My Little Turkey

We hope each of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  We had a great day spending time with family.  We have traditionally, with Neal's family, made cornbread dressing and pecan pie on Wednesday evening, but this year was different.  With Jake and his cousin Allie joining us we found ourselves running around the house playing, playing, playing!  It's true that children make the holidays sweeter!

MY LITTLE TURKEY

I loved this one and had to share!  What a beautiful day!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Emily Elrod Photography

Over the weekend I took a workshop given by my good friend, Emily, of Emily Elrod photography.  It was so nice to learn more about my camera and how to take better pictures!  This was an awesome idea for a workshop.  Several of the ladies and I agreed that we bought our fancy cameras expecting THEM to take the better picture.  I'm really excited to take some pictures over the holiday's and see the difference.  I am thinking of hosting one of these workshops by Emily after the holidays soooo ask for your new camera for Christmas and come learn some helpful tips!!

I stole this picture from Emily...practicing after our lessons!

Wordless Wednesday

15 Months

15 MONTHS OLD

I cannot believe our baby is 15 months!  He is growing up so fast.  I am absolutely guilty of declaring each new stage as my favorite!  It is awesome being able to interact with him and watch him learn new things every day.

Jacob, you are a true joy!  There is never a dull moment with you around.  You keep us on our toes with your endless curiosity!  We are amazed by you and the ability to love someone the way we love you!  You are such a sweet little angel!

Mama & Dada

STATS
To Come...

WORDS
Jake can say a handful of words including mama, dada, "og" (dog), "ish" (fish), "ease" (please), "ath" (bath), and "oes" (what we all call Cheerios).

JAKE CAN
Jake is doing new things all the time.  He can now walk up the steps with help, crawl up them (chaperoned), give five, point to our eyes, nose, mouth, and ears when asked, get down from the couch alone, give hugs and kisses when asked, bounces/dances, turn on and off the tv (not sure this is a favorite), play ring around the rosie, play roll the ball with someone, and put his arms up when we say "touchdown".

FAVORITES
Jake loves balls, animals (in person, on tv, or in a book), swinging at the park, playing with the television remote controls (his favorite), banging anything on top of the metal trash can to make a loud noise, falling to his bum when daddy says "boom", and taking a bath.

We are cherishing these moments!

SOLD

We are so excited!  We recently fell in love with some land that is in Clover, just outside of Lake Wylie, and we settled on making it our future homesite!  What a blessing!  It will be a few years before we are ready to build, but are looking forward to all the chaos and fun of building, of moving, and of making a home for our family to share in forever.

We pray this home will be a place

Of serenity and peace

Somewhere to get away from all

The stress and pressing needs

And that this home will be a refuge

From life's fast, and busy pace

With every room a reminder of

God's awesome love and Grace.

~ M.S. Lowndes

Tis the Season!

Yes, I am one of those annoying people who plays Christmas music super early, strolls down the holiday isle as soon as it is stocked, and welcomes holiday candles into my home as soon as a chill hits the air.  I admit it!  So, lately I have been glancing back at last years photos from the holiday's and boy has our little Jake changed!  He was a chunky, little baby who could barely sit up on his own and now the boy in him is dying to get out as he parades around our house like a wild man!  Needless to say, this Christmas will be much different than last year.  Hope you are gearing up for the holidays too!  Here are some photos of Jake last year...

Happy Halloween

I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween!  We had a great time celebrating the evening with two of Jake's pals and their parents.  It was hard to get a great picture of Jake in his costume as he was as busy as ever.  Needless to say we spent more time running around the streets than chatting it up.  Regardless, it was fun to see our little ones waddle around in their costumes.

For the record, we should have dressed Jake in all black with a mask as a "robber" because his goals were to first stir the bowls of candy with his hand and then try to enter the houses we visited.

A picture from earlier in the week that I had to share!

Our darling animals: Lillie the Ladybug, Jake the Sheep, and Jacob the Tiger!

 Daddy Walking with Jake...

Mommy At the Door with Jake...

Mommy Saving the Nice Lady From Jake the Intruder...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

"ish"

One of Jacob's first words was "ish" aka "fish".  I think that this was due to reading Dr. Seuss' "One Fish, Two Fish" over and over.  For quite some time now he has been waking up in the morning, pointing at Saddie, and instantly saying "ish".  We have certainly had our laughs over this, but at the same time made an effort to remind Jake that Saddie is definitely a dog.  He does, often, point out fish on the tv and in books, but continues to refer to Saddie as the same.  Regardless, I found it to be the perfect excuse to tell dada "we need a fish"!  So, today after work, we took a family trip to the pet store where we purchased our first family fish.  I am calling them "Fish One & Fish Two."  I mean, Dr. Seuss did inspire this whole pet stage, right?  Once we warmed them to their new home we introduced them to Jake who was interested all of...hmmm...thirty seconds!

FISH ONE & FISH TWO

ADMIRING MY NEW "ISH"

IT MAKES DADA SMILE WHEN I SAY "ISH"

Fall Day at MMO

Today was Fall Day at Jake's Mother's Morning Out class!  All the kids were to wear their fall colors and come ready for activities, special snacks, and fun!  I was so excited to see that my big boy had come home with some treats to show us about his day.  He had an adorable pumpkin, a class photograph, and two art projects.  It warmed my heart to see what he had been doing this morning.  Jake doesn't have to talk to let me know what his favorite part of the day was.  I can pretty much guess it was snack time.  He loves snacks and they have told me from day one that there are no tears from this baby during snack time.  In addition, Jake had no interest in lunch today.  :)

(Note to self: Jake started MMO in September 2011, 1 day a week @ First Baptist Church in Fort Mill.)

