whitney, ted, sydney and soren

I'm walking!

noreply@blogger.com (Whitney) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 23:40:00 +0000

For the last few weeks I've taken a step or two at a time, but today I really walked for the first time! Daddy and I were playing with my socks, and as he moved to the other side of the room, I walked from the chair over to him to try and get them back. Two videos below!

Soren playing "Night-night/Wake-up"

noreply@blogger.com (Whitney) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 22:35:00 +0000

Mommy and Daddy keep trying to teach me to play peek-a-boo, but I wasn't so interested. Instead, I like to pretend I'm asleep and then I rollover to wake up and laugh! It's funny when we all play it together, too. Games are so fun.

I'm Still a Rockstar, I've Got My Rock Moves

noreply@blogger.com (Whitney) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:16:00 +0000

The best part of our visit with the Tallmans was Sydney dancing with Grandma Nora and singing "Twinkle, Twinkle". An 80+ year age difference means nothing when you are singing and dancing.

Dancing with Grandma Nora

Hawaiian Dancing

Turn up the volume to hear Sydney sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"

Visit with the Tallman Family

noreply@blogger.com (Whitney) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:39:00 +0000

We had a fun visit with the Tallman's in Bakersfield on the way to and from LA, where we were able to spend good time with Courtney, too. I was so glad to finally meet them after all the fun things Sydney had told me. We had fun making up for lost time, and I could definitely get used to all the attention and kisses from Joan and Kristen. We even had lunch at the club with Joey. Sydney loved running circles around the house, being chased by Joe and me, and finally warmed up to the dogs by the end of the trip. Next time, we'll take a trip on the boat, preferrably in a lake not in the pool, as Sydney suggested.

Ready to go on the boat... next time.

Sydney splashing in the pool with Kristen. She did swim with Mommy.

Breakfast with Courtney in Beverly Hills.

So Big!

noreply@blogger.com (Whitney) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 04:40:00 +0000

Mommy, Daddy, and Sydney have been trying to teach me to raise my arms and say, "Soooo Big" when they ask me, "How big is Soren?" Well, we finally caught it on video and have some photos. Of course now I do it all the time, but usually I just want someone to pick me up.

Towers visit

noreply@blogger.com (Whitney) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 23:52:00 +0000

Sue and Denny were in town visiting friends and were able to come over for lunch and meet me! I stared at Denny the whole time, and Sydney was so glad to have more friends to see her toys and play with her. We had a great visit and will get to see them again in Bakersfield and later this summer, when I get to meet Sophie!!

Soren's got a girl

noreply@blogger.com (Whitney) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 04:00:00 +0000

I haven't see as many babies regularly as Sydney did when she was my age, but I'm working on it. There are three baby girls in our playgroup. We went to a playdate with some of them recently, and I couldn't stop staring at Calleigh. We liked making each other smile, and she made me drool. Mommy had to take our picture, since we were so cute.

Laughing all the way home!

noreply@blogger.com (Whitney) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 05:31:00 +0000

I am a happy little guy, and I just got happier! Today I let out my biggest and best laughs yet! My laugh is pretty funny, and Sydney even makes me squeal! Mommy and Daddy think the pom poms make me laugh even harder. (It's just a show to see how hard they'll laugh, too - shhh, don't tell.)

Rollover, Rollover...

noreply@blogger.com (Whitney) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:45:00 +0000

I rolled over today from my back to my tummy, and Mommy caught it on video! Woo hoo! I'm almost 6mos (5 3/4 months) and I weigh 19lbs 4 oz. Mommy was shocked that I weighed less than 20lbs. I don't go in for my official 6 month visit until July, so I can see our pediatrician (I went in today for a yucky cold). I am still waiting on these teeth to finally come in. All I have now is a whole lot of drool!

Be patient with me, it takes me a bit to finally roll in the video.

Laughing

noreply@blogger.com (Whitney) — Sun, 31 May 2009 16:33:00 +0000

I'm a pretty happy guy and I sure love to laugh, but I don't always perform on demand. It's a two person job to get me laughing and capture it on video. Enjoy!

I love my brother

noreply@blogger.com (Whitney) — Sun, 31 May 2009 15:14:00 +0000

"Soren really, really likes me, and I love to make my brother laugh." I like to give him baby toys, and I am learning to be careful with toys that are dangerous for him. I really don't like it when he pulls my hair or tries to play with my toys, but we sing and laugh a lot during the day. We're friends, and we even look alike.

The ballet

noreply@blogger.com (Whitney) — Sun, 31 May 2009 04:59:00 +0000

Mommy and I had a girls day today with Madeline and her mommy, Allison. We went to see the matinee of The Little Mermaid Ballet (shortened Hans Christian Andersen's version, not the Disney version). I really wanted to dance ballet, even though Mommy kept telling me we were going to watch other people dance ballet at the show. After the show Mommy took a video of Madeline and me dancing. Madeline wanted to be Prince Eric and I was Ariel. We had a great time, and it was fun to get dressed up and go to the theater.

Waiting for the show to start.

Showing off my ballet moves with Madeline.

After the show, we go to see the ballerinas and look at the costumes. This is Ursula. She was very good, but I was afraid of her make-up. The Little Mermaid was my favorite, especially since she was pink.

Look, no hands!!

noreply@blogger.com (Whitney) — Fri, 29 May 2009 17:48:00 +0000

I'm sitting on my own now. No hands, Mom!!

Sitting with my sister.

Mommy thinks I looks a little like a picture of Haden.

