Say It Ain't So. . .

Over the last month or so, Jay and I have pondered, sometimes quite loudly, our differing viewpoints as to Jamie's pacifier addiction. My position had been that Jamie should be allowed to have his pacifier as long as he wanted it. Period. Since almost everyone gets braces anyway, the argument that pacifier use can affect tooth development doesn't really bother me. Besides, I figure that if he's still sucking a pacifier at age five and he's not embarrassed to take it to school with him, then more power to him. Even if it were to become a lifelong habit, it beats smoking.

Jay's opinion has been more firmly planted in the land of the cut-off date. His plan was to switch from "baby passies" to "big boy passies" at three months, and then taper off completely between 4-6 months. The big boy passies approach met with resistance when Jamie's Grandmama Watson refused to offer them to Jamie, opting instead to continue the use of baby passies. (She may be insubordinate, but we can't complain about her babysitting rates.) Still, Jay had decided that passy phase-out time was near.

Leave it to Jamie to decide something else entirely. He has, over the last three days, simply abandoned the pacifier (including Duckie). He now sucks his thumb!

In other news, he is sleeping completely through the night (10pm-6:45am), and he loves to eat his rice every day. This kid is an eater.

As far as Jamie's parents are concerned, we're both still unemployed and homeless as of 7/31. TIP recently asked us to fill out a contact info sheet. We had to put "unknown" as our academic year address and permanent address. The sheet also asked for the address of someone who will always know how to reach us. Considering that Jim and Linda have sold their house and my mom is putting hers on the market, we had to put "unknown" for that as well. We're really pitiful.

It's a Whole (Wheat) New World

Jamie ate some cereal from a spoon for the first time today. As you can tell from the pictures, he took to it quite well. He pretty much insisted upon feeding himself.

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Jay

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Jay

FINALLY, A DUCKIE FOR THE REST OF US. Jay took some great shots of Jamie last night after his bath. (Jamie's bath, that is. Still can't convince Jay to shower on a regular basis.) The hair you see in the pictures is mine: Jamie likes nothing as much as he likes pulling my hair.
Jay

Aunt P: Babysitter and Photojournalist

Jamie's Aunt P spent most of last week babysitting Jamie. She also managed to snap a few great pictures, documenting Jamie's rapid development into the world of grabbing and mouthing things. Jamie loves to pull at his socks, to hug and mouth his soft toys, and to suck on anything that he can get near his mouth--even if he doesn't like the taste.

In other news, Jamie continues to be a perfect child. He has recently been going 8-10 hours between feedings at night. Then, he wakes up and talks to himself for about fifteen minutes before he's ready to eat. Jamie is also trying very hard to sit up. He also only poops when his momma and daddy are not around, so they don't have to change the diapers.

Taste of Life

Jamie has discovered a wonderful ability to put things in his mouth. Little Bear, his blankets, his hand, our elbows--if he can grab it, it's going in his mouth. Lately, he's grabbing his feet. I'm sure we'll see those in his mouth shortly.

BBQ Kings

Jay and Jamie show off Jamie's Father's Day gift to Jay: matching chef's hats. (They also have aprons.)

Grandmoma leaves for Nashville today. She and Jamie will miss each other very much. The three of us really appreciate her visit.
Jay