42 Weeks

 

At 42 weeks, Soren conquered his first "bug" which was maybe worse for mom & dad than the little man.  He apparently has his mom's coping strategy for sickness, which is a lot of sleeping and reading time, so we indulged in a few extra cuddles this week.  Soren was a lucky boy this Christmas and got so many fun new toys that we've been playing with a lot, too. And he's taking up serious time looking at books.  Which involves emptying entire bookshelves, an old favorite pastime.

41 Weeks

It's almost Christmas and Soren is 41 weeks old.  He is really cruising around behind his push toys and can stand on his own for a few moments. Until he realizes he's standing, and then he sits. He loves pointing and has moved from pointing with his finger to pointing with the back of his hand with his wrist turned down. It's a little weird and we have no idea where he picked that up.  Watching a few videos of Soren when he was a newborn, Micah and I realized that at some point he stopped telling us "stories" via cooing and gurgling and moved onto more big-boy sounds. He says "ooh" and clicks his tongue a lot. His teeth keep growing in and they are changing his face from a little baby face to a little old man face. He inherited his dada's hair--super blond, wispy and standing on end in the morning! As Soren's personality continues to develop, we feel super blessed that he is an easy-going, fun-loving, joyous little dude.

9 Months

 Soren has taken up recorder playing. He knows one note and one volume.

 Dishwasher loading is another favorite hobby. It's best if you can sit in the lid while you do it.

 Emptying cupboards also occupies Soren's time.

 Papa made Soren a tiny picnic table. Lots of time is spent crawling under and around it.

Thanks Papa!

40 Weeks

39 Weeks

New tricks include pointing (a lot) and pushing his new toy around the house.

38 Weeks

Thanksgiving

 We spent Thanksgiving in West Yellowstone, MT where we skied through lovely mountain trains (over 8000 feet!), hiked a bit in Yellowstone National Park, enjoyed beautiful scenery, roasted mallows, and relaxed a whole lot. 

37 Weeks

8 Months

 "Can I get out yet?"

 Hootenanny with Dad.

 Catching up on his reading.

36 Weeks

Soren is a chatty dude. He loves to mimic sounds. Both of his top middle teeth have popped through the gums now, for a total of 5 teeth.  It seems like he's still working on more...that makes for lots of drooling around here.

35 Weeks

 New sound: Ooooooh.  Loves playing the drums, piano, or guitar & dancing to music.

34 Weeks

 

Whoops, caught Soren in a moment for his 34 week photo. Feeling lucky that he's not too often in this mood!

Halloween

Soren was a little bear for Halloween and he LOVED his costume. It had a really padded head piece so he could race around like his usual wild self and not even notice the head bumps. 

 We went to a little Halloween party with some friends and he thought his friend Abigail's dino costume was pretty cool.

 A dino, a bear, and a pumpkin.

 And the results of our 2nd Annual Residency Pumpkin Carving Party. Pretty impressive, right?!

New Orleans

We started the trip right: beignets and cafe au lait at Cafe du Monde the first morning.  They were really good.  And we accidentally ordered two plates of them.  And ate them all.  Whoops!

Lafayette Number 1 Cemetery tour in the Garden District.  We took a bus out to this area of town to see the mansions and the famous Magazine Street. Found out that "saved by the bell" means when you were buried but still alive, you could pull the string tied to your toe and a bell would ring.  Creepy.

 Music on Frenchman Street.

 And a bike taxi back to the hotel.

 Outdoor pool a little too chilly?  That's ok! Soren likes to swim in the bathtub, too.

After an amazing breakfast at the Old Coffee Pot Cafe, we spent the morning with residency friends at the New Orleans Aquarium.  That's Soren and his friend, Dexter, saying hello.

 Soren liked the fish as long as they were smaller than him. The sharks..not so much.

We were told we had to order a daiquiri to go.  So we complied.  These two beer drinkers found them surprisingly refreshing.

 At Jackson Square before our buggy ride.

And on a mule-drawn buggy ride through the French Quarter. Our mule was named Sideways "because she likes to go sideways." Says the driver as we pull away from the curb.

 Riding the street car!

 Listening to jazz at the French Market Cafe.  Soren practices his clapping.

 Adventure to City Park.

 And buying a beer at the walk-up bar from the local brewery.

Micah also attended some lectures at the Pediatrics conference while Soren & I got lost on Bourbon Street (thank goodness it was 8 in the morning).  New Orleans is a super fun city to visit!