Lilypie Third Birthday tickers

Lilypie Second Birthday tickers

Lilypie Second Birthday tickers

Friday, March 4, 2011

Professional Photos: 3 of 4 Posts

Here is the next installment.  Thanks again goes to Jennifer Zindler at Haute Shot Photography (http://hauteshotblog.com/).

Here are some of the fun pictures we took of Holton alone.  There were so many amazing pictures, it was hard to choose!








The final group of pictures includes more of Holton and also some cute shots of Adelyn.  I'll post them soon!


Triple the (Great) Grandmother Time

Yesterday, we packed up the four of us and headed over to visit... not one, not two, but three Great-Grandmothers!  It is so amazing and such a blessing that Adelyn and Holton have all FOUR of their great-grandmothers living, and three of them are in the same place - Christian Care Center.  Great-grandmother Holton is in Durham, and we are hoping to see her this spring.

First, we visited Grandmother Couch (my mom's mom).  This was her first time to meet Holton, and remarkably, she seemed to understand that this was a special baby, and her face lit up looking at him.
Next, we visited with Grandmother Gracie (Brian's dad's mom).  She loved cuddling with Holton and playing with Addy.  Addy got a big kick out of a large bag of plastic cups in her apartment. 

And finally, we went by to see Grandmommy Crickett (Brian's mom's mom) and her little dog Lucky.  Adelyn loves loves loves Lucky (he is even included in her nightly prayers!) and had a ball playing with him.  Meanwhile, Grandmommy finally got to hold Holton and just kept marveling at how perfect he is! 
Lucky followed Addy (and her cup of cereal!) around the whole time.

What a special day!  Thank God for family!


Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Professional Photos: 2 of 4 Posts

Here is the next set of pictures.  These are shots of Holton with me and Brian, and one of all four of us.  That one was a challenge since Addy was not exactly in a picture taking mood!  Ironically, we did get some good ones of her alone, and I'll post those soon.
  Again, a shout out goes to Jenn Zindler at Haute Shot Photography (http://hauteshotblog.com/) for the amazing photos.
And again, I think the pictures speak for themselves...









 


Saturday, February 26, 2011

Interlude - 1 month old today!

I will continue the posts of the professional photos soon.  But Wow - Holton is one month old today!  This last month both feels like forever and also like it has gone by in a flash.  I can hardly remember life before Holton.  It seems like he has always been with us and a part of our family.  Here are some 1 month old pictures.  I don't really think he looks like Adelyn anymore (at least not as much as he did when he was born), but I'm not sure at this point who he really looks like.  I'm open to suggestion on that one...





Things to I want to remember about Holton at 1 month old:
- he loves to be held and is such a cuddlebug it's sometimes hard for me to put him down - I love to have him sleep curled up on my chest
- he's already starting to hold his head up
- he is a fast and furious nurser
- he cries when he's hungry and sometimes when he's very tired, but otherwise, he is a very content child
- he loves to be swaddled (thanks Ann for the SwaddleMe blankets!)
- he will sometimes take a pacifier, but spits it out if we don't help him keep it in his mouth
- he is much more alert and is starting to notice his surroundings; he likes to look out the window
- like Addy, he seems to enjoy riding in the car and taking walks in the stroller
- he will turn toward my voice
- he has beautiful pink skin and the silkiest brown hair, longer in the back 

Adelyn loves to go and check on her brother.  She also loves his blankets.
My little diva!  I need to post a video of her dancing soon...

More professional pictures next time...

Professional Photos: 1 of 4 Posts

I wanted to officially post some my favorite photos from our shoot with Jennifer Zindler at Haute Shot Photography (check out her blog site at http://hauteshotblog.com/ if you are looking for a fabulous photographer in the DFW area!).  The problem is, I have so many favorites.  Since this is my blog, I'll just post them for you in installments.  So this first post is of the Little Man himself, in either Brian's or my arms.  

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves, because they really don't need captions.  I think you will see why I love them!







 I love this last one with both Brian's and my hands.  What a precious gift!

