Alex getting on his horse

For Alex's 1st birthday my parents gave him this awesome handmade rocking horse. I believe it was hand made by inmates but that is beside the point.:) Last night, for the first time EVER he just got on it himself exactly like I had been showing him. It was amazing! And he did it like he had been doing it for months. Right after the video ends he falls off and hits the back of his head on the wall so we will have to work on getting off safely, but I just wanted to share this new accomplishment.

First Swim Lesson!

Before he left for his first lesson...


Going after his toy



I know the pictures are a little dark, but yesterday Alex had his first ever swim lesson! John's cousin, Christy, had told us about swimkids. I mentioned it to John and thought it might be fun but wasn't sure if he was too young or if it would just be silly to try to get him in a swim "lesson." We both agreed that he loved the water so we might as well try it. I was excited about it. Before we left I told him where we were going to try to prepare him for it :) so he would know what to expect. He did great! As soon as I got him in the pool he started laughing and splashing. We started out by getting a toy and he or I was supposed to throw it and then I would put him on his stomach and he would swim after it and reach for it. He did it perfectly (Do I sound like a proud momma?). He threw that toy with all of his might and then swam and reached for it. The teacher, Abbie, was great. She had obviously done this before and told us that babies didn't like to be on their stomachs or backs. That was so true for Alex and the other kid in the class. In this picture he is pulling my hair and saying "na na na na!" (That is his version of no)as I have him floating on his back.



Mimi (Alex's great grandmother) works out every morning where the pool is so she decided to stay and watch. I'm glad she did so she could get some pictures for us. Anytime we were doing something he wasn't too fired up about he would look around for her like "please come get me out of here!"

Uncle Russell's visit

with Uncle Russell

at the mall watching the fountains

Russell "needs" to come into town every once in a while for "business." Funny how when we lived in Birmingham it was convenient for him to stay there and now it's convenient for him to spend the night in Tuscaloosa. :) Anyways, we always have a good time bc we get at least one free good meal at a restaurant out of it (and this time we even got two). He loves spending time with Alex. It was nice for me bc he let me sleep in some and kept Alex till he had to leave for work. I also, always try to get some stuff done while I have a "helper" with me. Isn't family great??!! Russell went to the mall with us and kept Alex at the fountains (one of Alex's favorite things) and let me actually look at things in stores and not just quickly pass them by and try to make a quick decision before I have to see where Alex darted off to or what he is touching.

helping Uncle Russell pack up his car to go home

CHOM (Children's Hands On Museum)

I had been hearing about CHOM ever since we moved here, but in all honesty I thought it might be, at best, a poor attempt at a fun museum for kids. I was soo wrong! We were there for 2 hours (only bc I was in 2 hr parking or we would have been there longer) and Alex didn't even do everything that was on the first floor. He had the best time! It is great place to take kids and it's not too expensive. We ended up buying a year pass. There is a play hospital, farm, and all other sorts of interesting fun things plus story times and music times throughout the week. Below are some pictures of him playing.
Driving the tractor (he loves steering wheels)

feeding the baby in DCH's(Tuscaloosa's hospital) nursery

in the barnyard

playing with the velcro shapes

working at the DCH admin. office

driving the truck (he spent 15 minutes AT LEAST in the truck)


We also went today for a "Movin' and Groovin'" Class. It was a lot of fun and I got to meet a lot of other moms in town. One runs a website called tuscmoms.com. If you go to the website you will see the pictures she took of the class today. The first two are of Alex!:)

Out on Lake Tuscaloosa

In charge of the boat

swimming in the lake with mom

intertubing with mom

Alex and I went out last Saturday with John's parents on their boat. Alex had ridden the intertube when he was probably 7 or 8 months and we thought he would love to do it again. I hadn't been skiing since before I was pregnant so I was eager to see if I could still do it. :)By the way...I can!Before we left the dock, Jimmy was blowing up the intertube and putting gas in the boat. Well, Alex went straight for the steering wheel and was messing with all of the stuff over there. I thought Jimmy would tell me if he was doing something to mess the boat up so I just let him play. One time Jimmy told him to stop doing whatever it was he was doing (something with the engine) so I thought everything was ok. When it finally came time to leave the boat wouldn't start. It kept dying. Finally, a boy who worked at the marina came over and tried it and realized that Alex had hit the kill switch. Now we know to check everything before we try to start the boat! Alex loved the intertube. He just waved and clapped and pointed at the other boats and the birds. He was just relaxed and laying back on me. It was soo cute! He loves the water. When Preston and Mandi were here we went swimming and he went off the diving board twice for the first time. He did good. He smiled coming down the water slide. I can't wait to see him at White Water in ATL. I think he'll love it!

