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Creeping, not Crawling

I believe he's making his favorite car noise here. When he puts his mouth on your arm and does this, we call it a raspberry or a zerbert. He finds it very entertaining. :-)

More bbbfffsssttt noises...

Brett's been scooting around all over the place. One morning a couple of weeks ago, I sat him in the middle of the living room floor while I brushed my teeth. When I walked back into the living room, I couldn't see him! That was the first time he'd made much 'forward progress.' He was just up next to the couch, but I flipped out for a second. He can now go from one room to the other in no time flat. He's not technically crawling yet. (You know, on his knees and moving one hand with one knee and all.) I saw an illustration in What to Expect the First Year that shows what he's doing and they called it 'creeping.' He pushes off with his toes and pulls with both hands at the same time. He sort of flops on his belly with each move. He's very good at it! He likes to explore new and exciting territory...like the walkway between the couch and the bookcases and the hall next to his room. He hunts down loose carpet fuzz, cat tails, and unattended shoes. He especially likes Daddy's remotes, his phone, and the cable box. Forget boring things like the conglomeration of toys Mommy spread out on the rug for him to play with. He's got more interesting things to do and see.

Alligator Alley

This lovely stretch of pavement is referred to as Alligator Alley. Brett and I enjoyed driving it today--twice. I scheduled a photo shoot for Brett with an awesome photographer who was filling in her empty time slots for free 'modeling sessions.' We get the rights to one image for free. You know me and a deal. I couldn't find a catch here, other than her trying to sell you more photos, so I bit. The only unfortunate thing was that it was in Fort Lauderdale. Okay, I said to the lady on the phone. How far could it be if it's in south Florida? I wasn't really even intimidated when I looked on map quest to see that it is two hours and nine minutes away--on the opposite coast. I just didn't realize that more than half of the time would be spent driving through the Everglades.

I don't recall ever seeing one of those "Last Gas for 50 miles" signs until today. There were a couple of rest stops. Lucky for me, the one I chose was totally out of water. (i.e. no restrooms) Many of you know what an ordeal it is to get a baby out of the car, put him in a stroller and 'run' to the restroom. I am just learning these fun facts, and was thrilled to have done it all for nothing.

If someone had told me about how long and empty the road was, I would have decided not to make the trip alone with a 7 month old baby. But Brett was a dream! He didn't have a meltdown cry the whole day! He slept most of the drive, and I chunked toys back to him the rest of the time--which he promptly chunked to the floorboard.

I hardly noticed the natural wonder I was driving through on the way to our appointment. On the Naples side, there are many more trees, and you can't see such a great expanse of . . . whatever it is that makes up the Everglades. (I need to polish up on my south Florida nature knowledge.) But on the return trip, I saw these great views! You can see the diaper bag reflecting in the window in one shot. Brett was asleep, so I didn't dare roll down the window and risk waking him up for a better shot. My favorite thing is the sky. I've only lived here for two and a half months, and I've already gotten used to seeing clouds for miles and miles. It's so beautiful!!! I love God's creation!

Bless his little heart. He's just changed sizes, so we had to play dress up yesterday to see what would fit for the photos!

Somebody just woke up from a nap.

As soon as he was fully awake, he was off. The above pictures were the only ones I could catch him sitting in. He creeps (or scoots) ALL over the place now!

This picture was taken tonight just after bath time. Such a sleepy boy!

Little Giraffe

We had a great trip to Alabama and to Kentucky to visit Ruth. I have many pictures and stories. Maybe I will publish them someday. But for now...Halloween.

Ayi Ruthie suggested we check out Wal-mart's infant Halloween costumes some time ago. They hadn't even put them out yet down here, but the nice lady who worked in the children's department went to the back and brought out Brett's size in several costumes. I couldn't decide between the giraffe and the frog, so she suggested we get both, ask Daddy's opinion, and return one. We did. They are both so cute, but quite hot. Brett has really enjoyed playing in them--inside. Would you believe it was 102 degrees yesterday?!? My car only registered 99 after Bible study today. They've been saying the heat would let up. And so it has.

