Progressive "Cry It Out"

Kim and I started using "The Ferber Method" on Thursday to help Ian learn to fall asleep unassisted. Many of you know that prior to our using the steps outlined in this book, Kim and I would swaddle Ian anytime he would sleep (including naps). Things are going pretty well so far.
"My arms are free!" Ian now sleeps in a "sleep sack" like this one at night but does not use one of these for naps during the day. It is interesting: we have found Ian sleeping on his stomach about as often as we have found him sleeping on his back or sides since starting this new approach on Thursday.

Advent Boxes

Kim and I enjoy giving each other gifts throughout the Advent season. My December 6th gift to Kim was a meal. I offered to fix her any dish from a cookbook, and she selected a chicken and pasta meal that also used fresh mushrooms and garlic. It actually turned out! Kim has already given me the gifts of breakfast in bed and several dozen homemade chocolate chip cookies. Fun times!

These Things Taste Great!!

Apparently Momma's hooded sweatshirt tastes pretty good early in the morning. Who needs breakfast, anyway??

Ian Helping Around The House (VIDEO)

Even though this is a short video, you can see that Ian is energy-conscious even as a 7-month old.

"Wintery" Fun In Houston

"Snow accumulation" according to the Houston Dictionary.
Ian actually liked his warm aviator hat and the stroller ride in the colder weather.

Ian's First Encounter With Snow (VIDEO)

Believe it or not, Ian is thinking about the possibility of making a snow angel as he listens to Momma and watches the snow flakes.

Ian On The Move (VIDEO)

Well...I guess you have to start somewhere with learning to crawl.

Thanksgiving Fun!

The Oblingers came over for the Thanksgiving feast after church.
Ian wore a cute turkey bib to church on Thanksgiving.
Melissa seized the opportunity to feed Ian some sweet potatoes as Grandpa Schleicher took a short break from carving the turkey.
Grandma Schleicher made some fabulous gravy and breathes a sigh of relief.
Click on this picture to enlarge it if you want a good look at Ian's two teeth. We had a fun time sharing the day with the Oblingers.
Ian finished off his Thanksgiving meal by drinking from Momma's water bottle. This makes us smile!

Ian and Brooke (Video)

It looks like Ian and I need to have that chat about how to treat girls a little sooner than I thought. :)

Photo Shoot With Jenn

Jenn gave us the gift of time and photo-taking expertise yesterday. These are some of the pictures we liked but did not select to distribute with our Christmas letter in a few weeks. Look closely at the picture above to see Ian's two new bottom teeth.

Grandma and Grandpa Here for Thanksgiving

Grandma and Ian performed a four-handed piano piece.
Ian has recently started giving big, open-mouthed kisses. Grandma is the lucky recipient this time.
We loved having Grandma and Grandpa here this week. Even though Thanksgiving was on the mind, we carved out time to celebrate Christmas early. Ian is learning how to open Christmas presents in this picture, and he is also wearing the green Christmas fleece that Grandma sewed for him.
Plenty of toy options...and a loving Grandpa to spend time with as well.
Say cheese...

Psst...Ian...it is time to be looking at the book...not the camera.

Fun With Uncle Jon and Chelsea

Uncle Jon and Chelsea arrived last Saturday and stayed with us until Wednesday morning. They helped us set up our Christmas tree and also spent a lot of quality time with Ian. One of the highlights of our time together was enjoying the beautiful Texas weather as we played 18 holes of frisbee golf. As you can see, Ian took a liking to both Chelsea and Jon (Chelsea's necklace was especially fun to hold and look at during our post-church photo shoot).

Laughing Video

Ian is so overcome with joy and excitement that he topples over part way through this video. Ian is such a blessing from God!

Jumparoo Video

Ian is a big fan of his 6-month gift. He is such a blessing from God!

Ian's Christmas Stocking

Momma spent many hours sewing Ian's stocking--what a labor of love. As you can see, the stocking is elaborate and looks great! We plan to decorate our house for Christmas next weekend before Uncle Jon, Chelsea, Grandma, and Grandpa arrive.

New Carseat

Still rear-facing, but now Ian is riding in style in his larger carseat. I guess weighing close to 21 pounds and being more than 28 inches long has its benefits!

Ian is HALF A YEAR old!!

Ian likes to help Momma with laundry!!
It's sort of hard to tell in this picture, but EVERY time Ian is laying down, he'll strain his ab muscles to try to sit up.
Sitting by himself is his favorite position to be in.
Here, Ian enjoys a Halloween card from Grandpa and Grandma ...
...and one from Grammy and Papa. He also really appreciated all of the phone calls (and singing!) for his half-year birthday!
For Ian's six month birthday, he celebrated with HALF a bowl of bananas and HALF a bowl of sweet potatoes. Yummy! He now has also sampled avocado, green beans, carrots, peas, summer squash, zucchini, and (of course) rice cereal. He LOVES eating!
Our six-month gift to Ian was a Jumperoo. We found a great deal on Craig's List. He hasn't quite gotten the hang of jumping yet but really enjoys walking in place.
Last week, Ian went on his first park swing at our subdivision playground.
He seemed to think it was pretty fun!
There was even an artist in the park (five-year-old Lilly) who captured the momentous occasion in sketch form. As you can tell, Ian is now nearly the same size as Momma!

Halloween Party

We invited some friends with young ones to a Halloween costume party, salad lunch, and candy exchange. Although the plan was to get all of the young guests pictured together in costume, it quickly became apparent that this would be an impossible feat. Here, the lion (Ian) is clearly frightened by the large spider next to him (Nathan).
The Cheneys win the "cutest family in costume" award. Momma Kristy was the cheerleader, Daddy Paul the referee, and the boys (Micah and Eli) members of a 2-member basketball team.
The dinosaur (Caleb) has just awakened from a nap.
The candy corn (Nate) just lost his top and is using the "metal detector" popper to search for it.
Annie the elf wins the prize for the cutest hand-sewn costume. Plus, who needs a tracking device when you have jingling bells to help locate you?
As Momma Jenn said, "Brooke is a chicken with an identity crisis." The duck feet were a precious addition to the ensemble.

Sad and Happy Times in Missouri

Our family gathered in Missouri to mourn the loss -- and yet celebrate the life of faith and eternal life -- of Kim's Grandpa Walquist. We laughed 'til we cried when reminiscing about his antics ... from his convincing Kim's Uncle Rick he had a gizzard to his yodeling to his belief that "he who eats the fastest gets the mostest." We enjoyed our family time together.

Great-Grandma Walquist fed Ian sweet potatoes as Daddy and Kieron look on.
Uncle Jason has a comfy shoulder.
Uncle Andrew tries his hand at styling Ian's hair with hair gel. Umm...didn't really work.
Brielle gives Ian some TLC.
Macy and Ian take a moment to catch some zzz's.
And, yes, Ian sleeps through yet another change of hands to Grammy.
Kim and Matt hope they can crawl around on the floor as easily with their great-children as Great-Grandma Walquist does!
Ian thinks, "This sorta looks like Daddy feeding me ... but this isn't Daddy!"
Ian sits in his first leaf pile and doesn't quite know what to think about the pumpkin.
"I put my arm around people I love," says Ian.
Aunt Sarah just won the staring competition. The camera never lies, Ian: you looked down first.
The Walquist clan
During most of our time together, Ian had something (toy, thumb, someone else's shoulder) in his mouth. We predict that we'll see a tooth or two soon!