Ganna and Pops Weekend

Last weekend, my parents had a chance to come up and stay for the weekend. They are so funny because it is like they are in a race to see who can get in the house first to hold Shaw. Haha poor Ganna and Pops because when they arrived on Friday afternoon he was in the middle of an extra long afternoon nap. No worries, they both soaked in lots in lovin' over the weekend. We had a great weekend doing all the things we love to do. We ate, and ate some more :), went to some local antique stores and yardsales looking for goodies, visited the local farmer's market, and of course us girls did some shopping while the boys fished! I miss both my mom and dad so much that everytime they get to come visit it is a treat and I hate to see them go. Yes, I agree with the saying "distance makes the heart grow fonder" because I soak up every little bit of time I get with my family these days. You never know how lucky you are to have family close by until they are hours away.

Pops' boy.

All ready to go out to eat!

With his pretty Ganna.

 I am sure he was already bossing his Pops around telling him to hold him up so he could see what was on the other side of the fence ;)

Checking out the garden. I think he has some pretty outstanding role models.

I am sure Pops was telling him how to plant tomato plants!

Wagon ride with the dogs in pursuit

This one was also having a great time!

Beautiful, handsome, perfect blessing! 

Ollie decided he wanted a ride

"Cool Breeze"...as his Daddy would call him!



Ganna and Pops, we can't wait for you to come again. Next time, make sure Aunt CarCar and RaeRae can come. Oh, and if you could get Uncle Reid, Aunt Stac, and E Man to drive down that would be even better :) We love you all!

The Great Outdoors

When Josh and I first started dating, one thing we automatically knew that we had in common was our love for the outdoors. Now, I am not an avid hunter like he is but I grew up in a family where we spent our weekends on the lake, camping, or just playing working outside. So, naturally we like to spend lots of time outside with our sweet boy. Just like his parents, he loves it! He loves looking at everything and hearing all the different sounds. I am afraid that when he starts walking he is going to find his own way outside via the doggy door! Haha, we will see! One plus about living in NWA is all the outdoor activities to do. There are dozens of local parks and our town square has some sort of family friendly event almost every weekend in the spring and summer. Our town even has a splash park that I can't wait to take him to later in the summer!

A couple of weekends ago we spent an afternoon at one of the parks. We had a picnic lunch, played, and napped. It was perfect.

Yum!

Ollie and Livi got to join and they had a blast

Angel Baby

 Snoozin' in the sun! Luckily, I remembered to bring his sunscreen!

Playing with his Daddy

:)

 This past Friday night we went to a family event on the town square called "First Friday". They had vendors set up a lot like the Saturday morning Farmer's Markets, games for the kids, live music, and food. This picture is a proud mommy moment. I actually successfully got him out of his car seat without waking him and put in the stroller! Josh and I were giving high fives and smiling ear-to-ear! Haha, oh the things you get excited about as parents!

Enjoying the festivities!

We are having a great warm weather season so far! We can't wait to see what all the summer has in store for us...lots of fun to be had!

9 Months

I can't believe I am already writing the 9 month post, and considering it's almost a whole week late shows how fast these months are flying by. I feel like I am in a whirlwind most of the time and can't catch up with how fast time is going by. I feel like I was just writing our sweet boy's 6 month post and that was three months ago! With that all being said, I really need to start getting his birthday party planned. I have round-about ideas but nothing set in stone. If all my ideas come together it will be pretty stinkin' cute! This past month has been a challenge for this momma. To be honest, probably one of the hardest months, or times, since our sweet boy has been here (besides the first month when half of that was spent in the NICU).  His little personality, his wants, and his needs have all changed so much just over this last month, I had to really get rid of my OCD tendencies and just let him (and Him) take the lead. Here are some details on all of that and what our Shaw Michael has been up to over the last month:

