No More of That Toothless Grin

John Huston finally cut his first tooth today. Well, actually he cut two teeth at the same time. He has been teething more than normal this past week with everything going straight into his mouth. He spent the afternoon at my grandmother's house while I caught up on housework and she had noticed too how his mouth was really bothering him. While I was there, I put my finger on his bottom gum, and I felt something sharp graze against my finger. He wouldn't let me open his mouth good to look at it but I knew something was growing in there! Today when I got him to smile really big, I noticed not one, but two teeth coming up! They are still barely budding out of the gum but it is there! I guess it is time for all bottles!

First Family Vacation

Beach Trip 2009

We went on our first family vacation August 13-16th to Gulf Shores, AL. We usually go to the beach in August to celebrate our anniversary. This year we stayed in Gulf Shores Plantation at Fort Morgan. It was very exciting and tiring at the same time. When we came into town, we stopped and got some fresh shrimp and I boiled it for supper. Yum! Then did our beach shopping and got JH his baby float and baby pool for the beach. The next day, we hit the beach and had gorgeous weather. John Huston loved playing in the baby pool filled with ocean water.

and then Lloyd and him went and played in the ocean.

After getting worn out playing he would drink his bottle and I layed him on his playmat under the umbrella and he took a long nap while Lloyd and I relaxed.

After he woke up, we headed to the pool and he had a blast meeting other babies and floating in his baby float. He also loved playing in the sand and tried to stuff handfuls of sand in his mouth.

We ate out at several good restaurants and even got to meet up with my friend Paula at Souvenior City. The only thing that dampened our trip, was that he did not sleep well at all. We were exhausted! It was well worth the family vacation but we were so ready to come home after 3 nights. Next year we will be running after him as he heads straight towards those waves!!

Time Is Flying By

because John Huston is now 7 months old! Can we have a pause or slow motion button please? Little man is a busy bee and is only still for more than 2 seconds when he is sleeping. Speaking of which, he went through his 6 month growth spurt for almost two weeks with waking up at least twice a night and extra feedings to get back to sleep. It wore us out, especially with it happening during our beach trip, and we had just gotten used to him sleeping through the night to back to the newborn stage of waking up often. So thank goodness he is sleeping better and back on schedule with waking up around 6 am if not later. He is scooting all over the place and is not officially "crawling" but is pushing up on his hands and feet at times. My parents bought him a walker and I was not for that due to the danger in it and my pediatrician was very against walkers. But we gave it a try since we have hardwood floors now, and he loves it. He can turn himself around and go backwards in it. He especially loves to run after Buster and Tommy (our cat) and torment them. It is so funny!
John Huston still hasn't said his first word yet but it will be any day now. Lloyd and I are in competition to see if he says "MaMa" or "Dada" first. He will probably say "Buster" before anything. He loves to growl too. His teething has gotten a lot worse and we expect his first tooth very soon. Cool teethy rings are a must! JH loves baby food now. He eats cereal in the morning and then a full container of vegetable for lunch then for supper it is a vegetable and fruit. He is a little pig!

Sweet Boy!

Look at what Daddy built JH!

Lloyd had been working steadily every chance he got on weekends and afternoons after work to build John Huston a high chair. JH had been sitting in his bumbo seat to eat baby food and he finally got to try out his new high chair tonight. It is made of walnut and oak and took almost two months to make. John Huston even got to help some in the shop.

He sat in it so good and was already banging on it wanting his food. I know this will something we will always cherish and love to pass on to other children and in the family.

Happy 5 Year Anniversary!

Ten years ago Lloyd and I went on our first date and then we married five years later to the day. I had to work on our anniversary and Lloyd met me in Tuscaloosa after he got off work and we ate a wonderful dinner at Tokyo while my Aunt Melanie watched John Huston. It was so nice to get to eat at the same time and not having to deal with a grouchy baby that wants to be held or clear the table. We try to go to the beach for our anniversary and we are planning on going the next time I am off my pattern with John Huston for our first family vacation!

Six Months Ago...

