kentucky catch-up, part 6

On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday morning we attended the Global Health Mission Conference held at Southeast Christian Church. This was the reason Mark was able to be off work, as we were recruiting for Mark's residency program. We were able to go to all the speakers and such; there was a booth set up for Self Regional Healthcare Family Medicine Residency Program in the exhibit hall that we staffed. Since we were already making the drive to Louisville, we took some vacation days and extended our time to visit with family and friends!

Jake could have come to the conference with us, but we thought it would work out much better for everyone (us, Jake, Nana, Grammy and Grandpa...) if he stayed and played with the grandparents. Grammy and Grandpa had Jake on Thursday, and they had a party while we were gone! Lots of family came over to see Jake that night. Mark's cousin Rachel was in from college and got to meet Jake for the first time. She was so excited! On Friday and Saturday, Jake got to spend time with both Nana and Grammy and Grandpa. Nana was watching Jake's cousin Paige for the weekend, and we thought a 6 month old and a 7 month old baby would be a little much for Nana by herself (or anyone else for that matter!). It worked out perfectly! They had so much fun watching Jake and Paige play together, and Nana and Grammy were able to visit. It was so nice to have family here to watch Jake while Mark and I enjoyed some quality time together. Thank you!

Jake laughing with his Great Grandma.

Reading his Farm Tails book (one of his new favorites!) with Cousin Rachel.

Jake is very focused on those tails!

Snuggling with Aunt Sarah before bed.

Chillin' with Uncle Tom.

Paige and Jake playing together.

Nana and Paige

Taking a walk in the beautiful weather.

Grammy and Jake, Nana with Paige and Holly (her dog).

kentucky catch-up, part 5

On Wednesday, we hung out at Grammy and Grandpa's house. We played, took a walk, and had fun outside. All in all, we just took it easy and even got some running done in the afternoon while Jake took a nap for Grammy. Jake liked Holly, Nana's dog, but she is his size; we were curious to see if Jake would like Maggie, Grammy and Grandpa's dog, since she is much larger than he is. Well, he loved her, and she loved him. In fact, Maggie just wanted to lick all over his face! Sadly, she had to be satisfied by licking his hand instead:) Jake had so much fun with Grandpa outside, kicking the ball to Maggie and chasing after her in the backyard. He laughed and laughed!

Checking Maggie out and about to get his face licked!

Showing off the winter hat Mommy and Daddy bought him.

Playing in the backyard with Grandpa and Maggie.

Feeling leaves on the tree with Grandpa.

Getting a shoulder ride from Grandpa.

Feeling Grammy's favorite flower, the magnolia. In fact, Maggie's real name is Magnolia Blossom, but we call her Maggie for short.

Playing in the leaves for the first time. Our apartment complex is so on the ball that they pick up all the leaves as soon as they fall, and we haven't been able to play in them back in SC:(

kentucky catch-up, part 4

On Tuesday afternoon, we were able to go over to Mark's cousin Andy's house to visit and have dinner with his wife Ashley and their son Jackson, who is three months older than Jake. It was great to visit and see their new house. They've been there about six months, but it was the first time we'd seen it in person. We had a lot of fun visiting and watching the boys play. Once again, we were thankful that Jake was content to watch another baby crawl all over the place and pull up on furniture. Jackson is definitely a busy little boy! We're completely okay with the fact that Jake doesn't seem that interested in crawling. Once he starts moving, there's no going back to the good 'ole days where you can sit him on a blanket with some toys and leave the room for a minute and return to find him in the same spot:) He'll be crawling soon enough, and we're ready for the day, but don't want to rush it either!

Jake playing in Jackson's exersaucer and Jackson playing from the outside.

Jackson and Jake

Andy, Jackson, Jake, and Mark

(those are potted trees behind their heads, not headpieces!)

kentucky catch-up, part 3

Sunday evening we went to Nana's house and played all day Monday. Jake had lots of fun playing with his Nana and her dog, Holly. Monday evening we had some of our friends from camp over with their kids for dinner. Nana loved getting to see everyone and watching all the babies together. We had great fun visiting and catching up with our friends and wish we were closer so we could hang out more. Mark was excited Nate could come along, since everyone else (excluding babies) was a female. Jody, we were bummed you had to work, but we hope to get to see you while we're in for Christmas! Thanks, Nana, for allowing us to entertain our friends at your house!

Beth, Jake, Sherry, Finn, Becca, Isaac, Lara, Peter, and Andi

Jake, Peter, and Finn playing together.

Jake saying good morning to Nana before she left for work.

