More teeth are coming. Jai just finished cutting a tooth and now there are more waiting to break through. He had a really hard time with his top two front teeth. I hope the rest are easier.

We have had a lot of meetings this week. Jai didn't do so well at my meeting yesterday. But, it's over. Thank goodness. He did great at our meeting on Wednesday night. We will be really busy until our big event and then hopefully, things will calm down.

We've been cleaning and organizing. This is not Jai's favorite thing. The kid isn't too fond of order. So, his job is to go around and mess up the things I'm organizing. And I must say, he is very good at it.

I gave Jai a toothbrush last night to start practicing. (We usually brush with a washcloth) He really enjoyed chewing on the toothbrush. This morning I gave it to him again--- this time, he tried to give it to the dog. silly baby.

We are one week away from the big 1 year! I can't believe how fast time is going. It is sad and exciting all at once. I will probably spend a lot of next week getting ready for his party.

The playdate today was good--- it had been awhile since we had one. It was a lot of fun to get to see our friends again and to see how much everyone had grown. We did a lot of reminiscing about when we first started getting together and the kids could barely sit up. Now, half of them can walk and all are mobile in some way. It is so amazing how much they grow and change in the first year.

We have a couple of meetings this week and I need to make 5 appointments for Granny, so we will be pretty busy in the next few weeks. And our big charity event is looming very close-- that takes up a lot of time.

I think we are about ready for the birthday party. I need to order a cake for the Asian get together and pick up some other stuff for that one, but I'm pretty much all set for the American party. We are really excited!!! I know that Jai won't remember it, but we will have lots of pictures and video!

we survived all the chaos that has been the last couple of weeks. Jai survived a week of 3 hours in the car everyday-- and he did much better than I expected. He survived a week of napping in a foreign house and he survived having his "schedule" (if that's what you can even call it) turned totally upside down. And then he survived leaving that and being thrown into Jeannie and Shad's visit. And he lived through my attending camp without him. He even took a nap without me. There were tears, but he did it.

now we are counting down to his birthday. Oh, what fun! We did a little shopping today to get some more supplies and such.

And just for fun, we made a trip to the library. We haven't had too many "just for fun" moments lately. It was very nice. And we signed up for the children's reading challenge they are having.

Tomorrow we have a play date! :)

crazy week!

Jai and I have had a really busy week and it's not over! We will be slammed. I think our first free day is about a week and a half away. So much going on! Some of it hasn't been the most fun-- a lot of time in the car--- but my wonderful son is a trooper. And we've had to get on this totally strange schedule, which may result in turning the corner from 2 naps a day to one nap a day, but he is hanging in there like a champ. I am seriously impressed with his coping skills at this time.

the fun part will start tomorrow when Jeannie comes in for a visit. Jai will be going to his second baseball game! And I think we will take a trip to Stone Mountain as well.

I'm hoping that our lives will get back to being a little normal after Chopstix. I am stepping down from my duties after this year. There will still be a lot of wrap up stuff, but hopefully my participation can be minimal.

4th

We hope everyone had a very happy independence day!!! We sure did!

forgot to mention

One of Jai's top teeth finally broke through. We had been able to feel the ridges in it through the skin for nearly 3 weeks.... it just wouldn't break out. but it finally did.


and now we have to wait for the other one.

poor kid.

coming up...

We had a fairly low key weekend, but we are gearing up for an incredibly busy two weeks. I'm actually going to be working a lot in the next couple of weeks- M&C's current nanny is leaving and I'm filling in some gaps for them. I hope it goes well. I am a little nervous about it. That's a lot of traveling for Jai. and we all know how he feels about the car.

we have the fourth of July coming up, that we are excited about. We have plans with the godparents, that may include fireworks. we will watch from far away, so that Jai doesn't get too scared from the noise.

and we have another visit from Jeannie coming up! that is exciting. More baseball!

that's about it, for now.

shoes!

Jai does not like to wear shoes. But he is getting to the stage that he needs them. I went out and purchased some for him the other day. He looks happy in this picture- but I can assure you that look faded pretty quickly.

We took them with us to watch Grandpa play tennis last night. After we were there for a little while, we put them on him. He was pretty good about wearing them while being distracted by the tennis match. And he *loved* the tennis match. He would get mad if you turned him away from it.

the kid takes after his grandparents.....

11 months

As of yesterday, my little baby is 11 months old. I can't believe it. We are just a few short weeks away from a 1st birthday.

We are very busy trying to plan his 1 year old birthday bash! It will be a lot of fun. We know he won't remember it, but we are still making it a big deal.

