A Letter to Jayce: Eight Months

Oh sweet boy,

You are getting so busy lately that I'm having trouble keeping up with your letters!

Your eighth month in life has been a big one. We have been seeing so many changes in you. One of the big ones is about your eating habits. We took a road trip to Oklahoma for Thanksgiving. On the car ride, you decided that bottles were ok. 

I was so happy that this happened. Until now, you were hit or miss on drinking from bottles. Now, other people were going to be able to feed you something other than bananas. You also started liking foods that were not just fruit flavored. You were making me feel like leaving you with a babysitter would be easier. 

The first time I left you with a babysitter was the day after you turned seven months. A very good family friend, Jane, watched you while Mommy & Daddy went to the movies with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle B, and Auntie M. You did great! She was able to feed you and put you to bed. So, when we went to Oklahoma, Mommy & Daddy went with friends to Stillwater to see and Oklahoma State football game. You stayed with Nana, Poppy, and Aunt N. We were so proud of you for eating and sleeping well for them. We got this picture soon after we left. 

We were able to visit Grandma M when she wasn't feeling good. You made her feel so much better every time we saw her that week. 

You are the sunshine in the family. Always happy, always smiling, always making sour and sad faces brighten up.

You celebrated your first Thanksgiving in Oklahoma with Daddy's family. We discovered that you like mashed potatoes!

You got to meet Daddy's best friends M & A, their wives M & L, and PJ - a sweet girl on the short list for your wife. 😂

When we got home from Oklahoma, something big happened. Mommy & Daddy bought our first house!! We cannot wait to see you grow up there, become a big brother there, and maybe even start going to school. You and Shorty were so excited when we were moving. 

After we moved in, you made your biggest leap yet - you started crawling!!

You crawl everywhere and pull up on anything that you can. You're fully mobile now! Mommy has to keep an eye on you at all times to make sure you don't find Shorty's food or hurt yourself. Look at these out takes from your monthly picture session. When you were done taking pictures, you let us know. 

We used the Santa hat because your eighth month was exactly one week before Christmas. You also got to meet Santa this month! Most parents have pictures that are of their babies crying when they meet Santa. They are funny once the baby is older and likes Santa. Here's your picture:

You did awesome!! I love seeing your sweet personality getting caught on camera.

A few other highlights from this month  are celebrating Daddy's 29th birthday 

Playing in our new park,

and taking a bath in your new bathtub! You're too big for the sink now!

I know it's almost your 9th month now. So many fun and new things have been happening and I can't wait to tell you all about them. Love you bunches baby!

A Letter to Jayce: Seven Months

Baby boy,

This last month has been so crazy that I forgot to write this letter to you! I'll explain in your next letter. I'm going to write this letter as if it's really a day after you turned 7 months, not 4 days before you're 8 months. ;-)

I accidentally put too many tally marks under the diagonal one! I promise this is your seven month picture even though there are 8 tally marks total. You have changed so much this month it's crazy to me. Where did my baby go?! As you can tell by this picture, you have learned to wave! It's so cute because it's not fully developed yet but you sure are trying to wave Hi. 

This is your favorite food to eat: bananas.

 I can put them on your tray and you can feed them to yourself! That hand-eye coordination is awesome. 

We even tried other foods but bananas are your favorite. 

You even started to learn how to eat from a spoon and drink from a cup. 

When eating from a spoon, you really like anything that has fruit/sweet flavors. 

One of your favorite things to do in the mornings is drink "coffee" with Grandma. 

We saw friends from Mommy & Daddy's birthing class. All of you babies were in all the mommies' tummies at the same time. 

We also made our first long walk to the Spring Valley park. You LOVED being on the swing. 

You really still love being outside too. 

You celebrated your first Halloween by being a cowboy. 

Uncle B and Auntie M wanted to to be able to have a gun like everyone else in the family. =) And Grandma got you your first pair of boots. They are still too big. We just put them on so you could have help standing up!

Mommy and Daddy also started looking for a house to buy on Halloween too. We had been given a great opportunity to be able to buy our first house. We actually picked the house and went into a contract on it on November 10th.

Your biggest accomplishment from this month (besides getting 2 teeth!) was starting to army crawl. I can show you the videos if you want. But here's a picture of you in action. 

But the most important things from this month are the promises Mommy & Daddy made to God and the church about how we want to raise you. 

On October 19th, we had Dr. Young present you with your very first Bible. 

Then, on November 8th, we promised the whole church that we would raise you according to what God says and make sure we kept you in church. 

Hopefully, as you read this, we have kept those promises and you understand why we made them. We love you so much and want you to know God's unfailing love and bountiful grace. 

I can't wait to show you what happened  in your 8th month of life!!

A Letter to Jayce: Six Months!

Sweet baby boy,

(This picture was taken on your half birthday. We were going to the doctor 2 days later so I didn't have your measurements yet.)

You are growing up right before our eyes. This month has been full of changes and growth. As soon as you turned 5 months, you forgot how to sleep through the night. Mommy had a couple rough weeks with you so Daddy could get enough sleep for work. I just had to tell myself that this "regression" meant something big was coming. Here's what those 2 weeks produced:

1) Sitting unsupported for a minute or so (September 22),

2) Sitting up in the grocery cart with support from the side and back of the seat (September 23),

3) Rolling from your back to your tummy (on September 25, finally!) and then a week later,

 

4) Sitting up on your own consistently! 

This picture also shows your new favorite time of the day: waiting in the yard for Daddy to come home. I'm not gonna lie, it's my favorite too. I love seeing the look on your face every time a car drives by or you feel a breeze. Even better, when that white truck pulls in our driveway next to you and you recognize the guy getting out. Both of you are so cute! 

Another thing you love to do is talk, or babble, or make sounds. Whatever it is called, you love it. It does hurt my feelings that "da" is the sound you repeat the most. Of course, Daddy loves it. You can entertain yourself a little bit this way (and by sitting up). I can actually put your laundry away while you do this:

The latest sounds you are making is the "motor boat" sound with your lips and grunting with frustration. 

A few memorable events happened this month too. 

1) You met your Rodgers great grandparents for the first time. They drove all the way down to Houston with Nana & Poppy to meet you. 

2) You got your very first Bible from Dr. Young. 

3) You started trying food. 

-Avocado

-Banana

-Apple

I don't know what to do!! This month has brought so much new! But one this is the same...

You love to watch sports like Mommy & Daddy. And we couldn't be happier. 

-Oklahoma State

-Houston Texans 

-Second Baptist Eagles

-Houston Astros in the playoffs!!

Oh that picture reminds me...you finally got your first pair of boots from Grandma! She has bought them for all of your California second cousins and now you have some. I think you like them. 

We've had a couple of moments this month of you standing too. Of course, you had something to lean on but it wasn't me or Daddy. You were totally propped up and staged though. 

For your half birthday, Daddy let me take you to a pumpkin patch to take your picture. Even if it was in front of Trader Joe's, I'm super happy we did it. 

You can fit into the shoes we used to announce we were pregnant!!! So cute!!

The last few days have shown us that you are growing still. You are leaning forward while sitting, falling forward onto your tummy, pushing backwards, and sometimes even getting your knees under you and rocking back and forth. 

You will be mobile before I know it. So, I'm trying to soak in every moment of you being dependent on me. I love watching you grow and change and learn. But, I will miss you need me to eat, move, and determine what you are needing. 

"As long as you're living, my baby you'll always be."