A little marroon and white...

We took William to his first Mississippi State football game on Saturday. He lasted all of 5 minutes (ok, maybe 10) in the actual game. I guess I had forgotten how loud it actually is (or is it louder now?), and the sea of cowbells was just too much for this little guy. I also forgot my camera, but "Gran" was so kind as to send us these pics. We did have a great time tailgating and seeing all the campus renovations even if we missed the game. Here is the little bulldog himself:

Proof

William has said Bye-bye several times this week, sometimes with a wave, or at least we think he is saying bye-bye. What do you think?

Eight Months

Yesterday, our little guy turned eight months old. His first year is quickly coming to an end, and it has gone by with impressive speed. He is pulling up on any and everything and crawling up a storm. He has 4 teeth, although the top two are snaggled because the outers came in first. He is working on his talking all the time, and maybe starting to say some more purposeful "mama"s and "dada"s (but of course this could just be our hopeful imaginations). A few days ago, he started clapping when we sing and sometimes just clapping for fun. Moving anywhere is still his most favorite of favorite things, so diaper changes have gotten to be very challenging.

Over the weekend, we had quite the adventure. HJ called me (I was at the Cooper-Young Festival) to tell me he had locked himself out of the house, and William was inside. I ran about 4 blocks to my car and sped the few miles home. Thankfully, HJ had left the TV on and William entertained himself with the UT football game, a Southern Living, and HJ's flip-flop (yummy!) until I made it back with the keys. No harm done, but a bit of a scare.

Today, I took William to the pediatrician because he has had a cold and his eyes are gunky, gunky, gunky. His tear ducts are blocked, so this is a common occurrence, but they were worse than usual. So, he is now taking some antibiotics. This explains his red eyes in some of the pictures. He wakes up with his eyes completely crusted over everyday, and it is so pitiful.

William also got his first pair of shoes today for his very teeny feet...here he is modeling them in just his diaper...what a flattering combo.

We're still here...

Well, the blog has taken quite a hit lately since I've been working a ba-zillion hours a week (maybe a slight exaggeration, but it doesn't seem like it). However, Sir William is thriving as usual and we are loving every minute of this sweet stage. Here are a few recent pics....

Daddy

Tags

Independence

Let me explain the tags caption...William loves tags. Any toy with a tag is his favorite. I went to check on him during his nap one day, and he had reached out of his crib, found the tag on his duck, and was holding on to it while he slept. I'm pretty sure tag is going to be his first word.

This Week

More Cowbell...

I love this expression...

Me? Trouble?

Pulling up...

Watch out, World...

Just because...

diaper malfunction

in our sunday best

Rashes, Rashes, We all fall down...

Is that the worst blog post title ever? We've had a nice week, but our little monkey has gotten very mobile and very fast all of a sudden...making it more difficult to keep him out of trouble. He tried to pull up at school (day care) and fell and bumped his noggin. He has a nice bruise as a souvenir, but it hasn't slowed him down. He also broke out in a mystery rash on Thursday that has me stumped. So, all that is to explain the title, and here are some completely unrelated photos from last weekend. We went to Tupelo to visit my fam. William had a blast in the pool and he got to meet a future partner in crime, Adoniram, who is one day younger than William.

By request

Someone (Rachel) has been asking for a few pics. He's been a bit under the weather this week, but I did manage to get some cute ones.

Eyeing the John Deere...must be a boy thing!

Can't breath out of his nose right now...


Please excuse the mess in the background...the living room is now mostly blankets for our mobile guy.

Holding on for dear life...I walked in his room and he had 2 pacies. I think he takes after his Aunt Meg.

the scoot

Happy Six Months to my little guy! Here he is a few days ago demonstrating the scoot. He has already gotten a lot faster and is figuring out that he can move across the room. You might want to turn the volume down because it is a little loud. For those of you who want to know, William weighed in at 16lbs, 6.5 oz and 26 1/2 inches today at his check up...big boy!

Weekend

Yesterday we took a trip over to Shelby Farms to enjoy the weather's dip down into the 80's. We are certainly appreciating our weekends more these days!

Ooh, Child...

First of all, this video just cracks me up. What are these people wearing? Secondly, this has been our theme song for the week...things are going to get easier. We have had a bit of a difficult week. I, of course, had to work nights again, and HJ happened to get sick. This is the first time he has been actually sick (high fever for 3 days) since we've been married, and I think since I've known him. And, it had to be during my first full week of internship when I was working every night. Thankfully, his mom came up for a few days to help! Thanks, "Gran"! The good thing is that the week is over, HJ is better, and we survived. We are reminded, again, that God is in control of all things, even our bad weeks. And, He will sustain us as He always does.

These pics are opposite the order in which they occurred, but oh well. If you want the correct order you can scroll down and start at the bottom.

Bye, Bye, Bouncey...William is now escaping the bouncey. He drops toys over the side and then goes after him. It is a little dangerous because he can't actually get out. He just hangs off the side and then cries until we rescue him. So, I guess the bouncey will have to be retire soon. It has provided countless hours of entertainment in the last few months while we ate, showered, cleaned...I'll be sad to see it go.

