Merry Christmas!

From our family to yours, we hope you have a wonderful Christmas!

Teeth!

Look very closely at the picture and you'll see two tiny little bottom teeth! He got them about a week ago, but they've taken forever to poke through enough to see. Now that they are out a bit he's much happier!

Almost!

My little man is sooooo close to crawling! He loves getting up on his hands and knees and rocking front to back. Look at how happy he is!

Santa!!

Declan LOVED Santa! It was so cute - we set him on Santa's lap and Declan looked up at Santa and looked right back at the camera and grinned! Then he looked back at Santa, softly touched his beard, and smiled again.

Santa's elves were so surprised at how good Declan was and kept talking about how he was WAY better than most kids his age. :)

Christmas Tree Elegance

We went down and enjoyed our annual tradition of seeing all of the pretty parade of trees at the Davenport Hotel this evening. Declan loved all of the lights and flirted with all of the people there.

There were some beautiful trees as always and it was a nice time showing Declan one of our favorite Christmas traditions.

Seven Months Old

Little Declan turned seven months old yesterday. Where oh where does the time go? He is such a happy kid, we are so lucky. Right now he loves all baby food, but hates the avocado mom tried to feed him. He is getting better at sitting on his own and rolls all over the place (especially when mom and dad are trying to change his diaper). He hasn't started crawling yet but is starting to show a little bit of interest. We absolutely love having this little guy around!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone! It's Declan's first Halloween and he's dressed as Yoda from Star Wars. No trick or treating for this little guy though, we'll save that for next year.

The Great Pumpkin!

Here is my little boy amongst the pumpkins at Greenbluff.

Greenbluff for Pumpkins

We went up to Greenbluff this last weekend to get Declan his first pumpkin and also to enjoy the season of fall. Shawn's mom came with us, and we had our traditions of fresh pumpkin doughnuts and apple cider. Yum yum!

Declan and I

Sippy Cup

My baby is using a cup all by himself!!! Aahhhhhhh what is happening here? It's all happening so fast! This weekend we also gave him baby food for the first time. We chose carrots (because Shawn and I both hate them) and he loved it! He opened his mouth for more and more. What a big kid...

Go Chiefs Go!

First Chiefs game of the season and Declan's first game ever!

Survivor Wednesdays

My family loves Survivor and every Wednesday night we watch it together. Here are Ellie and Declan watching it last night.

Declan P.

Does this photo make your day? It did mine.... <3

Family of Four

Here are the four Murphy's! Yay!!

Ellie's 17th Birthday

Friday was Ellie's seventeenth birthday! We had some friends and family over today for cake and ice cream to wish her a happy year.

85 Years!

We went over to Seattle this last weekend to celebrate my grandma turning 85 years old. It was a super quick trip, but I got to see lots of my family and wish my grandma a happy birthday.

Saturday at the lake

Misc Pics

Here are some miscellaneous photos we've taken over the last two months.

Not a happy baby...

Spending playtime in the Bumbo

Little bit of tummy time

Mommy and Declan

Watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

Lazy Saturday

First time in the saucer!

Five Months Old!

My little man is five months old!  Can you believe it?  I can't...

This last month he's gotten really good at rolling over, shrieking, and cracking up at daddy. 

Rice Cereal

Declan got his first taste of rice cereal last night. He was pretty funny with his faces, he was definitely not too sure about it at first. Tonight's feeding went much better and he ate the whole bowl! It's totally crazy how fast the last five months have gone.

Murphy Children

Look at these two adorable Murphy kiddos!

Four Months Old

Here are some photos of little Declan at four months old!

Date night

Tonight for our date night we went to Wonderland Fun Center where I beat Shawn at mini-golf, air hockey, and skee-ball. It was so weird - I normally never beat him at any of these games! I guess being a mom has changed me!

Bumbo

Yesterday Declan sat in his new Bumbo chair! He looks like such a big kid in it. I've been on the fence about buying the chair because some people tell me that they are a 'must', while others tell us that they aren't very useful. I think I'm gonna really like having it!

We found a super cheap one on Craigslist this weekend, so I figured it was worth it to give it a try. Declan liked it pretty well, and I can already see that it will be good at building his strength. Before we know it, I'm sure he'll be sitting all on his own!

Playtime with Daddy

Declan looooooves his daddy. Every time dad is in the room, Declan is staring at him and watching every move he makes. Maybe its because he's trying to figure out who this big person is that looks just like him?

I caught this cute pic of them chatting today. I love my two men!

Headstrong

Ok so I know this photo is a bit crazy, but with tiny little kids you have you take what you get. :)
Declan has gotten SO good at holding his head up on his own! He's still kinda wobbly with it, but he can hold it for a little bit all by himself. He still is totally bored with tummy time and does nothing with his head there, but I think he's doing great so far without much tummy time success.

Grandma and Grandkids

Shawn's niece Jessica got married, so at her wedding reception we got the chance to snap a photo of Shawn's mom Joan with all four of her grandkids!

Starting left to right we have Samantha, Grandma Joan, Declan, Ellie, and in the back is Jessica.

Mommy and Me

Today is mine and Declan's last day home together before I go back to work. It's bittersweet - I've had so much fun with him but I know I need to be at work. I don't have any big plans for our last day, just maybe a little clothes shopping!

Day Hike

Declan got to go on his first day hike on Saturday morning! All four Murphys got to enjoy a three mile hike along the Little Spokane River. Declan's eyes were as big as saucers for the first half of the hike taking in all of the sights, and he slept for the second half. It was a beautiful morning, and it was so nice to enjoy some time together in the awesome outdoors.

Three Months Old!

My little man is three months old!  How exciting!

He is such a joy - his personality is really coming out.  He loves Daddy and just laughs and laughs and everything he does.  He's started blowing a lot of spit bubbles, and lately he loves grabbing his toes when he is lying on his back.  We just love having our little guy around!

Fourth of July

We spent the Fourth at Deer Lake like we have so many other Independence Days.  It was a fun time, and Declan did really good!  He napped better than he does at home, he went for his first boat ride, and he slept right through the huge firework show!  I tell him almost every day that he is such a model baby.  Anyway...

Here are some photos from the day at the lake.  Here is Declan and his little BFF Ben.

Here is Big D in his even bigger life vest. 

Here is a photo of the three of us on the boat! 

Can you tell Declan is having fun?  I mean... look at that face!  Ha ha!

Movie Date

Here is a photo of us as Shawn and I got the rare opportunity for a date last Saturday.  It was so wonderful!  We went to see an afternoon showing of "X-Men: First Class" while Shawn's mom watched Declan for us. 

I love spending all day with my little son, and I didn't really realize how much I truly miss hanging out with my husband until our date.  It's amazing that only a few short months ago we spent all of our free time together just the two of us, because now it's a bonus if we actually get to eat dinner together!  After our date we promised to make our relationship and dating each other a priority, and I'm excited for more dates coming up.

Flowers!

Check out what magically appeared on our porch this afternoon!

I heard a big truck driving around the neighborhood and when I went to the window to see what was going on I noticed they were putting all of these flowers on everyone's porches. I have no idea why we got them or what the deal was, but I'm so excited to plant them! The random surprise totally made my day.