Sweet Holy Moly!

The video speaks for itself...

The First Family Portrait!

These were taken just after Arjen turned 6 months. Thank you Aunts Casey and Shannon!

Life as we now know it...

Well, Arjen spent his first week with the nanny this week.  Her name is Shana (pronounced like Shauna).  She has a 1 year old daughter who's name is Devi, who is super cute! (see the proof below).  He seems to have plenty of fun at their house, and adjusted really well after being home with only family for his whole life so far! 

Devi and Arjen - new BFF's

Before Grandma Cherie had to head back home, we spent an afternoon at Crissy Field in SF where it was definitely breezy, but beautifully sunny.  It sure was a treat having her here to help us with my transition back to work.  It's hard to believe that those 5 weeks have already come and gone! 

Gma Cherie and Arjen at Crissy Field

The Fam

With time flying by as it has, Arjen is now 7 months old! We celebrated by flying to LA for Great-Grandpa John's 85th birthday.  Arjen was a big hit with the SoCal family!  Also thrown in was mom's first Mother's Day! The three of us celebrated with a relaxing, lazy morning - a rarity for us these days.  Before heading back north, after saying our goodbyes to the fam, we spent a little QT with dad at the beach.  Andrew has been working in LA, so he had to stay down there while Arjen and I returned home.  

Arjen really enjoyed GGpa's cane! (sorry, this one's from the camera phone - didn't show up well when enlarged like the rest)

Taking a driving lesson with Dad at the Beach

Here are some updates as far as Arjen goes:

• He is definitely sitting up on his own.  He's starting to figure out how to use his hands to support himself if he wobbles, but a big wobble still sends him down

I swear this kid thinks he was born in the summer...doesn't matter the temp, he loves wearing his birthday suit!

• He is starting to pull himself up from sitting to standing!  He did this more than once, so that I can say he really did it, and it wasn't a fluke! 
• He's also finally starting to roll from his back to his belly, but again only once or twice "officially" where he was totally on his tummy (he tends to get there, but has the arm he rolled over stuck under him, so then he rolls back to his back again)  - so it's a toss up if he'll walk or crawl first at this point
• And the big one...drumroll please...he started solid foods! Wo-ah.  We decided to see what he thought of sweet potato, you can see the results for yourself...

This is probably the only time he let me put the spoon to his mouth - every time after he grabbed at it before I could get there!

Happy Easter!

It was a Happy Easter weekend!  Ours started off with a visit from Grandpa Wayne, and ended with a wonderful lunch at Aunt JoJo and Uncle Bryan's, with some egg dying in between.  

Reading a bedtime story with Grandpa Wayne

so many colors!

he's starting to understand smiling for the camera (or the goofy parent behind the camera!)





Arjen's 1st Easter egg

Mom, Arjen, Dad  :)

trying to eat the easter bunny!

riding the easter goat

chillin' with cousin Trev

Enjoying some sun with Grams and Gramps

thank you for the cute Easter outfit GGma!

We also took our first "official" family photo a couple of weekends ago. I'll be sure to post the top pics once they're available to me. In the mean time though, I couldn't help but see just how hard it is to take fancy photos. With a kid this cute, it's not too tough! (if I do say so myself)  :)

he still has his smirk!

proud to be sporting his oaklandish bib

Feed me! (and happy 6 months Arjen!)

Okay, so I'm a bad mommy-blogger...sorta left off the part about HAPPY 6 MONTHS ARJEN!!! from the last blog.  Oops.  So it goes.  At least we did say it to him, and he even got serenaded by Gma Eileen with the 1/2 birthday song (it goes a little something like "hap birth t y, hap birth t y, hap birth to ar, hap birth t y!").

Along with turning 6 months old came the 6 month check up this past week, weighing in at 15 lb 7 oz (25%) and measuring 27" (75%)!

So at 6 months, supposedly it's time to start introducing solid foods.  We haven't officially started yet, but we sure have a kid who likes to eat anything! Observe...

I like to eat piano music!

I like to eat cows!

Hmmm...maybe I could get into this real food thing!

We laughed 'til we cried

Well, I'm back to work.  Lucky for us, we have amazing family supporting us.  Grandma Cherie has graciously agreed to stay with us for a month to help watch Arjen and help me get settled back into the working mom routine.  I don't know what I'd be doing without her here right now! (Thank you, Thank you, Thank you Cherie!)

Aside from deciding to wake up during the night again, Arjen has adjusted so well to having Mom gone, that he basically didn't adjust...he continues to be the same ol' super happy, lovey, awesome little guy he's always been! 

Last night, Grandma Eileen and Aunt Casey came over to join us for dinner.  While Gma Ei was getting some grandbaby time, Arjen all of a sudden decided to start giving her big, sloppy, wet kisses!  The rest of us nearly peed our pants watching this all go down.  Perhaps, next on my list is teaching him how to pucker up rather than open wide! 

Some photos from last weekend

Enjoying some warm spring weather in the yard

"how did you catch me in a photo on my belly?!"

cruising the farmer's market in style

looks like a full tractor!

the walk home from the market (there's still a little munch in there, but his head is slightly lower cause he konked out!)

Gma Cherie, Dad, and a sleeping Arjen in front of the Osterbaum

Happy almost Easter!

The Making of the Osterbaum

Five years ago (wow, 5! really?!), Andrew and I were travelling through Germany.  It was the week before Easter, and we kept noticing beautiful colored eggs hanging from trees in the front yards.  The next year, we decided to bring this German tradition home, and every year since, we've been hanging eggs in the tree.  We haven't noticed the trend catching on in our neighborhood yet, but we sure have fun with it every year, especially this year, as we get to share our "very own" family tradition with our son.  Frohe Ostern! (Happy Easter!)