We have a sitter!

It's official, we have a baby that can sit up on his own!  It's like he found his balance over night!  I know we've been working on it for a while but the other day we looked around and saw that he could sit and flap his arms and twist from side to side without falling over.  Ever since then he's done great.  He has a fall every once and a while but for the most part I think he has it.  I'm so proud of him!

Fan Club

I'm concerned for my child.  His teachers recently informed me that he has a fan club at daycare.  I thought they were joking and then I witnessed it first hand on Monday.  I was dropping John Henry off when 3 little girls attacked me and would have pulled John Henry out of his car seat had they known how to undo the buckle.  Seriously, I'm not exaggerating.  They were kissing him before I could get him out and by the time I was able to free him from the car seat they were lined up with their arms outstretched waiting to hold him.  I thought it was a one time thing until Jay said that this happened to him last week when he was dropping him off.  The teachers have also overheard the little girls ranking the babies (in order of cuteness) and he's currently number one on their list*.  They also cheered yesterday morning when they found out that he wasn't going to be picked up early and that he would be there all day.

Now don't get me wrong, I think it's cute that they like him.  But this reception is not normal and I have a feeling that it's short lived.  I'm sure that once a new baby starts he's going to get dropped like a hot potato.  My hope is that he's too young to notice any of this attention.  I certainly don't want him to get a big head and more importantly, I don't want his feelings to be hurt when he's no longer the "it" baby at daycare.  I'm sure that he has no clue what's going on and is just happy to have someone smile and play with him.  I really hope that's the case, otherwise he's in for a rude awakening!   

*I know it sounds a little cruel that they were ranking the babies.  However, on the day they were doing this there were only two babies in the class.  The other baby was ranked number two and I'm sure if John Henry had been absent, the other baby would have been number one. 

Lost Identity

Okay, so maybe I haven't lost my identity but I've definitely entered into a new phase of my life.  Last Friday at daycare one of the little girls said, "That's John Henry's Mommy."  I couldn't believe it.  I've lost my name and I'm now known as John Henry's Mom.  Such a shame because I really like my name.  Oh well, I'm sure the kids will be calling me Mrs. Starr before I know it - then I'll really flip out! 

6 Months!

Our little man is now 6 months.  I can't keep up and wish that I could make time stand still for just a little bit.  We are having so much fun with John Henry and I can't stand to think that these moments will quickly pass and soon he will be asking to borrow the car.  We are doing our best to not focus on the future and just live in the moment with him.  Sometimes, it's a race to see who can get him out of the crib in the morning.  I know it sounds silly - but we can't wait to see him look up and smile at us.  His smile is infectious and it's the perfect way to start our day.

John Henry is now 16 pounds 4 ounces and is 26 inches long.  He's only 30% in weight and 45% in height.  We knew he wouldn't be in the 90th percentile but we thought he would at least be in the fifties!  He really does feel heavy to me. 

  

 

Looking bigger in his chair.

During this past month we've been working on sitting up.  He's doing really well and is learning to catch himself so he doesn't fall.  For most of the month he could sit up as long as he had his hands on the ground to act as a tripod.  Now he's doing better at balancing and doesn't always need the support of his hands.

We've also been working on crawling but I'm not really sure why...

I want John Henry to develop at his own pace but I'm not sure that I want him mobile just yet.  I feel like it's in his best interest to work on the crawling but it is most definitely not in my best interest!  Oh well, I guess this is part of being a parent.  We know we're doing what's best for him even though it isn't best for us! 

He can't really get anywhere by himself.  But if Jay puts his hands behind John Henry's feet, he can use it as a springboard to inch his way across the room. 

John Henry is becoming more social.  He is content to sit and watch but he prefers to be in the mix of things.  These bumbo chairs are a lifesaver.  It allows him to hang with us but not have to be in our lap or in our arms.  He has the best time watching his daddy cook and this chair gives him the best seat in the house!

In his pj's watching daddy cook.  I realize that he's in pj's for the past four pictures.  He does wear other clothes during the day.  I just happen to take most of our pictures in the morning before he changes.  I know one family that has no qualms with pj's...but I did want to clarify that he does wear other clothes!

John Henry still loves bath time.  He's too big for his baby seat (pictured above) and we're testing out another bath seat courtesy of the Benich family.  I think he likes it but he's just not sure about it yet.

People are now starting to say that John Henry looks like me.  I'm not sure if they are lying to make me feel good or if they really mean it.  It's funny because Jay and I are constantly talking about what we think he will look like.  I'm not sure why we are obsessed with it.  We always wondered what he would like like when he was in my belly so I guess it shouldn't surprise us that we still talk about it now.  Whatever he looks like I hope his eyes always keep their sparkle.  We always say his smile is so genuine you can see it in his eyes.  I hope that never changes.

Others are convinced that John Henry is a mini Jay.  Jay's not certain and we're pretty sure they say it because John Henry has little to no hair like his daddy.  One thing that we do hear over and over is that John Henry has a perfectly round head.  I never knew that was something that was noticed but I can't tell you how often we hear it.  I think it's a compliment so we'll take it! 

I had to post this picture because it shows how dark his eyes are getting.  We think that they will be a darker hazel.  It's funny because there are some days where they still have more green blue then brown.  He's also starting to get some hair.  Not much but it's growing.  One hair at a time!  I have a feeling it will be blond as a child and get darker as he gets older.  It's just a guess and who really knows?

