Christmas at Home

Today marks Russell's first Christmas! We spent the day at home - our new family tradition is that Christmas day is a day to be home; after all, Santa has to come to our house! We have really enjoyed it.

Yesterday, Russell's PawPaw and Kacki came over to go to the Christmas Eve service with us, have a nice dinner, and open presents.

Kacki and Russell enjoying some quality time:

Our family after the Christmas Eve service (and baby already in his PJs):

Coming downstairs on Christmas morning:

Russell's present from Santa...and Jason trying to put it together:

Russell and alllllll of his loot:

Merry Christmas, y'all! :) We can't wait to celebrate with my family starting tomorrow!

6 months old!

Happy 1/2 birthday, Russell!










6 months have flown by! Here's what Russell is up to now:

~Sitting up - he has progressed from tripod, wobbly sitting to sitting pretty sturdily on his own. Yes, he still falls down sometimes, but usually because he is concentrating on something else (like reaching for a toy.)
~Loves grabbing Mommy's hair...ugh
~Is finally on a nap schedule - hallelujah! 3 naps a day usually, or sometimes just 2.
~Loves all food except green beans
~Smiles, laughs, and talks all the time! It cracks us up to see the things he thinks are funny - and how something can be hilarious one day and not at all the next.
~Has outgrown most of his 3-6 month clothes and is growing into his 6-9 month clothes.
~Has never been sick (knock on wood!) He must have a great immune system, because in the past couple months, I've been sick twice, and Jason once, and Russell didn't get anything!

Russell's 6 month appointment is on 1/4 (after we get back from our trip). Can't wait to see how he's grown :)

Russell's Real Father

Jason doesn't think that Russell looks a thing like him. Well, maybe Jason's not the father...

Could this be Russell's real dad?

Can't you see the family resemblance? ;)

Thanks, Great Aunt Nancy!

Remember the jumperoo from this post? We are so thankful to my Aunt Nancy for letting us borrow it until Tyler comes to NC next. Russell is especially grateful - see how much he loves it? I don't know what we'd do without our friends and family lending us some of their great baby gear. Some of the things Russell loves the best have been free to us!

Another great big smile:

Sittin' Pretty

...or sittin' handsome, I guess ;)

Well, to be more accurate, it's not pretty or handsome yet - it's wobbly, shaky, and lean-forward-y...but he is working on it!

Pics to prove it:

Watching Daddy film him with our new camcorder (thanks, PawPaw and Kacki!):

In front of the tree:

He is really getting stronger every day! It's amazing to watch.

All Bundled Up

Prunes

Don't worry, I won't go into details about why I want to make prune baby food (you can thank me later, as will Russell, when he's old enough to be embarrassed by this.) But I was seriously considering doing it...until the following questions were brought up in conversation with Leigh Anne today:

~Why make prune baby food? Why not use plums? What's the difference? (this is a serious question - anyone? bueller?)

I've looked up how to make prune baby food, and to do so, it seems one must rehydrate the prunes using boiling water. So, I have to buy prunes, which are dried plums, and turn them into un-dry plums again? Crazy much?


(actual baby food label - why "dried prunes?" Isn't that redundant?)

Leigh Anne then brought up this point: I could mix prune juice with other fruits Russell already eats, instead of going through the trouble of making the food! Brilliant!

Which begs the question:
~Prune juice? What is that, even? Prunes are dry! Is it really plum juice? Why don't they call it plum juice?

I'm sure you're glad to know that we're pondering the mysteries of the universe here ;) But truly, feel free to enlighten me!

Meeting Cousin Tyler

Russell was able to meet his second cousin Tyler on Friday. Tyler is only about 2 months older than Russell! Unfortunately, he and his parents (my cousin Angie and her husband David) live all the way in Texas. So this meeting was definitely a treat!

Two drooly, curious boys:

The mommies, the babies, and their proud great-grandmother:

Russell was so excited to try out Tyler's toys, especially this one. He was overjoyed! He kept babbling, grinning, and it seemed like he was playing with every toy at the same time.

That is one happy baby!

At least Tyler's grandparents (my aunt Nancy and uncle Mike) live close to us, so hopefully these boys will get more opportunities to play - maybe when they're old enough to be more interested in each other :)

Gobble, gobble!

Thanksgiving was very different for us this year than ever before! This was Russell's first big holiday, and we spent it with Jason's family, including lots of little ones! It was a good kind of pandemonium :) Russell really didn't have any seasonal food today - just banana, avocado, and oatmeal!

Baby-lovin' Great Uncle Bart and Russell (note the turkey day onesie!)

A family Thanksgiving pic:

We really tried to get a pic with all the kids - but with a 5-month-old, 11-month old, 18-month-old, and 3-year-old, what can you expect? But 12-year-old Summer was very helpful in at least corralling her brother Jonathan! Renee was the little escape artist - she would just not sit!

At least Renee's legs made it in this picture (you can see all the children looking at her):

The only picture I got with all the kids:

We did what anyone does on Thanksgiving: ate too much, played games, chatted with family. It was wonderful! We have so much to be thankful for.

5 months old!

I really can't believe our baby is almost 1/2 year old. Time sure flies!

Here are some of his 5 month photos:

What Russell is into lately:

~He is ticklish! We discovered it when changing his clothes - he would start laughing when pulling his shirt over his head. His neck and underarms are his ticklish spots. His sweet little laughs are too cute.

~Favorite foods so far (in order): pears, bananas, applesauce, sweet potatoes, cereal (rice or oatmeal). Everything else, he could take it or leave it.

