Cookie Monster

Soren is such a caring Dad. He really personalizes how Easton feels. This is evident in how quickly he changes a poopy diaper, whether or not he lets him stay in a soggy shirt, or how long he wants to let him cry in bed. Today we made cookies while Easton was asleep. They turned out amazing and as we picked out ones to eat he said, "Oh I'm saving this one for Easton!" (Note: We do not feed Easton cookies-maybe nibbles on rare occasion.) He then decided to run upstairs and leave a cookie for Easton, in his bed, to find when he woke up. I found it pretty funny although I doubted he would find the cookie, or a least we would hear him before he ate it. Well see what we did find when heard his first post-nap peep-

Yes Easton had found the cookie....

And eaten every crumb except the chocolate that was smashed in his bedding. We were both very surprised. Even if he did eat the cookie, we didn't expect him to lick his bed clean.

YUM!

Walk with Daddy

Yesterday we went to the church building to help clean it for Stake Conference. We were surprised to find it almost done when we got there, but we brought brownies so we shared them with our friends. We borrowed a backpack carrier from a friend and Soren had brought it to try out while vaccumming or something. Since we didn't end up cleaning, he and Easton decided to try it by walking the 20 minutes home. As you can see they had a great time, even in Washington weather.

ONE little BELT dot com

ONE little BELT has a website! I have spent way too many hours designing and laying this baby out, but I am pretty happy with it. It will still be evolving and changing, but this will be belt central.

Here you can find info on sizes, where to buy, our story, pictures and info on new belts. Check it out and feel free to add a link to it to your blog! :)

http://www.onelittlebelt.com

Ablutophobia- Fear of washing or bathing

Question: What to do if your 8 month old is terrified of the bath?

Answer:?

On our trip to Missouri Easton was just loving baths in Grandma's tub, just like he always did at home. He showed the whole family how well he can STAND in the tub and play with all the knobs and faucet.

Near the end of our trip he had a rashy bum and just cried when we put him in the bath- understandable. Unfortunately the next time I put him in the tub, the water was too hot. He cried again. And every bath since. He is no longer rashy and I use cool water, but I think he has developed a bath phobia. He tries to get away whenever I get him anywhere near the tub.

Its really sad because I think that may have been one of his top 5 life activities. So I am wondering if this will last. Do I need to help him get over this somehow?

Blink

It has never occurred to me that Easton didn't know how to do this until he learned it tonight at dinner. He learned to close his eyes on purpose. It was so halarious to see him concentrate to squint and shut them; I was in tears from laughing so hard. Not sure this picture does it justice.

Families Sure Are Fun

Easton and I have been having a really nice time at home. We sure miss Soren, but are loving the time with Grandma, Grandpa, and uncles. Easton is getting more attention than he knows what to do with and has just charmed everyone. He's even cracked a smile or two out of typically stoic Uncle Broch and Cody. Heres a few pics of family play time.

Grandpa and Uncle Thompson (age 6!)

Grandma and Easton with my old farm set.

Two favorite uncles Logan (11) and Thompson (6).

What a Good Little Shopper

Easton goes shopping with me a lot. We go grocery shopping/couponing frequently and then do the day to day shopping. He is really well behaved most of the time and gets a lot of compliments for being such a "good little shopper". Hopefully when it gets warmer he'll spend more time as a "good little park-goer" or "walker." :)

He usually sits in the front of the cart with his cart-cover, but he is at Target yesterday. Grandma let him cruise Titanic style. Love it.

Leavin' on a Jet Plane

Easton and I left Tuesday for Missouri. Work was getting really busy for Soren (we knew it would), so instead of going at Christmas we went in January. The flight was 5 hours, but Easton did really well. He slept about 10 minutes of the whole flight and was very active and alert through the rest of it. He loved all the attention from a plane full of people who couldn't get over his cuteness. We did have some really nice fellow travelers who played grandparents and helped quite a bit. Here's our little man looking all grown up.

