First Rodeo

Last weekend Jerex and I went to Missouri for a long weekend while Jesse went backcountry camping with his brother in Silverthorne, CO. Since Jerex and I were not up for the 6 mile uphill hike - we opted to hop on a plane to see family and check out the Allendale Rodeo!

On the airplane, Jerex was a lot more rambunctious than past flights. He wanted to jump, wiggle, spin, and repeat for about an hour, then thankfully wore himself out and slept the final 30 minutes of the flight. We are just lucky it is a short flight! I have a feeling that he is only going to get more and more active on planes from now on... Yikes.

Not only did Jerex get to see his Missouri grandparents, but also got to see his Illinois grandparents! Jay and Cathy made the drive over to see Jerex and he was a happy baby with all those grandparents to play with. The entire weekend he was on the receiving end of lots of attention and love. We also had family from Omaha in town, so it was great to see Missy, Brian and the kids too!

Here are some pics we took of the boys in their cowboy attire. Jerex wasn't a big fan of wearing the hat, he would rather chew on it!

Yee haw! Brock not so sure about the cowboy getup

With cousins Brady and Kendall

Little Cowboy getting ready to go to the rodeo

Where's grandma Brenda's hat?!

Two tough cowboys

It wasn't easy to get the hats to stay on!

Whoops!! Where's Jerex?!

 We had a fun time at the photo shoot and the boys were pretty cute in their hats! Loved how some of these turned out. The weather in MO was really nice and not as hot as it had been, so we played outside as much as we could.

Giddyup

I want to pinch this cowboy's chubby cheeks.

The Allendale Rodeo is a 2 night affair, and we went both nights. On night #2, Jerex was just plain worn out and slept through all the loud music and noise in Aunt Sherry's lap:

Tired cowboy

Overall it was a great trip! More pictures will be posted later since this is a long post!

Great article...

My friend posted this article on Facebook today and it really hit home w/ me and so I wanted to share.

Hands Free Mama

It is really true that kids pick up on phone usage. Jerex already wants to play with my iPhone and I am guilty of being on my phone around him and thinking he won't notice.. I am definitely going to try to do better from now on because I know that he'll only get more perceptive the older he gets. I don't want his first memory being of me talking on my phone or staring at a screen.

Summer Fun

July has been a busy and fun month, it really seems like since Jerex hit the 6 month mark he has changed so much almost daily. Mom and Dad having a hard time keeping up with this guy!!

This past weekend we went down to Golden to visit the Long family and their new little man Miller who was born on July 4th. He is a cutie with a lot of hair and Jerex wanted to wrestle but there will be plenty of time for that later! We were happy to get to see Carlie and Adam too!

Jerex meeting his buddy Miller Long!

Jerex's favorite book

Hi guy

Some funny jokes mom

Lounging inside in the cool air on a hot day

Far off stares

Wait! Don't take the picture yet!

Excuse me waitress? I'd like to order some milk!

No milk? Fine, I'll just gnaw on this Vitamin Water.

We think he is teething this month because his cheeks have been red and he's definitely always wanting to chew on things, drooling, and all the typical signs. Certain times of day he gets a little fussy and it could be the teething. No fun!

Also the clock is ticking for crawling.... He is thinking about it awfully hard! We are noticing him rocking back and forth a lot on all 4's, and he can mosey about his crib and around in a circle but hasn't yet taken off going forward full speed ahead. I have a feeling it will happen any day now..

Food-wise, Jerex has a lot of favorites! He is not a very picky eater, so far the only things he hasn't liked are bananas and avocados. All the baby food purees that we give him he usually chows right down, and tonight we did some yogurt which he was just "meh" about.. Didn't love it but ate most of it. We just started going with 3 meals a day and his appetite is huge, he always seems so hungry and excited when food comes into the picture.

6.5 month stats

Due to our travel schedules and our pediatrician's vacation, we didn't make it to our 6 month appt until July 23rd so he was a bit over 6 months old for his weigh-in and measurements.

The perfect sized box for a little boy

Jerex's 'stats' for his 6 month check-in were:

Height: 28.5 inches (95%)

Weight: 20 lbs, 14 oz (95%)

Head circ: 17.75 cm (75%)

The doctor was most impressed with Jerex's clapping on demand. This is his new cool trick that he loves to do! She told us that usually babies are 9 months old before they start clapping. Everything else went well at the doctor visit, he had to get more vaccinations (I will be so glad when those are finally over) and he didn't even cry when she gave him the first shot. The second shot was a different story though.

Here are some action photos of the clapping baby:

Dad showing him how it's done

Yayyyyyyyyy!!!!

It is so cute watching him clap, he always usually has a big smile when he's clapping and there are a few songs that I sing to him that he knows he's supposed to clap (so sometimes he does!)  Between that and starting to say 'mama', we've had a busy past week!! I'm starting to do sign language with him, just a few signs to start. We'll see if he starts picking up on that in the next few months.

We have had issues with his eye since he was born and so the doctor recommended we go see an Ophthalmologist to see what can be done about his clogged tear duct. So later in August is when we'll go in for that appointment.

He speaks!

This week, Jerex started doing something that surprised everyone... Talking!!

Watch the below video to discover what his first words were:

(I couldn't have been more flattered, really!)

Such a big guy!

