Birthday Boy

Happy 1st birthday to Seth! The big "0-1!" His birthday fell just three days before Thanksgiving this year, so we got to celebrate with family! We traveled to Seattle for Thanksgiving--Seth actually spent most of his birthday in the car! My amazing in-laws hosted a birthday party for Seth on Wednesday of that week. (Pictures below). We had a great week in Washington. Seth fit right in with his cousins, and they all played with him well. I love watching him play with other kids! We are looking forward to seeing more cousins at Christmas time.

Here are some fun pictures from the last few weeks:

The snack table at Seth's birthday party. (Contruction-themed, if you couldn't tell!)

Fun balloons for decoration!

This is after the ballons came down.... Seth LOVED playing with them!

He wasn't sure what do to with the smash cake! At least I didn't have to clean him up!

My amazing sister-in-law made both cakes! They looked (and tasted) great!

One of Seth's presents! Thank you, Nina!

This was Seth's Halloween costume our friend loaned to us. He didn't like the hat thing, but was still cute without it!

Finally he left the hat on long enough to take a picture!

Well, that's it! As you can see, Seth is doing wonderfully! Just growing up too fast! Geran and I are doing well, too, just plugging along at work and at home, absolutely loving being parents of a one-year-old! It's amazing how much they grow in one year! I love seeing Seth learn and develop, and can't wait to see what his 2nd year has in store.

Oh, Seth

"Oh, Seth, oh, Seth, oh, Seth!" (That's a lot of commas in one sentence--was that the proper use??!!) I have found myself repeating "oh Seth" when he's about pull the table cloth down, get into the fridge, smear his food all over, or the like. But it's said with love--there is just no way I can get frustrated or angry with such a sweet little boy. I get satisfaction from cleaning up his messes knowing he had a good time making them!

Since the last post, Seth has grown so much! This little 10-month-old is walking all over the place and loving it. He learned how to crawl down the stairs a couple of months ago, so he can pretty much go anywhere he wants now! Sometimes he gets frustrated because he's not tall enough to get up on the couch, chairs, or bed, but he's getting close to be able to climb on to them. He loves to explore and get into EVERYTHING. As long as whatever he wants can't hurt him and won't stain him or the carpet, he's playing with it. I genuinely have blast watching him play and playing with him. This age is so much fun.

On another note, I can't believe it's October already! It seems like school just started, but the students I work with are already doing mid-terms! Wo. Fortunately, my graduate classes don't have midterms. :) Just lots of readings and on-line forum discussions....not sure which I would prefer, though. Geran's teaching is going really well, even with his extra classes he's teaching this semester. Each semester has been progressively easier and less time-consuming, but always presents new challenges with a new group of students. But he is still really enjoying his job.

Nothing too blog-worthy has happened lately; we are just rolling along in life, enjoying (mostly) every minute of it! We are super excited to have another niece or nephew coming along in March, courtesy of Tressia and Hiram! And we're just weeks away of adding the 7th grandson (no granddaughters yet on my side of the family)--my brother and his amazing wife will be having their 3rd boy later this month! Yay! We are looking forward to the Holidays so we can meet this little boy and see the rest of our families! And of course, here are some cute pictures of Seth.

I think that medicine dropper on the right is in mid-air, and I don't know how it got that way.... I didn't think Seth could really throw things that well yet....

Walking in action part 1!

Walking in action part 2!

Pretty blue eyes, huh!

A few of my favorite things

Rain drops on roses and whiskers on kittens.... Bright colored kettles and warm woolen mittens.... Don't you love the Sound of Music? I could write whole new lyrics to represent Seth's favorites: Bright colored rattles and sucking shoe laces.... Laughing at mommy while making cute faces....
Seth is sure a fun little baby! He is a busy-body and loves to explore everything around him. I can't believe he is already 7 months old! Here are a few more of his favorite things:
-trying to drink juice from a sippy cup (Somewhat successfully...He has never taken a bottle, so I'm trying to teach him the sippy cup thing.)
-Mom playing "pat-a-cake" with his feet
-standing on the OUTSIDE of the exersaucer (Though my life would be easier if he spent more time in IN it. I don't know what the big difference is....)
-splashing Mom while he's taking a bath
-playing with kitchen utensils
-ripping up and sucking on paper (except phone book paper; apparently, it doesn't taste very good.)
-watching Dad mow the lawn
-trying to get to the multiplicity of cords around the house
-stealing Mom or Dad's phone
-the ipad. Oh the ipad. Seth LOOOVES that thing. He is so sad we don't let him play with it.... What a tough life, right?
-sucking on watermelon rinds, we discovered tonight at the Patriotic Celebration in our neighborhood! He sure went to town on that thing....

