CHRISTmas FaMiLy PiCs

Rance is all about us taking our own pictures so this year we went to our neighbor's house to ask if we could borrow their front yard for pictures and they gladly said YES!  We absolutely LOVE the creek flowing in front of the house, the old barns, etc.  It was a pretty cold day outside and Jayden was so amused by everything outside that he refused to look at the camera most of the time.  I am okay with that!

So here are our family pictures a few weeks before CHRISTmas when Jayden was 6 months old!  I have to admit my husband is very good at setting up the timer and all.

Seriously - LOOK AT THOSE CHEEKS!

 

 

I will finish CHRISTmas posts one day :) 

 

 

*CHRISTmas - Part II*

On the Saturday before Christmas, we headed to Georgia to celebrate JESUS with Rance's mom, sister, her husband, and our sweet, awesome niece Kenleigh!  Kenleigh thought Jayden was a baby doll and she had a blast taking his paci in and out and covering him up and the whole works.  He just went with the flow too!

I cannot really go into detail on here but we had such a fun time and literally laughed until we HURT.  Don't you love that?!?!  Laughter is flippin' great. 

Nana & her two grandkids



SERIOUSLY?!?!? LOVE THIS!

I had NO idea that it would be so fun THIS year watching Jayden play and open gifts.  He had a blast with the bows, ripping the paper, and being in the midst of the craziness!

Rance's mom got Marla and I a sweater cardigan just like the one she was wearing that day and she wanted to have a photo session even though they didn't match what we were wearing at all!  I wish I could post all million pictures of this photo session because Kathleen was looking at Marla and I way more than posing for the camera.  This was A BLAST.



 

 

Thankful for an AWESOME sister-in-law because she is one heck of a HOST!

 



*7 months*

And just like that...Jayden is 7 months old! 

I am sitting here in tears because I am so thankful.  Each day that I get to watch Jayden grow, change and discover life and new things, it is a gift from Father.  I embrace this life as a mom and intentionally focus on all the sweet moments with my little man every single day.  Pure JOY!

I can definitely see how the change escalates after they are a few months old and it seems one day they are barely sitting and the next day they are sitting like they have done it for forever. 

So here is the rundown this last month:

• He is a bundle of straight JOY.  He is really just a go with the flow baby!  I can honestly say that as much as that is a BLESSING that whether he was or wasn't - he would be a JOY!  Even on his occassional fussy or off days (which really are rare) - I love him.
• He has been wearing 12 month clothes because he's a big boy!
• He sleeps so well!  He still gives his bedtime signals around 8:30 everynight, although lately he has been wanting to go to bed a little earlier.  He may sleep straight through the night and occassionally he wakes up one time and just needs the paci.  The last month or so when you lay him down on his back and hand him his blanket and frog he will squeeze it tight and roll over to his side.
• He still naps pretty much the same.  He will go down for his first nap between an hour and a half or two hours after waking up in the morning (around 8 or 8:30).  He usually sleeps an hour or an hour and a half and then his second nap is generally around noon for a couple of hours. 
• He was sitting well when I wrote his 6 month update but it's been fun watching his confidence in sitting go to spinning around and turning his leg out and leaning forward to go in the crawl position.  He scoots backwards instead of forwards though.  (side note:  I'm so not rushing this crawling stage - I really like this sitting stuff).
• He loves to take his finger and point and touch everything.
• He loves to eat.  He's had rice cereal, oatmeal, apples, bananas, pears, peaches, squash, sweet potatoes, green beans, and the list goes on.  We have had to be careful with not eating too many apples and bananas and making sure pears and peaches are mixed in each day because of his pooping.  At this point, he eats twice a day.  He loves to pick things up with his fingers so we have given him some puffs and he loves to pick them up but isn't so much a fan of eating them yet.
• We introduced the sippy cup because everytime we have a cup in our hand drinking water or whatever, he grabs it and puts it to his mouth.  We let him sip water all the time and he did try some sweet tea too from bojangles ONE day.  He was a big fan haha!
• He absolutely LOVES his veggies tales DVD's he got for Christmas but I must say that the praise baby collection DVD is his favorite and Rance and I LOVE it too.  We are always singing and dancing to it.
• He loves the exersaucer!  He loves to just sit on his mat and play with his toys (or a water bottle, iPhone, tennis shoes, bottle of Vitamin C, etc.)!  We recently put together his 'car' walker and he is a big fan. 
• He loves strings whether it be the strings that hang from my sweatshirt, shoes strings, or the strings on his toys. 
• He loves to STAND.
• His chunky thighs are just so great. 
• Bath time continues to be a favorite time.  I'm hoping this means he will love the pool this summer.
• He loves to be outside.
• He LOVES to dance!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  You can only imagine the clapping and stomping and dancing that takes place in our house :)  Once Jayden began sitting, he'd shake his head, sway back and forth, and kick those feet as hard as he could to dance with us.
• This list could go on and on...

Here are a few pictures we took on January 7, 2015 = 7 month mark!

First thing in the morning...

heading to Mama Long's

YES, it snowed!

 It was so fun to watch Jayden stare out of the car on the way watching the snow.  Of course, we had to take him outside to experience the frigid temperatures and snow firsthand.

Yes, he's over it!

warming up by the fire...
HE LOVES TO STARE AT THE FIRE!

BOY how things have changed over the months in this chair.  Now he puts his legs all through it and props them up on the side and twists all around like he owns it!

 

 

Please excuse Jayden showing off his chest.  I went to take this picture and noticed Rance unzipping his outfit and I'm not sure if it is because he thought he was hot or because he wanted a 'manly' baby picture?!?!



GIVING THANKS FOR 7 MONTHS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!