My little Big Boy...

Isn't it funny how when we become parents, we get excited about things we never thought we'd be getting excited about. I can remember before Gage was born I would think to myself, "that goofy lady is excited about her kid doing that?", or "is she really crying because her kid is getting his/her first haircut?". No offense to those who did that, but I still don't understand that ;) Maybe it is because I cut hair all day and it is no big deal to me. Anyway, back to what I was saying. It seems like every day Gage is learning something new. Something bigger, better, and lots more fun!

Over the past week or so he has changed so much it seems like. He is constantly saying DADADADADADADA, instead of just the normal baby "cooing". It is really sweet, but I keep thinking, "come on son, say MAMAMAMA for once". I suppose I'll forgive him for now, but I hope Mama comes soon;)

He has been trying really hard to sit up lately. He does really well for a minute or so, then he falls on his side. I'll bet it won't be long and he will be sitting all by himself.

Until about 3 weeks ago, he hated to be on his tummy...now he won't stay on his back. We have to be more careful about where we lay him now because he rolls all over the place. He looks like he is 5 in this picture :(

He has really started playing with his toys a lot more lately. We lay him in the floor with them every night and let him play. He LOVES it and seems to have a lot longer attention span than he did a month ago. He still doesn't play with the same toy for long, but he doesn't have to...his Grandma's bring him a new toy every day it seems like. If it keeps up, Mommy and Daddy are going to have to buy a bigger house!

MeMe bought him these rings and plays with them every day. Is it a rule that every baby has these or what? I remember my brother having them when he was a kid. They are only like $5 and I swear babies love them! It is so funny how kids will play with simple things like rings and cardboard boxes for hours, but they are bored with things you spend a lot of money on. There's no doubt that changes throughout life ;)

Granny Peg and Paw brought him this new toy the other night. He loves all the noises it makes!

Nana and Pawpaw brought this ball back from Texas for him. It rolls on its own, and it won't be long before he will be chasing it around the house.

Grams brought him this car last week. It is so cute and does some pretty neat things! It is a jumper, a walker, and a stationary entertainer! What will they come up with next?

He took his first "sit up" bath last night and I'm pretty sure he loved it! He made a HUGE mess around the kitchen sink, but it was all worth it to see him have so much fun!

I thought I would share this because it is one of the only pictures I have of my Dad and Gage. I think it is so sweet how he snuggled up with his Pawpaw! They will be big buddies one day I'm sure!

Weekend Fun...

Yay, Daddy...

We have had quite an exciting weekend around here! Michael played softball all day yesterday, and it happened to be perfect weather for Gage and I. It was around 85 all day and about 60 at night. I LOVE FALL, but I have a feeling this weekend was just a tease for us :( I'll keep my fingers crossed it wasn't!
Gage was absolutely PERFECT all day long! The only time he made a peep was when people cheered. This is what happened then...

other than that, he was an Angel! Everyone kept asking, "is he always this good?". He made Mommy and Daddy very proud!

Here is our family picture for the day. This is only like the 4th family picture we have ever taken (pretty sad I know). I think it turned out so cute!

This is another of my favorites. Michael was trying to get Gage to laugh and I shot the camera just in time to get them in action. I love my boys so much it hurts! Oh yeah, and just for the record, Michael's team won 2nd in the Tournament! Yay, Tri-C!!!

Lions, and Tigers, and Bears...

MeMe took us to the Zoo today. We had a lot of fun and once again...the weather was perfect! It did get a little warm a couple of times but not too bad! My camera batteries died as soon as we got past the first cage, so sorry for the terrible picture quality. I took these with my iPhone, so they leave a lot to be desired!

The Gorillas are my very favorite animal at the Zoo. It is so funny to watch them "mock" humans. This one was quite a character!

I think the Giraffes are neat too!

Here is Gage right before we left. Look at those rosy little cheeks!

MeMe, Gage, and Laine! Aren't they sweet?

We had such a wonderful day at the Zoo, and can't wait to go back again! Maybe next time I won't forget my camera!

Oh how I wish...

