Our Cowardly Cuddly Lion

I'd be lying if I said I didn't have an emotional week. I go back to work tomorrow and John Thomas will spend his first day in daycare. I know he's going to do great and I will eventually adjust to our new schedule. Moving on to more upbeat news...sort of. Our neighbors also have a fairly new baby boy named Dare. It just so happens that the zoo theme was so in this year for Halloween. John Thomas was a cuddly lion, but as you can see--he wasn't the happiest lion in the cul-de-sac. Though I'm starting to wonder if he just didn't want to share the spotlight.
We, meaning Jason, had to perform minor surgery this week. One of John Thomas' favorite rattles was nearly decapitated in the wash. Good thing ol Dad knows a thing or two about stitching things up.

We also had some folks over to celebrate the engagement of our friends, John Curtis and Brooke. They are a very cute couple and we couldn't be happier for them. Angelina never misses out on an opportunity to get some baby time in, since her little ones are a few years older.

John Thomas hasn't really had anymore developmental milestones lately. He's still doing the army crawl, still no teeth, and no words. Instead of learning to pull up, he has learned to pull down on the bumper around his crib, which happens to be incredibly cute. I couldn't leave you thinking we tortured our cuddly little lion all evening long. He was a good sport and as I predicted, didn't mind the costume so much when he was the center of all the attention. Maybe we're both going to have to make some adjustments when he starts daycare after all.

Happy Trails

So we got our family pictures back this week from my friend and gifted photographer, Sarah. We couldn't be happier with them! I think this is my favorite picture ever!Besides obsessively looking at John Thomas' new cute pictures, we had some time to get out an about this week. Of course we are still doing our daily walk and the leaves are in their prime this week, so it's absolutely beautiful. John Thomas had his six month check up this week as well. He now weighs just over sixteen pounds and is 27 inches long! We also met Sarah and Charlotte downtown for lunch one day. One of my new favorite restaurants is Coolato Gelato. They have delicious sandwiches, quiche, and (of course) gelato. I have a feeling that these two are going to be spending their fair share of time as playmates.

John Thomas has successfully developed a taste for peas, green beans, and squash. I think he's just going to eat anything we put in front of him. On the other hand, he hasn't taken as easily to the sippy cup. This was our third try this week and it was the first time that the darn thing didn't cause a fit.

For the first time in six weeks, we had a weekend without company or without going anywhere. It was wonderful! We decided to take our first family hike yesterday. We loaded the car, packed our lunch, and headed to Frozen Head State Park. It was a perfect day; great weather, great scenery and family time. As you can tell from the picture, I was in charge of scaring away the bears! Now you really understand how talented our photographer is. Due to the lack of rain this Fall, we were actually able to eat lunch where there is usually a waterfall. John Thomas had an awesome time. He loved just watching the leaves fall like snow when the wind would blow.

I couldn't resist leaving you with one more photo of our little snuggle bear. I hope it makes you smile too!

182 and a 1/2 days

While most teachers and students have been enjoying Fall Break this week, we've been celebrating John Thomas' six month birthday. I simply cannot believe our little snuggle bear is already half a year old! Moreover, I cannot believe I will be going back to work in two weeks. Please pray for me because I am already teary-eyed just thinking about it.

Gramma (i.e. my mom) was here most of the week. She spent lots of time playing and cuddling with JT. I know he loved every second of it. The only real change this week is that he started eating veggies. We started with peas and they were a raving success. I was mildly disappointed that he didn't even make a funny face.

Because the weather has been A-mazing, we've been able to spend lots of time outside. We take the blanket out and read or play and we are still going on our daily walk at Victor Ashe Park. We even met Sarah and Charlotte (i.e. Lo) at the park for a walk this week!

While Mom was here, she made a trip down to South Carolina to see my brother and his family. I think they had a blast and I hate that we missed out on all the fun. This is my niece, Amelia, living it up at the Columbia fair.

John Thomas had another special treat on his six month birthday, Mary (i.e. Aunt Mimi), stopped by to give him some love. As you can see, he really enjoyed the surprise.

I know he had a great week because he's gotten to spend time with both of his favorite grand mothers. What a lucky little boy! It's going to seem pretty quiet around here this week without all the company.

All Aboard!

John Thomas had such a fun weekend! We went up to the Bradley's houseboat on Friday and he stayed until this afternoon. Did you catch that? Jason and I had our first night without JT since April 14th. I only cried for 45 minutes after leaving the boat and then I was pretty good. I will say, he was definitely in capable and loving hands. Thanks Mom and Gay for doing such and outstanding job with our lil bear. But, we couldn't get to the lake fast enough after church today.

Surely you can't blame me for missing this little cutie in his hooded jacket with ears. I sure do love these guys!

In our absence, Captain John Thomas got to steer the boat. Mom (a.k.a. Gramma) thinks he's always in the driver's seat anyway. I think she's suggesting that he's a tad spoiled, but I can't help it. Mom and Gay vowed to keep the rest of their babysitting festivities top secret saying, "whatever happens on the houseboat, stays on the houseboat." Either way, I think they all had fun and all needed a nap on Sunday to recover.

My favorite thing in the whole world happens every Saturday morning. After John Thomas gets up around seven, I feed him, change him and we all get into our bed and snuggle. We usually go back to sleep together and I just can't think of anything in this universe that could make me happier.

John Thomas still isn't crawling, but he'll scoot towards Chester anytime he gets the chance. I think he even missed Chester while he was at the lake. On the other hand, Chester was savoring every ounce of undivided attention last night.

Lions and Tigers and Giraffes! Oh my!

We had an awesome weekend in Birmingham at the McCain's new gorgeous home! The weather was perfect, the company was great, and John Thomas got to do all sorts of really cool stuff. For one, he got to be one of the guys. Thanks Tommy for whipping up a yummy breakfast and grilling all those tasty wings. I know he really enjoyed spending time with Tommy and Stephanie, because he was handing out grins and laughter all weekend. Beyond the fact that Stephanie is a great friend and a really interesting person, she is also the zoo vet for the Birmingham Zoo. This has many perks. One, she has the keys, so we came in the back door for free. Two, not only does she know all kinds of cool stuff about animals, but they know her! Case in point--meet Jalil, who peeked over the fence to say "hello" to his favorite doctor.

Unfortunately for Chester, I don't think he'll seem as cool to John Thomas ever again.

We also got to go behind the scenes and visit some animals that, for various reasons, aren't out for the public. Is ironic that in this picture of John Thomas petting a chinchilla, I have at least ten chins? It was easily the softest fur I've ever felt.

As always, John Thomas was very interested in getting to know a pretty girl. Thanks Steph for being such a wonderful hostess this weekend.

We also got to go out to lunch as a family for the first time. I know we probably should/could have done it sooner, but I only had the best interest of the other diners in mind. JT did great!

Speaking of lunch, John Thomas had another first this week when he broke in his new high chair in order to eat (term used VERY loosely) cereal. As you can tell from the facial expression as well as the abundance of cereal on his face, he really wasn't sure about the whole ordeal. However, I'm proud to update that he is really starting to swallow his cereal now and we should be moving to veggies very soon.

I couldn't resist building him his first of many blanket forts. As you can tell from the picture, he enjoyed his new "crib" (like slang for house, but he's a baby and really has a crib...sorry for the cheesiness). Based on how chilly it was when we got back in to town today, he's going to be bundling up in his blankets real soon.