Jake petting Holly. He would just laugh as he touched her fur.

kentucky catch-up, part 2

On Sunday afternoon, Jake was able to meet more of his great aunts and uncles while we were in town. He loved his new toy from Grammy and Grandpa and quickly figured out how to close the pop-ups. I definitely remember this toy from my childhood, only it was Sesame Street characters that popped up. Jake loved all the attention!

Figuring out his new toy.

Playing with Great Uncle Mick and Great Aunt Sarah.

Great Aunt Suzy tickling Jake- he loves to be tickled!

Jake snuggling with Great Uncle Steve while he talks to Grandpa.

Totally relaxed in Great Uncle Steve's arms!

kentucky catch-up, part 1

The three of us left on Nov. 6th for an extended trip home to the Bluegrass State and had until the 15th to enjoy our time there.  We started out with a visit to Beth's sister's Jenni and her 3 kids (Chris was off hunting that weekend) and got to spend all day Saturday hanging out.  Aunt Stephanie even came to play and visit all day, too.  Thankfully, Jake was not too motivated by watching his cousin Paige crawl all over the place and was happy to sit still and take in all the excitement.  Knox and Lucas were super excited to have a boy cousin to play with, and we're sure they'll have lots more fun together as Jake gets older and more mobile. Paige introduced Jake to Baby Mum-Mum, a rice wafer that melts in his mouth, and thus began the adventure of self-feeding! Jake loves them! We had lots of fun with the cousins and can't wait until Christmas when Anna (Jake's other cousin) will be there to play, too!

Jake and Paige playing in the laundry basket.

Jake trying out the Mum-Mum.

Knox and Jake playing with Paige's toy basket.

Knox and Lucas trying to "fish" for Paige using her toys as bait.

Absolutely hilarious!

Lucas making Paige laugh:)

Paige

goo science experiment

Well, the goo that I mentioned in my play dates post was a hit. Jake loved it! I thought he might not like getting dirty, but that was definitely not the case. Out of all the kids there, he enjoyed it the most. Some of the older ones didn't like the way the goo felt on their hands, but not Jake. He loved it so much I even let him put his feet in it. The goo acts like a solid when you squeeze it or apply pressure, but then it turns into a liquid when you open your fingers (the goo mixture is actually a non-Newtonian fluid for all you science nuts out there). Pretty cool! We used the experiment to talk to the kids about solids and liquids. Slightly over Jake's comprehension level at the moment, but at least he enjoyed the tactile aspect of the experiment! The television show Mythbusters did an episode about this mixture on a much grander scale. You can check the video below from YouTube. I think every kid needs one of these in his backyard!



If you'd like to try this with your kids, use this recipe for the Blue Goo Science Experiment. I have two tips for when you do try this experiment. If (and it will) the goo gets on your clothes, let it dry on your clothes and then shake or brush your clothes out before putting them in the wash. Otherwise it will turn into a paste and look like gum on your clothes (according to my friend). But don't let this stop you from trying it. The goo completely came out of our clothes. No repercussions- other than Jake needing a bath and some moisturizing:) The other tip is to remove any jewelry (i.e. wedding rings) before playing with the goo. Have fun!

Jake mixing the cornstarch and water. It took him a while but he did it (and managed not to eat any of it!). Unfortunately we were so slow that we ran out of time to add the food coloring. Probably a good thing...

Getting messy and having a blast! Jake was studying the other kids and their goo pretty intently.

Trying the goo out on his feet.

Jake enjoyed his first science experiment! I see many more in the future...

blogging hiatus

Sorry it's been almost two weeks since we last posted. We spent ten days in Kentucky visiting family and friends and attended the Global Missions Health Conference that is held in Louisville every year. Fun times!!! The good news is that there will be lots of posts coming with pictures and stories- as soon as I get caught up with everything:) We can't wait to tell you all about our trip!

new toys

This past week I got out some new toys for Jake, and he is enthralled. He loves sitting on his blanket and playing with his stacking cups and shapes, as well as playing a little xylophone piano that we're borrowing from a friend. We spend a lot of time stacking the cups into a tower and then knocking them down as well as talking about colors and shapes. I know Jake doesn't know what I'm talking about, but he sure thinks it's fun!

So happy!

You caught me!

Such a sweet smile:)

Studying the yellow cup intensely...

