Gardening and Babywearing...

Our small garden is officially planted -- we will have okra, beans, peppers, squash, tomatoes and plenty of other things that I have already forgotten about. Our big garden is still staked out and the little seedlings are itching to get out of their little plastic home and into the ground.....

I love fresh vegetables from my backyard and yes, I love a newly weeded vegetable garden, but I do not love getting all hot and dirty and I have entirely too many lower back issues to bend over for an extended period of time. I prefer to sit on the back steps and watch Taylor. I call it 'moral support.'

FYI: This is a dirt pile. Not our garden.

Dinosaur Chicken:

ATTACK!!!

Cotton District Arts Festival

I just realized that I never did post these pictures.....Lizbeth and David, we loved your visit!!!

I got it!

Look! I have 4 teeth....

Over the past several months, I have frequently commented on Henry's refusal to eat pureed foods, his pursed lips and his tears. It was very frustrating trying different flavors, textures, spoons, and locations around the house to no avail. His pediatrician agreed that an 8month old baby should most definitely be eating food.

Enter Jamie: occupational therapist and my new favorite person. She completely validated all my worries and concerns and is convinced that Henry will not only eat but he will enjoy solids very soon.

After a quick evaluation in which he cried when approached with the foody spoon, she began developing a plan to introduce him to the joys of food. Since he has an aversion to all things food, I now smear purees on his hard plastic toys. This forces him to encounter the ickiness on his hands and eventually get some of the flavor in his mouth. At first, he simply threw those toys on the ground in lieu of a clean toy but now he puts the foody toys in his mouth again and again until all sign of the puree are gone.

Progress!

He is also happily eating apples in the mesh self feeder that terrorized him just a few weeks ago!

And, he will pick up and eat puffs dipped in purees.

Jamie's worst case scenario? He will be feeding himself food from a spoon in less than a month.

Best case scenario? He allow me to feed him from the spoon when we are in public.

She also commented on his need to control what goes on around him.

Do I hear "I do it myself" in my future, or what?

Meme and Pops:

I don't think we could have taken a better farewell photo.

We love you!!!

Chillin' like a baby villain...

Last weekend was great with Lizbeth, David, and Baby Martha visiting. We admired our babies alot, talked about the same things we talk about on the phone everyday, and just enjoyed each other's company. We so enjoyed their visit that Taylor hit them up to buy the house next door to us....sounds like a good idea to me!!!

It was very relaxing holding a baby that doesn't try to catapult off your lap.

Henry was definitely intrigued with the bouncy seat that he would have nothing to do with 6 months ago....

This is what happens when you want to figure out what is underneath the bouncy seat......

Say what? 8 months already?

I am 8 months old today. My mama and daddy both had to think for a minute to decide if I was 3/4 of a year old or 2/3 of a year old but they quickly sorted through that 3rd grade math and realized that I am 2/3 of a year old today! Wow. I think that I can already hear my little bitty baby joints creaking with my old age.

Let me tell you what I have been up to lately:

** I live to stand up. Lately, I have been getting very brave and I try to grab a toy with both hands at the same time. 2 hands on the toy means no hands for balance. So, if nobody is holding on to me, I usually stand for about 3 seconds before I fall on my behind. Or my face. Or my head.

** I am still not eating ANY solids. My mama started googling and realized that I might need some help figuring out this whole solid food eating business. I now have a very sweet occupational therapist, Jamie, who is very patiently trying to make me believe that food is a wonderful thing. I haven't been convinced yet.

** I am teething like a maniac. There might be more than 4 teeth in my mouth but my mama isn't brave enough to stick her finger in my mouth long enough to explore and I still can't count. So, who knows?

** My new favorite chew toy is a metal coaster. My daddy doesn't think that I should chew on metal but my mama always gives it to me when he isn't around. I love it.

**I am also enjoying a little freedom with my walker from Great Aunt Cindy. Her grandbabies loved it and so do I. But, watch out! I get stuck under the table and love to pull down the kitchen chairs onto my head. I sure do wish someone would teach me how to back out of a corner.

**I keep hearing my mama talk about how tiny I am, but I am pretty sure that she has me mixed up with another baby. I completely fill out my 9 month footed sleepers and have been wearing lots of 6-12 and some 12 months summer clothes.

**Nighttime sleep is no longer my enemy. Now, I sleep 12 hours STRAIGHT at night.

Everynight. If I cry at night, I am back asleep in less than 3 minutes. Not bad for a reformed insomniac, huh?? Naps are a different matter. But, we won't touch that evil subject on this pleasantly themed post.