Now since I bought these costumes sometime in AUGUST, I did not have the foresight to know Brett would grow out of the 9 month size so quickly. He'd be hard pressed to fit in either of these costumes two weeks from now. So I actually plan on dressing him as something else--to be announced later. Whatever he dresses up as MUST be cool. But he is absolutely adorable in his hot furry costumes!

We plan on going to our church's Fall Festival on the 31st, but it's in from 3-6, so it will still be pretty hot. I also can't wait to visit our local 'pumpkin patch.' I guess not too many people have pumpkin farms in Southwest Florida, so they shipped some in and created a cute little patch at Lakes Park in town. I saw pictures from they day they opened and there were pumpkins strewn all over the lawn. It was so pretty! We should have gone. Last night they showed it on the news. It's so hot that they've moved all of the pumpkins into piles under tarps to keep them from cooking! I still plan to take Brett. We'll just buy a pumpkin from the nice cool grocery store.

Peek a boo!

Now giraffes like leaves, right?

That is NOT what I expected leaves to taste like!

Maybe they'll taste different this time.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Flying High

Yesterday we flew to Alabama for the first time. Daddy will be leaving on a mission trip with our church in Pleasant Grove tomorrow. He will be going to Nicaragua through Baptist Medical and Dental Mission International. We'd appreciate your prayers for him and the rest of the team as they travel and work there, and for the people of Nicaragua that they will be working with.

We were a little nervous about flying with Brett, but he was great! We made it through security quickly and easily--the large stroller even fit through the x-ray machine! Our first flight was a short hop from Ft. Myers to Orlando. He was so interested in looking out the window, the only time he cried was when I tried to lay him down to feed him. The doctor told us to feed him during take off and landing, so he took a bottle while staring out the window. He was so tired that he went to sleep after just a few minutes in the air. I imagine that the noise from the plane helped him sleep.

We had a lay over in Orlando, and they allowed us to take his car seat on the plane on the second flight. He wasn't interested in sitting in it though. There was a little boy across the aisle that he enjoyed playing with. The other little boy would make noises, and Brett would try to copy the sounds. He just cooed and babbled for about half of the flight. He did go back to sleep towards the end of that flight. And when we landed in Birmingham, Marme, Grandmommie, and Granddaddy were waiting on us. Papa was away with the Alabama Singing Men, but he'll see Brett Saturday. We're also planning to drive up to see Ayi Ruthie Saturday after we see Glenn off on his mission trip. I am so glad that Brett enjoys flying!!!

Future Frequent Flyer

Brett's loved to look out the window...

until he fell asleep.

He stayed awake for most of the second flight.

He enjoyed playing with a two year old little boy across the aisle

and the tray table.

Marme was so happy to see him!

Getting ready for a visit to Grandmommie's house

Grandaddy is a funny guy.

Sitting Tall

Brett has been working on sitting up by himself. He was doing great with support from the bumbo and boppy. Yesterday afternoon, I walked in the living room and Glenn was sitting on one side of Opal's quilt, and Brett was SITTING on the other side--all by himself! He loves the view up there. Several times today we sat him up when he was upset, and he calmed down and played. He's had his share of 'tumping' over, but he just falls on his belly and scoots around. It doesn't phase him. I guess he's going through his six month growth spurt. He has done so much this weekend alone! I can't wait for the grands to see him later this week! We are flying to Alabama Thursday so that Glenn can go on a mission trip to Nicaragua with our church in Pleasant Grove. I hope Brett likes flying! I'll let you know. :)

Getting ready to CRAWL!!!

Check out this push up!

I can't believe that Brett is six months old. He has grown so much! He used to 'strongly dislike' tummy time, but now he flips to his belly every time I put him down. He's even rolling over and sleeping on his tummy. He recently started pushing up on his toes in a push up position. He'll occasionally get up on his knees, but not as much. Then today, he just hopped up on his knees and started rocking!!! I suppose that means that crawling is just around the corner. Can you believe it?

Forget the baby blanket. We now use a sheet. Brett likes to spin on his belly and scoot backwards.

Alley decided she'd be sociable. She walked right up to the sheet and laid down next to Brett.