Monte Would Like to Announce...

 

...He's going to be a big brother!! He's pretty excited about it! ;)

 Promotion effective October 2016!

We are super excited to be welcoming another child into our growing family! (and sometimes a little overwhelmed, let's be real ;) I will be 12 weeks on Sunday and so far am feeling great!  Well "great" is relative I guess... Great compared to Monte's pregnancy where I threw up at least twice a day and would have a lot more had I not eaten beans!  This time I only get a little queasy if I get hungry.  Gunnar's guessing it's a girl since my symptoms have been so different, I still kinda think it's a boy but who knows! We heard the heart beat Monday for the first time!  That always brings a tear to your eye!  We are super excited to become a family of four! And on the extended family front, Monte and Jax are almost exactly a year apart, Monte and this baby will be 18 months apart, and Jax and this baby will be 6 months apart!  So my parents will have 3 grandchildren 18 months and younger! Fun! Yay for cousins!

Coleman

We spent last weekend at Gunnar's aunt and uncle's place in Coleman celebrating Gunnar's Mimi's 85th birthday!  Pretty much all the family was there except the ones who live across the ocean!  Gunnar's cousin's youngest boy is 6 weeks younger than Monte (and already just a little bit taller, sorry son!) It was fun watching them figuring out how to interact. 

The weather was beautiful so we spent a lot of time outside!

Monte loves any steering wheel, no matter the size or vehicle type!

We spent time out at the dock, it was a little chilly was beautiful!  We all soaked up sun and conversation! 

The guys took a boat out on the lake to set out catfish bait and were gone forever so we went to find them. No guys but we did have fun on the tailgate...

...and pull an old playhouse out of the lake!

 Reb caught a rabbit under his dad's truck so we had a lot of fun watching him feed it!

Gunnar's grandmother's second cousin (I think) from Germany was here visiting.  She's so fun and has so many stories to tell.  She brought over two carvings from Germany that were really old (I don't remember the year)  

She loved Monte and loved telling us about her grandson, who is close in age to Monte.

Happy 85th Mimi!!  

Easter

For Easter all of my family came out to my house and we shot skeet, ate ham, and generally enjoyed ourselves. 

Some competive games of knock out were had!

We kept Monte away from the shooting to protect his ears and he enjoyed playing in the dirt and throwing rocks!

Jax even joined in on the fun! ;)

 We a little family shooting match anytime we can make it happen! 

Water Hose

We've, well mostly me, have been sprucing up the yard!  So! Much! Fun!  I love plants! Monte has taken advantage of the watering that has happened to acquaint himself with the watering hose!  The water is COLD and when it hits him he makes the best faces of surprise and exhilaration!  Then keeps going! hehe

11 Months

So thanks to an ugly little (or big) stomach bug I'm almost a week late in posting this but better late than never!  Our little monkey is 11 months old! And full of personality!

- LOVES to go in the truck around the ranch! Gets so excited to see the animals, push all the buttons,  play with the steering wheel, and just simply watch out the window.

 

We were out a little past nap time last time and he decided to ooch himself down in Gunnar's lap and take a little snooze! I couldn't stop laughing.  His cheek was smashed up into his eye!

 

- He's so inquisitive and studious! I love watching him discover and learn! He is at that age of figuring so many things out! Yesterday he figured out that if he shook an end table the lamp shade would bounce and make a funny noise!  He was cracking himself up figuring out that he controlled making that noise! 
 - Went to Uncle J's last game, (won in DOUBLE OT by the way) He loved crawling around on the bleachers!

- Favorite foods are cooked broccoli, carrots, prunes, pears, and avocado... also likes sweet potatoes, snow peas, chicken, celery, and really any veggie or fruit except squash.  I love letting him feed himself, so much coordination developed through each meal!  I mean picking up a pea and bringing it to your mouth is tough work ;) 
- Loves being outside, especially with Daddy!  (although this activity has been postponed as we have discovered rattlesnakes living under our house :( Update coming soon! 

- Has become a wallower! He wallows on me, a blanket, Spot (his giant stuffed horse) random toys, my face! 
 - Still a great napper, nights are still off and on... Someday I'll sleep right?! ;)
 - Went to Uncle J's Court of Honor and mostly managed with dignity... way past bedtime ;)

 - Eats so much!  He ate a WHOLE sweet potato the other night, plus other stuff!  I love seeing the hearty appetite although it is difficult to keep up sometimes! 
- Refuses to keep caps on.    

We're working on it.

 

- He will keep his hat on though, especially if we're outside.

 - Dirt! The boy loves dirt! Eating it, throwing it, playing in it! Gunnar falsely assumed he wouldn't be able to reach a puddle the other day right before we were about to leave.  Monte didn't seem too sorry!

 

- Still a major double chinner ;)
- New favorite activity is throwing things! He pulls the item way back over his head then throws it.  Sometimes he nails himself in the head...hehe Or when he throws dirt, half of it falls onto his head and down his clothes before he throws it anywhere...

 

- Is able to crawl down the step from the house to the porch and from the porch to the sidewalk without face planting now.  Which was wonderful before the snakes were out because I could prop the door open and he would play and play and play.  Going in and out and in and out.

- LOVES meat! Like father (and mother, and grandfathers, and uncles) like son!

ummmm sausage!

- He and Sister are basically friends.  Sometimes she still gets too excited and scares him but I think she would kill something or someone who tried to hurt him.  When we're outside she posts herself nearby and watches over him.

- Pretty much gets happy the minute we go outside!

- Destruction is his new past time!  He loves pulling stuff off the shelves, out of boxes (yes we're still unpacking) out of cabinets!

Especially loves pulling clean clothes out of our drawers! *eye roll*

- 7 teeth (does an halfway out tooth count? If yes, then 8) This last one has been rather a doozy :( Chews on everything!  Uncle Wyatt took this at church the other day and sent it to Gunnar saying, "Your son is a beaver!" hehe  (also he may have left teeth marks...oops! Sorry CCSA ;)

- Walks often, still hasn't committed 100% and still falls often but is super cute as he learns!   Oh and he got his first pair of "real shoes" which are so cute and so "little boy" and not "baby" *sob*

 - Has turned into quite the monkey... He made it up here then wasn't sure later how to get down!  hehe (again, yes we're still unpacking *face palm*)

- Wearing 12-18 month clothes, although he can still wear some 9 month pants...short legs..

 - Always hooks his toes onto the edge of his highchair while eating.