Jai is growing by leaps and bounds. He fascinates us everyday with all that he can do. He claps (a lot), he pulls up, he's cruising-- a little, he is starting to feed himself more-- which he loves, he can crawl at the speed of light now... and so much more. He is amazing.

Jai loves to get in the water. Any water. Pool, baby pool, bath tub, Scout's water bowl... if it is wet, he will get into it.

Jai and I went to Stone Mountain today for a playdate. There was an Animal Planet thing going on, so we got to see some fun shows. He was really cute, clapping at the performers when other people clapped. It was sweltering hot, but we still had a great time.

We are closing in on Jai's 11 month birthday--- I can't believe it has been almost a year! Crazy.

He is doing really well. His front two teeth will not break through, though. Poor kid. I have been able to feel the ridges in them through the skin for about 2 weeks now. They just refuse to pop out. So, that has been hurting him a little.

Jai was really sick for awhile. One thing kept turning into something else, and he stayed sick for over three weeks. And was contagious. So we missed a great birthday party that we had really been looking forward to. It had all sorts of neat stuff. Pony rides and clowns and face painting and such. We were really sad to miss it. Plus we had to miss a couple of gym classes.

Since we graduated into the new class, we are trying to find a good fit for us. The class we signed up for is too big with too many kids and way more chaos than I can stand. Now we are going to a class that works well for us size wise, but not so much in terms of the time. We will see how it goes.

We had a great, great! first Father's day. I took Jai to have his picture made as a surprise for Daddy. And we spent the day at the pool with Grandpa and Nana and then had a late lunch with them. It was just such a nice relaxing day. And even though we try to show it everyday, it was very special to let Daddy know how much we love him and appreciate all that he does for us.

more pics

2nd post today-- see below

angry baby

crawling pictures
playing catchlaughinghanging out in bed with Daddyadorable!
pictures from gym graduation (Jai was not feeling well at all- cold, ear infections and tons of teething going on)

10 Months old today

I can't believe that Jai is now 10 months old. He is nearly a year. Time has flown by these last 10 months... every day going faster than the last.

Jai learned to clap this morning- which was very exciting. What a fun thing to learn on your 10 month birthday!

I'm long overdue for posting some pictures- so here they are in no particular order...

at the zoo- there is a lion in the backgroundclose up of the most adorable face in the world
with Mommie and Jeannie at the zoo- in a bird's nest working on the computer
being cute

whirlwind tour

Jeannie came to town for a very brief visit this week. We had such fun! And Jai had a lot of firsts. He met Jeannie for the first time, went to the zoo for the first time and went to his first baseball game. Braves vs. Mets. Braves won 8-1... which means I enjoyed the game thoroughly!

Jai loves to stand up now. He wants to stand in front of his toy box all the time. He loves it.

He also loves playing outside in his pool. Most of the time it doesn't have water in it. He just gets in it and plays with his toys. And with the beautiful weather we have been having lately, we have been doing that a lot.

Jai is also starting to hate his high chair as much as his car seat. And Jai is starting to develop a temper. If he wants something and doesn't get it he grits his teeth and thrashes his head around. His Daddy and I think it is pretty funny. This morning he was frustrated (about Lord knows what) and he started biting his keyboard. We were quite amused- Jai was not.

He has been having some trouble at night. I think his ears and his teeth are bothering him. He wakes up whining all the time.

It is so amazing to see him grow and change everyday. We are so lucky to have such a wonderful little person to share our lives.

still sick

I took Jai to the doctor this morning, since he is still sick. Well, now it has turned into an ear infection! Just great. And his teeth are all trying to come in at one time. The doctor looked at his mouth and couldn't believe it! My poor little man. that just can not be any fun.

Hopefully, he will be feeling better by Monday. That is his graduation day from gymnastics. I'll post some pics from that.

And next week, we have a really busy week. Monday is gym class. Tuesday Jeannie flies in from Houston and we are going to Jai's first Braves game. They are playing the Mets- Daddy's team. Wednesday we are going to the zoo and Jeannie will be flying out. And that weekend we have two graduation parties.

busy baby!

sick baby

Well, Jai has been sick since last Friday. (Thursday night really- but whose keeping track?) He has had a cold and today has been the worst. I think his teeth are bothering him today as well. Poor little thing. He spends half the time screaming and the other half looking as pitiful as he can possibly manage.

and I have a meeting tonight. I don't know how that's going to go over. I guess we will spend most of the time in the hall instead of in the meeting.

Mother's day was very nice. I was treated extra special by my hubby and Jai and Scout, too! Of course, Jai was sick that day as well. Poor little guy.

blossoming...

