Hello, DHR? My Mother is Out of Control!

If our babies could talk, this is definitely what they would have done today. In a valiant effort to get the best Halloween picture ever, six Moms joined forces to set the perfect scene for a brilliant photograph. It included a black sheet, pumpkins, (TONS OF) candy, and of course, seven perfectly costumed children. To make it absolutely perfect, all the seven children needed to do was smile and look at the camera . . . all at the same time. I don't know if we really thought this would happen, but you can easily imagine that it never did. In fact, I think a total of three pictures even caught a partial smile from any of them.

This is probably the best picture we got all morning. From the left is Luke Chavers (monkey), Colt Parrish (bear), Ava Grace Yates (ladybug), Jack Peacock (dog), Canon (lion), and on the trunk is Julia Blank (peapod) held up by her brother Alex (Spiderman).

The whole ordeal was pretty hilarious. Not one single child was in a good mood when we started our photo shoot. They were all either due for a nap, a feeding, or just hating life at that particular moment. At one point, Canon, Colt, and Luke were sitting together. Luke and Colt were fussing, and someone said, "Hey, D. Do you think you could make Canon cry, too?" It wasn't long before he was fussing, and we got an excellent picture to show for it.

Poor Jack missed a few pictures because he just couldn't handle the chaos. This is the class of 2027 (minus Jack).

Alex (our almost-three-year-old veteran) was trying so hard to take care of his baby sister, Julia. She passed out in the middle of everything, and Ava leaned over on several occasions to check on her. As our neighbors drove by on their way to pick up last-minute Halloween gear, they slowed down at the corner to watch the crazy "newbies" trying to force happiness out of some very cranky babies. We haven't heard from DHR yet, so we're thinking we're in the clear.

Canon was seriously pooped!

After the photo shoot, we called in reinforcements from the Dads who had previously agreed to take care of the kids while the Moms had craft time. My mother had given me a Cricut machine for my birthday, and I was eager to play. All of the girls (minus Erica, who had plans with her in-laws) decorated picture frames to display our Perfect Halloween Picture. It took almost as long to pick out a good picture as it did to decorate the frames. We literally worked all afternoon, but we had a great time doing it. We're already planning a Christmas Craft Party to expand our creativity even further.

This is Alicia's - voted Cutest Picture Frame Ever!

This is Mary's - voted Best Gluer of All Time!

This is Mandy's - voted Most Meticulous Cricuter! I don't know if you can tell, but the bag at the top has "Luke" spelled out in tiny letters!

This is Erica's - hers was made by Mary & me, but everyone contributed ideas.

This is mine - voted Most Quickly Made Frame & Most Boring.

I missed getting an individual shot of Tuan's, but hers is at the top of this highly creative pyramid.

As if our day was not full enough, more of our friends came over to help us pass out candy to our neighborhood Trick-or-Treaters. At our old house, we had dozens and dozens of kids (some adults, too) who came out on Halloween night. Our new house (which is in a slightly more private sector of the neighborhood) did not prove to be as exciting. I'm guessing we had about twenty-five kids show up. We were giving them handfuls of candy, just trying to get rid of the 10+ bags everyone had contributed.

I think Canon really enjoyed Halloween, despite the trauma I put him through that morning. He loved playing with Alex in his Spiderman costume. And he and Luke made up after fussing at each other during the photo shoot. I'd say it was a good First Halloween for the King of the Jungle.

Lots of Stuff Worth Remembering

Over the last few days there have been lots of things worth writing about, so I'm just going to put them all in one short (yeah, right) post. First is the fact that we have gotten all of the babies together so much recently. Colt was Christened at church on October 11, and Josh and Mary had lots of people over for lunch. Of course, the moms wanted a picture with all the babies in attendance. I normally wouldn't do this, but I really wanted Canon to be in the picture . . . so I got him out of the pack n' play (where he was napping) and joined the group. He slept right through it, so I didn't feel that bad afterward.


