Dylan's first x-mas

We had a very interesting holiday to say the least. Mostly it was the traveling from place to place that was interesting and by interesting I mean terrible. First we had the pleasure of driving to Portland to pick up uncle Jordon on their first day of snow. It took us 7 hours to get up there and back. Then on to Roseburg to see Great G-ma Dorris. While there we found out G-ma and G-pa were unable to fly back to Portland from Mexico and were instead driving up from hell aka L.A. We decided to brave the gorge together with them so we packed up our stuff and headed to Hood River. We made it to Salem just fine but then it took us 4 hours to get to Portland. Anyway, we made it to Hood River to see they had massive amounts of snow and it was still piling up. A little trip to The Dalles to see the family and that wraps up the foul weather driving. As for the actual Holiday, we ate some food and opened some presents. I guess the moral of the story is carry chains or traction tires. Happy New Year everyone from all of us.

7 months old

Dylan had a great 1st Thanksgiving! She ate some sweet potato while everyone else enjoyed all the usual fare. She really enjoyed being able to spend time with Grandma Wendy, Grandpa Tim, and Great Grandma Doris. It was a fun, relaxing day.

Dylan's personality is really starting to emerge. She just started to get mad if you take something from her or won't give her what she wants. Dylan has also started to really move around the house although she still can't quite crawl. She has mastered the backwards scoot though!

Dylan also started swimming classes this week and so far she really love being in the water and splashing with mommy and daddy. We will post some swimming pictures soon.

Dylan's first presidential election

Dylan is so happy that Obama will be the first president of her lifetime (let's all just forget that few months with Bush...) In other news...

Dylan is becoming more and more fun everyday. She is still having problems sleeping for long periods of time, but we are slowly weening her from needing us to help her get back to sleep. She has now eaten sweet potatoes (her favorite!), carrots, peas, avocado (not a fan), and banana. We have started to feed her 2 times a day and she seems to enjoy it. Dylan can sit up all by herself now, although she sometimes will still tip over. :) Dylan went for a visit with Aunt Stacey this weekend in Portland and also got to see Erin, Jane, and her grandparents! She also went to see the exhibit on photographs of the Gorge at the museum where Dylan enjoyed squealing and hearing the acoustics of the building.

Dylan Claire is 6 months old!

Well there are a few days still. She has started eating solid food such as rice cereal and carrots. She has also learned to wave and hold her bottle up by herself. Dylan is really in to pulling hair, reading, and playing in her excersaucer right now. She still hasn't figured out how to sleep through the night yet which is making Mom and Dad a little delirious. As we speak I am too tired to write anymore so enjoy the pictures.

Dylan's first presidential debate

Dylan, Kelley and I just wanted to point out that Obama was the only one to even mention early childhood education. Yeah I know using my 5 month old's blog to champion my profession is questionable but we feel it is important.
Dylan is a little under the weather presently but is still in good spirits. Kelley is back to work full time next week which should prove to be our biggest challenge yet as far as sleep goes. I am now on alert at night as well as Kelley and I are taking turns putting Dylan back to sleep. I apologize in advance to those I work with as I do not function well on little sleep and I have an aversion to that nasty and expensive habit, coffee.
It is crazy to think that Dylan will be eating food in less than a month but we were saying the same thing about her rolling over which seems so routine now. Enjoy the SNL Palin skits.

Update

Well we have had a busy last month! We went to Yachats for a week with friends. Dylan took her first trip to the aquarium and also tasted sand! Dylan loved playing with Mia, Jon and Jenny's 4 year old daughter. We also took a trip to Arcata to meet Dylan's other grandpa and Justin. It was a very short trip and we hope to make a longer trip in the next year.

Dylan now enjoys playing with toys, which mostly means that she will hold them and look at them and shake them. She is a lot more aware of her surroundings as well. She is growing rapidly and weighed 15 lbs at her 4 month check up! She was in the 77% for weight but only in the 33% for height! She likes to eat her toes at any given chance, mostly when you are trying to change her diaper. Dylan is still a wonderfully easy baby although she likes to eat all night long which mommy does not appreciate! We are planning to start her on solids at 6 months, which is next month!

We went last week and got professional pictures taken. Dylan didn't want to cooperate but we did get a few smiles out of her! Dylan has started to talk a lot, cooing and smiling! She also discovered her hands and likes to clasp them together and put them in her mouth. She even sucked her thumb for the first time last night. Dylan has had a clogged tear duct for about 2 weeks now, so we are washing it with warm water and massaging it, which she doesn't like! Hopefully it will go away soon!