August

What we've been up to (okay, what James has been up to) . . .

James finally traded in his pack 'n play for a real bed, or at least a real crib. Yes, that's right, our little boy has been sleeping in a portable crib his entire life (don't judge). He probably would have been fine sleeping in it for another few months but we always said as soon as we got to Knoxville we'd get him a real crib, and, well, here we are in Knoxville. The little rascal learned to pull himself up last month and let's just say that naps have become a little trickier since then. I usually have to go lay him down several times before he'll go to sleep. He thinks it's a game. Yeah, real fun, James!

Here's his new bed. I think he likes it, don't you?

Sometimes little Jamers wakes up from naps sad. When he does, it breaks our hearts. . .

This is James' chair. He's made good use of it since he was about one month old. We don't put him in it any more, and haven't for months, for obvious reasons. The boy can't sit still and wouldn't even sit in it if we tried to make him. But back in the day, it was the only way I could get things done. Let's compare then and now, shall we?:

Eight months ago:
Yesterday:James, why are you getting so big so fast? Trust me, growing up is not all it's cracked up to be! Speaking of growing, everyone told me once he started crawling that the baby fat would just melt off. Melt off like butter, they said. Nothing but lies! It's been almost 6 weeks now since he started crawling and some way, some how, this little boy has figured out a way to become even chubbier since then. Can someone please explain that to me? I can't complain too much because I wouldn't trade in those cheeks for anything, but I can't help but wonder if he's destined for chipmunk cheeks and double chins forever.

Chubby cheeks or not, he absolutely loves to look at himself in the mirror. I think he finally gets that he's looking at himself and it cracks me up watching him laugh at himself. I sure do love this little boy!

Coming soon: Pictures and thoughts on Knoxville.

A few of his favorite things . . .

The little man has a thing with shoes lately--especially sandals and Nikes--so this morning I finally pulled out the Nikes my parents gave him months ago and let him try them on. They still don't fit but they sure looked cute. I swear, he's looking less like a baby and more and more like a little boy every passing day (he's finally getting hair, but still no teeth). He has started pulling himself up onto things (anything!) and trying to stand. This results in a lot of falls, which don't deter him at all, but consequently result in half a dozen or so mini heart attacks for me.And, of course, I had to throw in a shot of his classic lower lip bite . . .

His favorite foods seem to be sweet potatoes and a pear/rice cereal combo. I love giving him new foods to try but since he'll eat absolutely everything we give him, I can't wait until he can tell me what he actually likes. The little rascal is so hard to feed these days. Every time I point the spoon in his direction he grabs ahold of it as quickly and tightly as he can and then I have to fight him to get it back. By the end of the meal, we are both usually covered in baby food slime. Fun times. I have finally concluded that kids are just messy and there isn't a lot you can do about it at this age.



But messy or not, if this boy is happy, so am I!

Pipsqueek

My handsome little pipsqueek is 8 months old today. He finally started crawling earlier this week and always wants to be on the move. The kid is so curious and is trying so hard to be independent. He feeds himself, wants to hold the books and turn the pages when we read, and last night even played ball with his dad (obviously he can't throw too far yet, but still, he made a good effort). Every day it seems he has a new word/sound up his sleeve and he giggles like crazy these days. I love being this little boy's mom!

Home Sweet Home

Before I get back to Knoxville and spend every waking second of the next few weeks unpacking (because there is a LOT to unpack), I thought I'd post a picture of our new house. I can't even begin to describe how excited I am to live in a real house with an actual garage, plenty of storage space, and a yard of our very own (which also means someone will have to mow the lawn . . . guess who that will probably end up being?).

If anyone has any lifelong dreams of visiting Dollywood or Davy Crockett country, now is your chance. We've got lots of room for visitors!

What We've Been up to and Any Advice?