• On your actual 9 month birthday (May 2nd) you weighed exactly 16 lbs on our home scale. Your daddy took you to the Dr. and on their scales you weighed 15 lb 11.5 oz. For my sanity, :) I am going to go with what our scale says since you have been weighed on it since you came home. By the Dr.'s measurements you are in the 1%, 10% gestationally for your weight.
• You are 26 in. long.
• Wearing size 3 diapers, size 4 sometimes
• FINALLY out of all 3-6 month clothing. Wearing 6, 6-9, 9, and 6-12 month depending on the brand.
• All your size 2 shoes are fitting, some are even a little snug because we have a chubby foot :)
• This past month you decided to go on what I call a "nursing strike" for about 2 weeks. You wanted nothing to do with it besides in the mornings when you woke up. As of the last two weeks you have decided that you love it again and your back to the normal feeding schedule that you have been on for a while. I had major anxiety over this because I was not ready to stop. We have both worked hard with the whole breastfeeding thing and I love it, not ready to give it up, but plan to around the 12 month mark. When I got pregnant, 1 year was my goal and I strive to make it there. I also think that if you were ever our only baby, I would really miss it and want to do it as long as possible. I think at this point you would also miss it.
• This "nursing strike" came while you got your first two teeth. Your bottom middle teeth. You are a pretty bad teether and not only did it affect your nursing, it affected your overall eating and sleeping. After the two teeth came in, within 4 days of each other, it is like you became a new baby. You slept again, were happy, and loved to eat.
• While teething your gums actually came off and bled. It was a horrible site to see. You also ran a low grade fever.
• You are still eating 3 meals a day. You decided this past month that you didn't like veggies whatsoever (told you this month was hard!). We finally tried spinach and mixing carrots and peas together, and you have loved both. I found some flavored baby yogurt and you LOVE it! You like the blueberry and banana flavored, compared to the plain vanilla I tried last month.
• This month you also went through some pooping issues. :) You were having some difficulty but it seems like we are back on track now. Once again, everything seemed to go around the teeth coming in.
• You get on average about 6-8 oz of formula everyday. Trying to add some meat on your bones. You are a chunky baby but still very little for your age. Some days you love it, some days you hate it. You are quite the mystery.
• After the teeth came in, you went back to being a great sleeper. You go to bed about 8 and wake up anywhere from 6-8.
• You sleep on your side, back, and tummy. You toss and turn all night long.
• No more swaddling at home. I think the sitter still swaddles for some naps.
• You are officially saying "momma", "bye bye", and we are pretty sure you are saying "baby". You makes the noises for dada, yaya, and some other sounds.
• You acknowledged me as "momma" for the first time the day before you turned 9 months. Now, it's a daily occurrence and you say it to get my attention. It melts my heart every time.
• You have waved "bye bye" a few times
• Still imitating sounds
• You are hilarious and you know it. You will just bust out into a giggle for no reason and it is hilarious.
• The scoliosis and torticollis have both improved. We go for a follow up with the Orthopedic this month. Your PT is also super impressed with how well you are doing! 
• You are really into the dogs right now. You lay on them, pet them, pull their tails and ears. Surprisingly, they take it like champs!
• You are trying SO hard to crawl and you get super frustrated. When I put you on the floor you automatically get in 4 point (crawling position). You stay there, rock, look around, and then scoot your knees out from under you. You just can't quite figure out how to move your legs and arms at the same time. You usually end up scooting backwards or pivoting on the floor. Usually you get frustrated and just roll to whatever you want.
• You can go from laying down to sitting up in your seat, the nap nanny, when your on pillows, but haven't yet figured out how to do it while laying down.
• When sitting in your crib these days you can pull up to standing. This is really the only time you stand on your own.
• You are obsessed with books right now. You love to turn the pages and you especially like the ones that make noise.
• Nursing and changing your diaper is nothing short of wrestling a pet monkey :) haha there have been several times when you have gone diaper-less for a short time because all you want to do is roll over and move around.
• You are getting good at putting items where they go. Blocks in the box, and you can even shoot a basket :)
• Your daddy and I believe you are getting a temper. You have thrown a few full on fits this past month. Kicking, screaming, throwing your paci fits. I think we may be in for it!
• You still love your paci but luckily you have self weaned to just when you are tired and ready to go to sleep. Thankful for this.
• Still love being outside. It's your favorite.
• We are really trying to push water in the sippy cup. You like it better with ice, but still not a huge fan.
• Your individual play time has gotten A LOT better this past month. If needed, you can play by yourself on the floor for about 30 minutes before getting fussy.
• Still like the jumper but I think you are starting to get bored with it.
• When at home you take 2 good naps. One in the morning and one late afternoon. Most days you nap good at the sitters but there have been a few days where you haven't.
• People are starting to say you look more like your momma but still mainly like your daddy.
• When we go out in public you get called a girl more than you do a boy. I just say it is because you are pretty enough to be a little girl :)
• You are busy, busy, busy! You never sit still and want to know everything that is going on.

Shaw Michael, like I tell you on a daily basis: you are the cutest kid I know, I am obsessed with you, I could kiss your face off, I could squeeze you to death, and I love you more than you'll ever know! Momma loves you sweet boy!

Did I say he was busy?!