Bryce's first swimming

Bryce had his first swimming class, and Matt and I missed it.
We had planned a trip to PSU without the kids. Luckily we have a fabulous support system here, and they teamed up to get the job done. My two sisters and my mom were all involved.
Aunt Krissy took both of the boys swimming and said they did great!
Bryce is a splasher which is no surprise because he splashes like crazy in the tub.
Nolan has been swimming independently for 2 months and he is now the best swimmer in his class!

pulling up

Bryce can now pull up and stand all by himself!

robby

the baby whisperer!

the dog bowl

I know it isn't the most sanitary play area, but I really can't say no to Bryce.
He giggles as he is slowly making his way to the dog bowl (his crawling is still not perfect). He sounds so cute I just can't take the bowl away from him!

noodles

This was always one of Nolan and Michael's favorites and now Bryce loves it too.
I have played with this bucket of noodles with endless kids (for therapy) and I am still amazed at how much fun it is.
Of course Bryce knew what to do with it right away. He was grabbing the noodles, raking them, and also loved getting them rained on his head.

Happy New Year

Bryce started crawling! He's been moving but this is the first time he was able to coordinate his hands and feet together to get to something he really wanted that was a few feet away. Of all things, he decided to crawl for a cup! He loves the cups that Nolan drinks out of and he just had to have it.
Nolan also tested out his new rain boots in the puddles. His feet were dry, but the rest of his body got wet.

a little holiday cheer

to Mom Mom's house

How great do all of the kids look in the blue bomb? (that is the name of our minivan!)
We had a fun ride watching movies and eating snacks. Of course it took us much longer to get there and back with all of the kids. On the way home from Mom Mom's house we stopped at McDonald's. WE had to go through the drive thru two times to get the right number of milk shakes. It also took us so long that Kristen and Aimee (who rode in a car alone) had time to go out for Chinese dinner.
We also had an awesome time at Mom Mom's house. The kids ran around and entertained Mom Mom. We sat in the recliner room and talked. Then we went outside to see the pond, collect sticks, and feed the horses.

Christmas Day

What a wild time when we all get together. The kids run around like wild and there are more presents than can be opened in one day!
THe Mabins surprised us with the news that the newest member of the family is a girl!

christmas morning

Wow, Christmas morning was fun.
Nolan was excited to see the presents that Santa had brought. He was not as amazed as I had thought he would be. I was also expecting the opening to go much more quickly. It took close to 5 hours to open the presents because he wants to play with every toy he opens. It really is sweet to see how interested he is in everything. He was just as excited for Daddy to open his elephant ornament as he was to open his own gifts.
Bryce enjoyed pulling the paper and eating it.

Christmas Eve

At church
for some odd reason, this year was actually much more tame than the past two.

Santa at the airport

Santa rides in a helicopter!
Nolan loved this. Seeing Santa fly in was great, but it was even better when he handed out presents.
What a great experience.
Poor Bryce was so bundled up he couldn't move at all. His body was in a permanent arch.

marching band

Nolan has become a one man band.
He actually said to me "look I am a marching band"

Happy 7 Month Birthday, Bryce!

Bryce is 7 months old!
It is amazing how much he has changed in these 7 months.
In the beginning he only wanted to be held. He would scream if he was put down. He still prefers to be with me, but now also enjoys independence. He can entertain himself for a long stretch in the exersaucer, with beads, with spiky head, or by rolling around on the floor.
He is very close to crawling forward but not quite yet. Bryce manages to get around by using other interesting moves. He doesn't have any teeth yet, but he loves to eat. He wants to have everything we have.
Bryce is also just plain sweet. He loves cuddle. He inches his way over to me while we play on the floor to get a hug. He is very content to be held and carried all day long. Bryce is also very social. He talks to people we see at the store, even if they aren't even looking at him. He also has the best laugh. He giggles and giggles and giggles. He mostly laughs at movement. He laughs when he is bounced or when Nolan is bouncing.

Today I walked by Bryce while he was playing in the exersaucer. I had a toy in one hand and a cup of tea in the other.
He "asked" me to have my cup of tea (He is a pretty persistent vocalizer). I gave him the toy I had, and he got MAD! He wanted to have the tea, and I had not listened!
Of course I handed it over right away, and he was as content as could be.

my favorite dogs

On the snow day Daddy, Nolan and the dogs went out to clean off the cars. The dogs ran into the road and Nolan screamed "no my favorite dogs, come back"

snow, lots and lots of snow

Wow, what fun. Snow in December
Nolan enjoyed it, Bryce hated it.
Nolan and Bryce both got bundled up and went outside. Bryce cried because he couldn't move and then only lasted for 2 minutes outside because of the wind.
Nolan and I went sledding down the street and Daddy stayed home with Bryce.
Nolan explored the big dark forrest in the snow, tried the slide and went sledding. He had a hard time walking so I carried him most of the way.

still not crawling

but somehow Bryce still manages to get these beads off of our tree and pull them across the room to shake around like crazy