It's fall now

I've been made well aware of our need to update the blog. And tonight seemed like a good opportunity, considering, that Im alone and trying to avoid the millions of other things i really should be doing. Grant has been in Dallas today at the Windows 7 launch party that he was invited to, and Nigel is in bed already. The poor baby made it nearly 7 whole months with out any sicknesses worthy of mentioning, but Tuesday (nov.3) he woke up with a cough that only got worse into Tuesday night during which neither of us got any sleep as we battled his fever, and stuffy nose together. Well the fever has come and gone all day, thanks to the help of baby motrin! But it still breaks my heart to see our little Nigel be so sick and so unlike his usual playful self.

We have all been enjoying the change in temperature these passed few weeks. The weather here has been just perfect.
Nigel as always continues to grow and grow. At his 6 month check up he weighed in at 19.5 lbs. which in case you don't know or recall, is roughly the weight of your average 1 year old. And our little 6 1/2 month old baby mostly wears 12 month clothes, but we are enjoying every pound of him. Except when it comes to lugging around the carseat with him in it. :) Nigel has about a tooth and a half, both on the bottom. And even though we were warned about teething nightmares by fellow parents, so far the whole teething experience has been a breeze. If unwatched Nigel can be found nearly all the way across a room now. He doesnt crawl yet, but he has really learned to get around by rolling and scooting. Despite the money that we his parents and i am sure many of you have spent on infant toys for him to play with, it seems Nigel would over any toy choose to satisfy his latest insatiable desire for plastic bags. His fixation with plastic bags is so sensitive that if he even hears the crinkling/rustling sound of a bag near him being handled he will become irate in an effort to get possession of the bag and play with it. Awwwh, our silly baby. This is him in his Halloween costume after he won first prize at th Lifestream costume contest.

Grant and I are doing so well. We are healthy, and happy and blessed beyond our wildest imaginations. We our so in love with our precious little boy, and our roles as parents. It has been amazing to watch and listen as God teaches us through our son. We already have our eyes set on Nigels first Christmas, it is going to be so much fun! We love Christmas!! Beyond that we are planning a mission trip to Uganda this summer. Grant and I have both been to several countries throughout the years, but it has always been our dream to go and serve together as a family, and we are really really excited for what God has planned for us this summer.

⁷ "Two things I ask of you, O LORD;
do not refuse me before I die:

⁸ Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.

⁹ Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
and say, 'Who is the LORD ?'
Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonor the name of my God.

(Proverbs 30)

Summer is officially over, so sad.
Grant is one week into school, so good so far. He got the job that we were praying about, which is a total praise! He now works for the OU IT department. He works at the help desk, solving various student or teachers computer troubles. Very similar to what he had been doing all summer it seems, so no pun intended he feels right at home. A nice part of the job has been that during the times when he is not helping anyone, he is encouraged to do his homework, which is a real blessing giving him the study time which is so hard to find between work, school, church, family and sleep.
We are having so much fun watching nigel grow up together it is truly joyful and rewarding and going entirely too fast.
The Biggest headline this week is that Nigel rolled over!!! (only from back to front for now) A big milestone for us all, but sadly perhaps not quite as celebratory for the little boy. He seems to be unable to decide whether he likes this new mobility or not. Everytime he is laid down on his back he will almost immediately flip over to his belly, a position he has never enjoyed. After lasting a few moments on his belly, crying in frustration, a good Samaritan will come a long and assist him in rolling back over to his back, where he will almost imediately use his new trick to flip back over, and the whole process starts all over. Its been a bit exhausting for everyone, but we are hoping he will soon learn to be more comfortable on his stomach.
More Nigel facts:
-he weighs just under 17 lbs
-he loves watching the TV now, his favorites being Baby Einstien movies, golf and beach volleyball on tv, and anytime that the wii is on.
- he is very talkative and social, and we have had several church nursery workers and some complete strangers attest that he appears to be a particularly loud and boisterous baby. A trait fun to have around the house but not so great during church.
-there is no limit to the number of blankies he can cuddle with at once. the more the merrier
- we have all three just given up on pacifiers, as they have been completely rejected by nigel
- everyone on the planet seems to want to know "how he is sleeping at night" and the answer is still as has always been that every night is quite literally a different story. Sleeping through the night has been our most difficult feat, but they come more and more often all the time.

Here are some fun videos of our boy
Love you all

some summer pictures

nigel officially likes his swing!!!!
how daddy watches the baby while mommy runs upstairs for something

smiley

nigel

us at sam and megans wedding