Happy Birthday to our Gia!

We want to wish our Gia (and Mom and Mother-in-Law) a very, VERY happy birthday today.

She is a very special person in our lives, and JB is lucky to have a grandmother so close.  It means he gets to spend a good amount of time with her, and that is such a blessing.  Not to mention that we so appreciate the help and support, too!  

I love my Gia!

And, honest to goodness, Ms. Leron is Enda's most favorite human in the whole wide world.  ADORES HER.

I love my human grandmother!

I don't know what it is about her, but Enda cannot be contained when she walks through the door.   They say that dogs are a good read of people.  :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GIA!

To Sleep, Perchance to Dream...

Fortunately JB's 8 month update did not jinx us, and we're now going on Week 3 of sleeping 10 - 11 hours a night.  Now that he's doing so well, I question why we didn't do anything about it before!

Yeah, why didn't we, Mama?

Oh, right, I remember - BECAUSE JB WAS HAVING NONE OF IT!  

Our 4 month appointment was the first time our doctor suggested we try some "sleep training" (aka "baby torture") to stop the middle-of-the-night feed.  She said that, medically speaking, he did not require a feeding and merely wanted a feeding.  That night, we laid in bed and listened to JB cry for hours (literally, from 3 - 5AM) until he finally went back to sleep.  We were prepared for two, maybe three nights of this, based on all the literature we read and advice we got.  One week later, he was still hollering every night around 3AM.  And that's when I said "the hell with it", and went back to feeding him.  I justified it with the following: he didn't do well with the bottle, so I figured he needed this other nursing session for the extra calories; all the lactivist websites I read seemed to support multiple night feeds until the kid was at least 5 years old (joking), so I didn't feel I was doing anything that crazy; it wasn't that difficult on me, as he would eat in 10 minutes and go right back to sleep until 7AM; and, lastly, I sort of liked it.  JB is not really a snuggler, but at 3AM he would gladly let me hold him and nuzzle him forever.  Maybe we both were not ready to give it up.

Fast forward to the 6 month appointment, and the doctor said it was surely no longer necessary (but it was up to me as his Mama to make that call).  I told James to brace for it, because we were sleep training again.  Then that little stinker slept through the night.  I thought, "Brilliant! He's trained himself!", until three nights later I heard the familiar cry at 3AM. This time we made it 45 minutes before James declared that he sounded "really, really hungry" and threatened to unthaw some milk and feed him himself.  Since the three of us were obviously not on the same page, I decided I'd keep up the night nursing for a few more months.  From that point on, JB would wake up about 50% of the time, and I would be snuggled up with him in the rocker within 3 minutes of him crying.

In May I had to travel a few times, and Homefries was content to let Daddy sleep while I was gone (no middle-of-the-night wake up calls).  While this warmed my heart, it also made me think that perhaps - just maybe - this little guy was manipulating his Mama into a midnight snack.

Guilty as Charged!

So after two weeks of work travel (and multiple Colleagues recommending that I "GET MORE SLEEP!") I decided we would sleep train again.

And, this time, we were ALL ready.  JB cried the first night (maybe 30 minutes), woke up whining a bit on nights two and three, and then has slept through the night ever since.  Woo-Hoo!

High-Five, Mama!

One more funny story, only somewhat related because it has to do with his crib:  JB loves to untie things, including the strings on his breathable bumpers.  I don't see any real risk or harm (they are short ribbons), but it did mean he could pull down the bumpers (which he took the opportunity to do whenever he could).

Proud to be a RASCAL

Finally I realized - duh - I could turn them around to put the bow on the outside.  This has worked, but frustrates the heck out of JB, who is still intent on getting to them.   :)  Sneaky Mama...

Hey, how am I supposed to get it now?

Another Festival in our 'Hood

Well, it seems that maybe the Inman Park Festival was a fluke, and that our little guy does, in fact, enjoy a good festival.  This weekend we had the (rather small, but enjoyable) Peachtree Hills Art Fest in our 'hood, and JB had a great time.

