Halloween Preview

We got J.D.'s Halloween costume in the mail today and tried the hat on him. It made me laugh so hard! Can't wait until he gets to wear the whole thing!

Happy Little Guy

We got these great shots of J.D. when my dad was here last time. I just couldn't love a sweet little smile any more than that!

Flower Girl

There's nothing particularly special about this picture...I just like it. Anna Lee loves to pick flowers out of our front flower beds and put them in her hair or behind her ear. It is a regular activity. I grabbed a picture of her doing it the other day, and thought it was sweet.

Great Friends

Anna Lee's little friend Ryan came over to play today. Those two make me laugh so much! They love each other so much and play as hard as they can while they are together. Ryan is as boy as they come and Anna Lee is as girl as they come. The combination of the two of them is so funny! They have been two little tornadoes blowing through this house all morning. I love to see the two of them play together and to listen to and watch them work through things together.

This morning I went to take care of J.D. for just a few minutes. When I came back to Anna Lee's room, this is what I found...

chaos... and calm...

We loaded everybody up at lunch to go get Chick-fil-A and a movie from Blockbuster. It was a crazy shopping experience in the movie store. Before we left, I had gotten J.D. ready and told the kids to go get their shoes on and meet me at the door. This is how they met me. Can't have too many accessories!One of my favorite things about Ryan is his sweet mommy. We were good friends in college, and have had a blast watching our kids become good friends too. Ryan's baby sister, Chloe, is due to arrive any day now. We can't wait to meet her and love on her too!

Tummy Time

At J.D.'s four month appointment, the doctor was a little concerned about his head shape and neck muscles. When he holds his head up, it is tilted to one side. I hadn't really noticed it until she brought it up. Since that appointment, under doctor's orders, we have done a TON of tummy time and neck stretches/exercises with J.D. When we first started, it made him really mad and he would bury his face in the floor and scream. I had done tummy time with him since he was little, but not to the extent we do it now. Now he loves to be on his tummy. We can't keep him there long because he loves to roll over onto his back, but we are hoping it is making a difference. And this little one can't keep from joining in the fun!

Adios Kara

Fun Aunt Kara is our world traveling family member. So far, she has lived in Spain, Honduras, El Salvador, Greece, and Switzerland. Whew! But for most of this year, Kara has lived in Dallas close to us. It has been so fun to have her around to talk to in person instead of just on Skype! She has been a great sister, aunt, and babysitter to have around!

This past week, Kara packed up and headed back to Spain. She moved back to Madrid, where she will begin a Master's program at a university there. We will miss her so much!

We all went to the airport to tell her goodbye, and she and Anna Lee got some great shots together ( I think this last one was making sad faces about her leaving). Anna Lee and J.D. will miss having her around...but will be looking really forward to a few days at Christmas when they will get to see her again!

J.D. at 4 Months

I was always really good about getting Anna Lee's portraits made. I'm already behind on J.D. I like having them made every 3 months because it gives me a very visible way to mark time. I like seeing the different baby stages and how they change so much so quickly. Because of Anna Lee's hard recovery from her tonsillectomy, J.D.'s 3 month mark came and went. So I decided to grab some quick portraits at Target the other day just to have a few nicer pictures of what he looked like at this stage.
(Please excuse the spit-up...but it definitely goes with who he is right now.)

I have tried for weeks to get a good picture of J.D.'s dimple. He has a cute little dimple on his right side, kind of on his smile line. I was so excited the girl caught a shot where you can see it.

At four months right now, J.D. is a joy. He is changing so much everyday. At his last appointment, he was in the 75% bracket for weight and the 95% for height. Not surprising given his 6' 5" daddy. J.D. is as laid back as they come. He is a happy little dude, except if he has dairy. He is beginning to be much more physically active, starting to grab toys, playing in his excersaucer, and rolling over from his tummy to his back. He loves to be held and especially loves to be cuddled and rocked. He also loves to be outside. Rocking him outside is his absolute favorite. His favorite person by far is Anna Lee. He watches her all day, and she loves to play with him. J.D. slept in the swing for months because of his reflux and the need to be upright, and has just recently transitioned to his bed. We made him cry it out several nights this week, and he will now mostly sleep from 9 pm to 5 am. It has been a nice change. He still loves being in the swing, and would stay there for hours if I let him.

When we found out we were having a boy, I couldn't imagine my life with a son. Now I can't imagine my life without the sweet one we have.