Christmas Clothes

It's always exciting to get a package in the mail from Grandma with a new outfit inside.

Seven Months

Mary continues to be a busy, curious, and happy baby. 

 She gets up on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth. She can also scoot backwards on her stomach, increasing her ability to get around. 

Mary is discovering new sounds she can make, like smacking her lips, blowing raspberries, and banging her spoon. She likes trying foods and sitting with us at dinner.

She continues to enjoy the superman pose alternated with pushing up.  

She just recently learned how to push back into a seated position from her hands and knees. 

When Mary is happy or wants to make you smile, she wiggles her whole little body in a side to side sort of shimmy. It’s so cute. 

Our sweet baby is growing and changing every day, but she continues to be a delight.

Mary Sitting

Last month, Mary started sitting up with minimal support.

She quickly improved to the point where she could sit for short periods on her own.

Now, she is a real pro and can sit by herself for a long stretch, even while reaching for toys.

Cousin Pajamas

Photo credit: Michelle

 Growing up (and still occasionally), my mom made pajama pants for the three of us. It was always exciting to pick out new flannel and snuggle up in a cozy pair of pjs made with love. Now, Mom makes pajamas for the grandchildren every year. This was Mary's first pair.

Photo credit: Heather

The flannel this year is a camping print.

Photo credit: Heather

 After taking the group pictures, the girls wanted a few more together; of course, we were happy to oblige.

Photo credit: Heather

Day Trip

Photo credit: Heather

 Joshua, Mary, and I took a day trip down to Visalia on Monday and spent the day at the Nickells' new house. We arrived in time for pumpkin pancakes and sausage for breakfast, after a tour of the new house of course.

Photo credit: Michelle

Mary enjoyed lots of snuggles and play time.

Photo credit: Michelle

Photo credit: Michelle

Photo credit: Heather

We enjoyed a walk before a delicious lunch, then in the afternoon we spent time decorating gingerbread cookies.

Photo credit: Michelle

Photo credit: Michelle

We finished the fun day together with tasty tacos for dinner. It was so nice that it worked out to see everyone (except Isaac, who was out of town) and the new house. We returned to Modesto in time to have pecan pie and Tea of Good Tidings before bed.

Retirement Celebration

Dave retired! His last Sunday preaching was November 18, then the retirement celebration was December 2. We headed down to California on Friday. Joshua had band practice Friday night and Saturday morning because the old church band got back together to play for the occasion. Sunday morning everything went well. It was a lot of fun to have the band lead worship, and our family got to light the advent candle. Things were festive and fun. Following the service, there was a luncheon and short program that included some presentations and people sharing memories about Dave's 36 years at Trinity and other ministry, including this gem from the old Calvin Crest days that Mark Nazarian shared during his talk:

It was neat to hear all the stories and memories; some were funny, others touching, but they all reflected a deep commitment to service and love for others.

Christmas Tree Hunt

Mary got to get her first Christmas tree this week; she seemed to enjoy it, but probably not as much as I did.

 We love a good tree.

Reedsport

Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving were free fishing days in Oregon, so we headed over to spend the weekend in Reedsport with Dave and Gayle. We enjoyed the time together and some nice weather at the coast. Dave and Joshua went fishing Friday and Saturday. They tried out some crab traps that they could cast with their fishing poles, and on Saturday they caught a keeper! 

That meant we got to enjoy a delicious crab with dinner Saturday. We gave Mary some of the crab, and she loved it. We headed back to Eugene the following day after a late lunch/early dinner.

Thanksgiving

Mary celebrated her first Thanksgiving in style.

 We got to host the big day for the first time because Dave and Gayle decided to come up to Oregon for a couple of weeks. They stayed in Reedsport, but came over for the day on Thanksgiving.

 We managed to all squeeze into the kitchen to work on preparing food together.

  It wasn't our intention to have a menu that wasn't traditional, but that's how it ended up. We had autumn bounty stuffed pork, baked beans, spinach and butternut squash salad, Brussels sprouts with pecans and honey, stuffed pumpkin, cranberry relish, and cranberry sauce. It was fun to work on everything together and then enjoy all the delicious food.

Mary discovered it was a lot easier to slide around if she got on the kitchen floor.

Dessert was much more traditional with pumpkin and pecan pies and Tea of Good Tidings. All in all, it was a fun, festive day.

Six Months

Mary is halfway through her first year! She is becoming increasingly mobile. She can roll across the floor and turn around on her belly and is surprisingly good at getting around and reaching things she thinks look interesting. A few times recently she has held on to the edge of her blanket and taken it with her as she rolls, wrapping herself up as an adorable little burrito.  

She cut her first tooth last week.

One of her common tummy time activities is alternating between a superman pose with her arms and legs straight out and off the ground and then a push up where she gets her torso off the ground and holds herself up with straight arms. She goes back and forth between the two positions repeatedly. She has also started getting her knees under herself to achieve a crawling position.  

 She is increasingly interested in new things, especially if she can put them in her mouth. 

She likes playing and having her belly tickled.  

We love our sweet baby.