I could still do this! Gage found his feet quite a while ago, but until today, I haven't seen him try to eat them (and of course, every time I try to take his picture, he puts his feet down). This morning I had him on his changing table while I got his clothes together, and when I looked up, he was sucking on his toes! It may possibly be the cutest thing I have ever seen! Or...maybe everything he does is the cutest thing I've ever seen ;) My Pawpaw had his brain surgery and came through everything without any trouble. My Mom is still with my grandparents in Tyler, TX until Sunday. They will be coming home then, but only for a few weeks. Pawpaw has to be back in TX in a few weeks to do the second half of his surgery. His doctor told them that during the surgery, they hooked him up to his "lead" and his tremors stopped completely and his feet relaxed. This is such a blessing to us, but most importantly, to him! He has battled Parkinson's Disease for several years now, so hopefully this surgery will give him the relief he needs. Please keep him in your prayers. He still has quite a road ahead. One last thing before I call it a night...look at this precious face! Each and every time I see it my heart melts! Oh what a precious baby boy!

NEEDING ADVICE!!!

I realize this is my second post for the day, but I just have to much to say today. I also am in need of some advice, and I know I can always count on the Blog World! After all, this is what it's for, right?

Since the day Gage was born, Michael and I have had him on an eating schedule that has worked GREAT! The only problem is, now we have started adding baby food and I'm not sure what is normal and what isn't. Until we started fruits and veggies, he was taking a bottle about every 5 hours with cereal to help with his Reflux. Now, he has started eating food, and we aren't positive on how to do his schedule. His Reflux has subsided now, so I want to take the cereal out of his bottle during the day time. Although, I don't want him to be on another 3 hour schedule...I don't think. This is where your help comes in!

For the past month, this is what we've been doing...

• 7 ounce bottle w/cereal when he wakes up (between 5-7am)
• 1 fruit and 1 veggie at noon (both stage 1 foods)
• 7 ounce bottle w/cereal at around 3pm
• 1 fruit and 1 veggie at around 6-7pm
• 7 ounce bottle w/cereal at bedtime (usually around 9:30)

This may be the same as everyone else, but I just want to know for sure. I realize he may be eating more than some babies his age, but you have to remember...he's a big boy like his Daddy. He weighs about 23 pounds at 5 1/2 months!

Another question...I went to Harp's last week and they had 2nd foods on sale 3 for $1. I STOCKED UP! I am eager for his to start eating them, but most of them have meat in them. Our doctor sent a sheet home that says not to feed infants meat until they are 8 months old. But why? You know me, I'm not usually a stickler for the rules, but I don't know the reason for this one. If anyone knows, please inform me! Gage is "chomping at the bit" for some Chicken Noodle Dinner ;)

In the past couple days, Gage has really started to change. Before this week, he wouldn't even attempt to stand up. I'm pretty sure he was just simply being lazy, every time I see other kids his age do things that he doesn't do, I get paranoid. I guess maybe it is just a mom thing!

Catching Up...

Sadly to say...I have lots of catching up to do. I have been so busy around here lately, and I tell myself every night, "I have got to blog", but I never do! I'm going to do better...promise! Sorry for such a long post...hopefully you enjoy all the pictures!

Saturday Mom and I took my Aunt Vicki (Rance's Mom) to paint pottery. She has been staying home to take care of Rance since his accident and hasn't had time to get away. We had so much fun and can't wait to go back!

I painted a candy bowl for our Halloween candy. It has Gage's footprints on the sides that I made into little ghosts. He curls his toes all the time, so this wasn't easy!

I made his hand print on the inside for a cat! I'm pretty sure we had black paint everywhere after this little adventure! I think it is going to be so cute! What do you think?

Sunday we had some family come home from Chicago so we had a small little reunion. I love family time and this is why...
Kyle and Gage had lots of fun with Papa's hat! He couldn't figure out what in the world was on his head!

Rance took him for another ride on his wheelchair. Gage thinks Rance is so funny! He just stares at him and laughs constantly when he's around! I just love this one of Rance playing with Gage's hands. It is so special to me!

Gage loves his cousins! As you can tell, they love him too!

Here he is with his bunny. I haven't taken one of these in so long. Gosh he's getting big...and so handsome! Maybe I'm just a tad bit partial!

