8 months...

8 months...gone like THAT.  Craaaaazy.

So Deacon now has 5 teeth.  Yes, that is FIVE.  Teeth.  In his mouth.  He has both bottom center teeth, both top center teeth and then one over on the side, top left that popped through but not much else.  And that happened probably 3 or so months ago.  Nothing much is happening with that one.

He also moved up to size 3 diapers around 7.5 months.

He is growing SO fast...

[handsome little fella, all ready for church]

Around the middle of June Deacon got in his first big pool.  My sweet friend who keeps him for me Mon-Wed each week has a really nice above-ground pool and one night we went over to grill out, hang out and swim.  Deacon loved the pool!  He was so relaxed in it, whether one of us was holding him or he was just floating by himself in the little floaty that the Squires' family had.  I'm so glad he likes the water.  :)

[7.5 mos]

That same week, we had friends over to do the same (in our itty-bitty pool :).  Deacon's buddy, Grady, came to play so that was fun to see them interact together.  Grady is just about one month older than Deacon.

We've still been trying to give Deacon solid foods here and there.  We're not super-diligent with it but we try different things here and there.  So far there's still a lot of frustration as he just doesn't seem to be interested in solids, only taking a few bites each time we try.  We've given him green beans, sweet potatoes, carrots, bananas, apples and most recently peaches.

The peaches were not a hit to begin with -- I'm thinking they may have been a little on the tart side -- but the 2nd time we tried them, he actually started leaning in with an open mouth for more by the time we were done.  That was VERY encouraging for this mama...

You've never seen someone get so excited about their kid eating some peaches!  :)

This kid loves his pacifier. 

We try to limit how much he has it but there are definitely certain times of the day that he wants/needs it and we don't mind letting him have it if it calms him (which it does) and helps him to fall asleep (which it also does).

He's pretty funny with it now because he can "do it himself".  If it falls out, he just picks it up and pops it right back in.  If he wants to play with it a little bit, he just takes it out of his mouth and plays some and then pops it back in at will.  That's kinda nice.

I distinctly remember a recurring thought in the early days...

"How can I strap this pacifer around his head so it won't keep falling out?!"

Aaaanywho, I don't think I've included enough photos in this post, do you?

Here.  Here's a few more for you... :)

[yes, he gives kisses now!  I LIVE for those.]

[8 mos]

1st Father's Day...

We celebrated Jeff's first Father's day in a big way!  And that's just the way I wanted it.  Since this was his very first one, I wanted it to be pretty memorable.

I think I accomplished that.

Yes, we went to New York City!  But not only that, I got us tickets to not one, but two (count'em, peeps!), TWO Yankees baseball games!  Jeff is a big Yankees fan but has never been to a game.  And we had talked off and on over the last several years about how we should take a weekend trip to NYC -- a place neither of us had ever been -- and go to a ballgame and maybe a show or something.

And we never did.

And then we had Deacon.

When baseball season started this year, Jeff was ALL.ABOUT.IT.  He usually is anyway, but for some reason he was super-excited to get the season underway and kept talking to Deacon about the Yankees (as if he understood exactly what Daddy was talking about :).

Well, that's really when the wheels started turning and I started considering us going to NY and going to a Yankees game as his Father's day gift.

Long story short (cuz there are many more details to this one), we flew up on a Thursday (Deacon's first plane ride!) and back on a Saturday and we got to see two games.

Well, that's technically not exactly true...

The game on Thursday, against the Boston Red Sox, ended up being on a 3 1/2 hour rain delay.  We were so bummed to see the rain tarp already on the field when we got there.  We had gotten there about an hour before the game started at 7pm so we could walk around the stadium, take photos, etc.  So 4 1/2 hours later, the game finally starts but Deacon is not handling things well at that point...

He had just fallen asleep at 9pm (much later than his usual bedtime) and that was right about the time they decided to put the NBA finals up on the big jumbotron for our viewing pleasure.  Which is fine unless you have young, rowdy (read: LOUD) guys sitting in front of you who make a ruckus every time a play is made!

Because they wake your sleeping child up.

And he cries.

And then there's another play right as he's falling back to sleep.

Grrr.

So I'm over in my seat thinking, "Okay, should I be a good mother, or should I try to get my money's worth out of these dang tickets??"  Plus, it was the Red Sox and I know Jeff really wanted to see the game...I did, too, for that matter.

But we finally decided, after 2 innings and being able to see everyone in the Yankees lineup bat, that we needed to go on back to the hotel.  It was close to midnight after all.

The game Friday against the Cleveland Indians was SO.MUCH.BETTER.  It started on time, there was no rain, the rowdy boys weren't there.  We had a great time and Deacon did so much better this go-round, falling asleep and taking a good 4-inning nap so that when the game was over and we went walking around Times Square at 11:30-12am, he was good to go!

