Jordon and his big brothers

Jordon has 3 big furry brothers, which we haven't mentioned before. We don't want to leave them out! In the top picture with Don and Jordon is Sammy, who was my cat before Don and I got together. He is 6 years old and was a farm kitty; I have had him since he was just a few weeks old. He is very sweet and affectionate (to the point of overkill sometimes). He likes to "help" many nights when we put Jordon down to sleep if we rock him in his little mini-rocker. And when I say help, I mean get in the way and beg for attention. Scooter is the black and white tuxedo cat; he was Don's cat before I met him. When I first met Don, I remember thinking it was kinda strange for a single straight guy to have a cat. But Don is an animal lover, and someone pawned him off as a kitten. Scooter is 8 years old and very loyal to Don; he doesn't stray too far away if Don is around. He is usually content to do his own thing most of the time and doesn't require much attention. He actually prefers to be left alone most of the time. The last pictures are of Smokey, the gray cat. He is our dumpster kitty that followed us home last September one night from a walk. We are both animal lovers, and we were suckers when this little kitten followed us for over half a mile home, crying the whole time. He had a very loud purr and just seemed to be so thankful to have a home. The other cats tolerated him much better than other cats they have been around in the past. Now that Smokey has grown and is around a year old, he is a bit of a terrorizer and instigator in harrassing Sammy and Scooter. You can see that Smokey has a signature spread eagle pose -- Don and I had never seen a cat lay like this before but he does it all the time. So far the cats have been great with Jordon. They sniff at him every now and then, but otherwise don't get too close and mainly keep their distance, especially when he is wailing.

I love my Mommy

This is the last time he will get to wear this outfit! It makes me sad to see him getting bigger and growing out of some of his outfits. Although he is a lot of work at this age and keeps us very busy, everyone says to enjoy it while it lasts because babies grow up so fast. And that's exactly what I'm trying to do....soak it up as much as I can. Some days I swear he has grown in the time I have been gone to work. Some of my favorite time with Jordon is at night when I get home and it's time to feed him and put him to bed. It is our own quiet time and I enjoy it very much! He is such a sweetie.

Our summer flowers

Our place looks pretty in the summer with all the hostas that grow around the house. Jordon and I are admiring them here... and so are the bees! They were busy pollinating the morning we were making the rounds checking out how everything was growing. Too bad the hostas don't last a little longer, but in the July heat, they don't last very long.

My first "wife-beater" t-shirt

Don is a huge fan of the sleeveless t-shirts often referred to as "wife-beaters".... I think this gives a good idea of the kinds of people who like to wear them. Anyway, I am not such a fan and have told Don many times he could downsize his collection. When he saw this picture of Jordon, his response was "that is so awesome". I have yet to understand Don's attraction to these shirts, but the little man looks cute in anything.

Mover and a shaker

Now at almost 4 months old, Jordon is much more active. If he is awake, he wants to be on the go most of the time. He loves the little doorway swing, and the jumperoo is becoming a favorite. He is turing into a jumping bean in both of them. Sometimes it is difficult to hold him because he is such a squirmy worm. He loves the little puppy matt, and it's fun to watch him now reach up and grab toys and play. He also likes to look at himself and others in a mirror -- that usually brings a big smile. He has been rolling over from stomach to back, and seems to be trying to roll over from back to stomach at times but we haven't seen it happen yet. He is much more mobile in his crib -- I now understand the purpose behind bumper pads! On his jungle matt, I have seen him turn 360 degrees several times as he wiggles around grabbing and playing with different hanging toys. He has giggled a few times when we tickle a rib or he's responding to us playing with him. He likes the baby carrier when out and about and really tries to take it all in. Don is always saying that in the grocery store and other places that people remark about him smiling in the carrier, and that he looks like such a happy baby. Yeah, except when he is tired and cranky, or when in the car seat. Most of the time, he is a lot of fun to be around.

The cousins

Jordon and his cousins Logan (9 months), Evan (3 years) and Megan (20-something). Aunt Stef is holding Logan in place to keep him from toppling off the baptismal font. Cousin Evan has mastered the cheesy smile.

Hello Champ!

Your Uncle Jon got you a build-a-bear, or in this case, a build-a-dog who is a Mizzou fan and nearly bigger than you! Here you are staring him down. Thanks Uncle Jon!

The baptism

Pics with godparents Aunt Sarah and cousin Megan. The ones below include our families, minus Uncle Dale who couldn't get off work to make the trip up to MO, and Grandpa Kirchhoff. Grandpa had been hospitalized for 2 weeks with a bowel obstruction followed by needing to have his gall bladder removed. He was actually discharged from the hospital on the day of the baptism but not in time to make it to the celebration. Jordon did great - he stayed awake for most of the service but was very well behaved. Don grilled up some burgers and fixins. All the food was very good but the surprise hit was the mango salsa. Even my brothers liked it and they're pretty picky. Grandpa enjoyed the food Grandma took back for him and has recovered well from his surgery. Jordon got some very nice gifts for his baptism, including children's bibles and stories, a decorative light switch and plaque for his room, and his first stuffed animal sporting a Mizzou t-shirt.

Our family

Eeeekkk.......it's a baby!

Aunt Sharon and cousin Megan came up to visit from Mississippi on June 20th. This is Megan's first baby holding experience, so she was a little nervous. It didn't take her long though to get in the swing of things, as you'll see with some later pictures. Jordon did a lot of sight-seeing and traveling out and about with the crew during their stay, including shopping, a trip to Columbia, and going out to eat. He did pretty well but was sure to display some classic fussbucket episodes during the time they were here.

Jordon at play

Jordon on one of his mats, in the jumperoo, and in the bumbo. Those bumbos have got to be one of the best inventions ever-- he sits in it all the time. Good thing Don finally got the name right....he used to walk around the house asking "where's the bimbo?"

The boys

A few pics of Don and Jordon. One of them includes Jordon's big furry brother, Scooter. We'll have to post shots of our other pets as well. I'm not sure that we ended up with any actual pictures on Don's first Father's Day, but Don got a couple nice gifts (that Jordon helped to pick out of course) and we celebrated with an ice cream cake.

First family photos

These are shots of Jordon at 2 months old. He did really well for the whole thing -- better than Mom and Dad as we were getting pretty irritated with the photographer. She was sick and hacking all over the place, and kept sticking a stupid stuffed frog in his face. So much for the experiment with Sears...next time we'll try somewhere else. We did manage to get some decent pictures out of the experience though.