8 months old...

As I sit here and type this, I'm thinking to myself "can this be right?". But yes, my calculations are correct and my little man is already 8 months old! He has brought so much joy in our lives and continues to bring us more each day! I am so thankful to have him!!!

It seems so crazy that just a couple months ago I made myself a mental list of the things I needed to do before Gage starts getting into things. You know..."baby proof" the house. To be honest, I thought surely I had a little time to spare and I would get to it soon enough. Now, he is can do so much more than I ever thought an 8 month old would do and there is nothing he isn't into. He "army crawls" anywhere he wants to go, and most of the time it's places he shouldn't be going. I'm guessing he will be crawling with a few weeks or so, and before long, he will be walking everywhere! I'm thinking I had better get with it before he tears my house to pieces ;)

He has started waving "bye bye" to people, but only after we have already left them ;) You know how that goes...kids never do what you want them to do when you want them to do it. They just simply wait until no one is watching! Oh well, he is so cute when he actually does it and one of these days, he will learn when the right time is!

We went to the doctor last week and found out that he has his first ear infection. I think we have been pretty lucky so far to have made it this long without one! Hopefully he won't take after Mommy on this one and have numerous sets of tubes in his ears to keep the infections away. I had HORRIBLE ears!

After a lot of thought about the H1N1 vaccine, we went ahead and got the first part of both his flu shots this week. I have been so indecisive about the new vaccine because of everything the media has had to say about it. I talked to several doctors and nurses and got several different opinions, but I decided I would feel pretty stupid if he ended up with the Swine Flu because I didn't vaccinate him so I went ahead with it. Hopefully I don't regret my decision. He has done great with both them and hasn't been fussy at all, we've had no fever, and no sicknesses to go along. I was really worried, but he seems to be handling it well. THANK GOODNESS!!!

Tonight is Halloween night and we are taking Gage Trick-or-Treating at all the Grandparents houses. I am so excited about dressing him up and I cannot wait post pictures when we get home tonight. It should be lots of fun! I hope you all have a great night tonight and be safe!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Pumpkin Carving...

As I told you in my last post, Michael and I decided to tackle the job of carving our pumpkin we picked, tonight!

Here he is sitting in our yard with the scary thing! Isn't this a cute one?

BOO!!! Does my pumpkin scare you?

We had a great time carving our first pumpkin together for Gage's first Halloween! I look so forward to many more pumpkin carvings to come!

The Pumpkin Patch...

Despite all the rain we've had here over the past few weeks, today was a gorgeous fall day in Central Arkansas. The sun was shining and the weather was perfect for taking Gage on his first trip to the Pumpkin Patch. I have never been to one, so it was more excited than anyone else! They had tons of pumpkins already picked that you could buy, or you could go pick one. We sat Little Man down beside the ones that were already picked and got some cute fall pictures of him! He looks like a little "big boy" sitting there, huh?

We took a hay ride down to the patch and decided to pick our own! It was a really neat experience to see all the pumkins laying in the field waiting to be picked! This was the one we decided to bring home with us! Gage had so much fun playing in the field with it. People were looking at us like we were crazy for setting him down in the dirt, but he didn't mind!

Michael was probably SO embarrased for me to do this, but I asked someone to take a family picture for us! I thought it turned out pretty cute, except the fact that Gage started crying about the time we sat him on the pumpkin ;)

This is my favorite one from the day! See how much fun he was having? He loves being outside! I'm so glad we went, and I can't wait until next year when Gage can enjoy it more! We are going to do our best to carve this beauty tonight, so stay tuned for the results. Michael and I have never carved one so it could be quite funny ;)

We're all bundled up...

Sorry for all the jabbering today. I have been so behind on my blogging (as usual), so I had to do several posts to get caught up!

This morning, my little brother played football so we decided we would go. The weather has been warm and rainy all week here...until today! It was freezing out there and I LOVED IT!!! This is by far my favorite time of the year! I love coats, sweaters, boots, etc. We bundled little man up and off we went!

He had fun playing with the girls for a little while, but it was short lived! We left about 15 minutes after the game started and now we are spending the rest of the day bundled up at home. What a great day to do NOTHING!!!

Bauxite Homecoming...

This week was Homecoming week for my cousin, Sunny. She is a Junior in High School and was voted Homecoming Maid for the first time this year! We went to her pep rally yesterday so that we could see her all dressed up since we wouldn't be making it to the football game. She looked absolutely stunning and was by far the most gorgeous girl on the court...that's my opinion anyway ;)She thinks Gage is the best thing ever...I'm pretty sure the feelings are mutual! This is Sunny, her friend Ashley and me. They are best friends and have been for a long time. That little Ashley has a special place in my heart as well! P.S. please ignore the nappy hair. It had been raining cats and dogs all day long!

Big boy bath...

Gage had his first bath in the sink this week. It feels so good to have moved past the huge plastic baby tub that is in the way of everything. I wasn't sure what he would think, but he seemed to really like it! I have never put bubbles in his bath until now. He looked at them sort of strange at first, but before long, he was trying to eat them. This would explain the Santa Claus beard ;) I have tried giving him other bath toys, but he always goes back to the Rubber Duckies! After his bath, we put him in his new "jammies" MeMe bought him. They look so cute on him, but they make him look so grown up :( What about that mohawk? Daddy hates it...we love it!!!

