Happy Mudder's Day!

(In case you haven't seen my facebook profile, I thought I'd blog about the Marine Mud Challenge that I did on Saturday.  Besides, I want to remember some of these details, so this is also for me personally.)  

First let me say that I had no intention of doing this.  A week ago a friend of mine posted on Facebook that someone had dropped out of her team, and she needed a new member.  On an impulse, I signed up.  The team was called "RMFAO" which stood for: Running My Fat BUM Off.  Since I have been trying to get to a healthier weight, this sounded like a good workout for me.  :)  And, well, it was.

The course is 5 miles long.  We started out running up a mud bank where a very nice Marine then shot us with a fire hose.  Then we had to run through some muck, up this mud bank, slide down the other side under the cargo net, and crawl out through the tunnel.  5 minutes in, and I was wet, muddy, and scraped up.  Fun!

The course had a lot of challenging obstacles... especially for a girl like me who has no upper body strength. I managed to do them ALL, except this one.  With some team assistance, I got my bum up onto the lower bar, but I was too scared to go up over the top bar and then drop down.  That bottom bar is about 8 feet high.  (I had to jump up to grab it.) I went over much higher things, but they all offered a little more to hold onto.  I was shaking like a leaf on this one, and it was the only time on the whole course where I was freaked out.

This was the first of many walls to climb over.  I had never climber over a wall before in my life and I was so proud of myself for getting up there!  Little did I know there were like 4 more walls to climb on the course.  Nathan and Eve were spotting me on my drop down, but I still managed to scrape up my knee on the wall and land on my bum in a pile of pine cones.  Also, a teenager from our church was racing just behind us and broke his leg coming over this wall.  He's having surgery on it today.

This was the taller of two sets of "stairways."  No problemo.

This was the beastliest thing, that I actually accomplished.  The tire wall was very high (15 feet?) and you climbed it like a cargo net.  That was tricky enough, but then you had to go over the top- and my legs weren't long enough to be holding onto anything as I scooted over the top, so I held onto that chain for dear life.  Then you had to climb down the other side.  

Running down the sand cliff. 

Wading through the "big pit" there were I think 5 of these logs that you had to climb over... funny that I don't remember exactly, but I was just very focused on whatever was directly in front of me. 

I'm in the foreground here getting ready to climb over yet another wall out of the last mud pit.  Eve is behind me.  The Marines were yelling at us to belly crawl through this mud... it was so thick and deep, it was hard to lift your feet out of it.

Go team!!  

I'm so glad I did this.  It was HARD, but it's great to feel like I can do hard things.  Been there, done that, got the t-shirt.  ;)

When i got home I was welcomed by 3 beautiful roses from my 3 beautiful babies.  Thank you sweet Rob for encouraging me and supporting me in all my dorky plans! 

After a long, hot shower we headed out with a picnic dinner to Lady Antebellum Amphitheater to hear the Symphony Orchestra of Augusta.  The kiddos danced and played to the classical tunes.

It's a lovely venue.

And I am a lucky momma. 

Best. Mother's Day. Ever.

boys and girls

These kids crack me up.  

Here Charlotte and Toby are modelling some pajama pants that I made them.  Charlotte's have pink and white stars and Toby's have pirate ships.  This dynamic duo can be unstoppable when they work together, but when they fight with each other, watch out!  I love seeing their relationship evolve as their individual personalities become more and more pronounced.

Toby is ever the engineer.  

We have these foam letters to play with in the tub.  Toby uses them to build interesting, and always symmetrical, towers and shapes on the tub wall.  Some of them have been very elaborate.  He will take anything he can find and use it as a building block.  I love seeing his ideas take shape.  Right now he is fixated on college.  He talks about going there every day.

Charlotte is the imagineer.

In this instance polar and lady bug were set up on a dinner date in her bedroom.  Charlotte comes up with elaborate play-acting scenarios with her brothers and her stuffed animals and can be very entertaining.  She also recently told us that when she grows up she wants to live in Paris and be a cook.  Guess we should start saving now for French culinary school?

 Even dress-up is like two sides of a coin around here.

Toby suits up in his Spiderman costume (over his swimsuit,) accessorized with a sword, shield, and a belt tied around his head.

Charlotte dresses as a princess and accessorizes with everything girly she can find.

I love their differences.  And I love that they find ways to play together while still being themselves.  I hope their special relationship continues throughout their lives.  :)

A Jakey update

Jacob is 8 1/2 months old now!!  If I haven't blogged in a while, it may be because this baby boy is keeping me quite busy. He is a speedy crawler, and a mischief maker.  He can also pull up to standing and is cruising around the coffee table everyday building up those muscles to take off running. 

