A quick trip to Harper

Philip and I took a quick trip east on Saturday to visit Uncle Gary & Aunt Jean before we head north. As an added bonus, Uncle Chuck, Aunt Sharon, and Christie came over too! There were tasty meals, a trip to the cheese factory, and time spent in Kalona.

I didn't take too many pictures, but I did get a few nice ones of Philip with his uncles.

He got along splendidly with Uncle Chuck...

and Uncle Gary.

                                                        

Getting to know Brian's aunts and uncles has been a highlight of our time in Iowa. Thank you for helping us feel welcomed in the Midwest! We'll miss you all, but will certainly stay in touch!

Happy Halloween!

Although we didn't do any trick or treating (and didn't have any stop at our house), Philip dressed up (briefly) as a spider for the holiday. Michelle sent the costume last year, so it was nice that it fit. It seemed like a nice tribute to our old friend "Spidee", who passed away earlier this year.

Sometimes Philip gets his balance right and sits up on his own. Other times he slumps and falls over. Who ever heard of a spider sitting up anyway? 

Philip was very patient and humored me during this photo session, until he got too hot in the costume (which didn't take long at all)

.

Cutest spider ever, right?

 Trick or treat!

Happy Halloween everyone! 

6-month photos

Here are a couple of 6-month photos I took late last week. Some good scratches on his nose if you look closely. I feel like I'm always cutting his fingernails! On a side note, I'm thinking Philip is going to be right handed because his nails are more worn on that hand. Just a guess.

 

All by myself

This week Philip started holding a bottle all by himself!

Moving

We're less than 2 weeks away from our move back to Alaska. Most everything is packed up in boxes.

While packing we found a drawer we had painted when we first arrived. We wrote a note on the back. (Roos is a nickname we have for the dogs.) Brian decided to add an extra comment before we put it back in it's place, adding Philip's initials.

 

Thankfully the house is SOLD!

Two weeks from now we'll both we on the road! Adventure Ho!

6 month photo shoot (a week early)

I was diggin' the light in our living room the other day, so did a little photo shoot a week shy of Philip's 6-month birthday. He's happy to pose and is generally amused by my efforts to get him to smile.

No teeth yet (but plenty of drool). Maybe by next month?

 See- great light, isn't it? Brings out the blue in his eyes. I think the orange shirts helps too.

He's been working on his bear wrestling moves for when he gets up to Alaska. (You never know when this skill might come in handy.)

My little stud muffin.

"Well hey there Mattie, mind if I pet your ears?"

"No licks, no licks!"

Sorry, Philip, that's what happens when you get too close to the dogs. An important lesson learned. It's a tough world out there.

Nursery Farewell

On Sunday mornings during the church service, Philip hangs out in the nursery with his friends. He loves being there and doesn't seem to notice that I've left them. He's kept very busy and is tuckered out when he leaves.

Today the kiddos and staff threw Philip a going away party. His friends are sad for him leave (they've grown very fond of him), but everyone enjoyed the celebration. (And they learned where Alaska is on the globe!)

The party was complete with a gift and an adorable cake!

Here's Ms. Linda, head of the nursery. She is quite possibly the nicest lady I've ever met. Seriously. She's a gem and Philip loves her!

And Philip with his buddy Adyson, who also helps out in the nursery. If anyone in Fort Dodge needs a babysitter- Adyson is your gal.

I took lots of other photos, but don't want to post any here with other kids in them (at least without their parents' permission), so you'll have to take my word that it was quite a party!

Farewell Luncheon

This past Friday some of my dear friends from our church threw Philip and me a lovely farewell luncheon- complete with this beautiful tablescape.

 And some hearty and delicious soup...

 and a beautiful and refreshing salad!

There were even cookies (and cupcakes) from Larita's bakery in Fort Dodge. They are the BEST (and most decorative) cookies I have come across in all of my travels.

Philip tried is first graham cracker (which was way better than the rice crackers I had packed for him). I thought he would throw his rice crackers on the floor because he couldn't hold on to them, apparently that's not the case. He just gets sick of them. This graham cracker never left his little hand (until it turned to mush).

 This is Philip hanging out with Julie- the hostess extraordinaire.

 A nice photo of everyone (except Connie who was taking the photo).

These are the ladies who gave my so much support through my years in Iowa. I will miss them so much, but am grateful that God had our paths cross, even for a small amount of time.

Thank you all for your kindness!

Corn Maze

Brian has a few days off, so we took the opportunity before leaving Iowa to visit a corn maze. Interestingly enough we had to drive 2 hours to find one that was open on a weekday. You'd think finding a corn maze in Iowa would be cake. Not so the case.

This particular maze was at Pumpkinland in Orange City, Iowa.       

The maze took us about an hour to complete, even with a map.

I can see how a family could get lost in a cornmaze. It all looks the same and you can easily get turned around.

Philip was pretty excited and loved watching the corn blow in the wind. (Sorry this photo is sideways. For whatever reason blogger isn't cooperating with this one picture.)

Brian was an awesome map-reader.

And he made a pretty good scarecrow too!

Wait up!

There were 6 mailboxes hidden in the maze that we needed to find in order to win a prize. We found all six and got snacks for the long ride home.

Made it!

Mastered!

And, of course, we had to take Philip's photo by the "How Tall This Fall?" sign. Looks like he's pushing 2 feet!

Brian wishing he was at the 7 foot mark.

It was an incredibly sunny day, but we wanted a picture of Philip by the pumpkins and mums.

Eventhough the sun was in his eyes, he didn't complain.

A fun outing spending time together as a family. We're all looking forward to spending more time together when we get back to Fairbanks and Brian's days off aren't so few and far between.

Snuggles

Cute photo of the day- Philip in his warm pajamas, snuggling with Brian.

Honestly Mamma, I don't know how I got here.

Philip has been all over the place these last few weeks. His favorite new game is to see how quickly he can get under his play mat. Most of the time he's pretty happy playing this way, until he gets stuck and can't figure out how to get out from under it. Then there are some tears until he's rescued.  

Eating Puffs

I gave Philip "puffs" for the first time this week. I don't think he got one into his mouth. They dissolve so quickly that they just kept sticking to his hand, then his face, shirt, pants, everything.

"Mom, this is going to get easier, right?"

Letters

I've been pulling out some of Philip's toys that he's been too little to play with until now. His favorite this week is a set of soft letters. They're great to chew on (apparently) and easy for him to pick up. And he can reach them from his little seat.                                                             

G is for "Gee I like being a big kid. Being able to reach what I want is awesome!"

Q is for "Quick, Mom, finish taking pictures so I can get back to playing."

"Wow, these fingers are turning out to be pretty useful. Sweet!" 

 M is for "Mmmmm".

There's so much to figure out when you're a baby. How thrilling that we get to help Philip learn all this stuff!