Kevin is 8 months

Sorry this post is a little late, things have been pretty busy! On Sunday Kevin turned 8 months old. He is growing each day. 5 months ago he could only reach the floor in his jumperoo by using a thick phone book. Now he is on the highest level and can almost reach flat footed. Our little boy is growing so quickly!

He has now mastered pulling himself up and he likes to hold on to the sofa and walk down the length of it. He is also working on letting go of one piece of furniture and grabbing onto another. He can grab the other piece with no problems. He just hasn't figured out how to move his feet. So he usually drops to the floor and then stands up holding on to the other piece of furniture.

His two teeth are really coming in now and they don't seem to bother him any. He does like gnawing on things though, especially on the left side of his mouth. He has also begun eating finger foods like Gerber Puffs and cheerios. It is cute to watch him gum them and hear that little crunch. He loves to grab them from you and then shove them in his mouth. And when he drops one he just stares at it and then reaches for a new piece from you.

Next month we have a checkup so we will find out then how much he weighs and how tall he is. It does seem like he is getting taller and stretching out a bit.

I will post some new photos when I get a chance. :-) Amy

Your first funeral.

Kevin you were so young when you went to your first funeral. I'm glad you were so young that you won't remember such a sad time. The funeral was for Aunt Helen. She was your Dad's great aunt, but she was more than that too. Lora Walker and I have been friends for many years and we have gotten close to each other's families as time has gone on. Sometimes we would take a drive down to Smithville and join her grandmother Naydean (Grandma Nanie) for a game of Bingo at the VFW, in these trips we would also meet her friends, one of which was her best friend Aunt Helen. Sadly Grandma Nanie passed away while your Dad and I were dating. It was a year after her passing that when talking to Grandma Mitschke we realized that the Aunt Helen I had met at Bingo was actually her Aunt Helen.

Helen Harrell

On Sunday morning July 13, 2008 Helen Pauline Harrell passed into the arms of her Lord with niece June Parker and grand daughter Kerri Harrell by her side.

Helen was born on March 3, 1927 to John Paul and Helena Zuhn at home in Fayette County. Named for her mother and father, she was baptized on March 13, 1927 at Trinity Hill Lutheran Church in LaGrange, Texas. After instruction in the Lutheran faith, she professed her faith at her confirmation on March 17, 1940.

Helen was the last of seven children. She lived on a farm taking on chores of cotton-picking and baking on a wood stove. At age eighteen her sister Ann brought her to Smithville where she met two young best friends, Hack and Kat.

She married Hack on November 27, 1946 in LaGrange. Throughout their marriage they both had a variety of jobs. She was a "jack of all trades' at the Smithville Clinic on Main St. and then the new hospital on 9th St. Dr. James Thomas taught her every job even though she had no formal nursing education. She performed home deliveries even before the doctor could arrive. After Hack' death in 1975 Helen stayed busy tending to her home and garden.

In 1981 she married Kat Harrell and they spent eleven years enjoying life to the fullest until his death in 1992. She gained a son and three grandchildren who were the love of her life. Coining the name Hel Kat Road, a combination of their names, showed their fun loving side.

Pat Evers came into her life at bingo. As their friendship grew, his children and grandchildren quickly became hers. until the end they remained closed and devoted friends enjoying a "December" love.

Helen loved gardening, crossword puzzles, scrabble, bingo, casinos, painting pictures which graced the walls of her home, and her weekly domino game with "the girls". She was an active member of the VFW, taking on the responsibility of treasurer for many years.

Preceded in death are first husband, Henry "Hack" Wilson, second husband Johnny "Kat" Harrell, parents John P. and Helena Zuhn, brothers William Zuhn, John Zuhn, sisters Edna Schoppa, Mary Adamcik, Ann Garner, nephews Larry Schoppa and Jim Zuhn.

