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.  :)

7 months...

Seriously?  Over a month since I posted?  Ridiculous.  You can't just go an entire month without posting something on a baby blog -- too much happens in a month!

Yes, I know.

But things have been busy around here!  These days are just racing by me and before I know it, my child is 7 months old!

Well, now he's almost 8 months old, but let's just leave that for now.

We've had some busy weeks/weekends since I last posted.  The day after Mother's Day, Jeff left for a business trip in VA so it was just me and Deacon for a few days.  We did great but it gave me a whole new appreciation for moms who do it on their own -- whether they're single or their husbands are deployed or whatever the reason that they end up raising their child(ren) on their own.  It's tough.

[27 weeks]

At the beginning of May, Deacon popped his 3rd tooth out.  It's over to the left on the top -- kind of coming in at a weird angle but we'll see.  Not much more has happened with that one.  It's popped through but hasn't really progressed any further than that, that we can see.

[27.5 weeks]

We've tried some more solids here and there throughout the month -- he's just not into it.  We tried sweet potatoes and I really thought he would like those or at least not spit them out.  He did do better with those than the green beans and bananas, but still made faces and stuff.  Later we tried carrots and I guess they were a little less offensive but he's still not gobbling anything up.

Except cheese puffs.

Yes, we took Deacon to another birthday party the middle of May (one of his "brothers" that he stays with Mon-Wed had his 2nd birthday party at the park in Surf City) and Jeff decided to try giving him a taste of cheese puff.  No offense there!  We made sure he didn't bite anything off but he liked the taste of the cheese.  Well, who wouldn't??

[29 weeks]

We've been going to lots of Jeff's softball games.  Deacon loves to be outside so he usually enjoys the games.  And the girls that come out to cheer their men on enjoy seeing him.  :)  The boy doesn't get any attention at all, you know?  Totally ignored and unloved... :)

Right around 7 months, Deacon really started making more and more noises.  Different sounds like "blah" and "bah", long "a" sounds.  He's really becoming more vocal, to the point that we have to shush him sometimes if we're in a public place.  He can get pretty loud...where could he have gotten that from??  :)

Like I said, we've had lots going on so there are more posts to come on those happenings.  Check back soon!

[this cracks me up -- yoga, anyone?]

[7 mos]

1st Mother's Day...

Can I just brag a little bit?  Ya'll, I am SO proud of my husband and how he planned to make this mother's day -- my very first mother's day -- such a special event.  One I'll never forget.  Outstanding job, babe!

This past weekend was so nice.  Saturday we spent around the house for part of the day, getting some things checked off the to-do list.  Then after lunch, and naps all around, we headed into Wilmington to do some shopping and check off more things on the to-do list.  :)

While we were in town, Jeff (and Deacon :) took me to a local place downtown, The Front Street Brewery, for dinner as a Mother's Day dinner.  This was the 2nd time we'd been there and both times the food has been phenomenal.  LOVE it.  And the atmosphere is pretty neat-o, too.  It was loud enough that Deacon's squealing part-way through the meal didn't really disturb too many.  We were seated beside a table of 4 young girls who all thought Deacon was "the cutest thing" so I don't think we could have disturbed them anyway.  :)

Sunday was sooo special.  I went to get Deacon up to get ready for church and found a card in the corner of his crib addressed to "mommy".  There was a sticky note on the card that said "wake up daddy".  :)  Fortunately, I'd already done that before I went to get Deacon so Daddy had followed me into the nursery.  I opened my card and found 2 photos, one of which was THIS:

The other one is just.as.cute.

I had NO IDEA that Jeff was going to do this so I got pretty emotional over the photos.  Then I had to read the card from my baby boy, through my tears.  So precious.  Also inside the card was a gift card for a 1 hour massage!  Way to go, Dadd--er, I mean, Deacon!  :)

We all got ready for church and Jeff pulled out a beautiful corsage for me to wear -- what a really thoughtful thing to do.  It made me feel so special.  When we got home from church, Jeff had gotten sushi for lunch so I didn't have to cook.  Awesome!

The rest of the day was spent just relaxing and doing whatever.  We all took a nap after lunch.  We went for a walk.  We were able to skype with both my parents and Jeff's parents so that was nice.  We grilled out for dinner that night.

It was a perfect 1st Mother's Day -- my boys made my day and I love them both to pieces!

[6 mos]

6 months...

Alright, I'm a little late with this post, sorry.  I just can hardly believe that my baby boy is already 6 months old -- a HALF a year old.  Seriously...where do I turn the speed down?

Our boy is officially in size 2 diapers now.  I told you it wouldn't be long.  We're still using diapers that folks have given us which is such a blessing.  But we're to the point now that the size he happens to be wearing, whatever that is at the time, we only have maybe a box or something, so depending on how long he stays in that size, we may or may not find ourselves buying more of that size.

At this point, I think I prefer Huggies brand.  They seem to fit Deacon the best and give us the best results regarding leaks/blowouts (sorry if that's TMI).  We have tried some store brands like Costco's Kirkland brand and they're okay, too.  I have heard that Luvs is a really great brand and they're cheap, too, so when we get to a point that we need more, I think I'd like to try some Luvs to see how we do with those.

[24.5 weeks]

About midway through April, we saw Deacon roll over from his tummy to his back a couple of times.  We figured it was just lucky and we were right cuz we haven't seen him do it since.  That's not something he's rushing to do and though I'm surprised, I'm not rushing it either.  :)

He's really been playing a lot with his feet since he found them last month.  He likes to throw them in the air and then grab onto them.  He does that wherever he is, whether he's laying on the floor, in his bouncy seat, in his car seat or on the changing table, even.  As a matter of fact, I saw him stick one of his feet in his mouth on the changing table one morning.  All by himself!  :)

[25 weeks]

As you saw from my last post, Deacon had his first Easter at 6 mos old.  That was really special -- I'm glad it worked out that he turned 6 mos old right around Easter this year.  He went to his first Easter egg hunt and did really good.

The night before Deacon turned 6 months, we tried giving him some solid food to see what he would do.  We started with some warmed green beans (Gerber 1st Foods) and boy, the faces he made!  I knew he was an expressive child but holy cow, he had some faces that night!  Poor baby -- some of his faces were hilarious and pitiful at the same time.  :\  We quit with the green beans that night and moved on to some warmed bananas and I thought for sure he'd like those better.

Nope.

The faces he made with those were even worse, it seemed like.  We tried again the next night and still got the same reactions/faces, only that night he just stopped closing his mouth.  Yeah.  So the food would just fall right out.

We're still in the trying phase of solids...

When I took Deacon for his 6 month well-check at the pediatrician's office, I was really curious to know what he weighed.  That's a question I get asked a lot.  At his 4 month appt, he weighed 13 lbs 13 oz and was 24 in long.  At his 6 month appt, he weighed 16 lbs 7 oz and was 25.5 in long.

A perfectly normal healthy 6 month old.  Who is uh-dorable.