Rhett and Rice Cereal



I think you can tell how Rhett felt about his first taste of food.

Actually Rhett's first taste of food was a while back....Papa gave him a bite of gravy at Cracker Barrel.  Ha!  And Daddy did give him a bite of mashed potatoes one night at supper.  I'm more of a stick to the rules and only introduce a new food every few days kind of mom.  Especially after what we have been through recently.  I know I'm all behind on the blog, and I'll just fill you in on the details of our life I'm sure you're anxiously waiting to hear in chronological order ;)  But we had some major drama almost 2 weeks ago when Rhett had a severe allergic reaction to penicillin.  It was seriously scary.  So I will be on pins and needles for a while as we introduce any new substance of any kind to this little guy!

Poor thing got more on him than he did in his tummy.  These were taken right after he turned 6 months old.  It has taken him a while to catch on, despite the fact that it would appear as if he is a little piggy, but he is liking it much better now.

6 Months

 I'm 6 months old!

This is typical Rhett in action...squealing, kicking, and flapping his arms

More flappping

And more squealing

Whatcha chewing on?

Sweet Rhett,

Mommy cannot believe you have been with us for 6 months!  Time is passing too quickly for sure!  But every day with you just gets better as your personality is starting to shine through.  My left hip has not been the same since I carried and birthed you, my back is tired at the end of everyday from carrying you around, and I injured my right wrist lifting your carseat in and out of the car.  Ha!  But I wouldn't change ANYTHING to have you here with us.  You complete our family, and we get so much joy from watching you grow!  I've said it before, and I'll say it again, you are the sweetest and prettiest little boy in the whole world!  And you are a busy, busy boy these days, so let's get to what you've been up to:

• You weigh 21 lbs. 11 oz. and are 28 in. long (yeah, that's 95th percentile big).  I wanted to compare you to the Harriman grandboys at this age, and I haven't heard back from Lindsay about Eli, but you've got Trey beat by 2 pounds.  And we all thought he was a hoss!  I would say you are definitely on track to be your Daddy's size, and even Rita says he wasn't as big as you!
• You drink four 8 oz. bottles a day, and we just started rice cereal.  Can't wait to see what you think about real food!
• Still sleeping great in your crib!
• You can sit up by yourself, but you will still topple over sometimes.
• You rolled over tummy to back for the first time FINALLY by yourself on your 6 month birthday.  But I definitely tricked you into it with a toy, so it's safe to say rolling is still not in your repertoire of moves just yet.  It's the fat, white boy thing you have going on!
• When you are awake you want something in your mouth or hands at all times.  You want to be sitting up, so you can look around too!  You LOVE playing with your toys, and really exploring any new thing you can get your hands on.  You are busy, busy, busy, and I hope I never forget the funny and crazy look you get in your eye when you see something you want and go for it.  You get so excited you almost shake and lunge forward.  Sitting with you at the table or anywhere has its risk factors.  You are quick to grab any and everything and have a freakishly long reach.  You also slap and grab and hit anything in sight.  You are a very rough boy!
• You get stuck in the Bumbo your legs are so fat.  Ha!
• Still love playing in your exersaucer.
• Your eyes are pretty much glued to your sister when she is doing anything entertaining, which is most of the time.  Your eyes just shine and you smile like you think she is the best thing ever.  She can make you laugh and vice versa.
• You're still a Mommy's boy.  Oh shoot! ;)  But we really haven't found anyone you've had a problem with yet, so no signs of stranger anxiety.  But if you don't know someone, sometimes you will just stare them down and almost scowl you are studying them so much.  Oma and Renee said you did this when you stayed with them in Arkansas.
• You flashing your smiles at me is one of the biggest highlights of my day.  I could just eat you up you are so dang cute and sweet!  You are seriously sooo easy going. I love your cool and happy disposition.  But don't think you can't get mad and scream too!  You are especially dramatic when you get hurt or hungry.  It's the worst cry you've ever heard!  The nurse said she had never heard a scream like that when you got your shots.
• You are making too many sounds to keep up with.  Some of my favorites are your laugh, your squeal, your deep, deep grunts, and the way you huff and puff before you get upset.
• You get so excited when we read books.  And you love any kind of singing or dancing or sillyness that goes on around here.
• You can pull the burp cloth off your head now when we play peekaboo.  And you still love pat-a-cake.
• Still give the best "I'll eat your face" kisses!
• Still love our bedtime routine of bottle, rocking, and singing.  Daddy and I take turns putting you and ME to bed, so I get you every other night.  It's so sweet how you look up at me and touch my face.  You giggle when you push it away and then grab it back.  And it's funny that you know my last song and that it's time to fall asleep.  I can sing 2 songs or 10 songs, but when I sing "So This is Love" you close your eyes. ;)
• You love the water just like your sister!  You love to sit up in your bathtub (in the big bathtub) and splash and play with the toys.  And when we get you in the pool, you kick and splash like crazy!
• I couldn't love your chubby, yummy rolls any more than I do now.  You have deep rolls in your legs, neck, and arms, and I can't forget your fat, fat booty and squishy tummy.  And fat feet and chubby hands...
• We love you so much sweet boy!  Keep growing good, but slow down would ya?

11.4.11

12.4.11

1.4.12

2.4.12

3.4.12

4.4.12

5.4.12

Groundbreaking

I'm just reminiscing today.  Over the weekend they had a groundbreaking ceremony and farewell to the old Kappa house in Fayetteville.  I wish I had been on Maple Street to take one last walk through and visit with old friends, but I'm glad I got to take Mary Ella to the old house before it was torn down.  Click here to see that post.  While it's a little sad to think about the walls that held so many memories coming down, it is an exciting time for new and upcoming Kappas at the U of A.  Congratulations girls!  And I'm sure the new $7 million house will be nice enough for ME one day too. ;)

26 Weeks



26 Weeks Old

 This week Mary Ella started swim lessons 4 days a week, so just getting up and ready and out every day for that kept us pretty busy.  She is doing a fantastic job!  She is in the pool without me for the first time, and I LOVE watching her interact (through the observation glass) with her teachers and classmates.  There are only 4 kids in the class, and she is the only girl.  It was been extra fun because our new friend Brayden signed up for the same class.  One day after class we took a picnic lunch to the park and played with Brayden and Carson.

 Rhett turned 6 months old this week.  What?  And finally rolled over on his own for the first time!  And look how well he is sitting by himself!  I'm waiting to write that post until we go to our 6 month check-up so I can add his stats too.

Doesn't he look like such a big boy???

ME ready for swim lessons!

I made a big deal about listening to her teacher and doing what she says.  I think she gets it because every day before class she tells me she is going to listen to her teacher. ;)

She still loves the water!

Going for a walk!

This is his old man face.

I love her!

 And Saturday we all went down to our pool for the first time! I can't believe it's already warm enough the first weekend in May...well, yes I can, it's Mississippi!  I think it's going to be a hot one here folks...allll summer!  It was Rhett's first time in the pool!  I would love to put him in swim lessons this summer too, but I'm not sure what I would do with the girl while I was in the pool.  Plus, I think I know the drill and can probably just do it in our pool.

The sun is so bright, Mom!

He wasn't sure what to think about it at first.

And then he got to splashing and having a blast! ;)

Serious splash face

ME wears us out because she constantly wants to be swimming underwater to us.  I'm not sure how I'm going to manage taking both of them to the pool by myself?

Sweet Sunday pictures...I couldn't delete any of them...

Happy May Days!