6 Months

Well, I am a little behind. James really turned 6 months old while we were in New Jersey. On the 15th to be exact. But I was busy and I have been lazy about getting these pictures up. Anyway, James went to sleep pretty early tonight so I am doing it now. I just wanted to share some pictures that we have taken recently.James is such a happy little guy and we love having him around. He really is a good baby. We can't complain. No excessive crying or too many middle of the night wake ups. But they do happen sometimes. So all in all things are going well.

I took him to his six month checkup last Tuesday and he is officially 20 lbs. 8 oz. and he is 26 3/4 inches long. He is growing and reaching all of his developmental milestones, according to the doctor. He is learning so many new "tricks". He is "scooting" like a pro by now and can roll both ways easily. If he sees something he wants and it isn't too far away he will totally go after it. So that means I have to be really diligent about what I leave around now. He is getting pretty good at sitting up as well. Although, he usually gets distracted by his feet and leans in to taste them and then ends up falling over when he tries to sit back up. He is also really good at getting himself into some pretty awkward positions in his crib and requires "rescuing" on a regular basis. Of course, he won't move if we are there to watch but as soon as we leave the room he is all over the place. He loves it when we sing to him and play "I'ma gonna get you!" and "Peek-a-boo". He loves being tickled and spending time with Mommy and Daddy. Here he is with Brian about to go on a walk. He loves to look out and see everything that is going on when we are walking so he really likes the baby Bjorn for that reason. Here he is with me yesterday just before church. He looks so good in his church clothes. I just love this little outfit and I am so excited that he finally fits into it. Brian is really good at getting him to smile in pictures. Just a quick comparison to see how much he has grown in 6 months. He has practically doubled in size! This is right after he came home from the hospital and at 6 months next to the same star pillow. I cant' believe how much he has grown.

New JoyZee

Well, I know we aren't supposed to play favorites when it comes to family but I can't help it. I have a new favorite cousin-in-law! Jenalyn Engstrom. She is my cousin Josh's wife. And this last week we spent with them in New Jersey.
We had to go there cuz Brian had some work training and then we both had an orientation for our move to Geneva. I thought it would be fun to hang with my cousin for a bit of time as well so I called Jenalyn and she totally opened up her house to us. It was so much fun! I wish she lived closer. This is her at the beach with her two super-cute kids, Adam (almost 3) and Zach (10 mos.).

We have lots in common and we think a lot the same so it was easy to get along with her. And Josh is my closest cousin. We are 11 days apart and grew up together when we were little.
So, the first day I arrived at their house Jenalyn and I loaded 3 car seats into the back of my rental car and headed to the beach. It was fun even if it was a bit chilly. It was James' first time at a beach and he seemed to like it. I had originally planned on stripping him down to nothing to take a naked beach bum picture but it was a bit cold for that. But I still got some pretty good pictures and James liked "grabbing" the sand with his toes. Here we are on the beach with Zach. James was pretty fascinated with the waves.James also loved watching his two older second cousins. James was totally entertained by them and they were totally sweet with him. He could watch them forever. I think our house is a bit boring for him.
Then on Thursday Jenalyn watched James for me while I had to go to the orientation with Brian. She deserves a medal of honor and bravery for this. 3 kids under 3. Crazy! But she did it beautifully. She is totally an amazing mom.
On Friday, with Brian finally able to join us, we headed to Philly and went to the mint. It was fun for all. Adam loved seeing how the coins were made (I liked it too) and Brian got to pick out a Father's Day present from the coin shop. And I also got a Philly Cheesesteak while I was there. It was pretty good. What else do you eat in Philadelphia?
On Saturday we all went to a lovely park and had lunch. Then the boys got to play on the playground and we got to see some wildlife that is on display there. The kids thought that was pretty cool. Here is James taking his first slide ride with Brian's help. He liked it.Then that night we got a babysitter and put the babies to bed and went and got some dessert at Chili's. We stayed up way too late every night but it is hard not to when you are chilling with such cool people. I was totally exhausted by the time I got home on Sunday. Jenalyn was such a great hostess and it was so fun to visit. Hopefully we can get together more often. This next picture did take place in New Jersey but it is only here cuz I thought James looked so darn cute in it. I mean it is just a bath after all. Isn't he irresistable? And last but not least I have to give a special thanks to Melissa. She is Brian's work friend from the ATL and is living in New Jersey for a couple of years. We got to have dinner with her one night while we were there. She totally saved me by letting me borrow her GPS while I was there. I would have probably gotten lost in a very bad part of town if it weren't for her. If you have ever had to drive in New Jersey to a place that you are unfamiliar with then you know what I am talking about. That place has so many weird roads it is unbelievable. It has totally convinced me that I want GPS in my next car. It is a necessity. Thanks Melissa!!

