Christmas in July

I couldn't resist.  There was a "Christmas in July" Sale going on, and I couldn't resist...we bought a bounce house!

This gift is for Brighton's B-day (October) and will be used for many playdates and birthday parties as well.  I figured that we'd more than get our money's worth out of it.

I just couldn't wait to show the boys.  We waited in their bedroom and told them Dad was moping the floor and we needed to stay put.  He was secretly setting up the bounce house.  We then came out and opened the front door.  You couldn't bottle that excitement!

They all had a great time and it's just the right size for our boys.

Thank goodness I opted for the one with the slide.  They loved launching themselves down it!

Now the only problem is that after the first 45-minute bounce session one of the seams has a tear.  I've already contacted customer service and we are working on a warranty claim :(

It still functions fine with the tear, but I would hope it would last longer than that.  At least it's a great way to burn off some energy that seems boundless around here.

What's new with Jamison?

Jamison is getting bigger each and every day.  He is also working on many new skills.

Here he demonstrates that no swaddling wrap can contain him:

(he managed to get his arms completely out of the velcro wrap during the night)

He has enjoyed some outside time in the swing with the help of his head support:

And his latest and greatest skill is rolling over as shown by this series:

I will have to check the baby books and see if he is our earliest roller.  I don't think so, but Derek does.  I do know one thing for certain, he certainly rolls much more than ANY of the other boys did.  I think Chandler rolled over about 3 times and that was it.  He never did it again.  It seems like all Jamison does is roll over.  He's already trying the crawling motions as well.  Maybe this is a sign that we'll have an early crawler and/or walker.  Only time will tell...

In other news, Jamison is also the only baby I've had to sleep on his stomach.  I always place him on his back to sleep, and flip him back to his back when he fusses, but this time he just fell asleep that way.    It makes me a little nervous, but I pray over him all day long, so I know God will keep him safe.  

Maverick's Play-Date!

Today Maverick had a one-on-one play date with Zachary.  The big boys were at VBS and Jamison was napping for most of the time.  Zachary is one year older than Maverick, but they got along great.

This whole week Derek is in Brazil, so it was nice for me to have some adult company as well.  I've known Zachary's mom, Alisha, since I was a freshman in college.  We had the same major, so we took many classes together.  Alisha and I also worked at the NC Zoo together.  I don't get to see her that often so it was great to catch up.

Beach Trip Re-Cap

Thanks to Granddaddy Bob and Mimi we enjoyed another week at the beach this summer.

Things are always challenging with a newborn in tow, but we made the best of it and did what we could handle.  It will be easier next year (at least that's what I keep telling myself)

Maverick "owned" the beach.  He loved it and wanted to go everyday!

 Jamison's "Cabana" where he spent most of his time.  Luckily we also try to use the shade from the pier.  Unlike Maverick as a baby Jamison did better on the beach and Mommy got to swim in the water some.  That was nice...

Chandler enjoyed riding the waves with the help of Granddaddy Bob and Daddy.  We bought a skim board to try out this year too, but that's going to take more practice.

Family Picture!

 One day we took a day-trip to the NC aquarium at Fort Fisher.  

Here's Jamison with the Jellies

 We also visited Fort Fisher.  Jamison is wearing Chandler's hat and wrapped in a blanket to try to stay out of the sun.  The boys had fun exploring the "fort"

 Checking out a cannon:

Relaxing at the condo:

We came home on Friday which was Dress like a Cow Day at Chick-Fil-A, so that's what we did for dinner that night.  It was good to be home!

Usually a Fun Holiday...

Happy 4th of July

We are usually at the beach for the 4th of July, but this year we pushed back our beach trip a few days, so we were at home for the holiday.  I was not feeling well most of the day with stomach issues, but managed to hang in there.  Derek took the big boys to see a movie at the theater while Maverick, Jamison, and I stayed home and napped.

About 7 p.m. Derek went to the store to get a few sparklers, Pop-Its, and fireworks for a small celebration.  I was pushing Jamison in the stroller along our front sidewalk with Maverick and Grandma.  Chandler & Brighton were running around our yard and our neighbor's yard and then it happened...

Chandler starts hopping on one foot and screaming in incredible pain down the front hill towards me.  I had no idea what was going on.  I thought he had broken his ankle.  I kept yelling at him (since I was far away at this point....) "Are you hurt?  What is wrong?  Sit down!!"  He wouldn't answer me and just kept screaming in pain.  I ran towards him and unfortunately quickly figured out what the problem was.  He had stepped in a yellow jacket's nest!

I quickly scooped him up and ran towards the house.  I started stripping his clothes off him as they were covering his shorts and all over his legs.  Amazingly, he only got stung once (the initial sting) on the ankle.  I think his think jean shorts saved him from more stings.  As I was swatting bees they were coming for me and I got stung on my ring finger on my right hand.  Unluckily for me, I am allergic to bees and other animal venom (like fire ants) and my hand started swelling up very bad.  Two days later (on Saturday) I couldn't close my hand at all and it was super painful.  I didn't regain full use of my hand until 6 days later.  I knew it was a risk I had to take to get those bees off my baby, but I certainly wish it could have been Derek instead of me.  Like Chandler, after the initial sting wears off he would have been fine.

After calming down from the bee incident we did a few fireworks:

All I can say is that my stomach was no longer bothering me after that.  Probably because my hand hurt so bad I couldn't think about anything else.  Oh well....Happy Fourth!

Jamison's 3 Month Stats

Jamie is 3 months old!

Weight: 13 lbs, 13 oz

Height: 23.5"

Jamison is three months old already.  This little guy is already forming some pretty strong preferences and sleep patterns.  He takes 3 naps a day: one morning nap (about 1-1.5 hours), one afternoon nap (1.5-2.5 hours) and one 45 minute power nap (luckily during our dinner time!)

His nighttime sleep is still not what I'd like it to be, but hopefully that will take shape soon.  He gets up once during the night to nurse, and I can handle that.  The nights that it's more than once and I'm one tired momma in the morning.  He is also starting to shift his bedtime closer to 8:30 instead of 9:30 p.m.

Jamison loves to watch his big brothers.  He LOVES to look at books and be read or sung to.  He is already grasping at toys and batting at them on his playmat.  He doesn't use a binky much, only when he's really tired...he prefers his hands.

Overall, he's a pretty easy baby.  He also loves to be outside.  He's much bigger than the other boys were, so keeping that head up is a big deal!  He hasn't rolled over yet, but probably will this month.  Like Maverick, he keeps his BM's to about once a week or so.  Keeps cloth-diapering pretty easy!

We love you Jamison!

Favorite Outfit

There are certain baby outfits that I just love!

This is an outfit that I got before I was even pregnant.  I just love the owls and the hat....super cute!

I've tried putting all the boys in it at about the same age.  I almost forgot about it with Jamison, so he is much bigger than the others.  He's just bigger in general.  The hat didn't really "fit" but that's okay.