To finish out 2009...

To close out the year, here are some things Brad has been up to... (his parents are too boring to post about). He has learned how to climb the stairs and we have had NO accidents yet!! (cross my fingers) He loves to climb up them and has recently learned to slide down them.

It has been fun watching him try to solve problems like how to turn himself around to get back down the stairs, or how to duck his head when crawling under the table and chairs so he doesn't bonk his head etc. This kid also LOVES to eat! (especially when its yummy food from Gpa)


Needless to say, his Wii Fit weight is up to 23lbs! And his favorite thing to do now is pull tissues out one by one and tear them up, and of course eat them too.

Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010!

Christmas... Finally....

Christmas has come and gone... so here are some pictures to show for it!! We had our annual Larkin family party where Santa came and gave us a sneak peak before Christmas! Brad did great sitting on his lap.


Then, my family had a Christmas dinner and then we all went to see Jersey Boys at the Pallazo. We decided, instead of drawing names this year, we would all buy our own ticket to the show and go together. It was really fun- great music! (all the pictures are on my mom's camera...) On Christmas Eve, we drove up to Delta to spend Christmas with Ryan's family. We had a really good Christmas, lots of great food and fun games! I thought Brad would love to rip open his presents but he just looked at them. He did have fun playing with the toys once they were open though :)


Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas too!

Recipes

So I came across this cooking blog and I absolutely LOVE it! I've been meaning to try new recipes because I pretty much cook the same meals each week... boring. I have plenty of cookbooks but a lot of the recipes don't sound appealing (without pictures), or there are WAY too many ingredients and who knows if I'd ever find them in the grocery store...But I found this blog that has beautiful pictures of the delicious food with tutorials and the best part is that they're easy and fast! So if you're looking for different recipes to try, check out this blog:

My Kitchen Cafe

Fun, Fun Kid

Aside from teething, Brad has been the cutest and happiest baby ever lately! He is giggling and smiling like crazy and I love it. It makes all the not-so-fun parts of being a mom SO worth it. He is 8 months now and is moving all over the place. My house is now showered with toys here and there showing the trail of where Brad has been. He loves to crawl around and pull himself up on things. He just loves to go exploring. Here are some fun pictures of him lately....

Soldiers

I am thankful to our troops who sacrifice so much to defend our country. I just now, over a year later, found this website that took pictures of Ryan and his troop returning home from Iraq. This organization, Maine Troop Greeters, takes pictures of soldiers coming home from their tour of duty when they first set foot on American soil. The pictures are priceless. The unity and friendship between the soldiers, the line of citizens waiting to shake the hands of those who were serving their country, and the happy faces of the returning soldiers; priceless. I can’t look at these pictures without tears because all of the emotions and feelings behind the pictures come back to me. My patriotism has forever been changed. I never took the time to think of how many people are affected by the war. It is not only the soldier but it includes their spouses, children, family, friends, coworkers etc. Even though it was a hard year having Ryan in Iraq, I am grateful for the experience so that I can somewhat understand the sacrifice, loneliness, and fear that soldiers and their family go through for our country. Thanks again to my dad, Ryan, Roger, Ryan's cousin Stewart, and many more for their service.




And for old times.... when he finally reached Utah! I was so happy


If you would like to see the website: http://mainetroopgreeters.smugmug.com/Troop-Pictures-2008/May-2008/May-23-2008-930-AM/5006607_Eonk5#300291038_XEwvz

Santa's lap, Thanksgiving, and teeth!

While we were in Delta for Thanksgiving, we went to visit Santa. Brad LOVED him! We sat him on Santa's lap and he just stared up at him the whole time. I guess he's not a very shy baby.


We also got to visit with Grandma Sorensen, Susan, cousin Carie, and cute baby Ava!

Brad's first tooth just came in over the Thanksgiving week!! He is having fun crawling around, getting into everything, exploring, using his lungs to yell LOUD, and sleeping. Now that he can move around in his crib, I find him sleeping in all sorts of strange positions that look too uncomfortable to fall asleep in.

Burning down the house....

So we had a grease fire in our oven last week and let me tell you it made a mess! Three fire trucks came but by the time they got there, the fire was out. Thanks to my wonderful family who spent their whole Saturday helping clean our smoke-filled and extinguisher-dusted house! My kitchen is cleaner than it ever has been before! And our oven looks like new (except for the nobs).