8 months old

So I'm a little behind in getting this up, but while we were in Indiana Bo turned 8 months. As always...I can't believe this is going by so fast. We do not have an "official" check up with the pediatrician until next month so I don't have all of his normal stats. Today we took him in for his post-op appointment from his surgery last month and he weighs almost 22 pounds.

Here are a few new things he's picked up this month...

• Loves to blow his tongue at you
• Hates to be confined...wants to be down, crawling, and exploring every nook of our house
• Mimicks everything we do from sounds, to hitting the table, splashing in the bath. If we do it, he does it
• Extremely independent (can't imagine where he gets that from)
• Does not give up when he wants something (that either)
• Has a bit of a temper when you do something he doesn't like i.e. take away a toy, leave him in his exersaucer, tell him "no", etc...
• Still army crawling...he does try crawling on all fours but realizes he can get there faster on his belly
• "Talks" all day long

Here's how our conversations usually go...

Bo: AAAAaaaa

Me: AAAAaaa

Bo: AAA (quicker and higher pitch)

Me: AAA (quicker and higher pitch)

Bo: EEEEEeee AAaaa (softer)

Me: EEEeee AAAaaa (softer)

Bo: AAaaa aaaa ooooo

Me: Ma Ma

Bo: AAaaaaaaa

Can't blame me for trying! He's developing such a personality. It's amazing to see how he has a little bit of Jarrod and a little bit of me in his personality. I'm already starting to see challenges I'm going to have as he gets older. Before Bo was born we knew there was no way for us to produce a mild mannered child, it just wasn't possible. However, I didn't know it would begin as early as 8 months! I'm starting to think it's time for my mom to pass down "The Strong Willed Child" she bought when I was a baby. Although I don't think she needed it for me until I was 3!

For all the angels out there...

A baby asked God,
“They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?”

God said,
“Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you.”

The child further inquired,
“But tell me, here in Heaven I don’t have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy.”

God said,
“Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you. And you will feel your angel’s love and be very happy.”

Again the child asked,
“And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don’t know the language?”

God said,
“Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak.”

“And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?”

God said,
“Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray.”

“Who will protect me?”

God said,
“Your angel will defend you even if it means risking its life.”

“But I will be sad because I will not see you anymore.”

God said,
“Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will teach you the way to come back to Me, even though I will always be next to you.”

At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked,
“God, if I am to leave now, please tell me my angel’s name.”

God said,
“You will simply call her, MOM

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Last week we took a family trip to Ft. Wayne, IN for Jarrod's 20 year class reunion. It was a fun filled trip for all. It started by leaving our house last Wednesday at 3:00AM to get to the airport on time. When we went in at 2:30am to wake up Bo he had a look of total confusion all over his face! Bo did wonderful on the flights. Having to wake him up so early we were a little concerned on how he'd do, but he loved it! After our flights people would stop us and comment on how great he did. I must say getting up at 2:00am, flights from Austin and Memphis, then a 2 hour car ride from Indianapolis to Ft. Wayne wore out mommy & daddy, but Bo just went with the flow and kept on smiling!!

Once in Ft. Wayne we spent time with Jarrod's family. Jarrod's sister Kim, her husband Jason, and their two little girls Lily and Josie made a trip up from Greenville, SC to meet Bo for the first time. We truly appreciated their 12 hour drive just to spend time with us. Bo LOVED his cousins, they took such good care of him. They even gave him his very first Cubs hat, with "Bowen Lee" monogrammed on the back. It's adorable and one of his daddy's favorite things!

Friday and Saturday nights were filled with reunion activities. Probably not my first choice of fun, but Jarrod really enjoyed it so I was happy to be there with him. We also made a visit to the Johnny Appleseed Festival on Sunday. The entire festival is set back in Indiana Frontier days of the 1800's. People are dressed the part, they have food cooked the same way they did back then, blacksmiths, re-enactments, and great children's area with games and face painting. It was a lot of fun. On Monday we visited the Ft. Wayne's Childrens Zoo which was also a lot of fun. Like before, Bo really enjoyed watching the fish in the aquarium! He even got to go on his first train ride with cousin Lily sitting close by.