Temps were nice - maybe 80 degrees, but the clouds made it feel cooler.  Even though it was overcast, we took no chances with the sunscreen.  James slathered this stuff on thick, and this is the picture after I had rubbed it in even more. (If it wasn't blocking rays, it was at least reflecting them).

Baby Mime

Traveling there only required us to walk down the street - a big plus - and I decided to wear JB so we could keep hands free for the other child (Enda).  (This was also helpful to double fist my beer and my King of Pops popsicle.) (KIDDING - only about the double fisting part. I did enjoy both, but separately.)  The festival is not just dog friendly, it's dog encouraged. Enda did her normal, coy "I'm shy" routine so that people would squat down, gingerly reach out their hand, give her a treat, work for her affection - until she'd finally slobber them with wet kisses. This happened nearly every booth, nearly every vendor.  No one can resist the red head.  Or the baby, for that matter, especially one that is talking, cooing, smiling, and flirting with everyone.  So darn cute.

Ready to stroll

After we made a loop and got a feel for the art, it was time for JB to eat.  Seeing as we were only .25 miles from home, we walked back, fed the little guy, then returned to the festival.  SO CONVENIENT!  This time our neighbors were walking down, too, so we plopped JB in their double stroller and took off.  (Side note: if you ever want to get silly questions from strangers, place an 8 month old and a 3 month old in a double stroller.  People cautiously ask you "um…are they both yours?" and then try to quickly do math in their heads.  Super funny.)

Both babies fell asleep, which meant we had plenty of time to stroll through the booths, haggle with vendors, enjoy another beer - all the best parts of festival life.

Two napping babies - magical

So, I don't know if it was the more moderate temps and clouds, the fact this was a smaller festival, or the fact he got to enjoy everything from his (stinkin' hot, getting really heavy) k'tan carrier - but JB had a great time!  And so did the parents - Peachtree Hill Art Fest for the win.  :)

UPDATE - looking on the 11Alive.com website, I see our family made it into the festival photos!  (Everyone but Enda, poor gal was left out). 

James Benjamin - Eight Months Old

James Benjamin is EIGHT MONTHS OLD!

JB is still tons of fun, and, fortunately, many other people are now getting to witness it.  At the beginning of the month, we were called out of church before we even finished the Call to Worship because JB was having such a fit in the nursery.  By the end of this month, he's (more) easily going to new people and enjoying attention from others.  He even "plays" in the church nursery with minimal tears. I think that's great progress!

This guy is so close to crawling, but just can't figure out how to move the left arm forward.  He gets on hands and knees, rocks back and forth, lifts up to a plank, moves the right hand forward, and then….drops.  Synching up the left and right arm is hard, y'all!  But he's not totally immobile - he can roll and scoot and pull himself to just about anywhere he wants to go. 

Biggest update this month - TEETH!  Two of them (on the bottom) that popped up out of no where the 2nd and 4th weeks of his eight month.  Although he's been drooling forever, the teeth sort of took us by surprise.  He didn't show other signs of teething nor discomfort, and really didn't seem impacted by these pearly whites at all.  He doesn't like to show them off, but sometimes, when I get him really giggling, I catch a glimpse.  They're pretty cute.

He is still feeling good, and has had zero reactions to any type of food, including yogurt (yea!)  We just decided to drop the Prevacid one day, and don't see a difference at all (again, yea!)  Honest to goodness, things are pretty darn great right now with little James Benjamin.  

So here we go - his eight month stats!

JB's Measurements:
No wellness visit this month, but here are my best attempts using our neighbor's home scale.

• Weight: 16.8 lbs

At 8 Months Old, JB...

…Eats 4 liquid meals a day, and 2 - 3 solid meals a day. He's still on a 4-hour nursing/bottle schedule, and loooooooves his purees.  New favorite foods this month:  yogurt, a blueberry/mango combo, and chicken.  Still loves sweet potatoes and butternut squash the best (which is why his little nose has an orangish tint).

…Sleeps - por fin!  We finally got the courage to cut off the 3AM buffet line, and, while JB protested a few nights, he's been sleeping 10 - 11 hour stretches for a week now. (Please, please, please do not let this post jinx us.)   JB still takes three naps a day: two longer (1 - 1.5 hour) naps and then one shorter cat nap.  He continues to act completely betrayed (screams, cries, beats his hands against the mattress - very dramatic) when you lay him down each night and for every single nap.

