Some Shutterfly Christmas Cheer

Can't believe it's almost December! We still haven't gotten our tree up, or any other Christmas decorations for that matter. We need to get on that ASAP. But with basketball season in full swing and a 9 1/2 month old, my time is limited. Hopefully this week we can get out all the fun stuff and decorate.

The one thing I am working on is my Christmas card! Last year we didn't do one. I was pregnant and Jeff hates getting pictures taken. But now that we have a baby, I have convinced him that we need to do one. And I absolutely love Shutterfly and the options they have! They always do great work. It's really hard to choose one but I really like this one. Another one of my top 3 is this really simple one. And last but definitely not least is this card. It really caught my eye! We got some really cute pictures taken by Renee that I will be using. So excited! I will be using the pictures in some family gifts this year. I especially love Shutterfly's calendars. They are so practical and a great way to show off some pictures. Who doesn't want to look at some chubby cheeks every day? And for those that have limited wall space, I am considering doing a desk calendar. There are so many cute things to choose from! So hop on over and check them out!

And if you are a blogger, click here to see a wonderful offer on receiving 50 free Christmas cards of your own!

Hope everyone's Christmas season is joyous as we remember the Reason for the season. God has truly blessed our family.

Playing Catch

Here is Josh's new favorite game!

Darn!

I accidentally left my finger on top of the flash of my camera when it was supposed to pop up and it caused this "error" to occur!!!!! It said turn the camera off and on again so I did. Again...again...and again. Nothing! :( So now my camera won't take any pictures with the flash!!!!!! Thank goodness for the money well spent on my warranty. I will be bringing it in pronto to get fixed. I need to take pictures soon...Josh turn 9 months on Friday. Cannot believe it!

Reverse reverse!!

Here's a reverse look at how he's changed.

8 1/2 months

5 months

4 weeks...right before his hospitalization with RSV :( I still have a hard time thinking about that. It makes me so mad I didn't ask the ER doctor that he be tested for RSV even though the doctor didn't suspect that. Lord, please help me to get over that!

Birth :)

During labor...I did not know what was coming!

And here's a video of Josh on the way to his first Colt's game at Lucas Oil Stadium with us and my parents this past Sunday. He did great!

Hopefully I'll get my camera fixed and can get some new pictures up here soon!

Can't get enough

of his sweet face!

Catching Up

Where to begin...

Josh's first tooth (his bottom right one) popped through Wed. October 20th. I love that little tooth but he has bit me three times. The first time after I yelled "OW!" he looked up and smiled at me. Not sure what that means for the next few months :)

He is getting over an ear infection. We took him to the doctor last Monday and he was started on an antibiotic. Then last Friday, he still seemed really unlike himself. So back to the doctor we went and his ears were still really horrible! :( So he had to get a shot of an antibiotic and then is now on a stronger oral one. He seems to be on the mend though. Praise the Lord! He weighed 24 pounds at the doctor last Friday. He is wearing 18 month clothes.

But last night was a horrible night. He was up 3 times! Today though, I could finally see the bubble for his other bottom tooth. Hopefully it will be in tomorrow and we can all get a little more rest.

He is quite independent. He loves picking up food with his hands. He will still eat some pureed things but prefers to eat by himself. He loves to pick up bananas, peas, baked sweet potatoes, carrots, puffs, bread and even cooked celery! My mom made homemade chicken noodle soup tonight and he ate a ton of carrots and celery. He still loves his sippy cup.

My parents bought him the cutest booties for Christmas (an early gift :) They are little fuzzy monsters. How cute?!?!

Look mom! I'm standing (almost) all by myself!

Hi Dada!

I love to stand up on things!

Look at those boots!

But dad...I don't want to get down!

No...please no....not yet!

Awww man...I think I'm gonna lose this battle!

We didn't go trick or treating but we dressed Josh up in a costume loaned to us by my friend Debbie at work. It's a pea pod outfit... I love it!!!

That's one chunky pea!

Love his sweet smile.

And he loves to stand in his crib. We lowered it this past weekend. Now I'm not worried that he will bounce out.

Do I look ornery or what?!

And this is his other favorite thing to do. Stand up by the ottoman. He will just walk up and down the side of this thing. He actually bends down to pick something up with one hand and will hang on with the other and stand back up. Pretty impressive. We are still working on crawling. He will scoot on his belly but it takes a little while.

IWU's first basketball game is this Thursday. Good luck Wildcats!

8 Months Old

Unbelievable...Josh is 8 months old today. It makes me so sad. Don't get me wrong because I love love love being a mom. I just don't want life to go by so fast! And this post also makes it #100 for posts. Crazy. And to think I had wanted to make this a food blog :) I guess God had other plans in mind (aka Josh!!!) So here we are, 100 posts later, and with an 8 month old. He brings us so much joy! His personality is coming out strong. He is a mama's boy. If I am in the room, he wants me and no one else (except daddy if he is around). But if it's night time and he's tired, "gimme my mama!" He loves to stand up and hold on to our ottoman. He is learning how to get up by himself but he does NOT want to be taken down from the ottoman. Or his crib rail for that matter. If we sit his pacifier at one end of the crib, he will cruise down the rail to get it. He loves loves loves to stand. He has no interest in crawling at this point. He literally starts crying about 3 seconds after I put him on his belly. But you pick him up and stand him up somewhere, he's happy as can be. He loves his food but he loves it pureed. He is just now learning to mash things. Every day he gets better at eating puffs. Just tonight, I think he put about 7 or 8 in his mouth all by himself (one at a time of course!) Some of his favorites are pears, raspberries and pears, apples and blueberries, squash, sweet potatoes, and green beans. When we go for walks, as soon as I put him in the stroller he is sitting up as far to the front as possible and starts kicking his legs with excitement. He loves the outdoors. He has said "dada" and "baba" and is starting to make an "m" sound. Some of his most chatty times are with other kids. He really loves to see other kids and talk to them (I think his favorites are Jace, Will, Lincoln, Molley, and Jackson). I think that's all for now. He went down tonight at 7:30. I am not expecting a great night. His right bottom tooth looks like it could come through at any minute. We were up at 12, 4 and 6:30 last night. But the night before he slept from 7 to 6:30!

Basketball season is in full swing and our first game is 2.5 weeks away. We have a really fun group of young men and I am excited to see what this season has in store.

Here is a video we took of him yesterday of him cruising in the crib.

A Birthday Girl and Some Cute Faces

This Saturday we had the joy to celebrate our niece, Elena Kate's birthday. She will be a year old on Tuesday (the same day Josh is 8 months old!). Can't believe it's been a year since we held you in the hospital, Elena! You are such a sweet girl and we can't wait to see what God has in store for you. She is already walking and climbing everywhere :) I hope she and Josh become playmates! Here she is enjoying her birthday cake. Isn't she just adorable?

They had a fun basketball bounce around in the back and we put Josh in it. He didn't know what to do with it except watch the other kids. I think he enjoyed sitting in there.

Here's the birthday girl.

Having a serious conversation.

Josh is really excited to have Elena come join him. He was babbling to her the whole time.

What an inquisitive face.

And here are the many faces of Josh.

Here is Elena's big sister Emery. She turned 3 in September. I just love her blue eyes!

And here is another cousin, Lilly. I think she looks just like her daddy Ryan (Jeff's brother). That may also be why I think she and Josh look a little bit alike.

Hope everyone has a great week!