8 is Great!

Hi everyone, Judah speaking...I'm 8 months old today & I'm lovin' life!

I weigh exactly 20 pounds (my mom says I am getting really heavy :-) and I'm not sure exactly how long I am but I do know that I am really tall (90th percentile, whatever that means). A few weeks ago, two white things popped up from my bottom gums. My mom calls them "teeth"....I think that's what she's been unsuccessfully trying to take a picture of (she's even pulled down my bottom lip), but I keep hiding them from her ;-) They feel pretty weird, but I"m not complaining because I think they help me eat.  Speaking of eating, I'm enjoying all sorts of things now.  I am really thankful that my mom decided to mix different foods together and add a little cinnamon to my life. Oatmeal is my favorite thing to eat for breakfast, and I also really like butternut squash, pears, and sweet potatoes for lunch and dinner. I'm not a huge fan of avocados, but I begrudgingly eat them anyway because it seems to make mom happy. Today, I had mangoes for the first time and I LOVED them. I guess I should mention that mom makes my food and she is a pretty good cook :-) We'll see how she does with a more advanced menu, though, because so far she just seems to be mashing things up. Also, I am loving eating "puffs" with my fingers, and I totally had finger foods mastered the first time mom and dad introduced them to me. Mom says the puffs consist of organic greens such as kale and broccoli, but I don't believe her because it pretty much tastes like cardboard...I just like picking up things and putting them in my mouth. She says now that I'm 8 months old, I get to try new foods such as yogurt and more finger foods like blueberries and tofu. Oh, and I think I overheard her tell someone that my first meat is going to be turkey on Thanksgiving day...can't wait to gobble it up :-)

I really love being around people, and I especially like the company of little people that are close to my age. I just started saying "hi" to people by waving and smiling. That's pretty cool because they always smile and wave back. I also give kisses to the people I love...mom especially loves my kisses and I think she cried last week when I pulled her head to mine and gave her a big sloppy one right on the mouth when I woke up from my nap...they seemed to be happy tears, though, so I keep doing it. I also talk a lot but no one seems to understand what I'm saying.

I can now go from sitting to crawling position. My mom says I can't technically "crawl" yet but I'm perfectly content with slithering and rolling because I can definitely get to where I want to go! My other favorite activities include reading (especially books that have "flaps" to lift and peek under), banging things together to make "music," jumping, trying to pull up on everything imaginable, and playing in the water in the bath tub as long as my mom and dad will allow! Oh, and I LOVE music. My parents enjoy a pretty wide range, so I listen to all genres. Classical and Christmas music (yes, mom begins listening to that a little early) are my faves these days, but I really like Rap/Hip-Hop, too.

 Being 8 months old is pretty awesome so far and I think life can only get better!

Southern Tour, Part 2

Part 2 of our tour commenced a couple of weekends ago in Cartersville, Georgia....known to some as Colliersville :-) This is the hometown of my BFF, Nancy Collier Traywick.

We were once college roomies, and I love that we still find time to see each other at least a few times per year even though we live states apart. While Nancy lives in a town in Alabama that I won't call by name...let's just say that it begins with an AU and ends with a burn...her parents still live in Cartersville and that is where the fall reunion of sorts took place. Like I've mentioned before, our sons are just 4 weeks apart so it was great to hang out and watch Judah and Braylen play. Saturday, we had an amazing lunch with Nancy's family (thanks Meme and O!) at Barnsley Gardens. Notice Judah has graduated to a high chair now...such a big boy :-)

Following the lunch, we decided to try our own little fall photo shoot with the boys. Although chilly, it was a very beautiful day. Here I am loving on my little man in preparation for the photo shoot.

Some of my favorite shots of the day...

Happy Judah!

Pensive Judah

Sad the lighting isn't so great for this one...we were battling one fierce sun that day...

but love this one of the boys.

During the shoot, there was an entertaining game of paci tug-o-war.

Braylen won.

Judah got him back later by smacking him to the ground. 

They made up in the end. 

Later that evening despite an Alabama loss to LSU, Nancy was still trying to convince the boys to attend The University of Alabama. The title of this book (Judah's new favorite) is "I Want to Go to Alabama."

Roll Tide Anyway!

Stay-tuned for Part 3 of our tour. We're headed to the Music City and the Bluegrass State next week!

Southern Tour, Part 1

Judah has quickly learned of his mother's deep love of all things Southern, including--but certainly not limited to--sweet tea, college football, home-cooked meals (known to some as "soul food,") small-town living, hot & humid summers, hospitality, minding your manners, flip flops in October, southern drawls, saying "hey" to everyone who passes you by, beautiful beaches of the Gulf, Sunday services, bluegrass, and did I mention college football?! While we do reside in North Carolina, I am often reminded (especially by my family) that it is not the "true South" (aka deep South). I have to admit, they make a pretty strong argument but that's another post. In the recent months, Judah began his 4-state tour of the South, which will end with Tennessee and Kentucky this month! The first stop was the "Heart of Dixie" in October to my hometown in Alabama. Although very short, this was such a special trip for him, as he met so many family members and friends for the first time. Traveling without your husband via plane with your 6 month-old makes for an interesting trip, but Judah did great...mommy was just tired!

Judah loved meeting his family. Even though he was exhibiting some pretty strong stranger anxiety at this point in his short little life, it's as if he instantly knew they were his family...they loved each other immediately!

Judah meets his Great-Grandmother

Judah meets his Great-Granddaddy Joe...kindred spirits :-)

Hi K-Pop!

Loving on Aunt Amy

And cousin Marlee (I promise he is not bigger than his 6 year-old cousin...but it sure looks like it in this pic!)

Cousin Maggie

Uncle Wes...I think he got the most amount of spit-up love from Judah :-0

During our short trip to Bama, Judah was also able to squeeze in a little time with his new best buds, Sawyer and Braylen--sons of two of my very best friends, Brooke and Nancy. And I promise we did not plan for them to all wear their cute Alabama attire. That's just what happens when three college friends get together with their adorable boys on a fall Saturday in Alabama...yet another reason I love the South.

Best Buds-Braylen, Sawyer & Judah

I think Nancy nailed this conversation they were having a this point....check it out here.

So Sweet!

What a fun day with beautiful friends!

A Roll Tide Halloween

In the Nix household, all elephants are affectionately known as "Big Al." (For all of you non-SEC sports fans out there...can't be many..., Big Al is the mascot for The University of Alabama, where Jeff and I went to college). We have so many Big Al's in our house (including our dog Allie's favorite toy of 7 years that is literally falling apart), but none have been cuter than the Big Al in our house on October 31st...

 And before we move on to Turkeys, here's one more "Boo!" for the year....