Thanksgiving Pics

Mom and Dad wanted a family pic for their Christmas card. I think it turned out nice!

Makenna, Drew, Madeline, Will, Crew, and Addi!
My cousin's sweet kids meeting Will
LEFT: Sweet Madi with me and Will.
Below: cute lil' Lilly holding Will.

Let's ROLL!

The day after Thanksgiving is here and almost gone. I love the day after because it usually entails a little less food, a little less noise, and a lot of reflecting on good times with family. This year, we have so much to be thankful for! We had a wonderful turkey day in Anderson with my family (we rotate Thanksgivings year to year). The food was delicious and it was so nice to be in the company of family. Will also surprised us by rolling over 3 times from his belly to back! I think he may have been showing off for everyone. Seeing all the family huddled around little Will on the floor baby talking back and forth with him was priceless. A memory I hope I never forget.

Happy day after Thanksgiving to you and yours with love!

Here's a pic of Will at his 3 month birthday (Nov. 25th).

Night Time Venting

When I read that other babies are sleeping 12 hours at night, it is hard not to get jealous. But this PERFECT child of ours that God graciously gave us isn't any different in my eyes just because we can't classify him as an easy baby or one that I read about in the books. OH THE BOOKS... I'm about the throw 'em out. They only make me worry and feel frustrated. While we try all the suggestions, I have learned that you can't expect all babies to sleep through the night at the same age because each child is unique and different. And these crazy authors who have idealistic views must have never had a baby of their own with colic, gas, and acid reflux. So there. I put it out there. I'm done with the books...They have tried to take away the joy of infant-hood from me and I won't let them do that. =) The Lord just thought we were strong enough to handle the challenges of my high risk pregnancy, insane delivery, a week long NICU stay, and now a little one who isn't an easy sleeper. BUT being blessed with a baby at all is something Jeff and I treasure and give thanks for. Will is thriving and meeting all of his milestones, so who cares about sleeping through the night. He WILL do it eventually. In the long run, these difficult nights will seem like forever ago. We may even look back and laugh at ourselves and how I even fell down the stairs one night in my sleep deprived stupor (thankfully I was not holding Will)! For now, I'm going to love each moment, even the tired ones. =)

Could it be....?

Is it possible that my little 3 month old could be teething already?! Apparently it is possible! Not 100% sure, but the drool over the past week has significantly picked up, he's obsessed with trying to fit his fist in his mouth, and the fussiness has picked back up. Just when I thought the worst of his colicky days were behind us, we hit a road block this weekend. It was rough (on mom & dad that is). Not a whole lot of sleep for us this weekend! Will had a couple rough bouts throughout the evening hours when nothing would console him as well as in the middle of the night when he just wanted to be held. Nana told us that Jeff cut his first tooth when he was 3 months old, and Grandma told us that Uncle Brent cut his first tooth when he was 4 months old. So we know it is in the family to teeth early....LOVELY. Oh well, maybe it's better to get it over with?!

Who knows...I could be DEAD WRONG... but the mega-drool has me very suspicious.

I've posted a few family pictures that my friend Stacie Olvier took for us! See the posting "Snap Snap" for more.

There's NO way!

The nurse plopped my big boy on the baby scale and it came up reading 10 POUNDS. Absolutely no way could he have lost a whole pound and a half in the past 3 weeks! I had that worried mother look as we walked back to the room. Thankfully, the machine was WRONG! When we put Will on the other scale, it read 13 lbs. 14 oz. so what a difference. That is more like it! He gained 2 and 1/2 pounds in just 22 days--hefty hefty hefty! So why did we go to the doctor anyway?! For a 'sick visit' but nothing major. On Friday, he deveoped a red
bumpy rash on his tummy so I gave it a few days before calling the doctor. Sure enough, it didn't get any better, so we made an appointment on Tuesday (with my good friend Megan - the nurse practitioner - since Dr. Keller wasn't free that day). It was so fun seeing Megan and she took great care looking over Will and explaining everything to me. Will just has a case of sensitive skin- most likely got the rash from the adult detergent we've been throwing his clothes in (to make laundry easier). Gotta go back to the expensive Dreft detergent, so I'll be on a coupon hunt!

Snap...Snap...

That's the sound of my friend Stacie's camera the other night in Holliday Park! Stacie graciously took pictures of our family (the ENTIRE family...which means Jones was included)! I recommend her to anyone looking for a photographer...check out our pictures by clicking here to visit Stacie's blog.

Big Day!

Sunday was Will's baby dedication at East 91st Street Christian Church! We dedicated our little one to the Lord and committed ourselves to raising & telling Will all about Jesus and how to follow Him. This is a mighty big task...one we will have to rely on God, our parents, and church to help support us in!

It was a beautiful sunny fall day! We enjoyed having both sets of parents with us for the church service and back to our house for chili & desert.

Proverbs 22:6 "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."

Tummy Time = Spit Up Time

I had to laugh...."Niagara Falls" begins right as I'm snapping pictures of tummy time just for the heck of it (let's face it, I won't be taking this many pictures when I'm back to work and the craziness of life picks back up)! Luckily, this one didn't cause him pain b/c he kept on playing without any crying. We like that kind of spit-up. =)