HAPPY EASTER!!

Holden did great with the Easter bunny. At first he just looked at him, but then he decided he liked him.(he did the same thing with Santa) Here are the pics from our visit with the bunny. We met Sarah & Anna Claire and Cat & Jack there. I will be marathon blogging soon!! Our precious little man is 11 months old and will soon be 1 year!!! Time flies when you're having fun!! Hope you all have a blessed Easter!!

"Hmmmm..."

"Cheese!!"

Holden and Anna Claire chatting while waiting .

Anna Claire with the bunny

Jack and his ducky

4 new posts!

I am once again trying to catch up. I have to confess that I am now on facebook, and I have been spending my free time(not that I have a lot of that) on there reconnecting with high school and college friends! Holden turns 10 months March 8 so I need to post his 9 month stuff before that! HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!! :)

Valentine's day

We were feeling the love at the Walters house on Valentine's Day! Mommy felt very lucky to have two wonderful fellas in her life! Although we had said were not doing gifts, Jack and Holden surprised me with a massage gift certificate. Wasn't that sweet?!?! Holden was showered with lots of cards from family, books and clothes from Meme and Bossy, clothes and the talking Elmo doll from Grammy and Gram, and Dr. Seuss books from mommy and daddy! It was more like Christmas for Holden! He was, of course, the most treasured gift for all of us! Jack and I got to go to dinner with our good friends the Bookers and Smithermans. We had such a great time! I think Holden had a good time, too, with Grammy and Gram. He was worn out Sunday!

But I have to say that the best example of love that we see each day when we look at Holden is from our Heavenly Father.- "God is Love."~1 John 4:16

Talking to Elmo

Take that Elmo
Grammy and Holden

Jack and me at dinner

Sarah, me, and Deidre

Playdates and the park

"Umm...mom...I think this is against safety regulations so could you get me out of here!" Anna Claire seemed pretty happy!
My friend Sarah and I have been getting together pretty regularly since she had Anna Claire. It has been good for us to talk, compare notes, and let the kids get to know each other. Recently, we have started meeting at the park with some other friends since the weather has been nice. It is so good to talk to other moms and let our kids have a break, too! Holden LOVES other children so he really enjoys it.

We are very lucky to have a nice park at the entrance to our subdivision. Holden and I stroll there a lot and he is beginning to like the swings, although he wasn't too sure at first!

AND we love when we have visits from other good friends!! Jack and I are blessed with so many great friends, and it is nice to know that Holden has some good friends, too!

At the park with mommy-

First time in the swings

"WEEEEEE!"

"O.K..this isn't so bad!"

Play group a the park-

"Not quite sure about this mom!"
Anna Claire was enjoying herself!

My friend Susan's baby boy Eli was with us, too. He is a little too young for swinging though.

Visiting with Bootsie, GG, Mrs. Ashley, and Meredith-

Starkville trip

A few weeks back, we went to Starkville to visit Jacks parents and to attend the MSU basketball game. We even got to have lunch with two of Jack's oldest friends and their families before the game. Christian, Brooke, Braden, and baby Madelyn Preus(due in june) and Will and Maggie Estess and their twins boys Ethan and Chase. Will is Holden's Godfather and it was his first time to meet him because Maggie was about to have their boys when Holden was Christened. We had a lot of fun, and Jack and I even did a doube feature at the movies. We LOVE going to the movies and took advantage of having babysitters.

Holden and Bossy Holden and Meme

Going for a stroll

Holden loves strolling"This is the life!"
Our basketball seats are GREAT!!

Christian, Braden, J and H, & Will, Ethan, & Chase

8 months(january 8)

Holden was 8 months old on January 8. He weighed almost 19 lbs. and as between 27.5 and 28 inches. This was a BIG month for Holden.

*He cut 3 teeth between the second and third week.

*He began drinking formula only which led to him holding his own bottle. It was so cute seeing him do this the first few times.(although it made mommy a little sad)

*He began moving all over the place by scooting on his bottom.

*He learned to get in sitting position from his tummy.

*He began babbling a lot more to us and to his toys.(dada is still the only word we've heard)

*He loves to growl at us, his toys, and random people in public.

*He started pulling up in his bed and on other objects.

AND the biggest change was.................SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!

After about 5 months, this was a huge change!! His nights had gotten progressively worse and had gotten to the point where he was waking up every 20-40 minutes from 7:30pm to 7:00am. I have to admit that it was tough being up that much at night and trying to function during the days. I did it though and am thankful that the Lord gave me the strength and patience to do it as long as I did. I did enjoy lots of cuddle time with my Holden during that time, but we both needed more sleep. He is doing great now and has even began to nap better. I love being a mommy and wouldn't trade any moment, tough or not!

Love this face!!

Holding his own bottle

"I LOVE my bat!"

helping with the laundry

chillin' with his toys and watching mickey mouse

playing with his good friend Anna Claire

MANY posts & I NEED HELP!

So I finally posted everything from December and most of January.....just in time for Valentine's Day!! :) I did collages because it was a quicker way of posting so many pics but now I have a problem....WHY WON"T THEY ENLARGE WHEN YOU DOUBLE CLICK ON THEM??? If anyone can help me with this, please leave a comment. Thanks!! I have more posts to come. I guess I will combine Holden's 8 month post with his 9 month post because he will be 9 months in two days. Maybe I will get caught up one day!

TEETHING!!

Poor Holden has been teething for months now!! The second weekend of January was a big weekend. He began drinking from a bottle at every feeding and he had a tooth break through. Within the next few days, two more popped out. We had the classic symptoms with the first tooth but the second two just caused a little discomfort. Now, we have two more trying to make an appearance and they seem to be bothering him a lot at times!! Here are some pics of him chewing on ANYthing he can get in is mouth.