We have a sleeper!!!!

From the day we brought Gage home he has been sleeping in his pack 'n play in our bedroom. I have told myself several times that it was time for him to be sleeping in his own bed, but when the time comes I can never convince myself to put him in there. Well, I haven't wanted to speak too soon, so I have waited an entire week to say...

HE IS FINALLY SLEEPING IN HIS OWN BED!!!!

He has done so well with it, and I am so proud of him. The very first night we put him in there, all 3 of us pretty much had a sleepless night. He went to bed about 9:30 and woke up around 3. I thought I would be able to rock him back to sleep and he would be fine, but I was WRONG! He cried for 2 hours straight. I went in his room every few minutes to let him know he wasn't alone, but every time he looked at me like "seriously Mom, you're putting me in my own bed?", but I refused to get him out. I knew in my heart it would be better for us all in the long run. I WAS RIGHT!!!

HE IS FINALLY SLEEING ALL NIGHT!

Go Hogs!!!

I just realized that I never posted about last weekend like I said I would. The Razorbacks played last Saturday, so we had some friends come over to watch with us. Eric, Leslie, and Tilly brought hot dogs and we had such a fun night sitting at the house watching the Hogs play. We took the kids outside to play while the weather was nice. Gage wasn't too sure what to think at first, but he warmed up quickly. Gage has a habit of spitting his passy out so Tilly would put it back in his mouth for him...she tried to anyway ;) Somehow it kept going in upside down and he would spit it out again! I thought this was a really cute one of little man!

And this, my friends, is for Tilly's momma! I think Tilly found something! I know you will love this one Leslie...I feel sure you will get me back later ;)
By the way...the Hogs won this one! GO HOGS!!!

Catching up...

It is amazing how in just a weeks time, babies can change so much. It seems like I missed an entire month of his life, and it was only 6 days. I've been spending the past few days catching up...it has been SO much fun! When I was a kid, I had a swing like this one at Nana and Papaw's house. This one is at their house also, and Gage LOVES it! I think he would stay in there for days if I'd let him!
Michael has a million ball caps, but his favorites are Hurley hats. While we were gone, we found this one for only $3! Gage had to have it!! Aren't they something? I just love this one! He is such a ham...but maybe I'm a little partial!
We spent the day with Rance on Friday. It was a beautiful day, so we were able to get out and enjoy the weather. Gage loves sitting on Rance's tray so that he can reach the joystick that makes the chair move. It is so sweet to watch them play!

Friday night, Gage decided he would try to look out the window at the dogs. He couldn't make it all the way up but once I sat him up there, he was in Heaven! He sat there for probably 30 minutes looking out the window!

We had some special friends come over last night to watch the Razorback game. I will post about our night soon!

Vacation...

Michael and I spent all last week in Orlando, FL for a softball tournament. We left Gage here with his MeMe because it was still very hot there. Although Michael and I needed some time away, we missed our little man more than I ever imagined. We had a lot of fun, but I was READY to be home by the first night we were there!

Mom sent us several pictures throughout the week. Here are a few of them! Just when I thought I couldnt handle being away any longer, she would send a picture of our little buddy!

Hopefully I don't have to leave him again any time soon, but if I do, atleast I know he will be in good hands!!

Show us your life...

It has been a while since I have been able to participate in Kelly's Show Us Your Life blog train, so I decided now was a good time to jump back on. This week is all about "children". When I was pregnant, I loved reading peoples blogs about their kids and the things they liked or disliked. Gage is 7 months old, and I still need lots of advice, so I'm really excited to join in on this one!

When Gage was a month or so old, we started using Dr.Brown's bottles to help with his reflux. Although, I DO think they helped with that, I DON't think they are AT ALL "user friendly". First of all, they leak like crazy. If they ever get turned over (even for a second) everything you own will be soaked in milk. Second of all, they are a pain to clean. Michael and I spent atleast 30 minutes per night washing a days worth of bottles. Third, they have 5 pieces to every bottle. They have a rubber insert that starts looking disgusting and has to be replaced regularly. Moral of the story...find another bottle! If your child has bad reflux, they may be worth a try, otherwise, not so much!

After trying every bottle out there, we finally tried the Playtex Ventaire. They are working great for us! Bye Bye Dr. Brown!!!!

One thing we used that we LOVED is the "sleep sack". They are wonderful! Babies aren't supposed to have blankets in their bed, but they still get cold. Gage hated to be swaddled so he slept in one of these every night. He LOVED them!

Kristi let us borrow her girls' Exersaucer when Gage stopped going to her house. That thing has saved the day several times and I highly suggest spending your hard-earned money on one! THEY ARE WONDERFUL!!!

One last thing...Kelly asked about convertible carseats. I am so glad she did, because a couple weeks ago, I was asking the exact same questions. It seems like this is the biggest delimma for parents these days. It is such a hard decision for so many, so I really hope more people tell about the carseat they chose. We decided on the Evenflo Symphony for Gage. It has really great ratings, and looks to be so comfortable. It is perfect for forward or backward facing and Gage really seems to like it!!

Hopefully this helps with the "what to buy" and "what not to buy" questions you may have! I'm looking forward to reading about yours!!