Sitting Pretty

Okay, so these pictures were "staged" if you will, but you can see that Baby J. is growing up, and moving toward sitting on his own soon. I can't believe it!!! Just yesterday he was swaddled 6 pounder, and now he's coming up on 6 months, and is topping the scales at around 16 pounds! Man, time flies faster than the speed of light it seems. Here's our precious boy sitting pretty!

Eating Like a Big Boy!

Here are some of my most recent favorite pics of Johnathan. He LOVES the newest addition to his diet, although he still prefers his fresh milk above all else! Also, he really loves to "eat" his little feet now too. I tried them out, and I can see why he likes them so much...they're so tasty! In a stinky, baby toe jam kind of way! :)

Kodak Moments

There's almost nothing more precious than seeing a baby playing with their feet. Johnathan discovered his feet a while back, but it wasn't until yesterday that I realized I hadn't taken any pictures of him playing with them. So, yesterday while we were getting ready to go to my cousin Johnny's tennis match, and while our little Johnny was waiting patiently in his car seat, he started to grab his toes and entertain himself. Here are some of those timeless baby "Kodak Moments."

Pretending to Walk

Although Johnathan can't really walk yet, he sure likes to stand up and pretend to. Mostly he just stomps his little feet, and gives you the biggest grins while learning to hold up his weight and work his little leg muscles. It's so cute to see such a small person "standing up" and I can only imagine how fun it will be once he learns to walk for real. First he needs to learn to sit and crawl, so walking is still a ways down the road. I guess we'll just take things one step at a time (haha, that one's for you, Dad!).

Eww, Eww, Yucky, Yucky!

Last night the unthinkable (and inevitable) happened...I came in direct contact with a monster roach, and stepped right on it...while it was alive!!! GROSS!!!!!!!!! I was carrying our dinner plates back into the kitchen and stepped on what I thought was a piece of Bo's dog food. Well, it wasn't Bo's food, and it went scurrying into the living room after I lifted my foot! Thankfully I didn't crunch it with my bare foot or I think I would have died on the spot. I did however let out a horrific scream, and you would have thought I was dying by the sound of it!;) After dousing it with some Raid to "calm" it down, Aaron smashed it with a shoe and then dutifully disposed of it in the trash. I felt like crying for a bit, but then I realized it wasn't that bad...it was horrible! Just kidding, sort of!;) Anyways, I am still alive so that's good, and I will be watching very carefully where I step from now on.

Naptime for Two!

A couple of days ago, Johnathan was getting sleepy, so I decided to lay down for a bit and snuggle with him for a while. Our snuggle time turned into nap time for both of us...that is until Aaron decided to take some pics! Baby J. slept through the photo shoot, and I pretended to sleep through all the flashing lights and camera shutter sounds. I did have a nice rest though, and held sweet Johnathan until he woke up about 45 minutes later. It was a precious time.

Remembering a Life

Daniel Cole. A name that will forever be etched in my memory and on my heart. Sweet, precious, baby boy.

Today marks the 4 year anniversary of Daniel's home-going to Heaven. It's hard to believe that so much time has already gone by since he went from my womb into the arms of Jesus. But, I look at the date, and four years have indeed gone by since I last saw our sweet little baby. In 4 years much has stayed the same and just as much has changed. I still grieve the loss of my babies, yet now I know the joy of raising one of my children. I wonder what my Heaven babies would have looked like as they grew, and through seeing Johnathan grow I have at least an idea of what they would have looked like too. So, today brings a new kind of sadness to me. The sadness of knowing what I missed. Things like seeing a bright smile just because I walked into the room, the closeness of nursing my baby back to sleep, even the changing of dirty diapers just so I can sing the poopy diaper song. So many things.

Today also brings a certain type of joy. Joy knowing that I won't have to worry about wondering whether or not Daniel will accept the truth of Jesus...he already knows Him better than I do! Joy in the realization that Daniel is in THE place of no tears, pain or hurt. All Daniel knows is love, and he is already worshiping the Creator in person. So, while being sad for me and my "loss", I am happy for the gain that is Daniel's...a life lived in complete peace with our Lord and Savior.

Happy Heaven Birthday Daniel. Mommy and Daddy love you. Have fun playing in the fields of Heaven, and know that someday we'll join you and celebrate your precious life in person!

Jump Baby, Jump!

Here is Baby J. in action!

Happy Little Jumper

This past weekend we bought Johnathan a baby jumper, and since our doorways are too wide for the traditional Johnny Jump Up, we got a new sophisticated Jumperoo! Johnathan LOVES it! It's so cute to watch him bounce up and down by his own efforts. The first time we put him in it he had the widest eyes as he realized that he could make himself move. He's been enjoying his jumper ever since, and jumps almost non-stop while in it. Even when he gets fussy, he still bounces away! As my brother-in-law Matt Sutphin says, "It's like frowning while you're skipping!"

We're really enjoying this more active phase of Baby J's life. He is rolling more, grabbing at toys and playing with them a lot, jumping in his new toy, putting EVERYTHING in his mouth, and he's much more talkative these days too. He also has started to eat rice cereal on a more regular basis. Our doctor recommended to begin it at 4 months, but we tried and Johnathan wasn't quite ready to master the whole swallowing food thing. Over the past week we've tried it out a few more times, and he seems ready to eat, and so we'll be adding that to his previous milk only diet. (Ooh, I am already not looking forward to the change in his poops! He's already had a few cereal poops, and they are unpleasant to say the least!)

Enjoy these latest pictures of our little man! We love you all!!!