a good time being able to use the tray - beating it with whatever food or toy he had in his hand. He also tried mango for the first time this weekend and he seemed to like it!

Oh and big news - Alistair has a tooth! It has broken through on the bottom, which would explain a few attitude issues these past few days! (:

Alistair, Papa and Sadie sacked out on the bed, exhausted after a long weekend at the beach. Notice Alistair's little navy blue feet kicked up and resting on Sadie's back! (:

9 months old...ALREADY?!?

Alistair turned 9 months old this week! It is hard to believe it has been that long. In fact, it is hard to believe it was a year ago yesterday that we found out about his heart defect at one of my ultrasounds. We have come a long way since then! This week he had his 9 month check-up with the doctor. She was very pleased with his overall growth and development. He is now 27 3/8" tall and is 17lbs and 12oz. His head is pretty much unchanged, which is just fine! (:

Alistair is on the verge of crawling. He has all the components down, just needs to figure out how to put them all together However, we are not in any hurry to have him be mobile on his own quite yet. He is still working on strained foods. He isn't the biggest fan of finger foods, although he is getting used to Toasted Oat Circles (Cheerios, Target-style).

Alistair started swimming class today. We had a great time. We splashed and kicked and paddled and blew bubbles. No tears on Alistair's part, but no smiles either. I think he was just taking everything in. We got out to the pool early to get acclimated to the environment before class started and all the ladies finishing up their water aerobics were oohhhing and ahhhing over Alistair. One of them made a point of letting me know after class that they decided he was the cutest baby in the class. (: Of course he was, but then again I am biased! Alistair has some fancy new duds for both the pool and the beach! The top photo is his pool get-up and below will be his beach get-up, as soon as their is a beach warm enough to be on! I will try to get some photos of swim class, I just need to find a photographer to come along!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Fun with Alistair

Bad to the Bone! I'm ready for Sturgis!

My new high chair....does this thing go down anymore??

I guess not!

Sitting Up!

Alistair can now sit-up for an extended period of time without support. He needs help getting to that position, but does a pretty good job staying there for some time. He doesn't just fling himself backward without a care like he used to anymore. We were playing on the floor tonight before his bath. He loves to be in just a diaper, so we try to accomodate that from time to time!
He is doing better on his eating of solids. We have had pears, peaches, apricots, plums, prunes, applesauce as well as mixtures of the above listed with some grapes, blueberries and pineapple. Alistair is not a fan of bananas. Not sure if it is the taste or the texture, but no matter how much he loves his fruit, if it has a banana in it, forget it! He has also made it through orange veggies. He likes carrots and sweet potatoes. Not a huge fan of squash. We have been slow on the veggies as he has been having some digestive issues - constipation. Poor guy! He is off cereal all together as that can contribute. He is down to the calories in his formula - it isn't being fortified any longer. We are going to start green veggies next week and I think we will also pull out the high chair and give him some finger foods to play with and see how that goes!

The Beautiful Cascade Mountains

The four of us drove up to Lake Easton State Park just east of the Snoqualmie summit. It was a gorgeous day (has been this way for a few days now). Our main reason for going was to scout out camping sites for this summer. However the snow is so deep there that they just close off the camping loops and they become snowmobile courses for the winter. So unfortunately we didn't get to see the sites. After church we stopped at Whole Foods in Bellevue. Seth ran in and got us a picnic lunch while I sat in the car and fed Alistair. The drive up was uneventful and not a lot of cars on the road. We parked at the swimming area lot. Once we got everyone situated, Seth and I sat down to a delicious meal of Curried Chicken on rolls with a few different salads and some olives. He also picked out a yummy piece of German Chocolate cake for dessert. We only got a taste, however, as both Alistair and Sadie were whining to get moving. So we packed things up and took off for a little walk in the trailer loop. During the winter the road through this loop is turned into a cross-country skiing track. Sadie ran around trying to roll in the snow, but the snow was a little iced over from the sunshine. There wasn't much in the way of powder, so she just had to make due. Once we got around the loop, we went back down to the swimming beach and attempted to walk along the area we usually swim in during the summer. However, every other step resulted in sinking to your knee in the snow. While this was fun and all, we decided it would be more fun to come back with snow shoes and actually get further on the surface of the snow! We stopped in North Bend on the way home to visit with Uncle Bob and Auntie Ann...it also gave Alistair a break from being strapped into something (carseat, backpack). Then we got home and spent the rest of the evening lounging...fresh air poisoning doncha know?