Shortly after this experience, most of the babies were together again just for fun. Mrs. Sharon was unexpectedly out of town and Mary was home sick. Though I was back in school after Fall Break for Parent-Teacher Conferences, I cut out early to take care of the little boogers. Alicia was so sweet to keep Colt and Canon (and Ava) while I met with my last parent. I was only gone for about an hour, but 3:1 odds for any amount of time is never ideal. Thankfully, all three were pretty well-behaved and Alicia didn't have any problems. We called Mandy to bring Luke over and spent the rest of the afternoon chasing Luke as he crawled all over the house, tending to Canon's bruises from falling over, and rotating Colt and Ava from floor to jumperoo to chair . . . and repeat. It really was a fun afternoon.

This weekend we all got together again to watch some college football. This is Colt and Canon with Lola. She helped out a lot by entertaining the babies.


We had a really fun weekend with Canon. His upper gums are swollen and he's been pretty fussy, so I'm thinking a 3rd and 4th tooth are on their way in. We broke out the teething ring, which he loves. He also loves to chew on his Alabama pacifier.

And I have to mention Canon and Barry's new trick. Barry took Canon to the nursery this morning while I checked him in. When I walked in the nursery to drop off his bag, Barry called to me from across the room to "Watch this! Watch this!" He then held Canon's feet and balanced him in the air. Canon shrieked with glee - he loves everything Barry does! After church, Barry and Canon practiced their new trick every chance they could - in the parking lot, in the bedroom, in the kitchen. Barry made me take a picture, then spent the next twenty minutes on the computer looking at it and giggling with delight. Of course, I have to share.

Don't worry. He didn't almost drop him in the second picture - though it looks like he could have.

Finally, it is with great sadness that I report that Canon is turning into a little boy. I know he's technically still a baby, but he doesn't seem like it anymore. I put him in a t-shirt and blue jeans the other day and felt a slight twinge when I realized how much he has grown.

Because it has gotten so cool down here in the last couple of days, I went shopping for some warmer clothes. I had to go to the Toddler section. It's so strange to buy him pants and shirts rather than onesies. Barry and I can see in his behavior that he is so ready to grow up. Though he's still very mellow and content, we can tell how eager he is to move around more easily on his own. He is just learning to go from laying down to sitting up, and he's regularly rocking on his hands and knees. He just can't quite figure out how to move forward (though moving backward is as natural as drooling to him!). It won't be long now . . .

My Buddy

Ok, Ok. I'm going to copy Mary's blog because this was just too cute to pass up. It has recently become obvious how much Canon and Colt adore each other. When Canon returned from his one week adventure with his grandparents, Mrs. Sharon told us how mesmerized they seemed with each other on his first day back. They stare at each other, talk to each other, even reach for each other. It's really adorable. So, we shouldn't have been that surprised when Mary and I dressed them very similarly last week.


Mary stayed home from work to keep the little ones, and because it was a Friday, she took them to MMO at our church. When she returned to pick them up, one of the ladies there commented on how cute it was that we had dressed the boys the way we did. Not knowing what she was talking about, Mary looked at them and realized that this is what they were wearing:


Future Mr. Right and Mr. Amazing smiled back at her. Of course, Mary died laughing.

As if that weren't enough . . . because the temperature dropped about 20 degrees while the boys were at the church, Mary had gone by our house to get Canon some warmer attire. A few weeks ago, our friend, Tony, had sent Canon and Colt two matching Adidas outfits. He works for the Troy University Athletic Department, and they use Adidas gear to outfit their players. Mary saw one of these outfits in Canon's drawer and thought it would be cute if they both wore them. Of course, at this point, she had not realized she was about to dress Future Mr. Right and Mr. Amazing! It definitely made for a better story later, though!

When I drove over to pick Canon up, this is what I found. Mary had already been asked if they were twins.

What Will He Do Next?

In the last few weeks, we have seen some new developments in our already "very advanced" young son. Unfortunately, I am not the type of Mom who writes down every little thing on the day that it happens. Instead, I tend to recognize new things only after they have piled on top of lots of other new things. So, here's the run down of our ever-changing baby.

