Baby's First Babysitter

If you ask me, tonite's milestone was more mine than Jones's. I knew HE'D do great with his first non-family babysitter. I wasn't sure how I'D do, though. 

Typically, Jeremy's parents are our babysitters in Canton, and mine are in Greenville. The Pressleys are out West right now, though, and Jeremy had his annual Mars Hill Recignition Dinner in Asheville tonite, so I had to do something I'd been dreading: I had to hire someone to babysit. 

God couldn't have given us a more perfect person ... er, people ... for the job. Marleigh Meadows, one of our pastor's three daughters, did the honors. She's a new babysitter, though, so her parents tag-teamed being here with her, while she did all the heavy lifting of playing with and putting Jones to bed.

She says he did great. So either she's covering for him, or he actually DID do great. Knowing him, I tend to think the latter.

I did pretty great, too, by the way. God gave me the grace to get through what I thought would be really hard, and I actually had a really nice nite out with Jeremy.

I wonder if she's free next week?

This & That

 I'm the worst blogger in the world.

Sue me.

I DO have a few milestones to report, though, about everyone's favorite 11 month old:

1) Jones has a new tooth!  The tooth to the left of the upper left front tooth (that's a terrible way to describe it, but how else ...?!) came in late this past week.  I'd seen it - AND the tooth to the right of the upper right front tooth - below the gumline but didn't notice that it'd poked through, until I was changing Jones's diaper on Friday. By then, it was pretty well in, so I'm betting it broke through on Wednesday or Thursday. I doubt the other will be that far behind! If you're keeping score, that's seven teeth now!

2) Jones showed his first signs of stranger anxiety today. He started several months ago intermittently crying whenever someone who was in the room with him walked out of it. He didn't always do it, but sometimes, he did, and it didn't matter who was in the room with him, so long as someone was.  That phase has pretty much passed, thank goodness. This morning, though, we may have entered another one.

Jeremy and I went to drop him off in the church nursery. Typically, he goes without some much as a backward glance (and who wouldn't want to enter a room full of toddlers gleefully shouting, "JOOOOOOOO-NESIE!"?!), but today, when the worker tried to take him from Jeremy, he turned his head away from her and grabbed his daddy.  She immediately tried again, and this time, he went, but he reached from her arms for his daddy's ... until he saw his playmates. We walked away then and headed in to the service.

He didn't cry or anything, but it was just the first indication I've seen of him being uncomfortable with someone new.  Though I surely don't want him to have stranger anxiety, I will admit that this morning's episode was a little bit of a relief. Both Dr. O'Donnell and his nurse Jennifer were surprised at his nine month check-up that he hadn't started it yet. Dr. O wasn't worried about it, just surprised, but he left me feeling like it was something he SHOULD go through at some point, so I'm glad that he seems to be starting, though I hope it's a phase as short-lived as the "don't-leave-me-alone-in-here" one.

3) Formula is on the way out. Tonite, for the first time, I mixed whole milk with Jones's formula in an effort to wean him completely off of his Gerber GoodStart Gentle.  He's been eating cheese for months, cottage cheese for about six weeks, and tried ice cream last week all without any trouble, so I don't anticipate the transition being a problem. But we've started it tonite, and assuming he makes it through tomorrow alright, I'm not planning to buy any more formula.

What to do with that extra $150 / month?

So that's the latest - that, plus the fact that, as of Friday's appointment, all seems well with Freddie.  Life is good!  Here are some pictures to prove it!

Jeremy's Birthday

Finally!

I am no longer "the older woman."  Jeremy has, at last, turned 36, making us, finally, the same age. 

We celebrated with Jeremy's family on Sunday after church and with mine for lunch on the big day. We went to the Rice Bowl, where Jones shared my Lettuce Wraps - and the peas and carrots that had been picked out of his daddy's Fried Rice. He did NOT behave all that well. I'm not going to gloss over the fact that he was fussier and more demanding than ever, probably bothered by the realization that his daddy's getting older.