The trip home was interesting...as soon as we got to the Indianapolis airport we realized he had wet his diaper so much it had soaked his clothes! Of course mommy didn't have an extra outfit so we had to buy a size 2 t-shirt for him to wear with just his diaper. Once we got to Memphis we were able to buy him something with pants! It was a wonderful trip and so good to spend time with family!

MOPS

So I am so excited about my "mommy activity". I along with a few other friends decided to join a local MOPS group. Our first meeting was yesterday morning and it was just wonderful! What is MOPS you ask? MOPS stands for Mothers of Preschoolers, www.mops.org. Clearly Bo is not a preschooler yet, but it is open to any and all types of moms. We meet once a month at First Baptist Church in Round Rock from September to May. This year's theme is “Adventures in Mothering” based on Ephesians 3:18 “…how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ...”. We are divided into tables, I have 7 people at my table with kids ranging from 6 months to 12 years of age. I have the youngest, so I LOVE having other mothers to act as "mentors" to ask questions to and just discuss the challenges and joys of being a new mommy.

We meet from 9:30-11:30am every month and during that time there are different speakers and discussions. Yesterday our speakers were from Young Chefs Academy here in Austin. They have cooking classes for children starting as early as 3 years of age and to age 17. I love to cook and that is one thing I want Bo to learn and enjoy so it got me very excited about the things I'll be able to do with him in just a few years. They gave great examples of how getting your little ones in the kitchen will help them learn and peak their curiosity to foods that maybe that wouldn't have eaten if you just put them on their plates...Note to self!!

It was a great time and I'm looking forward to next month. They have childcare so Bo goes to "Moppetts" while mommy is enjoying her time with adults! He did great yesterday so let's hope that pattern continues!

Daddy turns the big 39!!!

Jarrod's 39th birthday was this past week, September 10th. Unfortunately he was in Salt Lake City for work so we had to postpone everything until the weekend. So Bo helped me get ready for daddy to come home on Friday by decorating with balloons and making his favorite dinner...lasagna. You should have seen me try to get 12 balloons in my Honda Accord along with Bo in the middle of the backseat. Poor baby, I looked back and he had his face pressed to the side of his carseat because they were all in his face. Along with that we made him a birthday cake which is out of this world. I've had so many people want the recipe so that will follow soon.

Jarrod racked up on gifts and was especially excited when I gave him the one from Bo and I. We decided daddy deserved to have the ESPN College Game Plan Package, which means he basically gets 12 additional football games a week that are not televised on the main tv channels. Not quite sure what I was thinking...but he was thrilled!!!

Now...unless you have been on another planet you know we had a hurricane coming our way on Saturday. With that said...let me back up a little. Two weeks ago I decided I wanted to do something fun and special for Jarrod's birthday so I arranged a surprise party for him downtown with some of our friends for Saturday night. Last week when we were unsure of Ike's path... based on the projected path we were right in the middle. Now, growing up in MS I clearly know how these things work and you never really know where they are going to hit until they actually do. ALL week I was back and forth on if we should go forward or cancel. I had to laugh though, the one time I decide to plan something fun we don't get rain, not even a down pour, we have a HURRICANE headed our way!!!!

All this time Jarrod thinks we are just going to a quick dinner and then to a movie. He gets home Friday night and I'm constantly watching the tv, on the interent, trying to decide what to do. We had until 6:00pm on Friday to cancel our sitter. Literally at 5:30pm I'm on the interent looking at the weather. Jarrod could not understand why I was so stressed out. Little did he know about 4 other families had sitters as well and I HAD to make a decision. So I had to let the cat out of the bag. We decided to move forward and have the party and boy are we glad we did...we didn't get ONE drop of rain!!!

