Baby Workout

Apparently our morning walks are not enough for Hallister....he still wants weight training.



That is a 3 pound weight!

10 Months Old

Our baby boy is 10 months old now. We go for a walk every morning. Yesterday morning we ventured over to the swing set in the park close by and he LOVED to swing. They had a baby swing that his legs fit in. I guess we'll need to look into getting one. He crawls everywhere, loves to push or roll a toy and then chase after it.....hmm, I guess he has been watching the dogs more than we thought. He walks along the edge of the coffee table and steps from it to the couch, and then from the couch to us or his toys that are tall enough. He has just stood by the coffee table without holding anything, and he has stepped from holding the couch to us without holding anything. It won't be long before he has enough courage to take one or two steps by himself. If he can just figure out how to support his body weight then he will be walking everywhere. He still enjoys his walker and goes 5 mph down the hallway in it, chasing the dogs, or us. He is getting more independent, wanting to hold his bottle on his own, and sippy cup. He loves little Graduate Puffs as snacks and Mum Mums that dissolve easily in his mouth. I put some on his walker tray and he will snack on them, then race down the hall and share some with the dogs. It is fun to watch him in his high chair swinging his arms as if he is directing a choir, in between snacking. We know he's sleepy when he rubs his eyes and arches his back, so he goes in the crib with one paci in his mouth and then one in his hand. He will switch them out in his mouth and then fall asleep with one in his mouth and one in his hand. The above picture was taken last night. He was out, so I carefully put his leg back in his crib.

4 Year Anniversary

It has been a wonderful 4 years of marriage. We decided to celebrate a full weekend in San Antonio. Hallister was well taken care of. Doesn't Hurt To Ask Take II - I had mentioned to our pediatrician our travel plans and he suggested a restaurant - Rosario's - he loved when living in San Antonio. Before we left I emailed them to see if they took reservations. The owner replied saying no but since it was our anniversary we should ask for "Manny" upon arriving and he would take care of us. (This story is continued later.) We enjoyed an awesome dinner at the Tower of the Americas rotating restaurant Friday evening. We felt sophisticated all dressed up, the food was excellent, and the temperature of the room perfect. (I am usually cold in restaurants.) Saturday we got up early to head to Sea World. The park opened at 9am but we were there at 8am. There was no waiting in line for parking, we already had our tickets so we walked right in, and then we headed to the back of the park where the rides were. I wanted to make sure we got all the rides in we wanted before it got hot and lines got long. Praise God we breezed thru 3 rides that were together with no wait, then went towards the front of the park to stand in line only 30 minutes. After that ride we saw the show Believe with Shamu and then paid way too much for a burger and turkey wrap and one water bottle. Although we did manage to smuggle in some water bottles there were no water fountains. Doesn't Hurt To Ask Take III - Before seeing our next show I got in line with our water bottle and just asked if they could refill it. The lady kindly did for no charge, and it was cold water. We saved $2.89 each time we just refilled it. So we saw two more awesome shows, walked to see dolphins being fed, grabbed a Lemon Chill before leaving the park around 4pm. We got back to the hotel, swam, and then got ready to head to Rosario's. Take II continued - We arrive and see that there is a waiting list but tell the hostess that Manny is supposed to seat us. She pages Manny and up walks a guy dressed in black that could be a bouncer. He asks, "Are you Elizabeth?" I nod and he says, "Follow me." As everyone waiting watches us, we are seated right away with a nice window view. I guess it doesn't hurt to ask. We felt special all night. Our waitress was awesome, made great suggestions, and the food was so delicious. Jonathan called Manny over before we left to thank him and tell him how wonderful everything was. Sunday we were anxious to get home to see Hallister. We had a wonderful, relaxing anniversary trip. Enjoy the pictures!

Rabbit Stew Anyone?

The morning started off like any other. Hallister woke up and that woke us up. Jonathan realized we were about to get hit with a thunderstorm so he opened the doggy door to let all the dogs inside, then he went to the garage. When he came back, all the dogs were huddled around the back door and Jonathan had to weave through them to close the doggy door. He moved Ranger out of the way, and then went to kick what he though was one of their toys out of the way... The next thing I heard was "Uh Liz, Ranger caught a rabbit, a REAL rabbit!" We only wish we could have seen it come thru the doggy door. We are very proud of Ranger, who didn't even need training, and are looking forward to dove season!

Missing Our Cats

We miss our cats, Coal and Leya, especially when
we're opening a can of tuna or unloading groceries and
there is no meowing or finding a cat in a bag. We
had some great entertainment with them and many
laughs. In memory of them, wherever they are,
here are some videos. Yes, Coal does eventually get
the string off the fan.

Doesn't Hurt To Ask...

