First Vacation

Saturday, June 2 was a day I had been looking forward to and yet dreading for months.  It was the day I was to take James on a plane ride.  Solo.

It's not that terrible scenarios were playing out in my head- instead it was a big question mark.  Basically, what was going to go wrong?  Would his ears bother him?  Would he get a poopy diaper?  Would I be comfortable enough to nurse on the plane?  How would I hold the baby, collapse the stroller, AND cover it?  What illness would James contract during our flight?  A simple cold?  Tuberculosis?  Would I need to hand my baby to a stranger?  Annoying, right?  These questions haunted me whenever I thought about our flight.  But, surprisingly, the plane ride was uneventful; to answer my questions- nothing, no, no, yes, a kind stranger would cover the stroller, none, nope, nope, no.  All of that worrying for nothing!

We landed in Atlanta ready to spend time with my friend Beth and her 3 month old son Christopher.

 It was the boys' first time meeting. They hit it off right away- talking about bugs, dirt, and trucks.

They  had a lot of fun swimming together, listening to books and songs, going to the library, shopping with their moms, and chilling at the Farmer's Market. 

The trip was much different from last year, but it was fun to hang out as moms and watch our little babes become best friends!  All in all, a nice relaxing vacation!

 Thanks for hosting us, Beth, Ben, Christopher, and Bentley!

Mirrors and Clapping

7-month-old James is too interesting for just one post.  He's got so much personality these days and has developed definite likes and dislikes.  

His likes include: petting the dogs, getting his picture taken, listening to songs, babbling, the pacifier, other babies, peek-a-boo, mirrors, flowers, birds, milk, solid food, banging spoons, putting everything in his mouth, standing, sucking/chewing on one finger, sitting, the iPhone, smiles

On the not-cool list:  clapping, being tired, being hungry, long car rides, sudden loud noises, strangers, laying on his back, being fed too slowly, garage sales(he did NOT get this from me...), being hot and sweaty, long rides in the stroller, having a dirty diaper

 

I hope to expand on James' 'like' list this summer as I will not be working!  I am officially a full-time mom until August 13.  Pretty cool that I get to go back to work on my birthday, huh?  We've got a lot to do this summer.  

First up: learn to play the piano!

7 Months

Little Jimmy is over 7 months old, and I am falling more in love with him by the minute.  It's that stupid, smile when you think about him kind of love.  Everyday I picked him up from the babysitters this past month was like Christmas morning.  He'd be playing in a bouncer quietly by himself.  I'd come in and say, "Hi!"  His face would light up as he looked towards me.  Every moment with him is beautiful.   

 A parenting book I'm reading called Bright from the Start mentions that there are three personality types that babies can be:  easy, difficult (intense, active, spirited, uninhibited- all fall under this umbrella), slow-to-warm-up (cautious, inhibited, slow-to-adapt).  James definitely fits in the easy category.  He smiles when you smile, eats solids like a champ, takes naps, and loves to explore the world.

This month James seems to have grown tremendously.  He now sits up on his own without toppling over! He stands in his activity saucer and can be pulled to standing position while we're just holding his hands!  No crawling or scooting, he's still just a roller.  : )

J has been eating tons of food and has enjoyed everything we've given him so far: rice cereal, sweet potatoes, chicken, peas, pears, carrots, apricots, and apples.  He eats twice a day- once at noon and again around seven for dinner.  All in all, he eats 8-12 ounces of food each day in addition to nursing 5 to 6 times.  This might explain all of the growing he's doing; I'd say he's right around 16 pounds.

James' sleep habits have been off-the-hook wonderful (knock on wood).  He takes two naps during the day IN HIS CRIB, then goes to sleep from 8ish until 6ish.  B-e-a-u-t-y.  We still swaddle him and let him sleep with his pacifier, which looks something like this, except with his eyes closed and in his bed.

Perhaps the biggest event of the month was James' Christening at Good Shepherd. 

It was a precious moment to see him baptized.  We were so happy to have our family there for the occasion- especially his Godparents who traveled from out of town!  