Jai is growing up so fast. everytime I turn around he is doing something new. He pulled himself up to almost standing yesterday. On the dog dishes non-the-less. We had to move them. Jai was obsessed with them. a big bowl of water is very tempting to a baby! He can crawl pretty well now. He still mostly does a "wounded soldier" crawl, but he will get his belly off the ground sometimes. and he is very, very good at going into a sitting position now.

We had playgroup at our house yesterday. It was a lot of fun, but Jai tired out and had to take a nap in the middle of it all.

Today Jai is a little sick with a runny nose and a grumpy disposition. I called the doctor, but they said that he can be at home with the symptoms he has now. If things change, I will need to bring him in. Good for us- our doctor's office is open 7 days a week.

our weekend

We have had quite the busy weekend- but then again, when aren't we really busy? (I'm working on that, though... trying to slow things down and have our lives more at a slower pace. One day...)

Daddy has a ton of vacation that he is going to lose in September if he doesn't take it, so we have been so lucky to have him around a lot. This past Friday was the first Friday he had worked in a really long time. Next week he is taking Wednesday- Friday off. well, that's the plan. Sometimes he has to change things, though. Since Daddy wasn't home we went to the consignment store in search of some baby proofing items. they didn't have any, so we were forced to buy toys instead. I got Jai two really fun new toys, and we have enjoyed playing with them. (after they were sufficiently cleaned, of course.)

On Saturday we had a little birthday party to celebrate Granny's 81st birthday. We had a little luncheon and our friends, Wanda and Nina, came to join in the fun. Jai and Nina had a lot of fun playing together and eating birthday cake.

That night we had a graduation/ engagement party for Panya's cousin and her boyfriend- now fiance. They just finished up at Tech and will be moving to Charlotte.

And today was Grandpa's birthday and we all went to the club to have a nice lunch. Uncle Adam was even able to come. He is in the Air Force in Arkansas, but is home for a couple of weeks. Aunt Meredith was there, as well. Jai always likes to visit his Aunt Meredith. He even gave her one of his very special kisses.

that's about it.... I hope everyone had a great weekend.

what's going on in our world

so, we've had an ok week. Jai is really becoming mobile and that comes with a lot of "learning bruises and bumps". That kid has fallen or bumped his head so many times in the past few days! but as my friend Holly says- that's why God made their heads so hard!

With all this new mobility, it is time to childproof. We have done a little, but we need to do the full on type of stuff now.

Jai had his nine month check up last week, but had to go back to the doctor again this week. He wasn't sleeping very well and was cranky and constantly pulling at his ears. I knew it wasn't an ear infection, but I also knew I had to take him to be sure. So, yesterday we went back to the doctor and had his ears molested and violated for a second time in one week. and I was right- it was his teeth. Poor kid.

And he has been battling a pretty bad stomach bug, too. He didn't eat any solids for about three days and had a lot of "tummy issues". We are through the worst of it, but we still get a little residual stuff now and again. It's tough being a little guy.

We had playdate at Theresa's house this week. Next week it is back to our house to start the rotation again.

that's all for now.

at the mountain

We had a bit of a rough week last week and needed some good quality family time. so we went to stone mountain for the afternoon on Sunday. It was absolutely delightful. we walked around the crossroads area and sat on the lawn for a long time. and we got to get a very up close view of the train as it went by. This was just what we needed to relax and reconnect. The three of us are so close and get to spend so much time together. We are very fortunate!

birthday party

On Saturday we went to our friend's, Theresa, 1st birthday party. It was a lot of fun. We know Theresa from our gym class and that's where the party was. We had a lot of fun- and a little too much cake!
This picture was taken right after we jumped off the airtrack-- even though he doesn't look like it here, Jai was having a good time.
Jai showing off his moves! Look at those biceps!
the whole family!
taking a break to get some special "Daddy snuggles", which are the best kind.
this cake stuff isn't bad!

9 months!

Where has the time gone??? I can't believe that my baby is 9 months old today.

He is going to be off to college soon!

bad momma.....

I know I have been so neglectful of this blog-- I will try to be better. I'm spending all my time loving on my son! I haven't had time to keep it up. Here are some pictures from Easter. We had a great time! In the morning, Jai discovered that the Easter Bunny had left him a big basket full of goodies! He loved it! He snuggled in bed with his Daddy and Scout and rummaged through the basket to see what all was buried inside it.
After nap time, Nana and Grandpa showed up (with Easter presents!) for our Easter Egg hunt. Since someone forgot to tell Mother Nature that it was spring and it was freezing outside, we had out egg hunt indoors. Grandpa hid the eggs while Jai was getting dressed. He really enjoyed finding all the eggs and sucking on them. and guess what? egg dye will come off an egg and get on a baby's brand new Easter outfit when it is sucked on! oh, well!
After our egg hunt, we went to the club for a very nice lunch! Thanks Nana and Grandpa!

eggstravaganza

sorry that I have been slack about posting- we've had a busy week.

