And we're up..

So the same day that JD mastered the rolling from front to back, he learned to pull himself up to standing. Then yesterday he was playing on the floor. I look down and he was totally up on his hands and knees! Oy!! He did the rocking motion for a bit and flattened out. But now he just keeps doing it. So I know it won't be long. So between the rolling and the up on his hands and knees. He's soooo proud of himself. Then when I let him pull himself up. You would think he conquered the world! Sooo cute!!

We did end up trying the turkey and rice, and it was a HUGE hit! :)

So, just a quick update to say all is still going well..and he's on the move. I'm sure soon I'll be posting that he is actually going somewhere..and fast! :)

what we're up to

So JD went through a point where it seemed he had completely stopped..if not had gone backwards with his development. Got a bit worried, but after talking to a few other mom's, realized their little ones were doing it to.

Not to worry any longer. Seems over night he has started to do everything! He now rolls officially from front to back and back to front without any effort. He also has learned that if he keeps doing it he can get around the room pretty quickly. Much quicker then his mini-crawling was getting him!

He also is sitting up pretty well, and standing when held. Then last night he pulled himself up on the crib rails, (We were sitting on the floor playing) and stood there all smiley at himself. Very cute to see him so exciting. Sometimes I think he's going to skip the official crawl stage, for he did it for a bit then stopped, and go right on to walking. But needless to say, Sam and I went out and got all the baby proofing things we needed to keep him from getting into too much trouble. Boy it amazes me how much trouble he can get into! :)

And food. We have moved on to eating a full jar of stage 2 for lunch and dinner now. He tried corn and pasta with veggie medley and loved them both!! The corn he went as far as to grab the plate and lick it to get the rest off! He also is trying to grab the food with his hands. So I am going to head over to the store tonight and pick him up some cherrios so that he can start havbing something to feed himself with. We've now tried all the fruits and veggies (and all the mixes) except for the meats. And tonight for dinner it looks like it is going to be Turkey and rice. We'll see how we handle that first taste of meats!!

All in all..life has been good. Tomorrow JD is going to his first fair. I'm pretty excited to take him there. And since we know all the animals and thier owners, he'll get some one on one with those..and probably get cuddled by everyone. I'm looking forward to some good fair food! I honestly can't believe that it is the start of Autumn!! Where has all the time gone!! Can't wait to see JD enjoy the falling leaves, cooler weather...and of course...Halloween is just around the corner!! :-D

Now..off to catch the rolling baby I have, that just woke up from his nap on the floor! Updates to come more frequently! :)

6 months & Disney

Wow...soooo much to update here!!

6 month appointment

So, JD has officially turned half a year old!! It really is bittersweet to think that my baby boy is growing up. I honestly can not believe that it's been that long!! That just last summer I wondered if we'd be blessed to reach thos point at all!! He went for his appointment, and he's doing so well. The doctor feels that he is doing great with all his milestones and he is growing too well. :) He's 18lbs 10 1/2oz and he was 29inches!! The weight he's following right along his normal curve, at about the 70th percentile. But the height..he's not on any of the curve charts. He's going above the 95th percentile for that. So, I'm blessed with a very tall boy! :-D He's got a lot of tall people on both sides, so I am not surprised!

We also looked at his teeth, and he does have some! I thought I had felt the canine and incisors, but those typically are not the first to come. Leave it to my son to not be the typical kid. :) Those teeth I felt are the ones coming in. And..he's got a molar working it's way!! The 2 incisors and the canines have popped the surface, but haven't pushed any further through. But boy, that hasn't stopped JD from nawing on anything and everything!!

He got the 3rd round of shots, but those didn't do too well for him. That night we woke up with a fever of 101.9. He was doing well with it, and still wanted to play and all. I gave him some tylenol and put some cool clothes on his head to help bring it down. It slowly went away during the next afternoon. Thankfully! I was not in the mind for that one! Looks like a lot of the baby buddies from this time frame have had a rough go at that 3rd set of shots. Wonder if it's a bit stronger or something?

Disney

So right after his doctors appointment; Sam, JD and I headed out to NY to my parents house. Even though Sam wasn't going on the trip with us, he wanted to head out to say goodbye and things. We spent that afternoon relaxing and Sam left early that evening. Then Friday, August 14th, we flew out of Albany International airport at 7:50am. (This was after we had a very early morning and made it to the airport for 6am...since I had to do special boarding things with JD) Security wasn't so bad with him in Orlando. They were actually pretty reasonable and helpful and we got through pretty quick. The airplane ride was fine and JD had zero problems with the flight. He usually doesn't do well with pressure changes..and he slept and played the whole flight. :) So when we landed in Orlando at 11am, it was great to have a happy baby to enjoy the day with. We got the rental car and headed out to Daytona Beach to enjoy the afternoon before heading back to Orlando for the remainder of the trip.

We spent Saturday and Sunday at Sea World. The first thing we saw was Shamu show..and boy did JD's eyes pop when that whale jumped out of the water. I wish I had a camera to catch his look on that one. :) He did really well and enjoyed seeing most of the animals. Other parts, he just slept through. Not surprising with the heat being so high, especially with the humidity.

