Update on Jude (10 weeks)

Ten weeks!! How can he already be ten weeks?! It is insane to me how fast time flies after a baby is born!

Jude Lawrence is a GREAT baby. When he's not sleeping he's eating, when he's not sleeping or eating he's usually just hanging out and looking around. Let's see, what has Jude been up to??

4 Weeks:
Slept a 7 hour stretch
Emerged as a Daddy's boy (Daddy can make him relax and fall asleep in mere minutes)
Starting giving us more smiles, but very few and far between (not sure if they are intentional)

5 Weeks:
REAL smiles!! You have to work hard for them though! He seems to be a lot more serious than Eli!
Consistently sleeping 5-6 hours at night

6 Weeks:
Gives a lot more smiles freely, especially to Eli and Mommy
Smiled for Nana

7-8 Weeks:
Really starts showing interest in Eli: tracks him around the room, smiles for him
Begins small laughs (gasping intake of air with a smile) and cooing
Still loved to be swaddled
Shows interest in sleeping on side and tummy

9-10 Weeks: 
Took both boys out by myself (ladies bible study, Lowes, paint store), NO crying!
Starts cooing lots in the morning
Got family pics done
REALLY big smiles! His personality is starting to come out! What a happy baby!
Starts "talking" when he is talked to
First bath with Eli
Takes naps on his side and tummy


Here is an update on his most recent stats:

Weight-
Birth: 7 lbs 7 oz
2 days: 6 lbs 15 oz
4 days: 6 lbs 8 oz
5 days: 6 lbs 14 oz
12 days: 7 lbs 9 oz
5 weeks: 9 lbs 14 oz
2 months: 11 lb 9 oz

Length-
Birth: 21 inches
12 Days: 21.5 inches 
5 weeks: 22 inches
2 months: 23.5 inches

Yesterday I gave Jude a new nickname: Chugs :) Eli is still calling him "Baby Jude" and Jude-y!

SNOW!

It left as quickly as it came, but Eli got to experience his first snowfall on Thursday afternoon! He has books on snow and stories of snowmen that he loves to read and has seen snow in movies, but I really don't think he got it until this week! :) We watched it fall from our playroom window and talked about it, then got ready and went outside to play!

We were very unprepared for a Tennessee snowfall, but we made do with what we had! We used socks for mittens and layered as best we could: three pants, three shirts, three socks, and a hat! Eli's boots were also a size too small (they barely fit him for his zookeeper halloween costume!). By the time we were done with him he could barely waddle! Haha!

We walked outside and by this time there was a nice layer sticking to the ground! Eli stepped out into it and giggled! He looked up at the sky and impulsively stuck out his tongue, like all snow lovers should and do ;) He's definitely a boy after his mama's heart!

We brought a cardboard box down with us so we could show Eli all about (ghetto) sledding! I tested out the hill on the side of our apartment and we were good to go - as long as we flattened out at the bottom of the hill we'd go under the bushes and not in them ;) Eli rode with me first and kneeled behind me holding onto my shoulders. He was kind of nervous about it, but once we made it to the bottom he was all giggles!

Daddy taught him how to make and throw snowballs, I showed him that it was edible, and all the while Jude slept in the driver's seat of our car with the heat on! Eli's "sock mittens" were soaked and his cheeks were pink by the time we headed in to warm up and drink (Eli's first) hot chocolate! Such a fun afternoon!

Happy New Year: A Year of Joy

I realize I procrastinated a little bit with this post, but it has taken some serious reflection and maybe a bit of soul searching to decide on what I could do in the year 2013 to make a better me. I've put quite a bit of time into thinking about this, especially during late night feeding sessions with Jude: What are some things I'd like to change about myself? What are some things that I am not happy with right now? What do I see for myself in the future? In what ways can I honor God, my spouse, and my children on a deeper level?

It seemed like all of the thoughts I had for bettering myself had a common trend. Making this year a year of JOY.

2011 was incredibly hard on our family. We were in the midst of confusion, anger, and grief all at the same time... and it lasted for well over half of the year. Needless to say, this took its toll.

2012 was a year of healing. We were dealing with a roller coaster of emotions and most notably accepting the loss of one child while simultaneously welcoming a new one into our family. Growing pains were abundant, but healing and peace have begun to creep back into our home.

I am resolved to make 2013 a year of joy: To enjoy the two little boys we have been immensely blessed by, to enjoy being married to the man of my dreams (yes, you read that right Daniel!), and to be happy with the person and the mother that I have become.

I have a list of things I envision for the new year... limitations on screen time, talking more about my joys than my gripes, dancing around the house more, writing more letters to family and friends, being more aware about me time.... the list goes on. They aren't very measurable things or things that can be put on a checklist, but that's okay with me.

I can't wait to see what 2013 has in store for me and my family! I am hoping to meet all that comes my way with a joyful heart!

Christmastime 2012

We ended up having four Christmases this year, which was a blast! Two in McMinnville, one in Georgia, and one at home over the span of three weeks! This mama is not complaining, bring on that Christmas cheer!
This year was so much fun for Eli! He really got into the wonder of Christmas, which Daniel and I loved to see! Every time we passed a house with Christmas lights we heard tons of "Oooooohs and Aaaaahs" from the back seat! The deer and moose heads at Walmart suddenly became reindeer. Anyone who was slightly overweight with a beard became Santa Claus. All trees, decorated or not, became Christmas trees. It was so neat to see Christmas through Eli's eyes! Even a week past Christmas we are still talking about Santa and Reindeer and Snowmen and wrapping random household objects in Jude's burp cloths to give to mommy and daddy proudly exclaiming, "It's for you mommy! A present for you! Open it up!". Suffice it to say we have superfluous cheer over here.

Here are some memories I want to remember from Christmastime 2012:

Big White Family Christmas - Our Christmas theme was "Mele Kalikimaka"and Eli had so much fun playing with all of his cousins, especially the ones close in age (Zach and Holly). We sang a presentation of American songs for Papaw's 80th birthday and Eli sang his heart out! It was hilarious! He got his very own remote control car from Gigi. Jude and cousin Daniel slept through pretty much all of Christmas and never ran out of arms to hold them :)

McMinnville Christmas - Eli got to write his very own letter to Santa, decorate Christmas cookies to leave out, and sprinkle reindeer food on the front lawn. Trysten read "The Night Before Christmas" to all of the kids before they fell asleep. Eli started to figure out his role as "Elf" and quickly learned how to bring presents to Pap, then take them to whomever they were for. He liked passing out presents at this point more than opening them! It was so fun to see him, Reese, and Owen all crowd around a present anxious to see what was inside! Jude, of course, slept through the whole thing :)

Christmas in Georgia - Eli was pretty infatuated with mom and dad's Christmas tree. He loved all of the ornaments with our pictures in them. He also loved all of mom's Christmas stuffed animals that she left around the mantel, especially Rudolph. We went to see the Christmas lights at Callaway Gardens and Eli sat on a stranger Santa's lap for the first time... he waltzed right up, sat down, and talked to Santa like it was nothing. Eli got his very first trike from Nana and Grandpa! He loved it! His feet barely reached the pedals, but he managed to move just fine - he just doesn't understand the steering quite yet!

Christmas in Knoxville - We had Christmas in Knoxville on Wednesday night (the second). Our poor tree was about falling apart! Haha! We didn't have much to spare this year but managed to get Eli a few presents that we knew he'd love, particular the Dinosaur trains and tracks. He wanted to set them up right away!

We are blessed to have a wonderful family to share in the holidays with! This year Christmastime was so special in lots of ways, we can't wait to see what next year brings (and if we'll ever stop talking about Santa!).