Lots of Firsts

Thank you, Aunt Lindsey, for our last minute outfits!!

We have had lots of firsts lately! Labor Day, Auburn game, a new year of Mother's Day Out, new words. We are busy, and very entertaining!

First of all, Turner has been stringing words together SO much lately. Tonight I said, "Say thank you, Daddy" and he said it! I've caught him over the last 2 weeks really catching on to talking. "I want nana" means I want a banana. I figured this out when he walked over to the counter and pointed at it. This is extra special because it is fruit, and he is a carb-etarian usually. And today he ate all the apples out of my fruit cup from Chick-fil-A and all of my fruit cup at Taziki's. Still no meat, though. But progress.

However, before I brag too much about my talker, let me say he doesn't quite have it all down yet. Example - I pointed to a pretty yellow butterfly and pointed it out to Turner as it almost landed on him. What did he say? "Dawg!" No. And, whenever I pick him up at MDO, he says "Daddy!!" No. He's getting there, though.

Speaking of Mother's Day Out, it went great! When I was walking Turner to his room, though, he promptly walked to his old classroom, opened the door and walked in. He had a little sadness in his eyes when I told him he was across the hall. But, he was with these ladies and has had a blast!!

I knew he would. And John Burke is just chillin in his regular nursery classroom!

Here are their pictures on the chair, compared to Turner's from last year (he was 9 months).

Ignore Turner's beauty mark - he had an altercation with some rocks on the playground.

Wow, so these pictures kinda make them look alike to me.

Sidenote - this was really early the first day last year because I had to stop by the doctor's office and do a blood test to confirm I was really pregnant with John Burke (I really was in denial.) Not the case this year!!

Then last weekend, we went to our first Auburn game as a family of four. Heath had high hopes, since Turner did great at 6 games last year. He did okay, but he is all over the place now. He had to hold this water bottle and its cap just so.

And brother did NOT enjoy the noise. We made it a quarter and a half and then Kate and I left with these turkeys and this little bit

and headed back to the house. We are very very lucky that the Hendersons have a place in Auburn for us to crash in such situations!! I must say, it was a great trip to Auburn - but Kate and I did keep looking at each other and saying things like "Remember when we didn't bring a double stroller on to campus for the games?" (We pushed Ellie and Turner in it together across campus) and "Aww, remember tailgating all day?" Ahh. We had a heart to heart with some sorority freshmen walking out with us. I think it involved me pointing to my 4 month old in the Baby Bjorn and the double stroller and saying something like "Live it up, this will be you before you know it." I am sure they thought we were cool. We promised them we had JUST been at Auburn. They were very sweet, but probably thought we were living through them. Hmmm :).

Then, John Burke celebrated his first Labor Day. We spent it with friends and family at my parents' house. A lot of swimming and grilling and playing in the yard. So nice. I am having a hard time with summer being over, but the cooler weather is sure helping!

Lindsey calls that hat Dad's Ranger Joe hat

Some pictures stolen from Evan's blog :)

Meanwhile, John Burke is "talking" and laughing all the time. I forget how sweet those little sounds are! He had his first bit of rice cereal. It was so uneventful, though! He just ate it like he had been doing it his whole life (4 and a half months)!

Turner dribbled it everywhere and took forever to master it. John Burke, no big deal! I haven't been doing it regularly yet, though. I don't know why - just not wanting to rush things! I mean, he is already in the exersaucer!!

Seems like such a big boy. I say all the time that I am glad he came second - if he had been my first, I would have really worried about Turner. That turkey didn't even sit up on his own until 7 months!! John Burke can't sit up alone yet, but his neck control was better in the delivery room than Turner's at 7 months!!

Then last week, John Burke went to the park for the first time (after cuddling with Gina at Big Blue). He liked swinging.

It was more out of necessity, so Turner wouldn't do things like walk in front of swings, which he still managed to do. He walked right in front of Kate, she clocked him and he went airborne. Really. He flew to the ground. Lindsey and I were laughing, and he looked up, rubbed his head and said, "Ow." Then he walked away. No tears. Spastic - I don't know where he got that?!

And, he got his first pair of New Balances. He looks like he is going to get his permit to me. So old!! He is obsessed with them. The first night I tried them on him, he would barely let me take them off to put socks on with them. He begs for his "shoooos."

I will leave you with some pictures from Chloe's baptism Sunday. So sweet - she is tiny. Too bad her Daddy couldn't find time to get his haircut :(. Just kidding, everything was very nice - thank you Derek and Stacy.

The oldest and youngest Starr family members

4 Months

This little acrobat is 4 months old. I think I'll keep him! He slept from 8 to 7:30 a.m. the other night, and for that I love him more. But he was back up at 5 this morning, then slept till 8:15. I guess that's okay for now!