Sibling fun

noreply@blogger.com (Whitney) — Fri, 29 May 2009 04:37:00 +0000

Sydney likes to climb up on the side of my crib and talk to me. Today she put all of my stuffed animals in the crib while I was in there. She likes to make me laugh, and I love to watch her, as long as she doesn't startle me. That makes me cry. Here's a video of rare footage that Mommy is always trying to capture - Sydney singing and me smiling at her.

Jake and Baby Nathan come to play

noreply@blogger.com (Whitney) — Sun, 24 May 2009 22:10:00 +0000

I was so excited to have Jake come over and play with my summer backyard toys! We were able to play with the water table and croquet set, but it was too cold and windy to use the pool/fountain. Soren and Baby Nathan played on the blanket, and we all ate pizza for dinner!

I wanted Jake to play dress up with me, so Mommy showed him all of my hats. Jake wanted Soren to wear the viking hat! He looked pretty funny.

My first food

noreply@blogger.com (Whitney) — Sun, 24 May 2009 04:21:00 +0000

I am a hungry guy, and I wish I could eat all of the yummy food my family eats. I know this rice cereal stuff may not look as delicious as Mommy's chicken and noodles, but I LOVE it!

The first time Daddy fed me, I couldn't wait for the next bite!

Happy Faces

noreply@blogger.com (Whitney) — Thu, 21 May 2009 04:30:00 +0000

Now that I am smiling more often, it's easy to catch my many happy faces, smirks, giggles, and grins.

This is one of Mommy's favorites.

Teddy Bear Picnic at Preschool

noreply@blogger.com (Whitney) — Wed, 20 May 2009 06:07:00 +0000

For the end of the year celebration of our first year of preschool, we had a Teddy Bear Picnic one night with all the families (most anyway). We brought our own picnic and a teddy bear. I chose to bring the one that was Mommy's and is wearing a Baylor t-shirt, because it is really special to me. After the picnic, we sang some of our favorite songs for the parents. It was a lot of fun. In the video, you can't hear the singing very well, but you can hear me at the beginning!

Jumpin' for Joy!

noreply@blogger.com (Whitney) — Tue, 12 May 2009 04:36:00 +0000

I love to jump and spend a lot of time in my Johnny Jumper. I also like my exersaucer, and now my legs and back are very strong, which is helping me sit better and push with my legs. I'm a busy boy, until my sister walks in the room, and then all my attention is on her. This is the beginning of my life when every time she says "jump", I say "how high?".

Mother's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Whitney) — Tue, 12 May 2009 04:36:00 +0000

We spent the weekend as a family, celebrating Mother's Day. We had a fun day at lunch in Half Moon Bay (I slept) and drove up the coast to find a beach to play on. We found a great place, and hiked down to Montara Beach (I slept on the hike). Mommy helped Sydney build a sand castle, but all she wanted to do was "break it". At least she's getting ready for the wild energy I'm going to unleash on her stuff someday. We spent Sunday at home after church, just playing and relaxing. This was just what Mommy wanted for Mother's Day weekend, and she was happy to have some time with just the four of us.

My sister is already a little priss - no peeing in the bushes for her!

Daddy and Sydney on the cliff

Building sand castles

There were a lot of waves and they were pretty big and fast. No wonder so many surfers come here.

"Super Soren"

My mommy loves me!!

Sydney loves to say, "Look, he's laughing" or "I want to make my brother laugh". And of course I think she's pretty funny, so I laugh too.

This is about as happy as I get!

Mommy and Sydney in our backyard on Mother's Day

Sydney's favorite thing these days is picking flowers. Last week she and Mommy cut roses and callalilies from our yard and put some in every room in the house.

Sitting!!

noreply@blogger.com (Whitney) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 05:25:00 +0000

Today Soren sat on his own for the first time. Mommy calls it the "tripod" position, since Soren is putting his weight on his hands to sit up. We were so excited, and I pulled out my pom-poms to cheer him on. Yea Soren!

Soren's First Smiles

noreply@blogger.com (Whitney) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:04:00 +0000

I'm smiling! Mommy finally caught it on camera. I smile a lot, especially when Sydney is around. Life is better when I smile.

Family Outing

noreply@blogger.com (Whitney) — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 22:27:00 +0000

We took our first "family of four" outing to Muir Woods for the day and dinner in Sausalito. I had fun looking at the tall trees, the trees that fell down, and the trees where you could see inside. We talked about the animals that might live in the forest (my new favorite word) and why the trees fell down. Soren slept most of the time, but we all had fun!

Family Dinner Out

noreply@blogger.com (Whitney) — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 22:03:00 +0000

We had our first family night out at The Counter for burgers & sweet potato fries! We all needed a change of scenery. Soren really wanted some fries!

Dinners and friends

noreply@blogger.com (Whitney) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 23:04:00 +0000

Well, we have been lucky to have so many friends bring us meals, send gifts, and let us know they are thinking about us and happy that I'm finally here. It's also nice to have folks come over for a visit, since we aren't getting out much, and Mommy and Daddy are so tired from being up all night with Sydney and me. We were so happy to have our good friends Christi, Karl, Jake and Baby Nathan over to play and have dinner. They couldn't believe how much Nathan has grown, and it was fun for me to meet all of the boys.

This is what I have to look forward to from my older sibling. ha ha!

Actually, Baby Nathan adores Big Brother Jake. Mommy was thinking tonight that she can't wait until Sydney and I can play together and make each other laugh like the boys do.