Christmas in OK

These are in no particular order (well, no order that I can control, that is!) Captions are above the pictures...

Look at those smiles.
Stratton and Papa Chop reading a book.

Trying to capture the Terry Bradshaw-esque look that Stratton has perfected.
THe boys dressed up from church. Stratton looked at his vest and excitedly started spouting, "T -T - T" which is his word for train.

Dawson sporting some new OSU gear.The snow gave a great reason for JR to get out his tractor and clear the street and driveway.
Checkin out the Christmas tree.
We flew in to Wichita and got to Stillwater just in time to watch a good winter blizzard roll in. A great thing to watch while inside with plenty of food and a hot cup of tea...S
Uncle Aaron with Stratts.
Stratton likes all things soft. Here he hugs a plush bear. Hugging is a full body activity.

Christmas in VA

The boys in front of our new embroidered stockings. We had our own "Christmas morning" the day after our big snowstorm. We pretty much couldn't go anywhere anyway, so the timing worked out well!
We learned our lesson from last year's snow and shoveled our driveway before it turned to ice...Dawson was actually a big help!Stratton in a rare cuddly moment! Check out the hair...
This is a more "natural" moment.

December 10 - Stratton turns one!

Stratton's birthday was pretty much a normal Thursday, and our activities are chronicled below. But we did have some cake after dinner!

The birthday boy was incredibly tired by the time dinner happened, so right after these pics, he completely fell apart and went straight to bed. : )


Daddy coming home is always a highlight of the day.
Some outside playtime in the freezing cold.
A playdate with our friends, the Farkas' who have two boys the same age as ours. This is a dance party the boys had after lunch.

Putting the "Jolly" in Jolly Jumper

This little guy was having so much fun in the jumper yesterday. This is pretty much Stratton in a nutshell right now - how wonderful to have a happy baby! The trick was how to hold the camera still while making excited faces and egging him on. (Thanks again, Nan, for the hand-me-down jumper!)

Due to Technical Difficulties

I’ve been on here at least 10 times recently to try to update the blog, but everytime I open iPhoto, the program gets hung and I give up in frustration. I find technology very annoying when it doesn’t meet my expectations for speed and responsiveness…It has probably raised my blood pressure more than a few points recently!

Had I been able to upload pictures, I would have told you about

- the fun visit with Mimi and Aunt Heidi that we had recently. The effects of your visit are still fresh as evidenced by Dawson just yesterday. After dinner he grabbed his toy “laptop” and hopped up on the couch to play some games. After he sat there for a minute, he said, “Hey, I’m like Aunt Heidi” (Heidi spent some quality time with her laptop on our couch during the visit – apparently little eyes were watching!)
- the haircut I gave Dawson today. It was the first time I’ve used electric clippers to help trim and I was breathing a sigh of relief that I’d actually give him a decent haircut and not nicked or in any other way scarred him psychologically from the experience. As I was cleaning up I hear Dawson say, “Look, Mommy, I’m doing a haircut!” And sure enough, he had the scissors straight over his forehead and before I could speak a large chunk of hair fell to the ground. It’s somewhat noticeable, but somewhat an underneath layer, so I can sort of hide it. Could have been much worse, but so much for a successful haircut! (I guess this is payback for the time I cut Frances’ (the cat) hair in the living room when I was two.)
- and last but not least a few sweet Mothers’ Day pictures with me and the boys

maybe they’ll be on here one day!

Rollin' and Chillin'

Stratton has been working determinedly on his rolling skills and this week he finally figured it out. He can now do front to back and back to front. Dawson and I were cheering him on when he did his first one. One time, I set him down to go to the bathroom and when I came back he had moved about 4 feet! Below you can see him doing his latest trick - the back to front roll.


After a nap this week, it was a beautiful day and I gave Dawson his snack on a plate. I mentioned how nice it would be to sit out on the porch and read a book. Next thing I knew, I turned around to find he had made himself quite comfortable - his snack perched on a chair within arm's reach, a drink tucked by his side, a book on his lap and his feet kicked up on a neighboring chair.
Surgery Footnote - Is this normal??
The night of Dawson's surgery, we went to get him dressed for bed only to find he still had the sticky electrode things on his chest and side. Is it normal to leave them on or did they forget?!?

Ear Tube Surgery

BEFORE

AFTER

Dawson's ear tube placement surgery went well today. They drained fluid from one ear and put tubes in both. He says he can hear better - we hope that is really the case. The surgery was really fast - he was gone for about 30 minutes (including 15 minutes sitting in the recovery room by himself). That part really bothered me because at one point I think we heard him screaming and afterwards they said he was crying to see us (well, Daddy, actually). He was certainly not his bubbly self when they brought him out, but he's gotten better all day. At first he was really subdued, then he went through a silly/drunk kind of stage, and by lunchtime he seemed almost back to normal.

Stratton, on the other hand, was feeling very photogenic at the hospital.

Eric's Birthday

Chocolate cupcakes were part of the celebration for Eric's birthday this weekend. Dawson enjoyed them thoroughly.











Stratton as usual, awestruck by Dawson's antics...













This pile of shoes is evidence of the 9 kids and about a dozen adults who came over for a BBQ dinner on Saturday to celebrate Eric's 33rd!

Easter Weekend Pictures

Spring Has Sprung

These beautiful daffodils that my mom helped plant last fall came up en masse a few weeks ago - a sure sign that we're on the tail end of winter.



Memorable Quote:
I had to work hard not to burst out laughing at the dinner table last night. I made mahi-mahi for the first time and had been telling Dawson earlier in the day that we were going to have fish for dinner. He was pleasantly excited about trying a new food and after taking his first bite, he pondered and then said, "Mmmm. That kinda tastes like chicken." No joke. Neither Eric nor I had ever said that to him. He came to that one all by himself.

Adventures in Babysitting
The other day, I had left Stratton in his bouncy seat in Dawson's room and walked across the hall to get something. When I came back, about 10 seconds later, Dawson beamed at me and said, "Mommy, I was the babysitter!" He seemed to relish the idea that he was second in command when I was out of the room. Since then he has found opportunities to be the "self-proclaimed babysitter" by showing Stratton a toy or otherwise entertaining him. The two pictures below illustrate...

Stratton has almost mastered rolling over back to front - you can see how twisted around he is in this shot!

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Thunder and lightning

Watching OSU lose their last basketball game of the season : (

Brothers

Dawson and Stratton enjoyed a lazy morning in their PJs today. It works well so far, because Stratton actually enjoys watching Dawson play with his (Stratton's) toys. I know that will not last forever...!
This was on a particularly warm day last week - we all enjoyed getting outside and kicking our shoes and socks off. Dawson just wanted to take it one step further.