Sunday night we headed to our hotel in the Disney All Star Movie Resort. They had Mickey ears made out of towels waiting on our bed. Ron shared a room with JD and I. Then we went to Magic Kingdom for lunch with Cinderella and the Princesses on Monday and over to Epcot for dinner with the Princesses. We got back to our room, and housekeeping had put JD's Manatee and Elephant in the window looking out as if it was waiting for him. Very cute!

Tuesday we did Animal Kingdom...but it sadly rained. But we enjoyed it while we could. JD and I headed back to our room, and he crashed at about 5pm and didn't move until about 6:30am on Wednesday. So he was in need of a good sleep. Then Wednesday and Thursday we did Magic Kingdom, along with a small trip to Downtown Disney on Wednesday. We tried to see the Illumination parade on Thursday, but the weather wasn't looking well and they had to cancel it. Too bad, b/c the parade we caught on Wednesday afternoon totally made JD's day. :) But we did get back to our room to find Mickey (JD's stuffed animal from Grandma) waving at us out the window! Then Friday we spent a few hours over in Epcot before heading to Orlando International to catch our flight home. He did even better on the flight back to NY, and slept from the second we boarded until we landed! We did get a bit delayed due to a huge storm in Orlando, but we were in the air by about 7pm and arrived in NY around 10:10. So all in all it was good.

My parents brought JD and I back to MA on Saturday afternoon. So he had a great trip. He got Mickey, Magician Mickey, Shamu, Nemo and a Manatee on this trip..and boy does he love them all! :)

I was a bit worried about getting him to transition back to his crib after spending over a week in bed with me..but the first night he went in his crib and slept through the night, and has done it every night. So I guess we didn't have as much to worry about. :)

So far behind

I am so far behind in updating. I had a small situation with this, and now that I've adjusted to it. I'm willing to accept that some people are just plain rude and nosey (and VERY controlling!!), and will do whatever they want regardless of who they hurt and offend. Soooo..I'm just going to post away for those that I do care to share this stuff with. And this person (who knows that I am talking to them, so if you're confused..no worries! ;) )... they can realize they made this so!!!

Updates to follow!

BTW - I WON!

growing up too quick

I honestly feel that JD is getting big so quick. I actually sat down today and cried and wished I could freeze time, and even go back. It has all gone by so quick, and I don't feel I wrote down enough memories or took enough photos. I wish I could bottle the way he smells, and just find a way to keep the way he feels. I know it's every mother's wish. But it hit me so hard today!!

I think what is hitting is that I'm loosing all of those original baby coos. :( JD has started to do his b's, d's and blowing raspberries. He even called ba-ba today, and he does seem to have the association down for his bottle. He's also been working on his ma-ma. It really is bittersweet for me. It all started last Friday (7/31) and it's just getting more and more. He's so intent when he watches you talk and will try to mimic. He also loves to grab your mouth while your talking to feel how it works. It's really cute! But I wish I had video's of his coo's. I tried to get them with the camera, but he always shut up when it was around. I know I'll remember them in my mind, just like I still know exactly how Loud used to talk to me. But I still wish I had it to listen to again!

And if starting to talk wasn't enough, my little wiggle worm is starting to move all over the floor on his own. He got up on his hands and knees once, but has decided to bulldoze (head down and use his feed to push forward) is his favorite way right now. But he can sure get himself around that way!!

Then last week we started to introduce the sippy cup, and JD took to it soooo quickly. He grabbed the handles from me, stuck the tip in his mouth and started drinking...like he's done it a million times. I was shocked..and a bit saddened. Hahaha. So, he gets his daily juice, that the doctor ordered, in his sippy. And he loves to see that orange cup coming. I wanted to move his juice out of his bottle so that he could know that bottles are for his feedings and his sippy is his juice. Then when we get to about a year, we'll add milk and water to that and wean off the bottle. *sigh* Sad to think we're half way to that point already!!

We've also finally moved JD to his crib in his room. We stated the transition on Saturday, and he took immediately to it. I think he was a bit ready for it too. Sam snores and I tend to move a lot, and I think we kept waking him up. So I put him down with his mobile, and he did well. He loves to watch the mobile...so he does that till it stops and then just puts his head down and out he goes. Because no matter what I do, that boy will not sleep on his back, and I feel he's fine on his tummy if that's what is best for him. I still check repeatedly on him. :) He has been doing much better with sleeping in there too. We're even starting to lose that middle of the night wake up, so I think this was a great move.


And the hardest thing for me to realize is that in 5 days he's going to be a half a year old already!! Boy has it all gone by so quickly!!

Vacation to NJ

Family photo on the board walk of Ocean City, NJ

The NJ trip was interesting, to say the least. It had it's good points and it's bad points. But I believe that happens with any trip that you take!

We traveled late Tuesday night and arrived in Ocean City, NJ around 4am. Sam's brother Ben was up waiting for us, and helped us bring everything into the house. Once everything was in the house, I got JD back and kicked everyone out of our room so that I could get him down. I've come to learn that JD doesn't sleep in the car. So the trip was long for us all, but he was very well behaved throughout the whole thing! Even I was getting cranky after 6 hours of driving. I was amazed at how much traffic was still in NY city at 3am!!