One day, a couple of weeks ago, I was sitting on the porch with Canon. I was sifting through websites that my students could use, and I had stopped momentarily on a site that had a pretty steady beat. Basically, it was low-key rave music (if there is such a thing). I looked at Canon (sitting in his own personal rocker) and saw that he was literally dancing to the music. His head bobbed in perfect rythm. I've attached a video to illustrate. Sorry the image is fuzzy. This is what happens when a glass lens moves quickly from a cold house to a warm, muggy porch.

Of course, I laughed hysterically and had him repeat his new trick over and over.

A couple of days later, we were driving to Winfield, and Canon grabbed my hand and stuck it in his mouth. He likes to put anything within reach in his mouth. I've been saying for months now that "he must be teething," but I had recently given up on this idea. Barry didn't cut his first tooth until he was almost one, so I wasn't holding out hope that this mini-Barry would be any different. . . Until, he chomped down on my finger, and something sharp scraped across my skin. After a closer look, I confirmed that there was, indeed, a tiny tooth pushing its way through his lower gum. I tried for a week to get a picture of it and was finally successful. I hate that I had to wait until he was crying to get a good one, but a Mom will do anything for a good photo-op.

Next on the list is the introduction of the sippy cup. This actually only lasted a couple of days because it was so unsuccessful, but we gave it a good shot.

Canon has been eating solids for awhile now, but he's steadily been increasing the amount he eats. I know how thirsty I get when I eat, so I thought he might feel the same. His bottle is just too filling to take with other food, so I asked the doc about juice. Once I got the go ahead, I went ahead. Canon mostly loved to hold it and toss it around. Occasionally, he would accidentally suck on the sipper and get some juice in his mouth. When he didn't automatically spit it out, he'd make a that-was-the-worst-thing-I've-ever-put-in-my-mouth face, then start chewing on the sipper again. We'll try again later.

Another of Canon's new endeavors is expanding his vocabulary. While "da-da" were the first legible sounds he uttered, he now sticks mainly to "ma-ma-ma-ma" and "ba-ba-ba-ba." It's pretty funny to watch him "talk." His lower jaw looks detached from the rest of his mouth as it bobs up and down. Sometimes he'll just make the mouth motions without any sound. Here is a short video of his babbling. The camera is a bit of a distraction for him, so he usually quits talking when I turn it on. There's not too much on here, but still too cute not to share.

Finally, the big one. Though he's probably still weeks away from crawling, Canon is making giant strides toward this feat. While staying with Nonna and Poppa, he began getting up on his knees and rocking once or twice before plopping back down on his stomach. While we were on the dock at the lake, I caught him practicing.

Since then, he's gotten much better. He rocks several times, then falls on his belly while trying to move forward. He at least seems to want to go somewhere. For awhile I was thinking that he was so laid back, he might always be content with just staying where he was. He seems to be growing out of this phase. He's also currently working on going from his tummy to sitting up all by himself. He gets in the right position to make the transition, but he just can't figure out how to move all that weight from horizontal to vertical.

It's amazing how quickly this little guy learns (I know, I know . . . all babies learn quickly). One day, he's not even thinking about doing something, and the next day he seems to be almost an expert. What will he do next?

A Word from Canon

Mom is always hogging the computer, so I never get to write anything. She's watching a Sunday Night Movie Special now, so I thought I could squeeze in a quick word or two.

Just wanted to let you know about my first week in Winfield with Nonna and Poppa. Mom and Dad were coming to the lake two weekends in a row, so Nonna and Poppa convinced them to let me hang out with them in between. I have stayed away from Mom and Dad once before when they went to Mexico, so I really wasn't very nervous. I communicate very clearly for a six-month-old. All I do is open my mouth and whine, and someone will eventually shove a bottle in. How hard can it be, really? Anyway, more about my week in Winfield. What a week it was! There was never a dull moment.
Aunt Leslie and Uncle Grant spent the night with us to practice for my future cousin, Xan. Uncle Grant fed me, and Aunt Leslie bathed me. I tried to make it easy on them by smiling a lot and not peeing on anything. I'm even pretending to be almost asleep here. Man, I'm good!

I had to make Uncle Grant feel good, too!

Look! I'm almost as big as Aunt Leslie!!

