Christmas 2008

This year we spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Cando, North Dakota with Mandi's family. Blake's cousins, Sophie and Grady, had a great time sitting at the Cars table to eat their Christmas meals! Blake seemed to enjoy the wrapping paper and bows more than the gifts! The Sunday after Christmas we spent at Randy's dad's house with the other cousins!

Sled Ride

Blake got a new sled from Grandpa Ron and Claudia for Christmas! Randy and Blake decided to try it out for the first time yesterday while I was at school. Notice Randy's makeshift mittens and snowpants-- Randy's tube socks wrapped around Blake's arms and legs and held on with rubberbands! That is such a guy thing! They sure had fun!

Blake is 11 months old!

Only one more month until Blake celebrates his 1st birthday! It is hard to believe that almost one year has passed us by already! Blake recently got some new foam blocks that he likes to knock over!

Pray for Baby Shaun

Please pray for Baby Shaun. He is the 6 month old son of one of my co-workers. To find out more about him, visit his Caringbridge website below:

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/shaunreiter

Blake's 1st Snow Experience

Blake had his first experience with snow yesterday! He quickly realized that snow is cold and when you touch it your hands get very cold also!! The last two pictures were taken before we went outside. The first picture is showing how happy Blake is to be back inside!

Mike and Lindsay Visit

Randy's long-time friend, Mike, and his girlfriend Lindsay stopped by during the Thanksgiving break to visit us! They live in California and usually come back to Mondovi a couple of times a year. Randy and Mike were classmates in high school, and their stories of things they used to do when they were growing up always have us laughing! It is always so enjoyable catching up with them when they come back home! Thanks for the fun night, Mike and Lindsay!

More Deer Hunting

Blake liked Randy's blaze orange hat so much he had to try it on!

Deer Hunting 2008

This past weekend was the Wisconsin Deer Opener! Randy has been bow hunting on and off since September this year, but this past weekend was the start of the 9 day gun hunting season. As of Sunday Randy hasn't gotten his monster buck. Hopefully he will get a chance at one. If not he has next year to look forward to. These pictures were taken when Randy came in for a break from the cold weather. Blake liked his dad's blaze-orange hat!

10 Months Old!

Only two more months until Blake turns one year old! It is amazing how fast the time has gone! In these pictures Blake found a box to play in and my cowboy hat from Halloween! Within the last month Blake has been standing more without holding on to furniture. He also likes to push things along the floor like books and toys. He points to Randy's deer mounts on the wall and says "Buh, buh!" We think he might be trying to say "buck." His dad sure is proud!

Blake's First Haircut!

It has been long overdue, but Blake finally had his first haircut yesterday! I was really trying to hold off until he turned one year old, but his hair was starting to get in his eyes. Randy helped in giving Blake his first haircut! The first picture is of him after his haircut! This is just the first of many to come!

4th Picture from the 4th File

My friend Sarah had a posting on her blog about posting the 4th picture from the 4th file on her blog. Even though I wasn't tagged to do this, I was curious to see what would be the 4th picture from the 4th file on my computer. So here it is! It is a picture of the sunset from our house! Sorry that this is blurry!

Blake's First Halloween!

Blake enjoyed his first Halloween as a horse! We went and visited, Randy's dad, Ron and Claudia. We also brought Blake to see Randy's grandma, Mary. I dressed up as a cowgirl so that Blake didn't feel singled out!!

Hayride 2008

Randy's cousin, Jeremy, and his wife Julie and their family host a hayride every year! Julie makes wonderful soups, breads, and desserts that we enjoy before the hayride. It is a gathering that we always enjoy attending! Thanks Jeremy and Julie!

Pumpkin Patch

We spent part of the afternoon on Saturday in Minneapolis visiting the Gronos family! Jessi, Tom, Sophie, Grandma Gronos, Grandpa Gronos,Blake and I all spent a few hours on a hayride, playing in the pumpkins, and climbing the hay bales! Thanks for a fun weekend!

Fall Colors in Wisconsin

Blake and I went for a "Fall Colors Picture Run" this last week. When we saw a beautiful tree, we stopped to take a picture! We just love this time of year! Too bad it doesn't last longer!

Nothing Runs Like a Deer(e)

Blake had his first John Deere Tractor ride this last week! He seemed a little bit unsure of what was going on. I am sure in a few years he will be begging to have more rides!

Randy also had a deer encounter this last weekend! He shot a doe with his bow this last Saturday. We are in "Earn a Buck" territory, which means before Randy can shoot a buck he has to shoot a doe first. Now he is waiting for that monster buck to come around!

Make a Smilebox photobook

7 Months and Growing So Fast!

We can't believe how much Blake has changed within this last month! He is now crawling like crazy, climbing stairs, and pulling himself up to standing! We think he might be an early walker! We better finish "baby-proofing" soon!

Strawberry Sensation

Blake got to eat strawberries in his food feeder for the first time! He LOVED it! When we took it to refill it he wasn't too happy! As you can see by the looks of his bib he liked the strawberries!

Relaxing Outside

This past Labor Day weekend we spent some time relaxing outside in our yard. Blake liked watching the clouds and feeling the breeze blow through his hair! We can't wait for fall to arrive when we will spend even more time outside!

Dad and Me

Dad gave Blake his first shoulder ride this past weekend! Blake liked being up high!

7 Months Old!

Blake sure is moving around a lot now! He is crawling half on his belly and half on his knees. One day he ended up under the coffee table!

Another thing that we noticed about Blake within this last month is that he loves to look at his shadow or shadows of things. Right now I think he thinks this is his best friend!