Valentines Day

So as far as news goes on our family, there is just little to talk about and all of it is about Maddux. He is getting BIG! On the 28th of this month he will be 6 months old, my how the time did fly! He is healty and growing, almost out of his 3-6 months clothes, which is pretty sad. 6-9 month clothing seems so big, but his other clothes are getting so tight, I think it's time for me to switch up. A sad day for a Mommy!! :) He has been eating rice cereal for almost a month now and we started vegetables earlier this month too. He didn't like the texture of rice cereal at first, but now grunts everytime you don't feed him fast enough. We started with peas and he seemed to like them ok until he got diarreah. I don't know if he had a virus or if he was allergic but let's just say after one day of changing 20 VERY poopy diapers and not having my son feel good for 3, I am NOT about to start him with peas again. We have tried sweet potatoes and squash. Our next step is Carrots and green beans. We are starting with vegetables first because I want him to get a taste of those before the sweetness of fruits. We are also trying to go organic with him completely. I have read a couple of articles that say if your going to go organic, it's best to do it in the first 2 years. The article had some very valid points and said that they put unnecessary things in baby food sometimes to preserve the life of them, such as salt and other things that aren't necessarily bad for baby but what would be the point of introducing it to them now. I don't think that anyone who doesn't do organic is bad by any means, this is just what we have decided for Maddux and I'm hoping I can keep up with it. It's hard to find organic baby food variety out there. When he starts eating solids it will be even harder! But it's something Andy and I feel very passionate about. Our biggest thorn in our side right now is that Maddux is still not sleeping through the night. He was right after Thanksgiving, than about a month ago decided to start getting up again. Last night was horrible. We put him down at 9:45 and we went to bed at 11:30, he woke up at 12:30 and stayed awake until 1:30 then woke up again at 3 and stayed awake off and on until 4:30. At that time I turned to Andy and said, I can't do this anymore, I need some sleep and Andy took care of him, which meant feed him a little and Maddux slept for another 2 hours.... what is it about Daddy's? :) But I realize that this is a stage and regardless of his sleep patterns I am WAY too happy to have him in our lives so it's worth it!
For Valentines this year we started a new tradition as a family. I get sick of the cards and candy and feeling like you have to do something on that day. So we decided to make it about our family. So we went down to Splash Country Inn in Branson. They have a indoor waterpark there and Maddux loves the water. So we went down there on Saturday and played at the park for about an hour...it was SO crowded, and stayed at the hotel there...not too great but hey it had a bed. It was a nice time to just get away and have uninterupted family time. Every year now around Valentines Day we will make a reservation and go down for the weekend. It will give Maddux something to look forward to but also something he will remember when he's older. That's what Valentine's should be about! Although I have to admitt, I loved the flowers my Dad brought me on Valentines Day. An Embree tradition that I pray never ends! :)
So that's about it from our kneck of the woods. I'm getting better at getting out with my squirmy worm, but I hate being out all day! We are actively attending storytime now and I want to look into swimming lessons, they have those for infants, had no idea! I think it will be fun. Oh, and we booked the place for Maddux's first birthday this week which was exciting! I had to act now before they filled up. Gotta plan in advance! :)
Andy and I are good. Andy has been VERY busy at work and hasn't been able to come home for lunch lately which is sad but understandable. He makes it possible for me to stay home, which I appreciate! Embree family is good. Maddie and Zach, Christina's kids, are getting big and are amazing!!! Our church is good, our new friends are a constant joy and a source of encouragment to us. It's truly amazing to think of how far we have come in 6 months!
We pray everything is good with you!