Holden's grinch face

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY SARA CHESLEY!!

We took a family trip to Cleveland to celebrate my dear friend Mary Susan's daughter's birthday. It is so hard to believe that it has been 3 years since I broke speed limits to be in Clarksdale for her birth! They are so special to us!! It was so much fun being there and Jack was able to go with us! (Double click to make collage bigger)

A lot of our friends had birthdays right before and right after Christmas! Bless their hearts. I'm sure their birthdays tend to get lost in the holiday hustle and bustle. We didn't get to celebrate with everyone, but we wished them lots of love and many more birthdays to come!! Here are some pics from the celebrations we were a part of!

Happy Birthday Susan Puckett!

Lorie, Me, Lexie, SUSAN, and Ashley(I love these gals!!)

Susan and I taught together and she is such a wonderful friend!! (bootsy to Holden). I had a blast celebrating at Sal and Mookies!! Lorie and Lexie also celebrated birthdays, but due to a sick baby and Jack's schedule, I missed celebrating with them! Happy birthday girls!!

Christmas Day

Santa brought lots of great things to Jack's parents house. Walking out with Holden to see his first Santa was so special. He loved his presents, especially his MS state cowbell and hat. He chewed on the bell and wore his hat almost the whole time we were opening presents. Thanks Bossy and Meme for our great gifts!!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was a busy day. I decided that we needed to make cookies for Santa since it was Holden's first Christmas while I was making a homemade chocolate cake to take to Christmas Day dinner with my family. I rolled out the dough and cut some cookies out. Holden patted out a few of the cookies(with a little help from Meme) and we decorated them when they came out of the oven. I think he liked putting his hand in the dough! I look forward to baking with him a lot!! The day was filled with preparing for the night's festivities...my in-laws always have family and friends over for chili and hot tamales after Christmas Eve service. It's always so fun because both of our parents are there, and it is fun seeing everyone! We went to Christmas Eve service at the Methodist church and it was BEAUTIFUL as always. I got choked up during "O Holy Night"(thanks Aubrey!!) and Holden did GREAT!! He fell asleep at the beginning, slept through me carrying him through the communion line and through the service until the end. He woke up as we were standing with our candles to sing. He started babbling very loudly(he was singing) but stopped when we all stopped singing! Is he smart or what?? It was so special for Jack and me to be at our home church with our precious son!!! After everyone left that night, we helped Santa with a few things...so much fun!! Thank you Lord for the miracle of your Son and ours, too!!

Cookie time!!

Before church

Precious Holden

Santa presents with Grammy and Gram

We did "Santa" a couple of days before Christmas with my mom and stepdad. Holden had a blast opening packages. He was way more interested in the paper and boxes than he was the presents! We got really nice things and had a great time! Thanks Grammy and Gram!

"Wow!! Look what I got!!" (along with a lot of clothes & yes, i do put socks on Holden. He always takes the off!!)

PRESENT TIME

Anesthesia Christmas party

Jack is a first year Anesthesia resident at UMC. We attended the Anesthesia department's Christmas party at Old Capital Inn, and it was so much fun!! It was black tie optional and decorated like a beautiful wedding reception. Good food+ good friends+ good band=GREAT TIME!! We can't wait until next year's party!!

Christmas with the Reynolds Family(my mom's brothers and sisters)

We were so glad that Jack was able to get the week of Christmas off. This was our last one to spend in Clarksdale now that we have Holden and will be receiving Santa from now on. So, we were VERY busy visiting with our families and still didn't get to see everyone! Holden has a blast!! We always get together with my mom's brothers and sisters. My cousin Kristin and her husband Sean hosted this year. They are newlyweds and had our family and Sean's family over for some Christmas cheer. I didn't get pics of everyone but here is what I got. I was too busy eating!!

Let it snow!!

When it snowed back in December I had to take Holden's picture with it because it was his first snow!! I had him wrapped up like an eskimo and sat him in his bouncy on the front porch. After that, I took him out back and let him feel the snow on the ground. We also sat at our kitchen windows and looked at it falling from the sky. He really liked it! I told him to enjoy it because who knows when we will see it again!

Where did December and half of January go??

Hello!! We are still alive and things are great although the past month and a half seem like a blur!! I have a lot to post so be prepared for several posts in the next few days. I got a new camera for Christmas but I have to get a card reader in order to upload pics so that may take a few days, too. Anyways, Christmas was sooooo much fun with Holden!! Being a mother made me appreciate the Christmas story even more! I found myself choking up a lot when I would hear songs or sermons about Mary, Joseph, and the miracle of Jesus. Faith Hill's "A Baby Changes Everything" really got me! We are all nervous, scared, anxious, etc when expecting but imagine being in Mary's shoes. If that happened today, imagine the controversy. She would be given a one way ticket to a mental institution. Anyways, the Lord works wonders and miracles in many ways...I'm just thankful for his sacrifices that allow me, a sinner, to be blessed daily!! I'll stop my preaching now! I had to share what had been placed on my heart!:)
Around the first of December, Holden and I met Deidre and Mary Martin at Northpark Mall for pictures with Santa. I wasn't sure how Holden would like Santa, but figured we would give it a try! Well, he LOVED Santa. He dove in his lap and loved it! The pictures were great!! Sweet Mary Martin wasn't a big fan but she is older and I can see how Santa can be scary. Holden probably won't like him next year! It was fun to experience our first Santa visit with special friends!! Here are some pics!!

My favorite!!! How cute?!?!

Take 2....liked this one, too!!