Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Eating from a spoon

River experienced his first cereal eating experience yesterday! Here lately he has taken a sip of water out of Kari's glass or a straw, but we decided to begin feeding him cereal at 6 months.
He did a great job and got messy in the process, just like he was supposed to. Here are some quick photos of the milestone;








Sunday, July 19, 2009

There's Nothing Like Your Mama!

There's Nothing Like Your Mama....that's for sure.

My mom has been so selfless these last couple of months. I've had several births, and my mom willingly came to stay with us to help us out when I got "the calls." I wanted to secure some care for River, so I could assist these women in labor. The other day we were all in the car, and Ryan jokingly said to my mom that taking her on a picnic was the least we could do since she's been living with us for 5 or 6 months. HA! We all laughed. We ended up adding up the weeks she's spent with us, and it did come to about 5 or 6 weeks since the end of May.

She's been riding with The Jenk Adventure through some feats. She did the sell of the house with us and the move to the cabin in the woods. She's been loved by chiggers and bit by ticks. She's been a trooper with our mouse problem. She even eventually offered firmly to get back on the sleeper sofa after I demanded she sleep with me until the problem was solved. She helped unpack, clean, wash clothes, garden, cook, and on and on. She's slept on the "decked" out sleeper sofa for at least a month. She's had Grammy Time at all hours of the day and night. She lasted through the 54 hour birth I attended. She's listened to Ryan and me tease each other and discuss finances. She even went to a baby shower for someone she didn't know. She's helped take care of good ole' Chaco. And all the while bought a house of her own.

We have been so fortunate to have her here. I don't know what we would have done without her. I'm guessing we would have "survived," but I would have definitely been more stressed and probably shed a decent amount of tears. We are very excited that they are moving here to Tennessee to be a big part of River's life. He loves his Grammy! It's amazing to watch them. They are already developing their own thing, and I love it! It feels good as a mom to know that someone else besides his own mommy and daddy loves him and knows him well.

We could never repay her for her time and energy these last couple of months, but I did give her a massage and we did take her on a picnic per her request. Here are some snapshots from our picnic/playground date. Thanks, Mom! We love you!













Friday, July 17, 2009

The Teals New Home

If you haven't heard already, Kari's parents are building a home in Tennessee! They will be living in Spring Hill, TN which is about 20 minutes south of downtown Nashville. This is where Kari and I built a house 5 years ago and lived for a while.
We went out to look at the progress on the house yesterday afternoon and were amazed at the speed in which they had put down the foundation, frame, brick, roof, and siding. It has only been 3 weeks or so and all of that work has already been finished. They will be doing the insulation and drywall in the next week.
Here are some pictures of the house up to this point. Don't be jealous of our sexy hardhats. They are very fashionable.

The Hard Hat Pose

This is it!

River didn't have to wear a hard hat!

The Kitchen

Living Room out to Patio

Living Room out to Front Door

Up the stairs

Large Bonus Room

Side and Back of house

Front of house


Bonus Pictures!!

River J, the coolest cat around.

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

A River J Update!

It has been quite a while again since you have seen pictures of River. We have been moving, getting settled, and living without internet for a while. I have been getting comfortable with work and Kari has been diving into more work herself. Finally now on my days off aren't filled with house work or opening boxes or moving furniture.
River is getting comfortable with his new surroundings. Actually, he never really even knew we moved probably. We made his room look just like his room in our other house so he would make the transition easier. I realized soon after that he is only 5 months old and probably wouldn't care either way!
He is quite the growing kiddo! He is as long as a yardstick now it seems. And he is curious and concerned with what you are doing all the time. He laughs up a storm when he is tickled or when I pretend to bite him and he is grabbing and biting everything within his reach now. He tries to roll over, but his arms get in the way and he is just figuring out how to scootch on his back. He hugs his stuffed animals and loves touching. He talks baby talk alot, but when you want him to show off in front of a crowd, he will just stare at you. He's a little trickster, just like Kari predicted when he was in the womb!
Now for some pictures:
River is deffinitley not a car seat baby.

A good shot showing how long he is!

Just chillin in my crib.

Fathers Day!

My mommy dressed me up in this silly hat.

We'll try and take some more pics soon.