We had so much fun with our friends, we had 13 people come out to celebrate with us and then after dinner those of us who were Kid Free for a few more hours decided to hit downtown! We had a blast with everyone! Thank you to everyone for coming out to celebrate!

My Silly Boy!

Lately Bo has been getting in the silliest moods, where the smallest thing will have him cracking up. Yesterday before his afternoon nap I went to give him his blanket and he started laughing so hard, so of course I had to go get the camera. I was doing a great job of "calming" him down before his nap, but oh well!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Happy Birthday Daddy! We love and miss you! Can't wait for you to come home!

Love,
Casey & Bo

It's hard getting a 7 month old to sit still with a piece of paper next to him. The ball only worked for one picture!

A Day in the Life Of Bo!

So I recently had a friend ask me what kind of schedule Bo is on, or what I attempt to keep him on. I think us new mommies are always trying to see if we're "doing it right"...whatever THAT is?? As far as Bo...I can't complain it was a lot of work getting him to this point, but it totally paid off and now he's pretty predictable (as long as he's in his element). Get him out of his comfort zone and Mr. Curiosity comes out and you can forget it! So I thought since our families weren't here for day to day activities I'd share what a day in the life of Bo is like!

7:00am-Rise and Shine!
8:00am-bottle and snuggling in mommy & daddy's bed while dad gets dressed for work

9:00am-nap

10:00am-awake and breakfast

10:30-1:00pm-"free" time...this is when we usually go to the gym, have playdates, run errands, etc...

1:00pm-Lunch

2:00pm-Nap

3:30pm-Awake

4:00pm-Afternoon snack

6:00pm-Dinner

6:30pm-Bath

7:00pm-Pj's, Book, Bottle

7:30pm-Sleep

After re-reading this...seems like he eats a lot huh? Oh well...it works!

Week in Review

Sorry I haven't been on this past week. It's been a little hard since I managed to slice my finger open with a hand blender and ended up with 6 stitches in the first joint of my finger!

We had a great and very busy week. Because of his surgery Bo has not been able to get in his exersaucer or johnny jump up all week! Any mom will tell you that these things are your saving grace...you put them in there, they play, and you can go do whatever...cook dinner, do laundry, clean the house, eat, go to the bathroom, anything that requires more than half a second! When I tell my friends he can't get in it they all respond with... "OH NO, what are you going to do?" Now that he's crawling he's into everything he's not supposed to be...electrical cords are his favorite! He hates the pack-n-play so I'm lucky to get 10 minutes out of that before he screams to get out! He does NOT want to be confined!!! Jarrod was out of town for work this past week, he's now in Nashville for a wedding, and will be gone most of this coming week for work...I am so ready for him to be home so I can have a break.

Thursday we went to Babytime at the Library and I have to tell this story. Bo has recently gotten his "big boy" car seat. He loves it because he can sit up and look out the window. On the way to the library I looked back in my rear view mirror and noticed he was staring at something...I figured a tree or car, then I saw him start smiling...not his regular smile, a much more "flirty/teased" kind of smile. I turn around and there are two women in the car next to me waving at him. He was TOTALLY flirting! He did this the entire time we were at the stop light. I was cracking up! Then we get to Babytime and there was an adorable little 10 month old named Maggie that was sitting next to us. She loved Bo and came over and kept reaching out to him and touching his arms...he was eating it up! Smiling so big and laughing! Not sure what got into him that day, but he was all about the ladies!

Check out my new travel tub! Great for traveling and it frees up our guest bathroom when we have company. Oh yes, and it quacks!

He loves to play with daddy's shoes...I'm wondering if his sniffer works?

Wanting so badly to get in his exersaucer (not half as bad as mommy).

Maybe I can just crawl underneath and play?

Turned around tonight and saw this..ALL BY HIMSELF!

I'm a Big Boy mom!

Now if we can just figure out how to get the food in his mouth!