~He started rolling back to front about 2 days after I wrote his 4 month old post, so there is no more set tummy time - he does it whenever he wants!

~He really enjoys the exersaucer! He will play with something, then look over at me and grin like, "Can you believe I'm doing this, Mom?" [Thanks for letting us use it, Ryan and Amy!]

~He likes playing independently for about 10 minutes now - a nice break for me and Jason :)

~He is working on sitting up - definitely has a long way to go!

~He notices other babies now and is quite interested in them. At our Thursday playgroups, he will look at and talk to the other babies - even screaming at them - not because he's upset necessarily, just to hear himself, I think. A little like his Daddy there ;)

We say Russell has an "intense" personality - he has never been a calm, even-keel baby! He lets you know how he feels about everything in a very dramatic fashion! He is such a joy to be around and brings so much extra into our lives. We can't wait for tomorrow - celebrating his first Thanksgiving with many little second cousins!

Blog Going Private, Part 2

If you missed it, scroll down and read the last post about my blog going private. I need your email address if you want to keep reading.

If you have never read a private blog/don't have a Google account, this is how it works:

--On Wednesday, you will get an email from me saying that you've been invited to read my blog. There will be a link to click in the email.
--The link will take you to a sign-in page. At this point, if you have never created a Google login and password, you'll need to do so. (If you already have one, just use it.)
--Once you log in, you will be taken to my blog.
--Thereafter, if you want to read my blog, just go to the URL (faithloveandblessings.blogspot.com) and it will prompt you to log in. After you log in, it will take you to the blog.

I hope that makes sense! It's fairly self-explanatory once you see it.

Blog Going Private

I really hate to do this, but...



we're going undercover.

Due to some strange happenings here, I'm going to have to take my blog private. Email or facebook me or leave a comment here with your email address if you want to keep reading. Even if you're a friend of a friend, I don't mind if you read - in fact you're quite welcome to.

Deadline is Wednesday, 11/25 (I want to get this done before the Thanksgiving craziness) - hopefully all who are interested will read this before then!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...

Christmas! :)

I know what you're thinking: it's not even Thanksgiving yet. Well, to you I say, "Bah humbug!" You're a Grinch! Haha, just kidding. But really, I love everything about Christmas. Yes, I started listening to Christmas music about a week ago, thank you, and no I will not apologize for it :)

Seeing as I love Christmas so much, I had to see if Russell did too - he was actually perfectly content to play along with me for some photos!

Russell the snowman was a jolly, happy soul:

"All I want for Christmas is you:"

It's the time of year to show our friends how much we love them:

Hooray for holidays! We will certainly enjoy ours :)

Peace

As I contemplate lots of potential changes in the life of our family - my upcoming job interview, our desire to move - this speaks to my heart:

John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afriad."

It's so tempting for me to be afraid of the future - where we will live, whether I should work, will there be enough money/time/fill-in-the-blank. I am a planner, and like to know my next 17 steps before taking the first one.

Jesus reminds me that all the peace I need is in Him. Therefore, I don't need to know the future - it will come too quickly anyway. As the saying goes, "worry is like a rocking chair - give you something to do but doesn't get you anywhere." I could worry - or I could do "the better thing," as Mary did (Luke 10:39), and sit at the feet of my Savior.

Veggie Fun

Russell's first veggies have mostly been more fun for Jason and me than for baby! He makes the most hilarious faces when he eats them, and coughs so dramatically like he can't stand it. But then he opens his mouth w i d e for another spoonful!

His first-ever vegetable was pumpkin - you would think he liked it by the way he grabbed the spoon, but it wasn't his favorite:

Then we went for peas - he definitely isn't a fan. It took him 2 meals to finish 1 serving.

And finally, sweet potatoes: the first veggie he's actually liked! He gobbled them up! (Although in this picture, he's very interested in his toes!)

This is why it's so messy when we feed our little man - as soon as I go to get another spoonful, this is what happens...

...hands in the mouth!

See what I mean about opening up for more?

Such a funny boy! Fruits are coming up soon - I have a feeling he'll like them more than the veggies!

Jason's Birthday Weekend

Jason celebrated the big 3-0 this weekend, and he just loves to be reminded of it, so don't forget to tease him ;)

For the occasion, we went to the State/Maryland game on Saturday with my parents, Jason's parents, and the usual tailgate crowd. The weather was gorgeous! Russell actually made it into the stadium this time...and came back out immediately - I guess I never realized how loud and stimulating it was in there! He started crying - sobbing - right away, poor thing. But he didn't mind tailgating at all.

Anyway, I didn't get too many pictures, but here's a good one of Russell and Jason on his first bday as a daddy:

Sunday afternoon we had a nice family get-together with my aunt Nancy and uncle Mike, BOTH of my brothers (yay - Jef was there from NYC!) and their girlfriends, my parents and Jason's parents. Russell was the absolute center of attention!

Nancy and Russell:

Uncle Mike (baseball coach) had to get Russell to hold a bat for the first time - doesn't he look tough?

Jef and Sejal - such a cute couple :)

Uncle Jon loves his nephew:

What a nice weekend with family! Russell is so blessed to be so loved.

Happy Halloween!

Russell the Duck made an appearance at his first Halloween party today! In the interest of full disclosure, I will say that he was only in the costume for a few pictures - the duck feet kept falling off and he was trying to eat the duck head. (The body didn't seem to phase him, however!)

Jason and I with our little duckling:

Russell and Lily inspecting the duck head:

Zack with a sleepy ladybug, Eliza:

Lots of adorable little creatures:

Thanks to Justin and Sarah for hosting! It was fun and filled with cuteness!