8 Months...and a weekish

Eight months old, really!?! Our little butternut is just growing like a weed. He started pulling up last week, so we've had a little more tears recently from all the falls that come with standing. But he's getting the hang of sitting down "easy" and gets the concept that letting go quickly isn't to his advantage. He's a speed racer in the crawling department so he constantly keeps me on my toes. It's fun to see him explore the house, until he finds the room with the Christmas tree!

He's still sleeping and eating like a champ and in perfect Uphues/Harrelson fashion his love for green peas is waning. Initially he was all about them, but now he'll only eat them if I mix them with his cereal. But he comes by it honestly since there is a long list of family members on both sides that don't favor those little green suckers...including both Creighton and I.

No stats to share since he doesn't go back to the Dr. until his 9-month appointment. But the boy is heavy...the return of my back pain is proof. We love that our house is filled with constant baby chatter, gummy smiles and laughter. What a fun time...and I'm trying to soak up these days as much as possible. Our little baby is quickly growing into a boy before our eyes. Thankfully he still likes to snuggle with his momma...cheek to cheek is our favorite.

Aunt Leslie

After much anticipation, Marshall finally got to meet his Aunt Leslie (Creighton's sister)! Leslie and Adam live in Seattle so unfortunately we don't get to see them as much as we'd like. She was in town for a quick trip, so they donned their matching pumpkin hats for the occasion! We had a lovely visit, minus the head butting incident...sorry about that Aunt Leslie!?! Now Marshall can't wait to meet his Uncle Adam!

My friend Egan...

Two weeks ago I took a trip to Canton to shop with my mom. I was hoping to bring Marshall along with me until the temperatures dropped and it was going to be in the low-40s. So my dear friend Miss Whitney graciously volunteered to watch him for me. Her son Egan is just a day older than Marshall, so Whitney is also a very braze woman to take on the task of two 8-month old boys. Thankfully her husband Blake was there to help!

Here's a link to her blog post...she's a wonderful photographer so she took some great shots of the boys playing. Thankfully Marshall behaved himself!

http://www.blog.blakeandwhitney.com/2009/12/trouble-in-making.html#links

Thank you Whitney, Blake and Egan, we REALLY appreciate it! :)

Let it Snow!

Last Wednesday was a big day of firsts for Marshall for two reasons: 1) He got to see snow for the first time, 2) He got to meet his Aunt Leslie for the first time! (That's my next post.)

So it snowed...in Texas...in December....crazy! That morning I was already up in the office on the computer, when Creighton came in and asked if I had looked outside. I had about 30 minutes ago and everything seemed normal. But in typical Texas flare, the snow came as fast as it left! Knowing this, we quickly got Marshall up (thankfully he had just woken up) and dressed him in a fleece suit over his pj's. We got some great shots, but Marshall really didn't know what to think of it all. The Belgian in our family, Maggie, thought it was the bees knees....she was all about it!

Thanksgiving

The holiday season has been keeping me a little busy so I'm backed up on things to post. Better late than never!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Murphy, TX at my in-laws. My parents came in from Tyler and I was in charge of making the desserts! Do you think 3 pies, a chocolate cake and cookie crackers is too much for 10 people!?! Marshall's feet never touched the ground because someone was always holding him...no complaints from him of course! He actually napped during the meal which was nice for me, so we didn't have to worry about entertaining him.

Jack made a wonderful meal, as always, but this year the turkey was out of this world! He used a new recipe that has you brine the Turkey (which basically means marinate it in a bucket, then grill it.) I'm not a huge turkey fan because it's usually dry but this was THE best turkey I've ever had. It was tender and juicy and oh so tasty! Here's the recipe Apple-Brined and Hickory Smoked Turkey. I highly recommend it!

We got some great family pictures, but unfortunately we didn't get any with Gi-Gi and Gpa before they left.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Us with Papa & Gana (my parents) and Grandma & Grandpa (Creighton's parents)

Marshall with his Uncle Chris & Aunt Susie (We couldn't get a shot with every one's eyes open...sorry Creighton.)

B is for Ba...Ba...Ba, Bath!

Now that Marshall can sit up on his own, he has been enjoying the whole bath experience, much more. Here are a couple of pictures of the naked baby, with his styling hair-do!

The other new trick he started this weekend was saying "Ba" over and over again. He thinks it's hysterical if you say it back to him. It's like he knows he's making a language break-through. Here's a very short video of his verbal antics...

Bouncing with my Buddies!

Last Thursday some of the girls from Playgroup met at NorthPark for Baby Bounce. Michelle took some great pictures of the kiddos. Marshall wasn't in a smiley mood, since we were missing his nap for this trip...until Daddy was able to join us since he had just flown in from Houston! Creighton was the only man there, so the Baby Bounce leader gave him a shout out, which was quite funny! But it was good for Creighton to experience the chaos that is, Baby Bounce!

Mia, Marshall and Piper hanging out at the food court!

A scene from "Look Who's Talking"

Green Peas make me sleepy....

YAY, Daddy!