Santa, baby....

We had so much fun this Christmas! It was William's first, and was a very special time for our whole family. We spent Christmas eve here at home, baking, wrapping and opening presents. William got so many nice toys and clothes from our family...he was so excited! We have been so blessed this year with such a sweet and healthy baby, and can't wait to see what this next year holds for our little family!

This was Christmas Eve before we opened gifts

William exploring his new bath toys from Santa

Helping daddy

Thanks for the bow...he loves it!

Daddy being funny

This is my favorite...check out the shirt!

Christmas day at my parent's house

Loved this toy from Sugar and Pop!

Finally...meeting the Big Guy!! Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!!

A Whole New Perspective on Christmas

Christmas has always been my favorite time of year...lights, music, shopping, warm fires in the fireplace, etc. It has always been a time to remember the baby Jesus, and the glorious celebration of His birth. I try to stop and really think what that must have been like for Mary...to travel that far, being THAT pregnant...to not have anywhere to rest in Bethlehem but a stable....to have to give birth to your child next to animals...to smell the stench of the barnyard with every breath...to have no where to lay your newborn baby except in a feeding trough. Now that I have a son of my own, it is much easier to imagine how hard that must have been for Mary. We all want what is best for our children, but God loved us so much that he chose to have His only Son to be born in a stable. A place so ordinary...so human. That is the true definition of love.

We put up our tree and decorations last weekend, and were able to snap a few pictures of William in one of his Christmas outfits. He's not yet crawling, but he's scooting...mostly in circles! He loves bouncing while standing, and loves "Jingle Bells"!

Here are a few pics from the last week, and a couple of videos I thought everyone might enjoy!

Halloween in December

Today, I was putting away laundry in William's room when I found this little green monster

At first I was afraid, but he assured me that he meant no harm. This friendly little monster said that he was sick at Halloween, and couldn't drop by for a visit in October, but that he wanted to show off his new outfit before it got too small! He and I had lots of fun playing, dancing and even hung around for a photo op!

But, alas, all good things must come to an end. Before he left, however, he let me get a little video of his dance skills. He even added a little monster roar at the end, to say "I'll see ya next year!"

Counting Our Many Blessings

This Thanksgiving was William's first, so it was a very special one in the Lovelady house. We spent the day with my family at my parents house, and had so much fun. William stole the show, smiling, laughing and showing off his new skill of drinking water out of my glass! He is growing so fast that sometimes I wish time would just stay still. I know that I will look back and wonder where the time went, so I'm really trying to enjoy every moment of every day that I have with him. Every smile is precious, every roll-over is like his first, and every sweet baby-kiss is locked away in my memory.

Jay and I have so much to be thankful for this year, that it's hard not to be overwhelmed with emotion just thinking of all the many blessings God has given. We are all so blessed with a loving and forgiving Father, who selflessly gave his own Son, so that we and our own sons can live...that is the ultimate definition of love. I never really knew depth of sacrifice this was until I became a mother. Now, the thought of having to give up my own son's precious life, so that a sinful nation could be free really puts things into perspective. I am thankful for a wonderful and loving husband, who loves me and William more than anything in the world. I am thankful for a perfect child, who has absolutely been the light and the joy of our lives. I am thankful for a job, and warm home to come home to, and for loving parents who taught me the values of God and family. Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!

Who Has Time to Sleep??

Over the last month or so, William has become much more active and interested in absolutely everything that we are doing. He doesn't want to go to sleep, for fear that he will miss something. He's always reaching, grabbing or chewing on something, and doesn't ever sit still anymore. He's mastered sitting, but we're still working on crawling. I took these pictures over the past couple of days. The first was what I found when I went into the nursery during naptime...my little turtle (or parascope, as Jay calls him). The other is of William's new walker. He loves it, although he's still working on the walking part!

Other random pics from the last week

Jay and William playing video games together

Bath-time with his new Elmo mat

My First Halloween

We had planned on William being a little green monster this year for Halloween, but turned out he was sick the whole weekend. He actually had to go to the doctor on Halloween day, which was no fun! I had to work that weekend, so it was just he and Jay, but we did manage to get a few pics of 2 of his little halloween outfits. We still plan on putting him in his monster costume, and snapping a few pics, so stay tuned...they will be up soon! The first few photos are the Thursday before halloween, when he and I were home alone, and the other is of his pumpkin outfit. You can't really see it well, because he was exhausted after going to the

doctor!

Sitting On My Own

Well, William is just growing by leaps and bounds! Every time I turn around, it seems like he's doing something new. His latest trick...sitting! It doesn't seem like much to you and I, but to a little one, this is a big accomplishment! We've been battling ear infections, and teething for the last few weeks, so he's had a rough time lately, but hopefully we're on the upswing and we'll have more fun pics to post. Maybe some of those pics will even have a tooth in them!

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These are of my boys enjoying some quality time together watching football...Elmo included!