First Thanksgiving

Long time, no post. We've been out of town for the Thanksgiving holiday.



It was Sam's first trip on an airplane. He did very well both ways. He took a bottle on take off then fell asleep for the whole 45 minute flight. The hardest part of the trip was dealing with all of the luggage. We took two suitcases, the pack-n-play, the stroller, the car seat and base, a camera bag big enough to hold the 17" Mac laptop, and a diaper bag. We used everything, so I think the hassle was worth it -- I don't think Chris agrees.

Sam also hit another milestone, turning 6 months old the day we left Dallas!

We spent the first part of the trip in Jackson with my mom, sisters, and grandmother. Sam had just started sitting up a few days before we left town. Here is a picture of his first time sitting in a high chair at a restaurant.



We had a lot of fun giving Sam a bath in the sink.



We went to the Bass Pro Shop to see all of the animal displays and Christmas decorations. Sam spent most of the time in his Baby Bjorn with Daddy. He really liked the fish and the waterfall. Here is a picture in front of the gigantic fireplace.



We got to go to lots of other neat places in Jackson too. We went to one of my favorite places to go -- Southern Breeze Art Gallery. Southern Breeze Gallery is dedicated to promoting artists living in Mississippi. We bought some pieces there last year. The gallery is in Highland Park Village which is a really neat shopping center. We ate out at Julep one night. It's an awesome restaurant close to my mom's apartment. It was recently ranked as one of the top 50 restaurant wine experiences by Food and Wine magazine. We had Key Lime Martinis, Shrimp Toast, Butterbean Hummus, Eggplant Fries, and Catfish Tacos. Sam had green beans -- He was jealous. We also ate at Broadstreet Bakery in Banner Hall (which has free Wi-Fi). Next time we go I want to visit Lemuria Books which is also in Banner Hall.

Sam met my maternal grandmother for the first time on this trip. We went to Mynelle Gardens to take a "Four Generations" photo.



Aunt Andrea giving Sam lots of kisses. We got to visit with Andrea a bunch because she lives in Jackson!



Aunt Melly was able to drive down from Starkville for one evening in Jackson.



Sam practicing sitting up on his own. He is also chomping down on his toys because he's teething again. We hope he cuts those front teeth soon. They are really taking a long time. Poor baby!



Since sitting up isn't challenging enough, Sam also wanted to practice standing (with support of course).



I'll have to post the pictures from the Indianola half of the trip later this week. We always take a lot of pictures!

-- Emily

Busy Weekend

We went to John and Tahereh's wedding on Saturday (Tahereh is Roya's sister). It was at The Melrose Hotel in Dallas. It was a beautiful ceremony with both Catholic and Persian traditions. Sam was teething and had a little cold this weekend so we were a little concerned about taking him with us considering that the wedding started at 8:00 p.m., but we didn't have a baby sitter. Sam slept through the ceremony, but woke up when everyone clapped. You've got to wonder what he thought when he fell asleep in the dark in a moving truck and woke up in a room full of people clapping.



Chris brought the camera so we could take a few candids at the reception. He was trying to stay out of the way of the wedding photographer, so he didn't get many shots of the couple together. This was the only shot with both of their eyes open, facing the camera, and neither one of them making a face, but it is out of focus! We had to post of picture of them though. Tahereh was beautiful and the dress was gorgeous.



Tahereh's mom got a belly dancer for the reception as a surprise. She was great and a lot of fun. Sam enjoyed the music as I danced around with him. He was awake until around 11:00 p.m. Yeah, I know, bad Mommy and Daddy. Roya said there must be a little Persian in him since he was so happy to be up so late. He was fascinated by everyone and everything. One thing in particular that caught his eye was the centerpiece with candles. He watched the fire for a long time. Roya's family hadn't seen him since he was two weeks old, so they were glad to see him too.



