thundering cowboys

We were able to spend a whole week in Oklahoma this year!  It was super relaxing and fun to be with the whole family again after over a year.  We got off the plane, handed Bo to my mom, and took off for Matt's first NBA game, Thunder vs Mavericks.  OKC are some serious fans and the game was great, ending in a last-second three-pointer for the win.  And the crowd goes wild. 

 The next morning was family Christmas . . . and Bo played his roll as the star quite well.

Bo had tons of fun with his Uncle Rhino, Aunt Leesycat, Abu, and Coco.  He's so funny, making up all those nicknames.  

And Tucker . . . who seemed to be getting a little jealous of his small houseguest, but took advantage of all the toys lying about. 

One of the highlights for me was getting to meet this little girl: 

Miss Emily Enright!

We gave her this hood like all the Kenyan kids wear and she didn't want to take it off. 

Emily's Mama and I went to college together but it had been a year and half since I'd seen Johanna . . . and much longer since I'd seen her husband Danny.  Danny was doing a training program in OKC and Jo and baby Emily came down to be with him over Christmas.  We got to leave the babes at home for New Years Eve and go out, which is rare for both of us, and we saw them again when they came over to watch the Fiesta Bowl.  

Of course Bo was his wild self. 

 

This is Bo getting pulled away and restrained.  

And yes, Bo is in his new OSU fleece.

We also stopped by my mom's school on their work day so all of the teachers could meet him . . . 

Had dinner at a place where they blow glass . . .  random but interesting!

Good times.  It went too fast!  But now we're home again.  Our friend Lori and her little girl picked us up from the airport . . . what a nice welcome back to Long Island.  

traveling with a bo bear

plane watching

We hadn't flown with Bo since my trip to Idaho/Oklahoma this summer, when he was just 3 months old.  Now that he is a solid 8 months, I was much more relaxed about his ability to travel.  My only worry about the plane was that he would be too wiggly to sit in our laps for hours, and that he would want to get down and play.  He did really well on all of our flights, but he was wiggly!  Our travel days to Nashville and then on to Oklahoma were all very full flights so he had to sit on our laps and even though it was time for him to sleep, he would just be raring to PLAY.  

Sheikh aBoBear

Our trip from OK to Long Island was mid-week and a very light travel day so we he had his own seat on both of those flights.  That makes all the difference for him- he's much more comfortable sleeping in his carseat than in our laps.  

waiting for flights with Uncle Ry and Dad

At one point I took Bo to the empty row behind Matt so Matt could grab a little snooze . . . and Bo was loving all his space to stomp around and hit stuff.   

After a bit it was time for me to catch some zzz's so I passed the baby godzilla up to his dad and settled in for a nap.  After a few blissful minutes of solitude, Matt's insistent whispering jerked me from my reverie.  Apparently our child had pooped again, for the second time on this 2 hour flight!  Impossible?!  This time, Matt was starting to flip out because Bo's diaper had come unfastened in all of his wiggling and this was a situation Dad was not prepared to deal with.  To his credit, Matt followed me up to the tiny plane restroom and hovered outside the door to assist as needed.  Look away if you're easily grossed out - Bo's diaper had indeed come undone and the offending nugget was slipping out the bottom of his pants!  Ugh.  Thankfully I'd packed an extra set of clothes for Buddy, but I had not grabbed an extra pair of socks.  When he emerged from the bathroom he was wearing a one piece sweater outfit . . . with little bare feet sticking out the bottom.  Oh well, that's what you get, Mr. Poopy Pants.

My other concerns about our Christmas travel were Bo's extreme stranger anxiety and that he had finally started teething just days before we left.  The stranger danger was a moot point after a few hours around family - thankfully!  He did so well!!!! The teeth . . . well, turns out it hurts when you're getting a new tooth.  Bo's naps were off, but his night sleep wasn't affected until the day after Christmas.  That was the day I went to bed at midnight and Bo woke me up at 2:00, right as Matt was getting home from hanging out with his pals . . . and we were up for good!  This was the first time we had ever been up with him at night, unable to get him to sleep.  It made us appreciate how good we normally have it!!  But it was a long night, and it led to some tired days after that.  And we only got one tooth for the trouble.  Ugh.  How many more times are we going to have to do this?!  

 

By the time we go to Oklahoma, Bo had settled into Central time and his parents had settled into vacation time.  I got to sleep in for the first time since he was born!  Bo slipped into this wonderful habit of falling back asleep after his morning feeding (around 6 or 7) and I got the hang of falling back asleep too.  I think one day I woke up as Bo was going down for his first nap after a morning of playing with Daddy.  So that was awesome.  Made up for those teething experiences, for sure.  I need to plan a two week vacation every time a new tooth comes in.  I wish . . . 

bo's old kentucky home

Matt kept telling Bo that he was going 'home to Kentucky' despite never having been there before.  I guess it's in his blood - he took to it quite well!  After a couple weeks of serious stranger anxiety - crying at anyone and everyone - I was worried about how Bo would react to a new situation with lots of new faces.  He did SO well!  This trip came at a perfect time for him to learn that people don't have to be scary.  

