Aunt Becca Comes to Visit!

This last weekend my sister had fall break for school so she bought a plane ticket and came to visit us! We had a lot of fun, and we were able to do some neat things while she was here.

She flew in late Wednesday night and didn't leave until this afternoon. On Thursday we put Jameson in a pumpkin (more on that later!!!). On Friday we went to the pumpkin patch and took some fun family pictures. I had never been to a pumpkin patch before so I thought it was the best!! Jameson got to play in his first bounce house (he loved it of course). We also did some little duck races and looked at some farm animals. On Saturday Becca, Jameson, and I went to the Covered Bridge Festival and walked around down there. A few of the girls in Young Women were in a Civil War fashion show so we went to support them. It was really fun! We also got to go to the park and go through the hedge maze (Triwizard Tournament!) and then we stopped at a few covered bridges. It was really fun to have her here and Jameson was on his best behavior the whole time!

Lucky Number Seven {Months}

Jameson is seven-months-old! I honestly feel like he just turned six-months-old. I don't know how time is going by so quickly! He is so much fun and is still a happy little boy. He LOVES to play.

• He now eats solids three times a day. He has rice cereal in the morning, fruit and veggies for lunch, and then some fancy oatmeal stuff for dinner. 
• If you hadn't guessed, this is helping him grow fast! I bought him some new pajamas last month and I already had to buy him new ones again last week! His cheeks are plumping up, and it's the cutest thing! Other than that, he's still pretty skinny. Just getting long!
• He now has a pretty good routine of two naps a day. They range from 30 minutes to an hour and a half, but I take what I can get. He has a morning one and an afternoon one, and stays awake about three hours in between them.
• He can now feed himself little snacks! And he loves them, I might add. He is doing a lot better at holding them with his thumb and first finger, and it's the cutest thing. We need to work on only eating one at a time, though. 
• He can get up on all fours, rock a little bit, and scoot backward. He is getting pretty close to being able to move forward, so by eight months I'm sure he'll be crawling. 
• His favorite toys are El Senor de Mono Grande and Flutterby. One is a monkey and one is a butterfly (I bet you can guess which is which. Also, Dan named the monkey).
• His hair is getting long! Dan asked me the other day when we are going to cut it and I got sad. Once his little mohawk won't stay up anymore we'll probably have to give him a trim. But he doesn't have any more bald spots on the back!
• He has figured out that he can roll to get to places and get things. So his motivation to crawl is a little lacking. The other day I looked away for a few minutes and he was suddenly all the way by the front door. This means we will be in need of some new furniture to keep things out of his reach soon!
• His favorite books are "Hop on Pop" and one called "Sniff" that has pull tabs and things to feel. We read one of these almost every day when we sit down and read in the mornings.
• Sometimes he shortens "mamamamamama" into "mama," but it's usually only when he gets upset or wants something. So I don't think he knows that's me yet. I still love it, though!
• He goes to bed between 7-8pm and only wakes up once a night to eat, usually around 3-5am, and then wakes up for the day between 7-8pm. Needless to say, we've been sleeping really well recently.
• He's trying to figure out a sippy cup, but mostly he just likes to chew on it and play and get water all over his face.
• His favorite songs are "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam" and "Popcorn Popping." I can start singing them and he while smile no matter what.
• We just had to move his jumper up to the highest setting yesterday, which makes me sad because it means he is going to be too big for it soon! He love to jump so much so it will be sad when he can't fit any more.
• He also sat in a high chair at a restaurant for the first time. He loved it! Now we can take him out of his car seat when we go out to eat and it's so much better! He also loves riding in the shopping cart when we go get groceries. 

Baby Belly Laughs

Jameson loves his daddy!

#ThanksTodd

Next Wednesday is the last time my favorite baseball player will ever take the field.

In third grade, we had a girl in our class named Tiffany Armstrong. Her dad, Dave Armstrong, was an announcer for the relatively new MLB team, the Colorado Rockies. My whole class was lucky enough to get to take a tour of the new Coors Field. The part I remember most was getting to go in the Rockies dugout and see what the players see every game: a field perfect for winning a game on. From that day, I was a fan.

In 1998, Todd Helton became the full-time starter for the Colorado Rockies. He was dreamy. He was an incredible, new player, and everyone loved to talk about him.

My dad worked downtown, so every once in a while he would take my sister, my mom, and me to Rockies games. I had played softball, so one day I brought my glove so we could try and get some autographs. I of course got the dinosaur mascot, Dinger, to sign my glove, but the one signature I really cared about was Todd Helton's. Lucky for me, he signed my glove. From that day, Todd Helton was my favorite baseball player.

I liked the Rockies, but I loved Todd Helton. I didn't follow baseball much until I moved to Boston for college. In October 2007, the Colorado Rockies made it to the World Series for the first time ever. They swept both the Phillies and the Diamondbacks, and then they were up against the Boston Red Sox. Watching baseball in my dorm with my roommate Cara was the only thing that kept me happy while I was in Boston. Before the World Series was over, I moved home. The Rockies were swept by the Red Sox, and the season was over. But my love for Todd Helton was rekindled again.

The next summer, I went to a Rockies game at Coors Field with a youth group from church. I was lucky enough to get a picture with Todd, and he even put his arm around me. I thought that was the best game I had ever been to.