He recently starting crawling, though he doesn't seem too fond of it. He uses his right knee and left leg to get around on his hands! I think he just wants to walk! When I try to sit him down on his bum, he locks his knees so he can stand up instead. He hangs out for a while standing up at the coffee table, which is a perfect height for him to stand. When he crawls around, he usually heads towards either furniture or stairs so he can pull himself up. If we're in the kitchen, he pulls out the bottom 2 drawers so he can pull himself up and get into the drawer. Mobility really is a big change! Keeps me a little busier.... But I love to watch him progress. I just love taking care of him. We are so blessed to have such a sweet little boy. Here are a few pictures:

Trying to climb the stairs. He hasn't been successful yet though, and I can tell he is frustrated by that!

I was surprised to find him standing in his crib when I went to get him after his nap.

Just hangin' out! The clothes basket was a little tricky for him to support himself with because it kept sliding across the floor! He used the wall to steady himself once he stood up!

What a fun baby, huh! We just love him to death. Geran has enjoyed spending more time with him this summer since he is only teaching one summer class and is able to be at home more. He watches him a lot while I'm working. Seth loves his Daddy, and it's so cute to watch them play together. I can't believe the summer is half way over already! Life just never slows down. But we love it!

A Day in the Life Of....

First, happy Mother's Day, everyone! This is my first Mother's Day as a mom! Seth gave me an early Mother's Day present on Friday night when he slept for 5 straight hours! This is a big deal; Seth has had a little trouble falling asleep and staying asleep in the last 2 months, and I've been used to him waking every 2-3 hrs, with an occasional 4 hour stretch. So how he went from 3 hrs straight to 5 hrs, I don't know, but he did it again last night, so I'm hoping it's more than a fluke. Geran's present to me is letting me take a good nap this afternoon!

Like I said, this is my first Mother's Day, but it's my mom's 27th Mother's Day! (I think...) I echo the words of Abraham Lincoln: "All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother." I love you, Mom!

As all mothers know, our lives are pretty much consumed with our children! And so is mine! Of course Geran is included in that too. :) Seth is such a happy little boy. I can't believe he is ours! Thought I'd share what our days our like with some pictures:

Seth LOOVES his exersaucer and has mastered the ability to spin all the way around to play with ALL the toys. He's always loved to stand up, so this toy is perfect for him! He spends time in it at least a few times day.

Since he doesn't really take a bottle, we started solid foods around 4 1/2 months. He's getting so good at it, and I think he likes to sit at the table to eat like Mom and Dad do. Just recently, he's started to try and take the spoon from me to try and feed himself, which is not successful yet!

My good friend gave me this jogging stroller, so I've started running a little bit again. Fortunately, Seth is a pretty big fan of riding in the stroller, and usually ends up falling asleep!

And then there are naptimes.... Sometimes he only sleeps for 45min-1 hr at a time, so on a good day he takes at least 3 naps. And unless he's in the car or stroller, the only way he falls asleep is by crying to sleep in his crib (which, by the way, makes Church a little difficult). He must be a pretty active crier because sometimes when I go check on him he's lying perpendicular-ly, or has completely turned 180 degrees!

I love happy nappy's! They make everyone happy, especially Mom!

Well, there you have it. This is what I get to do almost every day! I'm grateful I am able to work just part time, so I can spend so much time with Baby Seth. And, since the semester ended for Geran, he is home quite a bit, too! He is teaching an 8-week summer course, but it's only 2 hrs a day twice a week, plus all the prep work or course, but we are lucky to have Daddy home a lot for the summer. We are looking forward to a fun summer with Diana's wedding less than 2 week away and our annual camping trip in Coeur d'Alene with the Call's in July!

Laughter is the Best Medicine!

