Rock 'n Roll

Decker is learning to crawl and he's started to rock. At first he would scoot and he'd be on top of his hands so he'd have to roll over to free them. We called this the scoot 'n roll. Now we see him rocking everywhere on his hands and knees. In his crib, in our bed, in the living room. He thinks practice makes perfect-- He is such a determined little boy. It's very exciting to see him progress day after day. Sometimes he reminds me of a bunny when both of his hands leave the floor at the same time as he tries to move forward and just falls on his face. It doesn't deter him though.

That remote is only a crawl away.

Grandma and Grandpa Gamble just got back from their cruise to Mexico today. They asked me to request Decker to wait on learning to crawl till after February 15th when we return from Las Vegas to Seattle. I have a feeling he'll have it mastered before then though. Time to start baby proofing the house. :)

New Haircut

Mommy's got a new haircut this past weekend...move over Carol Brady! No it's not really that bad, but sometimes I think it looks like a mullet. One great thing about my hair is that it grows fast! I'm actually starting to enjoy my cut a little bit more...look forward to the haircut of another little fella in posts to come. His hair is starting to hang over his ears and he's got quite the duck tail.
Before and

After ... My hairdresser says it's called a SHAG from the 70's. His first style he learned to cut!

Decker's Crib

Decker started sleeping in his crib when he was three months old. Over the months, he has grown to love his space. Mike and I get a kick out of checking on him and seeing how much he cruises around during his naps. He likes to hang out in his crib. He'll be happy in there for awhile after waking up from naps and before naps.
He's got a little musical fish aquarium that he never gets tired of watching.
A mobile that plays Bach, Beethoven and Mozart.
A Big-key piano that plays nursery rhymes when he hits the keys.
His friend is Winnie the Pooh-- he keeps an eye on Decker for us and watches his growth.
The picture of the tugboat is an art piece Mike did when he was young and the Precious Moment cross-stitch is one that I made when in college...just for this very purpose. :) --To adorn a future baby's room. YEAH!!
The Jungle panel is one that I made especially for Decker. We love you Decker!
It has become his safe haven and he loves to be put in his crib to play and sleep.


His sleeping patterns are just changing this past couple of weeks. He's been going to bed at 10:00 p.m. and taking 2 naps during the day. The last couple of days he's started going to bed at about 8:00 and waking up between 6:00 and 7:00--He's a great alarm clock!

It's all games in my bed. Love to pull my socks off!

Time for me and "Blue Bear" to take a nap...I'm so tired!

We've caught Decker secretly practicing his rocking on his knees in there.--Looks like he fell asleep that way. ;)

Seattle Boat Show

Mike's company is participating in the Seattle Boat Show this weekend at Quest Field. He's been working down there for the past week getting the stages and the boats ready for the show. As part of their stage of boats, they needed a staircase to get up into a boat and who better for the job? Mike. With his past history of working for Buchan Homes, he had the skills needed to build these stairs. It was a piece of cake. So Decker and I went down to check out the handiwork. Pretty impressive!

Then later this week, Chris, Mike's boss, told all the mechanics that instead of laying off employees, they are cutting back hours to 6 hours per day and off on Fridays. With all the school assignments and classes that Mike has to complete in order to get his degree before June, it will allow more studying time. Also, with all of the layoffs in the country and the Unemployment Rate going up, we're grateful that he still has a job. Hopefully they'll be more people buying boats in the near future.

6 Month Report Card

Decker is now 6 months old and just had his 6 month wellness check up.
He now weighs 15 pounds, just 1 lb and 2 oz more than his 4 month check up. This puts him in the 10% for his weight.
He also grew 1 1/2 inches to be 26 1/2 inches. This puts him in the 50% for his height.
His head circumference is 43 cm which grew 1 1/4 cm in the last 2 months putting him in the 25 - 50% range.
The nurse gave him 3 immunization shots--one in one thigh and 2 in the other. He made a couple of cries, but was all better by the time the Snoopy bandages were placed over the holes.
Another note of fun: He has two teeth poking through his bottom row in the front. As for his crawling progress, he scoots then rolls, scoots then rolls. Then he gets up on his knees and hands and rocks back and forth..like he just doesn't want to take that first jump off the cliff. ;)
One other thing that he may start is STRANGER DANGER!!! He may start to cry if we leave the room or put in the arms of someone he doesn't know. YIKES!! He's been such a social baby...I hope he doesn't get too overwhelmed with all the people in this huge world.
For his Developmental Progress, they suggest the following activities:
Playing in front of a mirror --He loves this...he always gets a kick out of seeing that little guy smiling back at him.
Waving bye-bye and saying "hi" --Does "hi" five count? Decker's been able to give people a high five since he was 5 months old! He's known at the Post Office as "the Baby who gives High fives." --Thanks Margaret!
Allow baby to play with Containers --hmmmm..more mess in the living room Sounds like fun..
Play hide and seek with toys--We'll have to start playing this..
Encourage baby to sing with you--If you haven't seen our Christmas video....check out Decker singing to Holly Jolly Christmas...it's precious!
Read to your child --He actually will sit still in my arms when I read to him...but he still likes to eat the book. ;)
Play in the bathtub with water and soft toys --Decker gets a few baths in the BIG tub...we're still doing the sink as he fits in it...however if there's an emergency wipe down needed and the sink is full of dishes, Decker loves floating on his back in the tub. :)
It has really been fun watching Decker grow and progress over these months and look forward to all the new things he'll be learning from here forward.