Sweet Home Chicago

We went to Chicago for our summer vacation this year, we hadn't been back since Sept 2010 so this trip was long overdue! Our friends Ashley and Jason were getting married on July 14th so we went a week early so we could experience the city during the best time of year (summer) and see family and friends. We stayed with Jensen in Bucktown and he was a very gracious host to us, considering we completely overtook his bachelor pad with a ton of baby stuff for an entire week! (We owe him)

Our first day there, Jesse insisted on taking Jerex to Wrigley Field so he could show him the stadium and take his picture.We forgot to put Jerex in his Cubs shirt, for some unknown reason.

Future Cubs Fan

Mom gets a picture too even though baseball bores her!

 Renae worked out of the PatientKeeper downtown office for 2 days, and Jerex came in to visit coworkers and experience The Loop, which upon experiencing, decided that the Loop is not really a good place for babies to hang out. Too many busy businessmen scurrying around and loud noises everywhere! He preferred Bucktown. The rest of the week we hung out, shopped, ate at some of our favorite places, and caught up with some friends. Renae's good friend and Jerex's "Fraunty" (friend/aunt) Rachel came to Chicago the entire week to hang out with us from North Carolina, and Jerex decided she was cool:

Rachel and Jerex

Thursday, Friday and Saturday Grandma and Grandpa Jones came to Chicago to help babysit while we were at the rehearsal dinner on Friday and wedding on Saturday. Jerex also got to hang out with cousin Drake a lot during the week, and we even went swimming in a big pool for the first time!

Grandpa Jay and the boys

Grandma Cathy and JEREX in his new shirt

We like shirts with our names on them here in the Jones family!! Uncle Jensen showing Jerex how to wear it!

We got all dressed up for the wedding and took a few pictures looking better-than-usual!

Jensen's instagram of the wedding

The wedding was beautiful, we had a wonderful time celebrating Ashley and Jason's wedding, and got to see a lot of old friends from Northwest and Chicago. Jesse was a groomsman in the wedding and looked very dapper in his bow tie!

Overall, it was a great trip and was nice to be back in Chicago to visit! But we were happy to be back home in Boulder after 8 days in the big city.

Before you came into my life I missed you SO BAD!

Finally - I got a great tooth picture! This is one of my favorite pictures of ALL TIME of Mr. Jerex, his smile is the sweetest thing and I just go crazy with happiness every time I see this picture!

6 months old

Yes, I am a smitten momma. He.is.so.sweet!! I can't believe he is 6 months old, and how fast the time has flown since he was born. I get misty eyed looking through his 'baby' pictures - I feel that somehow I woke up one morning and he has turned into a little boy and isn't really a baby anymore! I can't imagine our life without this guy, he really does bring the most joy to my life - more than I ever thought possible!! We are getting his 'official' 6 month photos taken this weekend, but here are a few from this month that I really liked:

Happy baby & Momma

Swimming in the baby pool w/ dad

Checking to make sure momma sees him sitting up on his own!

Excited drooly baby

Big boy

Jerex is sitting up on his own pretty well, and he seems to be getting stronger by the day and closer and closer to crawling. I am OK if he waits a while to crawl, I think that is going to be a whole other phase that I'm not quite ready to face! Enjoying his immobility for the time being!

Oh, and I'm going to have to change the name of this blog. After 7 years, we got rid of our best friend and feline friend Ned the cat. Things weren't working out well with him, and he was jealous of Jerex and felt 'nedglected' so we gave him up for adoption. We found a great home for him and he is adjusting ok. We miss him, but know that it was for the best, we couldn't give Ned the love and attention he so deserved. We love you, Ned!

Jerex meets Morley

While in MO, Jerex met a very special friend - Miss Morley! Morley & Jerex are exactly 3 months apart in age and Renae was very anxious to get to finally meet her too! The babies got to hang out for a while before we had to fly back to Colorado, and Jerex wasted no time trying to win Morley's affections:

Trying to hold hands

Dana, Morley, Jerex & Renae

It was wonderful to see the Christie family and we had a great time!

Jerex in Missouri

After visiting LaHarpe, since we were in the neighborhood (OK 4 hours away!) we decided to spend a few days in Allendale to see the Miller family. Jerex also got to meet his cousaunt Alissa! Jerex got to farm with Grandpa Burton and was quite interested in the big loud tractor.

Cousant Alissa

Grandpa Burton took Jerex on a nice tractor ride

Little boy and big fish

Great Gma Goubie watching Jerex play

Cousin Brock trying to pass the ball to Jerex

Jerex in LaHarpe, IL

Jerex made it to LaHarpe for a surprise retirement party for Grandma Cathy and to meet the Great-Grandparents. We arrived on a Wednesday and the surprise party was on Friday night, and she was surprised! Cousin Drake came from Chicago so it was a fun weekend with everyone together. Jerex also got to meet his Great Grandpa Duane and Great Grandma Willa! He was very happy to be around so many loved ones:

While in LaHarpe Jerex got to ride on golf carts, play with Cousin Drake in the baby pool, and battle a balloon.

Great Gma Willa feeding a hungry boy

Grandpa Jay showing him how to eat

Proud Grandparents at the Surprise party

Cheesy parents holding sleepy baby

Splash party

Grandparents and their grandsons!

Happy Father's Day!

Jesse's first Father's Day!

Jerex got to play with exotic toys like a Dollar General helium balloon which was his favorite thing he's ever seen. The below video speaks for itself: