A long week of driving...

I am back in the land of the living after a week long excursion with Jay. My grandmother recently had surgery so Jay and I went to check on her and I decided to make a week out of it. We stopped and saw several people along the way so that the trip was not horrible. Jay did great. I was so proud. We saw all of the grandparents, aunts and uncles, and of course, Granny Curry. Wes missed us but I am sure he enjoyed the break. As tired as I am everyday, he comes home so much more exhausted and then has to listen to a fussy baby. Jay is sitting up by himself now and is so cute doing it. He has always preferred to sit upright, even as a newborn so the idea of doing it all by himself is very exciting to him...until he looses focus and falls over. Depending on his mood, it is anywhere from a minor setback to "the world has fallen apart" drama. Wes was amazed at the difference from a week ago. Now, he seems like a little boy instead of a baby. He still gets very excited about eating. He knows when I sit him in the bumbo on the table and put his bib on that food is coming. He starts shaking his arms and holding them out. Today, he was squealing at me as I mixed the cereal. I think he is getting bored with just rice and oatmeal so we bought some bananas and applesauce today. I can't wait to see what he does then. I'll post some pics of the past week and of the nursery. I forgot to do that before. By the way, we bought a canoe today so now we can get out on the pond and explore! Jay will get some use out of his lifejacket...hopefully, he will be able to look past the uncomfortable padding and enjoy watching the water.

Video of Jay eating

Below I posted a video clip we took the other night when we feed Jay for the first time. He shows his excitement by spreading his arms out and shaking. It's pretty funny.

Pictures

I posted a few pics below from the last few days. We are trying some rice cereal now. Jay gets soooo excited when we eat so we thought he'd enjoy some "real" food. He isn't sure of what to do exactly but has a good time anyway... He is getting close to sitting unsupported and I use the boppy pillow a lot for giving him the little support he needs. He loves sitting up...until he falls on his face of course. :)

Ross Family Circus

Just when I thought I had this mommy thing figured out, we have a morning like yesterday and I realize I still have a long way to go. I had to take Jake to the vet for his annual exam and since he has been neglected for the past 5 months I thought I owed him a fun day at Petsmart. So, the three of us pile in my tiny car, Jay in the back, Jake in the front with me, and head to the vet. My first mission, get everyone inside without attracting too much attention. So, here I am, holding the leash in one hand (crazy dog on the other end), stroller in the other (swerving around the cars), and trying to keep my baby from loosing it (angry at the bright sun). We got some looks just going across the parking lot as the dog dragged both of us in the store. So, we get inside and sign in. Jay was now cool and distracted so he behaved for a while. After waiting 45 minutes to see the doctor, we get in the room only to find a big surprise that Jay had been working on (no wonder he was good) - all over him, his outfit, and now me. The problem being that I (in the midst of keeping the stroller and dog from riding across the parking lot) left the diaper bag in the car. So, I think, "maybe Jay will just wait until we are done". That lasted all of 2 minutes before he voiced his intense disapproval of sitting in a dirty diaper. So, I grab the baby and head out (leaving poor Jake in the room by himself). I just knew that they were going to chase after me thinking I was abandoning my dog. I guess no one noticed though because we made it back without a scene. Then, just as Jay was lying on the bench sprawled out with poop everywhere, the vet walked in. The face she gave me made it obvious that she thought I had lost my mind. By this time, Jay was screaming, Jake running around in circles, and poop was all over me, Jay, and the bench. All I could do was look at her and say, "Babies always wait until the worst time to do this, uh?" She just offered a nervous laugh. So, Jake is being examined, Jay now clean, and I am trying to save what dignity I have left by acting like I am the least bit concerned about what she is telling me. After about a minute, Jay decides he is now sleepy and demands that he be anywhere but where he is. So, I pick up my screaming sweetpea and attempt to still give my attention to the dog and vet. By this time, she is leaving the room, so I can finally focus on Jay. Except, I can't find the pacifier! "Crap, where did I put that!?" I could have sworn it was in the carseat but it isn't there. And jay is getting louder by the second. He did not want his toy, my finger, or a blanket, he wanted his pacifier. This went on for about 5 minutes until I happened to look in a little pocket under the carseat, and, yes, there it was! So, I stuffed it in his mouth, rocked him to sleep, put him in the carseat, and finally, some peace. We had to wait for some medicine - Jake has an ear infection- and then we were off. The rest of the trip was painless. I did treat myself to some Wendy's...I decided my free PB&J would not make up for the morning so I splurged and ate a spicy chicken sandwich meal for lunch, the whole time thinking, "and we want MORE kids..... am I crazy???".

Dinner conversations...

Roly Poly

5 month present...

It has been a busy weekend! Jay rolled over for the first time on Saturday night. He was rolling 3/4 of the way all week so I knew it was just a matter of time. It took 6 adults on the floor cheering him on to convince him he wanted to. Ever since, he rolls over almost as soon as I put him on the floor. I got one on camera today but he was taking his time so I will try to catch a faster one and post it. He still thinks that coughing is hilarious. He is over the high pitched bark so now I just cough to get him to laugh (not quite as embarrassing). We were able to get him laughing for my mom and dad Sat night on skype and Wes' mom and dad last night. He has gone from playing with his tongue to experimenting with his lips. He will blow and spit with them constantly. It is really funny but usually ends up with both he and I soaked in saliva. :) I am going to post a video today that we took last week. Wes and I were eating and Jay entertained us through dinner. We aren't sure what he was talking about but he was very excited about it. The video is just a short clip but he "talked" the whole time we ate. I am very excited that Jay is now eating every 4 hours! He was supposed to be able to do that at 3 1/2-4 months but adamantly refused. I was afraid that he would not spread his feedings until we started him on baby food but thank goodness he finally agreed that he would not starve to death by waiting a little while longer. Once the pediatrician confirmed that he was not undernourished, I didn't feel guilty about making him wait. Actually though, he made the transition with little pushing from me. I know this is not the most interesting topic for you but I am very excited. It is hard trying to run errands and have a social life on a strict 3 hour cycle. :) Well, today is Wes' day off so we are trying to decide what to do. I think we will just go to Walmart (we lead such an exciting life) and get more toys for Jay. Now that he is more mobile, little rattles will not do. I'll let you know when I post the video.

