7 months old already!!! December 8

7 months old

18 lbs/15 ounces(1 ounce away from 19!!) and 27 inches long

(he grew an inch and gained almost a pound in November!!)

We are having so much fun with Holden!! Its hard to believe that 7 months have passed already!! He has such a great personality and is easily entertained! He still loves to play on the floor with his toys which makes us so excited about Santa! He loves to watch Mickey Mouse, Sesame Street, and the Backyardigans.....he loves the colors and the music. We let him watch them when we are fixing his breakfast in the morning and for a little bit after. Of course he loves his food and is really into books now. We read them to him, but he is more interested in chewing on the pages or turning the pages. It is so fun to watch him try to figure out how to do things or pick things up. He is very inquisitive and will watch things so intently. The Christmas tree, decorative reindeer, and Wilson are his favorite things to stare down. He can go from the seated position to his tummy and push himself up on his front hands and kick his feet. He hasn't figured out how to get up on his knees yet so he basically looks like a fish. He has also started pulling himself up on things. He may be one of those who walks soon after he crawls. Poor mommy!! He still loves to watch football but prefers to do it while playing with his toys. No teeth yet although he has been teething for 3 months now. You can feel three trying to come in...poor baby!! He loves to swing and be outdoors.He is steadily learning new sounds and octaves. When we go shopping or anywhere he talks to everyone and smiles his killer smile. Jack and I are so grateful for the blessing he is and for the absolute joy he brings to each day!! When he hugs us or snuggles up in our arms, we melt. Thank you Lord for our baby boy!!

watching mickey mouse

chewing on my silver teething rattle(it was my daddy's)

cheese!!!!!

cheese again!!!!!!!!!!

checking out my walker; my legs aren't quite long enough!

hmmm....I like playing with these things! Thanks grammy!!

Thanksgiving 2008

Happy Thanksgiving!!(a little bit late)

Poor Jack has been working so hard and his days off are very limited so we decided to have Thanksgiving dinner at our house. The festivities began Wednesday night. We had my mom, Jack's parents, and Uncle Gibson and his family over for taco soup. Thursday, we had my mom, Jack's parents, Unlce Ed and Aunt Patsi for the big feast. The food was soooooooo good!!! We ate way too much, watched some football, and enjoyed visiting with one another! Holden had a great day and showed off all his tricks. Thanksgiving was somewhat bittersweet for me...I am truly thankful for God's blessings on our family and for our precious baby boy!! However, this was my first Thanksgiving without my daddy because he passed away a few days after Thanksgiving last year. I know he was there with us that day in spirit and that gave me peace. I hope everyone had a great holiday!!

Holden and Uncle Ed swinging
More pictures

Delta's Most Beautiful

See next post for details! :)

Double Click to enlarge

November- Our Delta visits

We made a couple of quick trips to the Delta in November. We hadn't been home since August so it was time. Our first trip was to Clarksdale and Marks to visit with family and to attend Delta Academy's Most Beautiful pageant. Mary Susan's little sister, Valerie is a senior and was in the pageant. I did her hair and makeup two years ago when she was in it and placed 1st alternate(she should have won) and she asked me to do it again this year. She was stunning....my job was easy-she is so beautiful just as she is so we just highlighted her features. She really didn't need me! Mary Susan is one of my oldest and dearest friends(thats why she is Holden's Godmother) and we have been friends since Valerie was only a few months old so I feel like Val is my little sister. Boy did I feel old sitting there watching grown up, 17 year old Valerie compete. She was 1st alternate again(she REALLY should have won) and we were all so happy. We were also able to spend some time with my parents, Jack's parents and with some of my mom's brothers and sisters and with some other friends. Our second trip was to Cleveland for Mary Susan's 30th birthday. She was really surprised, and it was a lot of fun hanging out with friends. Time flew by on both trips, though!! I didn't get any pics of Mary Susan's party due to a dead camera and we missed some other photo opps too. Enjoy the pictures we were able to take!
My Uncle Lynn, Uncle Andy, and Aunt Sharon with Holden (no, Holden isn't upset because his Uncle Andy is an Ole Miss fan :)...he is tired of me trying to get my camera to work!!)

Holden and Grammy(my mom)

Bossy(jack's daddy) and Holden-Holden looks like his mini me at times!

