Mommy- how long until the football season starts?

I know I just posted, but these are just too cute to pass up.

The questions I heard this morning.. at least what I am guessing from the babbling... how long until the Packers games start? Will Daddy's Raiders win any games this year? At what age can I go to a Packers game? What is a Packer? What is football?

Trying to sit

Derek is trying to sit by himself. These pictures are from Sunday. He was able to hold himself up for about 5 seconds before tipping over. Yesterday he was lasting about 10 seconds. It was very cute.

Derek is quite talkative lately. We are not sure who or what he is talking to most of the time.... the dogs, the lamp, the trees. He seems to be falling into a routine that includes naps- by himself for an hour or two. Yeah.

This morning Derek started to roll over. Well he was rolling off of our chests in bed if that counts. He did roll a few times. He was quite surprised and pleased as he did it.

Directory Photo

Here is our family picture for our church's directory. I love directory photos. I remember going through old Westbrook directories and laughing at old photos and marveling at change. I think our photo looks pretty good but I know we will laugh at it in the days to come. So I am taking a poll. What do you think we will find funny in our picture in the days to come?

Our little Derek is 4 months old today! He had his 4 month shots yesterday. He did really well. Derek now weighs 15 pounds. Wow. He is growing so fast. He is a wonderful blessing. I love being his mommy.

So cool

Here is his first picture in jeans. Isn't he cute?

A typical weekend day

Aunie Alli has left and we miss her already. The doggies realize that life is back to normal- they think we are boring. Here they are sleeping-- again. We had a low-key day on Sunday resting after church. We did some work done outside. I was able to help while Derek napped.

Here is Derek napping in his swing on Monday. He even fell asleep by himself while I was cleaning up from lunch. Yeah.

Fun bath time...finally

Derek has been really disliking his baths lately. They involved much screaming (Derek) and much sadness (for all of us). Today was the day to try a new idea. We have already tried to alter the temp and the time which didn't help. Today we tried the kitchen sink. It was wonderful. Read Alli's blog (unlisted) to hear when we chose the timing today.. it is really funny! Derek was happy, splashing, and lounging. Yeah. I think the sink will work for a few months until we need to upgrade to the big tub. We celebrated by going to Target to buy bath toys.

Japanese Gardens

We went to the Japanese Gardens in Portland for free. We love the free passes from the library. We had a great time walking around and enjoying the nice weather. Derek was a good sport and slept most of the time. We also had fun exploring at Powells books.

Fun with Auntie Alli

Auntie Alli is here! Auntie Alli is here! We are so happy to see her. She left a cold WI, missed our 80 degree day in OR, and then missed the 70 degree day in WI. Oops. She has had to settle for weather in the 50's.

We have been having a great time so far. On Sunday we went to the Chinese gardens. It reminded us of China. It was congested. We were thankful we were able to go for free as Derek started to cry after only 20 minutes. Oh well. It was good to be together. Here are a few pictures from the garden.

Derek is loving his time with Auntie Al. He loves to be held by her. He has given her lots of smiles. The doggies are happy for the attention as well.

It has now taken me a half-hour to post this. Derek just had a poopie diaper and is now fussy so more on our week later.

So big

It has been a mellow week around here. Derek has been sleeping less than normal lately. He is thinking he is so big though. He loves to sit up. He likes to sit in the boppy or on the couch and play with his rattle. He is full of smiles. He is also playing longer by himself which is nice.

Derek loves to ride on daddy's shoulders. His new thing is to hold on- usually to Mike's ear. It is quite cute.

Lucky is the one with the story this week. She has managed to eat the string from the pot roast and the wrapping from beef sausage. Who is and isn't pooping is a popular topic in our house!

We are resting up because Auntie Al is coming Saturday. Yeah!!

A little of this and a little of that

We have successfully had a few naps in the crib! Yeah. Right now he is sleeping in the car seat as we have just returned from grocery shopping.

Here is our little man. He is trying to sit up on his own but keeps falling to the side. I think he looks like a jr. high boy lounging on the couch. He is just starting to hold on to things as well. Here is his newest rattle. He is just so much fun!

Derek was a big helper to daddy. We kept him far enough away from the legos so he wouldn't try to eat them. Here is the finished fire engine. Daddy is counting the days until Derek wants to play with legos.

FYI- it is sunny today! It is supposed to be in the low 60's all week!