Thanksgiving

We hosted Thanksgiving this year and were joined by friends and family.  Sadie's mom, stepdad, and youngest sister Mariah came over from Spokane.  Luke's brother Aaron joined us, as well as our good family friends, the Troosts.  It was a great day with lots of laughs, delicious food and good memories.

Grandma Ann and Grandpa Rich hanging out with Carissa

Aunt Mariah, Grandma Ann and Carissa

Minda and Carissa

adorable Lyvia

Jake doing what he loves best

Carissa checking out Daddy's yummy food

some of the gang

Uncle Aaron wants to eat Carissa for dinner

Jake and Lyvia love their new "cousin"

Snow Bunny

As many of you already know, Luke and I spend most of our winter weekends at Mt. Baker.  We decided that having a baby was not going to change that, so last weekend we went up for the first time. The mountain has not been open very long, so many of the runs were not open and the ones that were had very little coverage.  We decided we would each get to take 4 runs and could decide our own routes.  Luke went out first while I stayed with Carissa, and then I went out.  It was a beautiful day up there and was actually warmer than down in Bellingham.  Overall, it was a very successful first trip and we will be making many more this winter.  Next winter maybe Carissa will be on her own pair of skis!

The Many Faces of Carissa

3 Months!!

Carissa turned 3 months old on November 12.  She is officially out of her fourth trimester!  Eating all the time, and growing like a weed.  Lately, she has not been as good of a sleeper and is waking up every 2-3 hours at night to eat.  Luckily she falls back asleep right away, but waking up constantly makes her momma tired!

I can't believe she is already 3 months old.  The time has flown by, and she has changed and grown so much in such a short amount of time.  This time I took some pictures of her with one of her favorite toys, the maraca.  She can grab for it now and loves to watch herself hold it steady. Being a mommy is so much fun!

Stroller Rides

Carissa loves going in the stroller, and until now would ride in her car seat using an attachment.  Now she is big enough to ride in it without the car seat!  She wasn't too sure if she liked it when we first put her in, but after we started walking she was super quiet and looking all around.  I can now go running with her on smooth pavement, but will wait a bit before taking her on trails.  We will do our first 5K together in December; the Jingle Bell Run in Bellingham!

Bouncy Seat

Since Carissa is getting so much stronger and can support herself better when sitting upright, we decided she was ready to try out her bouncy chair.  She can't quite reach the floor and needs a blanket behind her to keep her propped forward, but she LOVES it!  She likes to reach and grab for all the toys (we have to turn her to get to different ones), and has a little more control over what she can do each time she sits in it.  The first day we put her in it, Luke showed her how the rings can go up and over on the little bar.  The next day she was trying to push them up on the bar herself.  It is so fun to watch her learn new things!

Halloween

Luke and I typically don't do much for Halloween, and with Carissa being so little, this year was no different.  However, Carissa did go visit her friend Jack and they hung out in their matching pajamas.  Jack is about 3 weeks younger than Carissa, but is a big boy!  This visit we finally got some good pictures of the two of them side by side.

Cutie Pie