Hunter's a sitter, laugher and reacher!

In the last week or so, Hunter has mastered several things. He is now independently sitting, he likes to play with toys and look around while sitting on a blanket on the floor.

He's been laughing for a couple months now, but he is now hysterically laughing. He especially thinks his big brother, Henry, is the funniest thing ever.

Just over the weekend, he also reached out for his Grandma Kim to be held! It was so exciting to see him display what/who he wanted. Our big boy is growing up so fast!

Easter Photo Shoot!

Sunday Funday!

Sunday has thus far proved to be a fun day! We got up in time to get ready and make it to the 9 o'clock church service. To celebrate Palm Sunday, our church had an amazing passion play. The music and acting was incredible and moving. Yet, the play was not the only thing moving.... Hunter was a wiggly worm throughout the second half of the service. I think that it might be time to start checking him into the nursery during the service.

We drove down to Lacey after church to do a walk through at our rental house to make sure that everything is in good shape. After the walk through, we visited our old neighbors. It was so great to visit with them and see their two year old son. He has grown up so fast! It blows my mind that Hunter will be that big before I know it!

Since getting back home, Hunter got a bath, we had a very funny photo shoot, went to the park, and now Hunter and Jesse are taking a nap together. Such a relaxing day!

Saturday

Another great day.... this weekend turned out to be one of the best in a long time!

Jesse and I got up bright and early and had a yummy breakfast (Jesse's Egg Scramble with sausage and veggies). Then Jesse and I headed our separate ways. Jesse went to help our friends, Zack and Sarah, move from North Tacoma to their beautiful new house in Lacey. We are super excited for them!

Hunter and I went to my nephew, Jacob's, 5th Birthday party. We had a lot of fun. My sister and brother in law had rented a bouncy house for the kids. I sat in it with Hunter and he giggled the whole time :) It was so good to spend time with my family. It made be very excited for our entire family to go on vacation to Bend, OR this summer!

Later on in the night, my brother, Brandon and his girlfriend, Jenn came over to watch Hunter for the night and give Jesse and I some time to get away together. We took a walk on Alki beach in West Seattle and enjoyed the view of the Seattle skyline. It was beautiful! We ended up eating at Duke's Chowder House. It was so good for us to get away for a little while and just enjoy each other :)

Some of my favorite things!

Friday was such a wonderful day, I got to do so many of the things that I love to do. I got up early and went to the gym for a personal training session. I had a really good workout and am still a bit sore from it. Afterwards, I went to Costco, the bank, Jamba Juice, Pier One, and Target. Yes, I was rather naughty and did a little shopping. I got home and wanted to get everything put away. Jesse hung the wall hanging I had gotten for above the cabinets, I laid down the new rug for the kitchen, I put together the new lamps for our bedroom, and then I put together Hunter's new stroller.
Jesse took his boat out on Lake Tapps so I just hung out with Hunter and made some butternut squash in the babycook for Hunter. It turned out really well and Hunter loves it! If you are making your own baby food I highly recommend pureeing squash because it purees really smooth, is really healthy, and Hunter seemed to really like it. :)
I made some chicken with Buffalo Wild Wings parmesan garlic sauce and squash for dinner and made marbled raspberry cheesecake cupcakes. They turned out really well and were pretty easy to put together. Hunter went to bed pretty early, so I made some drinks. I had bought lime flavored vodka and blended it with ice and limeade frozen concentrate, it tasted like a margarita. Yummy!
Yup, that was my day that was so full of my favorite things: workout, shopping, making baby food, cooking, baking, and margaritas!

Seperation Anxiety

Jesse got home from his mission late on Wednesday night. He came and got Hunter on Thursday afternoon from my parents house. Jesse called me at work a couple hours later and I could hear Hunter screaming in the background, Jesse couldn't get him to stop. I went through the lists of things to try (feed him, change him, burp him, put him down for a nap, pacifier, walk around with him, etc) but nothing seemed to work. Then it dawned me (and broke my heart) that Hunter was upset because he was being watched by a "stranger". I really think it took Hunter a few hours to get reacquainted with his daddy since Jesse has been gone so much lately. I felt so bad for both of them. The good news is that I haven't seen him have this problem since Thursday afternoon.

I hope as Hunter gets a little older that he begins to have a longer memory because it sounds like Jesse is going to be flying a lot of the time.

Rest of the weekend...

The rest of the weekend went well. Some friends, Mackenzie and Rachey, came over and made dinner for me on Saturday night! It was so good to catch up with them and they had a lot of fun spending time with Hunter.