My favorite thing that John Henry does is laugh.  He can laugh and laugh and when he hears you laugh it prompts him to laugh some more.  He smiles all day long and the only time he's really upset is if he sees his bottle and it doesn't immediately make its way into his mouth.  Seriously.  He's even started to go nuts when you put a bib on him because that means it's time to eat.  I'm worried for the day that we take away the bottle.  As far as solids, he eats them all.  I made the mistake of trying to give him baby food meat.  It looked disgusting but the doctor said to start giving him proteins.  He threw it up so we've moved onto the real meat.  So far he's had steak, chicken, and turkey.  He loves it all.  He continues to have one veggie and one fruit a day.  He eats all of the veggies but I think squash is his favorite.  I only say that because as he eats it he always says, "mmm" after every bite. 

I feel like so much more has happened during this past month but I can't seem to get it all out in this blog.  I will say that we are having so much fun with him and look forward to our weekends because it means that we get more time with him.   I'm excited to see what's next and hopefully I'll have the camera when it happens to I can document it!

Not a Dress

Every woman who saw this outfit thought it was adorable. Every man that saw John Henry in this outfit asked me why I put my baby boy in a dress.  So typical...

Splash Day!

John Henry had splash day at daycare today.  The babies, one, and two year olds got to play in the blow up pool outside.  Most of the older kids loved it and really loved the puddles that the hose made in the nearby grass.  However, the babies in John Henry's class didn't really care for it.  I think the water was too cold since it was coming straight from the hose.  John Henry wasn't too sure about the cold water but he eventually warmed up to it and enjoyed watching the other kids splash and play.  I was so proud of him for being the only baby that stayed in the water and didn't cry!

John Henry easing into the water with the help of the older girls.

Miss Jenny helping John Henry get his feet wet. 

This is Kendall.  She's the only girl in John Henry's baby class.  She preferred to stay dry.

Riding the whale...

Getting splashed by the whale!

The bumbo seat came in handy.  We just put it in the middle and John Henry got to sit and take it all in.

The cold water wasn't so bad after all!

 

Cheating the Rules

Jay jokingly says, "If you aren't cheating, you aren't trying hard enough." 

Daycare has lots of rules.  Lots and lots of rules.  I understand that most of them are for liability reasons but they can get a little out of hand.  My least favorite rule is that nothing (and I mean nothing) can go in the crib with John Henry.  No blanket, no lovie, nothing!  Because John Henry likes to burrow as he naps, he doesn't nap well in the crib.  We've tried letting him cry.  It doesn't work.  We've tried rocking him and then putting him in the crib.  It doesn't work.  We've tried letting him fall asleep somewhere else and then moving him to the crib.  It doesn't work.  The second his back hits the crib mattress he wakes up.  If he can't burrow, he doesn't sleep.  I was beginning to worry that he would never get more than a 20 minute nap at daycare.  That was until I went to pick him up yesterday...

You may be asking, "Where in the world is he sleeping?"  I'll show you:

It's like a blow up pool that has all the soft toys.  I don't quite understand how burrowing in a sea of toys outside of the crib is any safer than burrowing in the crib but I don't really care.  John Henry had slept for over an hour and a half in that pool of toys.  I also realize that it's probably one of the grosser things he could sleep in.  Who knows how long those toys have been around and how many kids have drooled, spit up, coughed, or goodness knows what else on them.  It's not like the rubber toys that are sterilized at the end of the day.  I'm pretty sure that these toys have never been cleaned.  Oh well, cheating is dirty.  And if he has to get dirty to get his naps, then so be it!



Our 4 Year Old

Our sweet Lady is 4!  We celebrated with some of Lady's favorites: dog bagels from Einsteins, other treats throughout the day, a special birthday bone from Grandma, and lots of belly rubs.  Lady is an unbelievably sweet and good natured dog.  I'm so thankful that we were able to adopt her 4 years ago and we couldn't imagine our life without her.  She is definitely a family member and we treat her like our child.  Although she's no longer an only child, she still gets lots of attention and we continue to take her with us whenever we can.  One of her favorite places to go is Bunny and Carol's house for Sunday family dinner.  She goes with us every Sunday and is always willing to help the kids eat their green beans and other non favorite foods!

Lady's Birthday cookie that Grandma Yeary brought her.

Grandma Yeary loves to spoil Lady.

I won't lie.  The way to Lady's heart is through food.

I helped John Henry give Lady one of her doggy bagels.

Lady was almost 20 pounds when we adopted her in September 2007.  She was 3 months old and they said that she wouldn't be more than 35-40 pounds once she was full grown.  She's now 80 pounds.  I'm guessing they made a random guess at the weight...



I love this picture because it shows Lady's cute little pot belly and also reminds me that I used to be able to hold her.

Jay is Lady's favorite.  It doesn't seem to matter that I was the one that rescued her.  Jay has a certain bond with Lady and he is by far her favorite person in the world.  I just hope to be the second!

Lady has a beautiful shiny coat.  Jay always says that it's the best coat he's ever seen on a dog.  She's also has one of the softest coats, especially after a bath.

Lady reminds us to enjoy the simple things in life.  A good nap, good food, and some much needed time outside always makes the day better.  That and coming home to a dog that is so excited and happy to have you home that their entire body shakes with happiness.  It's one of the best feelings in the world and always makes you feel good about yourself.

Happy Birthday sweet girl. Adopting you was one of the best decisions I've ever made!