World's Greatest Dad

I wanted to get a few pictures of Hoyt in his "I've got the World's Greatest Dad" shirt before he outgrew it. He is almost six months old and we can't believe how big he is getting. Where did our small 9 pound baby go? He is at least 20 pounds now, but we will know for sure next week when we have our six month pediatrician appointment. As you can see he loves to smile, and has such a personality. When we are at church and the grocery store he smiles at anyone who looks his way. He loves when Ryon comes home from work - he smiles and talks and can't get enough of him.

Ready For Bed

When I was giving Hoyt his bedtime bottle a few nights ago, he covered his eyes with his chubby little hands and fell asleep. He was so tired that the moment his hands covered his eyes he was out! Of course, as soon as I removed the bottle he woke up and starting eating again.

Thumb Sucking

Hoyt has taken a definite liking to his left thumb. At first he only sucked it in his crib; however, he can now be found sucking it in his high chair, his swing, his toy saucer, anywhere! Ryon and I don't mind - we will gladly pay the orthodontic bill if it means that we have some peace and quiet when Hoyt is a little cranky. As you can see in this picture - it doesn't matter where he is, when he needs a little comfort the thumb goes in!

Grandpa Hoyt Retires

In January, Hoyt and I were able to go to my dad's reitrement party in Sacramento. He retired from the California State Department of Food and Agriculture where he had worked for over 30 years! There was a nice luncheon, and then a few individuals spoke. My dad said a few words, and my brother Seth did also. My sister Faith and I decided not to because we were sure we would have cried, and we figured that there wasn't anyone who wanted to hear that at a party! Thanks Seth for representing the eleven brothers and sisters!

Congratulaions on your retirement dad! My mom thinks he will drive her crazy at home now, but he is actually starting his own business and hopefully he will be busy with that. He is going to be publishing a weekly hay report for hay growers in the west. He has a new website which is really nice. Check it out at www.thehoytreport.com.

Hoyt in Camo

I don't know if Hoyt understands his love of everything camo at this point, but Ryon is making sure that he gets to wear as much camo as possible. My aunt Ann sent Hoyt a camo outfit, which he is wearing, camo boots, a bib, diaper bag, and a warm camo sleeper. Ryon thought it was one of the greatest gifts ever - now he can use the camo diaper bag and not my girly one! He can't wait until Hoyt is old enough to go on a coyote hunting trip. I, on the other hand, can probably wait!!

Hoyt Loves Eating "Real Food"!

It took a few tries, but Hoyt now loves to sit in his new high chair and eat "real food". He loves rice cereal with applesauce. I'm sure you wouldn't believe it by looking at him, but the other day he ate an entire container of baby applesauce along with some cereal. Now all we need is a little physical activity so he can start burning off all of those calories!!

Hoyt also loves his jumperoo. I included a few pictures of him in his jumperoo - he loves to jump, talk and laugh.

Trying to Roll Over

This picture was actually taken towards the end of December, but I thought we would start our blog with the "rolling over" saga. At three and a half months, Hoyt was rolling onto his side and looked as if he would continue his journey to his tummy in no time. However, it is now February and he seems to have lost all interest in rolling over. When he is on his tummy he pulls his knees up and tries to reach for toys - so perhaps he will crawl before he rolls?! We'll see.