The evolution of the scoot...now he is starting to pull his legs up after he pulls forward on his arms. He has figured out that he can actually go long distances yet, so he is still pretty much just going from toy to toy. I'm sure it won't be long though, so we need to get to baby proofing.

If you look closely, you can see the carpet burn on his arms from all the scooting.

Last Sunday...William learned how to scoot.

Fourth of July

First day of work as a real doctor...I do not look this chipper after a week and a half of nights

Dark Dramas based on real life

Here are a few of my thoughts from the week:

• "Dark Dramas based on real life- your taste preferences created this row"- this is what our Netflix homepage said today. What does this say about us? We also had a row called "Visually-striking quirky comedies" so I didn't feel quite so, well, dark. Their computer system uses your previous choices of movies to pick new categories you will like. We'll see what it says tomorrow since we tried to watch a documentary on Christopher Columbus...it was too boring even for us.



• To bumper or not- William has started rolling over every time we put him in the crib, and almost every time he hits his head on the side of the bed, resulting in a loud thump. This does not phase him at all, but I don't want his little neurons damaged every time he turns over. We have (thanks to my parents) a super cute bumper pad that I have not put on the bed yet, due to my fears of suffocation. The back of his crib is solid, so you cannot tie the bumper pad back there, and I am afraid he will pull it down on himself. And, he now pushes his little face against the side to sleep, and I don't want him to sleep with his head smushed in the bumper pad. So, I can't decide what to do.



• Germs- I have initiated an all out war on germs here in our house since going back to work. I don't want William putting his mouth on anything that touched anything that touched the hospital. Yikes...so I have been taking my shoes off at the door and basically sterilizing myself and everything else that I touched before I pick him up. Is this completely crazy? Probably, but if you saw some of the things I touch at work, you would understand.



• A cockroach just crawled up my leg while writing this and HJ trapped it under a pillow. Yet another household item that has to be cleaned. Seriously, I did not make that up. (I screamed.)


• Night Float- this month I am working 7:30pm to 7:3o am (which really means 8:30 am) from Sunday to Thursday nights. It is definitely not an easy way to start off my intern year, but I have to do it some time. I have worked 2 nights now and have 20 to go. My sleep schedule means that right now I am wide awake, but I'm sure I will be suffering tomorrow. I am missing my little buddy, but HJ is doing a great job of taking care of him while I'm working.

And of course, a few pics from the week:

An anniversary and an ear ache

HJ and I got married four years ago today on June 25, 2005 at 5:00. I loved all the fives. And, I love my sweet hubbie...thanks for an amazing first four years of marriage, love! Tonight, we are going to eat at Automatic Slims and to see "Wicked" at the Orpheum here in Memphis to celebrate. HJ bought the tickets as a surprise, but, as usual, I figured it out. But, I still think it was a great gift.

Here is a picture of William "reading" yesterday after we got home from the doctor. He had his first ear infection, but he seems much better today after a little Tylenol and Amoxicillin.

Four years ago, on our honeymoon...aren't we cute?

Five Months Today

Big Little Man

Today, I broke down an bought some baby gear. It is so big in our already small house, but is folds down flat and can go under the crib. I'm hoping I can put William in it for a bit in the kitchen while I'm cooking, cleaning, etc. (and HJ is just hoping that I will cook and clean). I think William likes it, but his feet are his true favorite toy of the moment.

We're Back...

I did a terrible job of taking pictures during the trip, but here are a few. We had a wonderful, wonderful time with both of our families. We relaxed, read, walked on the beach, ate great seafood, and avoided the sun whenever possible. I think we might be the least tan people ever to return from the beach.

In other news, in a moment of weakness I agreed to teach the four year old VBS class at our church all week this week. What was I thinking? 16-18 four year olds...and me. It could be a disaster. We'll see.

Friday

There's not much for me to report here this week. I kicked off my vacation right by going to the dentist on Monday and the OBGYN on Tuesday. I think the dental hygienist was out for blood, literally. On Wednesday and Thursday, I did get in a little relaxing. I ordered The Help specifically to read at the beach next week, and I have already finished it. I started it on Saturday and finished it on Tuesday...I couldn't put it down. (You have a lot of reading time when you are still nursing five times a day.) So, now I am trying to find another beach book. I bought Same kind of different as me. yesterday, so I'll see how that is.

William is doing great, although I really don't have any new pictures this week (sorry everyone who just wants to see the pictures). We have just been enjoying some quality time together. We started solid foods, and yesterday we tried green beans. He had done so well with the other foods that I thought that maybe he just was not picky. However, the green beans disproved my theory. He still took every bite, but then he would just let the green goop ooze slowly back out of his mouth. I think every time I offered him a bite he thought, ooh, maybe this bite will be better. I can't blame him though because I tried a bite myself and it was just what you would think pureed green beans with no salt or seasoning would taste like...yuck.

We are heading to the beach this weekend for some relaxation. My parents gave me a spa day there for graduation (thanks again!) and I cannot wait. Hopefully, the eight hour drive will not be a disaster.

Well, that's all for now. I should have some beach pictures soon. Happy Friday!