Christmas Day

Christmas morning, Ray woke up and turned on the Yule Log on TV. It was so funny. We kept making jokes about how warm and toasty it was in front of the fire. Really we had the heater on so it did feel quite warm. he he. Bodhi looked so cute in his Christmas jammies. Bodhi really likes Christmas, especially all the lights! Everytime we would take him out, Bodhi would love to look at the lights. At home, we could not keep him away from the ornaments on the tree or the lights around the windows.


The afternoon was spent at my sister's house. My family all met there to open presents and have dinner together. Bodhi received lots of toys! Probably too many for a nine month old baby. But they are all so fun. Bodhi likes all of his new toys and has been enjoying playing with them.

Christmas Eve

We drove to Bakersfield on Christmas eve to spend the day with Ray's parents and his sister. We left L.A. at about 8:30a and got into town around 10:30a. Bodhi slept the whole way there! Wow! Bodhi received lots of presents including some books, a rocking horse, and a tonka truck scoot 'n scoop toy that he can push or ride. He had so much fun cruising around his grandparents' house, checking out all the Christmas decorations and spending time with his Grandparents and Auntie. We enjoyed a nice lunch and then headed home around 4pm. Bodhi slept another two hours on the whole way home! Double Wow!


Bodhi really likes his new toys!

9 months

Bodhi had his 9 month checkup this week. He weighs 15lbs 14oz and is 27 inches in length. He is doing well. He is crawling and cruising. He really loves standing and spends most of his day, standing and walking around holding onto furniture for support. Several times now he has let go and will stand without holding on to anything for a few seconds, before sitting down. He loves to eat Cheerios and will gobble all he is given in a matter of seconds! He has also tried a few other finger foods including pasta, cut up banana, and rice. Cheerios are definitely his favorite though. Recently he started taking his baths in the big tub! He kept trying to stand up in the little tub, so we decided it was time to move him into our bathtub. I think he likes the extra room although he still just wants to stand up.

visit with santa

We went to see Santa Claus. Bodhi was really good and just looked at Santa and then immediately started to pull on his beard. Santa was so nice, offering to hold Bodhi after the pics were taken so that I could choose the picture. The first set didn't quite turn out, so they took a few more and we were able to get a smile out of Bodhi. I'll post the pic with santa as soon as possible.

happy thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was plus 2 this year! It was the first thanksgiving with Bodhi and his cousin Dahlia. Well technically Dahlia had her first thanksgiving the day she was born last year. But this year we were all together at Sherry's house to celebrate the holiday. The food was so yummy and I think we were all quite stuffed by the end the night. I am most thankful this year to have my own little family. Ray and Bodhi fill my heart with love and joy everyday.

8 months

Bodhi is eight months old today.  We weighed him this week and he is now 16lbs.  He is becoming increasingly active, moving about the apartment.  He loves his new trick of pulling himself to standing and has even let go a few times.  Of course he immediately falls to the floor. Ray and I are trying our best to keep him from getting too many bumps but it is quite impossible.  Even when we are standing right next to him, he somehow manages to fall before we can catch him.   He is babbling a lot and saying mum and ma and bbip.  He is still quite a charmer and likes to flirt with the ladies when we are out at the shops.

 

Here are a couple of pics from this month

It's a beach day - in the middle of November!!!

I have a straw, what do you have?

oh hi, we're just chewing on some toys.

Calvin (no Hobbes)

I know, maybe it's just karma... but I think Bodhi is turning into Calvin. I was trying to take some pictures of him the other morning when I was suddenly reminded of an old comic strip. Calvin's dad was trying to take some pictures of his little guy and was setting everything up:

But then, Calvin's true nature takes hold, as usual:

I think we might have some trouble on our hands...

baby's first halloween

Hope everyone had a happy halloween. We all stayed in this year, since I had to work late and Bodhi goes to bed pretty early (7pm).  Ray dressed Bodhi in an outfit we got from a friend who traveled to Japan and took a couple of pics before it was bedtime. We made halloween burgers (too cute), lit our jack o' lantern and watched a scary movie. Although I find most scary movies these days have one or two scary scenes and then the rest is just eh. Wouldn't you agree? I made some espresso double chocolate cookies for dessert. It was a Martha recipe. It was pretty good, although I don't know that I would make them again. I must say good ol' chocolate chip cookies are better.

7 1/2 months

Well as usual the time is flying by and we missed posting on Bodhi's seventh month birthday. To keep you updated, Bodhi is doing well. He is still creeping all over the apartment-getting into everything he shouldn't. Every day is another thing I have to move off the floor to higher ground. He continues to do new things every day. He can get to a sitting position from laying down and most recently has been pulling himself up to a standing position. Yay! It's so fun and exciting to see him do something new.

having a little fun during laundry time.

can you see my two teeth?

I'll have some rice cereal please

Bodhi has begun eating solid foods.  He is finally starting to enjoy eating rice cereal as long as it is not too thick.  At first he would gag when trying a new food, but he is beginning to get used to the new textures.  He has tried rice cereal, mashed up banana and sweet potato. He likes to feed himself and grabs for the spoon and puts it in his mouth.  of course he also grabs for the bowl and the extra spoon that I use to try to feed him.   