John Huston came into the world and has changed our lives forever. Can you believe it has been 6 MONTHS! JH has grown so much in this past month. He is starting to play social games such as peek-a-boo and loves to grab objects and make banging noises. He is a busy bee and is trying to get into everything. He loves to grab at every object near him, and if he is successful, it goes right to his mouth. He is sitting on his own now and has starting pulling up. He loves his Baby Einstein Jumperoo and throws his toys on the ground and look for them when they are out of sight and will fuss if he can't find them.

We started putting him in the bottom of the pack-n-play and he is content for a little while playing with one or two toys. John Huston is very vocal and loves to make those (hard) consonant sounds and we have been trying to get him to say "mama" and "dada" but no luck yet. He also has starting making high shrill noises almost a whiny noise at times. This is what I found him doing when I put him in his crib to hang clothes in his closet.

Yep, he is pulling up!

Yesterday was his 6 month check-up and shots. He was not very patient in the waiting room as we waited an hour until we were called back. I wasn't very pleased with the nurse as she wouldn't let me undress him or change his diaper before his weight check. He weighed 18 lbs, 6 oz with clothes and a big wet diaper, so I am thinking he is 18 lbs, 3 oz. Then she got some flipsy measuring tape and tried to get his height with an inclined bed. His length is 26 inches at an incline, lol. I will definietly be asking for another nurse next time; I would have this appt but it was already getting late as it was. He did better with the shots this time than his 4 month ones. He didn't do well with the rotovirus oral vaccine and tried spitting it all out. Then I helped swaddle him and hold his arms down as he got 3 shots. He cried a little bit and recovered by the time I checked out. Then he instantly fell asleep when we got in the car. He wasn't as cranky last night as other times but he still got to soak and play in his tub. I won't be doing it again alone!

He has been sleeping a lot better through the night. Before he would wake up once or twice during the night needing his diaper changed and then would go right back to sleep and then wake up between 5-6am. Now he is asleep by 9:3opm and wakes up around 6:45 am these past few mornings. He is acting like he wants to go to bed earlier as we already start the "3 B" rituals with bath time around 8:30pm. Then it's bottle time around 9 and bedtime right after that.

He loves his cereal and oatmeal and we have started with the vegetables, which he doesn't like. He loves to attempts to feed himself when I give him a spoon. Lloyd is building his highchair so hopefully we will have that soon.

John Huston's best friend

Summer Fun

We have been enjoying this summer swimming at MeMe & Pop's pool on my off days. John Huston loves the water, especially since it has warmed up a lot more, his own big bath tub! He floats around in his little turtle float and it has a little pool in the front where he likes to play with his pool toys. You can just a see him kick his feet swimming under the float.

Then we play 1-2-3 jump and let him sit on the side of pool and he throws himself into my arms and jumps into the pool. He also likes for you to hold him while we glide and swim around in the shallow end. I know he will be jumping off that diving board next summer. After he gets all tired out, he takes a big bottle and then takes a long nap under the umbrella in the shade while I get to lay out and get some sun.

Ahhh, I love lazy summer days...only if it would stay warm and sunny year round.

We Have A Scooter!!

Well John Huston is well on his way with being mobile. When I got home from work after working a 12 hr shift last Sunday, Lloyd met me at the door and told me to stay quite when I came inside. He had JH on the den floor on his belly. He then put his bendy ball a couple of feet away from him and he started moving his arms and legs and then started scooting towards the ball. He was moving side to side on his belly towards objects but now he will go forward and go where he wants to go. Before long he will be crawling all over the place. Time to baby proof the house!!

First Bites of Baby Food

I really wanted to wait and start real baby food when John Huston was 6 months old. He was getting rice cereal and oatmeal twice a day since 4 months old and I knew he was ready. I decided to give him peas first and lets just say we had a big green mess! I did really well though and took a couple of bites but then decided he just rather have his bottle instead. I had given him his rice cereal with mixed fruit for breakfast and he wasn't used to have to eat for lunch too. They said it was best to start with the foods earlier in the day so you can tell if it doesn't agree with them. When I gave him the peas again in the evening for dinner he was very unpleasant and pitched a fit! I don't know how much more I can do with the peas, so I might be on to green beans sooner than I thought!

No More Peas Please!