Jonah is 11 months old!

Well this post is pretty late seeing as Jonah turned 11 months on June 21st! He is getting so big and picking up new skills every day! It is so fun to see what he has learned. I will try to remember it all!

Sleep:

Sleeping all night and no longer takes a bottle before bedtime. We take him in his room around 7:30 and read his 4 favorite books. He has a really neat picture book called "100 First Words". He loves to point to the pictures and touch them. He always touches the same ones which is so funny. Then we read "Biscuit" and "The ABCs of Cookies" which is a cheapo Sesame Street book. Then we always save the "Peter Rabbit's Sleepy Time" book for last. He loves to pull up the flaps on the pages where there is a little critter sleeping and you cover them up. He really gets into it. He already knows that after that book it is time to turn out the light and go to sleep. Some nights I rock him to sleep and other's I just put him in his crib and he wallers around until he falls to sleep. He usually wakes up between 6:00 and 6:30 in the morning.

Eating:

He is doing great with food and we are completely off the bottle. That is hard for me to believe myself. He holds his sippy cup great now and wants it a lot in between meals. He is eating a little bit larger pieces of snacks and stuff but we haven't completely graduated to table foods just yet. He still gets baby food at lunch and cereal at breakfast and supper. However, we have started letting him try whatever we are eating even though he has already ate.

Personality:

Jonah's personality is getting so BIG these days. He is really into giving everybody "love". We say "give them love" and he will tilt his head towards you until you touch foreheads and then he gives a little grin. He has just this week started to pick up how to give a kiss. We have been working on it with his little elephant doll. He is pretty bashful and won't go to anyone whenever we go to places where there are a lot of strangers to him. It takes him a good 15 minutes to warm up to people he does not know but he eventually does and then he will go to them. I feel like he has a pretty large array of people that he is immediately comfortable with though. He will go directly to Nana, Papaw, Bobo, Granny, his Sunday school teacher Mrs. Jenny and his Uncle Jeff! I feel like that is a lot of people for his age!! He is also big into pointing his finger right at something that he wants. Of course he doesn't always get his way and he will fuss a little when that happens but we just don't acknowledge it so he hopefully won't continue to do it.

Play:

Jonah is so good at playing by himself for extended periods of time. He loves to get a basket of stuff (doesn't even have to be toys) and take everything out and then put it all back in one by one. He loves his walker still and swinging outside. He loves all books and loves to turn the pages and touch the pages. He has figured out how to go from sitting to his belly and then he will push himself back up to sitting. He is so strong! But he hasn't quite figured out how to get his knees up under him and push up with his arms. I think he will figure that out soon too though.

Here are some pics from this month.

Father's Day

This post is very late but I wanted to post about Michael's first Father's Day on June 18th. We woke up and gave him his gifts. He got a John Deere hat that he had been wanting that has a completely mesh top and back for mowing. Jonah got his first authentic John Deere hat as well! So now they match! He also got the new Brad Paisley CD. We always buy Brad's CDs because we both enjoy his music and we've actually seen him in concert twice together.

We went to Church that morning and then over to Nana and Papaw's house for lunch. We are doing Mother's Day and Father's Day with them this year and next year we will go to Bill and Dee's house, or Grandma and Poppa's house and switch up each year to keep it fair. We spent the rest of the day relaxing at the house!



Pic is fuzzy because the lens gotted fogged up when we went outside



My Brother Kyle!

UPDATE ON KYLE!!

My brother has found love....and she happens to be one of my best friends! Shortly after he got back home from Japan he found out one of my sweet friends was currently single and they hit it off right away. She is just a little older than him but they make the cutest couple. I am very happy for him. Just wanted to let anyone that might link over to this page know that he is currently off the market. :) I hope you all find someone to love very soon too!

--April


This is my first time to participate in Kelly's Korner blog's Show Us Your Life Friday (SUYL). This Friday it is for all the singles! I could not pass up on joining in this one and showing off my handsome brother Kyle!!

Disclaimer: Kyle gave me full permission to do this post. :)

This is Kyle!! He is my younger brother and is 26 years old and currently living in Sasebo, Japan while serving in the US Navy. We are so proud to have him serving our country!! While he was born and raised in rural middle Tennessee he has traveled all over the world...literally...with the Navy! Since joining when he was 21 he has been to Australia, Africa, Japan, Malaysia, the Phillipines, Thailand, and Egypt just to name a few!! He loves the travel and is one of the main reasons he decided to join the Navy.

Kyle is a Christian man and was raised in the Church of Christ since he was a baby. He is a baptized believer in our Lord and Savior and tries his best (as we all do) to walk in the light every day!!

Even though he has been all over this world he is still a tender-hearted country boy to this day! He loves the outdoors and hiking and walking trails. He enjoys deer hunting with his bow. He is very athletic and works out regularly whether he is at sea or inland.

Jonah and Uncle Kyle!

The most important thing about Kyle is that he will be getting out of the Navy towards the end of this year and coming back to good ol' Tennessee! While he is not sure what he will decide to get into once he gets back...one thing is certain....he will not be sitting around or wasting time and is by no means "lazy." He has mentioned going into paramedics training or becoming a fire fighter. He would be great at either! Kyle is a hard-worker as evidenced by the many awards he received for outstanding service through the Navy.

