Hot July Afternoons

I don't know about you, but we have been very hot here at our house!  Jack and I play outside early in the morning then we venture out again around 4:30 when our driveway is in the shade.  That's when we pull out the fun stuff...the 4-wheeler, water hose, water table, and anything else we can find to play with! 

Jack is ALL BOY and loves his 4-wheeler that Uncle Kyle and Aunt Ray Ray gave him for his birthday!

This water table is a MUST HAVE.  CC brought it to Jack a couple of weeks ago (right around the time he grew tired of his $5 Walmart blow-up pool) and it is great! 

Right around 5:00 while we wait on Daddy to get home, Jack has to take a little break to re-hydrate and have a little smoothie snack.

When Daddy gets home, it is "Man Project" time while Mama starts supper.  Here is Allen and his mini-me putting together the new charcoal grill :)

Where did my baby go and who is this little blonde headed boy that took his place???  Everyday is a new adventure at our house :)

34 WEEKS!

I cannot believe it is almost time for baby Witt to be here!  I am getting a little nervous and nesting has definitely kicked in!  The nursery is almost complete.... we are just waiting on the changing table to be delivered and some artwork for the walls.  Witt has a closet FULL of clothes!  He has all of Jack's newborn stuff, plus all the sweet blue things that this Mama has not been able to resist buying :)  Since we didn't know if Jack was a boy or girl, he wore mostly yellow and green his first couple of months of life.  They are precious little gowns and sleepers, but Witt has enough new blue things in his closet that he might not ever have to wear those yellow and green hand-me-downs :)  I had my 34 week doctor visit today (I will be 34 weeks tomorrow) and everything looks just perfect. My weight, blood pressure, and Witt's heart rate were all great.  We go back in 2 weeks for our first "check" and will be "checked "every week after that until he arrives...time has FLOWN by this time around!  Witt is measuring a good bit bigger than his big brother.  At 30 weeks he measured almost 2 weeks ahead and was considered to be in the 60-65th percentile.  Jack always measured a full week behind and his birth weight and height were in the 15th percentile.  With that being said, my doctor has decided that as long as my body is ready to deliver a baby (if I have progressed enough) he will probably induce me at 39 weeks if Witt isn't here yet.  Therefore, I am predicting that Witt will be here the last week in August!

I have been trying to think of ways to prepare Jack for this major change in his life, and I just don't think there is a way to prepare a 16 month old.  We are just going to try our best to keep him on his schedule and hopefully he will easily accept his new baby brother and the fact that he will be sharing the spotlight :)

Smith Lake 2011

We spent the 4th of July at Smith Lake in Alabama with Allen's family... CC, BigDaddy, Kyle, Regan, Mimi, Aunt Kim, Uncle John, Betsy, John, baby Caroline, Will, and Marilyn!  We went last year for the first time and of course the men loved it more than the beach, so we decided to venture there again this year.  We stayed in the same cabin (or should I say mansion) as we did last year.  It is right on the water, has a private boat dock, and room for about 30 to sleep...so we had plenty of room for everyone!  Here is a look from the water looking up to the cabin (and please imagine my very pregnant self walking these stairs at least 5 times a day in the 95 degree weather...not fun).

Of course when we are on vacation Jack decides to wake up even earlier than he does at home, so Allen and I took him on a sunrise boat cruise every morning.  It was my favorite part of the day...some time with just my 2 boys :)

Jack LOVED LOVED LOVED riding in the boat, sitting in the boat, and just looking at the boat :)

Other than boat rides and a little swimming, this little guy had the best time eating junk food.  You can see the remains of a cupcake ALL OVER HIM

Kyle spent the weekend bribing my child.  Jack quickly figured out that if he would give Uncle Kyle a kiss, then he could play with the iPad.  Thanks Kyle for these wonderful life lessons you are passing on to my child.

Jack had a blast playing with sweet baby cousin, Caroline!  Caroline would drive the car and Jack would open the hood and hop in for a ride!  It was so much fun watching these 2 play together!