Jacob is now self-feeding with little puffs, soft fruits and veggies (like bananas and peas,) and drinking from a bottle or sippy cup.  He is all about meal time and gets very cranky if you don't feed him fast enough or the spoonfuls are perceived as too skimpy.  

I like how his pinkie finger is raised in this picture- such good table manners.  ;)

One of his very favorite things right now is a tasty door stopper.  As soon as he hits the floor in the morning he makes a beeline to the nearest door stopper and either flicks it around to make a noise, or rips it off the wall and sticks it in his mouth.  I have a pile of them sitting on my nightstand right now.

He also has a taste for paperback fiction.  I've had the pleasure of fishing many book pages out of his slobbery jaws this week.  This is one subject that Rob and I disagree somewhat on- Rob thinks we should relocate things for the time being (I know this is traditional baby-proofing philosophy and would protect our books better.)  I prefer to leave things where they are (our every possession can't be out of children's reach) and work with Jake on a case by case basis... "no, no," take it away, relocate the baby, repeat.  We're doing a little bit of both.  

Jakey is still my cuddly Little Bear.  

He is such a happy boy.

I am so thankful for his sweet spirit in our family.

Through the river and over the woods

(aka Rocky Mountain highs and lows)

The mountains along the Wasatch Front are beautiful. They really are something you have to see to believe. So every time we are in Utah, we try to get up in the mountains a bit. On this trip we went twice.

Rob and I finished a date night out for Indian food by taking a drive into Little Cottonwood Canyon. We weren't really dressed for hiking, but we walked around just a little and took a picture. This past week was Rob's birthday and it was also our 6 1/2 year anniversary. I was a smart girl to marry this nerdy wordy man. I love him so! (I don't know why I'm scrunching my face so you can see up my nose. Ah well.)

On another lovely sunny day we took the 3 kids and headed up Big Cottonwood Canyon.

We drove all the way to the top where the road closed because of snow (in the summer you can continue driving up and over to Park City on the other side of the ridge.) There was still significant snow up there and skiers enjoying the runs at Snowbird (I think it was Snowbird anyway.)

Then we drove back down and found a place to park so we could go for a little hike. Jakey however, insisted it was time to eat, so Rob took the big kids off on an adventure and I stayed at the car with the baby man and enjoyed the views.

So amazing.

After we were all back together, I still really wanted to go somewhere, and there was a waterfall not far down the path, so we all headed out again- Rob carrying Jacob. We came to the part of the stream pictured above. And we couldn't see the falls really so we decided to cross.

I told the kids not to worry about getting wet shoes, we'd just go back to Grandma's and change. The water was frigid cold though (snowmelt) so we didn't want to get wet. Rob crossed with Jake and Toby. Then Charlotte and I were crossing. Rob took Charlotte's hand as we approached the other side and pulled her across, then he took my hand. I took one more big step onto a rock and slid right down it and went WAIST DEEP into the water. (Yeah, it doesn't look that deep does it?) Rob tried to pull me up, but only had one hand free and it really hurt as my arm went up while the rest of me went down. So I started to cry and hyperventilate.

***At this point I would like to say 2 things-

1. I know that I should have tested the rock before stepping onto it, I don't know why I didn't.

And 2. Don't hyperventilate at high altitudes.***

I realized I was getting close to fainting at this point (ears ringing, world going black,) so Rob somehow lugged me out of the stream to sit on a rock and breathe deeply with my head between my legs. I really didn't want the kiddos to worry, and I REALLY didn't want to leave Rob on the wrong side of the stream, on the side of a mountain, with 3 little kids and an unconscious freezing wife. But I was okay, I promise.

I pulled it together enough to cross the stream - again - and get to the car where we turned on the heat full blast. Rob wanted to go to the hospital, but it really wasn't necessary. I teased him about ripping my arm right off my body with his massive upper body strength. (He's been working out for a few months now and is quite muscular.) But we got back to Casa Anderson and I took many ibuprofen and a long nap. 3 days later I was fine.

We know we were dumb... and we know we got lucky. I am very thankful it was me and not Rob who slipped. I am thankful none of the kids got hurt and that I didn't get hurt more badly. We'll exercise more caution in the future, k? But I hope that me sharing this story made you laugh maybe a little bit... but not too much! It was kinda traumatic for me! And if you are in Utah, please go see the "hidden falls" in Big Cottonwood Canyon and let me know what they look like. ;)

Over the river and through the woods

We just got home from a nice visit with our Anderson family in Utah. (At 3:45 this morning to be exact. Red eye flights with small children are not for the faint-hearted, but thankfully our kids are pros at that stuff and didn't give us much trouble at all.)

