Moving on Up

Our baby turned 6 months old on the 28th of November. It is CRAZY how time flies. He tried solid foods for the first time. I knew he was ready, I just didn't get to it as fast as he was ready for. What are the signs again? Hungry more than usual, interested (or VERY interested) in parent's food....hmmmmm....that was our Ryan. So, he's had rice cereal, avacado and peaches. Bon Appetit mon petit chou chou!

A cute video of Ryan being self sufficient:

From November 2009

A video of his first foray into solids (he got a little extra help from Ely and Max):

From November 2009

And a few pics:

From November 2009

From November 2009

From November 2009

Thanksgibbing

We love Max's lisp. He also says glubs instead of gloves. Okay, I got sidetracked...
THANKSGIVING! A day to celebrate miracles family and friends and everything else we are grateful for! We traveled to Oregon City to spend Thanksgiving with Aunt Geniel and Uncle Phil as well as Seth, Lauren, Ely and new baby Nora.

First we started with the "Huff and Puff Before You Stuff" along with Uncle Ken and Aunt Dorothy.

From November 2009

Then to the "Stuffing". This beautiful turkey was brought to you by the cooking skills of Seth and Lauren, a big bucket of brine and baking times that were a pure science.

From November 2009

Cute boys

From November 2009

From November 2009

From November 2009

From November 2009

The bib says, "Grandma's Little Gobbler"

From November 2009

From November 2009

From November 2009

Cute baby Nora

From November 2009

Max and Ely were cute to watch together

From November 2009

And a video of the cute boys and their Thanksgiving pie

From November 2009

What We Are Thankful For....

I am most grateful for...MY BOYS

From November 2009

Things from Max are legit...Ryan, not so much!

From November 2009

From November 2009

November 29th, 2009

looked a lot different for us than 11/29/08. There's been so much change and celebration this past year and a true witnessing of miracles. Today, we picked up our Christmas tree that we had reserved at a friend's tree lot in Oregon City, had a great photo shoot with Becky and drove home. Totally uneventful, totally calm, just a nice day as family. Last year I was in the ICU at OHSU and given a journal to write in called "The Road to Recovery: A journal for family and friends of trauma patients". Looking through that journal has been both hard and good at the same time. It's amazing how much Heavenly Father has blessed us. Writing in that journal was a good way for me to record events and feelings while Tony was recovering from his plane crash. I hope never to relive anything like that again but if life sends us big trials again, I know that there are family and friends to count on. I love my husband more than words can even express. I am eternally grateful that he was protected a year ago so that we can enjoy our family. Tony's father, J, who has been in his own traumatic accident took pictures, even at the crash scene when Tony didn't want him to see what was happening because he knew from experience that Tony might want to look back and see what happened as well. As much as the pictures are hard to relive, I'm so grateful to have them because they truly show how far he has come. Some of the pictures are of the crash scene, some are of CT scans of his face and ankle, so just know that they're graphic.

Crash upload

Baby Ryan

Ryan has been moving like crazy this month. He's really liking his jumper. I need to get video footage of that one. He rolls from his back to his tummy (that started November 3rd, 2009). When he's on his tummy he'll pull himself forward (just centimeters, but it's really cute). He'll use the blanket to to help propel him forward. He got his first tooth on November 5th and now he's starting to sit up more. He doesn't quite sit up by himself with just the boppy to support him but he is getting stronger everyday. He loves to grab his toes. He's so fun!

From November 2009

From November 2009

From November 2009

From November 2009

Love the drool!

From November 2009

Gotta get those toes!

From November 2009

From November 2009

From November 2009

November is National Adoption Month

I'm grateful that my brother David's family has been blessed because of adoption. I have a beautiful niece Anna and a beautiful nephew, Caiden because of the blessing of adoption.

When the Eppersons Get Together...

good times will be had!

Last weekend, Tony's cousin Brian flew to Portland from Kentucky with his wife Lisa, whom we have never met. I've met Brian once. Uncle Randy and his son Ethan were also coming. Kate and J flew down as well so it was good family times...only...Randy owns the house next door to Grandma and Grandpa and every time he comes to visit he works on it and has been fixing it up really well. This time however, the septic tank plumbing had busted so instead of a "normal" family get together, the boys were all involved in digging a hole near the septic tank with a track hoe so they could fix the pipe going from the house to the tank. Fun Fun times. I got to hang out with Lisa and Kate and the boys most of that time. Lisa has a beautiful British accent which I love. There was a trip to Roakes Hot Dogs for Coney Dogs (Grandma Joan's uncle founded it) and a quick jaunt around Oregon City. After the boys were done with their digging and fixing, they shot guns and made some homemade bombs, reliving some childhood memories. Yes the boy:girl ratio in the Epperson family is like 10:1. As testosterone-filled as it is to hang out with them, it is a blast.
Grandpa and Max

From November 2009

Tony and Sam

From November 2009

Ethan, Brian and Uncle Randy

From November 2009

I love Brian's shirt

From November 2009

It's cool to me that they can fix it themselves. Tony ran the backhoe and they all worked together.

From November 2009

Finally done--talking with Uncle Roger

From November 2009

They boys love their Grandma and here they are with Lisa

From November 2009

Cowboy Joe

From November 2009