Graham - 6 Months

Ever since Graham was born my mom has been telling me that 6 months is when things really start to get fun..not that the other 5 months aren't fun, but she claimed that when you reach six months you (as a parent) are much more confident, everyone is sleeping through the night, and the baby is much more interactive and predictable.  At the time we were having this conversation I remember thinking.."are you kidding me...6 months is sooo far away.  I don't know if we are going to make it past this week much less 6 months!"

Well we did make it through that week and 23 other weeks and here we are 6 months down the road.   I must admit that (as usual) my mom was right.  Six months is a lot of fun!

This month Graham started eating rice cereal once a day mainly to get him used to eating with a spoon, but he seems to really like it.  For the most part he is still a good sleeper...he sleeps on average 10 hours at night and takes two 1-2 hours naps.  He can roll both ways and is getting pretty fast (he rolled off the bed this week...oops!).  He weighs 18 pounds 1 oz (75%) and is 27 3/4 inches long (90%).  He is a curious little guy and we enjoy watching him make new discoveries.  Can't wait to see what the 7th month has in store.

1 Month

2 Months

3 Months

4 Months

5 Months

6 Months

His current schedule:
6:00-6:30 Wake Up
6:45 Eat
8:45-10:30 Nap 1
11:00 Eat (1/2 jar baby food and 6 oz bottle)
1:00-3:00 Nap 2
3:00 Bottle (6 oz)
6:30 Bath
6:45 Eat
7:00 Bed
9:45 Dream Feed

Father's Day Par-TEE

Last Saturday Emily invited us over for a pre Father's Day dinner.  I was thinking something simple and low key, but Emily went all out!  She hosted a themed party with decorations and favors!  We had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

Nick and Graham with the Par-TEE banner

My glass said "Cart Girl"

Par-TEE Equipment

Wedge Potatoes

Out of Bounds - Corn on the Cob

On the Green - Salad

TEE - riffic Chicken (Clay's special Chili Lime Chicken...scrumptious)

For some reason I didn't get a picture of dessert, but in keeping with the theme we had PAR-faits (homemade ice cream and brownies)

It was a special night, and we loved celebrating Nick and Clay!  

The Father's Day celebration didn't end there.  Sunday morning I woke up and made Pioneer Woman Breakfast Burritos.  After breakfast Nick opened his cards and presents, then we were off to church.

During the worship service all of the fathers went up front and sang to the women and children.  It was amazing to see and special to have Nick participate.  Can you find him?

After church we snapped a few pictures then settled in to watch the US Open.

Nick you are a wonderful father, and I appreciate you  more than you will ever know!

First Fathers Day

This past week, with Father's Day approaching, I have been thinking a lot about three special men in my life...at times, while reflecting on each of these men, I have been overwhelmed with emotion.  I think about how extremely blessed I am to have each of them in my life and in my son's life.

First....my dad.

I love my dad so very much, and I love where he is in his life.  He still works hard and plays hard, as he always has, but now he does a lot less of what he has to do and more of what he wants to do!  In my opinion that is a great place to be!  Love you Dad!

Secondly...my father-in-law.

There is not a more kind and considerate man than Max Baggett.  He selflessly serves his wife, his family, his clients, his church, and his community.  I am blessed to be a part of his family and cherish his love, support and encouragement.

Last, but not least, my husband.

Our fathers are certainly hard acts to follow, but Nick has embraced his new role!  I knew that he would be a great father, but I have been blown away by how quickly he has adjusted.  Having a new baby is no easy task, but Nick has been amazing from day one.  I could go on and on about what wonderful father he is and how much I love him, but I am going to simply leave you with these....

Happy Father's Day to all three of you!

Like, Love and Don't Like

This Week I like Rick Burgess.  Several weeks ago, our nation’s President expressed his support of gay marriage in what was clearly a political maneuver.  On his radio show the next day, Burgess dually expressed his recognition of this maneuver and his disgust with the people that were falling for it (and outright supported gay marriage).  Rick is a popular local personality known for his strong spiritual beliefs – and his ability to defend his beliefs.  Rick welcomed calls about the topic and the response varied. One particular caller expressed a foolish, unfounded support of gay marriage…and received a healthy dose of education from Rick in return.  Rick absolutely roasted this guy for trying to validate gay marriage and he did so using his biblical knowledge.  He defended the Lord’s commands with a passion that reverberated over the airwaves.   It wasn’t until I got married that I truly understood why gay marriage cannot exist and should never be recognized by any level of government.  But my lack of confidence in my own ability to defend my beliefs has prevented me from being like Rick.  However, listening to Rick that day really inspired me to try harder and I wrote him an email to let him know just that.  I won’t share all that I wrote but, you know what?  Rick wrote me back.  And I look at his response on a daily basis.  I really appreciate his words and his encouragement.

This week I love the original Dream Team.  Can you believe the assembly of the greatest sports team occurred 20 years ago this summer? European and South American professionals were allowed to play in the Olympics so the good old USA decided to do the same for the 1992 Olympics.  The 1988 Olympic team (featuring college players) could only muster a bronze medal – a sign that the international talent level was increasing.  There were so many intreaguing factors about this team – many of these players competed against each other in All-Star games but this opportunity placed them all on the same team!  These were the best players of their era but there was also an unspoken recognition that these guys were some of the best of all time.  One special attraction to me was the inclusion of Duke’s Christian Laettner, the only college player to be included on the roster.  Even then I thought it was questionable that he edged out Shaquille Oneal for the spot but Laettner’s international experience was more impressive.

NBA TV will air a documentary that commemorates the 20^th anniversary of this great team tonight.  The problem is that I won’t be able to watch it as NBA TV is not carried by our cable provider.  Hopefully it will be streamed on NBA.com soon.  I really want to see this film because it looks like it includes a lot of never-before-seen footage.

This week I don’t like not living up to my word.  Remember my celebrity retweet project? Yeah…well…that fizzled out.  Not because I stopped using Twitter but because thinking of clever ways to garner retweets from random celebrities takes more thought and effort than I imagined.  I don’t like that I had to bail but the responses were getting pretty weak, folks.  I was super pumped about this project too but I’m the type of guy that will cut bait rather than give a less-than-best effort.  So, I’ve cleaned my slate.  Maybe I’ll try again soon?  I’ll keep you posted.

Monogram Transformation

Many people think that once an outfit is monogrammed that it can't be reused, but I am here to tell you that it can!  You can remove the monogram or you can applique over it.  I bought this outfit at a consignment sale for $9.00 (retail price is $54.00).  I wanted to add a new monogram rather than an applique so I cut out the three letter monogram with my 4" Gingher embroidery scissors.

This is somewhat of a tedious process as you have to be careful not to cut the fabric.  I was able to get all three letters removed while watching two episodes of Cake Boss!

Once the thread was removed I ironed the area really well ,washed the outfit, and ironed it again.  After it is washed and ironed the needle holes are almost all gone.

Once it was ironed I added a new monogram. 

Not bad for a $9.00 investment.  Next time you are at a consignment sale don't overlook the monogrammed items!