Month 6

Shelly and Mike Weaver-Litten had a dinner party with Bob & Judy Carter's family. Great dinner on the deck. The evening ended with a few games of Wii baseball.

Jay's brother's family, Jeff, Kathy, Heather, and Hunter came to see the land during their vacation at Pigeon Forge. Jay and Jeff spent a lot of time hiking the land and everyone got a ride or two on the ATV. They were excited about the deer that are on the land and maybe someday they'll be back.

Darvik is so good at sitting up now that he gets to sit in a high chair when we go out to eat, making dining out much more interesting for all of us!

The big event of the year is Brady's party near our land in Irvine, KY. To get to Brady's, you drive a little over a mile into the hills of KY, but it takes more than 30 mins to get there. The "road" not only goes through a few creeks but actually turns to go up a creek bed (not a dry creek bed - a running creek!). Along the way cars that couldn't make it were pulled to the side of the road - it was faster to walk anyway! But good ole Suby made it - and Darvik slept through it (thanks to Jessica keeping him from having shaken baby syndrome)!

After a prayer and some good gospel the potluck started - the longest potluck line I've ever seen. Ending with the pig roast, which Brady cooks over open coals starting the day before.

The day begins to wind down when they put the horse on the treadmill to make ice cream, followed by wagon rides for the kids, driven by Brady.

Darvik spent most of the time on the blanket taking it all in while we imagined what the years to come will be like when Darvik gets to participate!

There's Nanma and Jessica in the shade with Darvik
Notice how Brady's cabin looks a lot like ours
Setting up the "automatic" ice cream maker

The kids get a turn first
Then the horse is loaded on. A stick placed horizontally behind his rear keeps the horse from falling off. As long as the brakes aren't on, the horse will keep moving when he feels the stick

Darvik is sitting up for longer periods of time

This is a pretty long video of Darvik "talking" to daddy (~6min)

Month 5

Almost 6 months old...

Darvik likes to hold on to pacifiers when he goes to sleep, but doesn't necessarily need to suck on it (or them, as the case may be!).

Darvik loves his Blue Bear as he's taking a nap in the swing. When he's in the swing you realize how big he's gotten.
We had a cookout to celebrate a few things... my birthday, Victoria's Day (in Canada) and Darvik turning 6 months old. Jay made excellent ribs. Lynn brought her grandson, Gauge, and was brave enough to hold them both (grandmothers are like that, aren't they?!). Gauge is a little over 2 months older than Darvik and gives me a glimpse of what's to come (lots of squirming).
Darvik eats oatmeal a couple times a day and is getting much better at it (I know... it doesn't look like it!). We found his first tooth had cut through just this week! We wouldn't have known by his behavior - he seems to have dealt with it well.

My first Mother's Day was a special weekend... My birthday on Saturday and Mother's Day on Sunday. Jay did a great job making it very special. I wasn't expecting how meaningful Mother's Day would be for me. We went to an excellent buffet at the Synidate. And the best Mother's Day gift ever, Jay changed the worst diaper ever at the restaurant!

Bella is very tolerant of Darvik. Good thing - he's fascinated by her.

In April we visited Jessica in Lexington at her cookout fundraiser. Darvik had a wonderful time and discovered his fascination with balls. He's happiest when he's around a lot of people. Jessica thought it had been 2 months since she'd seen him because he'd changed so much. It had only been a month. The daycare teacher said he suddenly became a real boy, like Pinnochio. Darvik's begun sleeping through the night easily and late night feedings are a thing of the past (athough if Allison's any indication, I better not get used to it - she started rolling over and now she's up 5 times a night).

His hair is beginning to grow - even getting a few curls in!