4.5 months

Sorry for the absence of blogging lately. I haven't been taking a lot of photos since being back to work. I'm sure it'll pick up now that the leaves are starting to change colors & the weather is cooling down. :)

I was trying to get a good photo of my handsome boys, all dressed & ready for church.

None of the photos turned out perfectly, but together they're not so bad. :)

Big boys!

Cedar was sitting still a bit better than Finn. Go figure! :)

Bed head!

Cedar's hair is growing...just enough that it can get messy now. :)

This morning, our house was so chilly after leaving the windows cracked a bit. We broke out this warm, cozy suit that Cohen handed down to Finn. Finn was never quite the right size for this suit.

It was a little disorienting for Cedar to be bundled up so thickly, but once he warmed up a bit he went right to sleep in Kenton's arms. Just what he needed on this cool, fall morning. :)

Happy Grandparents Day Mummi, Pappa, Memaw, Papa, Nana Lee, Papa Lew, Oma, Grandpa Stoerman & Grandma Janet! We love you all! :)

*Photos by Jesse

4 months old

Yesterday, Cedar had his 4 month checkup with his doctor. He weighs 15 lb 12 oz (60th %-ile) & is 26 1/2" long (90th %-ile)! His percentile in weight actually went down from 77th at 2 months, so Dr. Miller encouraged me to feed him as much as he wants. :) He also said it would be a great time to start rice cereal & so we have!


Cedar seems to enjoy his new food & is eating a little more each time we feed it to him. It's great for the grandparents who watch him while I work + big brothers like to help too! :) I love to see Cedar's reaction to solid food & am looking forward to this new phase.

He is getting so long that he has graduated out of his cradle & into his big crib. I need to take photos of Cedar in his crib because he still looks so small & it won't be long until he's filling it out more. My baby's getting bigger but he still feels small to me. It helps to have a big -almost- three year old running around. I'm trying to be better about letting Cedar have time on the floor (despite the busy Finley) & he's getting close to rolling over on his own. He'll be mobile in no time! :) Eeek!

first fire

Kenton's parents gave us a bunch of firewood from some trees they cut down. So on Sunday, we used our fireplace for the first time.

It was a rainy & cool day - just perfect for a cozy fire.

Finn was so excited to help!

Success!
Kenton built a beautiful fire & we were warm & cozy through the whole evening.

I had propped Cedar up to watch & turned back to find he had slipped down. Such a good sport - he didn't seem to mind. :)

mckenzie & tiffany's wedding

A 1920's themed wedding in a beautiful theater in downtown Portland. McKenzie played the music in his own wedding. Lovely!

His brother, Courtney, holding the balloon that his son, Henry (the ring bearer) carried down the aisle (& reading something special). I loved it!

The kiss!

It was a semi-formal wedding, so we enjoyed the chance to get dressed up. Plus, we let Finn spend the night with Mummi & Pappa, so we only had to keep Cedar entertained. :)

As a special treat, we got to hang out with Sandy & Nicole, who came down from Walla Walla, Washington, as well as the rest of our Bible Study group.

Cedar, Kenton, Katrina, Sandy, Nicole, Jon, Amy, Colin & Stephanie

What a fun date!

For Amy to steal for her blog. ;)

The Getaway!

What a great wedding! So beautiful & so much love. :)

california, part 8: saying goodbye

On our last day, we spent most of the morning/early afternoon in the pool. After packing up, we went out to dinner with the Hickmans & Barretts at Round Table Pizza. It was a good last meal before hitting the long road home!

With the Hickmans:
Aunt Carol, Natasha, Katrina, Finn, Kenton, Cedar, Wyatt & Uncle Keith

After dinner, we made one last visit to the Barrett house to have some dessert (cookies & ice cream) & say goodbye.


Katrina (28), Cedar (4 months), Lincoln (7 months), & Melissa (26 1/2) :)

Cedar likes looking at Lincoln. Such a sweet smile!

Emily & Cedar getting in some last minute cuddle time.

Cedar & Melissa

What an amazing trip, full of wonderful time with family. I am so glad we were able to come down for my uncle's Memorial service & to have the chance to meet sweet Lincoln. We will miss Uncle Tom & remember him always! Thank you to our California family for welcoming us to your homes & making time for such a great visit. We love you guys!

We drove overnight & made it back to Eugene in 14 1/2 hours. The kids did really well & slept through most of the driving. It felt so great to get home. We drove straight to Kenton's parents house & dropped of the kids so we could go home & nap. :) Sleep never felt so good!

california, part 7: fun with lincoln (& his parents)

We stayed with sweet baby Lincoln & his parents, Melissa (my cousin) & Shaheen. :)

Finn absolutely loved to play with Lincoln & Cedar was interested too.

Cedar's smiling at his big brother but Lincoln is watching me carefully & keeping Cedar at an arm's length away. :P

We loaded up in the Barrett's Suburban & drove with Melissa & Shaheen to San Clemente, CA in search of Rainbow Sandals for Kenton & me. :) The babies rode next to each other with Melissa in the middle seat.

Finn & I rode in the back.

Sleepy babies.

Success! We joined the club & bought our first pairs of Rainbow Sandals. They've been all the rage in California for awhile now...we'll see if they live up to the hype. ;) So far, so good.

After shopping, we ate lunch & headed back to Melissa's house for naps. We ate dinner together, then drove to Pasadena with Kellie, Emily & Ryan to visit a game store & walk around downtown. I didn't end up taking photos, but we had a fun time & ate a yummy dessert at the Cheesecake Factory. So good!

california, part 6: the pool

Thank goodness for the Barrett's pool! We were so glad to have a place to cool off during Glendora's heat wave - over 100 degrees everyday! We had a couple of night swims too, which was so super exciting for Finn!

He was getting so brave after a few swims - jumping off the diving board to Kenton or to a floating ring. He even jumped to a ring without water wings on (with Mama very close by & Aunt Becca helping when he slipped too far forward & slid out!). :\ It's great to see him gaining confidence in the water over the course of one summer.

Fun with Uncle Erik & the pool vacuum.

The "Novemberists" with their water wings & rings! So much fun!

Cedar getting in some cuddle time with Uncle Keith & Aunt Carol.

Finn slept so well every day after swimming so hard. He loves the water!

The cousins
(minus Erik, Hannah & Eleanor)
Becca, Gretchen, Katrina, Melissa, Kellie, Emily, Natasha & Wyatt

Silly faces!

The husbands/boyfriends
Shaheen (Melissa's husband), Kenton, Josh, Aaron, Steve (Kellie's boyfriend), & Ryan (Emily's boyfriend)

Silly shot!

california, part 5: visiting oma

Before Erik & the Ruddicks had to head back home, we made a quick visit to see Oma (my dad's mom). She agreed to have all 4 of us siblings, our husbands & our 7 young children over for lunch - so sweet!

Cedar's first time meeting his great grandmother.

Oma with 7 of her great grandchildren!

Erik had all the kids entertained by a game on his iPhone. :)

Cohen & Finn are such good buds. They play so well together & can always be found laughing & joking about something silly. They really miss each other when they've been apart & talk about each other often! I love that Finn thinks of his cousins as his friends. :)

Cedar is always surrounded by a cousin or two (or more!). He managed to get both hands in his mouth, while smiling. :)

Thanks for the great visit, Oma! It was so nice to see you! We love you.