Back from Beach Week!

We have been back from camp for a week now and today is the first day that we all aren't just plain exhausted! It has been an amazing last few weeks!

Daddy and I left for Beach Week so you spent the week with your grandma Vickie and grandpa James. We missed you like crazy but I know that you had a great time. Grandma and grandpa took you to see Grandpa's side of the family in Pryor and Welch OK. They said that you did so great in the car and that everyone loved you! On your trip you saw Great Grandma Ella, Aunt Jo and Uncle Ernest, Aunt Patty and Uncle Wayne, Uncle Charlie, Great Grandma Thelma, Aunt Rubie, and Uncle John. Whew! They all loved you and had a great time playing with you. Your Grandma Ella even gave you an amazing quilt that she made just for you!

You have done so many things! I could tell as soon as we got home that you had grown so much just in a week! When you saw me when I got home you immediately smiled. I snatched you up and hugged and kissed you like crazy. But it was when you saw your Daddy that your eyes really lit up! You reached for him and as soon as you were in his arms you grabbed his beard and let out a sigh of relief.

You are doing so many new things! The first thing I noticed was that you were pulling yourself up in the bathtub and splashing while in the sitting position. So much fun!

Also, you are a crawling machine! You haven't gotten the exact moves down yet (you have your legs figured out but your arms can't keep up) but you will "crawl" all over the place. One of my favorite new games is to lay a blanket down and have you chase me all over the blanket. You are really fast! I can't imagine how fast you will be once you are actually crawling!

Plus, you are getting better and better at sitting up! Its so funny to watch you work so hard at it. You always have this look of concentration....

You laugh all the time now and your personality is really starting to come out. You just get more and more fun as the months pass by, and soon you will be six months old! I can't believe it!

More to come!

Happy 4th of July!

We had an amazing 4th of July weekend! Grandpa James and Grandma Vickie came into town and spoiled you like crazy. You absolutely loved being the center of attention! I can't believe that in just two weeks I will be leaving you for a whole week for the first time! They are going to watch you while Chris and I go to Beach Week.

You are doing so many things! I haven't gotten to post in a while so here are the highlights...

• About three weeks ago you started really playing in the bathtub. It is so much fun! You splash and laugh and play with toys. You love to suck on the washcloth and you always grab the cup and try and pour water on your own head. Then when you miss and gulp some water down you laugh some more! I love it!
• You've also started to play in your crib before you go to sleep and after you wake up. Chris and I just put you in bed and you play until you fall asleep. The other day Chris walked in and you were snuggled up with your glow worm, fast asleep. Three days ago, I went in to get you in the morning because you had been giggling and "talking" to yourself and when I walked in, you were playing with the feet of the bear we have on the side of your crib. It cracks us up! We love going in in the mornings or after your naps because we never know what position you will be in or what you will be doing! Chris said a couple of days ago he walked in and you were on your knees trying to pull yourself up on the bumpers! You are too strong for your own good.
• You officially hold your bottle on your own now! Once we get done feeding you and its time for your bottle we just stick it in you mouth and you hold it until your down. You even readjust it if you start sucking on air.
• You are also getting really good at sitting up. Your balance is still a little off but thats usually because you discover your feet, get excited, and dive for them. Always a funny sight!
• You want to crawl sooo bad! You will get up on all fours and completely lift your body up now. Your just not coordinated enough to figure out the whole one hand then the other thing, but once you get it you will take off! Sometimes you grunt from frustration because you want to crawl so badly!

There is so much more and lots of pictures but I'm sleepy! I'll post more this weekend...

Four Month Appointment

We took Darryl in for his 4 month appointment yesterday! It was so amazing to see the difference in his size and behavior at this appointment compared to his 2 month appointment! At his 2 month appointment, he would lay on the table so still and quiet. At this appointment, we couldn't get him to hold still! He kept trying to roll over and move all around and laughed the whole time!

We went in to get him weighed, and as we were walking through the office all the nurses would stop what they were doing and come talk and play with him. He loved the attention and smiled the whole time. We took his diaper off, laid him on the scale, and he weighed 12 pounds 12 ounces! Well...he weighed that for about two seconds before he proceeded to arc some pee over his head and onto the floor. Then he weighed 12 pds 11 oz :) The nurses just laughed, apparantly its a common occurance...