Wednesday morning we got up and went for an early morning walk over to the farmers market with Sam's parents. We picked up some fresh fruit and some flowers. On our way back to the house, we ran into Sam's grandmom. So JD finally got to meet his Great-Grandmom. It was such a sweet moment,and you could tell she really was happy to see him. She couldn't stop gushing about how handsome and big he was. Melts my heart that I was able to get some good photos for JD to have. I hope he gets to continue to spend time with her so that he can have memories to go with them.

That afternoon we headed off to the beach, and JD loved it!! The water was a nice temperature too, so I let JD put his toes in the surf. We had a beach hut, so we were able to stay out for a bit. JD took his naps right on the beach and we enjoyed spending time with the big Fox clan. It was a bit overwhelming for both of us since there were so many that wanted to meet me (since they hadn't come up to our wedding, and then to meet the baby!) That night we went to dinner at one of Sam's dad's brothers rental house. (They do the big family dinners) After which, we headed up to the boardwalk with Sam's brothers Pat and his family, and Benny with his girl friend. We went to get ice cream and uncle Pat gave JD his first taste of vanilla ice cream. Boy did he love that. Following that, we hit the beach at sunset, so that the boys could play Frisbee with Zoe and Joe. (Pat's 2 children) That day went great, and we ended it with JD going to bed like an angel and we got to play games with the brothers.

However, Thursday everything went to the wind. Sam thought I was being crazy with some of my rules with the baby. My big one is that children can not hold him if they are standing or on the couch. While we were getting ready for breakfast, I look over and Sam's father had handed my son off to Sam's niece. I looked at Sam to fix it so it didn't make a scene. But he told me I was over-reacting!! I was livid. I couldn't believe he would flat out do that. Especially when certain things were done for his safety. We had a pretty mean blow out, so I took JD and locked ourselves into our room. It was a rainy day, so it proved to be a long one anyways. Sam just didn't get the point. I went out to speak with Zoe and explain that it wasn't her fault. It was that some things need to be followed and her Uncle Sam was not following them. Well I sadly got my point across that evening during the family dinner. That night was held at our house, and one of the cousins has a baby boy that is a month older than JD. Zoe was holding him (thankfully on the floor) and he pitched himself forward and smacked his head on the floor! The baby wasn't hurt, just stunned. But it definitely woke Sam up! Pat looked at Zoe and explained that that was why I had the rule to hold him while sitting on the floor. B/c babies wiggle a lot and are hard to keep still. Imagine if that baby had been up any height! That night Sam apologized for what he had done, and we moved past it. After the dinner, we headed off to the boardwalk again to have ice cream and play some mini-golf. So, all in all it was another great evening.

Friday was another sunny day, so we were able to head back to the beach to enjoy our last day at the shore with the family. We stayed for that evenings dinner and a last walk on the board walk. Then about 8:30 we left and headed home. JD did well again in the car, even if he didn't sleep. The traffic home was a lot worse then on the way down, but we hit NY city around midnight on a Friday night, so I was surprised.

All in all, it was a decent trip. But boy were we all glad to finally be home!!


And here are all the photos! Well some of them!

Our room - don't mind the mess, we had just got there!

Our own bathroom in our master bedroom


Meet Great-Grandmom for the first time!

Toes in the sand and water!

Hanging in the surf with Mom! <3> Playing in the sand with Uncle Ben

The beach and dunes at Sunset!

The lights of the boardwalk from the beach at sunset

JD's first try at ice cream!

And the culprit who gave it to him - his Uncle Pat!

All the grandchildren who made it to the shore. Sam's in the - 4H shirt of course!

My favorite photo of all. I snapped it at just the right time, b/c it wasn't staged. JD's great-grandmom just leaned over and kissed him!! <3>All the Great-Grandchildren! And JD liked his cousin Jack!

JD was laughing..I thought it was cute!

The 4 generations of Fox's: Great-Grandmom, Daddy, JD and Grandpa

Everyone loves JD cuddles!! <3> JD and his Great-Grandmom

JD and his cousin Joe playing on the floor of our room

We went swimming

Ok, so JD went swimming, I sat and watched! :) At first he didn't like it, but that was because Mommy was holding him. But once I let him lay down in his little pool, he was so happy. He started splish splashing. He's my little fish. But He's also my little beach bum. I'm looking forward to taking him down to the beach and let him play in the sand and see if he likes it as much as his baby pool. Probably not, b/c Mommy won't let him do his own thing there!! ;)

So cute photos!!

He's my little GQ baby. I put on his swimsuit, and he laid back with his arms behind his head!!

Mommy, I don't know if I like this. Let me gooooooo!!

Ahh.. Much better. Splish splash, giggle!!

Day 2 out in the pool!

Ahh..this is the good life!!

Mommy and JD lounging in the sun. Ok, so I was trying to copy him. Didn't even realize our legs were up together too!! :) <3

Daddy and JD splish splashing!! <3