Gotta say, though -- didn't see too many folks pushing strollers around at that hour...  :)

One other thing we kind of stumbled upon was this:

You may or may not know what this is, but to us, it's a BIG DEAL.  We used to watch Orange County Choppers, the reality show, on TV all the time and even got to meet some of the family and employees down at Bike Week in FL one year.  It was really neat to be able to look around in what we watched them build on the TV show!

The trip in itself was, um, an adventure.  I wouldn't say I had a blast, nor would I say that I hated it.  There were a few "what was I thinking?" moments, and if I had it to do over again, I would definitely change some things.  But all together, it was neat for Jeff and I to be able to experience something new together and Deacon really did so well.

So glad he's got his Daddy's temperament.  :)

The trip was actually a couple of weekends before Father's day so on actual Father's day, this is what Jeff got:

Happy Father's Day, babe!  I am so proud of the Daddy you are to our son -- you are doing an absolutely wonderful job with him, and he and I both love you for it!

our beach baby...

On the first Saturday in June, we took Deacon to the beach.  It wasn't technically his first time at the beach (we had taken him the end of April -- still pretty cool -- just to see it), but it WAS his first time getting in the ocean.

We headed out pretty early -- around 8am -- to Topsail.  We only live about 3 mi from the beach so it doesn't take us long to get there and we know that once we hit warm weather, Saturdays are an absolutely RIDICULOUS day to try to get to the beach.

Unless you go early.

So we rounded up some towels and a couple of beach chairs, threw on our bathing suits and headed that way.  We didn't plan to be there long and didn't really know how Deacon would do so we didn't take any toys or things (like an umbrella, sunscreen, etc.) you might need for a "long-term" trip to the beach.

It was fairly warm and only a little bit breezy at that time of day on the beach but the water was COLD.  To me, anyway.  Jeff said it was okay and that it would be fine for Deacon.

Deacon didn't think so.

Maybe it was the rushing water but either way, he wasn't too keen on the whole thing.  He did a little bit better when he was sitting on Daddy's lap, rather than directly in the sand between Jeff's legs.  That lasted for about 15 min or so and then we got him dryed off.  We had him in a little swimmer diaper and just left him in that and his little t-shirt.  We sat out with Deacon on my lap for a little bit longer and then we headed back to the house.

That's the beauty of living so close to the beach.  :)

1st Memorial Day...

Memorial Day 2011 was kind of special for us this year 1) because it was our sweet boy's first one and 2) because Grandpa & Grammy came to visit!

This was their first time back to visit since Deacon was born so they were super-excited to get here.  Of course, they'd seen him since he was born (when we'd go to Lexington to visit) but any time they can get with him...well, they get super-excited about it.  :)

So we kind of had a jam-packed weekend in store.  Mom & Dad took Friday off and headed this way that morning.  They got here by lunchtime.  Since I'm able to work from home on Fridays, that worked out great.

Saturday, we just chillaxed around the house (Mom and I started the day off with a walk around the neighborhood) and put Deacon in a pool for the first time!  Yeah, Grandpa & Grammy brought him one that was big enough for all of us to get in!  So we did.  :)  And Deacon did great.  I don't think he was real sure of it at first -- not a whole lot of expression on his face.  I think he was trying to figure out this thing that had lots of warm water in it but he wasn't naked so it wasn't a bath...but we were playing in it like we do in the bath...but Mommy & Daddy were in it with him...this is different...

But he didn't cry.

That's a plus.  :)

That evening, we did some shopping -- the guys dropped me and Momma off to do some clothes shopping and they took Deacon and ran some errands.  Then we got some dinner out.  It was a nice time.  My mom and I hardly ever get to do any shopping together so we had a BLAST!  And we were both successful so that's always a bonus.  :)

Sunday morning was busy as usual, just because of our responsibilities at church but we were able to relax for the rest of the day after church.  At one point, we were all out on our front porch, ceiling fan just a whirrin', hanging out.  Momma was reading, Daddy was playing on his new iPad, Jeff was getting the grass watered with the sprinkler, Deacon was just chillin'...and I was snapping photos.  :)

[um, LOVE this photo.]

[Daddy, aka "the spoiler", bought Deacon his OWN chair...]

Monday was another beautiful sunny day and we put Deacon back in the pool again.  This time he was a little familiar and showed a little more expressions/excitement.  He likes the water, whether it's pool or bath, and I'm so glad.

Monday evening we had a cookout with our Sunday School friends from church and then a friendly co-ed softball game.  Lots of kiddos playing on the playground, lots of good food and lots of fun.  That's the way to celebrate Memorial Day!

We had to say goodbye to Mom & Dad Tuesday morning as we went back to work and they headed back to Lexington but we made lots of memories that weekend and have TONS of photos to prove it.  :)