We got to do lots of fun stuff with Grandma Anderson. We went to the Hogle Zoo, the LDS Church History Museum (it's not as dull as it sounds- lots of hands on pioneer stuff to play with,) and Temple Square. We shopped, visited with a few of my friends from college, played many board games and Mahjong, and ate at In-N-Out Burger and Cafe Rio. We dyed eggs, got baskets from the Easter Bunny, went to church, and had a nice Easter dinner. It was busy but laid back. It was great. :)

Toby practices giving a talk at the podium. This is identical to the one in the Conference Center, where General Conference is broadcast from to church members throughout the world. We just watched it a few weeks ago, so the kids totally recognized it.

This is what often happens when you ask an obliging stranger to take a picture of your family in front of the Salt Lake Temple.

Toby and Charlotte dyed eggs with Aunt Becky.

She was so nice to get all of the stuff ready to do that with them. :)

Jacob didn't help dye the eggs, but he was willing to taste test them.

Easter Sunday, just home from church.

Charlotte and Toby got new outfits from the Easter Bunny, and Jakey got a new outfit from my dear friend Suzanne. (Toby got his first tie-- "just like dad's.")

He's not heavy, he's my brother.

(I especially like that the tie is clipped onto his pocket in this photo. Toby also likes to wear his watch on his ankle. He's got his own ideas, that kid.)

Thanks Grandma for letting us come to your house for Easter!

put a little sole into it

Friday night Toby and Charlotte each had their first soccer games. Rob and I don't have much of a background in team sports (at all,) so the whole family was kind of excited and a bit nervous leading up to these games. They have been enjoying practice, and they both have great volunteer coaches teaching them some basic skills, but we just didn't know what to expect come game time. What happened was NOT surprising, but it was hilarious, and Charlotte and Toby's very different personalities came out full force on the field.

Toby was up first. His team of 3-4 year olds have mostly never played before. He has one little girl on his team that can REALLY play. (Seriously, she is a killer in pigtails.) At this age they allow the coaches to be on the field to help direct the action. There is no ref. It is slightly organized chaos.

In practice, Toby listened very closely to his coach, sometimes, but would get distracted by everything going on around him. There is one little boy on his team though that won't even get on the field yet, so I guess that's normal.

In the game, Toby was awesome.

Whenever the coach would say things like, "Who thinks they can get the ball?" Toby would jump up and yell "I can!!" He was all enthusiasm and joy. He ran up and down that field the whole game. And he kicked the ball like 5 times. Maybe. He was just happy to be there and so proud of himself. It had Rob and I grinning from ear to ear on the sidelines.

Next up was Charlotte's game.

Charlotte has a difficult time listening during practice because she is very busy socializing with the other players and kicking the dirt. She is here for the party! These 5-6 year olds have mostly been playing for a year or two and a few of her teammates seem to be frustrated by her flightiness already, and to them all I can say is, "I feel your pain." ;)

Charlotte's game had a referee... and a VERY particular one at that. He made sure they followed every rule. I realize they have to learn these things at some point, but the very first game for some of them??? I guess it's good to start off on the right foot? Anyway. Charlotte started off strong! She ran hard- for about 3 minutes. Then she got frustrated that she wasn't getting to kick the ball and stood on the field gesturing- Shock! Frustration! Twirling and leaping like a ballerina!

She sat out the second quarter. At the half we asked her how she was feeling and she said, "Oh, the coach just had to talk to me about some stuff." (In a way to suggest that she is the assistant coach and wasn't riding the pine pony.) Even the mom next to us burst out laughing at that one.

In the third quarter Charlotte stumbled upon the idea of defense. (Less running involved.) And she was really pretty good at it! She blocked a goal and LOVED hearing all the parents cheer for her and kicked the ball away from the other team when they would approach. I think she has found her niche. :)

So this is our life for the next couple of months. Like I said, Rob and I had a great time, so I'm looking forward to the rest of the season. Rob was genuinely surprised that he had so much fun watching these pee-wees play. I just hope it doesn't get too dang hot. It's already reached 90 here once, and the temp is bound to be warmer in May!

hair raising

Yesterday I thought I'd have some fun and do my hair with the curling iron. This is big news because for the past 4 1/2 years I didn't even own a curling iron. It was fun, and I was pretty pleased with my first attempt. :)

Rob came home a while later and we got dinner on the table. I was surprised he didn't say anything about my new curly look, so I asked, "How does my hair look?" Rob looked at me for a few moments. Then he asked, "Did you sleep on it funny?" Sigh.

