All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth

Joshua made his requests to Santa this week. I'm pretty sure he asked Santa for his top two front teeth because they have been bothering him the past couple of days. I think they are on their way. He also must have asked Santa to help him get around the house more quickly because he has been on all fours trying to figure out how to propel himself forward. I think we are only days away from the excitement of chasing him around as he crawls on the floor. It is amazing all of the changes that have happened in the last 7 1/2 months!

Christmas Family Pics

This is the first year that Peter and I have sent out a photo Christmas card. I love receiving Christmas cards, but I always thought the only reason to send out a picture card was if there was a baby involved. I know it's not that big of a deal, but for some reason, I was really excited about it. Mostly, I was excited to take a family pic, since we really haven't had a good one with all three of us. Here are a few pictures that Natalie Miller took for us...she is a great photographer!

As you can see, Joshua did not enjoy the picture taking for the whole shoot...especially when we tried to switch out the burgundy ornament for the cream ornament!

1st Time Marathoner

Well, I wish that title was for me, but it is for my friend, Kristin Lewis. She ran her first marathon today, the Dallas White Rock Marathon. I am so proud of her! I cannot imagine running 26.2 miles! It is almost 20 miles from my house to the spot in downtown Dallas where I watched her cross the 25 mile marker. On my drive home I kept thinking, how could I ever run from my house to downtown?! Janelle, Joshua, and I met in downtown, and cheered her on. There are no pictures of Joshua...you wouldn't have been able to see his cute, little face anyway, because he was all bundled up!






Kristin, wearing the green shirt, trained and ran with another friend, Suzy (this was her 2nd marathon)!

Kristin & Suzy at the finish line with their medals!












We are so proud of our friend!

Christmas is only 22 days away!

I love Christmas and all of the things that go with the busyness of the season: spending time with family, buying presents, putting up decorations, going to Christmas parties, watching kids take pictures with Santa Claus, baking and eating cookies, and going to the Christmas Eve service at church. All of these are fun traditions, but this year is so much more special! We are looking forward to enjoying Christmas through Joshua's eyes. I can't imagine what a 7 month old is thinking when he sees lights up on houses, ornaments, and trees inside! Really, I wonder what he is thinking most of the time. As you can see from the pictures, he even got into the Christmas spirit early and put on his Santa suit.

The Murrells came to visit us this weekend...we had a great time as always. One of my highlights was a letter Oksana wrote to Joshua. He was taking a nap, so she had to read it to me. I won't post everything she wrote, but she was, so kindly, explaining to him that Santa is not real, and that one day he would realize that it was his Mommy and Daddy who put the presents under the tree. After laughing about the letter, I told her that I would let him see it, but not for quite a few years!


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Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was so fun this year since it was Joshua's first Turkey Day! Peter and I are truly thankful for the blessing of our son. Joshua and I flew to Houston on Tuesday and spent two days with my family. It was so nice to just relax and let other people take turns holding and playing with Joshua. He enjoyed eating in his new high chair at Grandma and Grandpa's house, and also found his foot. It seems like he hasn't stopped sucking on it since!

On Thanksgiving Day, my parents and Alicia spent the day at Salvation Army serving dinner, and Joshua and I met Peter at his parents' house. It was fun watching the Houston and Macy's Thanksgiving Day parades with Oksana, Peter's sister, and Elizabeth, Peter's cousin. Joshua also enjoyed the meal. While everyone was around the table eating, he sat on my lap. He managed to put his little fingers directly into the mush of the deviled egg on my plate! Everyone laughed because that is one of Peter's favorite parts of the meal too. After everyone was done, we gave him his first baby food...sweet potatoes! They were all over him, and his exploding diaper was all over me! I will save you and not post a picture of that. Life is always exciting with a baby around! Unfortunately, my camera batteries died on Thanksgiving, so I don't have any of those great pictures...I will post some as soon as I get them from Joshua's Pops!

Joshua enjoying the taste of his toes!

Grandpa and Joshua had great bonding time as Joshua had his first piano lesson!




Auntie Alicia feeds Joshua cereal...he is a messy eater!











Grandma became Joshua's horse...this is a miracle if anyone knows how bad of a back my mom has had in the past! She always said that she wanted to be able to play with her grandkids and she is able to!

First-Time Blogger

I have never been one to write much for the world to see, so this blog may end up being mostly pictures of our sweet baby boy, Joshua. He was born on May 5, and is now a little over 6 1/2 months old. It is hard to believe that he has grown thirteen pounds and 8 inches since he was born...not to mention that he has gone from only sleeping and eating for recreation, to being able to play with toys, sit on his own, and enjoy being outdoors! It is truly miraculous to see how God matures him each day and allows him to discover new things. I love being Joshua's mom and seeing each of his new stages. I will try to update this with new pictures and comments about Joshua's adventures as often as I can! Here is an old slideshow...


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