I also got to meet lots of Nonna and Poppa's friends. Nonna took me to lunch with all of her lady friends. I can't be sure, but I'm almost positive I'm the only boy that's been to one of these things in quite some time. I tried to make sure Nonna didn't regret taking me. Here I am flirting with the lady across from me.

Nonna also took me to Poppa's office everyday. I loved riding on Poppa's shoulders.

This is me with Mrs. Carol and also with Mr. Robert and Mrs. Camille. I've met them all before, so it was nice to see more familiar faces.


What else? I went for a walk with Mrs. Carol and Nonna in the park. And Poppa wrestled with me on the floor all the time. He would let me lay in bed with him, and I would just crawl all over him. I think he was surprised at how strong I was. It really wore me out, but I tried not to let him see.
Mom & Dad warned me this would happen! But don't I look cute!?!

It was such a fun week. When we met back up with Mom and Dad at the lake, they couldn't stop looking at me. I must have grown a lot. Now, I'm finally back home. I hope Mom and Dad can keep up with Nonna and Poppa's pace - never a dull moment!

Future Collegiate Athlete

After a little bit of begging from Barry, I agreed to take Canon to his first college football game. I had only the worst expectations - a hot, exhausted, squawling baby amongst thousands of hot, exhausted, squealing adults. Not my idea of a great time. As usual with babies, when you say something out loud, they tend to do the exact opposite. You tell someone that your baby finally slept through the night, and the very next night he wakes up three times to be fed. You tell someone your baby is finally on a regular three-hour eating schedule, and he immediately starts eating at random times throughout the day. It's what I like to call, You-Thought-You-Had-A-Baby-But-You-Really-Have-A-Mini-Teenager Syndrome. In this case, however, the reverse psychology worked in my favor. I expressed my hot, exhausted baby theory out loud, and so of course, Canon was the perfect fan!

Because we have friends in high places (thanks, Tony) we were able to get Stadium Club tickets. This means that we could sit in a box to watch the game or watch it from the shaded portion of the stands. We went back and forth from the box to the bleachers, just trying to keep it interesting. Canon loved it. While we were in the stands, he sat on Barry's lap and looked around at all the excitement. At one point, after a big play when everyone was cheering, he started flapping his arms and bouncing up and down, almost as if he were cheering, too. There was another memorable moment when I was holding Canon in the box. I went to stand next to Barry who was watching the game through the window. Canon looked at his dad, then reached up and put his hand on his shoulder, as if to express his gratitude for sharing such an awesome afternoon with him. It was truly the sweetest thing I have ever seen him do. If only we had a professional photographer to follow us around and capture moments like those. It is nice, however, to have some moments that only the three of us will ever see.

He fell asleep about mid-way through the second quarter but was awake again before half-time was over. Barry, Sam, Alicia, and Josh were able to stand on the sidelines, but Canon and I hung out in the stands. There were some kids sitting in front of us, and Canon loved watching them run back and forth. It doesn't take much to entertain this mellow fellow! After the game, we walked back to the car. Again, Canon loved every site. He smiled at every single person - no matter how strange or obnoxious - that walked by us. When we got home, I was eager to give Canon a bath. He'd never felt so sticky! Because Sam and Alicia were borrowing his bathroom for the weekend, Canon got his first Sink Bath. I remember my mom bathing my little brother in the sink when he was a baby, and I always thought it was the cutest thing. Now, doing it as a mom, it's just as cute. No back pain from leaning over, and the faucet makes a fantastic rainshower spray to get off all the soap. This may become a regular thing!

Canon's Half-Birthday

I know this is very "Alice in Wonderland" of me, but I got really excited about Canon's Half-Birthday today. The three-month-marks seem like such a big deal in this first year of his life, but today was probably the most exciting. Canon woke up at 6:00 super hungry. Thankfully, he went back to sleep after a quick bottle, and we both slept for a couple of hours. When I went in to check on him later, I found this happy boy . . .

Barry went to the Troy v. Florida game in Gainesville (sideline passes from Tony got him some TV time on our local CBS station!), so Canon and I hung without him for most of the day. It has become somewhat of a morning routine that, after Canon eats, he sits in our bed and watches us get ready for work. He gets pretty excited when we hang out in there.

