9 months!

My little boy is nine months old! Here are his stats from his 9-month check-up: height - 30.25" (97%) weight - 19.7 lbs (50%) head - 50% (forgot the exact measurement here) He is growing so fast. We've seen major changes at the 9 month mark - he now pulls up on almost everything, plays better with toys (instead of just eating them, he does things like banging them together), and, best of all, says "mama." When we comb his hair to one side, he bears a striking resemblance to his daddy. And looks about a year older. He is growing up so fast! I don't remember 9 months going by so fast when Alexandra was a baby. It constantly reminds me to treasure every moment with both of my kiddos.

Why we work so hard

8 months!

I can hardly believe it! My baby boy is 8 months old. We went to Colorado for Thanksgiving, and came back with a baby who can now sit up on his own, wave, and looks for "mama" and "dada" when hearing our names. He is just the sweetest little boy in the whole wide world - always smiling, usually happy. If only we could do something about the biting. . . .those 8 little teeth are sharp!

The Yurasko Men

Labor Day, 2012

Sibling love

He still needs help standing up, but he does not need help hugging.

Apple picking!

Our family really enjoys agricultural tourism. We were able to take Jonathan on his first outing a couple of weeks ago. To make the trip even more fun, William and Will came along! We went to Crooked Run Orchard out in Purcellville, VA. Great apples at a great price - I highly recommend it! After apple picking, we visited a cute barbecue joint in Ashburn, VA, where we were able to buy BIG RED!! Here are some photos of our day:

Daddy helping Alexandra reach the high apples. She was a little scared of heights this year, unlike last year when we couldn't get her off of Christopher's shoulders.

Mommy showing Jonathan how to pick apples.

They're delicious!

Teddy the Clown

We went to a picnic at our church (St. Raymond's, in Springfield, VA) the weekend before last. Our goal was for Alexandra to have fun and to meet some of the other parishioners. We've been going to this church for about 4 months now and haven't had the chance to make any friends there yet. I met a couple of women in the Mom's group there, and it looks like they actually have some events not on weekdays (hooray!), so I hope to be able to participate. Alexandra was really excited about the picnic because we read in the bulletin that Teddy the Clown would be there. She kept talking about how happy she was to be meeting Teddy the Clown. When we arrived, Christopher asked, "Alexandra, do you think Teddy the Clown is a teddy bear?" Alexandra replied, "Yes!" We knew then that the afternoon would probably not go as planned. Sure enough, when she saw Teddy the Clown, who was a clown and most definitely NOT a teddy bear, she freaked out and wouldn't go near him. She was also scared of the pony rides and the bouncy house (well, bouncy obstacle course is more precise). In the mind of a four year-old, why on earth wouldn't Teddy the Clown be a teddy bear!?! My precious little girl - I love her so much.