**My favorite thing to do during the day is swing on the front porch and watch all the cars, people, and dogs that go by our house. I like it almost as much as television that I get to watch at other people's houses!!!

Family Easter.

Kids.

Easter egg dyeing contest.

Danny's ribs -- the best I've ever had. Thank you very much.

Desserts.

Taylor's funny family.

Laughing.

Crazy stories shared.

Big breakfast.

A vision of Heaven complete with crowns and chocolate.

10 straight hours of sleep in the pack-n-play!!

Best of all?

Knowing that my little Henry is there to experience it all!!

Thanks Betty for his precious outfit!!!

Yay for Easter happies!

Apparently, I missed all the photo ops but Taylor and Henry sure do look good together.

MSU Easter Egg Hunt.

We began our Easter festivities with Hope and 3 of her 4 children at the MSU President's House Easter Egg Hunt (should all of that be in caps? not sure...)

Of course, as a first time mother I had never heard of such an event but apparently I was the only one unfamiliar with the tradition. The place was hopping (!) with small children, Easter eggs, and those cakey cookies with icing on top from Wal-Mart. Yum.

Henry feel asleep in the car on the 3 minute drive to campus and slept for the duration of the hunt. But, the day was not wasted for Hope's kids. As soon as I heard that each age group had a silver and golden egg hidden, my little eyes started searching and scanning for the big prize eggs. Lo and behold, they weren't too
difficult to spot in the 0-2 age group hunt. As soon as the hunt began, I quickly guided Watkins to the silver egg! He was pretty pumped when they handed him a Easter basket filled with junk that make kids happy. Phelps, however, thought that if her twin won a prize that she deserved one as well. Too bad, I wasn't quick enough to sprint her over to the golden egg. Maybe next year.....

How to: Make Your Own Baby Food

Vegetable. Or fruit.

Cook.

Food process.

Flexible ice cube tray.

Freeze.

Remove.

Ziploc bags.

Just to be clear....and Stellan.

Henry is not standing all on his own in the picture below. He is leaning back just a little to keep his balance. I think he is a pretty talented 7.5 month old, but to stand all on his own would be just brilliant!!

standing.

I made the team.

Baseball practice was alot of fun. We practiced hitting homeruns, sliding into home base, and catching pop flies. It was fun hanging out with all the other baseball players. Coach told me that I will be a starter next season, so I need to make sure I drink alot of mama's milk to get my muscles and bones ready for all that hard work. Yeah, I did miss my mama during practice but she was watching from the stands and she always waved at me when I looked her way.That made me a feel a little better about not having her right next to me.

Gotta go!
 Daddy wants to play catch in the back yard.

Identical cousins?

Henry at 4 weeks.

Martha at 2 weeks.

Pictures.

Not sure why this one keeps turning on its side, but Henry's smile is just too sweet....

Bathtime is even better now that he has mastered the splash.

Checking out the dry rack.

Taylor installed his swing from Uncle Chase and Aunt Shannon on our front porch. He loves it!

Hanging out at the beach with Grandaddy.

Notes from Henry.

1. I LOVE my bath. Since my mama is such an obsessive googler, she found an article detailing how long soaks in lukewarm water, followed by an immediate slathering of lotion is the new treatment protocol for excema. Man, am I glad that she is so obsessed with that pink laptop of hers, since it means I get to take baths again! I now get to sit in the sink for 30 minutes each night. My mama turns on the water and lets me try to grab and eat the stream from the faucet. It's pretty cute. Sometimes I get frustrated because wet toys are slippery toys, but there is always someone standing nearby that can help. In fact, they stand really close to me since I can almost tipped my bath ring over picking up the dry rack off the counter last week.

2. My Aunt Lizbeth is also quite the googler and she emailed my mama to tell her that I am advanced! Duh. Turns out that most babies my age can't stand by themselves. Well, I live to hold on to rungs of the kitchen chairs and stand up. Without any help. Well, maybe I do need a little help getting up there. Once I am standing, I am on my own. That's the way I like. My mama laughed when my daddy said that I pulled myself up but today she witnessed it with her own eyes. Looks like it's time for somebody to lower my crib mattress before I figure out how to escape those awful afternoon naptimes.

3. Not only does Aunt Lizbeth think that I am advanced, she also deciphered one of the reasons that I don't like to nap so much.... my mama was drinking too much morning coffee. Way too much. I am napping better now that mama is off her habit. That first day of breaking her addiction, my daddy had to fix her a cup at 8pm for her caffeine withdrawal headache. But, now her headache is gone and I really am napping much better.