Sunday morning, Hunter and I went to Church in Tacoma. It was a real good service and a conclusion to the "Demonic" series. There was a lot of talk about letting go of the strongholds in our lives and living for Jesus and eternity.

Sunday afternoon, Hunter and I went to Southcenter to do some shopping with my friend, Elise. We had a good time walking around the mall, Hunter was so good and hardly made a peep in the stroller. He just likes to look around and take everything in. I was a good girl and only bought a birthday gift for my nephew, Jacob, who turns 5 this week! And of course, you can't to to Southcenter without having lunch at the Cheesecake Factory ;)

I got home and made two batches of baby food (apples and green beans), put Hunter to sleep, laundry, cleaned up around the house, and talked to Jesse. I ended up having a small breakdown. Jesse has been gone for 23 out of the last 28 out days. I'm really feeling a bit overwhelmed with doing everything on my own. At times, I am so independent and feeling on top of the world because I can do it all. But at other times, I fall apart and begin to feel like it's just too much. I ended up not being able to fall asleep last night and was up until about 1am, only to be awoken by my alarm going off at 4:45am. Needless to say, the lack of sleep as made my day thus far a bit challenging. I'm looking forwarded to relaxing at my parent's house tonight with Hunter and my tv shows. :)

Another long week without Jesse....

I spent Monday-Wednesday nights at my parent's. It so nice to stay there during the work week while Jesse is gone because they live only a few blocks from my work and it's a huge help with Hunter. Hunter loves hanging out with his Grandma and Grandpa.... especially Grandpa :)

My mom, Hunter, and I decided to go to the North Bend outlets on Wednesday evening. I ended up getting some fun kitchen gadgets (creme brulee torch, flour sifter) and Hunter some clothes (Easter outfits and pajamas in a size bigger). We had a good time strolling around with Hunter.

This morning I watched our neighbors daughter, Ryleigh, who is going to be two in June, for a few hours. It was a pretty low key morning and both Hunter and Ryleigh were really easy, which let me get some stuff done around the house. I moved the end table and coffee table out of the living room and vacuumed. I had to get that done because our new couches came this afternoon! Yay! We got a brown leather sofa and matching recliner. Leather will be so much nicer with dog hair and baby spit up!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day was a normal day at work for me. Hunter had a green onesie that said "My mommy thinks I'm charming" on it. Of course, I tried to take pictures, but he was not being cooperative at all. Sorry :(

On Tuesday night, I made some Stout Cupcakes from Martha Stewart's cookbook that are made with Guinness to celebrate St. Patrick's Day with.

A great weekend.

It's been such a great relaxing weekend hanging out with my little man and seeing some of my favorite friends. I got up bright and early with Hunter on Saturday and had to whole house clean, 3 loads of laundry done, showered and ready by 9am and already into my DVR to catch up on some of my favorite shows that I had fallen asleep to early for during the week.


Henry has really warmed up to his "little brother". For the first couple months of Hunter's life Henry was wondering what the heck was this little thing we brought home. Henry never showed any aggression, but he definitely stayed clear of the little creature that we referred to as his "little brother". Gradually, he has learned to really love Hunter. Whenever we say "give your little brother kisses" he goes right over to Hunter and licks him on the cheek and hands and now lays by him. Yesterday I let Henry get up on the couch with Hunter and lay with him. It was so cute, I love my boys :-)

Meghan came over so that we could meet up with our friends, Megan and Ally, at the Old Spaghetti Factory in Tacoma. I hadn't seen Ally since the end of college and Megan since over the summer, so they both met Hunter for the first time. It was so great to catch up with some of the old PLU Volleyball gang.

Hunter and I got up bright and early this morning and got ready for the day. We went to church, he was such a good boy and just looked around the entire service. It's such a blessing to me to worship while holding Hunter, one of my greatest gifts from God. Pastor Dean has been doing a series on Demonic. Today he said he had met some resistance in the congregation to the idea that evil exists. His point was, if evil does not exist, than who did Jesus die on the cross to save us from? I thought it was such a great point. A few years ago, I would've said that I don't like to give Satan credit for anything, but he has such a presence in our world. "In the name of Jesus" is a common phrase in prayer, but why? The Bible tells us to: John 16:24 "Hitherto have thee asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full". When we pray in the name of Jesus, we come with authority and power of Jesus, over the demonic. What a wonderful day at church, I wish Jesse was home to enjoy it with us.

