Lovin' My Ladies

My Aunt Leslie came to visit me this weekend. We had a blast! She played a lot of peekaboo with me, and it was the funniest thing I have ever done - EVER. She also gave me a bath, which mommy says will probably embarrass me someday. Right now, though, I really don't mind. My new tooth started coming in while she was here, too. I figured I had to do something really special to make her like me as much as she likes her niece!



Today, I went on a hot date with Elizabeth. She is the daughter of one of mommy's friends, and she was born two days before I was. She is a fiery red head! We went to the club for lunch, milk cocktails, and some swimming. I kept trying to get her to talk to me, but she was playing hard to get. At one point, I toppled over onto the deck chair and bumped my lip, and Elizabeth cried with me in solidarity. It is a good start.

Just Call Me Emeril

Now that I am eating "real food," I thought I'd give cooking a try. Mommy is always doing it, so I figured I would help her out. Thankfully, she has this handy lobster pot that is just my size. I can gum it to death or pat it like a drum. Either way, it's a lot of fun.

Cooking isn't the only thing I like to do by myself. I have become quite fond of feeding myself, for example. If there is a spoon around, I'm going to try to pry it out of mommy or daddy's hand and use my own hand to put it in my mouth. It makes eating time really messy, but that's what being a boy is all about, right?

Weekend Update

Sorry I haven't written in awhile. I've been too busy eating. I have now mastered the previously unchartered waters of rice, oatmeal, bananas, sweet potatoes, squash, and pears. The world is my oyster.

In other news, I had a date Friday night. Mommy and daddy left me with a babysitter named Bethany while they went to Clyde's for cocktails and crabcakes. I didn't even know they were gone because mommy put me to bed before she and daddy left. Needless to say, she prayed really hard that I would not wake up while she was gone. Apparently, I become highly agitated if I wake up and mommy is nowhere to be found. How "highly agitated" you ask? Does the phrase "inconsolable" mean anything to you? Well, God heard her prayers and I slept blissfully the entire time they were gone.

Lastly, I am cutting my second tooth. It hasn't popped through the surface yet, but mommy and daddy can feel it. You can finally see my first tooth, so I'll have to get mommy to take and post a picture of it really soon.

Food - The Final Frontier

They finally did it. Mommy and daddy broke down and gave me some cereal. Perhaps it was Gran and Papa Cecil's persistent nagging ("You know what that boy needs? That boy needs some cereal") or perhaps it is because I met all of the criteria the doctor laid out for me to try solids. Who knows. Anyway, we did it Friday night with Gerber's organic rice cereal, and I have to say---I still prefer mommy.




Granddaddy says I just need some "Blueberry Buckle" which apparently was mommy's favorite when she was little; but I kind of doubt that mommy is ready to just dive into the sea of jarred baby foods just like that. Anyway, by the end of the weekend, I was warming up to the idea of food on a spoon (see below). I don't eat a lot, but daddy assures me that will change once I taste fried chicken.

Major Developments

I've been so busy catching you up on my southern adventures that I forgot to tell you that I started cutting my first tooth. Mommy noticed it during the second hour of my screaming my head off on the 12-hour drive home from Chattanooga. It is the one on the lower right hand side, and mommy and daddy say that I am handling teething like a real champ (other than the screaming episode in the car). It has kept me up a couple of nights, but other than that, it isn't too bad.

Also, on 2 August, I sat up all by myself. It was pretty exciting and mommy even managed to capture the moment on film. I can't stay up very long, but I'm working on it.


Lastly, I went to the doctor this week for my six-month checkup. I am 28 inches long, which puts me in the 92 percentile for length (which, of course, makes mommy very happy). I weigh 16 lbs. 2 oz, which will probably skyrocket once I start eating cereal and other baby delicacies. I took my shots like my namesake would. I didn't even cry at all. I pity the fool who tries to bring a tear to Mr. T's eye.

Mr. T Went Down to Georgia

After my adventures in Kentucky, I headed down to the ATL to hang with Gran and Papa Cecil. Gran taught me how to pull myself up while she is holding on to my fingers. I am really hot stuff when I do that. I guess she was trying to buddy up to me after kicking mommy and daddy out of the house so much. She tried to play it off as though she wanted them to go on dates while they had "free babysitting," but I know she just wanted me all to herself. Other than pulling up and demonstrating my newly acquired rolling skills, my aunt Leslie came to see me a lot, and I was able to meet some of mommy's friends and their babies! Mommy's friend, Marti, has a three year old daughter named Sara who made me laugh the entire time I was at her house. She would jump up and down for me, and I thought it was the funniest thing I have EVER seen. I also was able to meet my second cousin, Ella Ann. As you can see from the picture below, she was gracious enough to allow me to use her baby seat, while I let her play with my elephant. Aren't we good at sharing?

I forgot to mention earlier that the first stop my my southern adventure was to see Granddaddy and Uncle Baxter. I actually tried to blog from his house, but his computer apparently is hooked up to a modem that runs on an abacus, so my attempts were completely futile. Mommy's nanny and Aunt Dee came to visit me. They are crazy and each one kept telling me how ugly the other one was. It was pretty funny.

I also was able to finally meet my great aunt Margaret, who braved the Georgia heat to come meet me. We stayed at her house on our way home to Virginia at the end our trip, too. She has a fig tree, which mommy fell in love with, and a really snazzy bag of ice and a ladle that kept me entertained for quite awhile.

Before heading home on Sunday, we had a pool party with all of Gran's family. You know how I love swimming, so I enjoyed showing off my skills in the pool. That 18-year old state wrestling champion lifeguard had nothing on me (but nanny sure did like him).

My Old Kentucky Home

I had a great time visiting my nana and papa in Kentucky! I even mastered the fine art of rolling and rolling and rolling over while there. Mommy says this is entirely appropriate given the time honored Kentucky wedding tradition of everyone lying down on the floor and rolling around during the song, "Proud Mary." Apparently this is a mandatory feature, much like tossing the bouquet or cutting the cake, at any wedding reception for daddy's friends. Other than rolling, I had the pleasure of meeting everyone at nana and papa's offices, as well as the rest of daddy's side of the family, including my other two great grandmothers. My great-nanny Thompson even made some of her famous fried chicken when she came over to see me. You won't be at all surprised to learn that daddy wanted to give me some, but mommy's strong objection prevailed in the end.