Seven Months

From six to seven months FLEW by.  I blame this for my failure to blog your seven month post in a timely manner.  We are on the down hill slope to a year now and I feel like it is going to be very quick.  This makes me sad! 

You are an eating fool now.  You have days where you are not very interested, but when you are, whew!!  It is still difficult to fit this into our schedule at times.  More stuff to pack when we leave, more time to sit and eat, etc.  But, it is fun.  You have had pears, carrots, peas, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, apple sauce, bananas, prunes, and oatmeal.  I made a lot of these items and so we will probably stick with them until the freezer clears out a little.

Sitting or standing is your favorite position.  You sit very well now and will pull on my fingers to hold you in a standing position all the time.  This is so cute, but you are not a light weight!  You roll around a lot in your bed, but continue to be frustrated when you are on you stomach on the floor.  Your dad and I are both ready for you to crawl!!! 

You have the best belly laugh and it comes out often.  You love your Aunt Erin's dog, Tilly, and she can get you laughing pretty easily.  We went to Texas right at the end of your six month period and I think it is confirmed that you can say "mama".  Granma said you would say it over and over if you were upset.  Unfortunately, we can't get you to say it when I am around and you are happy!  Stinker.  You make the Ba-Ba-Ba sound a lot and will look so intently when we talk to you.  I think you might be more of a listener like your momma than a talker like your dad.

We took swim lessons over the past two months and you had a love hate relationship with it.  I did too though, the water was cold!!!  It was fun and I hope to do more things like this with friends in the future.  We are so ready for warm weather so we can have play dates with your friends Miles, Evelyn, Bennett, Tess and hopefully Kettie and Lewis.

You are fun as fun can be and we are LOVING this stage.  Stop growing up now, please :)

Texas!

Last week was a week I had been highly anxious about for sometime.  One of Chris' close friends from undergrad popped the question to a fine lady a while back and their wedding date was set for March 16.  Chris was asked to be in the wedding and I immediately went into panic mode about leaving or taking Henry with us.  My loving husband convinced me it would be best for us to leave Henry with the grandparents and enjoy a little time away.  As the time drew near, we compromised a little.  Chris drove down on Wednesday before the wedding in order to enjoy some golfing and guy time.  I flew down on Friday and met up with everyone for the rehearsal, had the day to myself on Saturday until the wedding and we drove home together on Sunday.  Here is a brief synopsis of the long weekend...

Since Chris took the newer car down to Texas, Henry and I were left with the Mustang for a couple of days.  Whewy, a two door car and a car seat are not my idea of fun!  But, I got to look back at this sweet face at stop lights.

We attended a baby shower of a sweet friend on Thursday evening.  I was exhausted by this time and needed to get out of the house a little before the shower.  So, I strapped Henry into his Beco carrier and we headed to TJ Maxx to look around.  He had never faced forward and loved it!! 

No pictures of the rehearsal dinner.  It was delicious though and nice to catch up with Whitney and Ryan.  I could sit and talk to Whitney for hours!! (I'm sure anyone could though) Hilarious, sweet lady!  I ventured out into Dallas afterwards on my own to a hotel for one that evening.  King size bed all to myself!!!  I slept terribly though. 

I was pretty pumped to have a day to myself on Saturday, not gonna lie.  Had full intentions of going to Ikea, HOWEVER all the local guys told me it was an hour drive (Mapquest said 26 minutes, we will never know who was correct).  I opted to stay close rather than driving out to an unknown territory to a place I could really go crazy at.  My fear was I would be sucked into Ikea wonderfulness and seeing as how the house is still on the market and we have no idea where we will be next, house decorative items are really a no go right now.  So, Wirth suggested a fun mall I hit up and boy did I hit it up!!!  The place was huge and so fun!  Wish I had a girlfriend there to enjoy it with, but venturing around with no agenda was nice.

The mall had one of these fine cafes inside.  I've heard so much about this place from friends, I had to stop.  It was scrumptious. 

I had a little time before check in at the second hotel (we stayed at the reception sight the second night together) so I ventured over to Crate and Barrel.  What do you think of this sectional Danavee (in gray of course)?

The wedding was at the SMU chapel.  Beautiful and fast, my idea of a wedding!!!  I think Whitney said it lasted 18 minutes :)  Andrew and Bailey are two of the sweetest people.  I am a blessed gal that Chris has so many great friends from high school, undergrad, and grad school who have welcomed me into their circles.  I love seeing them and it is so fun to see Chris interact with his buddies.  Hate that everyone lives so far apart. 

