Crawl Space

We have had such a delightful weekend. Daniel started his week-long vacation Saturday & we have loved, loved, loved having him at home!

On Friday, Max cut his first tooth! Yeah! We can barely feel a little sharp edge on his bottom gums, but it is definitely a tooth. Friday evening while the sun was still shining we all (including Jasper) went for a lovely walk around the neighborhood. It was great!

Saturday, Daniel & Max accompanied me to the Bargainista sale at the State House Convention Center, which was a dud in my book, and then to the Inviting Company Sale, which was great as usual!. (I think they only went along with this shopping extravaganza because it is my Birthday weekend!) We had such a great time just walking around downtown--despite the slightly chilly temperatures.

BUT, today took the cake! First: Max went to the nursery for the very first time in his (almost) 6 whole months of life and he did GREAT!!! Not a tear was shed (by me, Max, or Daniel!). The nursery worker said he was such a happy baby and said that she looked forward to him coming back. Yeah for us--we got invited back to the nursery! Woohoo!

Second: This evening we started our small group at Church. This is really the first time Daniel & I have been able to commit to a small group at our Church because previously our crazy schedules never allowed us to. This time though most of the groups are meeting on Sunday evenings, which is a great time for us. We had such a wonderful time! Our group consists of other couples in our same demographic: around the same age and with infant to school-aged children. We really look forward to connecting with the people in our small group and growing stronger in our Faith. Max went with us for the first meeting, but he will stay in the nursery for subsequent meetings. Especially since he did so great in there! There are sure to be good times to come with this group!

Last: (but not least) Get ready . . .

. . . I think we have a pre-crawler on our hands!

This was Max pushing up in his crib (a.k.a. crawl space) after his morning nap.

You may not be able to tell by the pictures, but he was completely on his hands & knees and his stomach was completely off of the bed!

Isn't this amazing! I am just so in awe of this little baby boy!

Such a determined little guy.

I must say though that I am a tad bit nervous about Max being mobile. In case you have never been to our house, we have  a 70's style tri-level, which means we have TWO sets of stairs. Yes . . . not one, but two known danger zones in our home. Eek!

So we are definitely in the market for safe, sturdy, and reliable baby gates for stairs. So let us know if you have any gate suggestions/comments/tips.

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. Have a great Monday!!!

Baby Dedication Ceremony & Party

Our family photo at Max's Baby Dedication!

This was such a joyous occasion for us. To be able to stand before God and our family and friends and vow to dedicate our sweet baby boy to the Lord was such an amazing moment. We are so thankful for all of our family and friends and the love and support they give our little family. Max is surrounded by such loving and giving people. He is so blessed!

This is Michelle Bezet, Pastor Rick Bezet's wife. She always does the baby dedications & they are always so sweet & touching.

 This is Pastor Rick giving all of the families his blessing.

After the Dedication Ceremony our family came to our house for some appetizers & dessert. It was all yummy! My Mom is such an amazing Mom & Grandma! She made all of the appetizers (mozzerella sticks, southwestern chicken pouches, and sausage cheese balls) AND French Silk Pie. We also had fruit kabobs (assorted fruit on wooden shish-kabobs), chocolate cupcakes with creamcheese icing, and yummy Berry Punch.

This is the invitation I made for Max's ceremony. So cute! And the tabletopper was, of course, made by Daniel's Mamaw.

Looks like we are in for a treat with another Sunny day tomorrow--well, at least part of the day anyway!

Ya'll have a grand weekend!

Razorback Dreamin'

Max is fast asleep, but you can be sure this little Razorback is dreaming of a W-I-N!

He's giving them a pep-talk here. Go Hogs Go!

He is still practicing his push-ups and getting higher & higher with them! I think we will have a crawler very soon. Yikes!

Well, we hope the Hogs deliver a W tonight.

Hope you are having a great week! Enjoy the sunshine again tomorrow. I know we will :)

p.s. In case you missed the last post, you can view Max's 6-month sneak-peek here.

Sneak-peek!

 Max's sneak-peek is up on Lindsey's website!

Push-ups

Busy Bee Family

So, we have been super busy this weekend--busy in a good way! Saturday morning began with Max's 6-month pictures at 10 a.m. We decided to do a one-year-plan with Lindsey Watson of Lindsey Faith Photography and it has been just great! I love knowing that we are set to get Max's pictures taken every three months for his first year. I will definitely let you all know when she has his sneak peek available. If you didn't see Max's newborn or 3 month pictures (or you just want to see them again!), then go to the blog link above and do a search for Max. They are all just preciuos!