Big Head Alistair

We had a slight scare this week with Alistair. He had a doctor appointment last weekend and while he was there they measured his head. Turns out his head had gone from the 80th percentile to the 97th percentile in the matter of a month. So his pediatrician ordered a cranial ultrasound to take a look to see if there was anything causing the rapid growth. The ultrasound showed a possible explanation, which was Hydrocephalus (Water on the Brain). But before they made that determination, they wanted to do a CT Scan to get a better idea. Yesterday we went in for the CT Scan and the doctor called last night. She said that his head was fine, there was nothing indicating that he had anything wrong. He does have some extra fluid around the sides of his brain, but that is common for premature babies as well as babies with big heads - of which he has both issues! (: So it was a stressful couple of days. Alistair will continue to get his head measured monthly to monitor the growth. But otherwise...WHEW!!! Here are some recent photos to enjoy...
Alistair has made it through the fruits and is now trying vegetables. We decided Sweet Potatoes would be a natural progression as they are still somewhat sweet. He actually made a BLECH noise upon taking his first bite and gagged on subsequent bites. But we kept trying and he has finished a container or 2 now!Alistair has found his feet and they have now become his favorite toy! He loves them especially when he is naked as he has the most flexibility with no layers of fabric to hinder his movement.Putting them in his mouth is even more interesting...especially with socks! Yum!

Camping at the Beach!

What? Camping at the beach you say? That can't possibly be correct, it is the beginning of January on the Washington Coast and you are camping? With a baby?? Yes that is right, we headed out to Grayland Beach State Park for the Martin Luther Day holiday weekend and "camped" with David & Judy. We stayed in a yurt and David & Judy had their trailer. So no we weren't sleeping in a tent and huddled around a fire for warmth. But we did some communing with nature and spent time out on the beach letting the dogs run and run and run! We have never been to the beach when there is snow and ice! It was definitely cold during the night and early morning. But during the day the temperature didn't seem too bad, but it was probably due to the constant sunshine and blue skies! It was gorgeous! Alistair did very well - no major breakdowns or crying sessions. He slept well at night and we were able to keep him appropriately dressed for whatever situation he was in.

These dogs are tired...all that running is hard work!!

Not me! I am the youngest...I could go forever!

What? Your not using it!

Alistair!!

Got Peaches?
Alistair the Anaconda slowly devours his prey. Poor bear never had a chance.
I'm goin' to the store, ma...I'll be back in a jiffy.

WHEN is he LEAVING??

Alistair - Extreme Athlete?

Alistair is now tipping the scales at 16 1/2 pounds. This is making quite a difference in the effect he has on his bouncy seat and position he gets himself into. As the photos below show, he gets himself much further down on the seat...so much so that the bottom of the seat is in the middle of his back! When we gets to that position, he then tries to roll over. When he is higher up on the seat, he has learned to pump and kick his legs to get the seat to bounce so much that the back of the legs bounce up off the floor. He is on the verge of just plain flipping out of the seat. Yes I could strap him in, but what fun is that? (:

He also really enjoys playing in his Jumparoo. This is a Johnny Jump-Up for those with no good door jams. It sits on an independent frame that you can set-up anywhere. Alistair wasn't a huge fan of it when we first bought it. But now he can't get enough. When you put him in it, he just goes. Tonight Seth asked me if there was any way for him to launch himself out of it (which I don't think there is). That should give you an idea of how hard he was jumping! We used to call it his Vomit Comet because no matter when we put him in it after eating (5 minutes or 2 1/2 hours) he would get rid of what he ate. But I think his system has adjusted as he doesn't seem to have a problem now! Oh and he is dressed in this photo...but just a diaper (the way he prefers to hangout).

Happy New Year!!

It's 2007 and 2006 went out with a bang (at least in our neighborhood). Carolyn and Njord came over for a fondue-themed dinner. We played a game and managed to stay up until midnight...it seems to get tougher every year! (: New Year's Day was celebrated the way we have been doing it for 3 years now, Ravioli and Sausage making at the Hennessey's. It was fun and very delicious as always! Alistair and Sully had their own chef hats and aprons, but really didn't contribute much in the way of helping us make anything. They did a better job of distracting people from working! (:

We had sausage galore this year with 3 Cuisinarts going for 8 or 9 different types of sausage. The men, as always, stuffed the sausages...and did a great job! Notice the technique, perfected by the protrusion of the tongues!We had 3 different types of ravioli - plain pasta with artichoke and cheese, beet pasta with meat and spinach pasta with cheese. They were all delicious.

We all left with full tummies and leftovers to enjoy. It was a fun day! Here's to a fun and prosperous 2007!