For those of you who don't know, my best friend Samantha has Cystic Fibrosis (CF), a congenital lung disease. It affects her every day and she will have to have treatments throughout her life. Sam's sister, Sara, also was born with CF, and hers is even more advanced than Sam's. It's come to the point where she needs to undergo a double lung transplant. Though there have been many research efforts, there is still no cure, but the lung transplant will allow her to live longer and be healthier for years to come. To raise money for the operation, Sam and Sara have put together a team through Great Strides to walk on June 2 in Boise. Here is a link to Samantha's page and here is a link to Sara's page to either donate or join their team. Anything you can do would be helpful! Here is also a link to Sara's Blog to see pictures and hear more about her story. If all you can do is offer a prayer, it will be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Baby Seth's Room

Yes, Seth is over 3 months old, and yes, his room still isn't completely finished. Don't worry though--he doesn't spend much time in there so it doesn't bother him. :) First off though, please turn your attention to the right side of the page, where you will find a column of "See Seth Grow" pictures! My talented and generous sister in law Jen made 12 onesies with her T-shirt vinyl, one for each month of Seth's first year. They say "One Month Old," "Two Months Old," etc. So cute! I also decided to take each month's picture with him in his carseat, so I could actually see his growth. Obviously, I didn't think to do that till his 3 month picture. His three month birthday happened to be on a Sunday, so of course I put him in his "Three Month Old" onesie for church, and all the RS ladies got a kick out of it!

Ok, back to Seth's room. Here are some  pictures:

My sister Tressia came to help me paint the wall last summer. Turned out cute, huh! The crib is from my sister in law Nina. We are so grateful for her generosity! She gave me some of her little boy's old clothes, too, and she has SUPER cute taste!!

I actually MADE these curtains. Wo. I'm not a big sewer...

My Mom sewed buttons on this blanket to make it super cute!

My friend gave me this changing table and we painted it white to match the crib. :) And I love those black and white picture of Christ! (I don't know why this picture isn't centered. Oh well. I don't want to figure out how to fix it.)

We were planning on putting the rocking chair in the other corner by the blanket on the wall, but it's been in our room instead. And it will probably stay there. Till all of my future kids are too big to be held. So now I need something else for that corner. Maybe we'll put a toy box there or something like that. Or a little dresser for storage. We'll see. It's obviously not too high on my priority list!

We are enjoying life with a little baby, and it's been so much fun to see him progress! I never thought I'd be so excited about smiling, laughing, mini push-ups, or toy swatting! Seth is such a sweetheart. He loves to talk and loves to bounce in his bouncy-seat. We all think he's going to be an early walker like Daddy because he just LOVES to be on his feet, and he's always been able to put a lot of weight on his legs for a couple of months now. I might have to baby-proof the house earlier than planned....

Holiday Happenings

Well, the holidays have come to a bittersweet end. It was sad to say goodbye to family, but we are happy to get back into the swing of things here in Poky. We traveled to Seattle to spend Christmas with the wonderful Call family. Seth was a real trooper for the long drive but was sure glad to be out of his car seat and cuddled by Grandma when we got there. Since we've been married, Geran and I have never spent Christmas in Washington, so we were really happy to be going! Christmas with the Calls was great! Everyone is so relaxed and we all just enjoyed being together. All the grandkids are getting so big and grown up. It's fun to have our baby in the grandkid mix now! We stayed in Kuna with my family one night on our way back to Pocatello, where for a few brief hours all of the Cole family was together! Here are a couple of pictures from all the hoopla. (I really need to be better at the whole picture taking thing!)

All the Call grandchildren! My amazingly talented mother-in-law made matching PJ's for everyone with "Thing 1" through "Thing 8" on them! Seth, of course, is Thing 8!

Here is my entire family together at my parents house in Kuna.

The other big event during the holidays was Seth's baby blessing on New Year's Day. What a great way to start 2012! All of Geran's family (minus Elder Call in Texas and Geran's bro-in-law, Shawn, who had to work) made the trek to Poky. What a supportive family! And because my out-of-state fam happened to still be in Idaho for Christmas, they were all here too. Geran's good friend from SLC even came up. Seth was just surrounded by love! Geran did a great job and the blessing was beautiful, and Seth stayed asleep through it all, much to Geran's relief.

Seth got to wear the same outfit Dad was blessed in (Thanks, Renae!) and was wrapped in the blanket his Great-Great-Grandma Cole crocheted when I was blessed (Thanks, Mom)!