Standing Still

Steven stood all by himself on Monday. We've known that he CAN do it, so we usually stand him up with nothing that he can hold on to and then let go. He doesn't like it and usually just sits down; he usually knows when we're going to try it too. Monday, he and I were playing in his room and he had one hand on his exersaucer. Then he just looked at me and let go; it's like he was saying, "see, Mom, I can do it if I want too!" He stood there for a long time! I even had my camera handy but it wouldn't take (I realized after he grabbed the exersaucer again that it was still on the timer from that morning for the group pic below). So I stood him up in the middle of his room with my foot and then moved it to get a pic. This picture is so funny- he's biting his lip in conentration. He was so nonchalant the first time but I guess he doesn't like to perform under pressure. Very cute outfit from Mrs. Julie in MN. =)

I love it that he can drink from his sippy cup on his own. He throws his head back and gulps away!

This is my neighborhood bible study group. We had it at my house on Monday and we were so excited that everyone was there (usually someone's kid is sick and then it's someone else's the next week, etc.). All the kids made it through the study great, so we had to take advantage of the photo op at the end! We meet every week and these women are such an encouragement to me! Our babies' ages range from 3 months to 16 months.

First "big boy" haircut

I am excited to announce that "my" Wal-Mart is finally open. It's less than 5 minutes from our house and brand new. We went to check it out and I was happy to find that it's very clean and organized; I could have spent hours there. Across from Wal-Mart is a new shopping center that just opened as well and it has a Sports Cut. We took Steven this weekend for a haircut so that he will look nice but not freshly sheared for Aunt Jenn's wedding. It's so short, and it makes him look so old and even more like his daddy if that's possible. The lady that cut it asked if it was his first haircut (it WAS a little out of control) and we said,"no this is actually his third. He's very experienced and mature for his age." I'm so happy that we are finally getting stores in our neighborhood and somewhere to get Steven's hair cut is important since it looks like every 3 months is no longer going to cut it. No pun intended.

Look what Steven sent me on Friday! They are so beautiful and made me cry (after the delivery guy was gone). I told him he shouldn't have sent me flowers the week of Father's Day but he said he wanted me to know how much I was appreciated after a few long weeks. He is so sweet and such a wonderful son! =)

Rain, rain, go away

After Steven's afternoon nap on Friday, I got us all ready for the pool. I was very excited because we hadn't been in a while since he was sick the first part of the week. We had sunscreen and bathing suits on and I had our bag packed. I had just started feeding him his bottle (our last step before leaving) and I heard thunder. Oh well...at least I got these pics out of all the preparation and thankfully had not put his swim diaper on (they do not hold liquid very well as I found out for myself last time we were at the pool). He's not fond of his sunglasses so they don't stay on very long, but I got this one pic with them. I think Steven was even disappointed.

TGIF!

That's right...thank goodness it's Friday! I've been looking forward to it all week. To be perfectly honest it's been a hard month for me and I've been living for the weekends, yet I've also had flashes of sheer mommy joy. It's hard to explain. My hormones (because of weaning) have hopefully been readjusting to normal, but I've been feeling anything but normal. Steven's top tooth came in a few weeks ago. The little stinker took weeks to finally pop through his swollen, sore gums. Poor baby! Then Saturday night Steven woke up 45 min after we put him to bed with a stuffy, cruddy nose. He (and I) have been miserable and worn out all week. I sure that he must have allergies- red, itchy eyes, runny/stuffy nose, and sneezy constantly. The doctor says there's no way to know for sure- well, I beg to differ! To top it off, his other top tooth is playing the same game as the first one- hanging out right at the edge and giving him a slight fever. Will the teething ever end?! Funny how in the middle of a really long day, we'll have the best time though. I love to hear him giggle, and if I crawl-chase him around the couch it works every time! So on to the joy part: Steven was a champ at weaning- what a huge surprise and relief! Charlton even said that it seemed like it was such a non-event. Steven didn't refuse a bottle once to try to nurse. He actually seems thrilled to be able to watch everything going on while he sucks down his bottle in record time and then immediately slides back down to the floor to play. Thankfully, I don't miss breastfeeding at all. I am, however, so happy that we did it for 9 months and had that special time, he's so grown up now. I'm working on his first year scrapbook (I've finished the maternity section and am moving on to the hospital pics so I'm a little behind but that's ok); I've been looking at pics from his first month and I can't believe that he was ever the little! It does make me a little sad that my baby won't be a baby much longer. But to head off any questions...no, we are not ready for baby #2 yet! I have gotten to the place now that I am looking forward to having another (which is a long way from where I was the first several months after Steven's birth). For now, I am really enjoying Steven. That explains in a small way the flashes of joy.