If anyone is interested in connecting with Kyle please just leave a comment here or email me (April) at aprilcheatham@hotmail.com or on facebook at www.facebook.com/aprilcheatham.

Seven Years

Seven years ago today I married my husband Michael! I cannot believe it has been that long since we stood before our closest friends and family in a country church and vowed to love and respect each other until the day we die. I think that is the reason I love this time of year so much. It reminds me of the love we felt for each other that day seven years ago that has remained to this day. Michael is my best friend and my biggest cheerleader. He is the rock of our family now and he is a hard-worker. I think back to who we were as a couple seven years ago and I think it is true how some people compare true love to an old bottle of wine. It just gets better over time and sweeter.

Now that is not to say that we haven't had our hard times. But the hard times have made us stronger and who we are as a couple today and has taught us so much about each other. I am happy to say that we have learned from our mistakes over the years.

Here is a little run-down of the highlights over the last seven years:

1. We got married on June 12, 2004 at our church. A pop-up thunderstorm boomed outside the church during the ceremony but was gone by the time of the reception and left us a beautiful rainbow. See picture below. We honeymooned in Destin, FL and returned to live in the single-wide trailer (rent-free) that my parents owned next door to them.

2. The first 2 years of our marriage I was working part-time and in school full-time at Austin Peay State University. Michael works full-time at Ft. Cambpell Army Base for a contractor. We were busy setting up house at the trailer.

3. Here are the hard-times. In our second year of marriage we were having some financial difficulties even though we lived rent-free. Part of it was that I did not bring in a lot of money and we both still had our seperate checking accounts and we were living paycheck-to-paycheck. We basically didn't talk about money. We found the Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey and decided to become debt-free! We knew we were in trouble when Michael was taking out a small loan to pay for Christmas presents (because we didn't have the money) and I didn't even know about it! Needless to say we got on the same page and started working on becoming debt-free.

4. In May of 2006 I graduated from APSU with a Bachelors degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting. I began working full-time at my current job and started bringing in more money.

5. We took a vacation to Asheville, NC to visit the Biltmore. I am sad to say that we didn't do very many vacations as a couple without kids. We were just too concentrated on becoming debt-free and saving money.

6. In October of 2007 I found out that my current job (and my division) at work was going to be dissolved and I was offered a position at the company that was taking over our block of business. The offer was one we could not pass up. I got to work from home doing the same type of work for more money and WAY better benefits!! So in January 2008 I began my new job working from home everyday!

7. We became debt-free in 2008!!

8. We went into debt for a house! We had been looking on and off for a while and found a house that we didn't want to pass up. We moved in October of 2008.

9. Another very hard time.....In March of 2009 I had a mis-carriage in my first pregnancy. It was at about 7 weeks. We both took it pretty hard but we knew that the Lord would provide when the time was right.

10. In October of 2009 we found out we were expecting again!!! We waited a while before we told very many people though.

11. July 21, 2010 we became parents to our sweet baby boy Jonah!!


Here are some pics of us through the years.

On our wedding day 7 years ago with that rainbow



Newlyweds and Harley riders at the time :)





Back when we went camping just the 2 of us!




The Fall before we got pregnant



Birthday Stress....errr FUN!

With t-minus 42 days until the big first birthday party, the planning and prepping has begun in full force! Truthfully I had already decided on the theme of Jonah's 1st birthday party back in early spring. The theme is vintage red trucks. I just love the whole vintage trend that is going on in decorating and kids parties these days and I thought what better than using the color red and a truck as the main image and inspiration for the party. With all the typical party themes these days (cartoon characters, baby blue and firetrucks) I thought why not be different. The only thing I didn't think about what how I would have to pretty much make or come up with the decorations because there aren't many vintage red truck items out there to be found. So with a lot of research and some handy etsy sellers willing to help me out I've found a lot of ideas and items to use for the party. I share some pics of what I've come up with so far later but I'll let you in on how I've got to this point.

1. The first thing I did was start looking on my lovely favorite website, Etsy.com. I was so hoping someone had already thought of the theme before me. Well they hadn't so I put a post looking for someone to work with me to custom design some party printables for my theme in the colors I wanted and the price ($30 or less) that I wanted. I found someone who had the prefect truck image and we worked together to get the printables I wanted. I've ended up not using some of the items she created as my ideas evolved but the cupcake toppers and birthday banners I did use.

2. I decided on my colors very early. They are classic red, navy blue and brown. I also liked the looks of stars used (think those primitive metal stars that are popular right now) in the decor so if something was in my colors and had stars I pretty much bought it! What has helped tremendously is that all the Fourth of July decor is in the stores right now and I have found many of my items from those sections.

3. Thanks to the lovely blogosphere I've been able to find lots of tutorials on how to make some neat party items. Everything from a cupcake tower to a fabric banner tutorials that I am using.

4. It helps a lot that my FIL actually owns a vintage red truck that he affectionately calls "Mater" after the truck in the Cars movies. If all goes as planned, "mater" will be attending the birthday party and hopefully be a backdrop to some fun pictures at least.

