Christmas in Seattle!

We had a really special time celebrating Christmas in Seattle this year. The WHOLE Epperson clan met up at Nick and Sarah's place and it was a week of hanging out, lazy breakfasts, shopping, playing games and just being together. Sarah took loads of great pictures - many too good not to share, so here you go...

Christmas morning Oliver wore his "Santa's Little Helper" outfit from Grandma and Grandpa...

The santa face on the butt was hilarious 

Ollie got so many lovely presents from all his generous aunties, uncles and grandparents. Wow, he felt loved. 

And the wrapping paper was an added bonus. 

The day after Christmas, several of us went down to Pike Place Market to shop around.

L-R, Levi, Levi's wife Ally, (Em, Ike and Ollie - it was cold, so he didn't pop out for this shot), Skye (Marcus's wife) and Nick (Sarah's husband)

We had a yummy lunch at Pike Place Pub. There was lots of seafood going on, naturally.

Bundled up at the market. Love this one. 

Ollie had lots of stories read to him over the holiday. He loved it. 

At the Redhook Brewery Tour. They keep the rooms chilly for brewing purposes so we were all bundled up.

Trying to sneak a sip of beer while my back is turned... Sly kiddo.

LOVE this photo. Love it. 

Good times with Uncle Jesse

Our second to last night in Seattle we went ice skating near the Space Needle. It was so festive. There was hot cocoa and Christmas music and twinkly lights. G'ma and G'pa held down the fort with the babe so we could get away. Thanks guys. 

New Camera!

Hot dog! We got a new camera! It's about time, I'd say. Everyone with kiddos should have a decent camera. It's not top-top of the line, but it's waaaay nicer than our little 7 mega pixel camera we've been using for 7 years now. Anywho, Ike and I have been having a hay day this morning taking shots with Ollie and experimenting with the different settings. We've still got some figuring out to do but we're getting the hang of it. 

Here's a few of the best ones from today (including the one above). 

The tiny sock to the left adds a nice touch, no? I don't know how that got there actually... 

Watching something.... 

9 Months - Just like that!

December was a big month for Oliver. We took two trips. One to the east coast and one to the west. That makes four plane trips for this kiddo: Denver to Omaha, Denver to St. Louis, Denver to South Carolina and Denver to Seattle. He is a trooper to be sure and traveled the best he could. We had great fun on all of our trips, but are glad to be home and not flying again anytime soon (we think). 

In other Ollie news, he's babbling and squawking all the day long. He sits and plays on his own well and especially loves noshing on the little soft football Grandpa Epperson put in his stocking for Christmas. Brown Bear, Brown Bear continues to be a favorite book and bath time is starting to be really fun as he's just discovered the joys of splashing. He also gets a kick out of watching laundry go around and around in our front loading machine. The window looking into the washer is just his height - a little over 2 feet. :) 

We had his 9 month check-up last week and he currently weighs 13lbs, 12oz. He's still pretty small for his age (not even on the charts, actually) but his doctor feels he's doing well, so we're not worried. He eats great and particularly enjoyed little bits of pork tenderloin that I made this weekend as well as corn pudding. 

Tonight he inhaled beef and veggie stew along with avocado and pureed strawberries and pears. 

And that about sums up what Ollie's doing all day. 

More pics to come soon of our Seattle and Columbia trips!