My Pawpaw is having brain surgery this week, so he and my Nana have gone to Tyler, TX for a while. He has Parkinson's Disease, and the only doctor that will perform surgery is there. I am so worried about his surgery, but I know it is the best option for him. Please keep the 2 of them in your prayers! This was taken last week before they left. Nana has called me numerous times to make sure Gage remembers her. Of course he does! This one is for you Nana!! We can't wait for you and PawPaw to come home!

Teething...

I think it is safe to say that my little man is in the beginning stages of teething. It seems so crazy that we can finally be at that stage, but I suppose 5 months is about the right time, huh? He has started drooling like crazy, and putting everything he can get his hands on, in his mouth.

Everyone keeps telling me that he needs a bib to catch all that drool, but I just don't like those things. They just seem gross to me. I think I would rather change his clothes 10 times a day!
He got his toy hung on his foot and he tried so hard to get it off! It was so funny!
I'm not really sure if it is normal or not, but Gage was doing so well with his sleeping until a few weeks ago. Now he wakes up 2-3 times in the night and will hardly go back to sleep. A couple of nights ago, he woke up at 11pm. He WOULD NOT go back to sleep, so I let him play for a minute thinking maybe he would get tired soon. It worked, but I don't want to "create a monster". What in the world do I do, and is this normal with teething?
Is this the sweetest thing you've ever seen or what? Gage is terribly hot natured (just like his Daddy) and he loves to sleep in his diaper. We don't let him at night, because you could hang meat in our house at night, but it sure is cute at nap time :)
Back to School time has come and it has been crazy busy at work this week. I'm certainly not complaining ;) Today was a pretty big day, but to make it even bigger, I got to do 2 "First Haircuts". Now, I will tell you this, first haircuts can go one of two ways. Either "really bad", or "really good"! I was a little nervous of how the girls would act with me behind them with scissors in hand. I am very good friends with both their Momma's, so I didn't figure it would be one of those "really bad" occasions, but you never know.

First thing this morning I cut Lexyn's hair. She is one of the twins that Gage stayed with earlier in the year. She did great!! She sat quietly in the chair and played with the clippies I gave her until we finished!
Then, later on, I cut Tilly's hair. She was a little skeptical of me at first, but I bribed her with a sucker and we had no problems!

I had so much fun with both of them and look forward to cutting their hair for years to come!!! They have both posted pictures on their blogs, so make sure you check them out! Thanks Kristi and Leslie for trusting me with your sweet little girls!

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Relaxing and Visitors

Gage and I have had another Sunday. At home. With nothing to do. And guess what else...we love it! Michael is playing softball today, so Gage and I have been at home doing a whole lot of nothing. I've picked the house up and done some laundry, but other than that it has been a pretty uneventful day. We did however, have a few visitors. As a matter of fact, this weekend has been full of visitors!

Kyle came by yesterday to visit with us (by us, I mean Gage) ;) He stayed for the majority of the day, then we all went to eat at our favorite...Las Palmas! Kyle is my cousin, and happens to think Gage hung the moon! It is so sweet watching them play! I have a feeling Kyle and Gage will be BIG buddies one of these days !

My Dad stopped by this morning to see us before he goes on his big trip in the morning. He's going to Portland, Oregon for some sort of haul. He is a cattle farmer, so I assume he's hauling cattle to Oregon? Who knows. You can't ever tell about Pawpaw! He's always into something! He stayed for a while and played with Gage while I picked up the house a little. It was nice to have him here, and we can't wait until he is home from his trip. He will be gone for 10 days :(
MeMe also stopped by today...toys in tow! It is so funny how before I had Gage, she would always be buying me something. Well, I don't think she has bought me anything since Feb. 27th (Gage's Birthday). She came in this morning with a huge box of diapers and 2 new toys for her "Angel Boy". Here they are playing. Isn't it sweet! By the way...I wouldn't have the gift buying any other way. She is such a blessing to us!!!

Meet, Dot!For quite some time now, I haev had full intentions of introducing Gage's furry friend. Her name is Dot! How original huh? She is a green polka dot silky with an elephant head attatched. Gage loves her! A few weeks ago, we lost her somehow and it was a minor tradgedy in our house. Mom and I found her at TJMaxx a few months ago, so we knew there would be no chance of finding another. Luckily, Michael and Gage left her at Big Daddy's and we finally got her back! Isn't this a sweet picture of "Little Man" and his baby?