...Wears 6 month and 6-9 month clothes, but is growing so quickly that I need to pull out all the cute 9 month outfits before they're too small!  He is still in size 3 Pampers, and we've discovered nighttime diapers (no more wet PJs in the morning.)

…Loves untying things (the strings on his breathable bumpers, people's shoes, etc); funny sounds and noises (particularly the response to "what does the horsey say?" which is "Naaaaaaay"); posing for the camera; the iPhone and iPhone earbuds; Dad's croakies off his sunglasses

…Does not like carrots; long car rides; the fact he can't crawl.

...Has mixed emotions about finger foods.  (This is something we're working on for Month 9!)

Month 8 Milestones:

• First teeth (two on the bottom)
• Pushed up on hands/knees and to a plank
• Visited his 4th state (Florida)

Represents 50% of the shots from the Month 8 photo shoot! 

Month Eight -  look out world!  I think our lives are about to change as this little guy gets to moving.  He's so close!

iPhone Photos

Previous Updates on JB:

• Birth Story
• One Month
• Two Months
• Three Months
• Four Months
• Five Months
• Six Months
• 7 Months

Family Time in Florida

Just as I had anticipated  - we had a wonderful time with our family in Florida!  We hadn't seen this side of the fam (James' aunt and uncle, cousin and her family) since they stopped by last summer on their way to North Carolina.  We hadn't traveled their way since Labor Day 2012.  Plus, they had not yet met their newest baby cousin, JB.

Someone loves attention

All the reason that we headed down south this Memorial Day weekend.  And we had another good reason to celebrate, too:  James' cousin, Andrew, graduated from High School!

The graduate!  

James is super close to these great kiddos (his cousin's children).  As you may recall, the oldest, Katelyn, lived with us last summer while she completed her college internship.  We're stoked that she is coming back to Atlanta in a few weeks for another summer internship in the ATL.

Evan, Andrew, Katelyn, and their Uncle James

The graduation ceremony on Thursday evening was lovely (or so I was told, since JB and I hung out at the hotel to avoid any potential meltdowns).

There was a nice dinner on Friday night down on the bay, but that night we tempted fate and took the little guy.  (I even cried a little during the slide show as I snuggled JB and thought 'in 18 short years, he will be graduating, waaaaaah'.)

James' cousin, Kim, Aunt Candy, and Mr. Serious

JB did great throughout the dinner, easily got into PJs, and enjoyed our stroll around the grounds.  I was hoping that he would peacefully drift off to sleep, but Homefries was not falling for that one.

Saturday was spent catching up with lots of friends and family, plus eating fantastic food around the pool.  Minus the drive down on Wednesday and the looooooooong drive back on Sunday, everything about the weekend was just plain FUN.  (And, the drives weren't that bad, I guess.)

Can I brag on my little guy for a bit.  All weekend he was super smiley, social, flexible, and happy.  He let anyone and everyone hold him, reached out for hugs, and managed to stay up late with little consequence.  By the tenth time someone said to me "wow, he's just the most easy going baby", I had to stop and say "wait, is this even our baby? "  :)

Since we don't see this crew that often, I had to document!  I'll leave you with a few (of a hundred) pictures I captured of all the fun.  I realize 75% of them include our munchkin, but he's a lot more willing to pose for pictures than the big kids or adults.

Future Gator

I love these next set of pictures.  Kim and JB had a blast splashing in the water, dipping their toes, and throwing the ball for Maddie, the Golden.  If these pictures had sound, you'd hear nothing but happy baby giggles.

Enda's radar went off - another dog was getting attention

Florida, where barefoot is okay

Love, love, love this family - can't wait to see them again soon!

Hittin' the Road

Yesterday we completed our second road trip as a family of 3 (4 counting Enda, which we do, because we're those people). The first trip took place in December when we made the 14 hour trek - both ways - to Texas.  At that time, we had a little 3 month old who practically begged us to let him sleep in his car seat (which we tried to avoid, like the inflexible, by the book, novice first time parents that we are).  That December trip went fairly smoothly because JB slept the entire time.  Incidentally, Enda also sleeps the entire time we're in the car.  Our wild child vizsla is actually a pleasant car companion, whodathunkit?

