Pre-Christmas in Fort Collins

Thanks Aunt Pat for the adorable "Baby's First Christmas" banner!  It is perfect.

We celebrated an early Christmas with all the presents that arrived at our house before we flew to Wisconsin for the holiday.

This will be the perfect accompaniment to my book "Good Night, Moon".

Books galore!

Peek-a-boo bear. This gift came at the perfect time - Jameson loves initiating the peek-a-boo game, and this bear makes a great playmate!

Grammy's homemade memory game - can't wait to play!

I love everything about breakfast...

...especially enjoying it with my little guy!

Meeting Santa Claus

Santa!  So far so good...

...until a few seconds later, when Jameson starts to get suspicious...

Daaaaad!!!

This seems like a safe distance.  Until next year...

11 Months

Eleven months old! I'm a big boy!  A highlight of my eleventh month is that I now have four teeth (front bottom two and front top two).  Mom and Dad decided that I should start taking care of them, and it turns out that I really love having my teeth brushed!  See below for some more highlights of my eleventh month.

It was only a matter time before Jameson became curious about the dogs' crate...

...more precisely, the inside of the crate...

...can we keep him?

"I'm only wearing this because it benefits the Arthritis Foundation.  Plus I look super cute."

The starting line of the Jingle Bell Run 5k to benefit Arthritis research.

The morning started out chilly but was perfect weather once we got moving!

A few of the friends who joined us for the race.  Jameson is exhausted from all that running.

Jingle Bell Mama and her tiny reindeer.

Reading with Dad.  Jameson is crazy about dogs, and his favorite books have been part of the "Biscuit the Dog" series.  This one is "Biscuit's Pet and Play Christmas."

Peeking out from behind the tree is Biscuit's dog friend named "Puddles".  Sometimes Rob inserts the names Emma and Ellie for the two dogs.  But then we realized that calling them Emma and Puddles is unfortunately also appropriate.

Story's over... later Dad!

Looking for the right Christmas tree.  We'd hoped to drive into the mountains to cut down a tree, but it was around 4 degrees outside, so we opted for a tree lot.

Warming back up in the car while Dad ties the tree to the roof rack.

Hanging the lights.

Good thing we kept the bottom 2 feet of the tree ornament-free.

Family Photos

Took some family photos in a nearby park.  We hadn't gotten a tripod yet, so the group photo is taken with the camera sitting on an upside-down 5-gallon bucket.  A friendly dog passing by helped provide some of Jameson's smiles.  :)

Jameson's First Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!  We are so thankful for so much!

Gimme that turkey!

Still not taking his eyes off of that turkey.

Lip-smackin' good!

The meal is prepared, the table is set - let's eat!

A little after-diner entertainment.

Tried out a new dessert - an amaretto cream cheese coffee cake and crumbled topping!  Sure looks perfect...

Splat!  High-altitude baking continues to be a challenge.  With no universal formula, every new recipe is an adventure.

Bring it on Jack Frost!  We were grateful for a gorgeous Thanksgiving Day, but the following week brought frigid temperatures and snow...Brrrrr.

Jameson 10 Months

At 10 months, I've been busy using all 10 fingers and toes.  I love playing the piano, I will give you objects if you ask me or hold out your hand, I routinely feed myself finger foods and want to eat whatever you're eating, I can throw a little better when playing fetch with the dogs, I can stand unsupported for a few seconds, I move around and play in the bath tub, I started to grasp "no" means "no", and I have a favorite book -  "Biscuit Visits the Pumpkin Patch" .  I haven't learned any sign language yet despite my parents and daycare working with me on it daily.  Sometimes I scream to get more food...it doesn't work  :(

Jameson is still taking 2 naps a day, typically 10am-noon and 3pm-4:30ish.  He eats dinner (solids) around 6:30pm and then gets ready for bed and breastfeeds before laying down to sleep between 7 and 7:30pm.  He's a great sleeper, usually not waking up again until morning between 6 and 7am.  Towards the end of 10 months, he seems to have started teething on the top and with that has come wakeful moments making for some restless nights. With having only two bottom teeth, his chomping on the railing of his crib went undetected as the damage was only on the inside edge of the railing (d'oh, not on our A game!).  Time to add a chew-guard to defend against our little beaver.

East Coast Visit (Nov 7-11)

Grammy and Grandpa took us out to lunch at a fabulous new Italian cafe, and we went home with a bag of cakes and pastries for later!  What a fun and yummy way to start off our trip!  It was great getting to spend time with family and friends.  Unfortunately, during the second half of our stay, many of us took turns getting knocked out by a terrible stomach bug which derailed our efforts to  see as many people as we'd hoped and put the brakes on few planned excursions to Andover, Boston and the Cape.

The local tour continued from the cafe to Salem's new "nano"-brewery.  Cheers!

The delicious seasonal brews went fast.

Jameson was far more interested in tracking the brewery's resident dog than in the beers.

With cousin Emily!

Let's play!

Okay, what's next?

Playtime with Grammy and Grandpa!  Not shown: the rest of the family room looks like a toy store - Jameson had a blast!

A quiet moment with Auntie Karen.

Cousins Jameson and James on their best behavior.

Uncle Rob is no match for James - watch out Emily!

Posing with Grammy...Love you!!!

Evening get-together with old pals in Cambridge.  We were sad to not get to see all of our friends in town.  Such a short trip.  Our next one will have to be longer!

Chris reading to Jameson.  We wouldn't normally leave Chris in charge and uncensored, but this seems to be going so well...

...uh, Mom?  I know I can't read yet, but I think he's making this story up as he goes along.

More storytime.  Now Timmy is joining in on the fun!

The little ones posing (Teresa, Timmy, Jameson, and Nate).  Timmy took the opportunity to bust out a breakdancing move.

Jameson in amazement at one powerful smile.