Merry Christmas!!

Here are some pictures of Rainey's first Christmas. My sister, niece, nephew, mom and dad were here to celebrate. Rainey was on sensory overload with all his new toys. He really likes the "spaceship" that he can sit on and push all the bottoms. He is now pulling himself up and standing on his own!!

PS - There will be twice as much to celebrate next year :)

The Family

Surrounded by toys

More toys!

The spaceship he loves!!

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth

I got maybe two hours of sleep last night. Rainey was up and down all night long. He didn't want me to hold him. He didn't want me to rock him. He didn't want me to walk him. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. When Chip left this morning, mind you 5'ish, I told him I couldn't do it anymore (meaning being up all night - I need my sleep). But now, I can do it. I can stay up all night because Rainey has cut his first tooth!!!!

That explains it....cranky, fussy, not eating, not napping. At 9 months 1 week old, he has his first tooth!! I am so excited and my exhaustion has seemed to fade (for the moment at least). I'm sure we'll be taking naps this afternoon.

Jingle bells, bracelets and Christmas carols...

Yesterday, me, Rainey, Oma and Jackie went to a retirment community with one of my moms' groups. We made jingle bracelets and sang Christmas carols to the residents. What a fun time! It was so sweet to see the smiles on their faces...both the kids and residents.

Rainey watching the other kids sing

Singing in front of the fireplace

Rainey watching the kids singing...with me and Jackie

Who's the cutest reindeer of all?

Today, we took Rainey to meet Santa for the first time at The Lake House. Check out his reindeer hat.

Santa and Rainey

Yes, his beard is real.

Balloon lady

Awhhhhh

Going home for naptime.

Teasing Dixie...

The video speaks for itself :)

Sitting up

Rainey turned 9 months on Friday. Not only can he crawl on his knees, he has also learned yesterday how to sit up from the crawling position. He is a pro!

Loves broccoli and cookies

You cannot play with fire!

For Chip's birthday, we went to a hibachi grill. Rainey couldn't take his eye off the chef. Every time the chef moved, Rainey would move so he could see him better. It was awesome!

First Christmas Tree and First Present

We went this past Friday (on Chip's birthday) to pick out Rainey's first Christmas tree. He didn't care too much for it while we were there, but once we got it home and decorated it, he was all over it. It's going to be a busy couple of weeks keeping him away!

(Can you spot the baby boy above? He almost blends in the presents and tree.)

Rainey also opened his first Christmas present (from Aunt Anne and Uncle Frank).

What does he do in the dark?

This morning, I could hear Rainey on the baby monitor moving around. He wasn't making any noise. This is what I found when I snuck in his room. (The room is dark.). I guess it's time to lower the crib bed.

9 month check-up

Rainey's 9 month check-up was scheduled for next week. But because he had a very red, puffy right eye, I called and they got us in yesterday. Turns out, he has pink eye. He is doing much better with the eye drops. The doctor said he is definitely teething. There is some swelling on his lower gums.


Here are his stats for 9 months:

Height: 29 inches (90%)

Weight: 21 pounds (50-75%)

Head: 48 cm (97%)

He still had a big noodle :)

Kitchen helper or destroyer??

Since Rainey has become so mobile in his age, I had to figure a way to keep him in the kitchen while I cooked dinner. This seemed to do the trick.

First hike

For Christmas, Chip bought a hiking backpack that he's been wanting for a long time. We tried it out this weekend. To make a long story short, on the way to lunch before going to the park, we noticed a nail in Chip's tire. So we drove to the tire place and "hiked" to a restaurant for lunch. Oh, did I mention we had the dogs with us as well. On the "hike" back to the tire place, Rainey feel asleep. Check out the video.

On the way to the park, I caught Rainey peeking around his carseat trying to watch daddy. How cute!

Later that night, I don't know who was more tired....me or Rainey.

Santa's Little Helper

Who let the dogs out?

Rainey's new "milestone" - pulling himself up on the window ledge. He can pull himself up to standing (1st pic above). He loves biting the glass also (2nd pic above). As you can see from the video below, he is already testing me as I say no when he tries to play with the electrical outlet. He is very strong willed. Um, I wonder who he got that from :)

Christmas pictures

We hope you enjoy Rainey's 1st Christmas pictures. He was such a good boy! We love him so much!!!

Soccer player?

Now we know. Rainey can crawl on his knees. However, when we are inside the house, he prefers the army crawl. I guess it's too hard to army crawl on the grass :) FYI - it was pretty windy in the video. We were trying to have some outside time before the cold weather gets here.

Happy Thanksgiving

Rainey's grandma and grandpa (Chip's parents) and Aunt Amy (Chip's sister) came to visit. We had such a wonderful time. We had such a great time, that we didn't take any pictures at Thanksgiving. I feel horrible!!! Rainey had turkey and mashed potatoes, neither of which he care for too much. Here are a few photos we took while they were here. Grandpa and Grandma have more on their camera that I will post later.


Hanging out with Gunner:

Falling asleep in Grandpa's arms while he rubs his head:

Asleep after he pulled my skirt over his head. It must have been too bright in the room for him :)

And this is what we do in the back seat while Mom isn't looking. We take our socks off and eat them!

Caught ya!!

Duck, duck, goose

We went to Mary Jo Peckham park for the first time today. It is a really nice park. They have a huge play area, coi pond, fishing pond, free putt-putt golf and indoor swimming pool that stays open year round.

Rainey went on his first swing ride. As you can see, he was pretty "laid back". He was more interested in watching the other kids play than being pushed on the swing.

He also saw his first duck today, well about 25 or so ducks. We'll bring bread next time. As soon as we pulled up with the stroller, they all started heading our way. He just watched them.

I thought this duck looked funny. She looks like she has one of those "old lady buns" on top of her head :)

Hats

I think he looks cute in hats. He is wearing his new Tony Hawk hat. Unbeknownst to him, he is waiting for his flu shot. :(

Peek-a-boo blue eyes!

We are playing peek-a-boo behind the couch. He is such a sweet boy. Everyone says he looks like Chip....well, at least he's got my eyes!

And he's off..... (click on video)