The Great Pumkin (or maybe just OK)

We ventured to the pumpkin patch this weekend with Sean, Lacey and Payden... The boys had a GREAT time:
OK, so we didn't enjoy sitting on the tractor very much, but what a good time playing with pumpkins can be! I'm sending one of these shots into the Regis and Kelly cute baby contest! That is what all this stuff is for at Ev's age, it's all about the photo op!

Gimme Three Steps

I don't know what it is about me but doctors always seem to want to tell me something will happen "early". My OB, God love her (thanks Joe Biden), said I was going to go into labor early. Well three days after my due date I wanted to kill her. Our pediatrician thinks Ev will be an early walker but I'm not counting on it! And what is up with all the people talking about how their kid started walking at 5 weeks old and crap like that!? Like it's a competition and my kid is behind if he's not running the Portland Marathon at 10 months! That is annoying and if I ever do that please someone slap me or at least tell me to shut the hell up.

Anyway Everett is standing independently for longer periods of time and will take the occasional step. To tell you the truth I know how much work it will be when he is walking so I'm not rushing it. He has so much energy I know he will be a little speeding bullet shooting up my sanity.

Doug did a race series in K-Falls, it was mostly cold, but also a lot of fun. Cyclocross is a real spectator sport so we can all participate in the excitement. Doug also totally rocks and won 1st and 2nd and 2nd overall. What a guy!

Here are a few pics of our mellow October so far, it mostly involves bikes or some kind of bike activity.

Dad and Ev, workin on the bike

Klamath Falls - cold weather, weird people (no offense)

Cyclocross, like mountian biking but different

I love standing up like a big kid
(I do not like falling over on the gravel like a baby)

Static Guard, Anyone?

Ahhh, the joys of separation anxiety! Everett is now in full blown "separation anxiety" phase. The kid is clingier than panty hose put in the dryer! Last weekend we had a playdate with our friend Annie and the poor kid cried for an hour because Annie was so excited to see him she kept screaming in his face ( it was pretty funny actually, I wish I would have had our camera). He won't leave me alone, even to hang with Dad for a little while! He's making me a little crazy, any suggestions on how to deal??

On another note, I can't believe Ev is going to be 10 months old next week! He's so stinkin cute, we have more and more fun everyday (besides the whole tripping over him everytime I turn around).

Here are a few pics from the last couple weeks of September:

Sunday Ticket Look

"I can do it myself!!"

Future drummer (or chef)

Mt. Ashland Hill Climb

Top of Mt. Ashland

Fall is in The Air!

I love back to school time... Of course 9 months is probably to soon to start school, and Doug and I both are so busy with work and other "grown-up" business it almost passed us by. I just love the feeling in the air, the chilly mornings, the kids waiting for the school bus, everyone in their new fall school clothes (even though its 90 degrees outside!). It's alway been a special time of year for me. Many of my friends are returning to school to pursue grad degrees, one even returning to Oregon after being in Idaho and North Carolina the past couple years; Lacey, her husband Sean, and 1 year old son Payden are back. I especially am excited to have them back in the area, I've always imagined raising my children with my girlfriends and it is so fun to see Payden and Everett "play". They are either going to be great buds or hate each other, I guess we'll see!

September also brings a slowing in bike race season, although there are a few more races (thank you, whoever invented "cyclo-cross"). Doug had his best season yet winning first place in his first ever Duathalon (biking,running), first in an OBRA champ race, and placed in many others.

I am excited to have a little more time with my hubby and friends as fall slowly rolls in. I'm already making plans for various fall activities that we can now officially do because we have a kid! Everett continues to grow like a weed... he's still tall and skinny, he has so much energy we can barely contain him already, I don't know what will happen when he reaches 2! He's crawling at the speed of light and if he can pull up on something and walk around it he will. He also is getting much better at standing on his own.

Learning to drive already

With dad at Nana's new house in Portland

Payden and Everett (Ev's a little unsure about this weird kid!)

Ev and P in the hammock (holding hands, how cute?!)

2 Buck Chuck is Cristal of Medford

Those of you who attended Doug's brothers wedding this weekend will get the post title, if you are curious just ask me it's a pretty funny story. Moving on!

This weekend was the long awaited for wedding of Doug's brother Jayson and his Beautiful fiance Jessica. They have been together for 8 years and finally decided to take the plunge! It was a beautiful wedding and an insane party complete with Karaoke (who wouldn't wanna sing Wanna Be by the Spice Girls after 3 glasses of red wine?). Needless to say it was a LOT of fun. Evy was in heaven with all the people loving on him, I'm not sure if he touched the ground once!

Here are a few pics from this August, and from the wedding:

Hiking Grizzly Peak

so excited about standing up!

Still a little milk drunk from the night before...

Wedding pics:

Uncle Jay and Uncle Ty


Family Portrait
Beautiful Bride

Brothers
Papa Sarge and all the kiddos

Single Parenthood

Thank God, Doug has not come to his senses and ran to Mexico, but he is off at Mountain Bike Oregon for the weekend. This is the first time he has been away from us for this long, so I just hope I survive these next few days! I have a feeling he left so I would appreciate all he does for us on a daily basis!

So, all in a week Everett has learned to crawl, to pull himself up on furniture (or legs or blankets or electrical cords), to cruise the furniture and at times stand completely independent. Whew! We've been busy!

Since mobility has been gained we have been using that two letter word (and some four letter words) a LOT! "No! Don't rip your book apart!" "No don't eat the paper you just ripped out of that book!" "No, don't pull that plant over on top of your head!" Then we get the "devil look" (pictured below) Its like he's 8 months going on 2!! We are gonna have trouble containing this one!

Eating Cereal

Standin up!

The face only a mother could love

Wrestling Dad (Ev won)

2/3rd's of a year already?

Is it really August already? I can't believe how quickly time is flying! What a busy summer it's been. Doug and I were just talking about how interesting it is when you become a parent, its like life before was just a dream. We just have no concept of who we were before Everett. Having him certainly has made me a more "live in the moment" person. I can't look back, because I don't remember! I can't look forward because its too overwhelming! I just have to be here, now, fully engaged in the present. It's a pretty awesome gift we parents get. It almost makes all the diaper changes worth it...almost.

We have a lot of excitement to look forward to this month! The most thrilling of course is watching Everett grow and change, almost daily it seems! He's cuter and cuter (I'm not being annoying either, everyone says so!) He's up on all fours rocking back and forth all the time I'm sure as soon as he gets his momentum up he'll be crawling all over the place! He makes "kissy" noises with his mouth and he loves to play the cough game (he coughs, we cough, he laughs and coughs, so on and so on...). Our new adventure is finger foods, we are still learning that though. I usually find 2 or 3 sweaty Cheerios stuck in his palm at some point during the day.

My best friend since I was tiny was married this past weekend... It was a beautiful wedding and so much fun for Doug and I to get dressed up and have a fancy date night! We also had Doug's 20 year reunion the next night, it was pretty interesting to walk into a room full of "oldies"! I have to say Doug, and my sister Tamara (who was in his class) were the best looking there! I got myself a keeper!

Those were only the first two days of August... We have so much coming up this month, the mayhem never stops. More posts to come!