Quite obviously.....The next American Idol

This video is of Ronin. I'm not sure what he's trying to say, but I feel quite certain that he's trying to sing. Especially since he has started doing this at church during the singing. He sometimes will drag out a sound so long until he gets red and runs out of air. Sorry for the bumpiness, but we were on a bumpy backroad headed to Laws Hill to eat fish last night.


I cannot believe how long it is has been since I've blogged! There is so much catching up to do. I will have to start with just an update post and then add pictures later.



Ronin is 8 months!!!!!!! The time has just flown by, but I find myself more in love with this little man every day. He is still a charmer and grins at anyone that pays attention to him. Remember when I said he was just so easy and calm and laid back....well, no more! He is into everything. It started with the crawling. He was crawling just before he turned 6 months, and it is a chore to keep him still these days. I still get a few moments of loving on him, but he is always trying to climb my body or jump when I hold him now. And diaper changes are the worst....he laughs the whole time, but he is so squirmy that it takes me forever to get that diaper on him. He mainly just wants to be on the floor....on the go. He started pulling up at 7 months on our furniture. Now he is a brave little thing and will just let go and stand for a minute before he falls over. He is fearless! Unfortunately mommy is not. He is also crusing along the furniture. He's still working at perfecting that, but I've seen him turn loose of the couch and step toward the ottaman and grab on there without falling. So he is getting better. He loves to be on the go, eat, and talk. I stopped breastfeeding at 7 months. It was hard for me to give it up, but he did great. It was just a non-issue going to formula and bottle full time. He's eating really well with the solids we've tried. I still do some baby food and rice cereal, but he snacks on crackers, cheerios, fruit. And he will eat from my plate at dinner and try what we are eating (mostly veggies and bread). Of course, I am still the same OCD about certain foods mom this go around, so he has not tried any peanut butter, nuts, fish, or honey. He sleeps all night...usually from 7 to 6:30, 7, or 7:30. Sometimes I have to wake him before I leave for work just so I can get a hug. Last night, we went out to eat and Ronin was clapping. It was the first time that I've seen him do that.

Jax is doing great as well. He is wearing underwear every day now. Thanks to Amy Lauren for telling me about the diaper covers at Walmart. It has helped us transition him to the underwear without living in fear that my couch or rug will get soaked. He is going to the potty some by himself now, and I am so proud of that. We are still doing pull-ups at night, and they are not dry when he gets up...so I know we still have a little ways to go. But he's even worn his underwear to church this week! Jax is doing so much better with his sleeping too. Last night is the first time in a long time that he's gotten out of his bed and come to my room. He said "Milk Mommy!!" at 3:30 this morning. My first reaction was, "No way!" But since he was already headed to the kitchen I gave him a cup. He was soooo thirsty. Then he went right back to bed. If he wakes me up at night now, most of the time he is just talking or calling out in his sleep. I run in there, tuck the cover around him, pat his back a few times and go back to bed. So he really is doing better in terms of sleeping. I still have to lay down with him at night to get him to fall asleep, but I no longer am trying to think of ways to get him to do this on his own. I just dawned on me that it is our most special time together. We read a couple of books, laugh, pray, tell stories ... It is my favorite part of the day with him. And now, Ronin is always in bed when we do this...so I think I don't feel as stressed to hurry. I try to put Jax to bed around 8:00. One of my favorite things to do now is to hear him sing. He will sing the ABC's, Jesus Loves Me, This little light of mine, Swing Lo, Tom Dooley, The BIBLE, Itsy bitsy spider, Mullberry bush....just to name a few. It is the sweetest thing. I am trying really hard to get it on video, but he stops when he sees the camera. He wants me to play it for him....it's hard work to catch anything.



Speaking of....that was my Mother's Day gift .... the new Flip MinoHD camera. I love it! It only takes me about 4 secs to get it to start recording after i get it out of my purse. I'm convinced it will help me document my kids' lives so much better. Jaime Crawley introduced me to the flip and I was hooked! The one I bought is actually designable, so you can order it with your own personal design or picture on the "skin" of the camera. I sort of misunderstood this, and thought I could change it myself, but you have to do it at the site when you order. It's just as well though. Because I am very indecisive! I'm sure I would have changed my mind about which picture to use after having it for a little while.



Jax's favorite thing to do is go outside, of course. He loves to be outdoors, and really loves the swing. We are all happy that the weather has been so perfect. We all try to spend a little time outside when we get home from work. We haven't gotten in the pool yet. That was top priority for this holiday weekend, but now it is supposed to rain. So who knows!

I got so upset because my memory card got corrupted with about 600 pictures on the card. Most had been transferred, but I lost our Easter pictures, Ronin's video of him first crawling, video of Jax asking to her Evos (Elvis) one more time....I'm headed to walmart to buy a new card today. I've exhausted all options, and the pictures are just lost. So I really don't have any new pictures to add anyway. I do have some of the Easter pictures on facebook, so I will have to try and figure out how to get them from there to my computer.

I would like to ask you to keep in your prayers my Aunt Lisa and her family (Mark, their boys Adam, Caleb, Zach, and my mom too).