Who you calling chunky?

Today Jay went to his new pediatrician for his checkup and shots. I love his new doctor! She is soooo nice and went on and on about how precious Jay is (definitely helped). :) Jay is 17 lbs 5oz and 26.75in long! That is the 97th percentile for both. Wow! He sure puts on a good show when he wants to eat but I have proof now that he will not starve if I make him wait for 10 minutes! He was great with his shots too. He cried for just a second and then passed out in the carseat. He has a full belly, tylenol, and mylicon so he should have a good nap now. This week has been pretty low key. We went to Lake Murray on Tuesday (Wes had the day off) and saw the dam. Then we took Jay for a walk in the mall near there to cool off. He loves little day trips like that because he has new things to look at. I am trying to run an errand or two a day just to get him out of the house. Jay is getting good at tummy time. He can hold his neck high off the floor and just look around. He turns to his side easily but still hasn't turned completely over by himself yet. I have started reading to him also. He likes it because he can touch the pictures and turn the pages himself. He will just take a page and turn it back and forth. That's all for now. I'll put a few pictures up too.

Granny Curry

Today my wonderful grandmother turns 80 years young! Here is a picture of her with Jay a few months ago. Wes and I wish that Jay could have met all of our grandparents but are so thankful that he knows Granny Curry and Papa Flagler and hope that he will be able to make memories as sweet as we have with them over the next few years. Every summer, Kurt, Josh, and I would spend a couple of weeks in Palatka with Granny and Papa and it was the highlight of our year. Between tractor rides, feeding the cows, working in the barn, going to Sea World and the Alligator Farm, fishing under the bridge (especially when papa would back his truck all the way into the water with us in the bed screaming with laughter), and ending each day with a huge bowl of ice cream, we thought we had found the best place on earth! I can't wait to tell Jay all of these stories. As much as I believe that we had the best grandparents in the world, I know that Jay will think the same thing about his and will count down the days until he can go to visit them just like we did with ours. I thank God for giving us the joy of grandparents, there is nothing like it. Happy Birthday Granny, we love you!

Friends

OK, below is the video from yesterday. I woke up this morning to find the video STILL uploading. I think it wasn't going overnight though because the computer went to sleep. I uploaded it on YouTube this morning and it was finished in 2 hours. I'll take that over 15hours. Also, I am posting a few pics of Jay and Truman's playtime today. Hannah came over and we had some "adult" conversation while the boys played. Of course by adult conversation I mean talking about the babies. :) The play date was the secret to a good nap though. I rocked Jay for about 2 seconds before he was out cold. Now I can be productive!

To catch you up...

Well Wednesday was Wes' first day at work as a real doctor. He was pretty nervous but they eased him in and it wasn't as stressful. I think today was bad though because he texted me that it has been "chaotic"....I guess that's ICU for ya though. The past two days have just been me and Jay. It is much harder to find things to do when you are the only adult trying to keep a 4 month old entertained. I feel like he gets bored with me so I am trying to come up with more to do. I am working on getting a video up that we made yesterday. I started uploading at 5:30 yesterday and it is still working. I'll post it when its done. It is almost 3 minutes so there is no telling how long it will take to download. It is evidence that Jay does NOT like tummy time. We are doing it more often though so he can build up his neck muscles. I am hoping he will roll over soon if we keep at it. Anyway, the video is pretty funny. Jay is doing more things every week. Lately he wants to touch faces all the time. If I am holding him (or anyone else is holding him), he will grab at eyes, nose, mouth, whatever he can get. You have to just hold his hands if you want him to stop. Dad said he grabbed his teeth the other day and pulled him over. He also grabs my hair, no, not just grabs....yanks my hair, at every opportunity. Even when I pull it back, he manages to find enough to pull. I know why mom's cut their hair short! He is also getting interested in our food. He is not supposed to start rice/baby foods until 6 months but I think he would love it if we started feeding him now. I can't wait to do that, I think it will be so fun to watch him. He is starting this new thing when he gets excited about something. He raises his arms straight out and just shakes them. He shakes them so hard until his whole upper body is shaking and his eyes get so wide. It is really funny. And of course, he is laughing more now. A long, deep belly laugh is still a rare surprise but he giggles pretty easily. He is ticklish too so that helps. The faithful trick for a big laugh is a high pitched bark. The first laugh was when Dixie, Carrie's Maltese was barking, and we had another good one when Jay saw Aunt Judy's shiatsu the other day. And a human imitating a dog works too (discovered when mom and I sacrificed our dignity to get out a good laughing episode). If Wes would not move out, I would go get a small annoying dog to just bark at Jay. I think I will stop for now. I am trying to catch up from being gone last week. By the way, Wes got home at 9:00 last night after leaving at 5:45am. I guess residency has officially started!