A Puppy and the Fall Festival

Our neighborhood association put on a Fall Festival this weekend. It was very well attended, but there wasn't much for a 6 month old to do. So we made an appearance, saw our buddies the Harveys, and then went home.

Ian's costume was a big hit though. Some people mistakenly thought he was a sheep, a stuffed animal, a bunny rabbit, and a baby girl. But he was in fact a baby boy dressed as a puppy. It was fun to dress him up, and he really acted the part by sticking his tongue out for most of the evening.

The bat in this picture is Ian's buddy Matthias, who is about 4 months older than Ian.

New Friend

This caterpillar was waiting for us on the threshold of the front door after Ian and I took an afternoon walk around the block. His protective coloration gave me a good clue about where he might like to hang out, so after our photoshoot I put him in a bush outside our front window.

HAPPY 27th BIRTHDAY SCOTT!

If you are reading this blog, you probably know my sweet husband Scott. That makes you a lucky person. He is the kindest, silliest, most hard-working and good-hearted person I know. He is an ideal husband in every way, and the perfect father and therefore I am the luckiest woman. I am so glad he was born 27 years ago and that his parents raised him the way they did. Happy birthday, sweetheart!

The birthday boy's request, O'Boy Oatmeal Cake. Here is what was left after I ate half the batter. Soooo good.

Singing Ian's current favorite, Slippery Fish. Thanks for teaching me, Aunt Allison!

Birthday dinner.

The farfalle pasta recipe is forthcoming on Telestial Kitchen.

I loved this card from Scott's parents. Picking cards must be a talent. After I spent an hour reading every birthday card on the rack and still couldn't find one for the birthday boy, I am even more impressed at how fun that card was.
I have to share some of my favorite lines from it:

"Son, now that you are an adult, it is time you learned the truth about a few things:

It is theoretically possible to know you won't like something without trying it. Very few emergency room doctors ever notice underwear. You weren't really told anything a thousand times. Nobody on vacation tends to turn the car around. If you make a goofy face, it won't really freeze that way. You are the nicest, most talented, loveable son in the whole world. But that one is true."

Some black dress socks for my workin' man.

Scott wearing a birthday present.

27 candles!
This is one handsome baby. He sure looks like his daddy.

The Latest

Here is a recap of some of the things going on at our house.

When you are teething and pitiful, you can get away with a lot.

Our neighbors had us over for dinner and a movie last weekend. They made authentic chicken tostadas. (Some of you may be aware of my love for tostadas because of my former e-mail address, tostada@hotmail.com) These were the best tostadas I have ever had. I will share the recipe as soon as I get it. We contributed this simple but delicious fruit pizza recipe.







Suddenly, it is winter here in Houston. We woke up to a very chilly home on Tuesday, and it has remained very cold ever since. It was strange how our AC had been struggling to keep the house at a steamy 80 degrees the day before, and suddenly our thermostat read 68 degrees. And I assure you that 68 degrees is cold in place as humid as this. Little Ian's hands and lips were blue that first morning when we went to get him up. I never thought the day would come when we would want to use our heater.


This is probably the first time Ian has worn pants since we left Provo. I have really enjoyed dressing Ian up in all his winter clothes.

This is before our morning stroll. Ian and I go walking with another mom and baby in the ward almost every day. There are lots of paved, wooded trails in our neighborhood.

This is after our walk. It was way cooler outside than Ian and I were prepared for. Look at Ian's little pink nose. : ) This beanie was knit by Ian's great-grandpa Searles!

Last night a beautiful horse name Butterscotch left me with this souvenir of our introduction. I was sure we were friends until she bit me.

Also, today Scott turns 27! I will capture pictures of the festivities this evening, and will certainly post them so you can all feel like you celebrated with us.

To our worldwide audience:

Perhaps you have noticed a new feature on the Larson Family blog: the visitor counter. As I type this, our count is up to over 60 visits in just two days. Thanks for stoppin' by! Compliments of Site Meter, I know who our faithful readers are! Yes, you are no longer annonymous.