We met Brad and Jennifer at Haggard Park in downtown Plano on Sunday. Chris was going to take a family portrait for them. Unfortunately the temperature dropped before we got there and it started raining shortly after. Then both Sam and Jackson got a little cranky. Jennifer said late afternoon may be the best time of day for light, but it isn't the best time of day for little ones! Hopefully we'll get to try again soon on a nice sunny day. There are a lot of great parks around town which make for some great pictures.



We gave Sam bananas this weekend. They were a BIG hit. He still doesn't really seem to like the sweet potatoes, so I mixed them with bananas. He loved that!

Just a little update on Sam in general as he approaches 6 months old this Friday (yikes!) ... Sam is getting a lot bigger. He weighs about 16.5 lbs now. He moved up to size 3 diapers a few weeks ago. He's moving up to the 6 to 9 months clothes. He's starting to try to sit up. He can sit up on his own when he's in his little bouncer seat. He can't stay up very long when he's on the floor though. We keep practicing, so he's almost there. He's not trying to crawl yet, but he does a good job of spinning around on his tummy and rolling over. He's still squealing a lot, as opposed to babbling. The doctor said he'd be making ba-ba, da-da type sounds by six months, but it looks like he's satisfied with just squealing and laughing. He seems to be left-handed. He grabs and hits everything with that hand. He's sleeping in his pack-n-play now, so he's out of our bed which makes us sleep easier. He's a tummy sleeper just like me -- refuses to sleep on his back. He's also sleeping a little better at night again, only waking up twice now. He's been teething again for about a week. I think those top front teeth might cut through by Thanksgiving!

-- Emily

Adventures in Eating

We started introducing Sam to more "solid" food over the last few weeks. He never really fell in love with the rice cereal, so we wanted to add stage 1 fruits and veggies. Chris wanted to start with applesauce, so we bought a few jars of that. We went by the book store after we bought the applesauce because I wanted a few tips on introducing babies to food. The first book I picked up said to start with vegetables. When I told Chris, he told me to keep looking at books until I found one that said to start with fruit. I laughed, but it only took two more books to find one that agreed with him! We're mixing rice cereal into his applesauce because it's a good source of iron and zinc. It also thickens it up a little bit, so we can actually keep it on the spoon.



As you can see from the pictures above, we've also tried sweet potatoes. I wish I could say that Sam loves this stuff, but he doesn't! He makes the funniest face when I put the first spoonful in his mouth. I only get a few spoonfuls in before he starts turning his head. I think he eats better for the ladies at day care. He's also hungrier in the middle of the day. Bananas are next on the list. Maybe they'll be his favorite. They sure are Cleo's favorite! Maybe we should take a vote for the next veggie.

There are a few different theories on this subject:

1. start with vegetables so the baby doesn't develop a sweet tooth and reject vegetables later
2. start with fruits so the baby likes it and gets used to eating from a spoon faster
3. start with yellow foods, then orange, then green (this advice comes in different orders with no real reason why)
   

The options for stage 1 foods are applesauce, bananas, pears, peaches, prunes, carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, peas, and green beans. We can also try other single grain cereals, like oatmeal and barley. You are supposed to wait from 3 days to a week after introducing a food to try a new one to watch for any sensitivities. Then when he can sit up on his own, it's time to switch to stage 2 foods.

I'm thinking, "Oh fun -- a new food." Sam is thinking, "Oh no! A new food!"



We're still feeding him out of his bouncer. He can't sit up on his own yet so he doesn't really need a high chair. The new high chairs actually have different reclining positions, but I'm not ready for another piece of furniture in the house yet! How can something so small need so much big stuff?



Here's a shot of Sam on a mat in our bedroom. We've taken to putting down little mat areas in each room of the house. We have wood floors in every room which will come in handy when he's ready to stack blocks and race cars, but it isn't so great for a wee one still on his tummy.

One more bit of news ... believe it or not, we all had a stomach virus again this weekend. Sam was sick Thursday/Friday, Chris was sick Saturday, and I was sick Sunday. Chris bought disinfectant wipes to wipe down the whole house. Chris says if we get sick one more time, he's hopping in a plastic bubble. Our doctor says that's just what we have to expect with a baby in day care. Great!

-- Emily