We had such a great time, but it was exhausting trying to keep the 2 busy little bodies pictured above safe in a house full of stairs and even more stairs and water outside.  I needed a vacation from my vacation when I got home!

Words of a 15 Month Old

My sweet, adorable, wild, little 15 month old, also known as Jack, doesn't really like to use words to communicate.  It drives the speech therapist in me CRAZY!  We do what I call "therapy" or "school-time" everyday at home and he is slowly figuring out that his Mama is going to make sure he talks :)  He would much rather sign, grunt, gesture, and talk in Alien Speak to have his needs known. I figured this 15 month mark is a good time for me to document the words he will say (when he wants to, which isn't often :)

Words:

• Mama
• Dada
• Banana "nana"
• This "ish"
• Dog "dow"
• Truck "duh"
• Juice  (I am impressed that it actually sounds just like "juice"...he must love his juice :)
• Drink "di"
• Brush "bush"
• Allen (yes, my child yells "Aaaawweee" to call his daddy...He listens to me more than I realize)
• Up "uh"
• Uh Oh "uh"

Animal Sounds: (We are slowly getting somewhere with this :)

• Neigh (his favorite)
• Moo
• Quack (he doesn't always get this one)
• Ruff (he only barks when he crawls on the floor pretending to be a dog and it actually sounds more like a growl than a bark)
• Growl/Roar (in his little mind, if the animal doesn't "neigh" than it should "roar"...such a boy

Signs:

• Eat
• Drink
• More
• Please
• All Done
• Baby

His words are probably only recognizable by his mama and daddy, but we are proud of him for FINALLY deciding he should do a little talking :) 

Tractors & Baby News

This cute little fellow had a day of fun on the farm yesterday!  (Sorry for the blurry pictures...I'm working on it)

Thursday afternoon, my sweet, wonderful mom (aka Nana) gave me a wonderful gift...she drove to Oxford and picked up my child and took him home with her :)  Allen and I got to have a nice little date night then on Friday morning I got to sleep until 8:15!  It was WONDERFUL!  To tell the truth, I was wide awake at 5:45 am, but after watching 15 minutes of the news and reading a chapter in my book, I turned the lights back out and drifting into dreamland.  I think Jack had a great time spending the night in Grenada at Pops and Nana's house and on Friday morning they headed to the Delta to Uncle Danny's farm.  In case you missed the memo, my child is completely obsessed with tractors!  I heard from everyone that Jack absolutely loved it out there and came home a very dirty little boy :)

Jack even got the drive the tractor with his cousin, Matt!

Friday morning while Jack was out driving tractors, Allen accompanied me to my 30 week doctor appointment.  I was exactly 30 weeks on Friday and my doctor had decided during my last visit than this appointment would be a good time to do an ultrasound and check on the baby's size and make sure he was growing okay.  Well, little Witt is growing a little more than okay...He is measuring almost 2 full weeks ahead, weighing an estimated 3 pounds, 7 ounces, and it appears he already has a head full of hair!  I have been telling everyone that I thought he would be bigger than Jack, now I finally have a little proof.  Jack always measured a little more than 1 week behind his due date, so I am wondering if this means this baby will come a little early...I'm shooting for August 24th :) Even when the ultrasound was turned to 4D, we never got a very clear picture of Witt's face.  His face is turned toward my back and he kept his fist in his mouth the first half of the session, then after some coaxing from his Mama by rolling on my side, he did move his hand from his mouth but only to open it up and place it directly in front of his face.  He is already stubborn just like his daddy :)  Allen is SURE that Witt looks just like him. haha.  I came home and compared the pictures to a 3D/4D ultrasound picture of Jack at 28 weeks and I think they look just alike.  I guess we'll see in hopefully 8 or 9 weeks...maybe 10 weeks :)  He looked wonderful and we are so very thankful that he is healthy and growing!

