play date with luke

Several weeks ago, my friend Sarah and her sweet baby Luke (also known as Jack's best friend) came over for our first of many play dates!

Luke isn't quite as mobile as our little monster, but he did great on his belly!

strong baby!

ALWAYS on the move!

Sarah and our boys. So dang precious!

We had a great time with our babies and I'm excited about future play dates. And, we have scheduled for this Friday! 

recent designs.

I've said this before, but thanks to those of you who have contacted me to fulfill your graphic design needs!

I'm thinking about opening an Etsy store. This means I'd have to buckle down and do some "templates" that could be purchased with a change of information for cheaper than a custom invitation, announcement, etc., but I think it could work really well.

I'd love to design something for you! Email me at 

divinemrsem {at] gmail {dot} com

belly laughing.

I don't think this was working for everyone yesterday, but hopefully it's fixed now. I wouldn't want to deprive anyone of Jack's belly laughs!

friday thoughts.

• When I picked up Jack from daycare on Tuesday (Valentine's Day), the super cute girl in his room handed me a bag with his name on it. Inside were several valentines. Cue the guilt! I didn't realize that I needed to make valentines from my 9 month old for all of his classmates! Ugh ... it's all starting!

• John's cousin is getting married this weekend and I bought a really cute Gianni Bini dress. However, it's short and without tights, the world will see my nearly-transparent skin. Seriously, I could be a Cullen.

Anywho, I decided to get a mystic tan yesterday. I took my make up and jewelry off, stripped down, and lotioned up my hands and feet. I stepped into the booth, waved my hand in front of the sensor ... nothing. Waved again ... nothing. Waved AGAIN ... nothing. So, I strapped on a towel and found one of the workers. She'd forgotten to turn it on.

After that debacle, I was worried, I'd end up looking like Ross. It all turned out okay, I turned when I was supposed to and I did an OK job at making sure my knuckles and other "crevices" weren't all caked and orangey.

I'm feeling a little over tan (especially for February), but I'm sure I'll be glad I did it when pictures comes out.

•Also, yesterday, I decided to try out curling my hair. It didn't take too long (my main concern with using a curling iron) and ended up staying pretty much all day. I'd say this'll be a nice occasional change for my day two hair.

• So much happened on Valentine's day ... one of our like-family close Montgomery friends passed away way too soon Tuesday. She and her husband (and their 7-year-old son and her mother) are mine and John's next-door neighbors. She'd been feeling sick (just any other cold/flu-like symptoms) and then Monday morning her husband took her to the hospital in our town. They ended up transferring her to Oklahoma City where she rapidly went downhill and ended up passing away just about 24 hours later. She was only 46 and had her entire life ahead of her.

To say that this was a complete shock is an understatement. When I think of Bill and Brady and Mildred having to make it on their own ... it makes me so sad for them. Patty and Brady were so close and now his mother is gone. So sad.

And, it really makes you realize just how short your life can be. John and I don't have a will (something we really wanted to get done before Jack was born), but that's at the top of our list since this realization.

Have a happy weekend, friends. Hug the ones you love and always let them know how much they mean to you.

9 month pictures.

These are wayyy overdue, but at least I have them, right? Right.

We finally took pics of Jack two days after he turned 9 months. And, lucky us, he'd really gone to town on his food at daycare ... so those little yellow spots on his onesie? Flavor savers.

It definitely was a two-man job taking pics our little mover.

Enjoy!

 

The verdict is in ... we have the cutest kid ever!

sleep positions {take two}.

Seriously, guys. Jack ends up in the most hilarious positions!

The theme this time seems to be using the back bumper as a pillow.

happy valentine's day {yesterday}.

This little monster was the perfect Valentine!

gift ideas {for me!}.

I have a running list on my phone of things I'm coveting. Though a little ridiculous, it's also nice to have a list of things I want when Valentine's day or my birthday (or any old random day someone wants to give me something) comes up.

Anywho, I'm always adding to the list and below are a few of the things I'm currently coveting. Big time.

1/2/3/4

breakthrough!

