8 months old

Every time I take these "month" pictures, it hits me how close we are getting to the big 1.

It also hits me how impossible these pictures are going to be to take as the months go by.

He gave me a few good shots before it got difficult today...


Then, he attempted to escape:


He plotted his revenge by covering up the "8" once I got him dressed for round 2.

We're Home!!

January was so full of travel - it was wonderful to have the opportunity to make all of our trips, but it is equally wonderful to be back home! After returning from San Francisco, we had 5 days to unpack, do laundry and pack again. We spent three nights in Tahoe with the Pedrottis and Callisons. 5 kids under the age of 5 was not stressful at all......well, maybe a little. But, it was also a lot of fun. Especially the night we hired a nanny and went out for dinner and to the casinos!


The "big" kids were going sledding one day, so Chris and I brought Aidric along and thought we might get a photo or two of him going down on the sled with one of us.


Aidric thought he'd rather have a nap.



If you haven't been to Tahoe, it is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Highly recommend it!!


All that "sledding" really wore him out!


After Tahoe, we headed to Southern California. Chris had to be in Palm Springs for work, so I stayed with his family for the rest of the week. As you all know, his cousin Grace is 4 weeks younger and seeing them together is always fun. This time, they took turns being the bully and stealing the toys. A little glimpse of what the future holds....

What perfect little angels...


Who look like they've had a few too many!




While we were in California, we celebrated Grandma Porras's birthday. Here is how Aidric felt about singing Happy Birthday!



Hmm, maybe he was still upset with his grandma for putting his cousin's girly, pink, "princess" bib on him earlier???

Back from San Francisco

What a whirlwind trip it was!! We arrived on Wednesday morning and were home by Saturday late afternoon! Chris had to work most of the time, and Aidric and I had a full social calendar! On Wednesday night, we visited with my friends Becky and Eve and their kids. (This is Becky's daughter, Hannah)


Trying to entertain a baby in a hotel room while getting ready isn't the easiest. Bonnie had sent Aidric a Christmas gift that arrived just in time for our trip, so I packed it with us and it was perfect! It's actually a funnel type ball toy- you put the balls in and it plays music. Aidric enjoyed taking the pieces of the toy apart and finding places for them.


We went to UCSF and it was SO wonderful to see everyone there. In addition to the Child Life Team, we saw several nurses and other staff I used to work with. It was so fun to be back and it felt so weird to be a "visitor".



After leaving UCSF, we went to visit Eleanor, Sarah and Michael- I started baby sitting for Sarah when she was 5 months old! Many of you may remember she was the flower girl in our wedding.

We were so busy hanging out with Uncle John and going out to a great sushi dinner that we forgot to take pictures! On Friday, we did some shopping (I miss Union Street so much!), had lunch with the gang at UCSF again, and then met Laurice and Eve for coffee and dessert. Chris and I went to the PSS holiday party that night, while Stephanie and Tiffany babysat for Aidric. Sadly, he didn't make it easy for them!

Overall, it was such a great! We miss San Francisco, and while TX still doesn't feel 100% like "home", it was good to be back!

PS- Flat Carter traveled to SF with us. He was in TX visiting from Indiana and wanted to come along. We'll be sending him back to Carter and his class very soon!!

7 months on New Year's Eve!

And he celebrated by waking up every 20 minutes or so until we finally gave in and got him up! (He was so messed up b/c of the time change!)


He doesn't even look like a baby anymore=(

Merry Christmas from California!

We spent Christmas in CA and had a great time. Here is the whole crew!


Presents from Grandma and Grandpa Porras!


Bath time with my cousin Grace. (Aren't they going to just love us for these pictures when they are in high school?)



"Yep, cuz, I've really put on the pounds this holiday...I have got to start working out to lose these rolls!"

With cousin Grace and second cousins Jon and Raquel

Christmas in Austin

Do you think it's time to retire the swing? He's having a little too much fun in there!

Opening presents


New toys!



(I admit, I am back dating these to make up for my lack of blogging over Christmas!)

Chris, Aidric and I opened our presents from each other (and Aidric opened some that were sent to him from Grandma Hanewich, Grandma Sytsma and Gretchen too!) on Dec. 22nd- the day before we left for CA. Surprisingly, Aidric really did participate in the opening! While he and I were in the living room waiting for Chris, I put all of his presents in front of him. He reached for one and started tearing! We put together a few of his toys and he immediately started playing.

Our little reader

Aidric is finally becoming interested in books! This makes me so happy, but tonight he went above and beyond. He sat there like this for over five minutes studying this book. No turning pages yet, but he checked out this one page pretty thoroughly!