Good Little Traveler

We have a pretty happy traveler in our family. Holden and I are actually pretty similar in that we both tend to fall asleep once we are riding in the car for a while. Though I do hold out a little longer than Holden before dozing off. But with all of the trips we make to Texas, I am so happy that he is not yet hating his car seat. As long as he has a full belly he is quite content. He was in the car a little over 5 hours on Friday, 3 hours on Saturday and another 4 hours on Sunday. But he was such a trooper!

Looking more and more like daddy everyday

I only say that because this little top was picked out for him because “it looked like Jeremy”. My friend and roommate (college roommate, but those girls will forever be known to me as roommates), Alicia told me that as I opened her gift at a baby shower. Often on Sundays, I have to be at church early and Jeremy and Holden come together at the normal time. A few weeks ago, I didn’t set out something for Holden to wear. I just wanted to see how Jeremy would dress him. And this is how he dressed him. Like a big boy! And doesn’t he make a cute big boy! But this picture was taken today. We have had some cooler days (such as today) and most of the things that fit Holden right now are summer things. But several weeks ago my friend April mailed me a surprise. All of her boys baby clothes that she had been holding on to. So that’s where Holden got these cute little jeans. Apparently they were worn by Luke or Cooper. So this is the one cooler day outfit that Holden can wear right now. But at the speed he is growing, he’ll be into the other stuff in no time.
Speaking of looking like daddy . . . Holden and I made a WalMart trip this week. The nice man that checked us out said, “Must look like daddy.” I explained that he really didn’t look much like his daddy since we had adopted him. He told me more than once how deeply sorry he was. I think he was just embarrassed that he had said anything, though it didn’t bother me in the least. There are plenty of things people could say to offend. But assuming Holden looks like his daddy, when he clearly does not look like me, I think is normal.
I feel like I should be practicing now, how I will respond to comments like these when Holden is 2 or 3. I do not want him to hear all day “he is adopted.” That just isn’t going to happen. Obviously he will know his adoption story and it will be discussed a lot at our home. We already are sharing the story with him now. But there is no reason for that to be constantly shared just because people are curious. And sometimes, not necessarily even curious . . . just making a statement like this man had done. I was trying to think how I could have responded . . . “No, he really doesn’t look like his daddy.” (the end) or “Yeah, he does.” (big lie) I know that we will figure it out. I am reading lots of books to help. But more than that, we are just praying our way through this. We know God gave us Holden and he is 100% the creator of this family. And I know he has His hand is on us, so there is no reason to make things more complicated than they actually are. Jeremy and I just thought it was a funny little story. And now I have turned it into 75% of this blog. Really, I just wanted you to see him in his big boy clothes!

Sweet Potatoes

Holden was entertaining us Sunday as he ate his sweet potatoes for lunch. So I got out the camera . . . again.
Hello everyone. My name is Holden.

He hasn't quite learned that it is bad manners to talk with his mouth full.
All done.

Holden is a whoppin' 5 months old

5 months have come and gone so quickly! And now I have this almost 19 pounder to show for it. He is getting so big and SO HEAVY to lug around. Not that I am ready for him to be moving on his own, by any means.
I know that I often mention how happy Holden seems to be. When I picked him up from the church nursery a few weeks ago, they informed me of what a good baby he always is. I’ve always thought so, but it was good to hear from someone else. He brings lots of extra joy to this house. Lots of smiles and lots of laughter. I never imagined we would be so entertained by a little baby.
So I just mentioned that he is about to round the corner to hit 19 pounds. My arms are getting a workout lifting the boy. I HAVE to be getting stronger! I don’t see how it’s not possible. His length is about 27 inches. The past couple of weeks I have been retiring much of his 3-6 month clothes for the next boy in our house. I would put a one piece outfit on him and it seemed to give him a wedgie, which I don’t think he appreciated. I think his torso is just extra long. And since we are talking about his growth, obviously he is a good eater. So far he has eaten, peas, green beans, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, carrots, apples, bananas and then the normal baby rice cereal and baby oatmeal. He hasn’t turned anything down thus far, but does open extra wide for bananas. (Sidenote on butternut squash. I tried a bite after I baked it and it was DELICIOUS! Why haven’t I been cooking this stuff? I am adding it to my regular grocery list and you should too. It is such a tasty vegetable.)
The past couple of weeks I have been taking advantage of the beautiful cool mornings. After breakfast and still in our jammies, I load him into the stroller and we head out for a walk. We have big and serious conversations for the first couple of miles and then Holden tuckers out and falls asleep. He really is quite the conversationalist! The trick that I haven’t quite figured out, is getting him out of the stroller and into his crib to finish his morning nap. Once I gently scoop him up, he seems to think naptime is over. Bad news.
He still loves to squeal and scream as high pitched as his voice will allow before it cracks. And it does often crack. But he has turned down the volume by a few decibels. I’ve noticed that the squealing and screaming is much cuter when it doesn’t leave a ringing sound in your ears an hour later.
What else to update you on? Those 2 teeth I mentioned a month ago are really through now. He is still gnawing on everything in sight so I assume more teeth are on their way.
My recent biggest achievement just happened a few minutes ago when I set him in his bumbo to sneak a 5 month picture. And apparently he is over the “green-light-freak-out” stage that always happened when we pulled out the camera. So I can actually catch a smile for you now . . . all by myself. I caught so many smiles, I wasn’t sure which one to post. So I posted them all. Kind of redundant . . . I know.
I guess that’s a good enough update for 5 months. It just keeps getting more fun with this little guy!

Madly in love

Sunday at the Park

On Sunday afternoon Jeremy and I took Holden to the park. I went with some girls and the kids last week and that was actually my first time to go to our city park. I guess I never really had the need to go. But it is actually a nice place and the weather has been perfect for it. It will probably be a little more fun once Holden is more into the park thing. But he sure was into the ducks. He was just staring at them and checking them out.

Look who just popped in . . .

This past weekend was our annual fall weekend with Josh and Amanda. They come to us in the fall and we go to them every spring. I look forward to these weekends like I look forward to Christmas. We never run out of things to talk about and there is always lots to catch up on. It was a fun weekend. Jeremy and Josh played golf on Saturday (this is standard practice) while Amanda and I did some furniture shopping. They do have completely amazing deals up in our neck of the woods, in comparison to Dallas. We went to dinner on Saturday night and to see the movie Fireproof. Great movie! I highly recommend it. Great storyline and delivery. Acting? 2 stars. But still well worth it for the meaning. They really need more movies like these. Jeremy was kind of tied up this weekend with a test for school, which was kind of a bummer. It was due at midnight on Saturday night, so he was working on it off and on throughout the weekend. If they allow you to do a test at home, apparently it is not going to be easy, breezy and quick. I didn’t take near enough pictures while they were here. But here are a few from the weekend.
Cuddling with Amanda.
Holden thinks Josh is HILARIOUS!