Thursday, February 24, 2011

The Park

I wanted to post a few pictures of Adelyn too, since Holton has been getting so much blog attention lately.  She is already proving herself to be a wonderful big sister.  She is so gentle with Holton - she touches him very lightly and loves to gently rub his hair while saying "soooft" in a sweet whisper.  She will become concerned if he cries, and she'll say "Holton crying" or "Holton sad".  If she hasn't seen him  in a while, she'll say "See Holton, see Holton".  She now includes him in her prayers and anytime she lists all her "important" family members.

She loves to play outside, go for walks, and she especially loves her "new stroller".  She loves the park and wants to "swing" or "slide" for as long as possible.

She loves having her hair put up in pigtails, and as you can see, she is also consistently wearing bows.

She loves to count and sing the ABCs.  She loves all types of music, and she will dance to just about anything.

She is continuing to be a fairly good eater, although she is definitely exerting her independence in this area.  We try to give her choices and let her feed herself as much as possible.  She hasn't quite gotten the concept of rewards down yet, so we haven't been able to bargain with her yet (if you eat this apple, you can have this yogurt).  Her favorite foods are spinach (baby food style - we still do some baby food veggies because she will eat all of them readily, whereas she's not too sure about the real thing yet - i.e. raw spinach will get thrown on the floor!), yogurt, hummus, veggie straws, animal crackers, her gummy vitamin, milk, strawberries and all other kinds of berries, eggs, and muffins (see my last post!).  We are trying to teach her not to throw food on the floor ("no throwing food"), and if she does, I give her "the look" and say, "what do you say?"  She usually first replies "please", and when I say "no, that's not what you say", she'll say in a soft voice "I sorry Mommy"... to which this mommy's heart promptly melts because she is just so adorable!
She continues to surprise us with new words (today, she said "Bible school" when we went to visit a local church preschool for next fall - she must have picked learned that at church???) and puts multiple words together.  It's amazing to watch her development.  As independent as she is, she is still a cuddlebug - especially when reading or at bedtime.  And reading is probably her favorite activity - any book, often over and over and over again!

I think we have found a wonderful Mother's Day Out/Preschool program at a local church to enroll her in for the fall, two days a week.  My baby girl is growing up.  I got teary-eyed earlier today when they said she would need a backpack for school.  Wasn't she just Holton's size yesterday?  She's not old enough to carry a backpack, is she?  Where does the time go???

I love you Addy!  Don't grow up too fast!

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Mimi Jo Muffins

Ever since Mimi Jo and Papa Carl brought dinner over to our house a few weeks ago, 
Adelyn has been talking about "Mimi Jo's muffins".  The initial reference was to the yummy carrot cake muffins they brought for dessert that night.  However, it has now morphed into so much more... because Mimi Jo Muffins are such a special treat, ANY muffin is now a Mimi Jo Muffin.  Lately, it has been the petite cinnamon Crumbelettes from Whole Foods.  She asks for a Mimi Jo Muffin multiple times most days.  We love you Mimi Jo!!!

Friday, February 18, 2011

Week Three

We are settling in to life as a family of four.  Here are some new photos...
Aunt Beth came for a visit and brought us a yummy homemade dinner.  Thank you!

Adelyn loves her new sunglasses (so much that she wears them inside too... why not?)

Holton's second bath was much more enjoyable, and he thinks he's going to like this whole getting clean thing occasionally, even though he is all boy!

Our sweet friend Forrest Hancock made a beautiful soft baby blanket for Holton - what a special gift!




Yesterday, Brian's aunts Carla and Glenna came over with Grandmommy Crickett for a visit and got to love on Holton.

Adelyn's hair remains crazy but fun!

After much research and deliberation, we settled on the Combi Twin Sport Double Stroller.  I love that it is lightweight, side-by-side, and folds compactly.  And, I got a great deal on it on Amazon!  We have already taken it out for walks and shopping.

I can't believe it's already been over three weeks since Holton was born.  He has been such a good baby so far... he seems so happy and contented.  We are very blessed!