I think this pic is so funny- he's helping go through the mail.

You can see his new top tooth in this pic.

In Other News:

I now have a bridesmaid's dress for Aunt Jenn's (Charlton's sister) wedding July 14. And I have ordered Steven tux. It makes me laugh and cry to think about how cute he is going to look! I went to her bridal shower this weekend and took pictures. This is one of my favorites: Evan came towards the end so that all the ladies could meet him and he opened the last present with Jenn. They are (as usual) being goofy! I love it!

In these, Aunt Jenn's being Aunt Jenn! We love you!

Steven's 9 Months!

All you have to do is look at our pool to know that our neighborhood has a lot of families with young kids. I was anxiously anticipating its opening so that I could introduce Steven to the pool. I even put him in his little kiddie pool in the backyard the day before it opened to get him used to the idea (you can see those pics in the 8th month montage below). Well, he definitely wasn't as excited as I was; he wanted me to hold him and still made groaning noises when I lowered us into the water. I assume the biggest problem he has is that the water's kind of cold right now- bath time is the only experience he has with large bodies of water and it's pretty warm. He did finally "warm-up" (no pun intended) to the pool and eventually sat in his float and watched the older kids play when I took him by myself. I took him last Wed. (the day it opened) and then Charlton and I (with camera in tow) went on Saturday. You'll notice the dark, looming clouds in the background; we only stayed about 30 min. considering the clouds and Steven's lack of enthusiasm. Steven's favorite part was sitting in Charlton's lap eating Cheerios and drinking out of C's water bottle. Hopefully, he'll discover what a great relief it is from the Texas heat.

Scoop on Steven at 9 Months:

• He is 19 lbs. 12 oz. (50% for both)
• His first top tooth FINALLY broke through this weekend and it looks like the one next to it will follow soon.
• His favorite toys are balls, cars (anything with wheels), and his walker.
• He is transitioning into eating bites of "big" food; his favorites are cheese, pears, bananas, and toast.
• We are in the process of weaning (insert a BIG "yea!" here from me). I didn't expect to be doing it this soon but my milk production suddenly dropped so my body has decided that it's time. Thankfully, Steven is transitioning beautifully (I guess because he's hungry and so active now). The only down side I see right now is that my hormones, and so by association my body, are going crazy right now- making me crazy. However the upside is the I have a lot more freedom...YEA!
• He has outgrown his size 2 shoes so I'm going to have to go shoe shopping soon for my son! A first for me and kind of nuts.
• Daddy is his favorite person right now (this probably helps with the weaning too). Steven actually cried one morning this week when I took him from Charlton so C could go to work. He has said Da-Da several times but said it to Charlton for the first time this weekend.
• We think that he did his first baby sign this weekend- the one for "all done." We were really excited that we might have a way to communicate through our issues with the highchair and feeding time. This morning a friend thought he might have done the sign for "more." The funny but frustrating thing for me is that he'll repeat and say words that I teach him several times but then isn't really interested a few days later until I teach him another one. So, he's said several things (ball, bye-bye, Da-Da) but after a few days he won't say them anymore. So much for educational progress...

Testing...testing...1,2,3

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

These are pictures that I never got around to posting during Steven's 8th Month; they are mostly from family gatherings at the Wimberlys and random ones around our house. You wouldn't believe how long it took me to get this montage posted on my blog. It is 3 1/2 minutes long (click on play and wait for it...it takes a min. to start). This is test to figure out how they work since I've been intrigued with them on friends' blogs. Is there such a thing as "blog envy?"