about two months ago, i remember seeing one of the first commercials for father's day.
on the food network, of all places, advertising a set of knives from guy fieri. "perfect father's day gift!"
they would have been...and i think that was the first sign that this might be tougher than i expected.
since that point, i thought about how i wanted to celebrate father's day. it would be justin's first real father's day, too (he got a few gifts last year while we were at the beach, when i was about 5 months pregnant) but it would be our first father's day without my dad, and without his grandfather.
last weekend, as i stood in front of the card section trying to pick out cards for my grandfather and justin, i couldn't help but see all the "dad from daughter" cards that were out there. that "dad and daughter" bond is a special one, and though we didn't have the most traditional relationship as i grew up, i loved my dad dearly.
we had great conversations, and though we didn't talk all the time (we'd sometimes go a week or two without a phone call) when we did talk, it would be a long conversation. dad always knew the right questions to ask, and he was often pretty direct with me. it was something i appreciated as i'd grown into adulthood. he frequently let me know that he was proud of me, and he wasn't afraid to encourage me to do something new or push myself into a different direction. he loved to talk about his big "loves"--music, food, and carolina athletics. he would mention a new album he'd listened to, a show he caught on the food network, or the latest game he saw. he'd call me "babydoll," tell me he loved me, then say goodbye.
i wish i could've called him today, or had him over for dinner. but i know he enjoyed watching our father's day unfold, and i loved spending time with my husband and our son with our own father's day celebration.
we started it off at church, where justin had to work the slides/computer from the back for both services. he always takes davis for a song or two after we first get there at the 2nd service, since he left us fast asleep in the bed this morning :)
davis "helping" justin at the back...
whenever it's just me and davis, i sit at the back close to justin and our friends from youth group. it makes it easier for me to dart out when he's acting up, and there's usually a teenager or friend who asks to hold him! we've also taken to setting up camp at the very back beside the sound booth and spreading out a blanket and toys for him to play with. if all else fails, we hang out in the nursery. yes, i could start leaving him there, but i figure i only get so many hours during the weekend to spend with him. i want to make the most of all of them!
after eating lunch, i headed out to grocery shop for the week while justin continued to battle davis on taking a nap. we've gotten really good at nighttime sleep training, where he often cries for just a minute or two and then is out. lately (and i've been afraid to say anything, for fear of jinxing it) he's been sleeping til almost 3 or 4 before waking up for his first bottle. this is a huge improvement! so now we're working on getting him to fall asleep on his own for naps, which hasn't been quite as successful this weekend. the door woke him up when i got home from grocery shopping, and i felt bad about it--
so i rocked him to sleep and let him nap in my arms for 45 minutes.what? i'm always supportive of sleep training and it doesn't tear my heart to pieces and i don't just want to snuggle my growing almost 8 month old boy like a newborn sometimes...
so by that point justin was taking his much-deserved father's day nap (and not chastising me for rocking davis to sleep and letting him nap in my arms) and i decided to take davis outside for a quick dip in the baby pool which would double as his bathtime since he decided a couple of weeks ago that he would scream bloody murder when we tried to bathe him in his regular bathtub. we've since bathed him in our much larger garden tub (which we called the "indoor baby pool")
but the outside baby pool seemed like just as good an idea. so i set up the pool, got on my swimsuit, brought out his towel and soap, and stripped him down to his barenaked behind :)
and it was kinda breezy and i noticed the wind was moving the trees and our deck umbrella around a lot but didn't think anything of it until i saw the wind lift the umbrella up (like mary poppins, justin said later) and bring it back down... apparently with enough force to break our tempered glass table top.
and i was barefoot.
so we sat in our baby pool and played until justin woke up from his nap (by the crash), came out and surveyed the damage, took apart the umbrella and brought me a pair of shoes.
and now we're in the market for a new deck table and umbrella?
justin got out the shop vac and cleaned it up while i took care of davis and eventually got him ready for bed. we prepped everything for dinner, then once davis was asleep, we got to cooking for justin's special father's day dinner. we had picked up all of our ingredients the day before at either the
spring run market or the fresh market. justin manned the grill while i cooked inside, and since our regular deck furniture looked like this...
we ended up eating outside on tv trays. classy, right?
our feast that would've made my daddy proud--grilled shrimp in an herb/garlic marinade, steak from the fresh market, fresh green beans ala
the pioneer woman, zucchini and squash on a grill pan, and oven-roasted new potatoes with rosemary and thyme.
justin and i relaxed on the back deck until the few lightning bugs that we have in our neighborhood were out (and the mosquitoes started biting.)
it may not have been the father's day i would've dreamed of a few months ago, but it was really, truly, uniquely "ours."
he was feeling more comfortable in his float this time, too...
and then we shared one of the big floats together (before i started to slip backwards in it and almost capsized us! no worries--baby was safe the whole time)
one last thing to add---a video of him in the water and showing off his awesome "kicking" skills. another benefit of our waterproof camera again :)
or staying inside at barnes and noble and checking out the train table. he was very interested in how that all worked...