Boys Will Be Boys

Jack and his Daddy found a new little friend in our yard yesterday afternoon.  I was surprised that Jack wasn't a bit scared of this little turtle.  He chased it around the yard (poor thing was trying its best to escape Jack) and then would try to pick it up.  We told him he could pet it, but not pick it up and I was surprised that he obeyed so well... instead he pushed the shell across the yard like it was a toy truck :)  The turtle was not hurt during this playtime and we let him run free once we finished "teaching" Jack about turtles.

Monkeys, Sprinklers, Vegetables, & Long Summer Days

I have lately become a terrible blogger.  Jack's little walk has turned into a full out run and this pregnant Mama spends her day chasing :)  Everyday during nap time I think, "Oh, I have some time to blog" and then I realize I have not picked up the camera 1 time that day (or the entire week).  It is hard to chase a toddler while carrying around a big camera so I think it is time for me to dust off my little point and shoot camera and hopefully will get some more pictures of this sweet (and very busy and very fast) little boy.  Here are a few pictures of what has been going on lately in the Cravens Household.

We woke up early (as in 5:15) Sunday morning and realized it was going to be a little cooler that day (as in 93 instead of 100) so we made a quick decision to head to Memphis to visit the zoo!  We text Aunt Mea Mea at 7:30 and told her we were on our way to her neck of the woods and would she please meet us for the morning...she thankfully agreed and I let her chase Jack all over while I slowly trailed behind :)  This was Jack's first time at the Zoo and I was surprised he liked it so much!  He growled, roared, and neighed at all the animals (he thinks all animals make these 3 sounds).  The monkeys were his favorite and they took a liking to him too!  Lots of kisses were passed between the glass wall...

Although Jack really enjoyed the animals, his favorite part of the Zoo was the playground and the splash fountain.  I guess nothing beats playing in a giant hippo and splashing in some water while fully clothed!

We took the stroller with us for this trip and I think Jack spent all of 15 minutes in it.  He would much rather walk (or run) and when those little legs got tired, his transportation of choice was his Daddy's shoulders.

Little guy was worn out after our morning and we thank Mea Mea for spending the day with us and can't wait to do it again!

On the home front, we are just trying to stay cool.  We have been swimming several times with Jack's buddy, Wyatt, in his neighborhood pool and with Nana in Grenada.  We have had lots of little road trips to visit all of Jack's grandparents and to see great grandparents and great aunts, and when we are home we cool off by stripping down to a diaper and crocs and playing in the sprinkler.

If you ride by our house at 5:30 in the afternoon, you are likely to see the the little boy above and his daddy watering the yard while running through the sprinkler.  It is Jack's highlight of the day!

All this going and playing wears a little boy out and lately he (and his daddy) fall asleep before we even make it to bed....that is very unusual in this house!

You might remember from last year that farmer Allen was an over-achiever when it came to our backyard garden.  For a first time farmer, we had more veggies than we knew what to do with!  Well, take that very successful garden and times it by 3 and you have an idea of what we are producing in the area of produce this year!  Allen went in with a friend of his this year to co-garden and they have done a great job and we have enough veggies to feed the entire town of Taylor.  The tomatoes aren't ready yet, but we have cucumbers, squash, zucchini, and any and all types of peppers coming out of our ears!  Let me know if you want any veggies!  Jack and I will deliver :)

And now a little about baby Witt.  He is definitely growing (as is his Mama)!  Everything is going great and I am now going to the doctor every other week meaning the end is in sight!  We think this baby boy is going to be a bit bigger than his brother... maybe this time around I'll have a little boy with some fat rolls :)  The nursery is slowly coming together...we have the new crib set up and the bedding in and I just got the box of Jack's newborn clothes out of the attic and it is stacked up to be washed.  The bassinet is being delivered tonight by CC and Big Daddy and while they are here I'm hoping they can assist (or take over) in the hanging of the window treatments :)  We still are in search of a white changing table/dresser, then there is lots of organizing to do, but we are getting there.  I have had such a great pregnancy so far and have felt great, but am now definitely feeling the exhaustion that comes with the 3rd trimester (and chasing a 1 year old and it being 100 degrees outside).  I know all kinds of new struggles will come with having a newborn and a toddler, but at this point I am ready to be able to play on the floor with Jack and hold him without my big belly being in the way!  I am also SO excited about having another little bitty to hold and snuggle with, since my toddler is too busy for cuddles these days :)

Obsessions of a 14 Month Old

Jack turned 14 months old earlier this week (where in the world has the time gone) so I thought I would let you know some of his most recent "obsessions".

