5 month Foxie!

I can't believe that I am posting the monthly crib pic of my FIVE month old. Where has the time gone? On one hand, every day gets more and more fun watching him grow and do funny things, but on the other hand it is all passing so quickly...

Of course he didn't want to sit still while I tried to get a snap in for my album. Here is the best I could do!

The bashful face (please...this kid ain't shy)...

I have to put this next one in because this is the EXACT face that I get from my husband every morning, its scary...

And this is what he thinks about sitting still for my crib pics...

High Fivin' his monkey mobile because he's glad to be finished!

Some 5 month updates:

1. He loves all kind of vegetables and thinks he's big stuff when he gets to sit in his highchair to eat.

2. Squeals louder than any baby I have ever met ( and by that I mean I'm losing hearing).

3. Doesn't want anything to do with sitting or getting into the "crawl" position. Definitely would rather mimic walking.

4. Is teething like a maniac.

5. Isn't scared of much. He loves to be thrown in the air, bounced up and down, spun round and round, etc...

6. Belly laughs pretty consistently.

7. Likes to watch mommy dry her hair and put on make up (should I be concerned?)

8. Prefers to be outside over inside (so thankful for this!)

9. Loves when children play with him.

10. Great at opening presents!!

Even though there are good days and not so good days, I think I fall more and more in love with being a mother everyday. Lee was telling me this morning that he was reading about and being reminded of how Knox is not ours...he belongs to the Lord and he has been entrusted to us for a short time. I needed to hear that and be reminded of it, too. It's not exactly easy to view Knox as belonging to someone else, but the Lord loves him way more than I ever will, and will take care of him better than I ever could. How comforting!

Robyn

This is sort of random, but I wanted to post a picture of what Robyn (my sister) gave me for my birthday.When I opened it, it sort of caught me off guard because we usually just give fun gifts like jewelry or clothes...nothing necessarily "sentimental." She is definitely the sweeter one of the both of us, and she can be very emotional at times :). I, however, have issues with emotions and like to avoid them at all costs! Therefore, opening this gift was very surprising to me. It may look like a typical sweet sign, but it is much, much more...

For my sister, growing up with me wasn't the easiest. She was always the sweet, kind, well behaved one who everyone enjoyed being around. I was always the nagging little "tomboy" sister who always found her way in to trouble. We were complete opposites, and there were many days that we did not get along (looking back I feel a little sorry for her :)). My mom and WaWa (grandmother) would always tell me that I needed to "play sweet" with Robyn because one day she would be my best friend. I rolled my eyes every time I heard this. What were they thinking? Did they know the 2 of us??

Well, over a period of many years - slowly but surely - mom and WaWa proved to be right. Don't get me wrong, I always loved my sister growing up, we just didn't have much in common at the time. I really don't think it was until college...when I came into a relationship with the Lord...that we really started connecting. The funny thing is that even before that, when I was at my most selfish points of life, she was always such a supportive big sister. She encouraged me to have a relationship with the Lord, to have a close relationship with my family, to do well in school, etc. She has seen me through pretty much every good AND hard time in my life whether it be breakups, school, family, sicknesses, marriage, moves, pregnancy, birth, ACID REFLUX... I could go on and on. When I really stop and think about it, I don't know what I would do without her now. She is a major rock in our family. I have so much admiration and love for her, and she is still the biggest role model for me.

Our husbands joke because both of our phones are able to receive email, and I promise you that every single morning the emails start about 7 a.m. Lee and Dane call the phones "Sister communicators" and they are so right! Usually it just starts with "good morning" and goes from there. Even though I don't live right next to her anymore I can pretty much tell you where she is at any time of the day, as well as what she and her 3 BEAUTIFUL girls are doing :). Thank goodness for technology!