I'm kidding. But not about the bad behavior.

Later, Jeremy and I had a hot date to the Cracker Barrel, where we very gratefully used Aunt Dolly's giftcard to Jeremy.  No need to get dessert, though.  It was the one day a year that I actually bake ... and this year was no different.  I made Jeremy the Cracker Barrel Coca Cola Double Fudge Cake that I always do, but he only ate one piece, which makes me think that, just maybe, my copycat wasn't anywhere near as good as the real thing.

Surprise, surprise.

The next family birthday belongs to my favorite almost 11-month old!  Countdown to Disney sits at 34 days!

I know this picture isn't of Jones,
but isn't Jeremy just so handsome?!

Office Visit

Jeremy's co-workers surprised him with a little birthday apple pie, so Jones and I surprised Jeremy by showing up for the celebration.  This is in keeping with my life's central ethic, which is to eat apple pie as often as it is offered, especially while pregnant when I can eat more and blame it on the baby.

While there, I got some of my favorite pictures ever of Jones and Jeremy.  And let me just mention here that Jones is becoming QUITE the Daddy's Boy.  If Daddy is around, he's the one that Jones wants. And Daddy is happy to oblige ... provided Jones's diaper doesn't smell like a backed up sewer line.

To be honest, I don't want to be around him all that much when he smells that way, either.

Enjoy these pictures! In anticipation of our Disney trip, I'm trying to get the hang of shooting without flash - playing around with the settings on a camera that's way fancier than I can even comprehend.  These look a little yellow, but I kinda like the natural, amber light.

My candid photography is, clearly, a work in progress, People.

FAST Fun for Father's Day

Part of Jones's Father's Day gift to Jeremy - and Jeremy's gift to HIS dad - was a trip to the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte. It's been a been a busy summer all the way around, so we just got around to going. Better late than never, right?

Jones did great. He took his first nap in the car on the way and his second while the rest of us walked around the really awesome Hall of Fame. The only problem we had with him is that he kept taking off  his daggone shoes. I'd switch to velcro shoes, instead of laces, but Jeremy says, "Velcro shoes are for nerds."  That's not what I thought when I got MY first pair ...

Regardless, we had a wonderful day with our wonderful family!

Just One of Those Days

Today was just one of those days.

Jones, who's normally really sweet and well-behaved, was exceptionally sweet and well-behaved. He was smiley and didn't put any foreign objects in his mouth and took two ninety-minute naps. When I took my wallet away from him in the line at Babies R Us, he didn't scream as if I'd just pulled his teeth without anesthesia. And when we went to dinner at what would generally be his bedtime, he acted like being up late was as easy as holding up his sippy cup: "No problem, Mom. I got this."

Yes, today was one of those days. I'm sitting here at the end of it, and I can't help but think to myself, "Man. If every day were like THIS, I'd have a million kids!"

Yesterday, on the other hand, was NOT one of those days.

Still worn out from our weekend at the lake, Jones woke up early. He went on to sleep a sum total of 40 minutes during the day and proceeded to cry for about 25 minutes before finally falling asleep last nite. He didn't want to be held. He didn't want to crawl around. He didn't want to watch "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse." To be honest, I don't know what he wanted, but I am very aware of what he didn't want.

Bedtime couldn't come early enough - for me or for him. "Good riddance" blazed across my mind, as I closed his door and headed straight to the sanity of soaking in a hot tub.

I guess you could say, "it was just one of THOSE days."

Twelve hours after storming out of his room, I was awakened in the usual way. Jeremy and I will never need an alarm clock, so long as there's a baby monitor beside our bed, and today, as he always does, Jones woke up, talking to himself in squeal-y, happy sounds that make me think he's been dreaming of faraway places where every boy has a pony and every meal is a choice between cotton candy and ice cream.

