check-up

it was another visit to the doctor for our little man.  although, he's not quite so little anymore!  i always love to go with diana for ledger's check-ups, and i know diana wants me to be there too.  not just for the support, but mostly because she doesnt want to be in the room when ledger gets his shots!  i take one for the team and hold him till he's done crying, which is only about 30 seconds later...  at least he gets these fun band-aids!

cool kid

i know i was never cool, but it looks like my son may have the chance i never got!

wedding away

one of the girls that diana worked with got married and invited us to attend. diana's mom was gracious enough to come down for the day and babysit so that we could go. it was a great time- one of our first chances to go out, just the two of us, since ledger was born. we made sure to live it up, which isnt hard considering how kooky those girls are...

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hi, chair

with ledger getting big enough, we figured it was about time to take out the high chair!  while diana was visiting my family, they put him in mema's high chair and he loved it, so we took ours out as well.  it had been sitting in the shed for the past couple of months waiting to be used.  a friend of my sister had been ready to get rid of theirs, so jill offered to take it and pass it along to us.  always nice to have someone looking out for you, huh?  so we got a perfectly wonderful high chair for free- hurray!  well, ledger was certainly up for the new place to play- he took to it immediately and has been enjoying it ever since!

short trip

i finally got there around 2:00 am and immediately fell asleep!  we got up bright and early so we could join mema and papa at their church.  soon after we got home, tim, jill, and the kids stopped by for a backyard grill out!  we got to spend the rest of the afternoon playing around with the kids and having fun with ledger.  before i knew it, it was already time to leave!  i think i was only in grand rapids for about 14 hours...
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early visit to memas

with me working every saturday, that leaves diana with a lot of time alone with ledger.  seeing this as an opportunity instead of a drawback, diana has been taking advantage!  this weekend she left a little bit early, met up with barbara on thursday, and headed up to see my family in grand rapids!  my mom gets to missing our little ledger pretty quickly, so this was a great way for her to see him for more than just one day- and a chance for diana to have a little extra fun too.  all friday and saturday while i was working i got cute pictures on my phone to help distract me from missing the two of them!  fortunately i was able to join them after i was done saturday!
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mirror, mirror

back a couple months before ledger was born we received, as a shower gift, a mirror.  it had been misplaced for the past few months, but we found it again and decided to give it a try.  its designed to put on the handle of his car seat and is a way to see what he's up to when in the car facing the opposite way.  its pretty handy for us so that we can see what he might be fussing about, but he sure gets a kick out of it too- now he can see his mom and dad while going for a ride!

lookin' good!

we had an important day out where we all wanted to look our best.  ledger, understanding the importance of being a well dressed man, took this opportunity to show off his dapper good looks and sharp dressed style.  well played, future j crew model, well played...

watching traffic

every afternoon, and sometimes a couple times a day, we try to take our little man outside.  i dont naturally have an interest in the outside world, preffering instead to spend my days in the cave that his my living room, but i know that it would be a good idea to try and give ledger a different option than that.  so, out we go!  sitting on the front porch of the house counting blue cars..

reading time

ledger is getting bigger and bigger, he's recently taken up reading.  ok, maybe not reading exactly, but at least looking at the pictures in books!  i wasnt sure if he would be interested in them, but diana and i took out a few books for him to look  at and he took to them immediately.  it seems that anything that has eyes draws his attention and he loves it.  his favorite is definitely pictures of babies.  i wonder why?  he and i made it through about two books and then he was done, ready for something a bit more active, but at least the interest is there!

hey ladies

'hey ladies, hows it goin?'  rad like dad indeed.

evening walk

every evening i take our stinky dog for a walk.  i usually try to give diana a break after a long day by taking our son with me too.  i pull out the papoose and strap our boy to me!  we used to go for long walks in the summer (back when i didnt have to be to work in the mornings), and he would go in it and face in and fall asleep almost immediately.  well, now he wants to see the world so he faces out. the walks with us three guys are fun, but every once in a while diana comes along!  we dont go far, we just walk around the block, but it sure is a nice stress reliever, a chance to let go of all the work stuff and transition to home stuff.  when diana comes its a nice time to chat, i get to hear about her day and  about her day with ledger and hear about if he has learned something new that he can show me when we get back home.  i've got to enjoy it while i can because when the weather starts to get colder i know it might just be the dog and i again, and he isnt nearly the conversationalist as the wife...