Survivors include brother E. C. Zuhn and wife Fritsie of LaGrange, stepson Johnny "Skip" Harrell and wife Carol of Arlington, granddaughters Kelly Harrell of Arlington, Kathy Burks of Dallas, Kerri Harrell of Arlington, Texas, great grandsons Jonathan Hardy and Zachary Boice, devoted friend S. P. "Pat" Evers, nephews and nieces Donald Zuhn, June Parker, Barbara Mitschke, Bobby Zuhn, Diana Mikulin, Michael Zuhn, Peggy Kenner, Beverly Kay Robinson, Timothy Zuhn, Stephen Zuhn and numerous great and great-great nieces and nephews that were blessed by her love.

Helen was loved and will be missed by family and numerous friends.

Correction: Two Teeth

Correction: We have two teeth on the bottom!

Houston... We have a tooth!

Kevin officially has his first tooth cutting through. For the last week I had noticed the front of his bottom gum getting white and he was chewing on everything. And for the last few days he has been pretty fussy. Well today when I went to massage his gums I found a bit of a tooth popping through. It is too small to photograph but you can definitely feel it.
Yea for teeth!

Another great milestone!

Kevin has been crawling for over a month now, but his way of doing it was more like a belly flop/inch worm. He would pick up his chest and thrust it forward to the ground, and then pull his legs up behind him.

Yesterday he figured out that he can move his arms and legs forward and crawl a lot quicker. So right now he does a few inch worms and does a real crawl. He is having fun doing it and has realized he can get around a lot quicker.

Holy Cow!

Last Friday Kevin turned 7 months old and it is crazy just how quickly he is growing. His new favorite trick is standing up while holding on to something. He just loves doing it. He loves to stand up in his crib and to see you when you walk into his room. He just lights up with this big ol' smile and then grabs on to you and won't let go. And today he stood up at the end of the chaise lounge and slowly walked down the chaise towards me. At this rate he will be cruising around the house by 8 months old! I have also taken some standing photos of him that you can find in my photo gallery.

This week I began the weaning process of getting him off his 4-5am bottle. He really isn't liking me early in the mornings. I was hoping he would be sleeping through that feeding by now, but it looks like it is going to take a little longer.

We also went to visit the doctor last week and he got weighed he now weighs 21lbs and 6oz. And every day he keeps growing. I can't believe he is 7 months old already, the time is just flying by so quickly!

Back from Paradise

We just got back from our trip to Nassau and we had a blast. We spent most of our days hanging out in the pool, but we did also go to Paradise Island to see the aquarium at Atlantis, and we visited the Ardastra Zoo.

Kevin did pretty well on his first flights. He was a little fussy from Dallas to Nassau, but that was mainly because he was tired and the seats aren't too comfortable or large enough for him to stretch out on. Not to mention he is used to sleeping in is crib and I am a little softer than his mattress. The flight home he was better.

Kevin really loved hanging out in the pool. We had a little floaty for him and he loved chilling out in it. By the end of the week he got really good at kicking and being able to go in the direction he wanted.

He really didn't care for the ocean much though. We tried to get him to sit where the waves gently lap the shore but he hated it. He would try to crawl up me and cling on tightly, after a minute he would start crying. Eventually we got him to enjoy being in the water, but he really prefered the pool. We also liked to put him on the beach and see if he would build sand castles with the other kids, but he didn't really like that either. Although he did enjoy eatting handfuls of sand. 8-)

We had a great time going to Atlantis and seeing part of the aquarium. Kevin enjoyed looking at all the fish. He liked to touch the window as if he could actually touch the fish. We also went into the Casino and Kevin and Steve played $1 on the slot machine. They lost. But we weren't playing to win, just to have fun.

At the zoo it was neat for Kevin to see all of the birds, reptiles and other animals. He really seemed to enjoy the flamingo's, Leemur's and the goats and sheep in the petting zoo. Since this is the Bahamas it isn't a big zoo, mainly one that highlights the local animals. But they are known for their marching flamingo's. It is cool to see a guy hollering commands and the birds following the commands.

I think Kevin really enjoyed his first international trip. He seemed to have a lot of fun and really enjoyed meeting all the other kids that went with us. I think we have already decided we will go back again next year.

We got a lot of pictures from the trip and over the next week we are going to be sorting through them and posting them online. I will also post a message when we get them up.