Anyways, back to the gift. When I opened it I got slightly emotional in front of many people (not too common for me) because I feel like this sign sums up my life - especially for the first 3 months of Knox's life. Everything was so hard for me and I lived in a haze there for a while, and honestly wasn't sure if it was ever going to end. I went down to stay with Robyn quite often, and she welcomed me with open arms and completely took over for me. She has seen many tears of sadness and frustration from me, and she has never once judged me or thought that I wasn't capable. She just immediately stepped in and helped me get through it (while taking care of her own 3), and encouraged me the entire time. SO...when I opened it I immediately thought of all those times she helped me when I needed it the most, and I thought this saying was the perfect description of what I thought of her: My angel. I was able to hold back the "full on" tears, but when I got in the car with Lee, I clenched that sign the entire way home and cried like a baby. Of course I told her that I cried like a baby when we were emailing each other an hour later. You know what she said? She told me that when she bought that sign, she wasn't thinking of how she helped me, but rather I had helped her and given her some advice one day, and that was the day she saw the sign and it made her think of me...

I love my sister. She is not a regular sister. She is not a regular person. She is truly a gift from God and the absolute best friend that I could have ever asked for. I really pray that the Lord allows us to continue to raise our children together, and one day play with our grandchildren and tell them to play sweet with each other...because one day very soon they will end up being best friends...

Remember when....

I said that I wanted another child ASAP? I would like to retract that previous statement. Ha. I'm only half joking. Today was the 4 month check up for Knoxie and it equaled NO fun! I have heard the boy cry before, but he hit decibels today that were unheard of. Even Dr. Morrison said that he was impressed. He was not at all happy with his shots (but then again who is?) and he screamed so much that I could not get him to stop. I couldn't even get his clothes on afterwards. It was a struggle and he definitely won. After 10 minutes of wrestling with him I had to just toss him in the car seat -diaper only- and wrap his blanket around him. I even had to run to walmart - in the rain- with him like that. Please don't call DHR...

Here is a pic of the little guy today before he knew what was about to happen to him (yes, he's naked):

He was laughing and giggling on his changing table and I just kept thinking, "Oh...this is all about to change...better get a quick snap in while I can." Needless to say, there aren't any pics taken while we were actually at the pediatrician. He weighs 16.3 pounds- 80th percentile. His length is 25 3/4- 80th percentile, and his head is 16 3/4- 55th percentile. Dr. Morrison gave us the green light in introducing baby food, so we came home after the appointment and ate some carrots!! OK. I have to add that while I am typing this I feel so ridiculous. I never thought I would see the day when I cared about sharing what my child is eating. I remember my sister talking about it and I was like, "Cool. I don't understand the big deal??" I think it's just fun to be able to watch them grow and experience new things. I am sure that this excites no one expect myself, so I will just post a standard "first solid food" pic, and move on...

first few bites (undecided face):

final verdict face:

Surprise surprise, he likes it. I had no doubt that he would! This baby loves food!

While I am here I might as well blog about some other things so that I can just keep it a 1 post day. We made the decision to go to Bass Pro to see Santa. OH my goodness. It sounds crazy, I know, but a bunch of friends from church took their kids last year and said it was awesome, so we decided to "peep the scene". An hour and a half later we were at the front of the line! Holy pajamas! If you needed to know where everyone from the Montgomery/Prattville area was Sunday afternoon, they were at Bass Pro. And I must say that I have never seen so much camo in all of my life! Unfortunately, Knox was too small to really enjoy everything. They had TONS of stuff for kids to do and play with while waiting. They also had arts and crafts as well. It was overwhelming to say the least. Here is Knoxie waiting patiently for his turn to sit in the big guy's lap and tell him what he wanted for Christmas (and of course he scratched the fire out of his nose on the way there :( )

getting sleepy in line...

Some of the entertainment...

Lee trying to introduce him to Rudolph, unsuccessfully...

I'd rather be playing with that reindeer...

And I guess I will finally look at you because I am so ridiculously tired and want to leave this place and take a nap...

