My Grandma

My Grandma Martz passed away last week, which has been really hard. Lennon and I flew to Columbus on Friday morning to be with the family. Lennon remembered the family and warmed up to them right away. It was nice to have him be a little bit more independent (whereas two weeks ago he was really going through the separation anxiety phase with me). It was fun to have the two babies there, talking and cooing during the memorial and funeral (just as Grandma would have wanted).

We are so thankful that we got to spend time with Grandma after Christmas. She loved Lennon and Emery so much and she just lit up when they were around.

This summer:After being apart for two weeks, Lennon decided that Emery was fun to play with. Leah and I shared a hotel room and one night they decided to tag team with keeping us up. One was always talking or fussing while the other slept--then they would switch places (it's a good thing they're so cute!)
Great-Aunt Cathy and Lennon:

Great-Uncle Rob and Lennon:

I think we would have done her proud with the entire family getting together, enjoying each other and celebrating her. Those of you who knew my grandma know that she was an amazing woman. She was one of the most loving people you will ever meet and I feel so thankful to call her my grandma and my friend. My hope is to be a daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother like she was. She has made this world a much better place.

Linda, John Thomas, and Carla:

Isn't she beautiful:My Grandpa and Grandma (and my favorite):
I love her and miss her a lot.

First Christmas

We had a great Christmas in Wisconsin and Ohio. Lennon did great on the plane--he didn't sleep at all but he stayed happy throughout the flight. We had a great time with family and friends. Cousin Emery was very interested in Lennon. However, when Emery would touch him, Lennon would burst out crying, which he did the entire time (they'll be the best of friends someday!)

He got into the presents and would start to unwrap the gift, tear a small piece of paper and be perfectly happy with that small piece. I would take that piece away, only for him to repeat the cycle. He changed a lot in the 2 weeks we were gone. He started to wave, walk around furniture and talk a lot more--he really is changing everyday!Lennon and Emery:With Great-Grandma Ackatz:

With Uncle Jared:

Lennon's new truck from Grandpa and Grandma Martz:

Santa!

We went to the mall to see Santa last week and Lennon did great! With his typical furrowed brow, Lennon kept turning around to look at Santa, not knowing who or what he was sitting on. At the end he started to be unsure of where he was, but we ended up getting a good picture. There was a little girl behind us, probably around 3 (maybe a little older) that started crying the second she got on his lap, so we'll see how Lennon does in the coming years!

Lennon is getting faster and faster everyday with his little army crawl. I think he knows that he would be faster if he gets up on his knees, but he hasn't quite figured it out yet. He will get up on his knees and do little hops, but he always flops back on his tummy to move. He is getting into everything (part of me is fine with him not knee-crawling yet, because I'm having a hard time keeping up with him even now!) He has gotten into our bookshelf and pulled all our books off and he loves to pull the videos and movies off the little entertainment center. But his absolute favorite is the cat food and water dishes. He will get to it in seconds and he won't give into distractions--he will humor us for a minute of to and then sneak back at the first chance he gets! Here's a clip of him (which will be the last, because we need to start teaching him that it's not okay--plus, Annie and Winston get stressed when he does it). And don't worry, he hasn't even attempted to eat it yet!

He's also starting to pull himself into a standing position and is getting really good at standing on his own. Oh, an he has one of his top teeth, with the other top tooth only a few days away from popping through--it's amazing of fast he is growing and learning!

Happy Halloween!

Our little cowboy:

Lennon's first carousel ride:

So it's begun...Lennon is on the move! He has started this funny army crawl and is now into everything (apparently the motivation that I needed to keep the house picked up and clutter-free!) He's still getting the hang of it and sometimes gets frustrated that he can't move as fast as he would like, but he's on his way!

Snow Day!

We have about 2 feet of snow outside and Adam has had 2 snow days, which have been fun to cuddle up indoors and enjoy the weather. We took Lennon outside for a few minutes so he could experience the snow. However, we probably should have waited until after his nap. He wasn't in the most cheerful mood and wasn't quite sure what to think about everything. But he looks awfully cute in his snowsuit and depending on how he's feeling later, we may bundle him up again...

Lennon loves the cats. Annie could care less about Lennon. However, Winston is always curious about Lennon, even though their interaction usually ends with Lennon having a huge clump of Winston's hair in his hands. Here's a clip of Lennon trying to get to Winston, even though Winston is keeping his distance...

Lennon is master of the pouty face. He can pop that bottom lip out in the blink of an eye. It never fails to get us laughing because it's so darn cute!

Pumpkins!

Snow Day!!! The snow is coming down and we're expecting over a foot of snow in the next day. Adam and I both have a snow day--Adam from school and me from my afternoon water aerobics class! Not really fall-like weather, but it's fun to be shut in for a day--and it makes it easier to deal with because it's supposed to be around 60 this weekend.

Lennon's first pumpkin carving....

Our little cutie!

Lennon's two teeth (they're coming in crooked):

Here's a clip of Lennon spinning, which he's quickly mastering:

He went to the doctor about a week ago and he's doing great. He's 16 pounds 5 ounces, which puts him in the 20th percentile for weight. He's almost 26.5 inches long, which is also in the 20th percentile. However, his head is in the 90th percentile--he just has a huge brain!

Lennon has also started on solids. He really likes cereal and he loves prunes, but he's not too crazy about bananas. We'll slowly add more food, I think we're going to try avocados next.

And to top things off, he also got his second tooth on Tuesday. So now he has his two bottom, front teeth, and he looks pretty cute!

Here's his first prunes experience:

Not taking to bananas too well:
Pretending like he knows what to do with a sippee cup:

This weekend was Harper's first birthday party, which was celebrated with a pool party, among other things. Lennon loves playing with and watching his older friends and we always love hanging out with our great friends. Despite all our travels and adventures this summer, Lennon as never been swimming, so we were excited to get him in. He loved being in the cooler hot tub, splashing all around, as the pictures and video show.

6 Months!

Lennon is 6 months old today! He is just so much fun and we are loving every minute of parenthood. It's hard to believe how fast he's growing--he's getting really strong and is becoming a little bit more mobile--spinning around on his tummy and even scooting backwards every so often.

He celebrated his half birthday early by getting his first tooth on Tuesday! I think a second is following soon. He's been really good through all of it, but hopefully some of his symptoms (mainly his restlessness in the middle of the night) will subside a bit.

Our little guy 6 months ago...

And today...
Not too sure about Ophie...
Just like his daddy, he already loves beer! (and no, he didn't actually get to taste any--but he was trying really hard)

Videos, Videos, Videos

Hello! I've been falling behind on psting some videos of Lennon, so I'm just going to post a bunch all at once.

This video is when we were on our trip in July. The first few minutes are of Lennon giggling and the second part of the clip is Lennon's reaction to a great toy--his expressions are priceless! Sorry the clips aren't separated, but we were using a video camera and it makes the video clips a weird file type so we can't splice it...


This is when my parents were out the beginning of August. Grandpa is playing peek-a-boo with Lennon...


Talking and rolling over...Lennon is jabbering all the time now and he's consistently rolling over. He still is not crazy about being on his tummy, but now he can do something about it!