After church, Hunter and I went to visit my friend Sarah and her son, Ben. Ben just turned one on Friday! He's growing up so fast and walking all over the place! We went to lunch at the Nordstrom Cafe, such a wonderful place for lunch with a friend. :)

When we got home, Hunter had some lunch (peas and pears, again). It was time for the stinky boy to get a bath... and what did he do?! Yes, within 5 seconds of being naked in the bath tub, he decided to poop in the tub! What a special present for his mama to clean up. The life of being a mom is a blessing that comes in strange forms at time.

Here is my little pirate after his big poo and second bath :-)

A few firsts...

I walked out the door this morning by 7:45am only to find Jesse's cell phone sitting in the yard being rained on. He left a couple hours earlier and I figured that it must of fell out of his pocket on the way out... yup, exactly what happened. :(


Today was the first day that I let a stranger watch Hunter. I went to the gym for my training session and signed up for the childcare there. I was a little nervous, but he did great! The lady was holding him on her hip while watching all the other older kids when I walked in, he looked very content.


Today was also the first day that Hunter sat in his highchair to eat. That went great, too! I should have been using it awhile ago, he was a pro. He ate some peas and pears and then hung out in the highchair while I made a big batch of baby food.

After eating, I propped him up on the couch next to me. He must of been pretty tired because I looked over and he was sound asleep.

Jesse called from San Diego, they had gotten there safely and were planning on heading out to Charleston, SC soon. We are going to miss having him around for the next couple weeks, but we will have to make do.

5 months old!

As of Monday, Hunter is 5 months old. Where has the time gone? Here is some info on what Hunter is up to at this age:

• Eats 6 5oz bottles per day
• Eats solids twice a day (apples,pears, peas, green beans, sweet potatoes)
• Beginning to sleep 10-11 hours straight at night
• No good nap schedule, some days he takes up to 3 naps, somedays only 1 half hour nap
• Sleeps in his crib, in his room, at night. (Not for naps)
• Wears mostly 6-9 month clothes
• Uses size 3 diapers
• He's trying to sit unsupported, not quite there yet
• Rolls back to front
• Starting to grab things on his own (pets animals, touches my face when feeding him, grabs things off the table, etc)
• Tries to get out of things if not strapped in (swing, carseat carrier)
• Weighs 18.8lbs, he is slowing down. He has gained about 2lbs a month until now, he was 18lbs even at 4 months.

Whew... and my work week is finally over

When I started this blog last weekend, I was convinced that I would be able to to keep up with it nightly. That didn't exactly happen last week at all, it's been a very busy week.

Last Sunday, we went to my cousin Steve and his wife, Dina's house by Northgate for dinner.

They just recently remodeled their house by building on an addtion. It is such a cool house! My dad, stepmom, sister, and brother also joined us there. We had a really good time catching up with everyone.

Monday was Hunter's 5 month birthday! I will create a post specifcally about that soon!

Tuesday was another day at work followed by a coach's meeting for RidgeValley Volleyball club (which I co-direct). I didn't end just getting home until close to 8, ick.

Wednesday was also the usual work and then immediately followed by a homeowner's association meeting (which I'm on the board of). Didn't get home until after 8, ick. Seeing a pattern yet. :)

Yesterday worked whizzed by due to lots and lots of meetings. And then we met up with our wonderful friend Joe and Nicole at The Rock for dinner. We hadn't seen them in over a month, perhaps since Hunter's baby dedication. It was so good to catch up with them while eating some amazing pizza. They always are so interested in Hunter, it is so nice to have friends that don't have kids still take so much interest. (Perhaps a topic for a future blog).

This morning Jesse left again to go on a mission to Germany and the Middle East. He will be gone for atleast 15 days. Things seem to really be picking up over there and he's been told to expect to be gone the majority of the time for the next six months :( (Yet another topic for another post). Right now Hunter is still sound asleep, since 9pm last night. I need to go wake him and get him ready so that I can go to my personal training session at the gym.

Wow, this post has got me inspired to write about so many other things. Yay! I will get on that later this afternoon.... or so I say, we'll see.

Jesse returned to find a rocker

Jesse finally got home from being gone on a 12 day mission, it was the first time he has been away since I've been back to work. I have a new appreciation for what single mom's experience and I even had the help of my parents.

