Half of a Year

Attacking the bear. See how mischievous he is.

Okay Mom, I'll do the picture face.

I cannot believe it has been 6 months since I was miserable in the hospital thinking that I would probably die. But as of yesterday, we officially have a 6 month old. I didn't realize how in denial I was about all of this until I wrote out the sign to take Cormac's sixth month picture. I got everything set up and ready to go. Then I looked at the sign I had written. It read "Four Months Old." Uh...

Well, despite my brain dead powers, our little man is anything but brain dead. Cormac is growing and changing every day. He is so much fun. Here are a few things about Cormac:

~He LOVES!! to spit. All the time. Well, you know, you saw the previous post.

~He loves to hear his own voice. He sings, hums, yells, babbles, yells, lectures, yells, talks, yells, and occasionally screams. We love to hear his voice too.

~He's teething, blah.

~Cormac loves to be around people. He likes to laugh and giggle, but he makes you work for it.

~He has the most amazing laugh.

~He is once again rejecting the binkie. This time I'm ready for that though and I'm okay with it.

~Still not sleeping through the night.

~We sort of started solids, but then we backed off. So, he's not on solids yet, but his weight is slowing down, so here we go.

~He is one TALL boy at 28 inches. He is only 18 lbs now (but have you seen his dad? I think tall and skinny might be in the forecast for this one).

~He enjoys playing and eating everything he can get his hands on. Especially if it is in Mommy's hands.

~He is super curious. He loves to go places and see what is going on. He even enjoys watching Sandy and Charlie play.

~He rolls all over the place, can sit on his own for a while (until he gets too excited and shoots himself backward), and is closer to crawling than I am ready for.

~Cormac is always, always moving. He loves to bounce, roll, scoot, squirm, anything really, as long as he's in motion.

~He is such a handsome boy. Here, judge for yourself:

And we adore him. Ammon and I are so happy to have him in our family. It has been a crazy, fast, and fun 6 months. Everyone was right, it goes by too fast. But I am loving every minute. Happy half birthday, Cormac.

He's communicating?

We're so proud.

Spring

I spotted our first few budding flowers on our tree just a few days ago. Ahhh. Spring is coming. Only one more snow storm to go. Well, in theory. You never do know around here. But what a wonderful way to remember the resurrection. Just looking at this tree budding and coming to life after a long winter sleep makes me thankful to know that we too can and will be resurrected thanks to our Savior, Jesus Christ.

This Easter was not my favorite I can remember. To me, being with family is the most important part of Easter. But alas, duty called my dear husband off on a journey. So, we had Easter morning with a nice breakfast and sent Ammon on his way. Cormac and I did spend the day with my aunts, uncle, and cousins, so it was still a nice day. We just missed our Ammon.
Cormac and I are lonesome without Ammon. He has gone back to the birthplace of his son, Helena, Montana, to see a few last minute details finished up on the project that kept us there all summer. When he returns from this journey Ammon will be taking a new job at a software company. We are really excited that this job appears to be a lot more stable than anything in the construction industry right now. Plus the job is in Orem, thus he can now get to work in 5 mintues rather than the 15 or more that he has previously had. I am thrilled that he will be so close and that he will not have to travel all over the country.
Cormac had no clue what was going on Easter morning. But he loves his duck and his sippy cups that the Easter Bunny brought. I haven't actually put anything in the sippy cups for him to sip yet. But he knows how to use them and what they are for and feels like a big boy when he uses them. The other day I was feeding him with a bottle and he wouldn't take it from me. He finally grabbed it and proceeded to feed himself. My little baby is growing up.

Well, since my husband is abroad, my mother is coming to stay with us so we won't be as lonley. Cormac is excited to have Grammy Garrison here. I am too. But I have a room to paint before our guest arrives. I had better get it in gear. Happy Easter and Welcome Spring.