We've been slowly trying finger foods with Jack since probably the middle of January, maybe earlier. Nothing special, just bananas or blueberries cut into quarters and puffs. And, like I've mentioned, he's just never really taken to it. And, even though we haven't been at this for long, I was getting frustrated! I just really thought once he tasted "real food" he'd be all over it. But, he wasn't. (Aren't babies the best at proving you wrong??)

No matter what has happened, I've been determined to keep consistent with finger foods. At every meal I have something on his highchair that usually just gets pushed around or thrown on the floor.

Last night for dinner was no different. But, I'd skimmed some baby led weaning information and thought I'd try something along those lines. The tip I read was to give them something bigger they can hold onto and just take bites off of. So, I made some toast, spread it with blueberry yogurt, and gave it to him.

Of course he mushed it all up and his hands ended up with most of the yogurt on them, but he actually held it and took bites. And, the biggest success of all was that we only had one almost-gagging incident that I distracted him from and he was great! We celebrated and he even clapped for himself some!

This morning I gave him the same thing and we had the same result, without the almost-gagging incident.

My plan is to keep giving him this for a few days and use this as a jumping off point.

I fully realize that eating "real food" is not going to happen right away and that we're in this for the long haul. But, the fact that we had a success to hang our hat on last night has made me so happy. Baby steps, people.

And, if Jack is eating only toast spread with blueberry yogurt for years on end, I think I'd be ok with it. (I say that now, but ask me in a month and my answer will probably be different.)

see the "toast" in his right hand?

Jack: 9 months

I say it every time, but this month has flown by and it's hard to believe our little monster is 9 months!

I know I've already mentioned this, but January was a rough month for us. Jack started daycare on January 4. The 3 days a week he goes really seems to work and, though I miss him at work, it's best for all of us. He gets to interact with other people and babies and I don't feel stressed about having him at work.

But, as a welcome to day care, the Friday after he started he got super sick! Since then, he's definitely been on the mend. The only thing we can't seem to shake is the green, snotty nose and a nasty cough. But, if that's all, then I think we're doing fine. The doctor said his lungs sounded great and his ears looked great, so I can't really ask for much more!

For a few weeks, Jack had really lost his appetite. He didn't finish many bottles and absolutely refused solids, especially cereal. But, now that we're on the mend, he's really made a comeback. Except with the cereal. Now, were just giving him baby food and attempting finger foods. He'll occasionally eat a puff, but that's it. He's put some other food in his mouth (banana and blueberry) only to gag and throw up once he realizes it's in his mouth! I'm hoping that when we find something he likes it'll be a springboard for more foods. Fingers crossed!

Yesterday he was scarfing the puffs! Then, this morning, I gave him some puffs while he was in his highchair and he gagged until he threw up. I really think, for whatever reason, he doesn't like eating them when he's in his highchair. Ugh, what a stinker!

Now that Jack is a seasoned crawler, he's rarely happy just sitting in one place playing with toys. He especially loves to drag a toy with him when he's on the move. And, he still loves to pull up and can now stand on his own for a short time (5-10 seconds).

At this point, he has two bottom teeth, and four (FOUR!) top teeth. The doctor even said that 6 teeth was a lot of a 9 month old. Needless to say it's not safe to just stick your finger in his mouth anymore... And, he'll occasionally grind all those teeth! Definitely not a good habit to get into at such a young age.

We've really been working on Jack holding his own bottle and waving hi and bye. So far, we're getting better at holding the bottle. The waving, though, well, he's still a little unsure. But, I know we'll get there. I mentioned last month that Jack was clapping. He's still doing it, but now, if anyone says, "yay, Jack!" he starts clapping! Sometimes he'll clap when we say "hi" too.

All in all, Jack's ninth month was really great. As we embark on this finger food journey, I'm already a little frustrated and nervous. He doesn't seem very interested and everything we've tried has had the same result: gagging and eventual throwing up. Please say a little prayer that we make it over the hill and make some progress on moving toward solid food.

9 month stats:

•18 lbs. 11 oz. (I think he lost weight while he was sick)

•29 1/4" long

•26-28 oz and fruits/veggies three times a day, attempting finger foods, too

•6-9 and 9 month onesies

•size 3 diapers, 4s at night

I completely forgot to take pictures last night. And, J wasn't up yet when I wanted to take them this morning and it's definitely a two-man job these days.

my boys.