Fast forward to yesterday when our nearly 8 month old decided that - AAAAACK - he hates his car seat!  Since all our normal activities involve places within a 2 mile radius, JB usually can hold out for the 5 minutes we're in the car.  But the 5+ hours to Tampa?  Not so much.

We tried to time things around completing our work day, JB's sleep and Atlanta's horrendous traffic, which we still could not avoid.

Lovely...

After JB woke up from his late afternoon nap 45 minutes into the drive, we played a great game called "let-me-throw-the-toy-Mama-gives-me-to-a-place-she-can't-reach-it".  After we went through all the toys in the diaper bag, James and I resorted to giving him contraband to play with (under our supervision, of course). This included my iPhone earbuds (his favorite), James' sunglass croakies (salty from all the sweat, YUM!), and Enda's collar remote (turned off.)  JB was thrilled to be allowed access to the things he's normally shooed away from, so this helped get us to our dinner spot in Macon, GA. 

down home cookin'

JB enjoyed some BBQ (just kidding, he got mango/banana while we ate our weight in meat and fried okra), and even got his first taste of sweet tea (ON ACCIDENT, someone suddenly decided he could suck from a straw and got a good swig when I wasn't paying attention.) 

"I refuse to hide my disappointment that this is only water"

After a pleasant meal outside, we got into PJs and nursed in the back of the rented minivan while I prayed none of the Bubbas in the big ole dualies beside us could see in the back window.  At this point, JB was right at his bedtime and getting drowsy, so everything seemed perfect.

Oh, silly Mama. 

JB hollered (screamed like a wild banshee) for a solid ONE HOUR.  Enda was a nervous wreck, but her wet nose on his feet did nothing to help the situation. Several times we thought he was about to drift off...only to realize he was catching his breath before the next crescendo!  Lord have mercy, it was tough.

"For the love, make it stop!!!"

Finally the little guy went to sleep, and the rest of the drive was quite peaceful (minus a slight incident when I asked James to stop at the DQ, erroneously advertised as ".3 miles off the interstate" .) We finally got to the hotel around 1AM, at which point JB decided he was done with sleeping and it was time to practice his crawling and bouncing.

"I am ready to par-tay!"

Oh well - just gotta look back at it and laugh!  Looking forward to a wonderful weekend in Florida with our family, and trying not to think about the drive back on Sunday.  Something tells me our little stinker will protest every mile back to Atlanta.  :)

"Oh, you better believe it..."

Our Good Little Eater

Part of my weekend activities included updating the baby book.  Between the baby book, my journal, and the blog, there are quite a few records of all the important events in JB's life.  What can I say - I'm in HR and like good documentation.  :)

It's amazing to me how his 6 month update referenced the fact that our child was very opposed to solids.  JB wouldn't just calmly spit them out the first few weeks we offered them.  He would forcefully reject them and cry out like "why are you doing this to me!?"  Now, just 6 weeks later, he still whines at meal times - because we're not moving the spoon into his mouth fast enough!  And Heaven forbid someone try to eat in front of him.  He'll start making this whining sound that resembles a hungry puppy, and it's off-the-charts adorable.  He is loving his solids, and, as of this week, is up to three solid meals a day, in addition to his milk. (I was going to wait until 8 months for his third meal at lunchtime, but two just wasn't cutting it anymore for this hungry little hippo.) 

Chicken, Apple, & Sweet Potato cooked with Cinnamon - a favorite

This kid - just changing and growing every day.  I almost can't handle it!!  At least he's enjoying food now, and I'm working hard to make sure he develops more of his Mama's palate.  (If I have two boys in the house who refuse to eat anything "weird", it will just break my heart.)  

(Sidenote - we love this little portable chair that connects to the table, but - as you can see - it gets dirty.  JB likes to take a bite and then lean over to look for Enda.  It's super sweet.  And super icky.  Fortunately it cleans well!)