The next step in our daily dance is mine. I walked down the hall and opened the door to Jones's room.  "Where's-my- Bug-a-Boo?" I asked in a pitch that's not naturally my own. "WHERE'S my Buggggg-a-Boooooo?!" Jones scooted around to see me. I smiled; he smiled, and when he did, my heart exploded in the same way it does every morning. I picked him up and smothered both cheeks - and his forehead - with a million kisses. Had you seen our reunion, you'd have thought we'd been apart for a year, but no. It'd only been a few hours, just since the day before.

The day before.

THE DAY BEFORE.

HOW HAD I FORGOTTEN THE "TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD" DAY BEFORE?

And yet I had. The sturm and the drang was all forgotten; it'd dissipated completely, just like one of Jones's baby monitor squeals that disappears as soon as it starts.

"This is what it means," I thought to myself, hugging the sweetest son God ever gave any one. "This is what it means that His 'mercies are new every morning.'"

The "sturm" and the "drang" of all my "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days" (and yours, too!) dissipates daily before my Heavenly Father, Whose "steadfast love never ceases" (Lamentations 3:22-23). When He sees me, His heart explodes in the same way it does every morning.

And the best part is, with God, it is ALWAYS "one of those days."

What a God we serve!

_______________________________________

(This video isn't from this morning, but it's still a pretty good illustration of our daily routine.)

Stop on by Shutterfly!

Remember a few weeks ago when I posted about Jones's Daily Instagram Photo Books?

Well, I tweeted the link out, mentioning @Shutterfly when I did. Their Social Media Manager responded, asking if I wanted to share the idea with others, via the Shutterfly blog. This was like asking Lila if she wants the tomatoes from my salad. OF COURSE, I DID.

The post went live today! It's mostly the same things that I mentioned in the original post, but if you're so inclined, cruise on over to Shutterfly to check it out there.

Labor Day Weekend at Lake Chatuge

Jones is a very lucky little boy.

There are many reasons for this - he has so many people who love him; he has his daddy's monstrously big eyes, and more - but one of the biggest reasons - in the summer, anyway - is that he has his grandparents' lake house to visit!  This year, in fact, he bookended his summer with trips to Lake Chatuge, kicking things off over Memorial Day and shutting them down on Labor Day.

We also went out over the Fourth of July. Thanks to the weather, though, we didn't get to do much, beyond teaching Jones the very apropos lyric to one of my favorite songs from "Winnie the Pooh." Sing-along, if you know it!

The rain, rain, rain 
came down, down, down, 
in rushing, driving rivlets,
until it crept out of its bed
and crept right up to Piglet's.

Poor Piglet, he was frightened
with a very rightful fright,
and so, in desperation, 
a letter he did write:

"HELP, P-P-P-PIGLET!"
- ME!

The song, of course, goes on and on, but, in the interest of not losing readers, I won't.

At any rate, we spent a great Labor Day weekend at the Lake, and, outside of a few nite time storms, the "rain, rain, rain" did NOT "come down, down, down."  This allowed for several boat rides, as well as for Jones's first swim in his little plastic pool.  At first, he couldn't get the hang of it. After awhile, he finally did; he laid flat on his belly, playing in it for about ten minutes before escaping out the collapsible plastic side of the small, circular play yard.

For some reason, Jones wakes up super early at the lake ... like, 5:45 a.m. early. I do not know what causes this, but if he keeps it up, he may not be quite so "lucky" next summer, if you know what I'm saying! While I see this as a low-light of our trips out there, Jones considers a highlight to be all of the yummy treats his Nan serves him. Oatmeal with applesauce! Peaches! Fresh carrots and potatoes! How she handles cooking something special for everyone in the house, I will never know, but she does, and Jones is the grateful recipient of her tasty treats. This trip, he also tried Cheez-Its for the first time. I'm nervous about how much he liked them; hopefully, I won't be expected to share mine from here on out.

As for me and Jeremy, one of our favorite things about going to the lake is Sunday morning services at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church. They've just started something they call "Wee Worship" for kids to attend, and we cannot wait for future summers when Jones (and Freddie, too!) can make memories of Mount Pleasant, just as Jeremy did when he was a little boy!

Until then, here are some pictures from the weekend.

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