I have been trying to re-prioritize my life. I stay home for Jai and I feel that I haven't been doing a good job of focusing on him. It seems that something else always is going on, so I've been making it a priority to do something just for Jai everyday. So this week has been full of playdates and Jai time. It has made me feel a lot better about things.

My cousin Cindy and her son came to spend the night with us on Monday and we had a great time. Jim and Jai had a lot of fun playing together. We spent much of the time just hanging out with the babies and letting them play and just have fun.

On Tuesday we went to the petting zoo. Note to self: never go to the petting zoo during spring break. It was insane! I love this place, but Cindy and Jim had never been- and this was not the best way to experience it. The worst part was the behavior of the children. Maybe I'm just old school, but so many of these kids were plain rude.

On Wednesday we had a playdate with Wanda and Nina. Wanda is my new friend and her daughter Nina is about a month younger than Jai. We have really enjoyed hanging out with them.

On Thursday we had a group playdate. Andrew, Nina and Zoe (and Jai) had another playdate together. They have so much fun- and it is really great for all the parents, as well. This week Wanda hosted and made some Cuban Empanadas. They were so good. She also made crescent rolls with guava-- yummy!

On Friday, Daddy stayed home and we took Jai shopping. We went to a consignment sale at a nearby church and then stopped by Old Navy.

Today we had Wanda and Nina over to paint eggs for the kids first Easter. It was such a blast! Wanda and I have so much in common and it is nice to have a friend that is in a similar stage of life as me. I love all my friends, but it is great to have a mommy friend.

Tomorrow is Easter. I'm will try to post something then. In the meantime, enjoy some of our pics from today.

fishy

Jai has had a really busy couple of days. We had the playdate on Thursday and last night we had a birthday party for Johnny. Jai didn't get to bed until almost midnight. He slept in pretty late this morning- until almost 10:00. Of course, he woke up multiple times last night to eat.

I got him this toy fish that really "swims" the other day. We put it in the bath with him tonight and he got a kick out of it. He is becoming so active. I hope he is going to be a handful. Kids are so much harder to take care of when they are like that, but boy do they make life fun.

We went to the big Farmer's Market today. It was quite the experience. I don't think I have ever gone on a weekend... and I will try to never do that again. It was rough. Really crowded. but we got some great deals on fruits and veggies.

Tomorrow we are taking Granny to a birthday party and Monday my cousin Cindy and her 1 year old son are coming to spend the night.

Busy, busy

playdate

We had most of the kids from gym class over today. It was such a blast. Everyone seemed to have a great time!
We moved all the furniture and turned the living room into a big play area. And a lot of our friends brought toys, too.

he, seriously, may be the cutest thing ever!

the best 8 months ever!

Jai turned 8 months old today... where has it all gone? I know I say that all the time- but I really am in awe of how fast time is going by. It makes me feel so desperately sad that this is all going to be over way too soon. Like some kind of cruel trick is being played that when my life finally turns into this amazing wonderful place, someone hits the super fast forward button.

We finally made it back to work today and worked our longest day ever- 7 1/2 hours. Which is pretty hard with a 40 minute commute (that is when there is no traffic at all... it has taken over 2 1/2 hours in bad traffic) added in and a baby. I feel so drained tonight. Jai did very well today, though.

We have a lot of upcoming plans in the next week, so I will try to keep the updates coming.

explosion

Jai has seemed to explode in his development lately. He is rolling all around, sitting up on his own, trying new foods, all sorts of stuff. I am so amazed by him!!!

He is going to be 8 months old tomorrow--- where has the time gone?

We have a really busy week. I will try to be better about posting. We are having a lot of people over on Thursday for a play date--- I'm sure we will have some good pictures from that. until then, enjoy this picture of the family from Bobby's going away dinner.

busy as a beaver

We had such a busy day!

Daddy took the day off of work and went with us on our first ever play date. At gym on Monday, I suggested that we all get together. So we met today and went to a park. Not everyone in the class made it, but quite a few did.

Later this afternoon we went to Home Depot and got some flowers to plant around our tree in front. We took Jai's pack n play outside and he got to hang out while we did some planting. It was a lot of fun! And now we have a little curb appeal!

Here are some pictures from our play date.