Pete and I at Glen Eyrie Castle on the Navigators property, one of my favorite places in the world to take in the beauty of God's creation, and spend time with my friend Erin. 
The Navigators, our former place of employment and where we met. 
Garden of the Gods.
Our friends the Bradleys at their home.
Me, Pete, my friend Beth and her daughter Hazel.
Me and Erin in her new home.
Saturday P. and I went to see Reba and Kelly Clarkson here in Grand Rapids. I can't even explain how much fun we had. We went to dinner first, then got there in time to hang out and take some pictures in our awesome seats. We were in the 6th row up, 1st level. I have never been that close to Reba in my life and I was thrilled. The concert was amazing. Seriously, no words right now can effectively explain how great our night was. Thanks babe for taking me out on the best date ever! 
That's Reba, right behind me! 
Our sitter/friend Kari took this picture of Pete while we were gone at the concert. Doesn't look like he is missing his parents too much does it? Glad we have a babysitter that Pete loves so much. He is giving these hilarious eyes closed smiles now when we take pictures of him. 
And last but not least, Katie came home this weekend. She has spent two days with us and is leaving to go home tonight. It has been a busy, fun filled visit with her. She loves her little brother and Pete adores her because she is silly and fun to watch. Here's Katie feeding Pete oatmeal.
P., Katie, Natalie and Kiwi at a dog show we went to Sunday. This dog was so sweet. Kinda like a Boxer but a more manageable size. 
Pete at the dog show.
The kids and Pete in his new cute dog outfit from Omi.
Well, better go. More to come. Love to all and hope everyone has a great week. Oh, one more thing, we had had our first official snow yesterday. Not exciting for me, but exciting because it was another first for Pete. And as long as we live here in MI it is his first of many, many more.
I took this picture of Pete with his Future Voter sticker on and his funny face makes him look like he is saying Obama! Or as P. would say, No-bama! I don't like to talk politics so I won't. Neither candidate excited me and when I voted I went with my gut not my faith or party affiliation. I still feel I voted for the lesser of two evils, not that they are evil people, but I think that is the way the saying goes. I hope Obama can make the changes this nation says they need. I hope he can protect us as well as Bush has these past 7 years. I am encouraged to see the excitement and optimism this election has stirred up in the American people. I just hope they are not disappointed.
And here is a short video of Pete trying to crawl while we were at Omi and Opa's. His cousins were very encouraging and helpful in his attempts to get the cell phone.
I could post a thousand pictures from this week. It was hard enough to pick 30 or so to post on my Facebook page but I did it. This week Pete started popping up on all fours like a pro. See pic. One more step closer to mobility. It's neat to see but for a mom who wishes her son would never grow up it's a little sad. And we did some fun Halloween stuff this week that mom probably enjoyed way more than Pete did but that's ok. He was the cutest green dinosaur ever. If one bright green dinosaur costume wasn't enough I had to get another one that showed just how precious he is, hence the Baby Bugs outfit. Don't worry, they were both purchased at garage sales this summer for $3/each so I had to splurge on both. P. would have preferred I passed on the Bugs Bunny outfit but it was in such great shape and I knew he would be such a doll in it I had to bring it home.
Ok, 9 pictures. 
Pete is doing great! He is a good eater and loves all the foods we have tried so far. His sleep patterns vary widely from 10 hours a day to 14 (that's including night sleep) so I never know from day to day what he is going to give me. (14 hours is rare.) He is not crawling yet but is up on all fours rocking back and forth so apparently he is getting close. (Noooooo!) He has a list of favorite things and not one of them has cost us any money to provide for him. He loves the tv remote, pens, water bottles with water in them, tags on clothing items, blankets, toys, etc, flashlights, electrical cords (we unplug them), and spoons. Well, we did have to buy the spoons when he started eating solids but they were just a couple bucks. Yes, electrical cords, dangerous, I know but he finds them so interesting to touch, hold, fling around and carry that we let him. That should get interesting once he goes mobile huh? Pete finds Peek-A-Boo hilarious and thinks his dad is the funniest man alive. He enjoys going to the mall, grocery store or Walmart now in his stroller and looking at all the cool stuff and people. I stay home with Pete every day and wouldn't have it any other way.
So this week our baby boy has figured out how to sit and balance all by himself. You can see in his face how hard he is concentrating on staying upright. And he is getting up all all fours and scooting forward inch by inch. Basically if he wants to get somewhere or get something he can. They grow up too fast. 
Abby wanted in on the fun. 
Pete is 6 months old and Serra turned 6 years old yesterday. Pete had his 6 month check-up on Monday and is doing great! He weighs 15 lbs 10 oz and is 26 inches in length. His weight is in the 25th percentile and his height is in the 50th. I never thought I would have a baby that was on the low end of the weight scale. They think his weight is a little lower because of the 3 weeks of diarrhea where he either lost weight or didn't gain any. They will check his weight again in another month and see how he is doing. It's not like he looks skinny or anything. Can you believe 75% of kids his age are heavier than him? Pete received 3 shots and was pretty uncomfortable for about a day with a slight temperature. He didn't sleep well for about 24 hours after. I gave him a day to recover and since then we have been trying the "Cry It Out" method to get him to fall asleep on his own. We used to rock him to sleep, lay him down gently and tip-toe away. The new method has worked like a charm and so far I am thrilled with the results. The first day, Tuesday, was pretty much torture but yesterday the crying was slim to none and today he let out a few whimpers and was out. He has been sleeping for an hour and 45 minutes now and counting. Go Pete!
On Friday one of my best friends in the whole world came to visit me from CO. Her job brings her out this way a few times a year and I am SO thankful for that. We had such an amazing three days together catching up on old times and laughing histerically over nothing really. Erin and I were instant friends from the minute we met and to this day have stayed close no matter the distance between us. Every few months I need my Erin fix to feel like myself again. We have so much fun together as you will see in the pics. She left early this morning and I miss her already.
Pete wouldn't hold still for a picture so we smashed his face between ours to keep him looking at the camera. So funny. 
We made our own scarecrow at the Rockford Fall Festival. Isn't she stylish?
At the Rockford Dam with the fall colors behind us. 
Making tacky do-it-yourself Christmas ornamets for each other. Tacky-er the better! 
And yesterday evening Erin took pictures of our family in front of the changing fall leaves in our neighborhood. For anyone not in MI I wish you could see the leaves changing colors. It is so beautiful.
Have a great week family and friends! Thanks for reading my blog and traveling down the road of life with me. Love, AM