I went away to college in the fall, and hung up a poster of Todd in my room. The next summer, my mom and sister and I flew out to San Diego to see the Rockies take on the Padres for my birthday. My sister and I got dressed up in our favorite Rockies gear and made signs to show our support for our team. We got there early and went down to the first base line and started cheering as our Rockies were practicing. My sign caught Todd's attention and he came over, handed me a ball, signed my Rockies Magazine cover (which featured him), and took a picture with me. We won the game and I thought that was the best game I had ever been to.

That summer I was starting a new class at school. The very first day, I wore a Rockies shirt. Because I wore that shirt, I met a boy named Dan who eventually became my husband. I don't think we would have met or gotten along so well if he hadn't known I liked the Rockies or baseball. And I probably wouldn't have worn that shirt if it hadn't been for my love of Todd. So thank you Todd Helton. Because of you, my husband had the courage to talk to me.

Last year we moved from Utah to Colorado to Iowa. In March, our first son was born. We considered giving him the middle name "Helton," but eventually went for the traditional pass-down-the-father's-name-middle-name. I even made a Rockies collage with the number "17" included so that our son could have my favorite player's number in his room.

In June my family of three came out to Colorado for three days. I made it clear that we had to take our new baby to a Rockies game so he could see Todd play. I wanted Todd to be his favorite player, too. I wasn't able to get a good picture of Todd with our son because there were some little boys trying to get his autograph and I thought it was more important for them to meet Todd. But I did manage to get one shot with Todd in the background. It was a fun game, even though our baby didn't like the cheering, and I was glad we were able to catch a game that Todd played in.

On Sunday I found out that Todd Helton had announced his retirement from baseball. I knew it was coming for the last few years, but it still made me sad. Yes, I have cried a few times about it, and yes, I am incredibly disappointed I won't ever get to see him play baseball again, but I just want to thank him for what he has done for the Rockies, for baseball, and for me. I will never have another favorite baseball player (besides my husband) and I will never cheer louder than I did for you. I am sad that my son won't get to grow up watching you play, but I will tell him what an amazing player you were. Thank you for sticking around with the Rockies for 17 years. Thank you for being the face of the Rockies for 17 years. Thank you for being our first baseman and friend for 17 years. It's going to be hard to see someone else take over your spot next year. If it were up to me (and every other Rockies fan), you'd be in the Hall of Fame next year. I hope they retire your jersey, because nobody else will ever be our #17.

Next Wednesday when you take the field for the last time, remember how much you have done for me and for thousands of other Rockies fans. It's going to be hard to say goodbye, but we still have the memories.

Thanks Todd.

Little Jameson's First Half-Birthday

I cannot believe that half of a whole year has gone by since Jameson was born. In some ways it feels like we've had him in our lives forever but it mostly feels like he's still so small and new. I honestly could not have asked for a better baby. He is such a sweetheart and doesn't give me any trouble. He is SO much fun! At his six-month appointment today he got shots (boo) and he was 27 inches long and 15 lbs. 15 oz., or 65% height and 20% weight. Here are some exciting updates about our little boy.

• HE CAN SIT UP! He is pretty much the baby champ of sitting up now. He started to be able to sit for a few seconds a few weeks ago and he figured out how to sit on his own for longer about two weeks ago. And now I can set him down and leave the room confident that he will hold himself up. He looks so big doing it!
• He can lift himself up on his arms with his arms straight. He kicks and kicks his legs, but hasn't figured out he has to put them underneath his body yet. Poor guy.
• He also loves every food we have given him. He's had rice cereal, carrots, peas, squash, sweet potatoes, prunes, and bananas. He loves to eat and he's started trying to grab the spoon when I try and feed him.
• He has discovered he has hair (which, by the way, is so long and blonde on top!). He likes to lay down and stretch his arm up to play with his hair. This makes it difficult for his little mohawks to stay looking good, but I'd rather he play with what he has than not have any at all.
• When he is sitting up and he wants me to pick him up, he will raise his arms out to the sides. I think this is INCREDIBLY cute and I absolutely love that he does this. 
• He is probably the happiest baby alive. I'm not even kidding, he loves everything. He is happy about 95% of the time, and he is so much fun to be around.
• He sort of will take a bottle, but he doesn't eat nearly enough from it yet. 
• He is still a crazy roller and he likes to roll all around. 
• He still loves his jumper, and I had to raise it to the next setting two days ago because he's so big now!
• Still not sleeping through the night, but he usually only wakes up once a night around 3am to eat, and then he'll sleep until about 8am each morning. He goes to bed between 7pm and 8pm so I'm not complaining.
• He still loves to babble and chat. He also does this gurgling noise with his through. 
• He has come up with this really weird noise that is sort of embarrassing but still cute and it makes him really happy to do it. It's sort of a mix between a cough and a laugh and a grunt, but he will do it over and over and over again and just smile the whole time. Not sure where that came from.
• He likes to shake his toys and he loves it when they make noise. He'll just sit there and shake things so he can make noise. Crazy kid.
• He loves to give us kisses! If you put your cheek up to his mouth and says "kisses" then he'll open his mouth super big and either give you a nice cow lick or suck on your cheek. I know he doesn't really know that's what kisses means, but if I keep saying it he'll put the two together!
• He is now in all of his 3-6 month clothes, and has finally grown out of most of his 0-3 outfits. I think there are maybe a handful that still fit. He's getting bigger!!
• He went to his first football game! We took him to a Waukee High School football game, and they won by like 60 points. We were worried because he hated the baseball game a few months ago, but he did great! The cheering didn't scare him this time, and he loved to look around.

And now here are some adorable pictures from his sixth month of life:

He's PERFECT.