Gaga for Gaga

Gaga is all the rage in the Duguid house. Not Lady Gaga. No, I am referring to "GAGA," Jonathan's answer for everything.

"How was your day at school buddy?"
"GAga"

"Oh, I see you napped for a total of 15 minutes all day."
"AhGAAAAAAAga."

"Who's my chunky monkey??"
"AhGA, ahGA!"

It's super cute if I do say so myself. Now we're just waiting for "dada" and "mama." When we finally hear those words, I might literally melt from the cuteness.

Rockin' and Rollin'

In one day, Jonathan went from rolling every once in a while, if we helped him, to a rolling MACHINE! I couldn't even get a before picture of him on his tummy because he rolled so fast every time I put him down. Go little man!

A Fun Saturday

Our Saturday was so nice. Jonathan and I went to see my nephew Sam play tennis in the GA Special Olympics. He did a fantastic job! Even though he was clearly the youngest competitor, he got the silver medal! I was so proud and Jonathan enjoyed watching him play.

Later that night we went to Jaime's house in Roswell and walked to a local yummy restaurant in the square. Jonathan was...tolerable. Feeding him little bits of bread and listening to the live music helped to keep the Fussy Britches at bay just long enough for us to have a nice time.

Sunday we had a laid-back day, hanging out at home and waiting for Jer to get back from his trip to Jacksonville. Jonathan decided to bring back the fussy so Jer couldn't get home soon enough.

Excited for this weekend - a Braves game and our neighbor's little boy's first birthday party. :)

Is it sad that it's Monday and I am already talking about this weekend?

Having it all together

I don't.

It may appear on the outside like I do. I work, get to spend limited but good quality time with Jonathan in the evenings, have a couple of hours alone with Jeremy at night, and manage to do it all over the next day without going completely insane.

But it's hard.

I figured out that with getting myself and Jonathan ready in the mornings, working, pumping at work (which limits lunch outings, errands, etc), playing with him in the evenings, washing bottles and pump parts, and preparing the next day's bottles and purees, I have about 1 hour a day to do 100% whatever I want to.

Even less if I attempt to work out, clean or cook. Fortunately I am smart enough not to attempt those things. :)

Usually I am so exhausted from the grind that the 1 hour is spent vegging in front of the TV with Jer.

Man, I sound like a whiner, huh? Every mom reading this is like, "Um, duh. That's been my life for the last X years." I realize that my experience is not unique - I guess I just didn't truly "get it" until I experienced it.

Lucky that kid is cute. Seeing those rosy round cheeks and those shining blue eyes makes it all worth it.

Goodbye Gummy, Hello Toothy!

Jonathan officially has one tiny white bump on the bottom right side. His first tooth! If you look veeeery carefully, you can see it in this picture.

This explains our little Mr. Fussy Britches of late.

I am really excited about this development, but part of me is a little sad. He is changing and growing so fast. Soon we won't see those gummy smiles anymore.

I'll miss those gummy smiles.

Fun Saturday with Cousins

We had a great time visiting with Uncle Larry, Aunt Lisa, Ava, Elizabeth and Sydney today. The girls did slip n slide while Jonathan looked on. Next year, buddy.

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday, everyone.

Jer and I are about to embark on a much postponed and procrastinated necessity...babyproofing.

I found a list online and we'll be tackling a few items each weekend until the house is safe for munchkin to pull on, climb on and chew on.

Wish us luck!

Beach vacation

We are back from a fantastic vacation at the beach!

Here are the highlights from our trip to Amelia to see Grandma and Grandpa:

Jonathan was very happy to see them and got lots of cuddle time in.


Boy meets dog. Cricket was not thrilled about Jonathan's presence in his home. Too much competition for cuddle time.


On Friday, we took Jonathan swimming for the first time. He loved reclining in the float and kicking his legs while Jer moved him around the pool.




Afterwards, it was naptime for the little guy and I got a chance to kick back in the shade a little bit too.


We did Grandma's famous sink baths all weekend. Jonathan loved his rubber duckies!


That night we went to the Ocean Club for dinner and Jonathan was not having it. We enjoyed a peaceful dinner of scarfing down food and taking turns walking him around the room and eventually outside by the pool to keep him happy and not disturbing the other diners.

This fussy behavior has been his MO lately. File it under fun things about having a seven-month-old!

Saturday we did some more swimming and just hung around the house - so relaxing.

On Sunday, we went to a cute little place in downtown Fernandina Beach for Mother's Day brunch. Jonathan was not thrilled yet again, but he was slightly more manageable this time.

Later that day we took Jonathan walking on the beach.




On Monday we spent a few hours clinging on to our vacation before we headed home. We took another stroll along a golf course and in pretty shaded neighborhoods in the Plantation.

It was hard to say goodbye to such a fun weekend, but we look forward to our next visit with Grandma and Grandpa in Jackson, WY this summer!

Sleep regression?

When Jonathan was about four months old we began some sleep training, not to get him to sleep through the night (he did that on his own) but to get him to go to sleep in the first place. Jeremy and I couldn't handle the endless rocking and shushing, gently placing him in the crib and subsequent awakening and screaming routine any longer.

So we let him cry it out. BAD PARENTS!! >:(

But you know what? It took 3 days of minimal crying and worked like a charm. And I regained some semblance of my sanity.

Lately things have changed. For the past couple of weeks he has cried when we put him down - for 10, 15, sometimes 20 minutes - before finally falling asleep. It's truly more heartbreaking than it was the first time, because it has gone on for so many nights in a row.

I don't know if this is some kind of stage or just a result of it being lighter outside at bedtime, but either way, it's tough to hear your baby cry. :(

More peas, please!