One of the reasons we moved here was to be closer to Jay's brother and his family. We visited for about a week one time several years ago, and thanks to our adorable toddler niece, we have felt pulled to come back ever since. She is no longer a tot and is in fact already in kindergarten, but she is still as charming as she was at 2! She is absolutely in love with her little cousin Elijah, and even brought his picture to school as one of her 3 favorite things. How sweet is that? She loves holding him, kissing him, and playing with him. I'm sure she'll be getting him into trouble in no time!
Cousin love, first day meeting each other
While having a baby in tow can make some things more of a drag, having a baby at the holidays is awesome. It's so much fun to have a real reason to go all out decorating the house or partaking in the season's activities that are normally suited to kids. I think there is also something really special about making memories with your kids that are the same memories you had growing up- like going to the pumpkin farm. Even if he didn't really know where we were at only 5 months, he still seemed to be happy walking around the fields with us, playing with family, and riding the hay ride. Mommy even went in her first corn maze!
A few weeks later, we met the family at another cool place with Halloween arts and crafts for the kids, face painting, and even a small pumpkin patch. It was a fun way to spend the afternoon with our lil moo cow.
We've also been fortunate to have some visitors here in Beaverton. Both Jay's parents and my mom have already come to visit us. We proudly drove them around in our new-to-us car, another perk of living in the burbs. We checked out some trails, the Rose Garden, Japanese Garden, and some downtown spots with them when we weren't oohing and ahhing over the baby boy.
Bath time with PurPur and Gramps
Mumsey's in da house!
Japanese Garden in Portland
We also were graced with the presence of my oldest best friend Amy, better known as Boppa. We've been trying to get together forever but something always came up that prevented us from reuniting. Finally the stars aligned, and we had a super fun week exploring new restaurants in the city and remembering the good ol' days like only old friends can do. It was really nice for me to have a best friend around since we don't know many people here and being at home with a baby can be quite isolating. Having her here also made me remember that I'm still *me* even with a baby. Thanks, Boppa!
Girls Night Out in Portland-
So much fun, too much eating! :)
She came at the perfect time to see the leaves.
Lunch in the city
Photo shoot at the park
Elijah's first time in a swing..weeeeee!
Looking back over these pictures, it's amazing to see how much our little guy has changed and grown since we moved. We've seen him learn to roll over both directions, sit up unassisted, pull himself up on us, and be able to sit in a cart at the store or a high chair at restaurants. He's constantly adding new expressions, sounds, and laughs to his repertoire, and we fall even more in love with him every day. He is a happy, smiley little baby who flirts with strangers and squeals in delight when you play peek-a-boo. He's just about as perfect as it gets.
Just don't ask me if he's sleeping through the night yet ;)
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