4. I'm also sleeping better at night. Sometimes, I wake up and cry and nobody comes in to check on me. Can you believe that? Who could resist me??? Sometimes, I fall right back asleep. But, sometimes, I have to scream really, really loud for someone to come and pick me up. And honestly, that's all I want in life.....someone to pick me up ALL the time. Is that too much to ask?

5. This whole ear infection business really sucks. But, getting all that medicine poured down my throat sucks even more. This morning, Mama did pretty good by herself torturing me, but I showed her who was boss after lunch. I spit out that nasty pink stuff all over myself, her shirt, and the changing pad. Mama: 0 Baby:1 -- we'll see who is in the lead tomorrow.....

6. I officially have 3 teeth! 2 on the bottom and 1 on top. Daddy thinks that my newest tooth has retreated but who has ever heard of that kind of nonsense?

7. My mama thinks that she has figured out an easier way to start posting pictures. So, hopefully, yall will be able to see my cute smiling face again!!!

Bullets.

• Henry has his first ear infection,his 12th runny nose, and his 1,324 cough. He's pretty pitiful and hates his medicine with a vengeance. One person is simply not strong/agile enough to pin down his arms and actually have any of the antibiotic go down his throat. It is definitely a two-man effort.
• Taylor was sick last weekend and I got sick this weekend. He gave me his funk -- stiff neck, fever, runny nose, and cough. Do I sound like a flu commercial, or what?
• It's no secret that I love MckMama's blog. If you live here in my house, it's no secret that I am very upset that little Stellan's heart is racing at 300 beats a minute and that he is very very sick. He needs prayers for a 2nd miracle!
• Last weekend was spent with my OF (original family.) Although with the babies involved, I think we should be the NOF (new original family.) Baby Martha is precious and Lizbeth is doing a fabulous job of keeping her in cute outfits. It was a great visit filled with: shopping (thanks, Mama!), eating, caring for babies, playing the Wii Fit, creating Mii's for everybody in the whole fam damnily, making sure that all the Mii's are color coordinated with their family unit, watching Henry hysterically laugh at the dogs, laughing out loud at the Flight of the Conchords, and eating corned beef and cabbage. I feel sure that we did more than the items on my list, but I am at a loss.
• Friday night, a dear dear friend came to visit and spend the night. I really could say anything I wanted to about her because she told me you know I don't read blogs, or do facebook. I'm just not that interested in people. Hmmm. Strange, I know. However, as she put it her situations are all bad. After talking and spending alot of time with her, I gained some perspective. I need to stop. And, be thankful that I have a husband who cares, supportive family, and friends that live really really nearby and would be there if I needed them.
• My computer is still not uploading pictures. I know. I know. I really need to do something about that.
• Tchuss!

what? another post?

Today's original post was written during a time of great despair -- baby's refusal to nap. Now, I feel obligated to report on the remainder of the day's nap. Ready?

1. Nap 1, aka 1st post of the day, 9:00- Looking back, this nap was destined to fail. I was pushing Henry to stay awake in order to make the Tiny Tots program at the library at 9:30. Big mistake. He had been yawning and rubbing his eyes for 20 minutes before I finally realized that I should just go ahead and put him down for a nap. An hour of fighting sleep later, he was asleep for his customary 45 minutes.

2. Nap 2, 12:00 -Henry fell asleep in the car after a trip to Kroger and Dirt Cheap. I suppose he was still exhausted from his morning nap because he pretty much stayed asleep as I got him out of the car, nursed him, changed his diaper, and layed him in his crib. Asleep for 45 minutes.

3. Nap 3, 4:00- I have been pushing this late afternoon nap since I started picking up the girls from school after Christmas. Today, he actually cooperated. Asleep for 30 minutes.

4. Bedtime, 6:00- Personally, if I had only been awake for an 1.5 hours I wouldn't have been ready for bed but this baby certainly thought he was....until he was dressed and ready, whereupon he decided to wake back up. But alas, 30 minutes and some crying later, we have sleep.

Reflection upon today's sleep situation: It's really not so bad. After writing it down, I realize he sleeps more than I give him credit for.

What is the new problem at hand? You are probably asleep if you actually read this incredibly boring post about my child's sleep habits....

more updates....

Henry's lead level came back completely normal. Anything above a 10 on the lead test is cause for concern and Henry's blood level came back at a 1. But, I do worry that one he is mobile (and in closer contact to our windowsills) that the level will go up......but, we will cross that bridge when we get to it.

On the baby food front, there is little progress. He has refused rice cereal, applesauce, avocado, sweet potatoes, and bananas. Tomorrow we will give peas a try. I need to take a video and post it to show everyone how cute he is when he pinches his little lips shut whenever the foody spoon gets near his mouth............