• Tractors - He loves them, gets excited when he sees them, and "rides" every single lawn mower at Home Depot at least 5 times on every trip there (which is often).
• Trucks - He is definitely a boy and takes after his Uncle Cade and Uncle Kyle when it comes to his love of trucks.  Toy trucks or real trucks, he loves them all!  He even says "du" for truck :)
• 4-Wheelers - Are you seeing a pattern here?  Anything that goes, he loves it!  Allen and Jack ride the 4- wheeler around the neighborhood almost every afternoon and I think Jack looks forward to it all day!
• Books - Jack has always liked his books, but it is becoming an obsession (and I love it!).  He has a bookshelf full of books in his room and a basket full in the den.  He will pull 1 book at a time, bring it to you, then back into your lap and have you read it to him (most of the time just the first 2 pages, then he's ready for something different), then he goes for another.  He goes to sleep for his naps with a couple of books in his crib and he "reads" until he falls asleep.  He loves books with animals and tractors (imagine that) and he points to the things he wants you to label.
• Outside - Jack loves everything outside.  Right now he really gets into helping water the plants.  He has his own watering can and he fills it up with water at the faucet, then goes all over the front flower beds watering (and picking) all the flowers.  I think he has seen Allen and I pick weeds so much that he thinks if it is green, you are suppose to pull it up :)
• Talking - My quiet child is anything but quiet these days.  His language of choice is what we call "Alien Speak".  We have no idea what the boy is saying, but he says the same phrases over and over and over again.  He likes the sounds z, sh, s, j which makes his language sound a bit like German.  His English and Sign Language are improving also (thank goodness).  He will say Mama when I ask him who I am (my favorite of course), and he labels trucks (du), banana, dog, and he likes to "neigh" for all animals (I guess the horse is his favorite).  He signs "eat, more, drink, all done,  please". He follows directions really well and will point when asked to his nose, ears, head, toes, and belly button.  He also will point to all his family members (mama, daddy, cuba, aunts, uncles, and grandparents) when you ask 'Where is _________?".  This game is a hit when we are around family :)
• Phones and Remotes - He walks around the house having conversations with someone on his toy phone all day long!  He loves to get his remote and get settled in his chair then point it to the tv and "change" the channel.  Most of the time this is his way of telling his daddy to turn it off Fox News and on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse :)

This age is SO MUCH FUN...I know I say that every month :)  Jack is such a little sponge and I can't get over the things he learns everyday!

I apologize for the lack of pictures on this post.  I haven't had the camera out of the bag since we got home from the beach....I'll work on that this weekend :)

Destin 2011

Jack and I just got home from a week long stay in Destin, FL with Nana, Pops, Aunt Mea Mea, and Cade.  We were so sad that Allen couldn't be there with us, but he is going to take a little vacation with us to Smith Lake later this summer.

I was not surprised at all that my child loved the sand, but I was very surprised that he loved the water...maybe he did learn something at swim lessons a few months ago after all :)  Jack loved absolutely everything about the beach...the sand, the water, the boats, the airplanes, the people watching, and waving to everyone who walked by.

 We headed to Baytowne Warf in Sandestin our last night in town for a little food and fun.  Jack entertained EVERYONE with his dance moves while we listened to the band.

After a little dancing we headed over to the carousel which was a huge hit!

Jack became pretty attached to his Pops during this trip.  If Pops was around, he ignored everyone else!

I told my mom on the last morning there that I don't remember a time when I was ever so sandy and had such an even tan (from not getting to sit down, but rather being up chasing a busy 14 month old).  I realize that my beach days have completely changed from the laying out and reading to the up and chasing and playing, and it will stay that way for quite a few years.....and I wouldn't change it for the world!

No Kisses & All Done