Merry Christmas!

Snow Days... Blessings!

We had our first two snow days of the school year this week, yesterday and today.

 

More importantly, it was Jesse's FIRST experience with snow!

 

I kept the camera close by and documented all the fun things we have gotten into the last few days. We (Jesse and I) literally have not left the house since Saturday (nor have I worn anything but pajamas & yoga pants, ha!), so we have been busy making memories around the house. That said, cabin fever is starting to set in and I'm excited to see my second grade friends in the morning... but what a BLESSING it has been to have some extra, unexpected time off with my sweet baby boy. God is sooo good.

 

I ran into town to get a movie from the Redbox late Saturday night before the winter weather started  (we rented White House Down - GREAT movie!), and I took my camera along to get a picture of the town square all lit up with the Christmas tree. I would be that crazy woman crouched down - almost lying down - in the middle of the street to get the right angle, in between random bouts of car traffic. LOL. But the picture turned out great!

 

 

Sunday morning came around and church was cancelled because the snow was supposed to start during church hours. So I made a breakfast casserole - I'll have to share the recipe - it was DELISH. Then we just hung out around the house and enjoyed the day together as a family.

 

Jesse checked out the falling snow from the patio doors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Christmas tree glowed all day long :-)

 

 

And a certain little boy didn't want to leave the Christmas tree alone ;-)

 

 

 

 

Chasing after the kitty... poor cat, LOL

 

 

Jesse also spent some time wrestling and being silly with Daddy :-)

 

 

 

 

 

The snow stopped, and then the sleet and freezing rain began.

 

 

 Then we spent some time playing and watching movies in the basement.

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 Finally got ahold of kitty... she wasn't a fan.

 

 

 Our view of the driveway / front yard

 

 

 We were off school on Monday because of the ice. Today, we had more snow in the forecast so they cancelled schools again. I'm sure I'll be complaining in June when we have to go a couple of extra days in the summer for these snow days... but honestly, this extra time with my baby boy around the holidays is so, so special.

 

We ended up only getting a little bit of snow, and it had stopped snowing by lunch time. When the temps started warming a little bit, I bundled up my baby boy and took him outside in the snow. He didn't actually get IN the snow, but he got to check things out :-) ...And of course, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to have a little photo shoot.

 



 

 

 You might remember last year during a snow storm, I went outside with my tripod and remote and took these maternity pictures of myself:

 

 

 

 

 

....Well, I set up the tripod and remote and tried to get a few pictures of Jesse and I in the same spot. Let me just say that it's MUCH easier to do the whole tripod/remote thing by yourself than with a baby on your hip! Most of the ones I took were out of focus :-(  ...but we did get a couple of good ones.

 

 

 

 Well, all good things must come to an end. Back to work tomorrow... but on the bright side, we only have 3 more work days until the weekend! Sure have loved this extra time with my family.

 

Linking up:

 

 

 

Jesse is 7 months old!

 

 

 

 

Here we are... it's December 1st already. Jesiah turned 7 months old today. This month was a major MOM-FAIL in the picture taking arena... my memory cards were full and I needed to get files transferred over in a bad way, and I *finally* got around to doing this last weekend. So while there are some great shots of my baby boy in this post, I have to admit that many of them came from this past week. Nonetheless, it was a wonderful month of growing, learning, and achieving new milestones!

 

Guess who is officially on the move?!

 

THIS GUY!

 

 

Jesse, you have officially begun to crawl. You get up on your hands and knees and slap those little hands down on the floor as you kick your knees like a baby on a mission. Of course, many of the things you want aren't SUPPOSED to be for babies... like Momma's Christmas decorations, for example. We are already learning the meaning of the word "no."

 

 

Your world is becoming a much bigger place, and the number of mini heart attacks that you give your Mommy on a daily basis are increasing by leaps and bounds.

 

 

 

 

I need to weigh you, but my guess would be that you weigh around 18-19 pounds. You fit into some 9 month bodysuits and pants, but 12 month clothing fits you best. You are so long! I've been doing a lot of consignment and second hand shopping for you, because I'd be spending a small fortune at department stores every month to buy you new clothes that fit. You continue to wear a size 3 diaper.

 

 

Now that you're on the move, you REALLY enjoy playing on the floor. We usually spread out a blanket for you with a selection of toys and you have a blast moving from one toy to another. Your favorite toys are ones that you can fit into your mouth, shake to make noise, or push buttons.

 

Kitty is letting you get closer and closer!

 

You're not a huge fan of sitting up - you can do it, but you'd rather lay on your side and prop yourself up on your arm. It's the cutest thing in the world.

 

 



No teeth yet! You sure do love your Sophie the Giraffe though. She goes EVERYWHERE we go :-) She's a nice, soft rubber and she's the perfect shape for your little hands. You love chewing on her. We check your gums for teeth everyday... maybe if we start singing, "All I want for Christmas is ANY front teeth," they'll come!

 

 

You love sitting in your high chair and eating like a big boy! You take several formula bottles during the day, and you nurse at bedtime and through the night. You have fruit and cereal in the mornings, a vegetable or dinner in the afternoon, and more fruit/cereal in the evenings before bed time. You especially love your morning fruit and cereal :)

 

 

 

Your eyes are still very blue. I could stare into them all day long!

 

 

 

 

You are learning how to say "Momma." When you say it, it comes out as "Mmmmmmmmmmom." You really concentrate on that "mmmm" sound at the beginning. It's popped out a couple of times, and it's absolutely precious.

 

 

 

 

You really love your jumperoo and walker! You used to just kinda stand in your jumperoo and play with the toys, but this month you really caught onto how to jump and bounce. :-) Here's an action pic... LOL

 

 

 

We have found that animals make you giggle REALLY hard. You belly laugh when you see dogs and cats playing or chasing after something. In this picture, you had pulled out Daddy's hoodie string, and Kitty (who LOVES playing with strings!) came running to see what was going on. You giggled and giggled, seeing Kitty watching you so intently. :-)

 

 

You met Santa twice this month, both times on the same day. We had some professional pics taken with Santa (which will be shared in a post closer to Christmas since they will be on Christmas cards ;), and then we ran into this Santa when we were out shopping with Grandma, Nan, and Aunt Jamie. You weren't too sure of him.

 

 

 

Every month, I catch myself saying "This is my favorite stage so far!" because every day with you is just so much fun. As you grow and learn more and more, your personality is emerging and it's so neat to watch this little person that came from daddy and me. We love you with all our hearts, Jesse! Can't wait to continue sharing the Christmas season with you over the next month :-)