Hello July

And, how are you? I haven't blogged the whole month and lots has been going on. Hence, the no blogging. Here are some of the snippets:

• We took a trip to the lake over the 4th of July. In a most welcomed turn of events, Brett and his mom were a huge help with James. It was such a great trip and I even felt relaxed for most of it. James got in the water, went on the boat, and even went on his first tubing tide. Don't worry, it wasn't as dangerous as it sounds. Brett and I sat on a double pull-behind tube and held James in between us. Uncle Ben drove the boat at the slowest possible speed. The major goal was a photo op, which we got.
• James now has 6 teeth! I have been shocked at how fast they've come in. After he got his bottom 2, I thought there'd be a break, but it seems to be tooth after tooth.
• We've been struggling with our child care situation, but it's almost getting back under control. Our sitter, Andrea, is awesome but James has been behaving badly for her over the past couple weeks. I think it's just the beginnings of separation anxiety, but Andrea's making it worse by trying to make him "cry it out." She's also not very good at giving him as much napping as he needs. Her 9-month-old doesn't nap at all, so I think she doesn't really appreciate how much James needs sleep. She is starting to watch James at our house everyday, which is nice because Brett works from home and can make sure he's getting enough naps. Also, I sent her some articles on how to handle separation anxiety (hold the baby!!) and that seems to be helping.
• We are leaving our baby for a full week. I really would never have opted to leave him for so long at such a young age, but it's my grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary and they are paying for all their kids and grandkids to take a 7-day Hawaiian cruise. They are paying the cruise fee for Brett and I, as well as our airfare. I thought about bringing James along, but there's no child care for children below 2. Plus, I'd worry about him getting sick or overheated or a bad sunburn. We are leaving James with my mom and Brett's mom. They live close to one another, so my mom will have James in the evenings and overnight and Brett's mom will watch him during the day. I know I'll miss him terribly, but he'll be in good hands and I'll get some much-needed rest.