Monkey

We put up a pull-up bar upstairs a couple of weeks ago, as I'm preparing to start P90X (although, I can't seem to find time to do it!!! UGH.)

I caught this guy being a total monkey:

(that's William, in case you can't tell.
He totally shimmied his way up the door frame!)

Thanksgiving

Dave was able to take the whole week off of work last week for Thanksgiving. It was like the perfect balance of quiet laid back, just the 5 of us along with fun, busy, lots of family. We spent the first half of the week here in Texas, and then on Tuesday afternoon we headed to Oklahoma. William and Hudson couldn't get there fast enough.

The "men" (my dad, Dave, Garrett, William, and Hudson) spent most of the day Wednesday at the oilfield, and then went fishing on my dad's new boat. The boys have been so excited to actually fish on an actual boat, but as luck would have it, they didn't catch a single thing. That's ok because apparently they had more fun playing with the minnows than actually trying to catch a fish. And because I wasn't there to document the fun they had, there's nothing to "show" for their adventures...

Thursday was spent playing outside (before we headed to my aunt's house for dinner). 

When we were kids my dad built us a really cool playhouse (we have always called it the treehouse, but Dave says we can't call it that because it's not technically in a tree). Anyway, it's always been to the side of the house. The kids love it, but they didn't play in it a whole lot because they couldn't see us. So, we've been asking my dad for quite some time if he'd move it to the front so we could watch them from the deck/living room. Well, Thursday he, Garrett, and Dave tackled the job.

He had to lift it up a smudge so that he could cut the wood that was in the ground.

They put super long boards under it so that he could drag it on the ground.
Essentially, the playhouse was going to "ski" to it's new location

Here it is in it's new spot!

A very happy customer!

This is the view of the house from the playhouse. Perfect!!

When the guys got back from their adventures on Wednesday, they had some leftover minnows that they were going to use to fish in the pond at my parents' house on Thursday. When we got up on Thursday, the minnows had all died (no idea why!). Hudson decided to take it upon himself to get a few as "pets", even though they were dead. He carried those nasty dead minnows around for a good 3 hours. It was disgusting, but he was having so much fun with them.

While his brothers were exploring the wild outdoors, Crew was enjoying the peace, quiet, and warmth of the indoors!

Word.

I just love his little turkey butt!

We spent Thanksgiving dinner with the Shockley family (my mom's family). It was a delicious meal (as always), and a fun time with family. Crew got to meet lots of new family members.  Friday my Aunt Trish came up from Tulsa to visit and to meet Crew, and then we had lunch in Norman with my Aunt Ruth and her family. 

We came back Saturday evening, which was nice. We had all day yesterday to recuperate and relax. Now, back to real life!!

a well-dressed little man

One of my main complaints about having a boy is that it is so hard to find cute clothes!! Having said that, I will say that it's easier this time around than it was when William was born. Or maybe I just know where to look. We haven't been fortunate enough to be the recipients of gobs of awesome hand-me-downs, so it's been up to me (and my 'team') to find good stuff.

When I was pregnant with Crew, I knew I wasn't going to have to buy much since I already have a house full of boy clothes. But, I wanted to get him a few things...plus, who doesn't love shopping for teeny tiny clothes???

Following is one of my favorite outfits that little baby Crew is currently wearing. 

You've probably seen him sporting this outfit in other posts, but I'd like to dedicate this particular post to this outfit (and of course, the cute little man wearing it)

Papa's boy

It looks like we're going to have another Papa's boy...

He has no idea how spoiled he is going to be, with all the toys/playground in their backyard, all the fishing trips he'll get to go on, all the truck/tractor driving up in Oklahoma, and just general spoiling that goes on when the grandkids are with Papa!

Newborn session

When Crew was 2 weeks old, we had his newborn pics done. Last week we got our "preview" pics from the photographer, and I couldn't be happier! We will have to wait a few more weeks to get the rest of them, but she wanted to get me a good selection since she knew I wanted to get out a birth announcement. 

Here are a few of my favorites (I'm not going to put the "chosen" birth announcement pic, because I want that to be a surprise!):

I'll be sure to post the rest of them in a few weeks once I get them!

My Knight in Shining Armor

This little outfit is one of my personal faces. I love that it's such a dark color, which is hard to find in baby clothes! My sister got this for Hudson when he was born, and it still looks brand new! It has little knights on horses, if your can't tell. I'm lovin' this little man!

who doesn't love a cute little baby's butt?

Pumpkin Patch

This is a little late, but the day the Tracys left we decided to hit the pumpkin patch. It's a good thing we did because their last day is Oct 31, which I didn't know about. I assumed it would be open until Thanksgiving. 

Is it possible to get 5 kids under the age of 6 to look and smile at the camera, all at the same time?
Of course not!

We can't wait for them to move back!!!

getting ready for Crew's very first hay ride

I wasn't going to make him do this, but Dave and Tasha insisted that
since it was indeed his first pumpkin patch experience,
I had to subject him to the torture. Poor kid.

 And because I've started the trend of comparing all 3 kids in varying outfits/positions/circumstances, I may as well keep it up.

William's first pumpkin patch: 8.5 months

Hudson's first pumpkin patch: 9.5 months

More Family!

We had an exciting extended weekend...this time with Dave's side of the family. Dave's mom came to visit us and to meet Crew for the first time. It was a very special time, and of course, William and Hudson had endless amounts of fun making cookies, playing games, helping with dinner, working puzzles, and being spoiled rotten! Of course, I had my share of spoiling as well, which I definitely won't be complaining about.

While this wasn't Aunt Ami and Uncle Jeremy's first time to meet Crew, it was their first photo op:

Next up: Crew gets to meet more Hudson/Shockley family members at Thanksgiving and then Grandpa Dennison at Christmas...

1 month old!

This month has gone by so fast, not surprisingly! We are growing more and more in love with him every day. His 1 month dr appointment isn't until this Friday, so I don't have any "official" stats, but I weighed him on Friday (his actual 'birthday') and the scales said 10.5lbs. If that's the case, he's growing much slower than the others, only gaining 1lb 11oz since birth. I'll update with the "real" results on Friday. 

But seriously, how cute is this little butterball???

He's OVER the photo shoot!

 For comparison purposes, here are the other 2 on their 1 month birthdays:

William. 9lb 11oz at 1 month (2lb 4oz gained since birth)

Hudson. 10.5lbs at 1 month (2lb 13oz gained since birth)

Never Fear!

It's good to know we are safe here in the Dennison household:

In case you can't see it, Crew is on "monster patrol" :-)

William and Hudson were also on patrol when they were babies...

Brothers!

The newness of having a baby around has definitely not worn off for William and Hudson. While it is sweet 99% of the time, it does wear me out occasionally. They constantly want to hug, kiss, and hold him. Sometimes it works, but sometimes it's just not feasible (like, when I'm feeding him or when he's sleeping or when we're driving in the car or when he's crying...you get the point).

But, when they do get the chance to love on him, it's super duper sweet.

Each time they hold him or cuddle him, I can't help but think of the line from Tommy Boy: "Brothers don't shake hands. Brothers gotta HUG." That's William and Hudson's mantra-- the more hugs and kisses, the better!