Here are some pics of what I've collected so far for the party and what I've been working on. I still have to assemble some items but this is a good start.

The cupcake tower I made!



The birthday banner from the printables




Mason jars to be used a part of the table decorations with flowers in them




Found these candles at the Dollar General and they fit right in with the color scheme.




Found this at Hobby Lobby and it was 50% off. It will be beside the cake with a pic of Jonah in it.



I will have to add that this birthday party planning is fun but can easily get you overwhelmed. We spent a good week trying to hammer out the guest list. Since we are planning to have the party outside under our carport and on the pool deck we had to think about how many people we could fit under there with the food and all. Also our front yard and driveway are very close to the road and there is very limited parking. So that was a factor too. Also, as we got to discussing what kind of food we would serve and how many to plan for we quickly realized that it was going to cost us about $5-6 bucks per person just to feed them! Well we just couldn't see ourselves spending over $1,000 on a first birthday so we just had to make some cuts to the guest list. We are only inviting family and a couple of friends that are our age. That still leaves us with a "planned" list of 50 people possibly. I really hope to not hurt anyone's feelings if they don't get an invite but it's just how it's got to be for our sanity and our budget. I am grateful to know that we have so many friends and family that we would like to invite though!

Jonah is 10 months old!

I cannot believe we are in the double-digits already!! Jonah is growing so fast and learning new things everyday! It is amazing to watch him and he is a pure joy right now! We finally has our 9-10 month well-check at the doctors last Friday and he is a very healthy boy and getting big!

Weight: 20 lbs. 2 oz. (28%)
Height: 28 1/2 inches (37%)
Head Circ: 45 cm (27%)

Everything looked good and he thankfully didn't need shots but he had to have his toe pricked to test for anemia. He is not anemic and passed perfectly! So now we are cleared to start giving him whole milk. I cannot believe it's already time for him to start weaning from the bottle! Part of me is ready to be rid of the bottle but another part of me doesn't want him to not be a baby anymore. I guess I am just a typical mother these days.

Here is what Jonah has been up to over the past month.

Sleeping:

Our once-upon-a-time terrible sleeper is now a marvelous sleeper!! I knew in the back of my mind in those beginning months that we would eventually get to where we are now but at the time it seemed so far away. I am just thankful that our boy decided to sleep good before he is one year old. We had heard so many horror stories of babies that didn't sleep through the night until they were over one year! He still takes a morning and afternoon nap everyday. They usually range anywhere from 45 minutes (not good) to 2 hours (nice!). He doesn't nap as well on the weekends when he is home we have found. I am not sure exactly why because Mom and I put him down at the same times and ways. It must just be the differing environment. We are working on better weekend naps.

Eating:

Jonah still takes a morning, afternoon (sippy cup) and evening bottle with foods at lunch and supper and cereal for breakfast and with supper. This is going to be changing though over the coming months as we transition to whole milk, table foods and weaning from the bottle. I am a little intimidated by the whole process because I just feel clueless but I know that he will tell us what he needs/wants just like he always has. We have been giving as much table food as we can (not junk though) to see what he thinks of it. He has had bites of chicken, mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs, cheerios, apples and bananas. So far he has loved any table food we have let him try. He is definately more interested in what Michael and I are eating even if he has already ate his meal! LOL!

Personality:

Jonah is doing new things all the time in the personality dept. too! He still babbles "ma ma" and "da da" every now and then. He is really big into mimicing anything we do. If Michael grunts at him he will grunt right back. He laughs hysterically when you make a sneezing sound over and over again. I need to post a video we have of him doing that. He is pretty shy around strange people right now. He will smile at them from afar but if they come close or try to touch him he turns away and holds on to me tightly. He even sometimes doesn't go right to Mom in the mornings when I'm holding him. He will however go right to my Dad (Papaw) when he gets home from work in the evenings. He loves to dig in his pockets (his shirts always have pockets) and pull out his tic-tacs and pens. He is obsessed with ball caps and pockets. If you have both then he will go right to you. He is really enjoying his books these days too. Most nights and sometimes in the morning we will read a few books and he just sits back and turns the pages when it's time. He has a Peter Rabbit book that has flaps that open on each page and there is an animal that you can fold a tab over to cover them up so they can go to sleep. He loves that one and is ready to turn the flaps on each page. I hope he continues to enjoy books as he gets older.

Play:

He still loves to play and can entertain himself for several minutes at a time. He love his walker above all things and can get around very well in it. He gets over to the kitchen cabinets and likes to open them until they hit the walker and hear them bang shut. He loves to play in the floor with various toys and has figured out how to pull the blanket towards him to get toys (instead of crawling LOL). He likes to turn the light switches on and off and also knows how to pull the light cord for our ceiling fans. Everytime he sees a light switch he holds his hand out to go over to it. He loves to play in the tub too. He will splash with his hands when he is sitting up and when I lay him back to wash his bottom he splashes so hard with his feet and laughs! We hope he enjoys the pool as much as bath time. He also still loves his swing outside.

Here are some pics for the month.