He sometimes feeds himself with his nuby self feeder.  He actually likes that best since he gets to feed himself and it's great because you can put whole foods inside the bag and they can chew to their hearts content.  With the feeder, Bodhi has tried apples, grapes, banana (super messy), pear, and peaches.  

teething is no fun

Bodhi started teething this week.  Ugh!  It is no fun.  He hasn't been sleeping well and is quite miserable.  The bottom two teeth cut through his gums this week.  At the same time, he is trying to get over his cold that he caught last week.  My poor sweetie pie.  I hope he feels better soon.

one last hurrah...

It's my final week off with Bodhi.  Sherry and I decided to try one more time at Disneyland before I have to go back.  We tried once before and it was quite difficult, but we learned some important lessons and were ready to try again.

Mason, of course, had a great time.  He loves it there.   The first time we tried to do too much and wake the babies to go on rides... which they hated.  This time we let them rest when they wanted to and things went much more smoothly.

With this new philosophy, even the babies had a great time.  Bodhi had a good time looking at all the people and even riding a few rides.  No crying at all this time...

And that was it.  Even outnumbered 2 to 3 we kept everyone happy and had a great day.  Thanks to Sherry for making my last week so fun!

half birthday

Bodhi's half birthday was on the 16th of this month. The last six months have gone by so fast! He is learning new things everyday. He recently learned how to creep (not quite a crawl) and has been practicing how to sit up. He smiles and laughs a lot and likes to look at everything that Mom and Dad are doing. The immunizations this time were not that bad. In fact Bodhi didn't even cry after the first shot. But, of course, he definitely felt the second and third shot and let it be known that he was not happy, ouch! Several days later he got a fever and Ray and I thought it was related to his shots. But, it was something entirely different. He had a fever for about three days before he got a terrible rash. Turns out he caught Roseola which is a viral infection that is common in babies. Poor little guy. He was so miserable. He ended up sleeping in our bed for a couple of nights since he would cry every time we put him in his crib. We were all happy when it all cleared up a few days later. He is a happy baby again. Yay!


A 6 month birthday gift from Grandma and Grandpa Cazzell.

What fun!

"the scrunchy face"


look at me go!

mr. mom

So, a lot of people ask me what I do with all my time while I'm staying at home with Bodhi.  Well, basically, I'm a stay-at-home mom, and I do what most housewives do.  With Bodhi acting as my little Mr. Miyagi, of course.

"Show me, vacuum the room!"

We clean the whole house together, vacuuming, sweeping, dusting... all that good stuff. This is one that Bodhi really likes, sometimes he even falls asleep in front there, even with the vacuum running. Cute stuff.

"Show me, wash the cup!"

Then we do all the dishes.  Bodhi is not so good with this part.  He likes to grab ahold of things a lot.  He also likes to try to eat the faucet if I get him too close.  And, of course, we have to be careful not to splash him with the hot water!

"Show me, cut the carrot!"

Then we make dinner for Jen.  He also really likes this part.  He likes to see all the food being prepared and see all the pretty colors.  I do have to put him down for a while if I'm chopping onions, though.  Don't need any extra crying from Bodhi.  Gotta watch out for those tiny toes with that knife, too!

So that's a day in the life of Ray and little master Bodhi.  Why?  What did you think we do all day? Sit around in our underwear, drinking beer and watching TV?

beach day

Today was a great day for the beach.  It was warm and a little windy, so Sherry and I gathered up all our stuff, grabbed the kids and headed down there.  We had a good time, playing in the water and flying kites (I'll let Sherry tell you about chasing the kite across the beach when it got away... hilarious).  After a little while though, the littlest ones started to get tired and cranky so we had to head back.  The walk back home is always a lot longer than the walk down, but we made it.  The babies fell asleep on the way.  Jen came home a little bit later that evening and we ordered some dinner.  Okay, so Bodhi cried a lot while we were at the beach... at the time we called it "not a complete disaster."  But now that I think back on it, it was really quite fun.  

twins!

Dahlia and Bodhi are 4 months apart but, for some reason, everyone always asks if they are twins.  I've developed a sense of humor about it now, "Are they twins?"  "Yeah, she's 9 months and he's 5." ...*puzzled looks*... "Oh, they're not identical twins"  "Ooooh.  wait..."  *more puzzled looks*  

So what do you think?   Do we look like twins?

Seriously, though.  Bodhi and Dahlia really get along well, they love to look at each other and grab at each others' faces.  It's going to be fun watching them grow up together.

5 months

Bodhi is 5 months today.  He rolls over onto his tummy every time we put him down on his back, and moves himself around so that he can reach out and grab the item that he wants.  He's been laughing a lot and enjoying playtime with Daddy everyday.  He is getting better at picking up and holding things.  He loves to crinkle magazines and newspaper ads and loves to look at the pictures in his books.  

arboretum

We went to the Arboretum with Sherry, Miles and their kids.  It was really HOT, but we still had fun walking around looking at the plants.  They had this sculpture called "Catawampus".  It was essentially a house made of sticks.  Ray and Mason had lots of fun running around inside.  Bodhi slept most of time, but woke up long enough to see the orchids.  It also happened to be my birthday.  I won't say which number.  It's more fun to keep you guessing! 

Fun with Daddy...

Time at home with Bodhi has been pretty fun.  It's definitely more work than, well, work... but it gives us lots of time to play together.  Generally, between naps and feedings, Bodhi and I will play with toys (toy overload above), lay on the floor and read books, practice standing and flying, and go out for walks at least once a day.  Sometimes we just go to the store for groceries and sometimes we go down to the bluffs to cool off for a while.  Bodhi likes it out there where he can survey his kingdom.  Lots more summer to go, and lots more fun activities to do!!