Christmas

Upon hearing that the mountain pass was clear, we hightailed it to Selah, Washington and the Hauge ranch for Christmas. It was a full house with Chris and Sharon, Sharon's parents, LaRue and Ginni, Sally, Lincoln, Cooper, and four dogs. The hill between the house and the barn made for epic sledding, and a four wheeler to get back up top made sledding all the more fun! On Christmas Eve we went to church and enjoyed a traditional candle lit ceremony with Christmas singing. Stockings greeted us in the morning and during brunch it was Chris who announced, "would you guys hurry up eating so we can open presents!" Santa was good to us all, showering the Hauges young and old. The highlight of the festivities included The Christmas Story, reenacted by Chris, Dee, and Lincoln, narrated by Sally, and starring Magnus as baby Jesus. Equally entertaining was the traditional glogg ceremony. This year brought the addition of one more Norwegian viking, Magnus the Magnificent, partaking in the rituals.

Christmas Eve

Christmas morning

Christmas dogs Sherman and Zinger

In the name of Thor, we roar!

The two wise men are greeted by an angel...

Mary and Joseph celebrate the birth of baby Jesus...

Christmas dinner

Magnus' first sled ride

Beyond Rice Cereal

Avocado--YUCK!

Sleep is sweet

Perhaps the biggest milestone for mom and dad has been Magnus' mastery over tummy time, thereby giving us all a little more sleep these days!  Despite our attempts to lay Magnus on his back to sleep, the minute he hits the mattress he is flipping over onto his stomach.  After several sleepless nights checking on our little boy to make sure he didn't suffocate himself, and/or awakening to his screaming once he realized he was on his stomach and couldn't get back over, he got used to it and with it slept more solidly.  We are embracing 7 hours of sleep these days, and awakening to the sounds of coos from the other room, and clearly a happy boy when we greet him in the morning.

Six months

It is hard to believe that Magnus is six months already!  Dee and I are completely enamored by our little boy, and in awe as we watch him develop.  Six month milestones include solid foods, grasping objects and passing them from one hand to the other, sitting up unassisted (although we are close at hand for those near "headers" with the floor) rolling from back to stomach, and holding onto objects like bottles and books.  Magnus loves to jump in his jumperoo and is constantly pushing up and simulating jumping his legs even while we hold him!  He has taken a liking to his hands and feet and if they are not in his mouth he is seemingly studying them up close.  He giggles like crazy when we kiss his neck and feet, and give him zerbers on his stomach.  

Hat hair

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

The week before Christmas was dubbed "Winter Freeze 2008" by the media, proclaiming it the coldest week in over a decade and bringing with it ample snow to the Pacific Northwest.  Veterans to our neighborhood quickly parked their cars on the arterial street at the top of the hill.  Our plans to head south for the Zimel holiday party were postponed until January, when hopefully the weather will have subsided, and we hunkered down in our cozy home and watched the snow continue to fall.

Magnus enjoying a few minutes outside in the snow

Food fun

Magnus continues to enjoy his rice cereal--even when he doesn't actually eat any of it!

Papa always makes eating more fun!

Joe the Plumber

I know he will "oohhh, mom!" me for this later....but seriously, it is too cute not to share!

Santa Baby

This weekend Dee and I felt that we were officially initiated into the "parent club"...waiting an hour and ten minutes for a picture of our son with Santa.  In an attempt to avoid the crowds we figured dinnertime on a Saturday night would be a great time, however, it appeared as if numerous other families thought the same.  While the line was not overwhelming, apparently some of the lists of the kids in front of us were long.  Nevertheless, Magnus did a superb job waiting patiently for his turn.  Like magic, it started to gently snow as we reached the front of the line and before we knew it we were welcomed into "Santa's cabin" for our photoshoot.  Knowing that this time in Magnus's life can be marked by a bit of separation anxiety from mom and pop, we weren't ruling out the possibility of a complete meltdown once Magnus had his moment.  We may have gotten a smile out of him had the four adults in the room (Dee, myself, the cashier and the photographer) not been completely over the top with our singing, whistling, clapping, ringing of bells and shouting his name, trying to get a reaction out of Magnus.  In the end, we left giggling with a picture of our little boy with deer in headlight eyes to the scene he was beholding.  I'm sure he and Santa must of thought we were all a bit frightening, but it was a fun memory preserved nonetheless.

First snowfall!

Much to our delight, this weekend Seattle was blanketed in a winter wonderland.  After waking up to several inches of snow, we eagerly bundled Magnus in his snowsuit for a trek outdoors.  It was also his first outing in our hiking backpack and after finally figuring out how the straps work to keep him from seemingly getting lost at the bottom, we were ready.  Sherman frolicked in the snow as if he'd reunited with a long lost friend, and Magnus seemed to enjoy looking over Papa's shoulder at the world around him.