That includes our international audience, which I did not previously know was interested in our little family. Though I am flattered that a stranger in Germany spent more than twenty minutes getting caught up on the latest Larson family happenings, that does not concern me nearly as much as the visitor from The Maine Bureau of Taxation who has been back to see us three times in the last two days. Who are you? I am very curious.

Site Meter has also made me aware that we have friends in China, Brazil, Mexico, Philippines, Turkey, Denmark, London, India, Switzerland, Germany, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Italy, Taiwan, Australia, Egypt, Iran, Hong Kong, Spain, France, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Greece. Well. Doesn't that make me feel a little weird.

I am now contemplating making this an invite-only blog. Do you all have any objections to logging in?

Ian and Mommy

Pinewood Derby

Scott entered this beauty in the Elder's Quarum Pinewood Derby last weekend. There were two divisions: Regulation and "Anything Goes".

The one next to Scott's was his competition in the "Anything Goes" race. Scott will have to be the one to explain how he put his car together. It was pretty cool. And I wsa so proud of him it was embarassing. For him. :)

My engineer is so handsome.

New Toy

While we were getting ready for church yesterday, Ian found this little toy. He "doinged" it at least 50 times. Ahhh, discovery. :)

Doesn't this cowboy shirt look handome on him?

House

Here is a picture of our bedroom after we painted it. Our bathroom is through a pair of double doors to the right of this picture, and the closet is at the foot of the bed.

This will be our formal living room. So far these curtains are all we have in this room. They are probably my favorite of all the window treatments my mom made. They are gorgeous! This room may never have furniture, but at least the windows are all dressed up!

This is the couch we found at a consignment store for an amazing price! I love it. This room is definately still in the works, though. We need a shade for the lamp and some more color. Right now the colors in the room have all the pizzazz of boy scout uniform. We are still brainstorming accent colors.

S I X M O N T H S !

TA - DAH!

STATS:

Weight: 19 lbs. 11 oz., 80%

Height: 27.5 inches, 60%

Head: 17.25, 50%

Ian gained a little more than a pound in the last two months, and grew a full inch! He sure does seem to be slimming down too, especially in the cheeks and chins. I think he is down to only one chin now!

He is a strong little boy and the pediatrician says he's growing well, too. Because Ian was so heavy at birth, he said a better indicator of Ian's growth would be his height. One inch in two months is great progress!

Ian is now sitting very steadily, rolls from stomach to back and from back to stomach, and can do so in both directions now. He still scoots on his back like an inch-worm, and also likes sticking his backside in the air while on his tummy. After waking up, he makes happy bird-like sounds in his bed for a half hour or more before we go get him. Our favorite development is his ability to find his pacifier and put it in his mouth.

Ian makes all sorts of funny noises and faces, loves to sit on Daddy's shoulders (mostly to eat Scott's hair), and still has the sweetest personality and temperment of any child we know. Six months is such a fun age!

Ian sleeps with that little bunny and this blanket (made by his own GreatMamma Searles). Here Ian is sitting on a beautiful chest his great grandpa Searles made for him. Grandpa made me one when I was a child as well.

Ian's New Favorite Food

So we decided to let Ian try a new food group today. Judge for yourselves what he thought of it.

Hilarious

I am not sure what he thought was so funny.

A Solution

We have been trying to come up with a way to paint around the crown moulding in our foyer. A very tall ladder helped Scott get almost all the way up the two story wall in the foyer, but he couldn't get high enough to finish around the moulding. On Saturday, Scott attached a paintbrush (with electrical tape) to the end of a long pole, and cut in around the moulding by leaning over the railing. He has a remarkably steady hand!

Sippy Cup & Apple Juice

Ian tried apple juice on Sunday. It was hard to tell if he loved it or hated it. He wanted to keep drinking it, but grimmaced after each swallow. Our pediatrician has been recommending we give Ian apple juice a few times a day, for Vitamin C, since he was 3 months old. I didn't agree, so we didn't do it until now. Mostly because I heard it helps keep you "regular", and our bi-monthly pooper could probably use it. And I am here to tell you that it works.