Our Weekend

We had some friends over for dinner on Saturday. Rooke was being so cute while I was getting things ready that I had to stop and follow him down the hall with my camera!

showing off his growing belly

edit: as I looked at the above picture today, I remembered I had a similar picture . . . here is Rooke at seven months. It's probably time to retire the t-shirt!

My boys watching the Superbowl with their drink of choice.

Playing peek-a-boo in the car . . . he loves his new car seat and being able to sit facing forward.

Hi

I'm always surprised to learn about people who look at our blog. I have fun posting pictures and videos because I think my son is super cute, and I know that at least his grandparents and aunts and uncles enjoy him as well! But recently I learned that we have some family cousins down in Louisiana who faithfully check us out. When I told Rooke about Laura Lee and little Railey and how they look at our pictures every day, he thought it was important that they see his teeth . . .

I think he looks like a football player in this picture.

My new Mommy-must-have . . . . I found this in London and haven't seen them here yet, but it's fantastic. He'll work on this for twenty minutes, people. Twenty minutes! The food goes inside the green mesh part, it snaps closed, and Rooke can go at it without me having to worry that he's going to choke or shove too much into his mouth at once. I use apple slices and grapes right now - things that he can't eat on his own yet anyway. (I keep telling him that if he'd chew his food, he could eat things without the food toy, but he insists that just swallowing everything whole helps him eat faster).

Don't Touch

While I was folding and putting away clean clothes, this is how Rooke entertained himself.

He did, however, manage to find an earring I've been missing, and I got rid of a pair of shorts I never wear, so I guess the mess was worth it!

This video highlights Rooke's babbling and understanding of "don't touch" (or lack thereof). If you listen close, it sounds like he says it after the video split. And the following look he gives still makes me laugh every time I see it!

Yesterday

Yesterday started off with a special treat . . . whole wheat blueberry banana muffins! I gave the whole thing to Rooke just to see what he'd do. He devoured it (and then some more!)

After a nap, we headed to the community center for a little energy-burning-fun in their open gym.

Watching one of the big kids climbing on top. Not yet, Rooke.

This picture shows off Rooke's personality (which I'm still trying to figure out!) - sitting in the middle of a gym full of kids and toys. Rooke's the observer. He takes his sweet time checking out a new environment before he feels completely comfortable. On this particular occasion, we were at the gym for a good 30 minutes before he was really ready to play.

From the gym, we took a walk to the library for some new books to bring home. Our favorite is Llama Llama Red Pajama!

The Rooke

Here's a peek at Rooke's latest moves. And don't worry . . . Dancing With the Stars reps have already contacted us.

Goodbye to London

Rooke and I traveled back to Seattle yesterday (Ryan had come home a week earlier for school). The flight from London to Chicago was Rooke's best-behaved eight consecutive hours of his life - with only two 45-minute naps! And then he slept from take-off until landing on the second flight to Seattle! Our uneventful trip was truly an answer to prayer as I was nervous about doing an international flight alone with my squirmy one-year-old. So . . . we're safely home, it's 1:41am, and my son is full of energy. I, on the other hand, am about to fall on my face.


A few last pictures from our incredible trip to London. They don't cover everything we did, or do justice to the sights we saw, but are a glimpse at our time away.

KayeK and Rooke walking along the Thames - he was chasing the pigeons.

New Year's Day parade downtown!

Rooke wasn't quite sure what to think about the parade . . .

. . . but he liked the gold beads someone threw at him

We rode the Tube (the underground metro) to get everywhere. I love efficient public transportation!

Credit to my sister for these next two pics. I was a little confused at the Tate Modern Museum.

John Wesley - this was in front of his church and home that visitors are allowed to walk through.

One of many pictures taken by Scott during the Sibling Photo Shoot on the Tube.

A night out for just the adults . . .

Mom and Dad put tickets to Wicked in everyone's stocking this year! We left the babies with some friends and enjoyed an incredible show together.

We drove to see Stonehenge. Enough said.

For Sean & Jessica and all you other Harry Potter fans

Rooke's London Birthday

How does a year pass so quickly?! One year ago today we were just getting to know our son. Here we are, a quick twelve months later, celebrating the incredible gift of our son. I won't even begin to sum up how much I love being Rooke's mother. It's a blessing beyond words. Happy Birthday, Rooke! We look forward to celebrating as many more together as God gives us the opportunity.

Rooke Isaac Payne
8 lbs. 10.5 oz.
January 11, 2008

Rooke woke up from his nap to a surprise birthday party! My family went all out on the decorations.

Kaye-K and Auntie Aubyn made a chocolate cake and even had a few party favors.

He wasn't quite sure how to eat it at first . . .

. . . but quickly got the hang of it.

This was the first "sweet" he had ever tasted . . .

. . . and he was pretty ticked when it was gone.

"Are these really all for me?"

"A giant foam hammer? Oh . . . this is going to be great."

Kaye-K and Big Daddy with their grandkids . . . Evelynn wore her party dress for the afternoon event!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

My sweet husband posted about our anniversary last week, but I wanted to share some pictures from our celebration. We left Rooke with my parents and rode the train to Oxford. Not a bad over-night trip to celebrate six years of marriage, eh?!

Our little bed & breakfast

We ate at the oldest pub in Oxford, the Turf Tavern. It was tucked away in windy alleys, but apparently Bill Clinton had managed to find it back in the day.

It was SO COLD while we were there.

The view of Oxford from the top of St. Mary's cathedral tower.

It was so fun walking through town with my good-looking man.

Hello from London

We're still livin' it up in London Town. We've been staying busy and having fun . . . checking out lots of sights, an overnight anniversary trip (without Rooke!), an early birthday party for Rooke (he turns one on the 11th) and more games than you can imagine (even if you do know my family well!). We're soaking up our last few days together before Ryan heads back for school. In the meantime, here are some pictures that I can't take any credit for. I have been taking plenty, but my sister and brother-in-law got a new camera and these are all pictures they took.

Is he cute or what?!

Beautiful Evelynn

In a pub on Portabello Road . . . not the typical shot, but I like it!

Portabello Road

Rooke was telling us about his new top teeth that are coming in! (He really was holding her by himself)

Rooke: "Evelynn, stop looking at the camera. They make fool's of themselves if you don't look."
Evelynn: "I can't keep all my beauty to myself, Rooke."