Back in February...

Christian and I were able to fly into Tampa to visit my Mom and Stepdad. I had been planning this trip since Christmas, but my Mom was not aware of anything. She turned the big 5-0 on February 22. I couldn't think of a more better gift than arriving with her grandbaby boy! (My birthday is 7 days before hers, so I asked Rob to buy me a plane ticket to go see her!)

The plan was to have my Grandma and Grandpa (Who also live in Florida during the Winter months) pick Christian and I up from the airport and then head to a restaurant where my Mom and Stepdad would be thinking they were just having dinner with Grandma and Grandpa, and then we would be there! I was so excited by the time February came, I couldn't resist telling Mom. I also wanted to tell her so she could get off work while we visited. And luckily, she got to spend the entire 7 days with us!

Dave and Mom picked us up from the airport. I don't think my Mom realized I was there until after about thirty minutes! As soon as we got off the plane, she was absorbed with Christian! I had to say, "Hi, Mom. It's good to see you too!" We all got a good laugh out of that!

These pics are backwards, but I'll explain...(Still trying to figure this stuff out!)

On one of our many shopping days, my Mom found this cute little infant hat. This pic was taken the day after we got home though.Papaw Dave loved taking Christian for strolls around the neighborhood in the evenings! Here they are playing...

Unfortunately, we didn't get to go to the beach. It was only about 65 degrees the week we visited and it was windy. (I know, I went to Florida without going to the beach! Crazy huh?!) In case the sun was shining bright, Christian was prepared!

I think my Mom fed Christian everything he wasn't supposed to have! While visiting I think he had his first bite of mashed taters, Dairy Queen ice cream cake, My Mom's famous "Pink Stuff" aka "Pink Delight". (Mmmm, its so yummy! Marshmellows, cherry powdered jello, cottage cheese, and nuts if you choose. Sounds gross, but really its Delicious!) And pretty much every night he had some form of ice cream!

Mmmm Mamaw! It's so good!

Mom would alternate bites giving him one and then herself. Christian would open his mouth everytime it was her turn too! He did not want to share! It was adorable.

I think our routine wore Mamaw out! Waking up at 3am for a bottle everynight and a midnight diaper change was obviously not part of her routine! But, she was a trooper. I don't think she slept more than 3-4 hours each night we were there, because she wanted to spend every minute she could with him. He quickly became spoiled even more! When we returned home, I didn't know whose kid I had! He had to be rocked to sleep, he hated the swing, and by gosh if you even thought about eating something without him, he would throw a fit! Thanks Mom ;)

Our 7 days went by really fast. I'm not quite sure why I didn't snap more pictures than this, but for some reason I guess it slipped my mind. It was a wonderful time bonding with my Mom and I know she enjoyed every minute we were there. Papaw and Mamaw did not walk into a store without buying "something" for Christian. He came home with more books, toys, and clothes than we knew what to do with! By the way Mom, He loves his "Elmo Loves You" book! (I can't wait to see him with his Easter basket tomorrow and we get to read his new Easter Elmo book!)

I thought we were going to have to have an extra suitcase to get it all home! I kept reminding Mom we had to get on an airplane and fly back home!

We didn't do too much but we managed to go shopping about everyday. One day we went to a fantastic seafood restaurant called, "Anna Maria." I really enjoyed that! We were able to just spend time together at home and not have to be rushed anywhere. That was so nice. We just hung out most days. Mom and I watched several movies together while Christian napped. Some of them were Roscoe Jenkins, P.S. I Love You, and my favorite, Mamma Mia! <----Loved this!

Before we knew it, it was time to board the plane, Mom and I hugged and kissed, both with our eyes filled with tears not knowing when the next time we would see each other again. That was a really hard moment for myself. But, I had to quickly gain composure because I was about to embark on a two hour flight with a 6 month old! We made it to Indy and Rob was there to pick us up from the airport. He managed to get a $116.00 dollar ticket on his way there. (I guess he was so anxious to see his lady and little man, he got caught speeding ;) Sure didn't matter that we saved $90.00 to fly in/out of Indy, huh?!

Thanks Mom and Dave for a wonderful visit. Hopefully we'll all three be able to return sometime soon! We love you guys so much and wish there was a way to hang out more often!

Sleepyhead...

When I have things to get finished, such as dishes, laundry, cleaning...I always sit him up with his boppy behind him and he watches "Sprout." He could watch this for hours...Thank goodness its somewhat educational. As I was messing around in the kitchen I was watching him. He rolled over and laid his head down just like this. It was so precious.