The reception was at the Adolphus in downtown Dallas.  Fancy, smancy!  It was classy, simple and elegant.  This was the centerpiece at our table.  Lovely!

Yummy grub!  They had an assortment of southern foods; crab cakes, pulled pork, chicken, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese...  I could have had three plates, but I held back.  This gal is a bottomless pit (have you seen my son's thighs?).

The Mizzou gang in the wedding.  Wish I would have gotten a picture of our table. 

This is Patty and Allen.  I went to their wedding with Chris way back when we first started dating.  It was fun to catch up with them and actually talk to this couple whose wedding I crashed (I was a newbie girlfriend back then). 

 

And of course, I was SOOO excited to get home to this little man.  Remember how I went shopping?  Umm, I bought A SHIRT for myself (and mugs from Anthropologie).  Everything else was for Henry.  I missed him just a little.  Oh, and Jasper was missed too of course. 

I am sure many more weekends away are in our future.  Henry did great and we love that he has grandparents who want to steal him away from time to time.  Before we know it, he will be begging to spend the night at Granma and Papa's or Grammy and Doc's.  

Swimming Lessons

My friend filled me in on a great Groupon deal that we both snagged for our little ones.  Eight swimming lessons at our local Y for a great price.  Now, I realize Henry won't be jumping off the high dive or diving for rings anytime soon, but I hope to get him used to the water.  He loves his bath time, so I figured he could be on cloud nine in a pool or freak out.  With Henry, ya never know.

Fortunately, he didn't scream bloody murder.  He wasn't splashing around like a mad man either.  He was Mr. Cuddle during lessons and I was a okay with that!  He unintentionally stuck his head in the water a few times and whimpered a little, but nothing overly dramatic.  I am excited to see how he reacts throughout the next few weeks. 

Chris was able to come and snap some pictures.  Hopefully he will get in the water with us at some point.  My friend Zanna and her little girl Evelyn are taking lessons with us.  It is pretty fun!

Little unsure of the pool.

So nice to have friends with babes the same age to do fun things with!

Henry's preferred spot during lessons.  I didn't mind too much.

Corny smile.  I was freezing!

Seriously mom? 

He loved being on his back, talked the whole time.

Feast and Famine

I have always loved these verses from Ecclesiastes 3.
3 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
Thank you to The Byrd's for setting these verses to a catchy tune as well so that I might sing them in a round about way from time to time.
A coworker of mine once described our line of work as "Feast or Famine". I held on to that bit of wisdom and notice it play out more and more not only at work but in all areas of life.
It has been a long while since I have experienced full blown famine in my life, praise The Lord. But, there are those periods of hunger.
A client who is on your heart in the wee hours of the morning and all you can do is pray.
Constant cancellations which effect finances.
Hearing about pain in a friend's life.
The garage door being bipolar.
The questions of what is next.
But, in this house, we feast. A lot! Our bellies are full both literally and figuratively. That's why I love these verses (and use them so often with my clients). Sure, there is a time for frustration and sadness. However, with each of those not so great things, there is a time for the complete opposite.
So, pass another roll, slather on more gravy and don't forget dessert. You might find a hair in your peas, but really... Who likes peas anyways? Just toss them in the garbage and laugh about it later.
I'm going to go enjoy some of my favorite rolls now...

Six Months

Half a year already?! I feel like six months sounds so old... This month has been chopped full of new stuff for you, little man.

You started oatmeal about three weeks ago. After a few attempts, it really was a no go. Since retiring that nastiness you have moved up in the culinary world to bananas, apple sauce, avocados and sweet potatoes. You tolerate the avocados and apple sauce the best and really only eat well in the evening. It has been fun though. My hope is to mix up some carrots and mangos next.

Little man, you are sitting up now! You wobble at times and if you see something you want, a tumble to the carpet doesn't seem to matter. But, you've got it! You have also mastered the fine art of rolling from back to tummy. While conquering this milestone however, you have forgotten once again how to roll from tummy to back. This results in throwing a slight fit while pancaked on the floor.

Splashing in the bathtub is a new favorite past time. You also have the cutest little fake laugh. You are a loud talker, but have quiet times as well. Your favorite book still tends to be the kid Bible books, you will look with such interest at the pictures or roll to your side to watch me read. The Johnny Jump Up has become a life saver.

