First Day of MDO - 2013

We were excited for John Thomas to start MDO again this year!  Everyone there is wonderful and we get a special bonus this year my friend, Jill, is his teacher! 

I took this picture at his "meet the teacher" he was a happy boy with his snack cup! 

 Pictures before his actual First Day! He was not in the mood for a photo shoot!

 Jill sent me these pictures from his first week!  Success, lunch and a nap! 

 Just to show what a big difference a year can make, here he is before his first day last year!

We are grateful for a Christian program that focuses on our little man.  He has already learned so many new things!

LSX Races - Bowling Green, KY

After Nashville, we headed to Bowling Green, KY for the LSX Races. For Kris' birthday this year, I knew he really wanted to go to the races to watch his uncle, Kevin race so I offered to book our trip as his gift.  To say he was in heaven would be an understatement!  We got there Friday afternoon and watched the races for the remainder of the weekend.

 Gran Gran was a great wagon puller!

 John Thomas enjoyed playing in the trailer each day!

 In Uncle Kevin's car, he really wanted to drive!

 Checking out some of the cars with Daddy.

 We weren't sure how John Thomas would like the actual races since it is super loud, but every time the cars would take off he would immediately start saying and signing "more!" This made his daddy super proud!

 Aunt Dionne got him a spoon and paper bowl to dig in the dirt, he had a blast and was really really dirty by the time he finished!

 One night we got back to the hotel and John Thomas literally slept through the ride home, being carried in, and his bath!  He was exhausted!

 

 John Thomas was even able to do some "racing" of his own, thanks to "Howdy" (that is what he calls Taylor)!

 

Nashville Zoo!

We took John Thomas to the zoo for the first time in Nashville!  We got there early, and there were hardly any people.  It was a great day to see all the animals, and he loved it! 

Getting ready to go in!

 The first part we visited had an old homesite on it and was a working farm!  We got to see horses, cows, goats and pigs!

 It also had a working garden that was beautiful.  There were different plots for vegetables, fruits and flowers.  I would love to have a garden like this someday!  We were the only ones in it and it was so peaceful.

 The beautiful home site, for a moment you forget you are at the zoo.  Kris and I love old houses and always say we would like to have one someday, until we think about all the maintenance.  Maybe we will just build a new house that looks old!

 The next stop was a really neat bird area that you could enter and be right with the birds.  They were all over the ground and buzzing around our heads. John Thomas was a little apprehensive at first when they were flying by his head! I loved all the unique colors and kinds!

 He especially liked the ducks!

 After the birds, we went to the African portion and got to see some interesting hogs! John Thomas kept making the pig sound.

 Then we got to stop and see some elephants! He was in awe of them!

 Surprisingly, he wasn't impressed by the giraffes, he was more  interested in the coin drop right by the exhibit.

 He kept going "Rawr" and making a scary face when we would see any tigers! 

 Watching the alligators, he didn't want to leave this part!

 One of his favorites, the monkeys, he kept wanting them to come see him.

 Quick snack while watching the monkeys play.

 Probably the most exciting part was watching the flamingos.  They would run and chase each other back and forth and John Thomas would cackle laugh and follow them, running, from one end of the bridge to the other. 

 There was also a petting zoo where we spent lots of time so he could get out and walk.  He kept trying to feed the goats!

 A very large turtle!!

 The three of us right before we left!  Obviously, he was over the zoo and ready for a nap!

6 Months! - 24 Week Pregnancy Survey

How Far Along: 24 weeks (Heartbeat was 150)

Size of baby: A cantaloupe! (Average size:  10.5 to 11.8 inches, 12.7-20.8 oz.)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 3 lbs this month! (16 total)

Maternity Clothes: Absolutely!

Gender: Sweet baby GIRL! Ruby Caroline

Movement: Much more this week!  Some days she doesn't stop!

What I miss: A glass of wine and being able to carry John Thomas and pick him up without my back aching!

Sleep: Not bad, she wakes me up sometimes moving, but otherwise I can't complain!

Symptoms: My back is hurting a little more this month, I am guessing from her (and my) rapid growth!

Cravings: Nothing specific, but I did break down and buy a super-sized tub of cookie dough, so those have tasted really good in the evenings!

Best Moment this week (month): Getting in all the nursery fabrics and doing a little shopping for girl clothes, it is a totally different world!

What we are looking forward to: My sister and dad coming at the beginning of next month!  They will be coming to stay for a few days and we are excited, as always, to see them.

Belly at 25 weeks!

John Thomas - 18 month professional pictures!

I had planned on having John Thomas' pictures made in the spring, but one thing after another came up and we finally were able to get them taken in late July. Julie, of  Photo Jewels Photography, took our family photos last fall and we scheduled this shoot at the same time.  She did an amazing job of capturing his little personality!  We will treasure these for a long, long time! You can read more about his session on her blog.