Dallin is Born! December 30th 2008

Dallin Christopher Gamble is finally born! December 30, 2008--right on schedule! He weighed in at over 9 lbs and 22 inches! While Grandma Gamble was here, we drove down to Oregon for the weekend to visit Decker's newest cousin. Luke and Lora are adjusting well to having a new little one in their home. They've enjoyed prepared dinners for 2 weeks now! It was really fun to see them take on these new roles as parents.

When Decker saw Dallin, he was so excited-- it was like seeing a long lost friend. I really enjoyed watching his reaction. I tried to post the video on the blog, but it must be too large of a file, so instead, I uploaded it to Youtube.com. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YhFqvzbDJc

Luke calls Dallin, "MY son". He is the proud little Daddy. When we asked Lora what her favorite thing was about being mom...she said, "He's all mine."

Spending a little time with Grandma...

Mama's boy!

Lora crocheted the cutest little jacket for Decker for Christmas. It fits perfect!

Grandma Gamble's week with Decker

After a 6 hour delay at the Las Vegas airport, Grandma Gamble got to come to Seattle to play with Decker for a whole week. She got to feed him green beans, which he loves, take pictures with Winnie the Pooh, since it his 6 month anniversary, watch him get fussy, (usually he rarely fusses), because a new tooth is starting to pop through his gums...good thing he got Oragel in his stocking for Christmas. :) She fed him his first messy teething cookie and just all around got to spend some one on one time with her 12th grandchild. When asking grandma what she remembered and liked best about her visit she said--

"I loved to be with Decker by myself, playing one on one with no other distractions. We had our own conversations without any influence from our surroundings. I loved watching him get excited while he jumped in his jumperoo. But especially liked the quiet moments where we could just sit and rock together...he can be pretty hyper. ;) We also got to share a room and we would talk to each other from our beds, so when I went to peek over his crib he recognized my voice and gave me all smiles. He was so happy to see me." Decker said he had a great time with grandma too and hopes she comes back soon!



This is one of Decker's newest expressions. He first did it with a mouth full of rice cereal, showing me all the cereal in his mouth. Now when he does it, he makes a sound like a raspy "Aaaaaaaah".

Funny incident: After dropping off grandma at the airport, I was driving home with a sleeping Decker in the backseat when I heard a "Wahh." I looked in my rearview mirror, into Decker's mirror that I keep in his back window and he wasn't in the mirror. My first thought was..."did he fall out of the car at the airport?" Of course not, silly, I just heard him make a noise...where is he??? After driving the "S curves" on I-405 I must have taken them a little too sharply because his carseat was not in the fully locked position in the base and it had rolled over to the middle of the backseat with Decker tucked safely inside. I hurriedly did a 3 lane change--don't I love driving in the carpool lane with a baby:)--and got off on the Coal Creek Pkwy exit. He was fine and gave me a great big smile...He's always so happy to see me. What a crazy trip.. All is well though.

Keppi came in from Boston and she loves playing with Decker as well. Like watching TV upside down and teaching Decker her fashion sense. She loves it how Decker tells her such fascinating stories--We need to get that on video--he can be such a talker! We loved having them spend time with Decker and look forward to future visits.

Is it Lord of the Dance?

Decker's got jumping down-it's more like an intricate dance. Watch his toes, he's really getting some exercise...Now he's just learning to get his crawl into action. We put a remote and a cell phone in front of him and that's all it took to get his little booty scooting. It's been so fun to watch him progress to this stage. We really need to start baby proofing the house because I think he'll soon be into everything.

Do you ever put your foot in your mouth?

In answer to the question above: Once in awhile when I wish I hadn't said what I did, I do. But Decker literally puts his feet in his mouth on a regular basis now. The first time I saw him bring his little toes to his mouth was on Christmas Eve 2008. And tonight I finally got video of it. He makes it look so easy!

Happy New Year!!

For New Year's Eve, we had the traditional Wood Family Baked Spaghetti. We spent the evening at Nickie's home. Keppi came in from Boston for 10 days today. We stayed up playing Phase 10...however, Keppi who is still on Boston time, celebrating New Years with us in Seattle was old news --3 hours ago...She slept while we played and then as we were playing Nickie fell asleep and I couldn't keep my eyes open with 20 minutes to go. Mike woke me up to see the fireworks on the Space Needle--needless to say, I saw a couple before my eyes closed once again.

For Decker's New Years Eve celebration, he wanted to shock all and really party it up...So he gave himself a mohawk with his 4 inch long locks of hair. All that hairspray and gel went down the drain before the night was through.. Happy New Years!

I'm all clean!.....and naked! :)

Such soft hair...we love you Decker!