Happy Birthday Daddy!

Mike's birthday was Friday. We had a great night. Mike went on a hunt to find his gift- legos. Here he is putting his new fire truck together with Derek. We also celebrated with friends. I made my first cake. It was a chocolate fudge cake with frosting and came out really well.

In other good news, Derek finally likes his stroller. He had been in the full recline mode and has been crying. I decided he wanted to sit up. It worked. We took our first cry-free walk tonight. Yeah! Because he grew out of his bunting, we put him in the outfit I thought would work for next year's Halloween. Ha. It is a 9 month size and it is only a little big. So here is our tiger on a walk. The last 2 weeks have been full of great fun changes!

My first nap alone

Derek took his first nap alone yesterday-- ever. He usually just sleeps in my arms for naps. In the past when I have tried to lay him down he always woke up after 10 minutes- no matter where I tried to put him. So yesterday we turned the corner. Today we are going to try a nap in the crib. We will see how it goes.

Doesn't our little nordic baby look adorable? He looks ready for a day in the mountains.

Sleep update: There will be not be any more sleep updates due to the curse of the blog. Each time I talk about how great he is sleeping that night is a different story. So you will just need to ask as I will no longer write about it :) Overall he is a wonderful sleeper. He has been sleeping through the night for about a month now with just occasional weird nights. I know I know.. it is wonderful.. and we really enjoy the sleep :)

On a brighter note, he is in his crib right now screaming with pleasure. He loves his new mobile. He is quite loud and animated- just like his Daddy. Haha!

Not quite old enough...

We had an Easter hunt on Sunday. Mike wanted Derek to have a hunt to celebrate his first Easter. Mike even bought candy with bright wrappers thinking he would like it. Well Derek did enjoy being in my arms for the hunt. He wasn't into the booty.. unfortunately his booty will be a curse on on my booty as he isn't bit enough to eat the candy yet. It was fun anyways. Mike hid the candy high enough that the doggies wouldn't participate. So here is Derek with his candy.

Here is another shot of Derek helping Daddy to work. He was very content. He is usually happy and content to just be in our arms!

Sleep update... so after I post about his huge night of sleep he didn't sleep through the night for 3 nights. He is back on track now (10 hours last night).... plus he has a bigger head. Seriously his head grew last week. Crazy!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter! Have a great time celebrating Easter. Here are fun pictures of Derek. Thank you Grandma Susy for the fun outfit. Enjoy!

So cool!

Here is Derek in his new sunglasses. It really can be sunny in Portland! He doesn't like his new shades yet but we will keep trying so he gets used to them. He looks adorable in them. Stay away girls...

Riding the Horsey

Derek was riding the big horsey- otherwise known as Alex. He enjoyed it the first time. The second time, after I had the camera, Alex was running away from us. Mmm maybe she doesn't like to play horsey!

Derek has been great during tummy time. Here he is playing on his tummy while we play cards.

Derek is loving his crib and doing great in it. Last night he even slept 10.5 hours in a row. He is a wonderful baby. We love his giggles and his smiles.

First Night in the Crib

Derek spent his first night in the crib. We waited until Mike's parents left to start the adventure. Derek did great. He slept 7 hours in the crib- a bit shorter than normal but still great. He was a bit scared when he woke up in a new place, but cuddling him cured that very quickly. We love our little guy.

The pictures of the dogs were taken this week at the park. MIke was having fun taking pictures of them. I will post more of them in the days to come!

Derek's baptism

Derek was baptized on Sunday. He was asleep just before it started, and everything was going fine until the "Holy Spirit" and that last bit of cold water down his neck made him a little angry, but he calmed down pretty quickly. It was great. Pastor Len, our dear friend, was wonderful. See the video below!

Derek's Baptism

Derek was baptized today. Pastor Len performed the great ceremony. We will try again to add the video as it wouldn't go through the first time!

Daddy's Home!!!

We are very excited to have Mike home. His luggage is in Germany still and will be delivered in a few days. Apparently some German workers are on a strike and did not load 70 pieces of luggage on the plane. Ha! Other than that, Mike is safe, healthy, and HOME! God truly provided for us while he was gone, but it just reminded me how much we love our Mike and get used to all of his help.

Mike's parents are coming Friday for a week. Derek will be baptized this Sunday. We will post the baptism on the blog early next week. We are honored to have Pastor Len doing the baptism. We are committed to loving our little guy and showing him Jesus with our actions and teaching him about Jesus. Mike and I love our little Derek dearly but I keep telling Derek that Jesus loves him more!

Here is our little cutie hanging out on our bed. He is so happy and a great little guy. He slept 10 hours last night- in a row. Yahoo! He loves the puppies so here he is cuddling with Lucky. Of course, right after this, Lucky licked him all over. Derek is getting used to the affection.

Lucky last week- Luckers is sitting on the glider. We have recently put the footrest in front of the glider- the footstool is also a rocker. Well Luck decided to move. She had her back legs on the glider and her front legs on the footstool. Both started rocking- in different directions- as did Lucky. We wished we had time to videotape the hysterics that ensued. Luck tried to get off but couldn't with the rocking. Finally she got jumped off- and ran! Serves her right for being up there :) She now takes care to jump off the side! Ah life with Lucky!