Welcome…

Hello to those of you out there that are reading our blog for the first time. And for those regular readers (I know you are out there Kelli and Melissa – 2 Melissa’s actually), let me explain the welcome post almost a year after the blog was started…

This year we decided a “Year End Update Letter” wasn’t really necessary. With the blog, we figured everyone that was curious about what we’ve been up to, already knows! So…. on the back of our holiday picture/card, we put the following message:

Winter letters are a nice recap,

But a blog is there all year.

You can follow along whenever,

And read all things near and dear.

Everyday our little boy is growing,

Mom and Dad are busy too.

Please visit our family blog,

It’s updated just for you!

Check us out at thenorensx3.blogspot.com

So for all of you that are checking in for the first time – WELCOME!! And for those that are back again, wondering where the Thanksgiving and 1st Birthday posts are – THEY ARE COMING SOON!!!!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

PS – we are totally aware that the Hanukkah card probably makes us look like refrigerator hogs, as it is the hugest picture ever! Sorry, but this is the only size that Costco makes, and you just aren’t worth 20 cents more :)

So Impressed!

Just a quick note….

I haven’t given up on blogging… just given up on getting our laptop fixed I took it to Frys and they say it’s dead. For now I will believe them, but I am hoping to find the brilliant person that can at least save my photos and music.

We have a new computer, thanks to my sisters boyfriend, but I have avoided blogging because I thought I would have to re-do all my templates/settings in Live Writer. WRONG!! I just downloaded it, and it’s all here – so cool!

I plan to blog again tomorrow, since I have several topics I am very past due on… including someone’s first birthday!

I Love November…

So I may be completely partial to November because of my birthday, but today is another reminder why this month is awesome! It is SOOOO beautiful outside right now!

Spencer and I took Saylen to Kelsey Creek Farm this afternoon to soak in the nice sun. For those of you that aren’t from the area, Kelsey Creek is an awesome park/farm right in the middle of Bellevue. They have all your basic farm animals, play toys, trails, and Saylen had a great time. We went over the summer with Aunt Kate, but this time he really seemed to notice all the animals!

Another reason I love November is the kick off of the holiday season. I am not a huge lover of Halloween, but from now until January 1, I am a happy girl, and can’t wait to share that with Saylen.

There isn’t much to get excited about with Halloween for an 11 month old, so we had to make it interesting. Saylen painted his own pumpkin (with some help of course)…

Then we took him to Gymboree on Halloween night for their special party. We had planned on making a few stops at some stores in the mall for Trick-or-Treating, but it was WAY too busy! It was a really nice night out, and I couldn’t understand why so many people chose the mall for their night out, oh well… note to self to not go there next year :) Saylen had fun at Gymboree, though it was a little young for some of the activities… I can’t believe I have blogged twice in one week!! Don’t get too used to this… I plan on taking the weekend off :)

Almost 1?

Believe it or not, Saylen is just over a month away from turning one! Where does time go?!? I know you are all hoping for a Halloween post, and it will come, just not right now. I just compiled the recent set of monthly pictures, and I am amazed at how much our little guy is really starting to look like a toddler, and not a baby.

Some fun things Saylen has been showing us lately…

*He is a “cruiser” – for those of you not in mommyland, a cruiser is someone that walks along furniture, but not independently. No signs of first steps, but he can stand freely, and bend down to pick things up without holding on.

*He has 8 teeth!!! CRAZY, I know! I am glad the final front tooth poked it’s way out this morning… maybe we will get back to sleeping the night!

*He still thinks he is a dog! He cracks us up with his desire to hang out in the dog beds, play with their toys/bones, and lately, if he is given the chance, he will “play” with their water bowl (in other words, spill it all over the floor). For awhile we also had hints of a first word… DOG! Haven’t heard it lately, but Saylen definitely would look at Ruby and Turq and say “dgg, dgg.”

*We have been having a blast at swimming lessons and music/gym classes at Gymoboree. I have been going to swimming with him on Mondays, and he is consistently comfortable with submerging completely underwater. Spencer and Saylen have a great time at the Gym classes, twice a week.

*We let him eat just about anything. Obviously no nuts or cows milk, but most everything else is fair game. He loves anything he can put in his mouth himself… specific favorites are pears, yogurt, macaroni and cheese, deli sliced turkey and Ritz crackers. I am against any sweets until his first birthday, but we did let him have half of a Halloween cookie :)

The Very Hungry Caterpillar is the theme for Saylen’s First Birthday Party, and we can’t wait to celebrate!

It’s Raining, It’s Pouring…

Today was pumpkin patch day, rain or shine. Spencer always points out that living in Seattle means getting out and doing things, no matter what Mother Nature brings to the table, and today was no exception.