Mandi and Preston's visit

Mandi Terry (a college/highschool friend from Nashville) and her 21 month old son Preston came to stay for a couple of nights with us this week. Preston is hilarious and very active. He says a lot too which was good for Alex to be around. They were so funny together. They interacted more than they ever had, but then they also did things on their own. They didn't agree on a whole lot. If Alex had something Preston wanted it and would just take it. Alex wouldn't put up a fight at all. He would just stand there and you could tell he wanted the toy back but he didn't try to get it. In the baby pool if Alex wanted the truck in the pool, Preston wanted it out of the pool. It was interesting to watch! The only time Alex even kind of fought back was when it came to his food. Preston doesn't eat near as much as Alex does so Preston would always be done and out of his chair ready to play. He would come put his hands on Alex's tray. Alex wasn't having that. He would swat at Preston's hands if he got too close to his food. Since they've left (and while they were here) I've worked with Alex on saying more. He now tries to say up if he wants you to pick him up. He says the "u" sound but not the "p.". On the peditrician's suggestion we now try to make him say what he wants. If he wants a drink he has to at least attempt to say it. Below are some pictures of the boys together. Mandi, I don't think we got one of us at all. Maybe next time!!

The boys in the bathtub

Playing with the dog at the park

Playing at the park (they were throwing the mulch)

Playing in the backyard

Watching the fountains at the mall

4 words and 18 months!

Alex turned 18 months old on July 10th and we went to our new pediatrician, Dr. Phillips. He is supposed to be saying 4 words by now, at least. I lied (I'm a terrible mom and just forgot) and told the Dr. that he was only saying two, momma and daddy. He is also saying (consistently) hot and stop. How could I forget that!!??? He continues to crack us up everyday! He loves the Wiggles (4 strange guys from Australia). We watch their DVD (if we are home) at least once a day. I put it on when I'm fixing dinner and he's tired. It works great! He dances to it and just hops around and every once in a while he'll run into the kitchen to see what I'm doing. It's so cute! I had a video of him dancing to the Wiggles but it was taking forever and I couldn't get it to download. Sorry! :( Christy: If you are reading this PLEASE let us borrow some more DVD's-the one we have is driving me crazy!!!:)

Some things we've been up to lately...

Alex LOVES dogs. We saw this dog at our neighborhood park and Alex just had to get close to it. It looks like Alex is trying to talk to him.

Alex with his new tricycle. It is awesome! He rides and I can steer him. He loves to push it himself a lot too though. Yes I know this shirt is too small for him. Also, on a side note, we may be done with bibs! YEAH!! I hope so!

Alex and me down by the Black Warrior River.

Alex playing naked in the sprinklers. John was trying to fix a sprinkler head in our backyard and so we stripped Alex and let him run through them. He loved it but also wanted me to run through it with him too. It was a lot of fun! We loved this face he made when I told him to look at me. It was like, "hey, I'm busy here, what do you want?"


This video is of Alex telling John to stop. He doesn't exactly say stop but it's close enough. I started telling Alex to do this when Alex probably was around a year old. John will tickle him and play with him and I started telling Alex to tell Daddy to stop. He has gotten the hang of it the last few weeks. It is hilarious to watch! Now I don't have to tell him to say it he does it on his own.

Army Wives and the 4th of July

Can I say that I love this show?? :) Almost everytime I watch it it makes me cry. Sometimes ALOT! If you haven't seen it it is great! It comes on Lifetime...I think at 9pm on Sunday nights. I'm a huge fan of our military. I can't imagine what the soldiers and their families go through every day. I know for a fact that I would never be able to volunteer to go fight for our country but I'm sure glad there are men and women that can and do!

Alex hugging on Bella. He loves Grammy and Papa's dog!