6 month pics and captions

Playing in my jumparoo....I love it!!!

Pics of me playing hard
Mommy and me...she's interrupting my bongo solo.

Me in my rubber ducky tub....I love it, too!! I REALLY like the washclothe!!

Helping mommy with mail...my job never stops.

Chillin' and watching some football with daddy.

"YUMMY......I love to eat-even prunes are good!!"

"My mommy is silly...she is making me laugh!"

6 months- November 8 (a little late)

Holden-6 months

Holden posed himself.....he put his arm on vampire pumpkin's arm.


WOW!! Where did November go?!?! It went by way too quickly!! Holden was 6 months old on November 8. He weighed 18 pounds and was 26 inches long at our doctor's visit. He is such a joy! He is sitting on his on now...we started the month with him needing a little support but now he is completely independent with sitting. He can sit and play with his toys forever. He is such a happy and social baby. Whenever we take him somewhere, he just looks around and talks to people and flirts with the ladies. yes, I have a "ladies man" on my hands. He loves to feel different textures and can give the best sugar. He also gives himself sugar on a mirror when you say "give the baby sugar." He is now in his rubber ducky bath tub and loves to play with his disco ducks that light up while taking his bath.(thanks fran!) He is so vocal now and is learning new sounds and pitches. He also loves music....guess he doesn't have much choice with parents like us! He reaches for me and for Jack(which melts our hearts) and when Jack comes in at night, Holden kicks his legs and waves his arms because he is so excited to see his daddy. He is really thinking about crawling although he hasn't quite figured out how to do it yet. He is fascinated by Wilson but the feeling is NOT mutual. Hopefully, that will change. He is reaches for everything and has quite a powerful grip...he has grabbed many handfuls of mommy's hair. He still LOVES to watch football. He will stop what he is doing to watch. Again, we are so blessed to have such a sweet and healthy baby!! I only wish I could freeze time for a bit. :) Check back for more 6 month and Thanksgiving pics. I hope to have them posted in a day or so.(atleast by Christmas..ha!ha!)

The Vampire Pumpkin

Meme sent Holden a vampire pumpkin kit to decorate a pumpkin for Halloween. It was like Mr. Potato Head but with a pumpkin instead of a potato. We had a blast doing this with Holden and plan to make it a tradition each year. I made a slide show with captions...the pics are in order. Enjoy!!! Thanks Meme!!

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Make a Smilebox slideshow

Holden the Goldfish

Holden was so precious in his goldfish costume. He really enjoyed watching the trick or treaters. We all sat on our front porch and gave out candy, until we ran out. We have never lived in a neighborhood with trick or treaters before so I wasn't sure how much candy I should purchase. I spent a small fortune on candy and still made a little kid cry when we ran out. I felt like such a dog!! We know now how much to buy and Jack learned not to give big handfuls of candy to each kid. Anyways, Holden's first costume experience went pretty well. Hope you enjoy seeing our lil fishy!!

"O.K. I have had enough!!"
"RELIEF!!" "Ahhh...Ilove my Halloween jammers!!"

Fran's Wedding

Mrs. Fran Strehlow

A couple of weeks ago, I was in my former roommate's wedding. Fran was such a beautiful bride, and she married a super guy!! They are a precious couple, and the wedding showed how much they loved each other, and how much they love the Lord. What a celebration!! Frannie(what i call her) and I had some fun times back in college, and I look forward to many more fun times to come!

Hubby and me at the rehearsal dinner

Wedding festivities

The big 3-0!!

Well Friday, October 17 was my 30th birthday! I must say, I wasn't sure how I truly felt about turning 30. No longer being in my 20's kind of scared me. Don't know why, but it did. However, once the day arrived, I realized how fortunate I was to be turning 30 and to have all my dreams come true. I have a wonderful husband who loves me unconditionally, a beautiful miracle in Holden, my loving yorkie, WONDERFUL family, the GREATEST friends in the world, a fabulous home, and great health. So, it ended up being the best birthday yet! I look forward to my next 30 years, which I know will be even better!!

How did I celebrate??--

Thursday- I got a massage.

Friday- I changed my hair- I am now a dark blonde with shorter, more fun hair thanks to my friend Heather who owns Oasis salon and spa in Pearl!! Then, I went home and spent the day with my little man and mom. Jack was on call.

