Thursday, June 30, 2011

1/2 a year


It's hard to believe that my baby is 6 months old already. It seems like we just brought him home. He is getting so big and changing so quickly now. He can scoot around in reverse anywhere he wants to go. He can roll over front to back and vice versa. He eats cereal and fruit in the morning, fruit and vegetables at lunch, and cereal and vegetables at night. We are constantly entertained by the conversations he holds with us, his toys, the dogs, or himself.



We took him to the lake a few weekends ago and he loves swimming in his life jacket. He was just hanging out wearing his shades and kicking in the water.

At his appointment yesterday he weighed 16.7 pounds and was 27 inches long. He grew 2 inches in 2 months and gained a little over 2 pounds. He is right on track with his milestones but still has no teeth and is not showing signs that any are going to pop through immediately. He loves to chew and bite things but the doctor said his gums are not swollen yet so we have a few weeks. I am thankful for each day without teeth, as I'm still nursing :)

Monday, June 13, 2011

you don't know what you got till it's gone


Last week I visited family and friends in Illinois. (I'll post the logistics in a another post) I am very glad that I left Southern Illinois after high school because for many reasons. I have learned that not all stop lights flash after 10pm. I have tasted foods from all over the globe and regularly eat at restaurants without a single fried item on the menu. I attended an amazing college, found a job I love, and met my wonderful husband. All in all, moving away was one of the best decisions I have made.

That said, there are many things I miss about small town life that I don't realize until I visit.
1. I don't know my neighbors. I live on a dead end street with 10-15 houses on it and I don't know the first names of more than my immediate next door neighbors. While we were in Illinois, we visited the lady who used to take care of me when I was little. She updated my dad on pretty much everyone who lived in his small hometown as well as the last three families who lived in the house we moved out of when I was 4.
2. Never meeting a stranger. In So. Il. chances are everyone you meet knows someone you are related to and even if they don't they're sure to call you hon and might even invite you over for supper if you talk long enough. Living in Georgia most people do have that famous "southern hospitality" but it's just not the same as that small town Southern Illinois friendliness.
3. Nature. When I got home Keith and I went out for ice cream and there was a rabbit in the yard of the house at the end of our street and Keith stopped to look at it. It was just an ordinary brown rabbit that I didn't give a second thought to but he was intrigued. It makes me a little sad that Jackson won't grow up surrounded by cows, horses, deer, rabbits, and the occasional pig or goat. He'll be able to visit some pretty neat petting farms, zoos, and aquariums but he will miss seeing these creatures in their natural, wild states.

One thing I don't miss but feel a little sad that Jackson won't experience: following a tractor down a regular street in the middle of the day.

While we were there we had a great time visiting old friends and family. Here are a few shots of our visits.


Meeting Mama's friends Melissa and Grace and their babies.



Lauren and Jackson really hit it off!

Mama's childhood babysitter's daughter and grandkids

Mama's childhood babysitter, Wanda

Nana and Aidan

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

do I have something on my face?


Tonight we tried carrots. Jax liked them better than the avocados. So we have a 50/50 success rate with the veggies we have tried. Well technically avocado is a fruit but who's counting?



Jackson loves trying to help me with feedings. He grabs the spoon and shoves it toward his mouth. So of course food gets everywhere, all over me, the table, the baby, there's probably even some on the dog. Jax finds that the spilled food makes and excellent foot lotion!