When we got him measured he is 25 inches tall. Dr. Willie examined him and Darryl just started at him and smiled the whole time (he loves his Willie!). Then we got the green light to start baby food! We had already been feeding him cereal and he was doing really well with that, so we got to start throwing some carrot baby food in. He has been doing really great! Today we got to change his schedule from eating every 3 hours to eating every 4 hours. He did so great! He napped better and he was much happier during the day. He finally got some good food in his tummy!
So now we feed him at 8 a.m., 12 p.m., 4 p.m., and then a bottle at bedtime which is 8 p.m. (considering he had been eating at 8, 11, 2, 5, 7:15, and 9 p.m., today seemed easy!).

We'll see how the rest of the week goes!

Memories...

We have had a relaxing weekend so I've had a lot of time to think about random memories that I don't think I have written down yet... here are a few that came to mind..

• When you were struggling with gas and would be fussy I would scoop you up and take you for a walk around the neighborhood. You usually would stop after we rounded the corner. You love being outside.
• At Middle School Camp you LOVED the golf cart! Chris would ride around with you and he said that you would just smile as the wind hit your face.
• Remember that time that I had my face directly over your face and you started laughing so much you spit up all over me? I do....
• I remember the first time I came home and Chris had you in your Baby Bjorn for the first time...you were so snuggly with your Daddy and looked so content.
• Last night I took you to Walmart to run some errands...it was the first time since you have been born that I forgot your diaper bag at home. So what did you do? Poop EVERYWHERE! You just smiled as I raced back to the diaper section to get you diapers and wipes.
• Two weeks ago you had your first taste of Ovaltine... Greg Ford put it on your pacifier and your eyes got so big. Then you proceeded to spit it out EVERYWHERE...that outfit never had a chance.

I'm sure I'll randomly think of more. Love you!

Some more things I love...

I love when we hold you and you just look up at us and smile...

I love right after you eat because you are so content! I always lay you down on a blanket to change you and you just look at me, stretch your little legs straight out, and smile. After you've done that for a little while, you decide to chill and put your arms behind your head (you just started doing that this week!)

I love it. I love you.

Rollin right along!

Its funny how just a few days ago Darryl couldn't roll over...he would arch his back and look behind him...and then almost get over just to flop back on his back. But today, he does it with no effort at all!
Chris was watching him this morning and layed Darryl down on a blanket on our living room floor. He walked into the kitchen for brief moment, and when he came back Darryl had rolled across the living room and was leaned up against the fireplace. Chris could tell what path he took because he could just follow the trail of spit up!
Gosh I love him.

Victory!!!

After trying and trying for almost a month now, Darryl finally rolled over from his back to his tummy!! It was so exciting because both Chris and I were home to see it! He was laying on his back on the quilt on the floor and was holding his "blankie" (aka burpcloth). He started trying to roll over like he usually does and eventually got a little frustrated. Then he just whipped himself right over! He layed on his tummy and played for a while, then rolled to his back and then back to his tummy!! It was so fun!!

Its been a little while since I've posted because we have had so much going on! Last weekend, Darryl swam for the first time! We went over to Greg and Marla Ford's house and hung out at the pool. Chris and I were so excited that we went to Babies R Us that morning and got him a big inflatable police car to sit in and a adorable swim top (we already had swim trunks from a garage sale). Then we went over to Fords and put him in the pool. He loved it!!! He smiled and giggled. After about 20 minutes he started to realize that his diaper was sopping wet so he was ready to be done :) (They don't make swimming diapers his size). It was a blast! Since then we have swam again at Karen's pool and he loved it again!

This past week Darryl took his first trip! We took him with us to Middle School Camp in Gerty, OK. Let me tell you...packing was a whole other experience!

He did so great! He actually slept better there then he had been at home! He loved all of the attention that he got at camp of course. He also loved spitting up on people to show them that he loved them. On one occasion Jacob Wright was holding him and having him do lunges. He was talking about how he couldn't believe how strong he was and as soon as he got those words out of this mouth Darryl spit up all over him! Then during a sponsor meeting Jordan Hobbs was holding him and he did it again. It was hilarious because Jordan didn't know what to do and just screamed then laughed.

Chris came to camp just to take care of Darryl so I could participate at camp. He was so amazing to do that. It felt so good to get out in the sun, run around, and feel like myself again. And it was really fun to walk around with him.

We discovered that he LOVES Patty Barnes. He loves her so much that during a worship service I was holding him and he sat up trying to get to her! He then did it a couple more times the next morning. We would prop him up on a pillow where he was laying down diagonally and he would lean up! It is going to be so crazy to see him actually be able to sit up on his own.

My love for him just keeps growing... I can't believe how in love with him I am! I'll leave you with some photos that Sara Wheeler took of Baby Darryl and I on Mothers Day!