Independence...

One of the most precious moments...I think it is so cute when he holds his bottle. I know this might seem minor, but I know I'll look back on this one day and wonder where the time went! He is showing so much independence lately, I have caught myself tearing up. He doesn't need Mommy to hold his bottle any longer, he doesn't need Mommy at his side to help him sit up...but he will always let me read to him and rock him. When he grows out of that stage, I'm not sure what I'll do. We bond all day long, but I think we both sleep better after a little bedtime story, and I put him into his crib and he's already sleeping...

It's hard to believe that his first birthday is in four months. Where did the time go?!

A week...and SOO many milestones!

Ok, So I haven't quite figured how to arrange this blog...and I had already typed what is below so it is a little out of order! The above picture, I couldn't help but laugh, you can't see his right hand, but he happens to be playing with his "boy parts!" Just like a man already huh....

Well, I've managed to let a week slip by without any posts. I am kind of angry at myself for doing that. I put this off for months because I wanted to be able to post to it often, and already I'm behind. So, this post might be longer than usual.

So many things have happened in a week. Christian amazes us so much. About two nights ago, Rob was playing Guitar Hero (I don't think he will ever outgrow these video games), and Christian was watching him. I was in the room, busy with something else I'm sure. But, all of a sudden I glanced over to Christian, and there he was sitting like a big boy watching his Dad play the game...but the best part he was so happy about it he started clapping! Now, anytime we say, "Yayyy!!!" he will clap. It is probably the cutest thing I have ever seen.

This week has been really hard as far as feeding the little guy. He is teething, and I've tried just about everything from teething rings frozen, cool, room temperature, teething tablets, orajel swabs, plain baby orajel, etc. The teething tablets seem to work the best, but of course it's only temporary. According to our food chart for him, he is supposed to be eating a stage II dinner, vegetable, fruit, and 4-6 oz's of juice plus his 4-6 bottles. Starting out he loved the vegetables. Then the fruit, but lately he won't eat any of it. And, he definitely will not drink the juice. We've tried every sippy cup on the market, nor will he drink it from the bottle. He has taken interest in the juice one time and it was White grape juice. I bought some Juicy Juice yesterday, so we're gonna give that a try today. He is very interested while Rob and I are eating. We decided to give him some mashed taters, and he loved them. I was excited he was eating anything at that point. But about 10 minutes into it, he exorcist puked them all back up. Nice, huh. So much for the taters! When we attempt to give him baby food, the kind he had no problem eating previously, he acts like it gags him, LOL. But hand the kid a "Crunchie" (Gerber's over expensive version of a Cheeto) and the kid will suck and gum it til theres nothing left and never gag once! Spoiled Rotten? Yes. Stubborn? Most definitely!

On our last visit to Paisley, Meghan let me borrow the strainer you can stick fruit/veggies in. This has become his teething ring! I usually put COLD canteloupe or honeydew in it and he goes to town. I'll have to snap a picture next time. Thanks Meghan!

What else is new? Christian has become overly obsessed with buttons. Remote controls, his toys, Xbox buttons, Xbox controllers, Surround sound buttons, and the laptop. He will throw a fit if you don't let him play with it. The Easter bunny is supposed to be bringing him a toy phone ;), We'll see...

Today, was the biggest milestone of all. He officially crawled all the way across the living room floor. It was so cute. He "scoots" and drags one leg as if he's been wounded in a War or something. Rob got me a DVD Camcorder for Christmas and today, was the first time videotaped him! I know, I know, three months later...I'm slacking, no doubt.

Easter Pics!

So, I tried to pick just a few...But I couldn't. So, here's all of them :)

Sleepyhead!

I had to post this picture...it's so cute!! Think he was a little pooped out? :)

Play Date with Alex

The Boys!

Alex giving Christian some Love!

Christian and Daddy!

Playtime!

Alex being such a big boy standing all on his own at 7 months!

I wish Christian would have been looking in this, but it's still cute of the two of them!

Rob and his friend Garrett have been friends since 8th grade. Garrett is married to Angie, and they have two children, Isabella (Izzy 21 months and Alexander (Alex 7 months). They live on the same street as us and come down frequently. We're pretty much all family. Garrett brought Alex down today to play with Christian for a bit, and to eat dinner with us. Mmmm, dinner, which Rob prepared all of it (Even better huh?), was delicious. He made fried chicken, sweet potatoes covered with marshmallows, green beans, and homemade cornbread! It was all really delicious! I am so lucky to have such a wonderful chef in my house :)