For the 4th of July we went to Emily and Jimmy's house (my in-laws). All of Jimmy's side of the family came over. We ate well and then just hung out and talked while the kids played. Alex found him a new best friend. He loves his cousin Mason. Mason will be 12 on Friday and was great with Alex. He picked him up and let Alex follow him around. It was too cute. At one point, Mason was sitting on the couch and Alex got up in his lap and laid belly to belly with him and started inspecting Mason's nose, ears, eyes, etc. It was too cute!! Alex was all up in his grill, but Mason just sat there and let him inspect him. Also, his cousin Abbie read to him. Alex loves to read so he enjoyed it immensely. She also sang Hannah Montana songs to him. All three of them were going outside and Alex took a tumble down the front steps. He was bruised and cut up pretty good. He didn't seem like he was in too much pain though. Notice in the pictures his forehead and his nose. That night we went out on the boat to watch the fireworks. John didn't go but me, Alex, Parker, Jimmy, and Emily did. It was a lot of fun! Alex went straight to the steering wheel as soon as he put a foot in the boat. He didn't want Papa to help him at all...he kept pushing his hands away. Even after the boat stopped Alex still wanted to be right there turning the steering wheel. Once the fireworks started he just watched them and would clap between the displays. He was in awe! On the way back to the dock he fell asleep in Emily's lap. With the wind in his face I don't know how!:)

His bruised face

Asleep on the way back

Driving the boat with Papa

Loving on Mason. He was in Jimmy's arms and then just leaned over and hugged Mason.

Reading with Abbie

Sitting with Mason

I forgot I had been tagged....

Sorry Elizabeth S. I had completely forgotten about this.

Here are the rules:
a. Link to the person who tagged you.
b. Post the rules on your blog.
c. Write six random things about yourself.
d. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blog.
e. Let each person know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment at their blog.
f. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

1. I love movies! I could sit and watch movies all day every day. I've always wanted to go to a movie theater and stay there all day watching movies.

2. I want to be a cop. I know...many people think this is crazy. John says I just want a gun, but I've always loved Law and Order and CSI and anything that has to do with Law Enforcement. My dream job would be to be a cop who rides on a horse like at football games.

3. I love to sleep. I guess it's the Gentry in me:) Anytime Alex is down for a nap if I can steal one too I will.

4. I've always wanted to be on Famiy Fued. I even think sometimes about who I would take. I love to watch that show. Especially the celebrity one they are doing now.

5. I hate to cook! I'm going to try to do better especially since I'm staying at home now, but for some reason I've just never enjoyed it and I've never been good at it. I love to eat but I don't like the process of making my own food. If you have easy recipes send them to me please!!!

6. I'm not a big dog or cat (or for that matter any animal-except horses) fan. You know how there are people who love their animals and they are in the house and on their furniture. That is not me. Some people treat them as humans and that makes no sense to me. I'm not saying it's bad if you do it's just a random fact that some people don't know about me. I like my dog outside. :)

I tag Mandi S., Angie C., Kym M., Kim C., Melanie J. and Kristy E.

Brian Butler's Surpise Party

Alicia was having a surprise 30th bday party for Brian in Atlanta, John only had one more day of residency left and was off on Friday so we decided to drive up there for the party and drive back the same night. It was so much fun and so good to see Alicia, Brian, new baby Beau, and Adam and Shelley Lloyd. We love getting together and always have so much fun hanging out but don't get to do it very often. Unfortunately I only got a few pictures because my camera broke. I got about 5 pictures and then I just had a white screen. Don't fear though bc after 6 years I finally got a new one...yes it is much smaller and lighter. Hallelujah! Beau Butler is precious. I think he is about 8 months old and he looks so much like his daddy. He was too cute!

Alicia, Beau, Me, and Alex

Beau Butler (look at that cute face!)

Finally moved in!

We are finally here and kind of settled. There is still lots to be done...no pictures on the wall, etc, but we are getting there s-l-o-w-l-y. I think Alex is adjusting well to his new house. There was one morning he woke up and wasn't quiet sure where to go when he walked out of his bedroom door. And he has woken up from a nap once or twice with a frightened shriek but other than that things have been good. My parents left last Wednesday. It was so nice having them here! They kept Alex entertained while I got lots of phone calls and little things done. My mom practically unpacked and organized my whole kitchen...every night I would just look in all the drawers to see where stuff was. Thanks mom! One day we were at Walmart and I saw a spray bottle for 97 cents. My friend Jamie had one for her son to use as a "water gun" in the pool so I thought Alex would like it. Before we were out of Walmart Mom filled it up at the water fountain. Alex had the best time getting sprayed by his grandaddy while still in Walmart. He would just giggle and smile. When we got in the car he sprayed himself with it. He was soaked by the time we got home. He didn't care about spraying anyone else, just himself. It was too funny! We drove to Bham Wednesday bc I had carpet cleaners coming to that house since it was empty. We went to the pool while the man cleaned the carpet and John went to work.
MommaDar with Alex


Grandaddy with Alex


Having fun in the pool


squirting himself in the car with the water bottle


still squirting