I need help y'all. My last haircut did not go well and I have no skillz. Additionally, I used to have really, really straight hair. Since I started having the kiddos though, my hair has gotten more waves, and curly bits, and odd things going on with each pregnancy. All of these things are happening to the hair 'underneath.' The hair on top? Still straight. My first instinct last night was to shave it all off. Rob talked me down from the ledge though and I am trying to be more rational in how I proceed. I'm open to any and all suggestions here. Help me. Please.

I can do that!

Sometimes I like to call my parenting style, "fostering independence." More commonly, it would be called L-A-Z-Y. For example, the other day I was busy doing something important on the computer (watching tv) while nursing Jacob. The big kids were clamoring for lunch, so I suggested they either wait OR make it themselves. They were overjoyed! I told Charlotte where to find the peanut butter, jelly, and bread. She got out plates and butter knives. There were also some cut and cleaned strawberries in the fridge already, so she got those out too.

They ate those sandwiches better than they ever do when I make them.

Next I'll have to teach them about the crock pot and then I won't have to make dinner either! (Don't freak out, I'm just kidding. For now. Also, Toby is on a step stool, he's not that tall just yet.)

We've also been enjoying the Cat in the Hat "I Can Do That" game that the kiddos got for Christmas. Rob and I played it with them once, but now they are able to play it on their own and they love it. This morning they were even making Jacob take a turn. Here Toby is helping him "walk around the trickamastick." Jacob is brave and very happy when they include him in their activities. It makes me a little nervous- so I do keep a close eye when Jakey is being dragged around.

Charlotte and Toby think that Rob can do ANYTHING. I love that, to them, he is the strongest, bravest, smartest man alive. They like to test him from time to time though, so they devised this feat of strength. Rob did not disappoint with 42 lbs. on each foot and 22 lbs. in his arms... he is SUPER DAD!!

Happy Barf-day to me!

Yesterday was my birthday. :) To celebrate, I wanted us to go to the GA Aquarium (the world's largest aquarium!) for the day. Despite the fact that Jakey and I had not been well Sunday morning, I thought we could still manage this day trip. So Rob took the day off of work and that is what we did. We had a great time there. It really is an impressive place. We enjoyed the dolphin show, the HUGE ocean tank with 4 whale sharks, finding Nemo in the coral reef exhibit, watching the albino alligator in the African exhibit (he seemed to be dreaming about chasing something,) singing to the Beluga Whales, petting sharks, and laughing at the otters and penguins.

Toby watches a whale shark swim by.

Rob, Toby, and Charlotte watch the fish in the "big tank."

Charlotte told me that she felt like she was in a dream. She loved the aquarium.

This picture Rob took just before we left. You'll notice Toby is on the stroller.

An hour or so earlier Toby had started to complain about feeling sick, and being tired. Rob and I, ever the sensitive and in-tune parents, told him to "suck it up." Five minutes later, in the parking deck, Toby vomited all over the place. (I am so thankful this happened in the parking deck and not in the Aquarium.) I apologized to Toby for not believing he was sick and cleaned him up and changed his clothes. And we headed home. Well, 30 minutes later, Charlotte started whimpering. I passed her a cup, and sure enough, she needed it. Then it was Toby's turn again. And then Charlotte's turn again. By this point I was feeling pretty green myself. Rob and I just looked at each other and laughed... because really, if you can't laugh in these moments you're just going to cry.

The Barf-mobile FINALLY made it home and I just barely made it to the bathroom. Which is where I spent most of last night. Poor Rob, the last man standing, bathed the kiddos and put them to bed. He checked on me throughout the night and helped me by bringing Jakey in for feedings and checking on the kids when they cried. Yeah, it was a brutal night. So, today we are staying home. Probably tomorrow as well. Maybe by the weekend I'll be able to stomach the idea of birthday cake. Maybe. For now we are all subsisting on water and saltines, watching many movies, and sleeping.

The Aquarium was awesome though... if you're ever in Atlanta, you should check it out. :)

6 months- do the inchworm

Jakey turned 6 months old recently. Half a year gone by already!!! "Sunrise, sunset. Sunrise, sunset." Ahem. Okay, I'm back. Our baby man now weighs 21 lbs. 2 oz. and is 28 1/4 inches long. (That's 90th percentile- for the record. I use these blog posts to compile the kiddos' baby books when they get to about 18 months old.)

