Happy Ten Months!

At ten months Whit...

...is wearing 12-18 month sized clothes. It depends on the item; he still has short legs, broad shoulders and a loooong torso. Poor kid can barely wear t-shirts that stay over his belly. He's in size 4 Cruisers now to a bit more success. 

...got to meet his cousin Logan for the first time this past weekend. And they loved seeing each other! Anytime they caught sight of one another they would flash a big smile. 

...can stand on his own for a long time! I don't think he realizes he's doing it though. It's usually when something is so interesting he forgets to hold on to the furniture. 

...and is thinking about walking! A few times this past week he will be standing, holding on to the ottoman, turn, let go, a  l  m  o  s  t  take a step, and sit down. 

...has started feeding the dogs his food. One night Whit was playing in the kitchen while I cooked and I handed him a piece of broccoli. He nibbled on it, held it out for Foster, Foster takes a bite, then he goes back to eating it. I just died laughing. I used to do the same thing with ice cream and our dogs when I was a kid. (And in the I-knew-it-wasn't-bad department, I heard recently about studies that said babies who are around dogs have fewer ear infections... win!)

...LOVES to greet people. While we were at a hotel this past weekend, every morning in the breakfast area Whit welcomed everyone who walked in with a "HEY!" (it sounds more like "AY!) and a hand in the air. 

...hates having his clothes changed. And if Ben's doing the changing Whit will start yelling "mam!"

...will actually stop doing something if I give him a warning "Nooo...." It's amazing being able to see what he's thinking. 

...tries to turn on the TV with the remote. Part of me finds this unbearably cute (he's a little adult!) and part of me finds this horrifying. He doesn't watch TV, and I want it to stay that way as long as possible.

...is back to liking his stroller, thank goodness! But is still not a fan of riding in the car. I think he thinks we left him. He can hear us, but since he can't see us, we must be gone.

...has been doing a hilarious "cheese" face! He smiles real big, throws his chin up and closes his eyes. It's too cute. I'll have to find photographic evidence of it!

...occasionally waves.

...has taken up the pacifier again. I can't think of the last time he used one, but lately it's one of three things that are required for sleep. 

...is a fiend for avocado, pineapple, blueberries, cherries, cheese and eggs. Maybe that should just say "is a fiend for food" and that's what we've been feeding him lately.

...is trying to feed himself with a spoon, but still no luck on sippy cups. He can drink out of them, but he refuses to hold them up to get anything out. I can't figure out what to do about this. 

...crawls laps around our house. We decided to babyproof the whole house and let him at it, and it really works for all of us. And this always being on the go is making his monthly pictures REALLY hard to take. For example:

My heart is full.

We're on our way to visit my family this week and stopped by my friends' place last night briefly. They're moving from Birmingham to Pittsburg at end of the month to start graduate school. And I haven't seen them in FOUR YEARS! So we had to visit.

It's blurry, but it still makes my heart happy. Whit couldn't get enough of Dustin and Stephen. And I think the feeling was mutual. :)

Self-feeding FTW

Originally we jumped on the BLW bandwagon because Whit tried to feed himself at an early age. He was grabbing at his spoon, at our food and trying to chew everything he got. So I started him on puffs a little sooner than suggested, then gave him some overcooked broccoli to see how that went. Now, almost every meal is him feeding himself. We're still sort of following the structure the pediatrician recommended: cereal + fruit in the morning, protein, veg or fruit for lunch, and veg + cereal at night. Just replace those cereals with grains, and reduce their size a little. I'm not a carb-friendly person generally, so I just don't think about it that much. That said, lately I've been trying to get Whit to use a spoon by himself, so we've taken up the cereal again. It's something that doesn't stain when it ends up EVERYWHERE, and I know it won't kill the dogs when they help clean up.

He's slowly getting the hang of it.

Sometimes.

It's funny, our battle over feeding lately has me convinced this kid is going to tell us when he's ready for change. A couple of weeks ago is when he started grabbing his spoon and not letting go. So I got him these Tommy Tippee spoons and some suction bottom bowls (the bowls aren't great at staying, but that may be thanks to his high chair's tray) to try out. I'll put a little cereal on his spoon, put the spoon in his hand and let him try. He's mostly got the concept down: put spoon in mouth. It takes him a while to get the food off the spoon and sometimes the spoon goes in his eye. After a while he gets aggravated and flings his spoon around and cereal goes flying. Yup, that would be my temper he's inherited.

But I have to say he's picking it up pretty quickly and I'm proud. I'm even prouder of how much different food he's eaten and likes! So far he hasn't met a food he hates. And I get a certain thrill from giving him something new, so it's keeping our horizons expanded around here.

Blueberries and provolone. Ben said it made his French side jealous.

Last night: avocado and spaghetti (for the first time) with homemade pasta sauce

 Of course he likes fruits and veggies. So far he's had: blueberries, strawberries, avocado, tomato, broccoli, carrots, kale, spinach, banana, cantaloupe. Tomato was the only one he was unsure about. For grains we've tried quinoa, rice, various breads (usually from my plate when we're eating out), pancakes, and now pasta. I've just recently started testing out proteins, so he's only had chicken, boiled egg, and salmon. That's probably going to be the hardest part of keeping up with his appetite. I'm not home all the time and when during the week I barely have enough time to cook for the adults and sometimes we cheat with fast food. But I don't want that for Whit. I had been relying on his baby food purees, but now that he's refusing to eat those, I'll have to start planning our meals a little better. And possibly cooking on my off time. Or maybe if I could get "Dada" to start helping out...