Will this whole thing fit in my mouth?

play dates

Jake and I always look forward to Thursday afternoons. We get together with other stay-at-home parents and their children for play dates. My friends Amber and Gretchen plan the activities for the week, and we always have a great time. Jake loves watching the older kids and looking at the many babies everywhere. He truly is a people person and is content just studying everyone and everything. We've read stories, played with balls and parachutes, made music with wooden spoons and pots, and much more! This past Thursday the kids were able to dress up in costumes, and Jake made his first art projects. He made an apple turkey with marshmallows and raisins, as well as a turkey out of his hand and decorated it with leaves. This is just a taste of what the future will hold, I'm sure! Today we're making goo... a tactile experience for all ages. I'll let you know how it goes and perhaps take a picture of Jake at the end. I have a feeling it's going to get messy...

Some of our play friends

Front row (kids): Garry, Kaleb, Luke, Tripp, Shane, Corrie Anna, Jake, Joaquin, Madeline

Back row: Amber, Trisha, Spencer, Roxi, Zach, Gretchen, Karissa, Amanda, David

Dressed up in costumes

On the couch: Madeline, Joaquin, Jake, Tripp, Garry

On the floor: Zach, Noah, Sophie, Kaleb, Shane

Joaquin and Jake.

They were the happiest of all during the pictures:)

Jake and his apple turkey:)

It was so nice outside we were able to do our art project on the deck.

six month checkup

Jake had his six month checkup on the 22nd with Dr. Danny. Everything looked great, and Jake is a very happy, healthy boy. He weighed in at 16 lbs 5 oz, which is about the 50th percentile and was 27 1/2 inches long, which is about the 90th percentile. His head circumference is staying along the 50th percentile curve as well. We are so blessed to have such a healthy baby. He received five shots, including the seasonal flu shot and the H1N1 shot, and he did a terrific job. I think it upset me more than it did him:) I got a bruise from my seasonal flu shot, but Jake had no adverse effects at all. He took them like a champ!

hardee's thickburger eating contest

Yes. That's really what this post is titled. And I was one of twelve contestants! Sadly, I did not win the year's supply of thickburgers (they should have provided a cardiology appointment to the winner as well). Well, okay, I wasn't really upset:)

Let me explain how this came about. Last Thursday at the Boo Bash in Uptown Greenwood, they announced an eating contest. Since I hadn't had supper yet, it seemed like a fun idea. I went up to the table, signed the waiver, and thought my name would go into a drawing to pick twelve contestants. Instead, it was limited to the first twelve who signed up, and I happened to be fourth or fifth- I can't remember. There was a huge platform set up in the middle of the festival with a table and chairs so that everyone could watch us "compete" and cheer us on. The crowd kept yelling at us to eat faster- it was surreal! Mark was at the gym when this humorous turn of events started and showed up during the middle of the contest. He managed to weasel his way up to the front of the crowd and couldn't stop laughing at me! Needless to say, this only made me laugh, which did not help me to win. Laughing and eating do not go well together:)

I am pretty confident that I came in last place! There were only two women, and neither of us won. The winner ate 2 1/2 thickburgers. To put my loss in perspective, I almost finished one thickburger. I didn't realize that there were two patties! It was enormous! I found out afterwards it was actually a 2/3 lb double bacon cheese thickburger. I looked up the nutrition facts and feel incredibly sick to my stomach now. If you are at all curious how bad they are for you, click here. Sometimes ignorance is bliss- I wish I hadn't looked! Although, it does make me very excited that I didn't win, but sad for the person who did. The prize is a heart attack waiting to happen!

If you want to see pictures of me and to see my competition, click here. I think the first twenty pictures are from the eating contest. Hope you laugh as much as we have!

costume fun

There were quite a few opportunities this past week for Jake to dress up. His black x-ray costume was perfect- it hid all the spit up! On Thursday, he had a costume party with his play group and in the evening there was a community sponsored "boo bash" in Uptown Greenwood with free candy and drug-free messages. Saturday we had our country fair themed fall festival at church complete with a petting zoo and carnival rides and our annual residency party that evening. Jake enjoyed all the costumes, especially those with hats (like Tripp's cowboy hat) or fuzzy accessories (like the mane on Joaquin's lion costume). We enjoyed lots of time with friends and out in the community and managed to only come home with four pieces of candy! I'm sure that won't be the case as Jake gets older:)

My church friends and our little ones at the Boo Bash.

Kathy and Sydney the flower, Iris and Chloe the bunny, Jake and me, Annette and Noah the bear

The residency party costumes:

Our little x-ray and us as radiology techs (they wear brown at our hospital).

Christy and Christian as a sugar mama and her trophy husband.

Ginger and David as H1N1 with Madeline as a pig.

The Patricks as Cinderella, Prince Charming, and the fairy godmother.

Sophie as a surgeon.