He is eating baby food at lunch and dinner now. And once this week he even slept 5 HOURS in a row. It was amazing. He can sit up on his own and he even gets up on his hands and knees and rocks... but he seems to have developed his own system to get around the house. I call it "The Inchworm." Observe...

Here, Jakey is showing you the correct hands and knees pre-crawling posture. Just because he can.

But if he really wants to get somewhere...

Step 1. Roll half way to the side and plant toes in the carpet.

Step 2. Push up into a full plank.

(Beginners may want to start on their knees and work up to the full plank as strength increases.)

Step 3. Propel weight forward by pushing simultaneously with both feet and hands.

Repeat.

I find this endlessly amusing. And I certainly can't do it myself, so I'm impressed as well. It's not terribly effective though- half the time he ends up going backwards. But before we know it, he is going to be off and running with the big kids. Sigh. Babies don't stay little for very long. ;)

love/hate relationships

You ever notice how things that we love often come side-by-side with things that we hate? I was reminded of this today as my beautiful boy threw a massive tantrum while sitting in time out for another misdemeanor. Here are a few illustrations:

LOVE:

This girl. Her laugh. The way she mothers her baby brother (and all of her stuffed animals.) Watching her dance like nobody is watching. Reading books together on the couch. Having her home with me all day.

HATE:

Growing out bangs. The way she abuses her most beloved polar bear (I gave him his 4th 'rhinoplasty' last night and a 'reverse liposuction.' The way she tortures her little brother. Being asked to read Diego Saves the Sea Turtles... again.

LOVE:

This boy. Those brown eyes. Cuddling on the couch and goodnight kisses. The way he adores his daddy. The beginning of the joke telling phase. His monotone, baritone singing voice. The amazing towers he builds out of blocks.

HATE:

3 year old tantrums. Poop- anywhere but in the toilet. The way he antagonizes his big sister. His want for me to do things for him that he is completely capable of doing for himself. Did I mention the poop? I really, really can't overstate how much I hate the poop.

LOVE:

This baby. Baby giggles. Chubby little feet. Happy babbling noises. Kisses. Peek-a-boo.

HATE:

Drool. Teething. Sleepless nights. This 'complaining' sort of crying sound he makes now.

But... here's the thing. My love of my 3 sweet babies cannot be laid out like pros/cons or love/hate. I ADORE my children. It's easier when they are behaving- or asleep- but even when they are being holy terrors I am still madly in love with them. I never knew what that would feel like. It fills me with gratitude. And I love being their mommy.

10 things

I am having trouble remembering to take photos and finding time to post to the blog lately, but I thought I'd give a quick family update tonight-- top 10 style.

#10. Rob and I are off soda for the month of February. We don't have a daily soda habit- but close- and I can personally say that the headaches that hit me on the 2nd and 3rd have me seriously considering never drinking the stuff again. (We'll see how I feel about that by day 15 or so.)

#9. I took Charlotte and Toby to a drop-in playgroup at a gymnastics school. They (Toby especially) had so much fun bouncing, balancing, tumbling, and dancing. It was so cute. We'll be back to that again for sure.

#8. I made acorn squash soup last week. Rob loved it. The kids hated it. I thought it was so-so.

#7. According to our bathroom scale, Jacob weighs 21 lbs. He is as mellow and cuddly and delicious as ever.

#6. Charlotte and Toby taught Jacob to growl. Have I already mentioned this? Am I repeating myself? Am I repeating myself?

#5. I love the storytime librarian an Thursdays. She is animated and friendly and kind. I do not like the storytime librarian on Wednesdays, she is the opposite of everything I just said about the other librarian.

#4. We planted tomatoes, bell peppers, cilantro, and basil today. It was 75 degrees out. Before you tell me it may still frost, let me tell you that they are in pots so we can bring them in at night if needed.

#3. Rob is going on a solo camping trip soon. I hope he has a great time out hiking on the AT. :)

#2. My birthday is later this month. We're going to take the kiddos to the GA Aquarium to celebrate. I can't wait for them to see that whale shark. Awesome.

#1. We're going to UTAH! We bought tickets tonight!!! :D

Goals update

First, I have lost 5 lbs. It's not much, but the numbers are moving in the right direction, so I'm pleased.