Saturday- We all went to lunch and mom, H, and I went browsing at Target. Then, Jack took me to Atlantica Grill which was YUMMY!!! When, we got back home, several of my sweet friends surprised me with a party. Jack had arranged it, with some help, and it was great. Jack apologizes to those of you he was unable to reach. He was trying to get email addresses off of some old emails I had sent so he missed a few of you!! They had another cake and balloons and gifts for me. I felt like a kid again!! SOOOOO much fun!!

Friday's activities pics: Hanging out with my baby boy and mom. Mom was taking the pics so she isn't in any.(boo)? I LOVE the first picture of us playing. We have so much fun!!

The bottom, middle picture shows Holden jamming his hand into the side of the cake. I had to act fast to get the chocolate off of his hands before it made it to his mouth.

Saturday's activites pics:

First pic is Holden at lunch decked out in his MSU attire. Iguess he knew what the outcome of that night's game would be. Notice the facial expression! The collage is pics from the evening. They had balloons and 30 curly ribbon everywhere!! Thanks guys!! It really meant a lot to me having you there and thanks for the GREAT presents!! Sorry to all the men....I didn't get any up close pictures of the guys, but that could be due to the fact they were busy watching the game. Boys will be boys!! :)

AND ......thanks to all who text, called, e-mailed, or sent me a card!! It was such a memorable birthday!!

More 5 months pics

Little man has quite the personality these days! He is so animated and has a new trick each day. Here are some things he is doing or enjoys these days:

*He can hug and snuggle which melts mommy's heart!!

* He loves outside- strolling, swinging, sitting

*He smiles and laughs a lot now, especially when you tickle him

*He can sit unsupported for a little bit but usually falls forward when he reaches for a toy.

* He has great hand/eye coordination and reaches for everything!

*He rolled over once last week but looks at me like I am crazy when I try to get him to do it again.

*He is enjoying tummy time a tiny bit more now and can push up on his arms when he wants to.(key words being when he wants to! :))

*He likes his jumparoo/excersaucer mush more these days. He looks like a little rabbit jumping around and he figured out how to spin himself around. He will stay in that thing for a while now.

*He still loves food!! (now 17lbs 6 oz.)

*He loves music, especially on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Backyardigans.

*He is not happy with mommy at times now because i am trying to get him on a schedule to help with his sleep. (hardest thing I have EVER done. Thanks for your support Sarah!!)

WE LOVE THIS PRECIOUS ANGEL!!!

Tummy time- Pops(my daddy) would be proud of Holden's piano skills!!(click to make larger)

"WZUP?"

The Bankstons gave this outfit to Holden. He looks so cute in it and I couldn't resist turning the hat sideways!!

Holden and Bossy(Jack's daddy) at the Vandy game

Holden passed out in his stroller after tailgating with everyone.

5 months old

5 months old

17 pounds

( I just LOVE that buddha belly!!)
Our baby boy turned 5 months old on October 8! He is such a sweetie!! We haven't taken a monkey picture in a while so I decided to do a photo shoot with monkey. Well, now that Mr. H can grab things, it was a little bit harder to get one. I put together the following collage. The picture of him in the blue outfit was when he was about 6 weeks old. It is amazing to see how much he has grown and changed.(click on it to make it larger)

I thought I would share some of the things he really likes these days. First off, we started stage one foods a couple of weeks ago. He LOVES applesauce, squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, and pears. He DOES NOT like bananas. He is NOT SURE about green peas. We plan to try peaches and green beans soon. Here are some pictures of him eating his fruits and veggies. He still loves his rice cereal!

Check back soon....more 5 month updates to come!!

Lots to share!!

I know I don't have to share every picture we take, but Holden has taken some precious pictures lately!! Excuse how many I am about to post! I am one proud mommy!! Two weeks ago, we went to the dr. for the rest of our second round of shots. Bless his little heart...he had a little reaction to them and was up most of that night and ran fever on into the next night. He was a trooper, though! He weighed 16 lbs. 4 oz. then and was over 25 inches long. He is growing!!

"Am I cool or what?"- taking a stroll with mommy and cookie

Hard day of playing

After shots Sick baby- day after his shots

Holden's first trip to pick out pumpkinsHappy with his pumpkin choices

Bath time!!

"Where are we going now mom?"