Last week Bryson turned six months old. It's so hard to believe. He's getting around pretty good.
Just today he crawled off his blanket in the living room around the corner into the dining room chasing one of his favorite balls. I guess it's about time to childproof and actually clean the floors regularly.
We also started letting him play with a little food. We're trying baby-led weaning where they feed themselves from the beginning. The motto is "Food before one is just for fun." I think it's going pretty well. Although I did feed him a pouch of purple fruits I got for free as a sample.
We started with sweet potatoes, asparagus, avocado and banana. I think he loves the feel of the sweet potatoes between his fingers. He squishes them around and then sucks a little off his fingers.
Scott's mom also started watching Bryson on Wednesdays and Thursdays so I can work during the day. Last week his cousins Faith and Carter came over to play too.
Yesterday I ended up getting some cute shots of him. I had him dressed in one of his tie onesies that my friends made at my baby shower. I sat him in the laundry tub while I was starting a load. It was really cute, so I decided to get a few shots.
Work is getting busier, and a mid-week night out is rare for us. But when I got an email saying one of my favorite bands, JJ Grey & Mofro, would be in town I bought tickets right away. They performed Wednesday night at the "World Famous" Buckingham Blues Bar.
It was their first show this far south "on the left coast" as they said. It's an unlikely but awesome venue with a great outdoor area out back complete with a beer-drinking mule. Yeah, it's a redneck kinda place. We enjoyed sitting on the deck and taking in the show. They sounded GREAT. They are from Jacksonville and sing a lot about old Florida. Kinda southern rock-blues-funk.
We did make it down front for the last song. I needed to dance a little. And the baby loved it, too. He was kicking almost the whole time. I feel him moving and kicking a lot now, mostly in the afternoon and evening.
There were no "pro cameras" allowed, so this is the best I cold do with the iPhone.
Here's a little YouTube video of their music in case you don't know........This song is called "Georgia Warhorse," like those crazy big grasshoppers, and it is apparently inspired by JJ Grey's grandma, who was one tough lady.....
and another song for good measure......"The Sweetest Thing."
Last Saturday we went to our eight-year-old niece Faith's first swim meet. She did great. She is always full of energy and constantly in the pool when we have family gatherings, so swimming is a natural choice for her. Unfortunately we could only stay for two of her four races. She did the 25-yard swim in all four strokes. Here's a few photos.
Finally, on Thursday, Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan came to town. It was a long hot day of waiting outside, but the photos turned out nice. And I think the bosses were pleased with the coverage. I sent a couple of photo galleries and several iPhone videos with supporters, Lee Greenwood singing "Proud to be an American," and comedian Dennis Miller speaking warming up the crowd before Ryan took the stage. Here's a link to the main photo gallery.
And finally the obligatory weekly belly shots: 21 weeks!
As you can see, it was a busy week. Included in that was a 5-hour eye doctor's appointment (grrrrr) on Monday and four other long days of work. I'm now not only doing my job, but also part of another guy's job who just left. Not that I'm complaining..........it's just a lot.
I haven't been able to be home for dinner all week. So I'm looking forward to cooking dinner and catching up on TV tomorrow night. Tonight we're going out to check out the zombies and Zombicon in downtown Fort Myers after I get off work. And tomorrow my good friend Lindi is helping me register for BABY STUFF!
Yesterday Scott's sister Emily and Eric Risner got married. We had so much fun at the beautiful wedding. It was a good chance for me to meet a lot of my future family. It was great to spend time with everyone.
They got married at the Burroughs Home, a historic house in downtown Fort Myers on the river. Here's a video of Emily's father-daughter dance with Jim.
And here's the photos I took. I didn't shoot much, because I didn't want to get in the wedding photographers' way.
Emily and Eric make such a great couple, and we can't wait to visit them in Puerto Rico after their big move.
Yesterday, the Whittamores celebrated the birthdays of Faith and Carter, my future niece and nephew. Faith is turning 7 and Carter turned 5 on Thanksgiving. I can't believe how big they are getting. Scott had a basketball game to coach in Naples, so I went to the party with gifts for the kids. I got Carter a remote control car and I got Faith a couple of Zhu Zhu pets. The kids had a great time. They're great kids and sooooo cute.
Also, the garden is growing like crazy. Here are some photos....
