he's a real live boy!

it's all happened in a week. a way too fast week.

for the last few weeks, covington has been pushing up on his hands and knees and rocking and i was savoring those last few weeks of immobility. well that's no more. he's growing up.

last wednesday, covington put those little pinchers to use and fed himself for the first time! yay for finger food! this has totally transformed the whole fussy-while-i-try-to-cook-supper time. love it.

then thursday, he put all the rocking together and took off crawling across the room. it was slow, but he was on his way. sometimes he was determined and proud of himself. sometimes he was just mad and fussing that it was taking so long. crawling is hard work! 2 things that make him book it across the room - food and a computer :)

on monday, he pushed up from his belly to sitting - so. so. good. do you know how frustrated a crawling kiddo can get when he's stuck on his belly? now the whole apartment is his playground.




then he started trying this. He wasn't really getting anywhere, but whoa. this all happening fast.

look at those little baby leg rolls! i can't get enough!!

on wednesday morning, we walked into his room and look who was standing up in his crib all by himself! first time we had ever seen him pull up by himself! he's smiling in the picture, but he was not real happy about being up there and didn't know how to get down - poor thing! guess it's time to drop the crib down...



(check out the bed hair! maybe he did get something from me...)

and just like that, our lives had been transformed. our little baby is crawling on the floor pushing a tractor around.

my favorite part of all this? cov crawling in my lap wherever i go. is there a sweeter feeling? (i'm guessing this might get old when there's 3 of them and i can't go anywhere without someone sitting on my, but for now, it's the best thing ever :)
.

as covington was standing up at the coffee table this week, james looked at me and said, "we have a kid. he's like a real boy now."

and it's so true

projects

last week, covington had his first real non-tooth related fever for a few days. it was sad but i can't say i hated all the extra cuddling...

with all the extra time at home and super long naps plus james being crazy - pulling an all nighter - busy, i had lots of time for projects. when i proudly showed james how i'd organized our medicine cabinet and put labels on each shelf, he asked if i was starting to feel a little cooped up :)

i do love a good project! 

how great is wonder under?? some super clearance finds from babies-r-us with strategically placed appliqués make some fun little tee's 

i'd been looking for a storage ottoman for a few weeks before finding this one on sale at target for $8.50! what! 

i hot glued a yard of fabric on that i'd been saving for a year

and it's the perfect little toy storage! 

i got tired of looking for the perfect fabric to cover this shade with, so i just painted it - not perfect but better than before.

and my favorite - i've only been meaning to do this for a year... when covington took over our 2nd bedroom, james' "office" was squeezed into the corner of our bedroom. if you gotta use a filing cabinet for your bedside table, you might as well bling it up a little. i'm sure james appreciates it so much more now :)

i never get tired of gold and white :)

lately

an iphone photo dump...

every time he falls asleep in the car seat, he's holding on to the blue handle. it's sad (but kinda funny) when his hand gets heavy enough to turn the song back on :)

how does this even happen?? 

with covington running fever and james in class, we didn't do anything for halloween, but in case he ever asks, the boys dressed up as Captain America for cov's first halloween :)

it's still hard for me to believe he's big enough to sit in the buggy all by himself!

 

so proud of himself!

i'm having so much fun with our little family!

8 months

8 months!  i really can't believe it. it's been quite the busy month.

the biggest thing that happened this month was teething! 4 teeth in 8 days popped through - the bottoms were no big deal, the tops were a bit rough... 

excessive rolling has been going on around here and lots of planking and rocking on his hands and knees with some occasional throw-down fits because learning to crawl is hard work.

he's a great little eater and will try anything. we discovered teething biscuits and they are quite the hit - very entertaining and very messy :) i have a feeling he won't be running behind on the growth charts next month... 

he laughs a lot and smiles at everyone. he's started dada-ing a little and cooing more and more. he can sit up in the high chair when we go out and the grocery cart (except target's - they're huge!) which is a big deal because it means i don't have to lug the huge carrier inside - yay for me! 

it looks like his eyes are going to stay super blue and his hair has finally started to grow back in. he seems to be pretty laid back like james but can definitely throw down every now and then. it's so fun watching him grow and learn new things every day. these are such sweet days!

