Many Firsts!!

Gunnar is now almost 9 months old, and it's amazing what a difference just a few months makes. He is officially on the move, doing the military scoot (on his forearms) to get around. He's got 2 bottom teeth with a couple of top ones trying to poke through, he loves Cheerios (though by the looks of his belly, you'd swear he eats steak and potatoes every night), and his bubbly personality is constantly keeping us entertained. There is certainly nothing shy about this little guy - any trip to a restaurant turns into "The Gunnar Show." It's all very cute now, but I'm not sure how it will work out for him when he's older... From his highchair, he turns almost 360 degrees, looking for potential. He stares his victim down and shouts until he gets their attention. He then proceeds to flirt with them throughout the entire meal. Today, he was making such a racket at a brewery we went to, that 3 ladies from the other side of the bar came by to see what all the buzz was about. Gunnar flashed them his adorable smile, and even with his Cheerio-crusted cheeks, he won them over.
Besides picking up the ladies, Gunnar's been discovering all kinds of new things lately...

1st Snow (it was cold and wet - not very enticing to play in)

From Gunnar 6-7 months

1st Swim (loved the water! fell asleep in Mama's arms while bouncing in the pool)

From Gunnar 8 months

1st Swing (thanks Rooty and Daddy!)

From Swing

1st Plane Trip - went to Colorado to see Aunt Lizzie & family (didn't mind plane ride - it was 1st class, after all! - got sick in Denver, then passed it on to his Dad and cousin, but still had fun!) - Here's a picture from our hike up Castle Rock.

From Gunnar 8 months

Phew! All of these adventures are enough to wear a boy out!

From Gunnar 8 months

Laughter is the best medicine!

This has been a sad week for the Rheutan family. Chick, our family dog, has now gone to doggie heaven. She was with us for almost 10 years and was the perfect dog, whether she was entertaining the little kids or being a companion to the big kids. She brought many smiles to our faces, and in her honor, I'm finally posting our first video. This was taken at Christmas, when we were all in Richmond. Aunt Lizzie was making Gunnar laugh, and this is proof that laughter is contagious. So watch out... you're about to get the laughter bug! Enjoy!

3 Pecking Ducks

My sister, Elizabeth, has started her own company, 3 Pecking Ducks. She sews adorable appliques onto children's clothing and can do custom orders. Here's a picture of Gunnar in his "G" gear.

So please consider her when shopping for the kids in your lives! (and no, I'm not getting a cut out of this... I just get to keep my ranking as the cool sister for a while!) Her website is http://www.3peckingducks.blogspot.com. And I'll keep the link in my friends and family section in the left column. Happy shopping!

Happy New Year!

Great news - Gunnar made it through his first Christmas on Santa’s good list! (as if anyone was worried) Gunnar even put on his Santa outfit for the big day as we celebrated with Grams and Grandpa. Though he got lots of cool things, nothing was cooler than the wrapping paper. He loved making crinkle noises with it. We’re sure that next year the big hit will be bubble wrap!

After a few days with Grams and Grandpa, we checked in with our friend Eamon, who is now crawling!!!, and then headed to Richmond to see the Rheutan side of the family. We even got a chance to visit with Anne and The Godfater… I mean, Godfather (so, the guy making the t-shirt had a little trouble spelling that day…). And on our way back home we stopped in to see girlfriends Cora and Brinn (yes, he has many!) and still made it home in time to bring in the New Year. Whew!


Over the holidays, Gunnar has been working hard on his Buddha belly. He’s officially eating solids now. Started with rice cereal – he now grabs for the spoon (and anything else within reach), and have since added in pears to help with, um, processing. The funniest part of his mealtime is actually getting him in his Bumbo seat (a baby version of a highchair). His ham hocks, I mean, legs, barely fit in the holes! Check out the pictures…



Do ya think this boy has food on his mind? For Christmas, Gunnar went to Williams Sonoma and picked out a baby food maker for me. Now I can cook, puree, and store all kinds of goodies for our little “Cheeks.” He’s apparently got high hopes that his mom will actually make it as a chef! I'll give it my best shot, but meanwhile, I’m going to teach him how to press Papa John's on speed dial, just in case.

All in all, we had a great vacation. We’re starting to see more of a personality come out in Gunnar everyday. He thinks he's pretty funny - check out the photo of him sucking on his pacifier backwards! He put it in his mouth that way and kept it in there for about 5 minutes! And just a couple of days ago as he was nursing, he took a break to look up at me, smile, and babble a sound that very closely resembled “Hi!” He then went right back to eating. This little guy still makes my heart melt!

Giving thanks

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and Gunnar has had lots of firsts. At his 4 month checkup, he weighed in at 17 lbs 7 oz and 26 1/4" long. He dropped down to the 90th percentile, and Erik's getting nervous that his hopes for Gunnar to hold the World's Strongest Man title may be in jeopardy. I guess I need to eat more spinach. We tried starting him on solids, but Gunnar thought I would look better wearing the rice cereal, so we let that idea rest for a while.
Gunnar is now quite the little roly poly - he rolled over for the 1st time at daycare a couple of weeks ago. Mommy felt a little left out when she saw a sign on his crib that read, "Look at me, I can roll over!" But he then showed us his new trick at home a few days later, so I stopped pouting. Gunnar's become a chatterbox, even getting notes on his report card that he "babbles a lot" at school. Is this a sign of things to come? This morning he was testing out the acoustics in our bathroom and found that he can shriek at a fairly high octave - not a Michael Jackson high pitch, but more like a Little Richard squeal.
For Thanksgiving, Grams and Grandpa came to town and helped us cook. Gunnar had made Indian feathers to wear for the occasion (ok, so he finger painted them - it'll still be a few more weeks before he masters the scissors). And then we went to Blacksburg to meet the Davis cousins and Uncle Scooter and to cheer on the Hoos. We had a great time, but next year we'll have to cheer a little louder for those Hoos!

3 month photos

From 3 month photos

While Erik was away in Europe for work, Gunnar and I had a secret photo session so that we could surprise Daddy with some pictures for his birthday when he got back. Our sweet friend, Mary, came over to take the photos, and Lindsay was our excellent assistant. I think I went through 5 shirts that day, as Gunnar had just started on antibiotics, and I got to learn the hard way that antibiotics can cause lots of spit-up and loose stool (sorry 'bout that, Lindsay!!). But even though he didn't feel much like smiling, he was still able to give us lots of cute looks. Check them out!

Milk memo #2

I actually wrote this one last week but am just now getting a chance to post it...

I’ve now been back to work for a little over a week, and I think I have everything under control… well, for the most part anyway. I no longer cry when I drop off Gunnar at daycare, I actually get to work almost on time, and I’m surviving single motherhood while Erik’s in Europe for 2 weeks. And until today, I thought I was making due on 6 hours of sleep per night - that is, until I realized that for the second time in the past week, I have gone to work with my underwear on inside out! Oh well. I was always told that once you become a mom, you just have to let some things go. Like a manicured lawn, keeping up a perfectly clean house… but I never thought that list would include how you put on your underwear. Maybe that list is longer for me. I guess I should be thankful that I remembered to put some on! The next time I have a glass of wine (which may only be a few short hours away), I am going to raise my glass to all of the single moms out there who have managed to keep their underwear right-side-in all of these years. You are my heroes.