I don't have any news. I just wanted you to read this. If you have a link to this blog on your own blog, PLEASE change it to britneyroark.wordpress.com!! We've moved our family blog there. I've checked on some of you, and so far I haven't found anyone that has changed the link to our blog! Change it NOW before you forget! You're missing out on our life! Thanks!

Britney

I'm still in the process of transferring our blog over to britneyroark.wordpress.com. Go ahead and change your link if you have us on your blog list! I've moved over all the posts from this blog, and there are some new posts there that you won't find here. I still need to add my blog list, but it'll hopefully be soon. I wish I had more time! Busy busy busy!

No we're not actually moving, but our blog is. I know I've been messing with the blog a lot lately and changing my mind about things, but this is for real. I'm switching over to wordpress. The main reason is that they offer password protection as an option so I don't have to go through some crazy routine to put a password on my posts like I've been doing with this blog. It makes me never want to post anything because it's such a pain. Since I've started using wordpress today, I've discovered that there are many features that I like about it. I know some of you will have a hard time with the switch, but it's pretty easy. The new blog address is britneyroark.wordpress.com. The password is the same one that we've been using on this blog. There are already some posts with pictures there about our trip to Utah for Thanksgiving, so go check them out. I'm still working on the layout and everything, and don't worry, I'm going to set up a list of blogs for all you people who like to use my blog for your blog-stalking headquarters. Let me know if you have any problems, and don't worry, the old one will still be here for a while.

Baby Pierce is now 8 months old! He hardly seems like a baby anymore. Here are some fun (and some not so fun) facts about his 8 month old life:

*playing - He pulls up on anything he can find and loves to stand. His favorite spot to stand is by the bathtub. I'd say his favorite toy currently is his activity table because he can stand at it. He loves to reach into bookshelves and dresser drawers and pull everything out. He's still fascinated by cords. Still loves bathtime. Hates getting diapers changed or getting dressed because he doesn't want to stay still on his back. Doesn't like it when you take something away that he likes. He knows that when something disappears from his sight, it still exists. He's a very curious baby and studies everything carefully.

*socializing - He laughs much more now than he used to. He has to be in just the right mood though to really get going. He likes it when you make funny sounds. He smiles at strangers but gets shy and turns his head away. He screams a lot less than he did a month ago, and babbles a little more. If he gets mad at you, he will tell you all about it. He gives sweet hugs. He also pulls hair and pinches when he's hungry. He cries when we walk out of the room and follows us around everywhere we go.

*sleeping - Things are not going so well in the sleep department around here lately. He's waking up multiple times each night and not falling asleep on his own for naps or bed time. Since he feels the need to crawl or stand at any waking moment, he has an even harder time calming himself down in his crib. If I leave him there, I will always come back to a standing and screaming baby. He won't sit or lie down on his own. I'm very understanding of it though because of the feeding problems we've been having. I want to make sure he's full before he goes to bed, and he usually isn't lately (which is why he wakes up so much).

*eating - He's doing better with baby food. I just mix a little bit of fruit into everything and he usually eats it fine. I've tried giving him chunky foods, but he doesn't bite down on things yet. He just tries to swallow it whole or it ends up coming back out of his mouth. I think he's getting close though, so I'll keep trying. We've been having a tough time with breastfeeding off and on lately. I can't believe I'm still doing it after 8 months because it has been the single most frustrating thing from the very beginning. Which leads me to my next topic...

*health - He still has thrush. We went back to the breastfeeding clinic and saw the doctor for the 4th time. She told us how to properly use gentian violet to treat it (we had tried it before but it didn't work). We did it 2 days ago, and after an extremely frustrating day with a hungry baby who could not eat, I decided to just go back to the Nystatin we've been giving him from the beginning. It's a safe medicine, and it keeps the yeast from overgrowing so he doesn't hurt. I'll just have to keep giving it to him because it doesn't ever get rid of it completely. Thrush is not a really serious problem. A lot of times it doesn't bother babies and it can go away on its own. The only time it's an issue is if it interferes with eating. It does interfere with Pierce's eating when he's not on medication, so that's why it's been such a challenge. It'll probably go away when I stop nursing him and he stops sucking on pacifiers. I wish I could go back in time and not take those antibiotics for the sinus infection I had the day he was born. I really think that's what initially started this whole thrush issue.

Regardless of the frustrations we have, we love the kid. He gets more and more fun to play with. Brock is loving being able to throw him up in the air and tickle him. It's fun to watch him and see how excited he gets about everything. I'm glad he's my baby boy!

We spent a week in Utah for Thanksgiving and I'm still trying to catch up on errands and bills and stuff, but as soon as I get a chance I'm planning some new posts. Stay tuned for highlights from our trip to Utah including...

Pierce's first time sledding.
Thanksgiving dinner.
Toy rollercoaster.
Family pictures.

Also from before our trip,

New washer and dryer!

It's all coming...hopefully soon.

I'm starting a photography blog. I want to talk about the things I'm learning, but I don't want to do it on our family blog. I don't think there's very many people who would be interested in reading it, but I just wanted to record what I'm learning and display the progress I'm making. If you are interested, it's britneyphotography.blogspot.com. It won't be password protected for now, so I'm just using initials for names of people.

Today is our 5 and half year wedding anniversary. I failed to blog about our 5th anniversary on May 11th because we kind of had a lot going on. However, we did manage to eat dinner at Chili's that day and stop by Costco while our friends watched Pierce for us. (Thanks again Dustin and Meredith.)

Brock and I usually don't display our affection publicly, but I wanted to brag about what a great husband he is! He works so hard for our family. He goes to work every day all year, and he does a good job at it (they like him there). He wakes up super early in the morning to teach seminary and consequently goes to bed super early at night. All this with minimal complaints. He's the one who is primarily responsible for our clean house. He's constantly cleaning up and doesn't complain much about that either, especially now that we have Pierce and I'm busier. He does laundry, he vacuums, he cleans the insides of our cars regularly. He cooks dinner sometimes when he's home. He mows the lawn and keeps everything looking nice outside. He helps decorate the inside of our house. He does so much and he still finds time to spend with Pierce and me. He gets so much done in such a short time. He's very motivated in all that he does. He's smart and confident. He's considerate. I'm very fortunate to be married to him! Thanks for all you do Brock! I love you!

Pierce loves baths. We stopped using his baby tub, and now he has a whole big bathtub to explore. He's quite intrigued by the faucet. We really need to get him some bath toys.

Brock's dad was (Joe) visiting his dad (Cecil) last week in Connersville, so we went over and stayed for a night. Brock helped out by mowing some of his grandpa's property. It took him a long time to mow around all the trees. I guess Pierce was my excuse for not doing any manual labor myself, although keeping up with him lately can be quite the workout. The grandpas got to visit with Pierce, and Grandpa Joe especially loved his one on one time with him that he doesn't get much of when the rest of the family is around. It was nice to have someone help me take care of Pierce who actually really enjoys doing it. It makes it a lot easier to let someone do things for you when you know how excited they are to do it. Pierce of course loved the attention and the new environment and didn't want to eat or sleep much while we were there. He must have thought he would miss something if he did.

Pierce has really been working on pulling up today. He's trying to pull up on anything he can. Sometimes he gets stuck and cries until I come get him and help him up. He's so proud of himself. I've seen a lot of smiles today.

He holds on with his mouth too for extra support. This is the point he sometimes cries for help. He had just had a leaky diaper so I stripped his clothes. Sometimes he falls down and sometimes he gets down on is own. This is what his face looks like when he's screaming. I need to get video footage so you can have the pleasure of hearing it too! So happy with his accomplishment!