Bundled and ready to go!

Solid Foods!

This weekend marked a major milestone in Magnus' life--the introduction of "solid foods!"  As newcomers to all of this, Dee and I realized that a baby's first solids are still rather runny, and most of it ends up on their bib and clothes (note to self and all you parents-to-be:  go with the vinyl bibs).  With camcorder in hand, Dee captured Magnus' first bite of rice cereal.  His first reaction was one of shock, and seemingly "yuck!"  But it didn't take long before this future linebacker was opening his mouth wide and mighty for the next bite!

Tasty treat

When we say everything goes into Magnus' mouth these days, we mean EVERYTHING!

Mr. Independent

Lately it is nearly impossible to feed Magnus a bottle without his insistance to hold it himself, going so far as to grab our fingers in an attempt to pry them off the bottle if we try to help him!

Little bear

Grrrrrrrrrrr!

YaYa's visit

YaYa helped Magnus celebrate his 5 month birthday with a visit to Seattle this week.  He entertained her with his fancy footwork in the jumperoo, demonstrated his rolling skills, and let her experience first hand his disdain for sleeping.  Magnus and YaYa really got a chance to bond when mom had a meeting and the two hung out together for several hours.  Despite Magnus' refusal to take a bottle, YaYa kept the boy in good spirits reading just about every book Magnus owns and playing arousing games of airplane and bouncing.  As always, when the good times started to roll she had to depart home, but we are looking forward to seeing her again at Christmastime when we will celebrate 6 months together, and solid foods!!

Magnus was very determined to hold the new book that YaYa gave him.

Five months

Friends who already have children often tell Dee and I that being a parent just gets better and better with each passing milestone and month.  It is hard to imagine enjoying Magnus any more than we do as we continue to be completely smitten by him.  These days we are getting lots of giggles out of him, especially when we "roughouse".  He is quite the chatterbox first thing in the morning, he has mastered rolling from his back to his front without getting his arm stuck underneath his body, and is determined to draw his little legs up to his chest while on his tummy as if he is attempting to crawl!  He broke out of his last swaddler and no longer gets wrapped like a mummy to fall asleep, and he drools 24/7--maybe a sign that a tooth is near...?  Here he is--FIVE months already!!

It is getting increasingly difficult to get Magnus to hold onto anything without his trying to eat it!

Heather Lake

Upon hearing a sunny forecast for the day, we quickly gathered our gear and headed out for another autumn hike. We were joined by Dee's brother Lincoln, his (darling) girlfriend, Kate, and Sherman's brother, Riley. We decided to check out Heather Lake, just north of Granite Falls, as it was given "four paws" by our hiking with dog guidebook. Despite Tamra's hatred towards not reaching the final destination, we turned back just shy of the lake at the prodding of Dee's rationale about making it back before Magnus vocalized his being done. It was a great day with family amid exuberant puppies, old growth forest, a waterfall, and reenergizing mountain air--and in the end it really was the journey that mattered.

The Resmini's

This weekend, our friends Eros and Jaime Resmini, visited us from San Francisco.  It was the first time we met their little peanut, Lucca, born one week before Magnus.  The boys instantly hit it off and we decided they were going to be best friends.  The Resmini's were house hunting as they are entertaining the idea of moving to the Emerald City, and our encouragements to do so were palpable.  Dee enjoyed a night out with the dudes while the moms commiserated over babies who don't sleep.  Magnus is already looking forward to the next playdate with his stylin' friend from California, and growing up together in the Pacific Northwest!

Baby buddies, Lucca and Magnus

Like father like son

Jaime, myself, our boys, and the always photogenic Sherman

Priceless

As many of you know, Magnus is not a big sleeper, nor does he enjoy a good nap like the rest of us--despite what we tell him about how later in life he will only wish he could lay down for a few. Well, that may have all changed as of last night. We visited our friends Chris and Ellie, who have a 20 month old, Jackson.  Magnus has lucked out inheriting numerous items from them, but last night I think it was Dee and I that scored.  While we chatted we put Magnus in Jackson's old bouncer, endlessly entertaining him until we took him out.  We gladly accepted their offer to take it home with us and quickly made it a centerpiece in our living room.  This morning I put Magnus in the bouncer while I did a few things around the house.  Again, he was completely amused, "running" with his legs nonstop.  Well, apparently this little contraption also doubles as a baby treadmill, and after putting a load of laundry in the washing machine I roundedthe corner to find my little boy ASLEEP standing up in the bouncer after apparently an exhausting workout!  I debated letting him sleep there as it was his naptime, but a guilty conscience crept in having my son sleep standing, so I gentle took him out and carried him to his crib.  Of course he woke up, but I no more than put his legs into his swaddler and he was out again!  I think I should send these pictures to Fisher Price!