James and I have spent the last month "at home" in Utah. While James and I miss Brian terribly, spending this much time with my family has been a little piece of heaven. The last time I was at home for longer than a week or two was when I was in high school. Both James and I have been spoiled rotten while we've been here. James has family members lining up to play with him, hold him, feed him, rock him to sleep, etc. I'm pretty sure when we get back to Knoxville next week and it's back to just hanging out with me all day long, he's going to be bored out of his mind and wonder where all of the fun people went. Sorry, James!

One thing I've realized by being at home with an infant is that anyone with kids who lives near family has got it made. Seriously, having so much help at your fingertips almost seems like cheating! Somehow, Brian and I make it work on our own, but I know I'm going to have some major adjusting to do after we leave here.

One more thing on my mind this evening is that next week I have to fly completely on my own on a four hour plane ride back East. Does anyone have any ideas on how to keep a seven-month-old entertained on a plane for that long? Ideally, somehow I will manage to get him to sleep for at least half of that. But realistically, that is more than likely not going to happen. I would be so grateful for any advice anyone out there has.

Lastly, I leave you with these pictures from the past couple weeks:

James is learning how to wave "bye-bye." I swear I did nothing to teach him this. He just started doing it on his own. Smart boy.

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This boy is precious. That is my only comment for this photo:
Amy got married last week. Weird. Here is the beautiful bride with her two adorable nephews. Apparently Rob and Lorena undress Michael every time they feed him, which explains why he is naked here. Smart on their end, but with as much as James likes to eat, that would be too much work for me!

All the Candrian kids together again. This photo was taken the night before Amy's wedding and the night that Rob and Lorena arrived from Sweden. I don't think Rob was pretending to sleep.

We thought it would be fun to give James and Michael a bath together. Apparently neither James nor Michael agreed with us. Michael is very territorial about his bath space and didn't like James invading it.

How I got such a chill kid, I will never know. My dad set up a swing in our backyard for the two boys and they both love it. James could probably hang out in it all day just as content as can be.
This kid still has no teeth but is constantly chewing on his lower lip so I keep thinking any day now a tooth will poke through. But I have been thinking that for about 2-3 months now and still nothing . . .

June

Sometimes I just don't have much to say. Other times, so much has happened that I'm not sure where to begin.

So I'll begin by saying this, this kid is stinking cute! He has been a real trooper as we've gone from place to place to place to place the last few weeks (moving from Richmond down to Knoxville, flying to SLC and then back and forth between Idaho and Utah--pictures of all these things to come later).

Brian has already gone back to Tennessee so James and I are staying with my parents for the next few weeks while he starts the hectic life as a resident and we wait to close on our house there. My parents got back from San Fran yesterday and brought us back some of their famous sour dough bread. I'm not sure if this was the best thing to give the little guy, but he seemed to enjoy gnawing at an end piece.

This kid loves bathtime (and chewing on lots of toys). We have to be careful where we put him these days. Next week he'll be 7 months old and is already on the verge of crawling (any day now) and rolls over and pushes himself up just about everywhere, including the tub.

He still doesn't have a lot of hair, but it is filling in ever so slowly and lightening up by the day. I think we'll have a blonde little boy on our hands soon!

So this is it?

Where to begin? As I type I am sitting on the floor of our empty living room. There isn't a chair in sight. Just a few hours ago our gracious friends and neighbors helped us pack up our belongings. Besides a few stragglers, our house is basically vacant. Every time I talk my voice echoes across the empty floors. I don't like it one bit. Our house isn't our home anymore. Coming back from vacation to a house filled with packed boxes doesn't exactly make you feel at home and over the past few days I have been struck by the overwhelming sensation that I won't feel at home any place for awhile. Virginia has been my home for the past six years. I have mixed feelings about leaving. I don't want to leave, but at the same time I know it's time to move on. When we flew back into Richmond from Orlando a couple days ago I already had a sinking feeling that we no longer belonged here. Brian graduated last week and most of his classmates have already left. I'll miss the friends we're leaving behind but I know that change is a necessary part of life. So here's to what's next--whatever that may be.

(Our camera is already packed, so I'll post pictures of graduation and Orlando later.)