It's been a while...

But I have lots of excuses--

1. We went to Nashville for a week for JAY'S FIRST WEEK OF SWIM LESSONS. I am SO PROUD! 5 hour-long classes. Some screaming. By Friday he went off of the diving board and rolled over all-by-his-10-month-old-self. ( I did not get a pic rolled over, regrettably I threw my camera down sometime in the cheer him on/scream/clap/cry/victory dance. Too bad we didn't get THAT on video.)

We did lots of visiting with family and friends and brought CJ home with us for a few days. CJ was a great helper and started teaching Jay important lessons like how to build a pillow fort.

2. Jay got his first fever. The day before Father's day Jay woke up from his nap with a fever. With Tylenol/Ibuprofen it was manageable but he was less than himself and slept a lot of the weekend and into Monday. Just a fever virus, but we have now officially had our first illness. 10 months and 28 days was a long time to go with no sickness and I am thankful everyday for a happy, healthy child.

3. After recovering from the fever virus, Jay caught his first cold on 2 days later on Wednesday. We actually went to the doctor for this one, so we've had our first non-checkup visit with Dr. Malone.

4. Super summer storms knocked out our internet. We are back online as of this morning.

Here are a few pics then I will try to get on to the 11 month post. Man-oh-man! 11 Months!! AAhhhh!

Mohawk Friday and Lunch al Fresco

We decided to have lunch on the deck for a change of pace and to try to break up our routine a little. I think it was a hit with Jay!

Look! A fan!!

Keepin' Cool in the Baby Pool

We're actually working on Jay's base tan and attention span as we prepare for our first week of swim school next week. All of this work sure has been fun!

Yes, those are Little People from our Nativity set. Jay pulled them out of his toy box a few nights ago, so they are back in the rotation for a while. 

Little fella is really trying to tell me something here...

He kept his shades on the whole hour we were outside! Great job, buddy!

Dancin' and clappin' to his own little tune. 

Mmm-Nom-Nom-Nom-Nom-Nom

Snack today was a Nestle's Toll House Chocolate Chip cookie and a little milk. I think it was a hit. Thanks Daddio!!

Weekend Wackiness with the Wests

PERFECT 10!

Here we are at the 10 month post already!!

The biggest change came after our 9 month check up. Jay switched to table food and whole milk from a cup all at once. Yes, one day we were enjoying some stage 2 and 3 baby food and 2 bottles of formula and the next day we were having pasta and green beans with a cup of whole milk. I just thought I would try it out to see what he would do. The kid didn't flinch. So, here we are formula and bottle free and eating just about anything and everything we can. What a difference a day makes.

Jay literally will eat anything and has liked just about everything he's tried. All fruits are a hit, he prefers his eggs scrambled with a little cheese, he loves grape jelly and toast, soups, pastas, cottage cheese, yogurt, refried beans and rice, collard greens, carrots--you name it. Meat has been the only thing he is not just crazy about but I think it is a texture thing.

Jay is standing and pulling up and even crawled all the way up the stairs from the basement to the main level. (I was right behind him to catch him.) Although he isn't walking he is getting stronger every day. I'm just so proud of him.

He is distinctly saying "bye-bye" ("beh-beh") "ball" ("baww") and "baaa" ("bahhh" says the sheep-he has a book with animals and the sheep page is the only one he recognizes, but we're working on "woof" and "meow").

He loves to say da-da and even knows what Daddio's truck looks like. We were all at a party in Mommy's car over the weekend and we walked past a truck just like Daddio's and Jay squealed "Dada. Dada. Dada!" then when we past it he said "Bye-bye, Da da, bye-bye" that is when we realized he was purposefully trying to tell us something, not just jabbering. I was very impressed.

No Mommy or Mamas yet.

He's a man on the move and a man on a mission. Our playtimes are filled with looking for Gus and Precious and doing anything we can to get them, dumping out baskets and buckets that house his toys, playing with everything we own for about 15 seconds, crawling to the nearest door or window, pulling up and shouting, banging on the glass, back down to play or bang on a toy, then to find something to get under or climb on, then hopefully finding a drawer, door or cord that is a no-no and starting over. Jay also loves to open and close his toy box in his room then try to climb all of the furniture in his room and repeat.

I love these days and don't miss the tiny baby stage. Daddio and I were talking last night and Daddio commented that he really is getting bigger all of the time, but that he doesn't miss the other phase...after some thought, I would say I agree. I treasure all of the time I got to spend caring for and providing security to Jay in the early days, but now as his world is growing larger, I love watching him discover things and interacting with him. I can't wait to have a tiny baby again, but I love everything about this age to. I guess, we love it all.

(these monthly pics are certainly becoming more and more difficult!!)