Second, to report on my $250 budget for groceries, eating out, and household necessities. I did not meet this goal y'all. In fact, I went about $100 OVER. There were several contributing factors to my overage... I had the chance to buy meat from Zaycon- $1.69/lb for chicken breasts and $2.99 for 93% lean ground beef. I split 40 lb cases of each with a friend, but still, I hadn't anticipated spending so much on meat. Also, several Food Lion grocery stores are going out of business in the neighborhood so I stocked up on baby food and items I rarely see on sale (like yeast and cocoa powder) at a 25-50% discount. Also, we did our Bountiful Basket almost every week- I think this is the best value for fresh fruits & veggies I could get, and I need those on hand if I'm going to lose weight.

So anyway, I'm calling January a success because we still significantly reduced our spending in these areas, and despite some unexpected car repair costs, we did not have to pull money from our savings. And the items I spent money on were carefully considered and I knew they would reduce our spending over several months... so I put the long term benefit ahead of the short term goal. That is actually progress for me. :)

As for not buying anything new- I did it! And I had some fun experiments in January! I made homemade yogurt in the crockpot! I baked bread. I froze veggies. I packed 95% of Rob's lunches (we did miss a few.) We packed picnics instead of eating out. We had date nights at home after the kids went to bed (DVD, board game, ice cream.) We read more books from the library and used more library services (storytime, birdfeeder making activity.) We visited the temple in Columbia, SC. I didn't feel like we "missed out" on having fun in any way. I bought myself a "new" outfit at Goodwill, just to test the waters, and I was really pleased. I couldn't believe how many designer label items were there- some with tags still on. So I got a pair of brown cords (Coldwater Creek,) a white dress shirt, and awesome red shoes for $15. I was worried when we were invited to a little kid's birthday party that I'd have to make an exception, but then I decided we'd give a gift card to one of those bouncy places instead. Fun experience gift + I did not buy any plastic junk made in China that will end up in a landfill = happy me.

And finally, my goal to speak my mind more freely. I'm working on it. To do something proactive in this area, I made a profile on Mormon.org and posted it to Facebook. I'm not in the habit of openly sharing my beliefs... in fact, talking about anything close to my heart inevitably leads to waterworks. So I'm taking babysteps and starting out by sharing more in writing.

Now on to February! I'm not sure... I want to continue along these same lines, but with Valentine's Day and my birthday, we do have some plans this month. Also, I realized a few things that I'd like to purchase that will save us money in the long run (hair clippers for one.) So... I'm going to continue with my weight loss goal. And I think set a $400 budget for groceries, eating out, etc. $100/wk! Yay!! That should be an easy goal to meet after this past month. :) Any suggestions?

Is it Jacob, or is it Memorex?

If you get that reference, congratulations! You are at least as old as me. :)

We comment a lot on how much Jacob and Toby look alike, and I remembered this one picture of Toby at 5 months old that I just LOVE, so I decided to replicate it with Jacob at 5 months old and do a little comparison. No doubt they are brothers, but I can definitely tell them apart and see their unique features. Can you? Check out these two photos, make your guess, and check the comments for the answer.

Baby #1 (or is it?!?)

Baby #2 (hmmmm)

Weird that I mirror-imaged the photo set-up without meaning to. Now, no fair scrolling down for more photo help before you've made your guess, but here is an update on Jakey at 5 months old.

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Jacob is my Lovey Bear. That's what I call him, because he wants to be with me ALL. THE. TIME. If I'm not actually holding him, he wants to be sitting in the high chair while I cook, or catching my eye from across the room. This boy loves his mama.

He has started eating solid foods and now has some baby food at dinner time with us every night. Sadly, it's not making him sleep longer. *sigh*

He drools SO. MUCH. Maybe he is teething? Maybe that's why I don't get to sleep more than 2-3 hours at a shot? I dunno.

He loves to giggle and babble. He now says da-da-da-da, blows raspberries, and squeeeeeals- with joy or annoyance as the occasion requires.

He's discovered his feet and thinks they are really, really cool. He doesn't like when I cover them up with socks. (It leads to those squeals of annoyance I just mentioned.)

He is SO. FAT. He has that buttery, soft, squishable chub over the entire surface of his body. I just kiss him all day long and tell him that I'm going to eat him up I love him so! (Anyone catch that reference?) By the way, why do we resort to cannibalism when expressing love to our babies? I have no idea- but it just feels right. :)

PS- This last photo is from a picnic we took in the park recently. On a 70 degree day in January we can go on picnics in the park!!! I am not tired of GA yet.