We've almost reached 6 months

James and Auntie Erin (sorry you're sideways)

James and Grandma


James and cousin Jeffrey (sideways again; sorry)

Supermanning with Daddy

Cousin Jeffrey, James, and Cousin David

Sorry there has not been a blog entry in a while. We don't have internet at the new house. Occasionally Mommy's laptop can pick up a wireless signal from somewhere, but it doesn't always work. We're trying to come up with a better plan.

James is sitting up on his own pretty well now. He has also learned how to pull himself up to a sitting-up position, if he is on a slanted surface (like a lap). He can't quite lift himself up from a completely flat surface like the floor, but he has the idea. He has also decided that whatever position we hold him in is the wrong position, and he will squirm constantly until he finds the correct position. He has not found it yet.

In a continuing effort to pay off their student loans, the doctors have decided to do genetic testing on James, to look for the long QT thing again. They'll have to take a couple of ounces of blood and send it off to some lab somewhere. We have a pediatrician visit coming up, so we'll try to get it done then.

James got to visit new relatives last week, and he also got to see auntie Erin. Mommy's uncle Danny and Aunt Lisa brought their sons David and Jeffrey to town, so James got to hang out with them for a couple of days. He especially liked their dog, some kind of poodle hybrid that looks like a muppet. Mommy and Daddy got to play some football with the visiting relatives, and Erin carried James around so he could watch. Then while Daddy was at the Home Depot, the rest of the family toured the Mayfield Dairy, conveniently located just minutes from our house.
Daddy was at the Home Depot instead of the dairy because 1) Daddy doesn't like wearing hairnets, and 2) the house still needs a good bit of work. But progress is being made. We have successfully cleared out a play room for James on the second floor that the cats are not allowed in. So James can roll around on the ground freely without Daddy worrying about him ingesting cat remnant. We also purchased a small lawn mower and received a weedeater from Grandpa, just in time to tame the lawn before the homeowners' association got impatient. The yard is still not great, but at least it looks like someone lives there now. I wonder if Google Earth can do another pass and update our image now that I've cut the grass. It's terrible when your yard looks crappy from space.

James has gotten too big for his bassinet, so he has moved up to the full-sized crib. He has also outgrown some of our favorite outfits, but thankfully we have lots of bigger outfits that we have been eager to try on. We're also trying to find more advanced toys for James - things that help him learn more motor skills. The aforementioned Aunt Lisa sent us a good suggestion for a play set that allows him to sit up while playing with it, which I think he'll enjoy. We might also look for things that he can lean on while trying to walk, because he appears almost ready to walk. Baby toys are a lot of fun, so Mommy and Daddy will enjoy the shopping. For James's benefit, of course.

Picture of James sitting up that I mentioned in the previous post

This is James almost sitting up, almost on his own.  Read the post right before this one for more information.  

Congratulations, you're five months old! Here, have a bum rash.

Yes, I know that's a cat and not a bum rash.  I'm not about to post a picture of my son's bum rash on the world wide web.  The picture merely shows how excited James is about the cats.  They've been here for several days now, but the trauma of moving has kept them huddled up behind the dryer most of the time.  Only recently have they come out freely into the rest of the house.  James saw them a few times when we were all living at Grandma and Grandpa's house, but he was unimpressed then.  But now, wow, they are enthralling.  He watches them intently whenever they come in the room, and tries his best to grab them when they come near.  That, of course, makes them run away.  He has actually made contact a couple of times, but the aforementioned rash appeared shortly after his first feline contact, so we thought maybe that wasn't such a good idea.   But the rash is apparently just a run-of-the-mill baby thing, and not some cat fungus.  Still, Daddy thinks the cats would be better off in the basement away from James's things, but we all know it doesn't matter what Daddy thinks.  

     James has been a bit uncomfortable lately, and the doctor says it is because he will soon have teeth.  Last night he (and therefore all of us) slept very little and cried a good bit.  We went to the doctor this morning, and he said that teething would cause some discomfort, but it was nothing to worry about.  Hopefully he'll be finished with it soon, though.  He rarely cries, so it must be bad for him to make him cry like he did last night. 

   On a happier note, James is able to sit up almost on his own.  He can sit up and play with toys and books for a long time with a little assistance, and can hold himself up on his own for a few seconds.  He has sufficient strength to hold himself up longer, but he forgets he has to balance himself, so he falls over.  A little practice and he should soon be an expert, though.  We have a semi-good picture of him sitting up; I'll try to figure out how to upload it here soon.  

Snow Day!

Great news: Mommy gets to stay home tomorrow!  We had a (relatively) big snowstorm, and Jackson County schools are cancelled tomorrow.   The local weather people said that about 4 inches fell - not a terribly impressive amount for you folks from Minnesota or Colorado or London, but that's pretty big for Georgia.  Enough to bring the public school system to a screeching halt, at least.  But Mommy gets a snow day, so who cares if we fall behind the Japanese.  

   This morning, James went to Church.  We went with him, of course.  There was a nursery for kids his age, but we decided to keep him with us during the service to see how he did.  He was doing pretty well at first, but then he got hungry and wanted to tell everyone about it.  Daddy got up and headed out to the hall to give James his bottle.  It was a bit of a long way.  Mommy's friend had invited us to sit with her in her normal spot, which is at the front of the church.  I'm pretty sure if we had been sitting in the back,  James would not have made a sound the whole time.  But since we were up in the Amen pews, we had to skip out early.  That's okay; it was the "financial responsibility" sermon.  Daddy can recite it from memory.  We'll try again next week from a more James-friendly location (i.e. the back row).

    Tonight, none of us are (is that right?  Or is it "none of us is"?  Chalk it up to the illness) at our personal best, health-wise.  James has been extra fussy since after church, Mommy hurts all over (like the aches that come with the flu), and Daddy seems to have a stomach bug.   If we can get James to sleep, Mommy and Daddy will work on doing the same, and maybe we'll all feel better tomorrow.