Slithery

If you read to the end of the post about our long trip then you already know that we had a snake visitor. If you did not read to the end, I don't blame you. Brevity is not one of my talents, and I know these posts get long. Well, I would like to give a full account here. We returned from a long trip on Monday. We had left the pilot light on our water heater on, but not the actual water heater. We had also turned down the heat, so it was rather chilly. There was one warm spot though. And that was near the pilot light of the water heater. Ammon walked into the laundry room and saw a little garden snake wrapped around the pipe by the pilot light. It saw him too and started to take off. But Ammon was the hero of the day and he nabbed it before it could escape. Then he took it outside and despatched of it while I had a little freak out moment. But then we moved on with our life.

On Wednesday we decided to get back in the yard to get some work done. We had been pruning our fruit trees before we had to leave for our trip, and we had never had a chance to clean it all up. Plus I have been attempting to weed the flower beds so that whatever flower it is that is growing there can do so unimpeded. As Ammon and I were discussing the project Ammon spotted another snake in the sun. I ran to get my camera and the snake took cover under the siding of our house. I was a bit worried that it would try to get into the house, but we once again moved on with our life.

A short while later we saw the snake. Ammon grabbed it and despatched of it. And our lazy dogs just stood there looking. They didn't even react to the intruder.

The weeding was getting a little tough so Ammon went and got a bucket of water to dump on it. Then it happened. He spotted another one. So, he went digging in the flower bed.
And he came out of there with this:
At this point I was starting to get a little more worried about our snake problem. But decided that I should not freak out. If you know me, then you know that I am rather fond of reptiles. Even snakes. But this is different. I like them in cages and domesticated. Or as domesticated as they come. I do not approve of them slinking around in my garden beds, and I am decidedly against them sneaking into my house.

Well, before the day was out there was yet another snake spotted and destroyed. Did you see that patch of flowers that Ammon was searching through? Yeah, I haven't revisited it. Especially with Ammon gone during the days now. Who will take care of the enemy? As you can see, the snakes all met their match when it came to the cinder blocks.
But my aim is not as good as Ammon's. So, our battle with the snakes is Ammon 4, Snakes ?. I'm thinking we should get some geese. Ammon thinks we got them all. I haven't gone looking for more. Yikes. Does anyone have any snake repellent?

Five Months!

Our little Turkey is growing up. I can't believe he is already 5 months old. He is so much fun. He is growing and changing so much all the time. We love having him around. At five months Cormac:

~can almost sit up on his own. He tries all the time. He really wants to.

~rolls all over the place. He is finally starting to go from stomach to back too.

~can get his knees under him when he is on his stomach and push himself up. He doesn't have the arms figured out yet. But I think we are dangerously close to having a crawler.

~loves to make noises and listen to himself sing. He still makes noises like he's blowing ships out of the water. It is pretty darn cute.

~doesn't blow spit bubbles as much, but he sure likes to drool (possibly teething? we aren't really sure).

~Smiles a lot!

~will laugh if he is in the right mood and you are goofy enough. Interestingly, he loves to laugh a crazy laugh right after Ammon says, "you're nuts!" I think he likes the sound of it, but only if Daddy says it.

~loves bath time. And boy can he splash.

~is still not sleeping through the night. Will it ever happen?

~has slowed down in the growth department. He is about 17 lbs and still 26.5 inches. We are starting solids this week.

~loves to put any and all objects in his mouth.

~love, love, loves to bounce and stand and bounce and stand and bounce...

~is super adorable. We love him so much.

I have realized that using such a large stuffed animal in these pictures was a mistake. You really don't get a good scale. So, I am posting the following pictures to give you a rough idea of how much our little one has grown in five months. These first two were taken at 2 weeks old.
Full body stretch. These were taken in his pack and play.
Same pack and play. Same position as before. But not nearly the room to stretch as he used to have. And look! He's sort of smiling.
We love our Cormac to pieces. He is a strong, handsome boy. I can't imagine my life without him. I don't understand how I could have been content with life before he came. I guess I was not that content. It sure took a lot to get him here. And we are so happy for our little miracle.

The (nearly) two week long trip

On Tuesday the 9th of this month Ammon got a call from CECO. They wanted to hire him for a few days to go and train some guys up in Seattle. So, we decided to make a family event out of it and we took off the next day. Can you see the excitement?