stretchy

every day ledger does something new.  some days its a little thing like a new noise, some days its a big thing like finding his feet.  and some days, like today, its a strange thing!  when diana or i held him today he just wanted to stretch himself out- not exactly sure why, but he is all about stretching now!  he arches his back and flails his arms around, which is funny, but makes it hard to hold him. i wonder how long this will last?...

sleepsy

one of my favorite things to do is just hold ledger while he sleeps.  he is just so cute and cuddly that i cant get myself to set him down!  he takes quite a few naps a day, so he finds all kinds of places to fall asleep.  i'm pretty sure he had just finished his prayers and then fell asleep in this picture...
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bouncy seat

now that we got rid of the couch in favor of a smaller love seat, we brought ledger's bouncy back in the house.  he's also a bit bigger, so he can almost reach the ground when we put a pillow under him...  when we put him in there he really loves it!  that thing has so many colors and play things that he gets super excited to go in it, he's not all that bouncy yet, but it will come.  he can usually handle being in it for about five to ten minutes, but then he gets a bit upset.  i think he just gets a little over stimulated and needs a break- i can understand that because if i were in that thing i would go nuts from all the sights and sounds!
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yummy feet

'look what i found!'  recently ledger has been exploring more and more.  not just the world around him, but he has also been exploring how he can use his body.  he is always grabbing his own hands and playing with them, well that exploration has moved down to his feet!  usually we keep socks on his feet.  we do this for a couple of reasons: 1. because its starting to get a little cold out and our house does a terrible job of heating the living room, and 2. his feet are gross!  he has, unfortunately, really sweaty feet!  they are always wet and, as a result, kinda stinky...  but when we take off those sockies, he sure does love to stick those sweaty toes in his mouth!  the funniest is when he realizes how gross they are and grimaces when he first puts them in his mouth!  come on buddy, thats how you know they dont belong in your mouth...

crackers!

our boy has recently taken an interest in what mom and dad eat.  'sure, milk is fine', he seems to think, 'but i want what you're having!'  as i was sitting with him i was having a few wheat thins.  he decided that he wanted to have one too, so he reached out and grabbed one for himself!  he wasnt entirely sure what to do with it next, so he did what he does with everything- he put it in his mouth!  diana and i are starting to think that maybe its time to incorporate more food into his eating- he sure seems ready for it!
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reunion after party

after everyone left the reunion, we decided to go to barbara's pad for a little while before we had to head home.  lissa came along, and so did miranda and levi.  we had a great time laughing and talking.  it had been the first time lissa got the chance to see barbara's place, so she got the whole tour and everything.  unfortunately we couldnt stay long, you know, work the next morning and all that.  but we had a bunch of fun with everyone- and jeffry lee even took a minute to clean out the viruses on my computer!  hurrah!
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the plunge

after lunch everyone wanted to do a little swimming out off the boat.  after waiting the recommended 30 minutes (we dont want any fatalities after all, right?), we took out the boat to enjoy the beautiful weather.  as the designated captain, i drove us out into the middle of the lake and everyone got a chance to play in the water.  never one to miss an opportunity to be ridiculous  jeffry lee decided to dive in by jumping off the back of the boat!

mini reunion

with grandma in town, the family planned a mini reunion to all gather up to see her together.  we headed over there sunday and got a chance to spend some more time with her- and she got a chance to spend more time with ledger!  everyone in the family was enamored with our little guy.  what is really nice is that ledger is so comfortable with anyone and everyone.  there are babies who cry when people they dont know hold them, well ledger is just the opposite- he grins from ear to ear when he gets to meet new people!  what a blessing!  during the reunion i hardly got the change to see him, he was passed around all afternoon, well, after he got his nap that is.  he was such a happy boy getting all that attention!
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