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)

Dewberry Farm

Today, we went to Dewberry Farm with some friends. The first thing we saw was a chicken show. Rainey absolutely loved them! We went on to feed the goats. We also saw a donkey, baby chicks, pigs, rabbit, horses, and cows. We watched the girls compete in a duck race. How funny! We also went on a hayride through the fields. The farmer (driver) stopped in the middle of the field to give us a lesson on how pumpkins were made and let the kids off to pick their own pumpkin. All of the pumpkins were small, which the farmer told us he specifically grew for the babies/kids. We were there just 3 hours. Rainey fell asleep before we could get to the car. I can't wait for next year!

Don't forget to click on the slideshow above. There are two videos included in the pictures.

Storytime

We've been going to story time a couple of times a week for a few months now. This is Rainey's first time to actually move away from me. He is getting better and better and faster and faster!!

First girlfriend

Meet Avery, Rainey's first girlfriend. They met at the Castle at Memorial City Mall.

Bathtime

I love baby butts! As you can see, he hasn't had his bath yet, thus the Desitin still on his bum :)

Racquetballs

Rainey is fascinated with the dogs' racquetballs. Well, at least he is learning to crawl.

Dixie is excited to have someone to play with.

Busy weekend!

Rainey has mastered getting up on all fours but hasn't figure out how to move forward yet. He just rocks back and forth, which is pretty cute!!

Sunday was like a mad house around here. Chip grilled a pig (he killed last weekend) and chicken. We had friends over and about 5 more babies/toddlers. We had a great time. Rainey loved watching all of the older kids play.

I just want to send a shout out to Liz who made Rainey's hat below. This past weekend was a little cool outside, but only when the wind blew. I put his hat on and he loved it! Thanks Liz!!

New discoveries

He can sleep anywhere!!

Like I do every week, I put Rainey by the couch with his toys and started ironing clothes. Except this time was different. A few minutes later, I heard a strange noise. When I turned around, I saw Rainey "slapping" the tile. Who knew tile could be so entertaining? As you can see in the background, it didn't bother the dogs. They continued to take their afternoon nap. (There's a short video below.)

It was so nice yesterday afternoon, we decided to play in the backyard. I laid down a blanket for Rainey. Not a minute later, he leaned forward and began pulling grass out of the ground. And I'm not talking by the handfuls, but one blade at a time. Chip said he looks like a hippie with the hat on :) Hey, baby needs sun protection.

Out pops...

I was browsing through some photos and thought these were pretty cute. When Oma and Opa were here, I brought out Rainey's clothes basket to fold his clothes in the living room. Oma asked where Rainey was and I told her he was sleeping. She said she would fold his clothes and as soon as she started folding them, out pops Rainey. It was so funny! He stayed in the basket the entire time. As you can see from the second picture, he has on his "First Halloween" bib and camo, just for daddy. I think that brought Daddy good luck because he killed two deer and a pig over the weekend. Way to go!!