John Burke hanging out with Dink, my grandad

At his appointment the other day, he was 26 inches long (90th percentile), 12 lbs., 13 oz. (30th percentile) and his head was 16 (I think) - 50th percentile. So different than Turner at this point!! Weight in the 30th? Ha, Turner scoffs at that. He could eat him.

John Burke is rolling around all over the place. He loves his play mat (that I had forgotten about this baby until I saw Chloe on it at her house). Today I heard him crying in the other room, and when I went in there, he had rolled about 3 feet off of the mat. He scared himself, but when he saw me he smiled a big smile like he was proud of himself. He is laughing more and more and I think it is so funny. I go back and forth from loving that he is still small and cuddly to getting excited when he does things like laugh and "talk." When I check on him at Mother's Day Out, his sweet teacher Delois always says he is telling her stories. No, he is using her because he wants to snuggle on her big chest. He's no fool!

Yesterday we stayed at home all day. I remembered why we are always on the go! I thought I was going to die! Turner woke up early, and he really is like a tornado through the house!! Any picking up I thought I would do was not only cancelled, but multiplied!! He spilled water on the ground 3 times, locked John Burke's room and walked out, got in the bath with his clothes on - all before 11! Luckily I didn't panic with the door locking. John Burke wasn't in there, but Turner's precious "guck" aka duck lovey was in there, so that could have been a crisis. I tried to pick the lock with a wooden skewer (because that is how Heath's mom got it the LAST TIME he did it! And he did it at the beach when we went in July!!!). But, I broke the skewer in the door. Great. So, then I found a hanger and tried to get it. I practiced on the bathroom door, and forgot I left it open. That is when I found Turner like this.

He got a spanking on his diaper that left a red mark. I found it when I took his diaper off to spank him again on the bare bottom!! Stinker!!

Well, it was better than the toilet - where he likes to hang out as well! Finally, both babies were screaming, and my lunch had been sitting on the counter for an hour. I just prayed - please Lord! I promise you it opened right then. It may seem trivial, but God always reminds me in the small things I can't control and beg for help, I should not doubt him in the big!! That door came open, we rescued duck, and put the weasel down for a leisurely afternoon nap. Praise God for nap time (which is how I am writing this now).

I wanted to write down a few things Turner is doing now before I forget. His biggest thing lately to say is "Daddy." Da-Dee! I think spending time at the beach with Heath for almost a week renewed his obsession with Heath. All day long 'Da-dee.' 'Where Daddy?' 'Daddy shoes.' 'Daddy car.' I caught myself arguing with him the other day. I said, "That is not Daddy's car. His is not white" (he did have the model right, though - kinda impressed me). "And by the way, Daddy is at work - it couldn't be him!" Then I realized, why am I arguing with him??? "Car, car." Sometimes it is "dar" ?? Oh, well.

Eating his biscuit on the way to school

Also, he says "paci" but he says it with inflection like he is french. Pa-ceee. And he likes to randomly say "Pop Pop." (My dad). I gave him a Dove caramel-chocolate piece of candy the other night (he loves them - imagine that) and he said "Thank you, Pop Pop." Hmm. He equates my dad with candy. That is about right - that could be how he knows right where the chocolate drawer is in their pantry!

Gigi with John Burke - and notice someone else in the background in the chocolate part of the pantry

He also says book, cheese, diaper, love you, shoes (and brings them to me when he is ready to leave), Mommy (more like Mom, Mommy, Momma, Mommy... like that baby on the show Family Guy),"cuck" for cup. He has found a cup he will drink out of. FINALLY!!! I really did think I would be driving by Chick-fil-A everyday before Mother's Day Out and getting him a small water. But alas, he found a cup he will drink out of! And, the doctor assured me that he is getting enough dairy from his love of cheese and yogurt that he is okay not drinking milk. Because it ain't happening!

He loves to go in the pantry, pull out some food and bring it to me. Sometimes he gets it, sometimes he doesn't!

He refuses to say baby, but I swear the other night he let "Bom-urk" slip - I am claiming it was "John Burke" but he won't do it again. Of course. He's been saying please and thank you (pees and dantu), and hey and bye (but he screams "BYE!"). No volume control.

I can't remember what else he is saying right now, but I really am liking seeing him turn more and more into a little human. And he really does crack me up - I forget what all he watches me do all the time and mimics. Like driving (the steering wheel on the Publix shopping cart is hilarious to watch), putting on makeup (he likes to steal the brushes and I find them all over the house - like in the dishwasher?!), using the remote (please, he's known how to work this since almost infant days!), typing on the computer, etc. I forget how when you are little it is so fun to do adult things, that we as adults don't even think about.

Okay, sorry to bore you - just had to get these down before I forgot. How quickly I do!!