Cormac enjoyed chewing on his rattle, and anything else that he could get to his mouth. He did great on the trip up to Moscow, Idaho to visit my family. It is a long 12 hour drive. Cormac was awake for most of it, but we just played and had a good time.
We stayed at my grandparents house for three and a half days. We got to hang out with my parents. Cormac was still enjoying chewing on anything he could get his hands on. Most often he just chewed on his hands.
Uncle Nick was able to come and spend a few days with us. That was fun. I don't get to see him as often as I would like. I think Cormac enjoyed hanging out with his Grandparents and his uncle.

This is the back of my grandparents house. My uncle designed it and my father built it. It is pretty neat. Very modern and chic. My mom and I enjoyed going for a walk. It's a beautiful place, even if it is a nightmare to get there.
This picture of these elk was taken inside my grandparents bedroom window. They were so close to the house.
We had a wonderful time with my family. They were a little under the weather, so we just hung out and played games. My mother made us the most delicious food. She spoiled us. It was such a nice trip.

On Sunday the 13th we drove another 6 hours to get to Ammon's sister's house in Seattle. You can read more about our adventures on Thelma's blog. She also has more pictures of her family which I somehow came up short on. Ammon worked two days for CECO. In the meantime, I got to get to know Thelma and her kids better. Out of all of Ammon's family I have gotten to know the Davises the least in the last five years. I had a wonderful time talking with Thelma. I found out that we have a lot in common. I am rather shy and was a little nervous to hang out at my sister-in-law's house with out my hubby, but we had a wonderful time, and they made me feel right at home. I really wish that they lived closer.

We got to go to the beach. My niece, Emma, read the whole time. The boys, Braeden and Mark, worked on a fort. And Thelma and I visited and spotted a seal really close to the shore (he dove before I could get my camera on him). And Cormac liked chewing on his fingers and watching all the people and dogs go by.
After Ammon finished up with CECO, he embarked on a project for Thelma. He tore out the carpet in their master bathroom and laid some tile. As usual, it ended up taking longer than we had anticipated, but the end result is beautiful and I think everyone is pretty happy about it.

Before:

After:
While we were there we got to see a play by the Davis children. It was really fun. The blue shirt is Mark, pink shirt is Emma, and the wolf is Braeden.
Thelma was also very good to us. She fed us amazing food and thrilled us with her skills on the Wii obstacle course. Adam and Thelma treated us to many of their favorite restaurants as well. Everyone in their family made us feel welcome and special. They adored Cormac (who doesn't?) and helped me out with him a lot. Emma sacrificed her bed for us for the entire week, what a trooper.
We had a truly wonderful time. We left on Sunday the 21st. It took us two days to get home. Cormac wasn't as happy these last two days as he was on the way. We were so thrilled when we got home that when Ammon found a snake on our water heater in the house it wasn't even that bad of a shock. Luckily Ammon has fast reflexes and grabbed the culprit and despatched of him before he could hide away. And now we are happy to just be home for a few weeks before we embark on our next adventure. More on that to come.

Neglect

Although it may seems as though I have forgotten you, dear blog, this is not the case. You see, our life has been a little chaotic of late. I have been doing so many things. I have taken pictures of many of those things to share with you. But I just haven't found the time. So, here are a few things that have been keeping us, at the Dahl House, busy this month:

~Cormac
~Ammon
~Job search
~Sandy and Charlie
~Cormac
~Fruit trees (pruning is a nightmare)
~Rose bushes, weeding, cleaning up the yard
~Laundry
~Our house, it is never done
~Cormac
~Ammon on crutches (he is doing much better now, just a basketball injury to the foot, it is healing up well)
~Traveling (First to Moscow, Idaho to see my family. And right now we are in Seattle, seeing Ammon's sister's family, doing some work for CECO, and putting down tile for Thelma (the sister))
~Cormac
~Headaches and backaches
~Deiting, or at least making an effort and failing
~Yoga
~Enjoying the sunshine
~Walking
~Church Basketball
~And of course: Cormac

So, despite my inattention to you, I have not forgotten. I will post pictures and tell about our adventures soon. In the meantime, Cormac is growing up fast and we love him. Ammon is doing well. Cormac and I enjoy having him around more. And I am still me. Just a busy me.