Schicke Häkelei : Crochet Chic

So the other day I got an amazing package in the mail. My friend Melanie from college has a shop on etsy where she sells items she crochets. I was impressed with her headbands and decided to order one from her to A.) support her and B.) add a new accessory to my collection. Well I way underestimated its chicness.

I have to say that it is beautiful and I just wanted to share it with you all. The headband is perfectly crafted and really just so cute. I got it on Thursday and since then have worn it everyday. I have received compliments from 2 strangers and at least 4 acquaintences/friends.
I would totally recommend one to anyone and for $8.50 including shipping you really can't beat it. I also now really understand the value of something crafted by hand. Its such a difference from just picking something cute out at the store.

Mel makes custom orders, in fact I picked out the beads for mine. I highly recommend her and am already full of new ideas of what I will order next. Check out her site and give this awesome headband a try.

http://schickehakelei.blogspot.com

http://TheHue.etsy.com

Lots to tell about Easton

I haven't been very good about posting here or writing in my journal lately, but there are a lot of great things that Easton has been doing that I want to make sure I record somewhere. I think I'll post them here to get them down on paper and share our fun with you all.

-Today Easton refused to sit or lay in the tub. He wanted to stand- and he can. I am not encouraging it, but he can pull himself up and stand with one hand on the faucet and the other on the wall or grabbing for things. He stands with one foot flat on the ground and the other on tippy-toe. Despite how unsafe it is, he can stay this way for a long time. He also pulls himself up to the edge of the tub to play with me. Apparently this is much more fun than the toys I put in there with him. He has been crawling around in the tub for a while now, but now it's onto standing.

-On Tuesday this week he jumped in the tub with me while I was showering. He pulls himself up to stand next to the tub and watch while I am showering. The next thing I know, he had slid head first into the tub, jammies and all. I was so surprised; we just stripped him and he showered with me. It was definitely the funniest shower I have ever had. We now have to keep the bathroom doors shut because he'll try to get in at any time.

- Once he figured out how to get in the tub, we realized we really had to lower his crib. He stands in it all the time now and loves to stand by the door and yell/scream for us to "come get him out!"

- On Tuesday he also climbed his first stair. He LOVES to pull himself up by the railing on the stairs and hold on with one hand. He just grins and grins; you can tell how cool he thinks he is. Well now he has started to put a knee on the first step and the next thing I knew, he had gotten his whole self up that step. I was amazed! He just started crawling like 2 weeks ago!

- Easton is also really good at balancing now. He can easily transfer himself using different hands to hold onto things and even balance on his own for 3-5 seconds. He LOVES to hold onto one of our hands and just walk around the house.

-I think he'll be walking as soon as possible. You can tell his knees just hurt sometimes from all the crawling when he starts getting into the plank position. Its amazing to see how strong he is just holding himself in a plank on his hands and feet.

-Easton has also taken up playing the guitar. He loves to strum and bang all parts of Dad's guitar and has been showing steady improvement the more he "plays." :)

-He has weaned himself of his binkie at 7 months. One day he just decided he didn't want it anymore and hasn't taken it since. Some days I miss it, but I'm sure its better than confiscating it in a few months.

-Favorite foods currently are: Cheerios (plain, Honey Nut, and Banana Nut), anything Dad or Mom are eating- especially when Dad shares treats, banana, and sweet potato.

-Easton has his 2 bottom teeth and one of his top front teeth. He is working on teething his second top tooth and also a third tooth up top which is next to his front one. He'll have 5(!) teeth in another week or so.


In other news Soren is adjusting to his sling. (He had shoulder surgery the week of Christmas.) He'll be in it for another 4 weeks and then onto physical therapy.

I have just been working on my business. Yesterday we went down to Pike's Place Market and found a children's boutique that agreed to sell belts for us on consignment. I have a busy week ahead of finishing business cards, making belts, creating tags for the belts, and getting it all ready to take down to the store. Its very exciting though and brings a lot of satisfaction.

We are excited for the new year and all that it may bring!