James wore a gown and bonnet (hehe- I couldn't help myself with the bonnet, it was too cute).  The gown was made from a bolt of fabric Great Grandpa Perko brought back from Japan when he was in the occupation army back in World War II.  When he brought the bolt back, he gave it to his 'old-maid aunts' who made it into three Christening gowns- one for Laura, her twin Diane, and one of their cousins.  In addition to McGrandma wearing it, Aunt Caitlin wore it as well.  Many people have asked why Kyle wasn't baptized in it.  Well, Laura's mom didn't tell her about the gown until Caitlin was born a few years after Kyle.  Our guess is that she didn't think boys should wear dresses.  : )

 

After the church service, we had a brunch at my parents' house.  All in all, a great day.

Everyday with James is something new.  A coworker told me this week, "each age just gets better."  I'm finding that to be very true.  Who knows what joys 8 months will bring... 

6 Months

Each month with James just keeps getting better and better.  This one started off with my spring break.  Our family spent a few days in St. Louis before heading to our real Spring Break destination- ST.JAMES! You guessed it- we went wild!  It was little man's first time spending the night at the Land.  He woke up one to two times each night, which wasn't out of the ordinary.  One of the exciting things he did was accompany his grandma and me to my favorite grocery store.  He also helped Grandpa B record how many 'shrooms were on each mushroom log.  Most importantly, he found HIS FEET!  Little man found them and couldn't get enough! 

We spent the rest of spring break trying to get on a sleep schedule.  Thanks to the book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, I learned Kyle and I were approaching James' sleep habits all wrong.  Emphasis on: ALL.  Here's a T-chart to give you an idea of our way vs. the right way.

Our Way                                                     The Right Way
keeping James up late                                Put baby to sleep when the sun goes
so  that he would sleep late                       down (usually btwn 7 and 8)
 (works for teenagers....)                            Babies should sleep from sunset
                                                                  to sunrise, starting their day no earlier
                                                                  than 7 am

letting him nap whenever,                          Have baby awake for about 1.5 hours,
wherever  (channeling our                         then let him nap for awhile, for a total
inner Shakira for that philosophy)              of 2-3 naps per day before starting
                                                                    the bedtime routine

put baby in crib sound asleep                     Put baby in crib slightly awake so he
                                                                    will learn to fall asleep on his own
                                                             
So yeah,  the book totally opened my eyes to what we were supposed to be doing!  Now that we're following the books suggestions, James' days are much more predictable and he is significantly more pleasant to be around.  When he does get cranky, I know he either hungry or ready for a nap.  I am so happy to have finally read the book.  Thanks to Bryan and Katie for recommending it!

James started eating solid foods this month!  I wanted to wait until 6 months, but I read an article from the Mayo Clinic that made me realize James was ready.  The article gave these three questions,

• Can your baby hold his or her head in a steady, upright position?
• Can your baby sit with support?
• Is your baby interested in what you're eating?

I answered an enthusiastic "YES" to all of three.  Plus, the Easter Bunny delivered rice cereal in James' basket!  The stars had truly aligned.

James LOVED eating cereal.  The first time eating it, he grabbed the spoon and yanked it towards his mouth.  It ended up being very messy.  Now he just sits there like a hungry baby bird and waits for the next bite. His mouth hangs open and he says, "Ahhhhhh."  Then the spoon goes in his mouth, and he squints his right eye.  I can't get enough of it.  I look forward to feeding him his dinner way more than I look forward to eating my own!

James also started rolling from his back onto his stomach this month.  He used to cause a loud raucous kicking and screaming when he tried to roll over because his arm would be in the way.  Now, he just rolls right over.  This new mobility means we're putting him down on one side of the room, and he'll end up on the other!  We've even come into his room in the morning to find him sleeping on his stomach.   Frankly, as long as he's asleep, we're cool with it.

Happy Half-Birthday, James Eugene!  You're turning into such a big boy!

First Easter

Easter is clearly James' favorite holiday.  This little guy smiled from morning until night.  He had a wonderful day celebrating Jesus' resurrection.   

We started the day worshiping at Good Shepard.  In true form, we got there about 2 minutes before service started, but were luckily able to snag seats.  James was wide awake the whole time and talked (sometimes very loudly) throughout the service.  I think he really enjoyed all of the singing and people!  After church, he took a break from the crowds before venturing over to my Aunt Kathy's house.  There he hung out with BCF, Aria.  They had a good discussion about politics, and respectfully agreed to disagree about this year's coming election. 

After debating Obama's foreign policy and Santorum's stance on immigration, James went on his first Easter egg hunt!  He found 5 eggs...one hiding in a grill, another in the grass, two on cars, and one more resting peacefully on a fire hydrant.  Kyle helped James look through his loot.  The final count money: 25 cents, candy: lots.