Later Saturday evening was Max's Baby Dedication Ceremony & party. It was so very sweet! Such a special moment that I will cherish forever. I will do a post on the ceremony and party later this week :)

On Sunday (V-Day) my Mom was oh so sweet to come and keep Max for Daniel & I so that we could go on our Valentine's Day date. We went & ate at Seki Sui's Japanese Steakhouse & it was wonderful! We were going to go to the Pharoah exhibit at the Arkansas Arts Center, but decided against it. We really wanted to do something outdoors (like walk around Kavanaugh & visit all of the fun shops), but the weather was completely uncooperative for that! So, we ended up going to Community Bakery & getting yummy heart-shaped iced sugar cookies and caramel lattes. Daniel gave me a sweet new charm for my Chamilia/Pandora bracelet that he gave me for Christmas. The new charm is silver with mother of pearl heart inset. I LOVE it!

Today, we went to visit Mamaw & Papaw (Daniel's grandparents) in Searcy. We got there around lunch time & had such a great time visiting. We stayed until around 6, so we also got to see Jonathan, Erica, & Eliza. That was a pleasant surprise! Max was so sleepy by then because he didn't really have an afternoon nap, but that didn't stop him from playing with his Aunt Erica & watching his sweet cousin Eliza! He is really interacting with people now & I just love watching him watch the world.  

I don't know why, but this picture cracks me up!

I ordered the first picture for Daniel from Max on Kodak's metallic paper & it is so amazing in print! I love it!

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day full of all the LOVE you can handle!

Randomness

We've been doing a whole lot of nothing lately! In case you didn't know it, I HATE winter weather with a passion. I just really hate being cold period! However, the snow has really been pretty. BUT, I am so ready for it to go away now & for Spring to be here. Sunny days and warm breezes are what I love.

I can tell you that this dog is ready for some warmer weather also. He has been couped up inside with me & the babe and he is ready to be free again. Now, Jasper loves him some inside time, but 7(+) days has been a little too much for him to handle. He is b-o-r-e-d in here. And to top it all off, he really doesn't get that much attention because Max steals it all. Poor, poor Jasper :(

We did get out to go to Target one day this week. Max rode in the buggy for his 2nd time & he did great!

Speaking of dogs...Max got this My Pal Scout for Christmas & I just got it out for him. He loves it! It's a really neat toy becuase you hook it up to your computer via a USB that attaches to the back and it allows you to personalize it. It says his name & sings songs about his favorite food, animal, and color. Very neat!

Daniel got Max up this morning and put him in our bed and took this picture. Isn't it the sweetest? He looks like such a big boy laying on Daddy's pillow.

Tomorrow is Max's Baby Dedication at our Church (New Life Church). We are so excited to commit to training & teaching Max what it means to be a Christian and being the best examples we can be. We will definitely have pictures to post from this wonderful ceremony!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Valentine's Day.

Kiss + Hug someone you love!

Messy Eater

Table Talk

Max is officially a BIG BOY!

He is now sitting in his booster/highchair to eat his cereal. Daniel's Dad & Stepmom got this for him for Christmas; it's the Fisher-Price Healthy Care Deluxe Booster Seat. It is really, really great thus far. It has some very practical & useful qualities: the tray is dishwasher safe; the whole seat is portable; the tray has a cover to keep it clean until you are ready to use it; and it saves space.

So enough with the infomercials I have been doing! How cute is this little (BIG) guy?!

He's ready for some grub! Feed me Mommy & Daddy!

That little side-smile melts my heart!

Max is eating ceral (3) times a day now. Oatmeal in the morning and rice for lunch & dinner. He loves it!

I can't wait to start feeding him vegetables and fruit. He will be 6 months old in a few weeks, so we will start then. I am going to try and make all of his food, so we will see how that goes!

Daniel got me this neat cookbook for babies from Williams-Sonoma, so I am going to use some of those recipes. I know a lot of parents make their babies' food in large batches and freeze it. I think I will try that once I get the hang of making his food. It will definitely be interesting.

I am curious to see the things he likes & dislikes. He has been pretty adaptable to eating thus far & does not seem like he will be too picky, but we shall soon find out!

Jumping Maxwell

Saturday I went and got Max this Jump & Go from Babies R Us. Max LOVES it! He got the hang of it pretty quick and just jumps all around!  (Okay, he just jumps in the area between the door frame, but still, he is all over it! Ha!) I was a bit leery of the jumpers that hang from the doorframe, but I decided to try it out. This one had the best reviews & no complaints about safety issues, so we went with it. I looked at the Exersaucer-type jumpers, but they are pricey & take up ALOT of space that we don't have!

He seems very secure in this & the mechanism that holds him up couln't be any more sturdy. Again, if you are a Mom or are looking for a baby shower gift--this is a great one!

(He looks a little skeptical in this one! Don't let his look fool you though...he LOVES this thing!)

Easter Basket

I know some may think it is a bit early to start thinking about Easter. But, not me! I ordered Max's amazingly cute Easter basket from Pottery Barn Kids & just got it in. Isn't it adorable? And, these pictures do NOT do it justice!

I am so very excited about Max's first Easter. Our church is going to have an Easter celebration at Lake Willastein in Maumelle the Saturday before Easter Sunday & I am so excited about taking Max. Now if I could decide on what he should wear...

Happy Saturday