I woke up this morning at 6am thinking, "Oh no, I didn't get up with Hunter!" I had put Hunter to bed at 8pm, I thought there was no way that he was still sleeping. I rushed into his room, sound asleep! At about 7am I heard him moving around, when I went to check on him, he was simply awake and playing with his toes. He had slept for 11 hours straight.

We got up, played, got ready, went to the mall, and then picked up Jesse at the airport. Hunter was so excited to see his Daddy! I had put Hunter's hair into a mohawk for the first time, Jesse wasn't quite sure what to think of his new "punk rock" baby.

Recap of the last year!

February

• 9th - we got our big fat positive pregnancy test! Woo-hoo! We were both so excited.



• We began thinking about our living situation. We were living in Lacey and I was commuting to Snoqualmie for work. We decided it just wouldn't work once Baby Doyle arrived.
  
  
  

March

• We put an offer on a condo in Pacific (near Auburn) and they accepted. We put the Lacey house up for rent and soon found some tenants.
  

April

• Jesse's parents came to visit from Minnesota for Easter. While they were here we went to our first doctor appointment and were able to hear Baby Doyle's heartbeat!
  
• We closed on the new place and moved into it by the end of month.

May

• We found out that Baby Doyle was a boy! Jesse was surprised.... but I already knew, mother's just tend to have a gut feeling.






• We left at the end of the month to go on vacation to St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands with our good friends Joe and Nicole Hawe. We had a blast!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  

July

• Jesse left at the beginning of the month for a 2 month deployment.


• I went to Minnesota to visit Jesse's family. Jesse's sisters, Racquel and Liz, threw a beautiful baby shower. It was so great to see Jesse's extended family.




My grandfather, Marvin, passed away. The funeral was in Iowa, so my mom flew out to Minnesota at the end of my visit with the Doyle's and we drove down to Iowa. It was nice to see where my mom grew up and see so much about my family's history

August

• The ladies at work threw me a wonderful baby shower at our boss' house.


• I got the nursery completed with the help of my mom and good friend Meghan. I did a Minnesota Twins baseball theme, Jesse loves it!


• Jesse got home at the end of the month from his deployment.


• My mom and Colleen threw an amazing baby shower with all of my closest friends and family.
  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  

  

October

• Hunter Roger was born on the 8th after 13 hours of labor at Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup, WA.


• Jesse's parents came out on the 12th to meet their grandson! We just hung around the house and got settled to having a new addition to our family.
  

November

• Hunter took his first airplane ride to Minnesota to meet the rest of Jesse's family. We surprised them with the visit, it was a fun 5 days.





• Jesse left on the 20th for Operation Deep Freeze in New Zealand and Antarctica for a month. I decided at the last minute to take Hunter and an adventure and visit Jesse in Christchurch, NZ. We left on the 23rd and stayed for 2 weeks. Hunter spent his first Thanksgiving in NZ, the resort had a special dinner for Jesse's crew and their families. It was an absolutely amazing trip!
  
  
  
  

December

• Our good friends, Ryan and Stephanie, welcomed their baby girl, Halle, into the world on the 14th. She's a beautful little girl and we are so excited for them!
  
• Jesse got home from NZ just in time to join in the Christmas festivities.
  
  
• Hunter spent his 1st Christmas with lots of family. We went to my parent's house on Christmas Eve night and Christmas Day and then with my Dad's family on the day after Christmas.
  
  
• I returned back to work full-time on the 28th.
  
  
• To ring in the New Year, Hunter slept through the night for the first time and has being doing so since! What a wonderful resolution.
  

Janaury

• On the 23rd Hunter was dedicated at Life Center church in Tacoma. His godparents are Meghan Fagerberg and Joe and Nicole Hawe. We are so blessed to have so many family and friends come and support Hunter.
  
  

February

• Colleen, Hunter's Grantie (Grandma/Auntie), came down from Alaska for a visit.
  
• Jesse's Mom, Renee, came in the middle of the month to visit us. We had a wonderful time relaxing and spending some quality time together. She graciously offered to watch Hunter on Valentine's Day so Jesse and I could spend our first night out together since becoming parents.



• We took Hunter to the timeshare at Ocean Shores for the first time outside of my belly. Our friends Zack and Sarah and their son, Ben, joined us. We had a great time grilling out on the beach and enjoying the great weather!
  
  

New to Blogging!

On October 8th, 2009, Jesse and I welcomed our baby boy, Hunter Roger, into the world. On that day our lives changed in such a wonderful way. I have decided to jump on the bandwagon and start blogging so that we can keep our family and friends in the loop with what is going on in our lives. Enjoy :)