 After that celebration, he headed home for a nap.  Upon waking, he was surprised to see the Easter bunny finally delivered his basket.  He was overjoyed about everything in the basket.  As I handed each thing to him, he cooed and then put it in his mouth.  

Soon it was time for another Easter egg hunt.  Go James, go!  Watch out for all the invisible babies and kids who will steal all the Easter eggs!  How come I never got to have an Easter egg hunt where I was the only kid?  #middlechildsyndrome

The night ended with a Mcfamily dinner and long drive back home to Columbia.  James is now resting peacefully in his crib dreaming of chocolate eggs and knitted roosters.  

Happy Easter!

5 Months

 I can't believe it.  I say it every month, but this month, really, 5 months seems way too old!  It also seems like waaay too long ago that I was pregnant. 

James had a good month!  This was the month of getting up and going- doing lots of different things.   He accompanied Kyle and I to the grocery store each time we went this month.  He's becoming well-versed in the produce section, gets tons of cute-baby compliments, and has only tried to sneak a few things into the cart. 

source

  Such a bad habit to develop so early...  We also took him to the mall this month.  He loved looking at all the people and playing with toys from his spot in the Bjorn.  We all discovered the vast array of toys at Barnes and Noble.  They've got the coolest stuff; it's even where he bought his girlfriend's birthday present. 

James met a lot of family this month including BCF  (Best Cousin-Friend) Aria.  He LOVED seeing her and tried to get her to talk.  She was a little shy, but all in all, I think they discussed enough strategy to rock the balloon toss at the family reunion this summer. 

Little man even went out to sushi with us twice (thanks to two Groupons that expired this month)!  The first time he slept through our dinner.  The second time he was wide awake and ready to look around so I took him up to the bar to look at the fish.  He decided that fish are more interesting when they can swim around, like at the doctor's office or Bass Pro Shop.  Overall, James gives the sushi restaurant 5 stars, soley based on the fact that there are three huge televisions spread out so that mommy can't keep him from watching.  Grrr... the doctor's office is just as bad when it comes to tvs everywhere.

I mention the doctor's office because we've been there 4 times in the past month.  This only makes me seem like more of a hypochondriac, but the visits were for legitimate reasons.  The first visit: 4 month check up, second visit: got there and my appointment had been cancelled.  They had called my phone three times and left two messages.  Shows you how much I check my phone!  Third visit: baby boy's got a double ear infection- still.  Fourth visit: shots (that I put off from the first visit....).  Needless to day, we're all ready to go April without a visit to the pediatrician!!!

James' favorite book these days is Jazz Baby by Carole Boston Weatherford.  His face lights up when he sees the books, and he smiles through the whole rhyme.  We've had the book checked out from the library for 4 weeks.  I finally decided to breakdown and buy a copy when I realized: it's out of print.  Translation: I can buy a new one for $60 or used for $6.95.   Or I could keep this book checked out from the library until he grows tired of it....

On a Wednesday night, Kyle and I took James to an infant massage class sponsored by Parents as Teachers.  I was originally overly excited about this class because of how I calming I thought the massage would be.  Then, after Kyle received a phone call telling him to bring baby oil or if we didn't have it- VEGETABLE OIL, I became skeptical.  Why on earth would I rub vegetable oil all over my baby when I won't even cook with it?  So we didn't bring any oil and.... we totally needed it.  So instead of having an oil I knew the origin of, I used the stuff provided by the Parents as Teachers instructor.  Anyhow... back to the class.  Little man was stripped down to his cloth diaper, listening  to relaxing music,  laying on a towel surrounded by 10 other babies and their parents.  Then came the fun part, with my hands COVERED in oil, I proceeded to perform such massage techniques as "Indian milking," "I love you," and "Swedish milking."  I adored every minute, and it was so fun to talk to James the whole time and know how great this was for his little mind and body.

terrible lighting, but you get the idea of the 'playing with sippy cup

Other stuff James baby is up to.... reaching towards the person he wants to be held by, playing with a sippy cup, rolling onto his side, putting everything in his mouth, kicking his legs like he's crawling during tummy time, almost sitting up on his own, riding in the stroller, grabbing at books,  and smiling at Kyle, constantly.   Life is good.