Month 8

Darvik and I had our first mommy and son day in Madison, IN for the Regatta. Melissa Batson (friend from work) has a camper there so we had a great view in a nice shady area. Good food and good fun! I loved the boats and Darvik enjoyed being outside.

We finally took our first flight to visit Jay's family in Florida. Jimmy made his famous ribs. I've heard about them for years but this is the first time I've had them. Darvik had a taste too! The entire family came. It seemed to us like Darvik knew he was around family. He was exceptionally well behaved, was particularly smitten with his cousin Heather, and his bad side only came out when we took that rib away!

Darvik, Jay, Hunter, and I took a road trip to Elda & Shorty's farm in Georgia. This may be the last time we see Denise and family for quite some time as Jim's stationed in Germany for a few years. Darvik had a nice swim with Daddy in the pond and we spent the night in the pond house.

Heather turned 21 while we were visiting Florida. The evening of her 21st birthday we went to dinner at a seafood restaurant on the beach.

A busy July! Darvik camped for the first time at the annual NIPA campout. He did quite well, especially considering all the rain and packing up in the middle of the night to beat the threat of a serious storm! The next weekend was the Bluegrass Festival in Irvine. Shari and Savannah came to the land for the weekend, which was the perfect place to hear the music from the Jenkins' farm across the street. Rusty and Tina and family came up for steaks. It was another hot weekend, so Savannah and Darvik particularly enjoyed the wading pool!

Month 7

On June 28 we went to the land to show it to a couple from Maryland who are looking to buy property in the area. Darvik did his first hike on the property. Our new friend Narges and Harry are a perfect match - they're Unitarian, she's getting her doctorate in Environmental Studies and they're interested in sustainable culture, straw bale houses, organic farming, and chickens! Even if they don't buy from us we hope they'll be our neighbors!

On the way home we stopped at Applebee's in Lexington to see Jessica and meet her friends Brian and Tara. Darvik was smitten by Tara who found it difficult to eat while he was flirting with her. It was difficult to say goodbye.

I thought it would be cute to dress Darvik up in the entire outfit his Papa and Nana bought him - bib, hats, and booties. I think he's got Jay's affinity for hats...

For Father's Day I took pictures of Darvik eating spinach to put in a footprint frame for work...
On Father's Day Jessica, Darvik and I took Jay to the perfect Father's Day restaurant, a Brazilian place downtown with a huge salad bar and all-you-can eat choices of meat. It was great and we ate too much. Here's the result...
When Darvik was just born I would watch him in the pack and play and incredulously imagine him being able to reach the toys on the side. Here he is, playing with the bee's wings. Babies force you to live in the moment; I can neither believe that he was ever that small nor imagine him being any bigger! He's starting to do this butt wiggling thing when he wants a toy he can't reach. Any day now he'll be mobile. Maybe not crawling - he can't stand being on his stomach (not falling far from the tree!).
We attended Mick and Lauri's wedding at the Beach Waterpark. It was luau themed - a full pig roast. Darvik wore the hawaiian shorts his Aunt Tara bought him - they came in very handy! He entertained the guests all day and fully enjoyed meeting new people - I could barely get him back! Here's Linda teaching him how to use a spoon. It was a long day and Darvik eventually fell asleep in his stroller while the DJ kept the party going.

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!

Month 4

Grandad Alan and Granny Pat visited over Spring Equinox. We visited Jay at work and went to Our Old Rice Farm. Weather was a little better than the last trip. Jay and Pat almost flipped the ATV. We went out for Mexican, stayed with Barbara, and the next day took the scenic route to the old Iron Furnace in Estill County. We also learned this weekend that we're waking Darvik up in the middle of the night, not the other way around! When Darvik slept in his crib he slept through the night - and it happened every night! So we detached his cosleeper from our bed and everyone's sleeping much better!

Bella's starting to recognize that Darvik is a real person. When he came home from the hospital she barely acknowledged him. Theo the cat would try to sit on him while I was feeding him. Now, Bella's realizing the benefits...