We couldn't travel until Christmas Eve so our first day in Murray was Christmas!  Of course it was so fun seeing my nephews enjoying their gifts . . . and Bo enjoying the wrapping paper.  

tackle buddy

On Christmas evening Matt's dad brought out the accordion and played us some Christmas carols and polka numbers for the grandsons to dance around to . . . which was especially enjoyed by Connor and his glow stick.  

The Annual Turkey Bowl had a good turnout this year.

future generation:

I was glad Bo finally had a chance to play with his cousins.  Evan is only six months older than him, which is a big deal at this age but someday they'll catch up to be buddies.  Connor was so sweet towards 'Baby Bo.'

Of course there was lots of loving from Gigi . . .

and Pop.  Although Bo looks a little wary (tired) in this photo, he was actually quite a fan of his grandpa.  

We even squeezed in a short visit with Aunt Bo (Brenda) on the way to the airport.  This was their first meeting.  Matt's Aunt encouraged us to name the baby Brenda . . . but she agrees now that Bo is a better choice.  :)   

holidays

We have just returned from almost two weeks of vacation, Matt's first break since last February.  We visited Matt's family in KY and my family in OK, and it was great!  It's a little hard to be back with real life looming up before us on Monday . . . but how glad am I that it still hasn't snowed?! :)  

Of course I took a few pictures . . . but in the meantime, here's a little smattering of Bo's adventures. More to come soon! 

rides on six airplanes

cousins in football jerseys

accordion Christmas carols

annual Turkey Bowl

beefing up the baby

Thunder vs. Mavericks

two family Christmases

 cheering OSU to victory

new and old friends

 santa bubbles

8 months

Our little 8 month pal:

Well, what to say about eight months besides the same thing every other mom says - I can believe he's eight months old already!  Which is kind of weird to think about . . . closer to one year than baby-baby.  Bo's been on the same schedule since about five months, and I love the consistency of that.  Lately he's had some MAJOR stranger danger, which is not so convenient since we are going to see family for the next two weeks.  Instead of the smiles and waves he used to offer to people, his new reaction is to immediately burst into tears.  Not awesome when you're at the grocery, or church, or anywhere.  But as the nurse reassured me at our 8 month visit - it's normal, right on track, etc.  Just not fun.  Bo's first tooth started peeking in the day he turned 8 months!! (again, how convenient - teething while we travel...)  He acted weird for a couple days, not napping well, but since it has started popping up a little bit, he's been good on the sleep again.  Sidenote- when something goes awry I go into problem solving mode and try to figure out what is causing the issue.  After fiddling with the temp of the room, what was in bed with him, and then blaming myself for enabling him and going in and rescuing him . . . the problem resolved itself.  I guess I just need to relax.

Unfortunately, my lightweight baby really showed his true colors at his checkup when he fell under the 3rd percentile in weight.  I mean I guess I saw this coming since he's been at the 10th percentile for several months.  So now we're adding formula to everything and adding more fats to his diet.  Buddy loves him some cheese!

In other milestone news, it's clear that Bo is becoming more aware of his surroundings and interacting with us so much more.  It is super fun to make sounds for him to imitate and he loves clapping to congratulate himself on a trick.  He still shows no interest in crawling!  But loves standing and is starting to maneuver around a bit that way, holding on to furniture or our hands.  The throwing stage is here in earnest and and I am constantly hunting for toys that he's chucked across the room.

Besides the meltdowns around anyone besides Matt and me, Bo just gets more fun.  We love him.  

family christmas

We're headed out of here for Christmas and I'm the Scrooge who wants to take the tree down before we go . . . so we had a little family Christmas this weekend.  Our present time focused a lot on one little guy in particular . . .

 Not that guy!!

This guy:

We opened our Christmas pajamas and some other gifts that had been mailed here, and Bo got his little Scout the Dog from Matt and me.

It's programmable and it sings cute songs about "Me and my friend BO . . . we like to do everything together!" etc.

New Elfin PJ's:

That afternoon we went to the mall so that Bo could tell Santa what he wanted for Christmas.  

So sweet, right?  Even when it's sandwiched between these two gems?

Yikes.  Poor Santa.

After filling his head with whimsy, we went to a living nativity and bundled up against the cold to walk through a little Bethlehem and read the verses of the Christmas story.  On the way home we looked at Christmas lights, and all my Christmas dreams came true.

34 weeks

Not time to chat... the UPS man just brought round 2 of our Christmas cards.  Somehow round 1 was not sendable but I must give credit to Winkflash for their customer service and quick turnaround on the new cards.  Hopefully these cards will be out by Christmas! :)