Flashback

My thoughts all started with Kendrick drinking from a new formula that is extremely foamy.  As I was feeding him I was reminded of the baby bottles that some dolls had where the milk disappeared into the lid as you fed the baby doll. It reminded me how badly I wanted to be a mother as a little girl. I took such good care of my dolls and would dream of having my own real baby someday.

I remember specifically a time where one of my brothers had gotten upset with me and chucked one of my dolls out the door. It had hit a telephone pole and got a scratch on the top of it's head. I was in tears for days over it. I just couldn't believe that he had thrown my doll (I probably deserved it). In my mind he had thrown a living thing. He had hurt my baby.

As I was rocking Kendrick and was thinking back to the little me I am reminded at just how grateful I am to be a mother. I had dreamed about it for so long that at times it still feel surreal. Each moment I get to spend with Kendrick is even better than I could have dreamed up. I am overwhelmed with how happy motherhood has made me. I look forward to new mommy and son adventures and loving my son more and more every day.

Celebrating 3 years of our Happily Ever After!

Nathan and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary. We were lucky to have Kendrick join us on our 2 day getaway. The entire time we were traveling one of us would always be saying "I'm so glad that little boy is with us. I love having him here." We feel so so blessed to have our little man and he just added to joy of celebrating 3 years.

We have a goal to try and do something outdoors each year. Usually it is hiking, but this year we decided to explore the Ocean. We went to Astoria and then Cannon Beach, OR. The only complaint about our entire trip was that our Motel room smelled like cigarette smoke :( It was very disheartening because it was a non-smoking facility and the pictures online of the place were deceiving.

In Astoria we went across a 4.5 mile bridge and then went thrift store shopping. I love looking in all the shops. Nate was the one to find some awesome deals though. He got $3 polarized sunglasses, a Frisbee, and a boomerang. Because this was a day before our actual anniversary we picked out some fun cards in one of the stores and just read them to each other. I think it is a tradition we will do each year. It is cheap entertainment and a fun way to read lots of cards without having to purchase them.

After a day on our feet we then drove to Cannon Beach where we ate dinner on the sand and planned to watch the sunset. Kendrick was a happy babe being outside all day and once a few bubbles were worked out he quickly fell asleep in my arms. Nate and I enjoyed watching the waves and water, but sadly the sky was to cloudy to see the sun. We did see a speck of it shine through for a few minutes but mostly it was a white sky. Nate was really looking forward to me seeing the sun set on the Ocean so we will have to plan a beach day again sometime.

Happy 3 years to the love of my forever!!

Driving on the Bridge

 

Astoria Bridge

  

I still have a thumb sucker.

"No kissing!"

"Fine I'll just look away."

Nate is chewing instead of smiling.

"I love Daddy's Frisbee."

"Look! I'm touching the Ocean."

Crow Family 2012

7 months

Nathan took the pictures this month but he kept looking at me instead of the camera.

I can hardly believe little mister is so big. I just want to freeze time. He is so fun and so active he brings so much joy into our home. He is trying to skip over the crawling stage and go straight to walking. He halfway pulled himself up in church today (8-19-11) multiple times. He has done it a few times before now but today he was just determined more than ever. He is growing faster than I can keep up with. I have been reorganizing the house to hopefully keep him safe but sometimes it is difficult to know ahead of time what will interest him. Other than loving darkness for sleep he also loves straps, bear hugs, and food.

Stinky bum + Strangers = Shy Kendrick

We had the opportunity to visit Nate's family in Kickerville, WA. I always think of the bat from Anastasia that says, "and I kick her sir". Kendrick had his first REAL shy moment. He buried he head in my chest and had a scared look on his face. All it took was a bum change and he was his happy smiling self. He even got excited about everyone wanting to hold him.

It felt so much like being home. Nate's Uncle Frank had many similar mannerisms to Nate's Dad that at times it felt like we were just visiting Mona for the weekend. We enjoyed touring the area, playing pinnacle, visiting, and eating lots and lots of yummy food. We look forward to visiting again sometime in the future!

Canada!

Multnomah Falls & Dam Day

Our little Mister loves the outdoors. He just can't get enough of the grass, cars, or fresh air. We have done a few hikes before but Multnomah Falls was our longest one with Kendrick. It was just over 2 miles round trip. Kendrick was amazing the entire time and we look forward to taking him hiking again.

We had planned to hike another trail immediately after this one but on our way there we passed by a dam and Nate really wanted to check it out. They happened to have their last tour for the day when we arrived so we decided that we would skip our other hike and check out the dam instead.

 My favorite bridge was the Bridge of the Gods (pictured below). It had a $1 toll fee and I got excited every time we passed it.

Blown raspberries anyone?

Silly Kendrick

While Nathan was reading to Kendrick he kept looking back at me and laughing. After he did it 15+ times I finally had to get the camera out. (This video doesn't do justice of his happiness or how many times he looked back).

For the Grandma's

Looking at his Daddy!

 

Looking like his Daddy!

This hat is a thrift store find and I love it!

I forgot to take the tag off... oh and Kendrick is a pro at sitting up now.

Bugs!!

Open mouth slobbery grins are my favorite.

Blowing Raspberries

Sleeping (Some details might be the same as other months)

I love talking about Kendrick's sleeping patterns because he always has so much personality when it comes to sleeping. He has to have things just the right way. He will toss and turn until he is in the most comfortable position. All I have to do is give him his blanket and binky and he does the rest. 

The room is rarely dark enough for him so usually the blanket goes straight to the eyes to make it darker. Then he kicks, kicks, kicks and spreads out the rest of the blanket before he turns on his side and conks out. If he is still too hyper to sleep he will kick the bars and rotate around until he gets more tired. He is always the calmest in his crib. In fact if he is ever throwing a tantrum I usually put him in his crib because he will almost always calm down and fall asleep (even if he just woke up). Sometimes I just don't see how he could possibly still be sleepy but he sure knows how to communicate that he wants sleep. 

I am no longer scared of him suffocating from a blanket. He puts the blanket to his face so often that it would be unavoidable.

Sometimes before I go to bed I can hear him jabbering, laughing, and kicking just a little and I know he is having happy dreams. Occasionally I will rub his little cheeks and get a little grin out of him. I just think he is adorable and I don't want to forget the cute little things that make him unique.

Oregon Zoo

 The Oregon Zoo was amazing! It was so different to see animals around trees and natural wildlife rather than the Utah dessert. Kendrick was fantastic all day and we found his Halloween costume from the Zoo gift shop!! He is going to be a cute looking animal come October.