9 months

It's hard for us to believe that Eli is 9 months old today. I would give just about anything to have this time SLOW down. I've never truly enjoyed something so much, and I thank Jesus every single day for allowing me to be his mom. Eli had a rough week in regards to teething. We were all quite over the 'terrible two' top teeth. He wasn't terribly fussy, just acting really uncomfortable and not himself. I was really only concerned with getting him to eat, and after a few days of eating very little, he's back to his normal self.

We spent part of the day over at Nana and Pop-Pop's, and Eli had a blast. He sang many songs with Nana, read books, showed off his newest tricks, and ate up the attention as usual.

Nana's fun songs always get him going

He loved watching the pool guys clean the pool


We're constantly amazed that our 'busier by the day' boy will sit still to read a book. And it helps that Pop Pop just has the touch :)


Here are a few recent pictures of our growing boy...

To avoid further run-ins with the hard wood floor, we stick to play time in the pac-n-play most of the time :)

He loves to check himself out after every bath

Bathtime is still a favorite time of day for us! He loves his new towel too :)

There are so many things that I love about this picture. I especially love the way Eli holds onto his daddy's hand, and hangs onto every word that he reads. These are the moments that we'll never forget.


Best buddies :)



9 months and counting...we love you more everyday

My Little Monkey

Likes to pretend he's surfing?!




Or maybe wishes he were catching snow on his tongue?!




And as always, flapping his wings



He's a nut, who loves the camera, and we clearly love trying to capture his funniest moments. :)

What's new...

Here's what Eli's been up to lately...

*Cutting as many teeth as possible...at the same time
*Crawling, but only when he feels like it. Never when encouraged!
*Laughing at anything and everything the dog does
*Reading the same books over & over (he already has his favorites!)
*Going on long walks with his pup
*Swinging at the park (a new found favorite!) - hurry up Spring!
*Trying many new foods - and loves to feed himself
*Growing like an absolute weed!
*Learning that his voice is really quite loud at times
*Hamming it up for complete strangers, and loving the response he always gets
*Going to bed really early, and waking up before the sun rises
*Showing off his new found temper. This one isn't getting him far
*Standing alone, and getting very close to taking his first steps!
*Dancing at the first sound of music!
*Saying 'dada' 'nana' and 'mama'...we all know which one he says the most
*He flaps his arms like a bird when he's excited, which is pretty much all the time
*He drools enough to ruin a nice outfit in less than 5 minutes. I can't wait to leave the house without a bib!
*He loves the church nursery, and has recently started getting upset when its time to leave


He is SO much fun and always keeps us laughing, but he also loves to relax and watch a movie too :)





He's really getting the hang of his new car!



He's always coming up with something silly. He thinks its hilarious to turn his head sideways and make a funny face



After dinner, he knows its time for quality(and very fun!) daddy time :)



I can't believe he's coming up on 9 months. It just amazes me how fast the time has gone since he was born. I certainly don't remember being pregnant for 9 months going by this fast!!

We welcome you, 2010!

I already know that 2010 has great things in store for us. On March 20th, two families will become one, as my mom and Tom will be married. We couldn’t be more excited for them. We’re also very excited to welcome a new niece or nephew into the world in August! We have finally found a church that we feel called to be a part of, and will be joining as a family, and having Eli baptized. We’re working very diligently on becoming ‘debt free,’ and pray that we will finally see our hard work pay off by the summer! Goodbye large car payment, hello financial freedom! Sadly, my husband will miss his truck in a bad way. The Lord has opened so many doors for us, and has been ever so faithful.

2009 is a year that we will never forget. We experienced one of God’s greatest gifts here on earth. There’s nothing like holding your newborn baby for the very first time. He has changed our lives forever, and will continue to bless our lives with an unimaginable amount of joy. I pray that 2010 will be just as rewarding, and give us new reasons to smile each day.

This year I vow to… Love even stronger, laugh harder, make a difference in someone else’s life, hand it ALL over to God, worry less, and enjoy the little things in life.

Dan - You are mine, and I am yours. That in itself is enough to make 2010 a year that I will cherish forever. I thank God for each and every day that we’re given.

Eli – My sweet boy. You’re loved so deeply. Your contentment and glowing spirit keep us going. Your smile is so contagious. You’re going to do great things, I already know. I’m so excited to see what God has planned for you in the years to come.


If any of you are looking for families in need of prayer this year, here are a few that weigh heavy on my heart.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mcraekate/journal/1 - Precious 6 yr old girl with a massive brain tumor. This family is so dear, and so desperately praying for a cure.
http://www.therowefam.blogspot.com/ - Family who lost their baby girl at 2 days old.
http://www.bandssullivan.blogspot.com/ - Military family. Young mother lost her battle with cancer just 2 short weeks after giving birth to her first child.

I pray that 2010 will be even more wonderful than we could ever imagine! With these guys by my side, it's sure to be a great one!

Together Again!

After many months of waiting and dreaming of our time together, we finally had everyone together in one house! Great-grandparents, grandparents, Aunts & Uncles and 8 cousins that have been dieing to see each other! Our week together was absolutely perfect. And of course the week wouldn't have been complete without a ton of utter chaos and the sharing of sickly germs. We were SO excited that Becky, Jason, Noah and Colin were able to fly in from Albuquerque to 'surpise' us! It just wouldn't have been the same without them here!



Eli learned a thing or two from his cousins this week! Like...

How to ride his new car!



Playing with his favorite ball is more fun with two!



Maddie worked hard to teach him to crawl! We're getting closer!



Finally getting to meet his Aunt Sarah!!



GG & Goomba don't have enough lap space for all of their great-grandkids!



Most importantly, we were able to celebrate 80 years of life for our Goomba! We had a surprise celebration for him, and really enjoyed hearing and sharing exactly why we all love him so much.



Our family is growing like crazy, and we're so thankful for each and every one of our precious blessings. We long for the next time that we're all together again, and needless to say, there will be more than 8 cousins!

Christmas 2009

After a full two weeks of celebrating Christmas and ringing in the new year with family, we're finally back to life as we use to know it. Other than being sick for almost the entire two weeks, we had an absolutely wonderful week spent in Virginia, followed by a joyous reunion here in Hilton Head. I have a million pictures from both weeks, so I'll try to sum up our holidays with pictures.

We experienced our first taste of winter weather, and got overly excited about 1/2 an inch of snow!





They never got sick of playing peek-a-boo together!



All smiles with his great-grandpa. This picture just melts me



Mimi made sure that he had the very best 1st Christmas possible



We were blessed with the greatest gift of all this Christmas



Eli was introduced to the annual Christmas present stacking contest at Grandma's house. We let Aunt Liz win this year ;)



Lots of fun, but very exhausting!



We were so thankful to be able to spend over a week in Virginia this Christmas. We appreciate every second of family time we get.

I'll be doing a second Christmas post later, with fun pictures of our Morgan family reunion. We were blessed beyond belief this year!