My Sweet Sleeping Baby...

When we checked on B during his nap one day, this is what we found! How can this be comfortable?! He loves to snuggle and this time was caught snuggling with his bumper! Some parents don't use one, but goodness if I didn't, he'd be hitting his head all the time on the hard wood side rails.

This was just too cute not to share! :)

10 Months...

Today, my baby boy is 10 months old. I am savoring, as with every month, every single day because before long, he will be a little toddler! He said his first word... MAMA! We aren't quite sure if he knows that mama is me, but it seems as though he knows. I am always saying "mama loves you...give mama kisses...come here to mama...etc., so I wouldn't be surprised. He frequently gives kisses and is comprehending more and more everyday. He even gives kisses to the pictures of babies in his books that we read to him! It is so sweet! His teeth are continuing to work their way through and when I put my finger in his mouth today, I could feel it. He still loves to crinkle his nose and pucker his lips...as seen in a picture below of this absolutely adorable face. At 10 months, he is still not excited about any food other than his baby food. And when we have offered a sippy cup, he is more interested in playing with it than drinking anything from it. We are practicing every day so he can drink from a cup rather than a bottle once he is weaned. Enjoy some pictures of our little B-ster...

At the park...NOT a jail! :)

His famous "crinkle nose" smile

Love these chubby leggies

New Year's Eve 2009

Here are a couple pictures from our New Year's Eve celebration at Steve & Jenni's. We always have such a fun time and as you can see, our families are growing! It's so much fun to see all the kids grow up together. This year was our 10th year together celebrating New Years! Can't believe it has been that long! In the picture of the kids, we are missing Isabella...we couldn't snap the picture fast enough! Charity came for a little while but without Michael since his family was in town visiting. We also missed the Vaughters family. Already looking forward to next year with some new additions! :)

Caden, Aden, Tatum, Brooks, Allison, & Abby

Christmas 2009

We had a fabulous Christmas this year...little late with the post, but better late than never! :) Brooks was absolutely adorable in his Santa suit on Christmas Eve that daddy had bought him. We had so much fun opening presents with him on Christmas morning. Brooks actually opened his first gift from us as if he knew what he was doing and smiled the whole time! He was just as much into the gift as he was the paper. We spent the afternoon of Christmas Eve, as we always do since I was a little girl, at my aunt & uncles house and then we go on that evening to my grandpa's. After opening gifts on Christmas morning, we had brunch at my mom & dad's. Here are some of my favorite pictures from this Christmas.

Our little Santa

We started a tradition of opening Christmas Eve PJ's with Brooks...


Christmas morning...


Christmas Day with Madeline & Camille

Brooks was reading about Jesus...he loves to read!

Madeline, Camille, & I

Love this smile!

Snow, Snow, Snow...

We had our first big snow yesterday and had a blast taking Brooks out to see and feel it! He and I haven't left the house in 3 days since it has been so crazy cold out - just love being snowed in with my little one. We are getting a bit of cabin fever, so we are anxious for the weekend for daddy to take us out! Here's our little snow bunny...

Mom please take me outside!

9 Months...

My baby is 9 1/2 months old now and changing so much everyday. I have seen more change in the past month than I have since he was around 6 months old! He has started "army crawling", pulling/standing up against/on everything! Every morning and after every nap, I walk into his room with him standing against his crib with the biggest smile on his face - probably thinking he is sooo big! Love it! :) He claps his (chubby lil) hands, knows his name (which is amazing since we call him a million other names like punkin, sweetie pie, bubby, B, B-ster, etc.), loves to wrestle/roll around the floor with mommy and daddy, crinkles his nose, gives kisses. And mama was so happy yesterday when I asked him for a kiss, he leaned forward and gave me one! Yay...he's been giving kisses for a while but I've never known if he actually knew what he was doing other than lovin on mommy. So that was the first time he actually gave me one upon request! He has also given kisses to daddy and grandma! Melts my heart every time!

At the doctor on Tuesday, his stats were:

Weight of 21.2 lbs putting him in the 48% and Height of 28 1/2 in. putting him in the 60%. I always love seeing him interact with the doctor and to see how differently he interacts than his last appointment. I'm sure his next appt. will be so different too since it will be his 1 year well-visit. Crazy to think he is almost 1 year old! Yikes! Did that year really go by already?!

Enjoy some pictures below from his doctor's visit...

Patiently waiting for the doctor


Getting to know Dr. Evans better - giving him a "nose crinkle"!



Love this picture of him looking out the window - it showcases his chubby legs and how big he's getting! Just wanna squeeze'em! :)

All done and ready to go outside in the freezing cold

Getting ready to climb up his jumperoo

**Stay tuned for Christmas and New Years posts!

Orlando - Disney 2009

In early December, our family took a trip to Orlando. My sister's family and my parents went, along with the 3 of us. My parents were there for an all expense paid trip they had earned through their Amway business, so my sister decided it would be a great time to take her family. Matt & I tagged along and were able to see our other niece and nephew, Nick and Olivia, and Matt's mom, Cathy. They travelled up to Orlando from Naples for a couple days. We visited Magic Kingdom one day, relaxed by the pool another day, and were able to visit other sites along the way. The weather was not the best & very chilly for FL, around the mid-60's, but we came prepared. Our room we stayed in was a suite that had 2 bedrooms, 2 full baths, a living area, and a full kitchen. That made travelling with a baby so much more comfortable. The plane ride there and back turned out wonderful - Brooks fell asleep in my arms both times. I was a little worried how he would do, but the flight didn't bother him a bit. Here are a few pictures from our Disney vacation...

The 3 of us after lunch at T-Rex

Brooks & Mommy on the plane

Madeline, Nick, Camille, & Olivia

Madeline & Camille at T-Rex

Brooks relaxing & staying warm! Brrrr!

Notice Olivia's face painted - so cute!

Nick & Olivia after a long day


Brooks LOVING the water!



Swimming with daddy (thankful for a heated pool!)


Brooks loved the feel of the FL grass...