This year we had plans to find the most amazing pumpkin patch, with a hay ride and petting zoo. Unfortunately, for the last few days they have been predicting the first storm of the season with heavy rain and strong winds, so we decided that all the bells and whistles weren’t necessary for Saylen’s first trip to pick pumpkins. We headed out after the morning football games, and happened upon a small farm about 20 minutes from our house. Within 5 minutes of arriving, the sky was falling and we were DRENCHED! We found our 3 pumpkins, and managed a few family photos, then it was back to the car, where within 5 minutes of leaving the sun was shining again!

Halloween costumes aren’t free (though I got Saylen’s for $10 at Costco), so I decided it would be great if he wore it more than just once!

Spencer helped Saylen find the perfect miniature pumpkin, just for him!

Asking a stranger to take a family picture is hard to come by in the pouring rain, so this will have to do…

Happy Halloween Everyone!!

In Just One Week…

10 days ago, I was at a baby shower and ran into an old friend and her 10 month old little girl. Her daughter’s newest trick was to stand up on her own, and my first comment was “OH WOW, Saylen is NOWHERE close to even pulling himself up, he just got down his military crawl.” Little did I know, that within one week, Saylen would be pulling himself up on any and everything, sitting with complete control, and crawling like with his belly off the floor!! I feel like he has gone from baby to little boy, he even started taking baths in the real bathtub! The last 9 months have flown by!!

These last 2 pictures make me laugh! Saylen doesn’t know any better than to assume the dogs are just like him. They are definitely the best friends he has right now, and I think they like him too. Ruby is still a bit protective, especially of her daddy and squeaky toys, but Turq and Saylen are buddies!

Gym Time…

Today Saylen participated in his first organized activity! Thank you so much to my cousin and his family for the Gymboree membership – our first class today was great!

The weather today was typical of what you might expect in November, and clearly the rest of the town agreed with me. I have never been to the Bellevue Square “Boat” as an adult, but wholly cow was it PACKED! Lucky for us, we got to walk past the boat and into the comforts of Gymboree.

I wasn’t certain what to expect, but we really did have a great time. Saylen made friends with a little boy named Tanner, and had fun climbing on all the equipment and playing with the theme toy – balls.

He is signed up for two days a week – music and gym. Music will always be with Spencer, and whoever is off on Thursdays will take him to gym. I don’t want to over schedule the little guy, but I am really looking forward to signing Saylen up for swimming class as well! Hopefully three days a week isn’t over kill for a 9 month old!!

Calm Before the Storm…

Today is cooking day! We have managed to choose one of the hottest days of summer to fill our freezers with tons of dinners to enjoy when the freedom of summer is over. With Kaitlyn in Med School and my job being somewhat based around the school year, we are taking the day to stock up for the winter. Mom is joining us, but I am pretty sure it’s just an excuse to hang out with Saylen.

On top of cooking day, we have a family brunch to attend this morning. Twice a year, my mom’s side of the family gets together to make sure we don’t forget who everyone is … jk, jk … kinda. There are 3 sisters, with a total of 5 kids, and 5 grandkids, so it’s fun to get the group together. Today we are having a potluck early lunch at my aunts, and it will be Saylen’s first chance to really get to play with his cousins!

So the calm before the storm… you ask? Right now the house is silent! The dogs are outside sunbathing, Saylen is taking an EARLY nap ( he decided he needed to wake up at 6:15 today, so I could see why he might be tired), and Spencer is still sleeping after working late last night. I am sitting on the couch, doing absolutely nothing, and enjoying the peace. Here are some peaceful pictures of Saylen to remember this moment by :)

  

E I E I O …

I have broken down and put my first CD of kid’s music in the car! A few weeks ago I had to sing a 30 minute version of Old MacDonald Had a Farm (complete with all family pets, mom, dad and a variety of vegetables) to keep Saylen from crying on the car ride home from Grandma’s house. I have decided that having someone else do the singing would be much more enjoyable for all parties involved.

In much more exciting news…

**Saylen has 4 teeth! He has had the bottom two for almost two months, and the top two just broke the surface about a week ago.

**Saylen is as close as you can be to crawling without actually being a crawler. He can go anywhere he wants, but hasn’t mastered the efficiency of a true crawler.

**I was in New York all last week for work. We had an amazing time – conference, shopping, lots of eating, and even had time to see Memphis on Broadway! However… I missed my little man (and husband) so much! It was hard to be away, and Saylen seemed to have grown a ton while I was gone. I give Spencer so much credit for holding down the fort – the house was even clean!

View Full Album

Crafting…

I haven’t been much for blogging lately… too much going on in the real world. BUT, I have had some time for crafts!

