It's been quite a while since I've had a chance to update the blog, so please forgive me. We've had a crazy month of all kinds of surprises...there have been good ones like emerging bottom teeth (and teething!), the introduction of fruits and veggies, sitting up without support, lunging forward on all fours (crawling, here we come!), Walker holding his own bottle, rolling all around on the floor like a crazy man, repeating babbling sounds over and over ("ba-ba-ba" and "da-da-da")...and many others (oh, we can't forget the fact that he loves to blow on your arm to make a tooting sound, nice).
There have also been some that have been less than exciting, like Walker's first ear infection that came along with the teething, breaking his excellent streak of sleeping and changing to a baby who was waking up about 4 times every night, and the worst one of all--a stomach virus. Pretty much everyone in the family suffered from the awful virus. We're unsure of where it came from, but Walker got the worst of it. It lasted for 2 weeks with him. It was so sad to see him go through it, but he's fine now. He's ended up a bit on the long and lean side as a result, but we know he will continue to gain weight as he eats more and more solids. He's also VERY active, so he burns off everything he eats, for sure.
We've been doing stretches for a few months now because his pediatrician noticed that his neck was more tight on one side, so his head favors the left side (and he had trouble holding it up straight). Now, to help us make sure he continues to improve, we begin taking him to PT twice a week next week. We aren't sure yet of how long this will last yet. We'll know more after the first few weeks. We still do stretches at home at least 5 times a day, but they are NOT his favorite thing to do. In fact, he screams and gets really angry, but they are going to help him in the long run, so we have to keep doing it (even when I don't want to because he gets so mad!). What he has is called torticollis, and since we've learned about it, we've found many others who have been through it and their kids are fine now. We are thankful that it hasn't hindered his development. In his evaluation last week, we found out that he has excellent motor skills and is very strong. Go, Walk-man!
I'm also excited to announce that my article came out in the
904 magazine. You can click on the link to the article if you are interested in reading about medical benefits. I'm excited because I have a photo and bio in the front of the mag (page 10) and the article is on pages 30-31. I really won't be offended if you don't actually read the article (not the most exciting subject for people our age, I would say). I'm just excited to have my first byline in a long time.
Things with MWay have been going really well! We had our first week of two services on Easter, and it was an awesome day. We had our highest attendance record ever. We are really pumped and so grateful to be a part of the church. We are also incredibly blessed to get to work together every day. We worked together every day while we lived in Ethio and I really can't imagine it being any different.
Yay for 6 months! It's unbelievable how fast the time is going by. Our little man is getting so BIG!
This was our first attempt at feeding Walker carrots. He actually liked them! He doesn't always like them, but he did on the first try. We made a huge mess, which was fun too.
Oh my, how Walker loves to look in the mirror. He spent at least 20 or 30 minutes laughing at himself.
What a big boy! This was Walker's first time sitting facing forward in his stroller. He had so much fun on the walk, but he gets bored pretty easily. Twenty minutes is about the limit for walks these days.
Kecia and Brian came to town from Atlanta for the weekend, but we only got to see them for an hour. Walker had been sick with the virus, and we had no idea how contagious it was. After their hour-long visit with him, both Kecia and Brian ended up sick a couple days later. We felt so terrible!! Pretty much everyone who came within 50 feet of our house ended up with the virus.
Walker really loved Brian, especially his beard. I think the fact that he drooled on Brian's face contributed to him getting the virus.
What a cool day! On Palm Sunday I got to baptize my friend Jenna. She's an awesome girl, one of our college students from church, and we're praying for her as she's thinking about going overseas for two years like we did. YAY!
Here are the Sarah's, two more from our college crew. They came to Easter lunch at my fam's house, which was really fun. Sarah W. (left) is from Ohio and Sarah M. (right) is from Atlanta, so I wanted them to have some family to hang out and eat with too.
Here's the Walk-man's new favorite thing to do...lounge around on one side. It's so hilarious to see him like this when I go to pick him up out of the crib.
Here's the beginning of the two new teeth on the bottom. So exciting (except for the sleepless nights of teething and the ear infections, of course)! Notice the only time we could get a pic of the teeth was while he was sleeping.
Happy Easter! Kirra is such an adorable princess. She loved her Easter dress so much and she found about 30 or more eggs during the egg hunt, I think.
The girls on Easter: my sister, Wendi, and nieces, Kenzi, Sydney and Kirra.
Really all Walker wanted was to grab some of the colorful eggs during the egg hunt!
Everything goes in the mouth! Love this face, though.
This only seemed appropriate since my family name is Walker's namesake. He did not want to stay in that basket for long. He is such a busy body these days.
We had lunch with my fam and then dinner at Jamma and Papa's house, so a wardrobe change only seemed appropriate. Plus, he still spits up frequently, so it was also necessary.
This was Walker's first real trip to the beach. We went to West Palm Beach to speak at Palm Beach Atlantic University. It was a great trip! So fun and we spoke to 1,500 students about M work.
Walk-man really loved the beach! He liked playing in the sand. We didn't get to put him in the water, though, because it was still pretty chilly.
He is very cuddly and snuggly. I just love it!
Here's where he was thinking, "Mom, can you please stop embarrassing me by taking so many photos?"
We laughed about how white he looked on the beach. But I was so afraid he would burn that I lathered him up with sunscreen, so he didn't really get any amount of sun. I really love his tiny board shorts.
What a great place for a nap...Donald Trump's enormous palace was just down the street.
Here's Royal Palm Drive, which is just so beautiful and so south Florida with the palm tree lined streets.
Walk-man was so cute during Julie and Ashley's
He loves his baby ftd. He was such a good model! I think we'll have to start charging an hourly rate soon. :) There are some amazing photos of Julie and Ashley's unique art on Kara's photography site. Scroll down past the preggers pics to see her plug.
Three of Walker's cousins came to Jax for the weekend: Noah, Kaylie and Connor. They all really enjoy spending time with him.
We saw this giant sting ray during our trip to the Jax Zoo. We even got to touch it!
This is a giant, plastic carrot that Walker looks so funny gnawing on.
Time for a nap with Granddaddy.
And a hug from Kirra. She's always telling me how much she likes Walker.
And playing with Kaylie! Kaylie was like Walker's second mom when she came to Jax to visit and then when we went to Deland/Deltona for Noah's bday party. She carried him around and took such good care of him. It's amazing how natural she is with him.