All in all, it was a successful trip to see Santa. We "backed" Knox into Santa's lap just to make sure he wouldn't get freaked out. By the time it was our turn, Knox's eyes were so red and watery because he was exhausted. Poor guy. Next year we will have to time it better...

And lastly, here is Knox admiring the Christmas tree. The other day I walked to the back to put some clothes up, and when I came back he was practically under the tree, PULLING OFF ORNAMENTS! Notice the baldness of the tree in the lower area :)

When I saw the ornaments on the floor I looked at him like, "No sir!" and he just smiled at me like, "What's the problem??"

I would love to say that he looks AND acts like his daddy, but I think that he's looking like daddy and acting like mommy! Trouble.

4 month old Drool Monster...

This little turkey turned 4 months on Thanksgiving Day.

Due to traveling a good bit, I am a little late on taking his monthly crib photo. I will say that it is getting harder and harder to get him to cooperate and take a picture, unlike when he was a newborn and just laid there.

Instead of easy shots, I am now getting this:

and this:

as well as this:

and this:

Anywho, the first one was the best that I could do. We go to the doc on Tuesday, so I do not have any stats to report right now. However, if I had to guess I would say that he is 100 pounds and 100 inches long. He has been such a happy baby with no terrible signs of acid reflux! Yay! He is drooling quite a bit and has been chewing on everything in sight, so I am assuming that he is teething??? Don't really know...this is my first child. Speaking of first child, lately I have been really sad at how big he is getting and I have been trying to "gently" approach the topic of having another one with Lee. Haha. If you know me, then you know that when I say "gently", I mean opposite day. I talk about it all the time. Lee keeps telling me that we should "table the conversation for now." I just think that means we can talk about it again very soon :). I know that I am crazy, so no need to tell me. I am sure that hubs won't be on board for a while, but I am having a blast with Knox and feel like I want 50 more!

I hope everyone is having a great holiday season so far. I love December. It is my favorite month. If Lee would let me, I would keep the tree up 12 months out of the year!

I came across this verse today, and it was so refreshing to me, and also convicting...

"Jesus is the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." John 6:35

Sometimes (O.K, a lot of times) I get distracted and try to fill myself with meaningless things of the world...especially during this time of year. But reading this verse just reminded me that He is the only one that can satisfy me, and that I will fail when I look elsewhere. It seems so simple, but sometimes it can be so hard for me, and I hate that. Anyways, I hope this verse blesses you today like it did me and reminds you that it really is all about Him...

Tree hunting and Anniversary!

Lee and I went and hunted down our 4th family Christmas tree on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I was a little sad this year since this was the very first time that I have not been with my family for the big event, but since I had my 2 favorite boys with me...I made it through :). It is always a treat watching my hubby chop down the tree. As I stated in a previous blog, he does not know how to "dress down", so he is always the best dressed person on the Christmas tree farm. I snagged a few pics of him sawing the tree down, and don't doubt that he commented on the fact that his clothes were getting dirty! God love him!

Knox found the tree he wanted!

A pic of tough guy stretching it out for the chop down:

In action...

And...I don't have any pics of the final product up and decorated. We started to decorate Sunday night, and then we left Monday morning for the Grand Hotel to celebrate our anniversary. I can't believe we have been married for 3 years. I won't start on how blessed I feel for the Lord bringing Lee into my life or how much I love him... because I am not sure that I would be able to stop, so I will spare you :). I will say that Christ has chosen an amazing partner for me to share my life with, be stretched in ways that I could have never imagined, and experience the most unconditional love that I don't deserve! I love this man, and I am so honored to be his wife!

In front of the Christmas tree in the lobby of the Grand Hotel:

Here we are at Jesse's...our favorite restaurant. It was the perfect night to go since we were practically the only ones in the place! We ate delicious food and talked for hours about the first 3 years of our marriage, as well as hopes and dreams for the next 60!