I finally finished the letters to spell out Saylen’s name over his bed. I had always planned on doing this, but couldn’t complete this part of his room before he was born. I am sure some of you are thinking it was because we weren’t telling anyone the name, but really we hadn’t decided on a name (he wasn’t named until over an hour after he was born).

Below is a picture of a mural I painted on Saylen’s wall – I did this last year, but thought this was an appropriate post to show a picture :)

 

I also had some time to paint a few baby gifts for some friends. I wanted to give a gift that had a personal touch, and I don’t think you can ever have enough onsies!! Welcome to this crazy world baby James and baby Michael!

   

Settling In…

I haven’t been blogging nearly as much, and I think it is a result of life getting back to normal. When Saylen was first born, I had more time at home, and I was awake to blog at all sorts of hours.

I am so happy to say that our little boy totally has his night time routine down, and is sleeping all night almost all the time. Now I know you experienced moms out there are probably laughing to yourselves saying ‘she doesn’t know what’s coming’ – but I am totally happy with our current success! Saylen has been in his eat, bath, story, bed routine for 2 months!

This past week I have realized why we have multiple sets of sheets and mattress pads. We have had to change the sheets almost every morning with the presence of a stomach bug running through his system. We panicked when we found a little blood in his diaper last Thursday, and rushed to the after hours clinic, but it appears that all is fine. I talked to his doctor on Tuesday, and labs were good, and she is guessing it’s just how his body is reacting to the cold that is running through our family right now. Worst case, she thinks it may have been a reaction to the rice cereal we had started him on. We have stopped the ‘food’ for now (though we did let him have a little avocado), and we will try again when his system is back to normal.

We didn’t give him his first spoonful of food without some photos to remember it by…

My First Mother’s Day…

Sadly, as much as I love keeping everyone informed on what is new, the blog has been a bit neglected lately. In addition to being a busy mom, it is the craziest time of year for me at work. In celebration of my first mother’s day, I thought I would take a second, and post some of my favorite pictures from the last month or two…

 

    

I also want to say thank you to whoever helped Saylen send his mommy flowers today – he may be the smartest kid in the world, but even this proud mom knows he didn’t do it alone :)

Milestones…

We have had a lot of excitement around our house in the last month! First, and most importantly, Spencer’s mom and step-dad have decided to move to Washington from Colorado!! They were here last week, and found a great little house on Camano Island. We can’t wait for Saylen to have more family around him as he grows up.

While our visitors were in town, Saylen decided to roll over for the first time. He went from his stomach to his back two times, and hasn’t done it since :) He is working hard going from his back to his front, but can’t quite pull his head over.

He has also started the teething process. It seems a bit early, but the doctor said that it is totally normal between 4-6 months. He has the tiniest part of a tooth sticking out, but it isn’t in the front. I am guessing the front are following soon, as he is fussier than ever right now.

Most exciting for me and Spencer is the new sleep routine. About 3 weeks ago Saylen started sleeping through the night. He doesn’t do it every night, but he almost never wakes up before 4am anymore. Of course I say this after a night where he woke up at 1am, but that was a rare occasion! His nap routine has also become a little more predictable. He takes three naps a day, usually around the same times each day, but they are still shorter than we would like – only about 40 minutes each.

Last week Saylen had his 4 month check-up, and is doing great by the doctor’s standards. She had no concerns, and informed us that he is in the 90th percentile for height – 26”!!! I guess he is taking after his dad. He is in the 50th percentile for weight, which makes sense because all his clothes are baggy and too short!!

I have been taking a monthly picture of Saylen in the same spot each month. Here are months 1, 2 & 3…

First Family Vacation, Part III… Finally!

Sunday was yet another very busy day. Saylen and I ditched Spencer and his boys and joined Aunt Kate and Justin for a Mariners game. It was super HOT out, and I spent most of the game making sure Saylen was in the shade.

After the game we met Spencer at an old favorite for dinner – Don & Charlie’s. We were a little disappointed by the changes to the menu (affects of the economy I’m sure) – who serves an ice cream sundae with no nuts?! The food might have been lacking, but we had a good time nonetheless.

Monday was our final day in Phoenix and we had to make sure Saylen went for a ‘swim’ in grandpa’s pool. The pool adventure went better than expected. The water was heated overnight, so he got right in just like it was bath time. I think he would have stayed in the water forever, but we were busy and had to move on to the next adventure. I hope to get involved in a mom/baby swim class this summer!!

We were able to make time to see my dear friend Alice (who is expecting a little one of her own ANY DAY!!) on our way to the airport, but we missed seeing a lot of old friends. It seems vacation is never long enough, and now travelling with a kid makes that more true than ever. Thanks for the memories Phoenix, we won’t be back for a while.