(and let us note--my hair is in a ponytail! this hasn't happened in a long long time...yay for one more option when i need to just pull it back and go)
we've taken advantage of not traveling and having no major plans to pick up around the house and get organized. a little belated spring cleaning, if you will. since my allergy appointment (and now having a more mobile baby who doesn't always stay where you leave him) it's been important to keep things a little more tidy around the house. i am an awful housekeeper, but justin and i have short bursts of focus where we'll clean for a couple of hours and get it all taken care of.
(eating puffs on our unmade bed while sheets were being washed)
miss pepper dog is holding her own here lately. she's enjoying going on walks with me in the evenings and is pretty protective of davis. i guess it's her maternal instinct coming out?
the other way we're staying cool is spending lots of time in the water! we had our youth group pool party last weekend, and though davis was hanging on by a thread, he still had a good time with everyone.
we got to hang out with his buddy josh and my friend lynn, who were showing the art of jumping into the pool.
and we had some more fun with our waterproof camera. that was one of our purchases before he was born, and when we were choosing between a couple of of different models, the waterproof feature seemed like it would come in handy. it has so far this summer!
sweet boy (hanging by a thread, remember? hence the pacifier in the pool)
we ended up on the grass by the lake nearby, watching the kids and adults race kayaks across the pond. i had my new hat that i had just gotten from target, and thought it would be funny to plop it on his head.
after eating dinner and hanging out with the other little ones inside, we headed home. another great year with our youth group, and certainly a good time with friends :)
"oh hey! the camera! better smile for it..." (i really think he knows what to do with it now)
there's sometimes a little playing with his food... (oh, okay, i did this one. but i do find puffs in random places, like behind his shoulder and stuck under his chin)
"see? and check out my two bottom teeth!" (no signs of the top ones yet, but lots of drooling and gnawing on things)
"all gone!"
but he's learned how to go back and pop in the stray puffs.
he is SO independent, and this is one of the ways he has enjoyed having some control.
(the other one is wanting to "walk" everywhere and getting frustrated when he can't. seriously, we're going to be crawling before the end of the month, and cruising soon after. this boy is determined.)
but for now, we just enjoy our quiet moments in the mornings...
and puffs.
davis hadn't napped well and was actually pretty cranky. the only thing going for him was his red cup...
and he threw a fit whenever i tried to take it away for a second so we could get a picture without!
then we decided to check out the splash pad area, which cousin will was already enjoying!
it was pretty impressive for a neighborhood pool, and davis seemed to like watching all the other kids playing
we climbed up to the top and then slid down with him on my lap. he was all smiles!
after enjoying an early dinner with the family, we continued west to visit with my aunts and cousins overnight. he was charming and flirted with my teenage cousins, playing with toys and looking at their yearbooks :)
sweet thing!
we slept well and got up in the morning, swinging outside before it got too hot.
we got davis settled in the baby dolphin swing, and he had a blast swinging with daddy...
he was all tuckered out for another nap--i love watching him sleep...
so then we played some more, had lunch and got packed up...but not before pushing his nap back and keeping him up so he would hopefully sleep in the car the whole way home!
can you see those tired eyes?
and he was out...slept the whole way back home! (we use the towel to shade him from the sun but still keep good air flow to him on hot days)
he will put his head down and pull his legs up underneath him, then push his head forward on the carpet (which is why we put blankets down.)
it really won't be long at all before he's really crawling--but we're okay with this in the meantime :)
he does love sitting up and "walking" with help, and it seems like he'll go right to that as soon as he can gain his balance.
this weekend, we went down to fayetteville for a night to celebrate my brother's birthday with the family. this guy slept halfway there and then woke up in a great mood--such a relief!
we spent time over at my grandma's, and davis was in a bit of a mood toward the end of the night. poor thing has been way off with his sleep patterns, between traveling and getting his second tooth last week. we tried doing everything to entertain him as we finished up dinner and dessert, and he wasn't interested in any of the toys or TV shows we put in front of him. my grandma grabbed him and took him outside, and he immediately quieted down and listened to the birds and all the noises of the neighborhood. what a reminder to appreciate the simple things!
we made it back and started our week without too much trouble. we're back to sleep training again, which is frustrating to have to start from scratch whenever he teethes or gets sick. but we saw some progress just going from last night to tonight--from 40 minutes of crying to 15 minutes...so we'll keep at it this time. i have to leave the house for it, but i went for a walk tonight with pepper while justin did it and really enjoyed it. maybe that's how i'll get back on track for trying to lose the last bit of baby weight!
we've also unofficially started the process of weaning, which is sad to me--but also a little bit of a relief. we made it to six months, which was my goal in the beginning. he just hasn't seemed as interested in nursing, and i cut down on my pumping at work so that i don't have to pump at all now. but just in the past few days, he's really only nursed overnight or maybe once in the morning. so i think we're just going to slowly cut it out all together and begin the process of night weaning as well, so hopefully (hopefully!) we can eventually sleep through the night soon.
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