Kudos to me and Clustrmaps

As you all may know by now, I have been described as direct, blunt, not shy, and in many other ways that indicate how I generally am not afraid to say what I feel and think. (Always in a nice, unoffensive way, of course, I think.) So with that in mind I post the following.
You may or may not have noticed my Clustrmap on my blog before now. It used to hide out under the ticker counter on the bottom of my left column. Recently I was checking things out, I clicked on it to see in better detail where y'all are visiting from. While I was checking all the various places I noticed that there was an ad on it. I am all fine and dandy with ads on my stuff. I mean the Clustrmap is free after all. They have to make money somehow. Well, this particular ad was in direct opposition to my personal religious beliefs and was quite offensive to me. Now, I am not offended by other religious beliefs and as a member of the LDS church I firmly believe that everyone has a right to worship as they will but this ad was directly attacking my personal beliefs and I found that to be insulting. No one should have to advertise, even vicariously, against their own beliefs.
So what did I do?
How did I handle the situation?
I e-mailed Clustrmaps and very politely requested that this particular ad be removed from the Clustermap on my blog. At first I was kind of laughing at myself for even attempting this. I mean, who am I to them? No one. I did indicate that I would remove their map from my blog if the situation could not be rectified within a reasonable time frame. I said 1 week. As much as it amuses me to see where people are visiting from, I wasn't about to advertise against my own beliefs.
What did they do?
How did they respond?
Well, to put it shortly, they were very diplomatic and apologetic that the advertising on my Clustrmap was offensive to me. They responded within 1 day, which really surprised me. Unfortunately they didn't have a way of just blocking that particular ad from my Clustrmap so they took all advertising off my Clustrmap with a polite request that I move the map up higher on my blog to give it a more prominent position. So now, in order to express my appreciation for their prompt resolution of this issue, I have moved them to first position on my left hand column. Respecting me has its benefits.
All in all, I have to say, "Thanks, PB, from the Clustermaps team for respecting my beliefs." That is all.
And I would encourage everyone everywhere, no matter your beliefs, to stick up for them. You never know what response you might get. But whether it is good or bad at least you stuck up for yourself.
Click here to get your own super cool Clustrmap.

Gramma Shelley

We had so much fun while Brian's mom, Shelley, was here! We started off the visit with a trip to San Marcos, Texas for a bit of shopping at the mega-outlets there. There are 2 huge ones that are separated by a small road and then there are more up the road. They have EVERYHING! Pottery Barn, Dooney, Coach, Lucky.... I couldn't get enough! I will totally be going down again sometime.As you can see, shopping is very tiring for James. Can you even stand his cute little arm rolls? Brian and James got some new clothes and Shelley and I got new purses! I didn't even know there was such thing as a Dooney outlet until the bellhop at the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin clued me in. I will be forever grateful. Unfortunately, I cannot post a picture of me with my new purse until after I officially receive it for Mother's Day. Don't worry, I will. It totally rocks! Here's James with Gramma Shelley at home.The rest of the week was spent just chilling and shopping and eating and more chilling. We went to the park a few times. Here is James with Gramma Shelley and one of his cousins Alex. He has 2 cousins named Alex and 2 named Max and 2 uncles Jason and an uncle Alex. At least he won't have to remember that many names when he gets older. Gotta love that Texas wind! The weather was generally beautiful all week. Here is James swinging and posing with Gramma Shelley.James still loves the swing, as you can see. Luckily for us this park is just across the street from our house.All the excitement had James tuckered out! He NEVER falls asleep in our arms. He usually only sleeps in his crib but this day Brian had the magic touch.

Big Laughs From a Little Man

So today we went to pick up Shelley (Brian's Mom) from Geoff and Emily's. While Becky went to the front door, Brian decided to honk the horn. Lo and behold, James thought that was the most hilarious thing he had ever heard. Just listen to him laugh. Isn't he the best!?! Keep in mind that this was shot on Brian's cell phone.