FALL COLORS

JAKE'S CLASS: "BUNNIES"

(Jake is sitting on Ms. Jenn's lap, in the back.)

 FIRST SCHOOL ART

We hope you are enjoying your fall as much as we are!  It is my favorite season!

On a Lighter Note...

This evening, as I usually do around 6 o'clock at night, I took Jake out of his highchair concluding dinner and... waited for him to "poop in his pants" (aka diaper). Yep, after dinner WAS bath time, but after several poopy bath incidents we have made after dinner time "wait for Jake to poop time". Ridiculous? Maybe, but after bathing my son only to see his face turn red and the water turn brow...we adjusted the schedule. So, we wait. Once the mission was accomplished we dashed for the bathroom and proceed with our nightly routine. This evening happened to be memorable. As bath time was rounding up its final minutes and the last of Jake's bath water dribbled down the drain I looked at Jake who was sitting legs stretched out in front and looking down at his "wee wee". And then...a stream of yellow urine came out like a water gun. Jake screamed in fear, stood up in the tub, and reached for me to save him. I realized that it was the first time he had actually seen himself "go". I wrapped my arms around his drenched little body, patting his bottom, assuring him over and over that it was going to be okay.

Realizing there most likely isn't a place in our baby book for "baby's first tinkle scare" I thought it should certainly be recorded here.

Thank you Lord for Sleepless Nights

Zzzzzzz...  Zzzzzzz...  Zzzzzzz...  Zzzzzzz... Zzzzzzz...  Zzzzzzz...  Zzzzzzz...  Zzzzzzz...  Zzzzzzz...

Neal and I returned from a restful trip away to Costa Rica last Wednesday evening.  When we woke up Thursday I noticed Jake had a runny nose.  "Bless his heart," I thought.  I hate not being able to fix his colds and knowing that only time will heal his little virus'.  None-the-less, Jake was up in the middle of the night on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  "Bless mine and Neal's hearts," I thought!  Sunday night I jumped in the sack at an earlier hour than I'm willing to share, but (as needed!) I jumped onto Facebook for a quick scan.  I came across an update from someone that I went to junior high and high school with.  It was a simple mention that she had recently updated her blog and the post was "Circle of Life."  I love to read other's blogs and I'll admit that although I have not spoken to this friend or seen her since high school I have ventured to her blog on occasion.  So, as I lay in bed I decide to click on it and see what is new in Sallie's life.  I read about her life and her three children.  She is so honest, not trying to paint her life as picture perfect, but coming across as so perfect for herself and her family. This particular entry that she most recently shared ended like this, "Between my night owl, my early riser, and my night feeder my sleep is quite deprived at the moment.  But I know this too shall pass...and then I'll just miss them being babies".  I marveled in the moment at how great God is and how He leads us in perfect direction.  I often remind myself when things are not perfect for a period of time that the current time is a phase that will not be unending.  It is easy in the stress of few hours of sleep or a busy week to forget that the things that are not ideal shall pass and that maybe, just maybe, we will miss those moments when they do.  I thank God for leading me to Sallie's blog in a moment when I needed reminded.  Be still and listen.  I will be adding this blog to the "Friends We Follow" on our blog so that I am more easily reminded to go there not only to enjoy the day to day fun and chaos of another family, but to draw some inspiration.  So, I will end this post by saying:

Thank you Lord for guiding me to Sallie's blog for inspiration.  Thank you for her faith.  AND yes, thank you Lord, for sleepless nights.  For giving us a gift named Jacob to have sleepless nights with.  For making me his mommy and trusting that I will sooth the gift that you have blessed me with during those nights.  

That night, (last night), Jacob slept all night long.  

Happy Pumpkin' Pickin'

We enjoyed a fun afternoon with some of my mommy friends and their families at The Hunter Farm in Charlotte.  It was a day of fun.  From photo op spots, to pumpkins, to hay rides, and a petting zoo we were filled with a great fall outing!  Jake loves to just run and run and there was plenty of places for just that!  We hope you enjoyed your "pumpkin' pickin'" as much as we did!

I Scream * You Scream * We All Scream for Ice Cream!

Jake had his first ice cream cone at Bruster's Ice Cream in Fort Mill.  He is always so amazed by new things and it cracks me up!!!

Jacob's First Year

Dear Jacob,
You have brought a new meaning to life.  You have made our hearts feel something they have never felt before.  Your smile, hugs, and kisses can turn a bad day into a best day.  Without effort you touch our lives in an amazing way.  We love you beyond words and you are a true gift to your dad and me.

1 MONTH

2 MONTHS

3 MONTHS

4 MONTHS

 5 MONTHS

6 MONTHS

7 MONTHS

8 MONTHS

9 MONTHS

10 MONTHS

11 MONTHS

12 MONTHS

1 YEAR PICTURES

My sweet friend, Emily, took Jake's newborn photos and was so gracious to take Jake's one year pictures just before his birthday!  She is so talented and I love watching her grow through her work.  Thank you, Emily, for being such a lovely friend and for such a gift!

These are just a "few" of the many beautiful pictures captured...