I'm SMILING not CENSORING!

I posted this (kinda crusty) picture so you can all see that I am smiling! NOT censoring!

I have heard that some of you are confused as to why I am reviewing comments before I post them. The problem was that I was getting some spam 'comments.' I am not sure if they are really harmful or not, but in order to avoid viruses (and any weird people out there), I'm going to be reviewing any comments that are made before I post them. I am NOT trying to censor my friends! I love you all and I love that you take the time to read this blog and comment on it!

Yay for a Yellow Outfit!

As I think I have said before, Rock likes to lay on the floor. Especially in this fun yellow outfit (which is HUGE on him in every way except for length). Especially when he has his educational Spanish-speaking crab (a gift from Aunt Bethany) to play with and gnaw on. See below...

Some more happy kicking...

Finally, a Johnny Jump-up video. Thank you Nancy and Duncan for letting Rock borrow this fun 'toy.'

Photo Shoot at Nana and Papa's House

Aunt Susi takes much better pictures than Rock's mom. Here are some shots she got of Rock at Nana Kerry and Papa John's house a few weeks ago.

Goodbye Futon

We are on a slow progression to move on from college dorm style furniture to the real deal. This has been slow mostly because, well, we can't afford the real deal! But one big step happened this past week. We got rid of the futon pictured here.
Although it made Rock smile to laze about in the sun with his dad, we gave it up when we were given another (much more stylish and 'real deal-ish') futon from a dear friend at church. The new futon will be pictured in an upcoming blog about the dining room. In the meantime, can we have a moment of silence for moving on from dorm furniture?

More Snow

If only it had been cold enough for this snow to stick. Nevertheless it made for a fun trip to the library.

WALKING ALREADY?!?!

Well, Rock is pretty proud of himself. He's walking already.
He walked all the way down the hall.
Right over to the big jar of pennies (yes, I have been collecting them since 6th grade and yes that's all that I have!). Man oh man is this boy talented!
This kind of talent deserves a hug from mom!
Or better yet, a shoulder to gnaw on.
DISCLAIMER: Rock does not actually walk on his own yet. But he DOES know how to gnaw on things. It appears the boy is well into the teething phase of life. We see two small white dots on his bottom gums and one spot on the top!

Rock sings a song for Dad

"Always and Forever" by Kipland Ronald Dynamite

"I love Technology..."
"But not as much as you, you see..."
"But I still love technology. Always and forever."

Grandpa Time!

In a new take on the lets-compare-the-baby-boys picture, this month I got a picture of the boys with their grandfathers.

Bag Boy

How sad that this early in his life Rock has had to take to the streets. Living out of his carseat with no one but a runaway frog and two diet sodas to keep him company.
Alas, no. He is merely the victim of his parents TJMaxx, Ross, and Giant shopping spree. Good thing we live close to these stores and mom had two free hands to carry the other four bags (not pictured) while dad pushed the stroller!

First Birthday Party

No, no. Although Rock may be the size of a one year old, time is not flying quite that quickly. This was not his first birthday but merely the first birthday party that Rock attended. We cannot believe that little Sophia is already a year old!
Rock and Fix loved wearing their birthday party hats to help Miss Sophia celebrate the big 0-1!
Here the birthday girl awaits her cake in perhaps the cutest birthday hat ever made!
Although Dave and Natalie are only interested in getting a family picture you can see that Sophia's fist remains tightly clamped around her piece of cake. Now that she's had a taste of sugar she is not going to share it with mom and dad!
You know the party was a success when you fall asleep on the way home with with a yellow balloon in your hand.

Mom's 28th Birthday!

For my birthday this year, I made a simple request. I wanted to selfishly indulge in a day of doing the things that I love the most. This involved lots of yummy food and shopping in the city.

We began the day by doing something I LOVE to do - going out to breakfast before showering! I know, not everyone's dream, but I love to just roll out of bed and eat a good meal that I don't have to make myself. Viva Breakfast Sandwiches!
Rock playing with his friend, Mr. Fish, at breakfast.
After showers, we drove downtown and shopped at several home furnishing boutiques... The long term goal was to find a lighting fixture for our dining room, but mostly, we just had fun looking around and trying to stay warm in the freezing rain!

My techno-loving boys researching the location of a boutique I wanted to scope out.
The most amazingly delicious Amaretto Chocolate Cupcake from Cake Love.
Not one to hog all of the selfish indulging to myself, I let Fix get his favorite, carrot cake. Of course agreeing to let him indulge was upon condition tasting his treat. I love eating cupcakes.
What could be better than spending the day with the boys that I love?

I also love to eat Rock's hands.
For dinner, we ate at one of my favorite Mexican restaurants. When we lived in California, I made Fix go to eat Mexican food more than he ever wanted to. Thus, we don't eat it too much anymore -- except on my day of birthday indulgence!!!
Rock didn't have time to get to the mall, so he got me the birthday gift of a new trick -- (continually) sticking out his tongue!
Rock's taking in all the traffic... which we later sat in for hours thanks to that whole freezing rain thing! All in all, it was a wonderful, wonderful day!

(Pre)Birthday Dinner

On Monday the 11th, we gathered with Nana Kerry, Papa John, Uncle Jason, Aunt Heather, Cindy, Judy, Marty, Aunt Susanna, Grandpa Rock and Grandma Cokie at their house for a pre-birthday dinner. Yes, I requested chocolate chip cookies for my birthday 'cake' and yes I ate almost the entire cookie pictured above.
And look who I got to sit next to at my Birthday dinner!

Wearing the Princeton gear for the Princeton alumnus.
Standing with Aunt Heather
Flipping over top of Dad - Rock's new favorite game.
Happy Family!

Dad's Sermons

A few facts about Rock...
1) He likes to make noise. Even if it's at a time when he should be quiet. Like, for example, when his father is preaching a sermon on Sunday evenings at church.

2) He recognizes his father's voice these days and likes to talk back to him even if it's at a time when he should be quiet. Like, for example, when his father is preaching a sermon on Sunday evenings at church.

3) He's getting pretty good at sitting up.

Thus, we rarely are able to sit in the meeting room during the evening church service. Instead, Rock and I usually end up listening to dad preach over the speaker (on the table in the picture above) in the crib room. This way, Rock is free to make as much noise as he wants without disturbing the rest of the congregation. He can also practice sitting up!

His rating of this sermon? "A-OKAY."