The rest of the day was fairly normal. In an effort to save some cash (and because I like it so much) I took Canon's six-month pictures myself instead of going to a studio. I know he's not wearing anything fancy (sorry Nonna and MyGoo), but I thought the overalls fit the Porch Theme. I did put him in a smocked short-all for some pictures, but they didn't turn out as well. Here are a few of my favorites. If you click on Canon's picture at the top of the blog, you can see more of them.

Here are a few of the things Canon is doing at 6 Months:

Measurements: Canon weighs about 19 1/2 pounds. We go to the pediatrician next week for official measurements, but from what I can tell, he's at least this heavy. I think he's about 29 inches - again, we'll check with the pediatrician in a few days. After checking at the peds, Canon is only 18 1/2 pounds and 27 1/2 inches long. He has had a very low appetite and plenty of diarrhea the last few days, so I think he's lost a few ounces. I think the length measurement may have been a little off at the docs, but what do I know?
Tricks: He forgot how to roll over a few weeks ago when he was pretty sick, but he's been picking it back up. I stood several inches away from him while he was laying on his stomach today, and he tried to push himself over to me. He got pretty frustrated about it. I'm guessing he's getting ready to be a little more mobile.

Eating: Canon eats 4-5 bottles each day with 6-7 ounces per bottle. He eats oatmeal and fruit in the morning and veggies in the evening. He's getting less and less interested in his bottle, so we're going to talk to the pediatrician about sippy cups. I hear they can drink diluted juice this early - who knew?!?

Sleeping: He still sleeps through most nights but will occasionally wake up hungry (usually because he didn't eat much during the day). He takes at least a fifteen or twenty minute nap between each feeding and usually one two-hour nap at some point during the day.

Clothes: He's pretty tall for a six-month-old and wears mostly nine-month clothes, especially in clothes that snap under his diaper, which is pretty much everything!

Favorite things to do: Canon's two favorite things to do are play in his Exersaucer and lay in his crib watching his mobile and chewing on his Taggie. He also likes going with me when I run. He's started talking/singing at the things that we pass. Rocking on the porch is still a favorite, and, of course, he loves doing anything that gets him some one-on-one time with Mom and Dad.

Can You Tell What I Ate Today?

The older Canon gets, the more active he gets. While he would once sit calmly in my lap and just look around, he now loves to twist, kick, bounce, and - my favorite - pull hair! He's trying to sit up on his own, but he moves so much that he usually knocks himself over with excitement. He's bumped his head a few times but nothing major. I read in my "Week-by-week" book that babies around this age tend to get more bruises. Hmmmm . . . I hope they didn't do too much research on that phenomenon.

Canon's sitting behavior is not the only thing that has been effected by his new active nature. It has spread to his eating behavior as well. My once calm, clean eater has become a distracted, messy - I guess normal - baby. These pictures illustrate what I am trying to say.

And yes, the white stuff in the second picture is vomit!

Basically, what used to take five minutes to do, now takes at least fifteen. Canon turns in his seat to see the television. His hands end up in his mouth at least once before the meal is over . . . then, of course, into his hair. I spill a couple of spoonfuls on the table, or sometimes in Canon's lap. He grabs the spoon or the bowl, and when I try to pull them away, more spills occur. I've tried giving him another spoon to hold onto (thanks for that tip, Mandy), but he sticks the handle in his mouth, which gags him, which causes a bigger mess.

At least he helps me clean up afterwards!

After this particular meal, I decided a bath was more than necessary. Canon loves Bath Time, and this one was especially fun. I tried to make a bubble bath, but he got so excited kicking and slapping the water that most of the bubbles either dissolved or were splashed out. I wish I had gotten a video of it, but hopefully these pictures will suffice.

This has definitely been an exciting phase in Canon's life and a learning experience for me. I'm not used to dealing with such a hyper child. Canon has always been so laid back, relaxed, and observant. He's still pretty laid back, just with an extra jolt of energy. He's having so much fun, it's hard not to get caught up in all the excitement!