Today was Hallister's 9 month appointment.
He weighed in at 20 1/2 lbs and is 28 1/4" long. He is a healthy, growing boy in the fiftieth percentile for height and weight. I told the doctor that he is now exclusively on formula and asked if they had any coupons or samples. Formula is our biggest expense right now. He said he would go look and that they had a guy bring in a truck load of samples yesterday. He also said that usually they have plenty of the regular stuff and mainly it is the specialized formulas they give out. I was ecstatic when the nurse came back with a whole box, sixteen, 8oz cans of formula. Ask and you shall receive. Praise God for providing us with FREE formula!

Pack N Play Pfun

Father's Day

I know this is a day late according to Hallmark, but really a Father should feel loved and appreciated every day and not more so on a day marked on a calendar. So Happy Father's Day to my hard working husband. You are my supporter, my best friend, and a wonderful Father to Hallister. I hope he grows up to have the same caring and giving heart that you have.

9 Months Old

SO much has happened this past month it feels like it has been a while since we've updated everyone on Hallister's new adventures. He crawls everywhere and pulls up on anything that will let him. He started with the coffee table and then a toy Oma and Grandpa got him that is just the right height for him to play around. Since he is so active we decided to get a play yard for my office so he can play while I work. Hallister still loves water so we got him a pool. He also got his first boo boo falling out of the pool. He crawls quickly even in water. His favorite food is a jar of Banana, Oatmeal, and Peaches. A food that he wouldn't even swallow is Chicken Noodle Dinner. It just sat there in his mouth and he made a hilarious face. He tried to get it out of his mouth with his hand and we wiped it off. He now enjoys using a sippy cup that he can grasp along the side. This past weekend we got him a high chair. It makes it much easier to feed him, although the Bumbo did work great and can still travel with us. Hallister loves the outdoors. We enjoy going for morning walks in the stroller when its still cool outside. Recently we upgraded to a lightweight stroller we can easily pull out of the car. He also enjoys sitting in the grass and the feel of it.

Devi and Copper have new homes....

Last week we said goodbye to Copper. He now lives with a couple who have a Great Pyrenees named Kitty, a cat, and a 6 month old grand-daughter. He will not get bored with all those play mates.

Devi went to live in Temple with a couple and their 5 year old son. He has a huge backyard to play in. The family updated us that he has been renamed Cooper. He loves shoes and a soft duck chew toy.

Goodbye Dot and Jasmine

Today we said goodbye to our two girl beagle puppies - Dot and Jasmine. We were especially close to Dot whom we fed formula. They both went to the same family and will be loved by a 14 year old girl who will be responsible for them and she wants to be a vet. Her older brothers were also excited about the puppies. They are going to send us updates along with pictures so we appreciate that. It was sad to see them go but a blessing to know they are in good hands.

8 Months Old

Hallister has changed so much in the last month. Usually we let him do the update but he is busy chewing on a teether biscuit, which he LOVES. Speaking of food he loves his veggies, especially squash, corn, and green beans. He does not seem to care as much about fruits, especially bananas. We cannot believe he has 8 teeth!!! His eighth one is on the top right and it has bothered him the most thus far. He was sleeping through the night until it started to come in almost two weeks ago. Hallister had many firsts this month. He waved bye for the first time at our garage sale. He pushes himself into a sitting position now. He has been sitting up in his bed so we lowered the mattress one level yesterday. After he went down for a nap we came in to find this!! (the picture above) He pulled himself into a standing position. So today after his nap I come in to find he did it again. (picture on right) We are so proud of him. He LOVES bath time, and usually once he sees the tub we have to fight to get his clothes off because he wants to jump in. He has many rubber duckies he plays with. He is also saying letters now....mainly baba and dadada. He now does the sign for more (putting hands together) when we feed him baby food.

Sneeze, Smack, Snot

Formula Time

We took Wriley and the puppies to the vet to make sure they
were doing alright. One girl puppy was a lot smaller than the
others so the vet said to give her puppy formula as well as to make
sure she eats from Wriley. She seems to enjoy Jonathan's
chin more. She is doing great now.

Gate Drop Off

Bluebonnets

Gate Game

7 Months Old

I've got my two front (top) teeth, making that a total of 6 teeth now. Wow! I love to walk in my walker up and down the hall. My other favorite thing to do in my walker is to ram into the dog gates leaning against the wall and knock them over. (Video coming soon.) When I'm on the floor I roll and roll, over and over, going from one side of the room to the other. Ranger lays next to me and puts his head on my back or licks my feet. He is my buddy. I am sleeping pretty consistently now from 9:30pm to 6am...yeah, Mommy gets to experience a rem cycle. I actually am wearing 12 month clothes. They are loose fitting though, allowing some room to grow. I am a healthy, happy, growing boy who brings a smile to everyone's face around me.

Puppies!

They Have Arrived!!!!

Wriley is now officially a new mom! She started giving birth at 11:20pm last night and the last one was born at sometime around 3am. She had 8 puppies, but 2 didn't make it. Ranger is an awesome dad. He was very calm through the whole process, unlike his normal very hyper self.

We will be getting a lot more pictures, and filling you in with the story as the days go on, but all I got to say is that they are the cutest newborn puppies I have ever seen!