First time he tried avocado. The kid could eat a whole one if I let him!

The absolute best thing about Whit feeding himself is when we go out to eat. I bring his place mat, we give him what would be okay off our plates and let him go to town. It's easy and it keeps us in check too, trying to order things that are healthier, low-fat, low-sodium. Or as much as you can in a restaurant these days.

Either wontons or bean sprouts from our pho restaurant.

Now if we could just get the hang of sippy cups...

Whit's headshots are in!

A couple weeks ago Whit and I went up to Nashville to meet my friend Lu of Skip to my Lu Studios to take pictures for Whit's baby headshots. And last week they came in the mail, oh it was like Christmas! 

Definitely getting this guy framed: 

I will admit it was a little tough. It's hard enough keeping a newly mobile baby still, much less in the middle of downtown Nashville with about a hundred people in cowboy hats walking by oohing and ahhing over him. Oh, and did I mention it was nearly 90 degrees and crazy humidity? Lu asked if I wanted any shots of us together, and I declined (which I regret now) because my makeup had long ago melted off and my clothes were getting soaked with sweat and slobber. Oh well, live and learn...

I adore his smile in this, but man look at those guns!

Speaking of live and learn, I did not learn how to get more smiles out of this little guy! Out of 100 shots or so, I bet only 10 of them had smiles. Mostly moody, wide-eyed pictures, which is a great look for him, it's just not his usual self. And yes, he even gave us the "look over your should like you have a secret" pose.

My second favorite:

We already sent off a couple of submission packets to agents in Nashville for him, so we'll see. And we've already had a friend of Ben's family ask if I was trying to relive my acting days. To which I would like to reply, 

A. My acting days are not over. In fact, one of the agents in town has open calls every few months and I think me and Whit both will be attending the next one.

B. Heck no! This is about college money, yo. Ben and I both agree this is no different than if Whit was 17 and working a part-time job. We only do this as long as it's fun for him and not stressful for us. And if he makes any money, great, into the college fund! 

C. Dang I grow cute babies! (I know, not a reply, but I had to point it out)

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Summer Market

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. About a month ago my mother and I had a fairly intense fight and I'm slowly getting over it. My typical response when shit hits the fan is to run around being busy, then maybe most of it won't land on me. Honestly, I don't know what to do about it since there's been no resolution aside from just keep living life as well as I can. So, then, back to the blog...

So there's this group around here of Etsy types that get together once or twice a year and sell their wares. The sale used to be only around Christmas in a barn nearby, but this year I guess they had enough interest to do a summer one. And it was awesome! It was held at a local plantation-type house called Homestead Manor in Thompson's Station. I never realized how pretty that house and its grounds were until now. There's so many beautiful old trees that it was wonderful to be there, but almost impossible to take a decent picture!

There were all sorts of cool things. I honestly didn't think I would find a lot of things that would crank my tractor, since I'm not a huge burlap and chevron fan, but thankfully I was wrong. Not about the burlap and chevrons, there were a ton of those. But there was also a lot of architectural salvage, which I LURVE.

Seriously, I want to build a cottage around these shutters!

And there were actual artisans, thrifted stuff redone, and some new things I hadn't seen yet, but would actually like to own. Maybe we'll get a yard Yahtzee when Whit is a little older.

Now that's my kind of market!

I didn't take a picture of all my booty, but I did pretty well in the "finding stuff I didn't realize I needed until I saw it" category. I bought a few prints (geez, I really need to learn how to make my own), some hair ties (finally seeing what all the fuss was about), a summer infinity scarf, some earrings, and a plant stake. I really wanted some of those letters, but at $28 a piece, I'll pass. My favorite buy though:

Keeping it Real: Bathtime

Yup. Because sometimes there's too many dirty dishes and my back hurts too much to use the bath tub.

52 Weeks: Week 21

Awesome weather for an awesome holiday weekend! My in-laws came by to finish up painting the shed/carport and it's looking great. We only have the back left to finish, but it's not like I can see it...

We also had some friends visit and a Friday night off with Papa! The top middle picture would be of Whit enjoying his first piece of sushi that night. We don't always do baby led weaning, but we definitely have to when we go out to eat with little man. He gets jealous if he sees other people eating. So now I have a place mat (thank you Citrus Lane!) in my purse just in case. We usually just pick off a little from our plates that isn't too salty or spicy and let him go to town. That night he got carrot slivers, sticky rice, edamame, and salmon. He wolfed down that salmon like a pro!

Top right is Ben being silly and my flight of beers from our night out with the guys. Who knew milk stout was so tasty? Bottom right is Foster and Whit enjoying some sunshine. And the pictures on the left are the best! My friend, Amanda, her husband and her baby, Pierce stopped by for a visit on their way through town. Whit and Pierce are only a few days apart, even though they were supposed to be a month apart. Not that you can tell now! We were all thrilled to see how happy the babies were to play with another baby. It was way too cute. I hope Amanda doesn't kick my butt for posting pictures of her son, but I had to share! For the record, I tried to post ones that didn't show much of his face so I didn't get in too much trouble.

We had such a good time, we're going to try to make it a monthly thing. Although, this month is looking shaky thanks to weddings and showers. But I guess we can make it up in August when it's both our boys' birthdays!