As mentioned, tummy time is your worst enemy. Evening times are still no fun. It is always a toss up on if you will be in a good mood or not, so we have a list of possible errands to run in the evening which helps. These have included walks around Bass Pro, driving around looking at houses, Target trips, etc.

You're still a great sleeper. We have officially cut out one nap, so you have two, two hour naps and still go to bed at eight.  Most nights once you are down, you are down until we go get you at 8 in the morning.  There have been nights in the last couple of weeks though where you have flipped to your belly, needed a hug, or kicked off you blanket and needed rescuing.  

Your six month appointment went great. You greeted the doctor with a very loud burp and made your presence known by a stinky smell before we left. You had a look of accomplishment on your face as we walked out. You are 18.4 pounds and 26.25 inches long. A big, healthy babe. The doctor said we need to start baby proofing the house. I chuckled a little because I don't see you being mobile for a while.

You are a delightful, cuddly, sweet little boy. We are already so proud of you and I kind of think you have dad wrapped around your finger. :)

Someone was starving for attention.

One sock is typically always off.  Pointless to constantly put it back on.

Washer oh Washer

Sometimes you've gotta celebrate the little things in life, right?
Like...
Having all the dishes done before bed (I will drop to my knees and praise Baby Jesus the day we get a dishwasher).
Not leaving shoes all over the floor.
Henry making it through the day with the same outfit on.
Having a few minutes to blog.
Getting through a work week with no last minute cancellations (this hasn't happened in a long while).
Etc.
And THEN sometimes you are blessed with big things. Like really, huge, ginormous things. In this case, a working washing machine!!!!!!!
It all started back on December 8 when the thing stopped mid-rinse cycle. Fortunately, we have a home warranty so I got those folks on the phone. Unfortunately, they couldn't get an appointment scheduled for 2 weeks! Two weeks of no laundry is hard for me. I try to do a load a day and a mountain of laundry freaks me out. Thankfully our parents opened their laundry rooms to us and we did I think a total of 9 loads or more.
The day finally came for repairs and not only did the repair guy show up in the last 10 minutes of our allotted time (the whole 12-4 range doesn't thrill me), of course a part has to be ordered. So, he hopes to be back on the 23. Low and behold, they call the day before and say the part won't be there. I beg and plea with them to wait and see, but no go. An appointment date is rescheduled for the 2nd. You can only imagine the rage I felt when I arrived home to have the motor on my doorstep and when I called to inform them, they apologized and said all slots were full. ANGER!!!
The washer finally is fixed and we are good to go for about two weeks I think? Then the thing started smoking one evening. Now this washer is around 15 years old and they put a $400 motor in the sucker. I called them back, the guy came out (4 days later of course), there is another broken part but they don't make it anymore so it will have to be replaced. Why didn't you do that almost two months ago?!
Then a battle started because of miscommunication and laziness to actually call our warranty place (we dealt with Sears the whole time, no sir won't be using them again). We finally got the washer delivered this past Friday. But, since out house is older they couldn't install it. A plumber came out yesterday and we are now in business.
Good grief right!? I even left out some details.
So...
A $75 fee to our warranty folk, a gift card to Sears for $75 because of an enraged phone call made by me (Chris wasn't home and Henry wasn't around so no one was there to witness my customer service call), and $80 to a plumber to drill a hole in the wall and this is what we have...

Praying for Miss Ava

I've got lots of little kiddos on my heart lately. Henry and Jack, of course. Kharis and Benny. Kettie. Lewis. Brody. Brecken. Tess. Evelyn. Bennett. The list could seriously be a mile long. But, this little lady has my heart this week.

My best friend growing up, Casey, had sweet little Ava this past May. Right before my birthday to be exact. Casey and I ran around growing up and I love the fact that we are now in the season of motherhood together. I just told her the other day how neat I think it is that Ava and I have a birthday close together and Casey and Henry aren't too far apart either.

Miss Ava has some spunk to her. She is funny. Chris always loves seeing her because she is busy, busy, busy and always makes him laugh. She is the perfect combo of her mom and dad.

Today, Miss Ava has to go through a major surgery. Casey shares more details about it on her blog, so I won't go into it. But, if you are reading this and think about this sweet little family, send up some prayers. Ava will be just fine, I have complete faith in that. However, the healing process will be just that, a process. And no mom ever wants to see their babe in pain.

I can't wait to get my hands on her again and Henry is begging for a play date. Ready for this week to be defeated by this little spit fire girl! Love you Miss Ava!
(Sorry for the screen shot picture, she's still cute despite my laziness)