Sunday, December 28, 2008

Big Boy!


Our little Rem hit some milestones this week. Something clicked in his head and he now can crawl forward. He also can get himself from laying to sitting and from sitting to STANDING! He shocked Candice by standing in his crib when she came to get him from a nap. He has the walking motion down, all he needs is balance and it's all over. He also has his first tooth coming in. A bottom front tooth is ripping through. He is handling it well, naps are harder while he is in pain but his attitude is still great. It took him some time, but he finally hit a stride. It is so amazing how fast it all happens.

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Christmastime

What a lovely Christmas we had! Despite our absence from the majority of our family, we really did enjoy ourselves. We had a Christmas Eve extravaganza with friends from the neighborhood. Keith made his famous turducken (often mistakenly referred to as turDUNKen) and all the fixins. He only allowed me in the kitchen long enough to make Lion House rolls and sweet potatoes. Christmas morning Remi woke up bright and early, and I do mean EARLY. We took our time getting him dressed and fed, then completely overwhelmed him with presents and wrapping paper. We enjoyed a long and lazy afternoon then made our way over to my uncle and aunt's for a nice traditional Christmas dinner. Pretty uneventful holiday and that's just the way we like it!
Remi loved his phone from Grandma Sano:
And his pillow from Mama She She:
He loves to ham it up:
Another gift from Grandma Sano
A delicious Christmas cheesecake, made from scratch by Keith!

Sunday, December 21, 2008

What a great day

Keith here, hello. We had a very nice day today, thought I'd share. I got to sleep in for the first time in months, it was great. Then we watched the Sunday news programs and made fun of George Stephanopoulos together, I can't stand him. Candice was nice enough to take the child downstairs so I could get uninterrupted rest. Then we took a drive through the country north of our town just for craps and giggles. It was like most of Texas, Ghetto-Fab. Really beautiful horse ranches and farms with awesome homes right next to run down trailers then another nice house and so on, hence Ghetto-Fab. Very strange. On the way home we stopped at a road side vendor and picked up what they call a Chimenea. They are great for back yard fire pits.
Aint she a doll?

Here is a video of Candice lighting the first of many fires.
From 12-21-08

Then our friends came over and we made s'mores and had hot chocolate. It was very good. After that we had some fun with Ralph Waldo Remmerson. He is learning "So Big" and is getting the assisted walking thing down. Crawling is still a challenge for him, however. He can scoot backward, pivot around and go sideways but he just can't go forward yet. Candice believes that he will walk before he crawls. We'll see. Anyway, hope you all had a good day too.

He is actually a lot better at "So Big" than the video shows, it was late when we recorded this. Sorry about the poor audio, I had my finger over the mic. Oops.
From 12-21-08

Baby steps, he is usually much better than the video shows.

Friday, December 19, 2008

Dumbest thing EVER

Don't ask me how Candice found this ridiculous video. She will walk around with a grin singing "Snape, Snape, Severus Snape, Harry Potter, Harry Potter!" This video has almost 56 million views on YouTube. I just don't get it.
WARNING- VERY CATCHY SONG!

Thursday, December 18, 2008

No! No! No!

SNOW!



I forgot to mention that it SNOWED here last week. This was only the 7th December snow in the last 100 years! It made me so homesick. It makes everything beautiful and quiet. We drove around and played Christmas music. Such a nice start to the Christmas season. Only stuck around until morning.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Newsletter: Month Nine

Nicknames: Ralph Waldo Remmerson, Remi-toe, Baby So-so,
New Foods: corn, cauliflower, Cheerios, frozen peas
Visitors: Aunt Katie

Dear Remington,

Today you turn nine months old.

You are currently going through your first cold. It seems to be just the sniffles, but man, has it made you ornery! Not a whole lot of sleep going on around here. The other night was the worst night you have had since you were born. I don't think you have ever needed so much soothing and snuggling.
Besides that, you have had another wonderful month. Much to Daddy's dismay, you tried Cheerios in Sam's Club the other day. At first he insisted that I bite them in half and stop the cart whenever I fed you one. He is so careful with his little boy! Those Cheerios have changed your life! You have a few before every meal, to keep you distracted while I prep your food. Sometimes we eat them together for breakfast. You are becoming very skilled with your finger control and can clear a tray of Cheerios in seconds flat. The dogs benefit from your scraps as you always lose a few when I lift you our of your highchair. Stranger danger was in full force this month! We spent Thanksgiving at John and Vicki's house and you whimpered endlessly when anyone wanted to hold you. As part of this you have started to scream with your mouth closed. I've never seen another baby do this, it sounds like you are under a pile of blankets. Sometimes we worry that you will pass out if it keeps up for too long. But on the bright side, it helps keep me from going deaf, so thank you! Another plus is that you have figured out how to reach for us, one of the best feelings in the world.
You are still not technically crawling but you are the pivoting champion! You can also go from sitting to tummy. You can also roll, but almost never choose to. You scoot backwards and pivot to get around. It is quite efficient in a manner of speaking. You are also experimenting with pulling yourself to your feet. With spending so much time on the floor you need something to occupy your mind, so we usually turn on Baby Einstein or Sesame Street. You are so good and can sit there for an hour or more, playing with toys and watching your shows.

Lately you have been testing your vocals. Your favorite noise to make has been a guttural growl. Where you learned it I'll never know. Another favorite noise is a gurgley noise that sounds like a dentist's suction tool. You have also taken to saying 'goo-goo.' It is so classic and Daddy didn't believe that you learned that on your own.
You have become so curious this month. The look on your face when you discovered my ear was priceless. The expression read, "Huh! What a novelty! How long have you had that!" You also love to grab Daddy's nose and scratch as hard as possible. This month your senses seem to be really sharpening. You are drawn like a moth to a flame every time you hear a commercial geared towards kids. I guess those marketing guys know what they are doing! You respond pretty well to the sound of you name.

You have gotten very serious this month. You don't kick with excitement when I come to get you out of bed and it seems you reserve laughter for the truly funny. You don't laugh the second you see Daddy anymore either. Even with your new found seriousness, you still have a great admirer in Niles. He loves to sit practically on top of you every time you are on the floor. He and Baxter give you cold wet puppy kisses whenever they can. You like to lean over your highchair and exersaucer to get a better look at them whenever they play.


Something excited happened today! It snowed in Houston for the first time in years. It is the first snow you have ever seen. You seemed to be in a trance looking at it. I think you enjoyed being bundled up head to toe. The snow makes everything quiet and beautiful. We probably got over an inch of the stuff.

Your stats from today's doctor appointment:
Weight: 21 lbs 8 oz
Height: 29"
Head Circ: 18 1/2"
Shot up from 50% to 75% in height over the last three months.
No teeth yet!

You are our growing boy and we love you!

Love,
Mama

Monday, December 8, 2008

Sick Day

Remington has his first official cold! Runny nose, watery eyes, sneezing, breathing through the mouth, extra whiny, and clingy. So sad yet so sweet. Maybe not so sweet at midnight, 2am, 4am, 6am...you get the picture!

Friday, December 5, 2008

Years ago...

Before we had any fellas, Keith and I lived in San Diego. This is what December looks like from the air...I will always have fond memories of our first home away from Utah.

Monday, December 1, 2008

We tried...

and failed...
So much for trying to take a nice family holiday picture! Baxter was trying to escape from evil Santa (Keith) and refused to be in the picture. He ended up stealing Niles' hat and running around the yard like a crazed beast.