the baby room

true story -

last october we finally found out we were having a boy and after months of looking and planning and pinterest-ing, i was more than ready to start on the baby room. so i told james we should probably paint soon since we had lots of friends coming to visit in the next months and i was looking on craigslist for a daybed and i'd found the greatest fabrics and we should head to ikea soon, of course, and on and on and he said

- brace yourself -

"isn't it a little early?"

a little early??? there was going to be a tiny human coming to live with us forever in 20 short weeks and there was no way he would be able to survive in a room without matching pillows and a painted rug and framed pictures! not to mention i was only getting bigger by the day which made things like crawling around on the floor measuring for bed skirts or climbing up ladders to hang curtains or even just breathing a bit more difficult.

no fear - the next day he came back and said, "so i was talking to my mom and she said you're NESTING! i should really get a book about how to do this whole husband during pregnancy thing. you want to paint this weekend?"  totally redeemed :)

(as it turns out, babies caaan survive in rooms without curtains - since someone showed up 2 weeks early, the plain roller blinds were still bare for a whole 3 weeks of his life - oh the horror)

so here's our little room. i wish i was a better photographer but oh well. i had so much fun planning and sewing and crafting for it. we obviously like a little color and pattern around here. i just love being in there!

 teeny covington about 8 weeks old

what's been going on lately...

a couple weeks ago we headed into the city for a quick afternoon with friends to check out the bean

and a ride on the train.

we also drug cov to his first concert a wheaton - need to breath, for the record. oooh yea - we're those people. don't fear - we checked with the resident pediatrician about possible hearing loss and added the headphones just in case. you do what cha gotta do sometimes.

and it obviously didn't affect him too much. he's asleep :)

look at that little face! needless to say, we're loving some food around here.

it's been a great fall.

7 months

our sweet little guy turned 7 months this week. i'm just trying to soak in this sweet time because he'll be running around before we know it.

this month, covington started sitting up all by himself and he loves being able to see the world from this whole new perspective. while he used to like his crinkle toys best, he's moved on to anything that rattles right now. he also loves chasing balls. he still rolls around to get to things but we think he'll be scooting or crawling any day now. he also has 2 teeth that *i think* will come in any day. i never knew teething took so long! i've checked every morning for the last 3 weeks thinking they were going to pop through! he babbles a lot, unless we turn on the video camera, of course, and he thinks yelling is pretty funny. james can still get him to giggle the most and it's the best sound ever. he also loves it when james plays the guitar. he's still pretty laid back and definitely likes getting out to see other people. 

we went to the doctor this morning for a weight check and he's up to a wopping 16.5 pounds, joining the 15%! since starting food last month, he's a great little eater. even when he doesn't really like something, he'll try to smile through it -it's really sweet. so far the favorites are butternut squash, sweet potato, and avocado. 

i can't believe how much he's changed in the last couple months. this is such a fun stage!

happy grandparent's day

to say we are blessed doesn't really begin to express how we feel. thank you for all you do doesn't seem sufficient anymore. we love you guys more than you'll know and are so thankful that covington gets to have you in his life.

so to mia and poppy

and annie and granddad

 and to the sweetest great-grandmothers around - grandmother, meemaw, and mimi

we love you.

happy grandparent's day!

Proverbs 17:6 - Grandchildren are the crown of old men -hehe :)

we pray this will be said of covington one day - 2 Timothy 1:5 - For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well.

6 months

i have no idea how this happened - we have a 6 month old.

 he is every bit as much fun as people told us he would be at 6 months - smiling and playing and starting to sit up. you can just see his little brain putting things together as he watches everything. he has the best little giggle that only james can get when he tickles him. he's weighing in at 15.2 pounds, which is still pretty little at the 10 percentile, but he's 56% at height, so we're holding on to that :) we started food this week too. he's quite the fan of carrots and butternut squash so far and still drinking about 7 ounces of milk 4 times a day. 

right now he likes sticking out his tongue, playing with his sophie the giraffe and exersaucer, and reading books. he always wants to be sitting up so he can see what's going on. he sucks his fingers all. the. time. he's settled on the first two fingers on either hand and we have to hold his hands down so he won't chew on them while he's eating! he loves being around other people and being outside. he's still sleeping great and still looks just like james. 

we're just soaking it all in and loving every minute!