Merry Christmas!

Our happy baby boy!

Lookin' like Daddy.

Not so excited to meet Santa.

As always our boy is on the move while we're trying to get a quick family pic.

Oh, how this little boy melts our hearts!

Thanksgiving and More

Sorry I'm posting this a little late. So far 8 months has been better. Chance is usually sleeping through the night again (which I truly attribute to prayer). He has now decided he'll drink milk...but is not very interested in solid food. This little ball of energy sure is keeping me on my toes.


We had so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving! The Lord has been so good to us this year...giving us health, a home and of course a beautiful son! There are no words to express how truly greatful I am for such a gift!
We were also thankful to have my brother, NIck and his girlfriend, Gaylen visit from New York. Thank you guys so much for making the trip!! The only thing missing was my precious husband. He had to be out of town for work, but he enjoyed lots of left overs. We are just crossing our fingers he'll be off home from Christmas!
Chance celebrated Thanksgiving by eating at the dinning room table. He had a delicious Apple Cranberry Turkey puree (his first time eating meat.)




Chance crawling. He has recently picked up a lot of speed and thinks it's a fun game to crawl away and have mom chase after him. We are playing that game a lot these days.

He likes to pull himself up on everything.

And he's found his toy box. He enjoys getting everything out of the box....but doesn't understand how to put everything back in the box. We're working on that one.


Chance had a playdate with his friend Charlotte. They were SO cute together!




We're trying to keep him bundled up in this cold weather. It's becoming increasingly more difficult to dress a moving target. Winter brings on more clothes, which can be a bit exhausting.

7th Month in a Nutshell

I don't know if 7 months is a hard age for all kids (and/or parents) but it was for us. It started out with teething, then some separation anxiety, then refusing to eat, all of which led to no sleeping for anyone! Just when I thought, it's not possible to be any more exhausted--Chance figured out how to crawl. It's interesting because he so desperately wanted to get around on his own, but now when he realizes he's crawled away from me he dislikes that too.
Overall, I hope 8 months old is a little easier on everyone. My hope is that with his maturity he'll decide eating and sleeping are okay!!


Finally, got Chance to eat a little something. Although, he was a lot more interested in spitting and sputtering than actually eating. It was very comical, but what a mess!


Jon was in town and off on a weekend! Wahoo!! We celebrated by all going to a Christmas tree lighting nearby. It was great fun to spend the day with my boys! Of course we had to leave before they lit the tree, but we sure enjoyed all the music and fun!


My friend Timara from nursing school came to town! It was wonderful visiting and catching up with her!

First Halloween!

Our lil' Tiger on his first Halloween. He was pretty grumpy before the big event, but once he saw all the people and fun costumes he was grrrreat!





Mommy and Daddy with their Tiger!




Chance's friend Lochlan the Leprachaun from next door. The first of many fun Halloweens to come for these two! We are so blessed to have such great neighbors around us!


Our neighbor dressed up as a witch. We thought Chance might be afraid of her, but no, he laughed.


Overall, the night was a lot of fun! After Chance went to bed, Jon and I sat out on the porch with a blanket and hot chocolate and passed out candy to the masses. And of course I was already scooping out costumes I liked for Chance next year.

Pumpkin Patch

Getting out and about!

For the most part the weather in Virginia is getting cooler and fall is in the air! I'm so excited about fall this year! Seeing the leaves change colors, trick-or-treaters on Halloween, lots of delicious food on Thanksgiving, not being pregnant so I can wear cute fall clothes! So many fun things to look forward to! I'm genuinely excited for Chance to experience each holiday for the first time! It makes me feel as if I'm experiencing it for the first time again too!
We've been getting out enjoying the beautiful weather. Chance had his first experience with the swing at the neighborhood park. He's really too little for it....but he sure had a ball! If this first picture doesn't crack you up, I really don't know what will!!

love his Halloween shoes Ginger!! He looks like a lil' pumpkin.




This boy loves going on walks!




Chance was impressed by all the giant bouncers at the fair...if only he was big enough to enjoy them!


Chance still hates being on his tummy and will immediately flip over, so I've been trying some new things to get him interested in staying on his tummy. He tried out the hardwood floor last week. He was very curious about the new texture beneath him.


He ALWAYS wants to drink whatever we are drinking!! He even has his very own sippy cup....but he prefers our cups!



He's too big for his newborn tub and is sitting up great so we're using the giant inflatable ducky tub! He loves it...great gift Beth!




And alas, we're ready for Halloween! The skeleton pjs are an appropriate gift from Chance's Mimi and Pops. And the socks (that look like shoes and he wears all the time) from his Gunny! Big thanks to all his grandparents!!

Favorites...

6 MONTHS OLD...




I was trying to think of ways to share some of Chance's personality with those who can't see him regularly. Pretty much everyone who reads this. So, here are a few of our favorite things (it's so hard to make this short!)
--The yawn...the yawn itself is cute, but the little sound that goes with it melts your heart!
--The stretch...when Chance wakes up in the morning I lay him on his changing pad and his arms go above his head and stretch as far as those little arms can reach. Immediately after that he's ready to play! It's hilarious!
--His feet...these days Chance would rather sit up or stand, but if he's on his back he is still loving to play with those feet. He yanks on them, eats them. Oh, what fun they are! Then I put shoes on him and he's really thrown off.
--His laugh...It's absolutely contagious. He is ticklish on his belly, his feet, under his arms, everywhere. So that gets him laughing. He also thinks the dog is very funny. He will just stare at her and laugh. (Indy doesn't think Chance is near as funny.) Don't get me wrong, he has his unhappy moments too!!! But I truly remember having dreams about his laugh and praying he'd be a "Happy, Healthy baby." So, to hear that is so incredible to me! God answered that prayer beyond my wildest dreams!








FIRST COLD...
A couple weeks ago Jon brought home a cold to share with us :) Chance had a runny nose and slight fever. So, we pulled out the humidifier and tylenol. In just a few days he seemed to be as good as new. He was such a trooper though, still trying to keep a smile on his face. Here are are few pics of him when he was under the weather.




FIRST TOOTH...
Shortly after getting over the cold Chance started to get more fussy. He's been teething for a couple months and finally the little tooth came through! Jon and I were so excited, by watching us you would have thought he'd just won a gold metal at the olympics! It made us a bit sad too though, because we realized he really is growing up so fast. I can't begin to imagine how we'll feel when he goes to kindergarden or even college. Big Sigh!
I tried to get a pic of the tooth, but Chance just kept trying to bite my finger, so no picture.

FIRST 6 MONTH TOY...
I pulled out a new toy to celebrate the big day! He's always excited about new toys! Thanks Wendy Roberts for the fun learning table! The sound doesn't drive us crazy at all! haha:) He really loves it!