Valentine's Day and Baby Shower fun!

We had a fun-filled week last week with Valentine's Day and my sister's baby shower on the Coast. We'll start with Valentine's Day...let's just say our baby boy was showered with love! He got sweet cards from Nana and Papa, Maddie, Ruby, and of course Mommy and Daddy! He even got a box of candy and chocolates from sweet Georgia (JT shared the goodies with us of course)

JT's Valentine's Day loot 

It was the most wonderful Valentine's Day ever! I got to share it with my two loves. The three of us went for a stroll around the neighborhood, ate supper together, and I got to sneak in a picture with my sweet little love bug!

We both were festive and wore red :-)

Wednesday morning, JT and I loaded up and headed down to the Coast to visit my family and to help take care of my sister, Bianca, who is on strict bed rest. JT enjoyed spending time with Aunt Bianca...he took good care of her!

JT and Polly taking care of my sister on bed rest

It was really good to see my family...our oldest sister, Angie, came in from Louisiana, too, and we threw Bianca a baby shower Saturday.  

Baby shower cake...beautiful and delicious!

My visits to the Coast are never long enough to spend with my mommy, daddy, sisters, nieces, nephew, brothers-in-law, and my friends...but it sure does seem too long to be away from Shawn. He had to stay behind and work, so the trip was too long for him!

Uncle Brad sharing his AWESOME MSU beanbag with JT!

We are home now...trying to get back into the swing of things! 

Bath time is fun and relaxing after traveling!

I have to say...we are so blessed with a good baby. John Thomas slept the whole way down to the Coast and the whole way back home (about a 4 1/2 hour trip one-way). He never cried, fussed or anything! LOVE him!!!! It sure does make the trip do-able.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

I never dreamed we would have snow THREE times in one Mississippi winter...but we did! It was much prettier this time than last. There's something so peaceful about snow flakes falling from God's great big sky and blanketing our surroundings. It's like His love and forgiveness coming down, covering our sins, and making us pure and fresh like the white snow. I LOVE snow!

Front of our house...blanketed in snow!

Back of our house...blanketed in snow!

Patio furniture...blanketed in snow!

We did not go out and play in the snow this time...Daddy didn't get a snow day off from work, and JT didn't need to get out in it (plus it was verrrrrrrrry cold...too cold for the baby!) So we stayed indoors and snuggled!

He's such a good cuddle bug!

It's amazing how much John Thomas is learning, doing and trying these days. He's growing up so fast! Every day Shawn and I say something along these lines, "It won't be long before JT does..." or "It'll be no time and JT will be...". It's amazing how fast they grow! He's trying to sit up, roll over and talk more and more each day. And he can really hold his big ol head up now!

Look at him trying SO hard to sit up! He's so
smart...he's using his legs and ab muscles
to pull his upper body up!

Talking and laughing with mommy...LOVE!

Playing in his new seat! He LOVES this!
Thanks Nana!

Another thing he's getting really good at is jumping and playing in his Jumperoo. Granted, he cannot reach the floor (bless his short little fat legs!) so we have our Grey's Anatomy Trivia board game underneath him....it's wrapped with gripper cabinet liners. Ha! We had to improvise, m'kay?

More fun with Ruby!

John Thomas is really enjoying his play dates with sweet Ruby. Thursday afternoon while I went to my dentist appointment and ran a couple errands, JT got to go over to Ruby's house for a play date again! He had so much fun, and Ruby's Mommy got some really good pictures, too!

Having fun on the play mat/gym!

They played so well together :)

JT snuck in some snuggle time with a kiss on Ruby's head!

I think JT found his Valentine for Valentine's Day this year!

They had so much fun together that they had to see each other again over the weekend. So they partied together for their first Super Bowl game. Congrats to the Green Bay Packers!

We are really enjoying our son, and we are so excited about our good friends and my sister having babies all at the same time. Fun times ahead for all of us!


JT is growing so fast. I weighed him today and he's 18.4 pounds! Such a big boy. And he had a REAL laugh out loud moment today. It made ME laugh out loud! My favorite sound in the world...laughter from babies and children. :-)

So this baby pooped on a nursery worker at church today...

Yup...it was sweet JT! Shawn and I went to check on our little man between Kid Zone and Big Church this morning, and for some reason he wasn't in his brand new cute little church outfit. Nope! He was in his change of clothes I (thankfully) packed in his diaper bag...and he had a great big smile on his face! After we saw the big brown stain on the carpet, sweet Mrs. Laney explained to us that JT had a blow out all over sweet Mrs. Debbie, and her daughter had to bring her a change of clothes for church. Aghhhh! Thank the Lord we have such wonderful volunteers in the nursery at Mt. Vernon :-) I still don't understand how in the world it got all over the floor...I guess the carpet cleaning bill will come out of my paycheck! Oops!

Yup...this Parent's Report made the fridge! Memories for life!

The rest of the weekend was a lot of fun, too! Here are some pictures to share...

I introduced his "blanky" to him and he LOVES it! So sweet...

Nana took him for a stroll around the neighborhood Saturday
afternoon...it was 70 degrees and beautiful. JT was all smiles!

We went to Uncle Biggun's 30th bday party
Saturday night and had a good time!

JT made a new friend, Swayze, at the party...
he thinks she's pretty cute!

Happy birthday boys!

What a fun day it has been! We celebrated Daddy's birthday today (well, technically yesterday since it's after midnight now) as he turned one year older...I'll let Shawn tell you how old he is now. And tomorrow (or today...whatever) we will be celebrating JT's 3-month birthday. I can't believe he's already 3 months old!


We went out to eat tonight with Shawn's mom and dad (Nana and Papa) at Huck's, and his birthday could not have been complete without a strawberry cake from Cafe on Main! It's the best strawberry cake you EVER put in your mouth...YUMMY!

There should be more candles on the cake,
but we didn't have enough ;)

While we went out to eat, JT got to spend the evening with our friends, Jeff, Jo Ellen and Parker! He had a blast, and I'm pretty sure they all had fun with him, too. We ran into some friends at Huck's and they asked if we were nervous or worried about leaving JT with someone who is not family...absolutely not! We pretty much call them family...and it helps that Jeff's our pastor, Jo Ellen is the pastor's wife and Parker is the pastor's son! He was in very good hands. :)


Well, I can't close this post without a picture of the big guy...he has found his thumb already and is using it for soothing purposes. Works for me! It sure beats having to run and pop the pacifier back into his mouth when he starts crying in his sleep. Haha!

So sweet! Yet it's a blessing and a curse!

A Week of Firsts!

We've had a very fun week with many firsts! To start off, while Daddy was feeding him his nighttime bottle Wednesday night, John Thomas decided to reach up and hold the bottle all by himself! He's getting to be such a big boy.

He's such a smart boy! Before I took this picture,
he had both hands wrapped around that bottle!

Thursday was a big day for JT, too...he got to ride in his stroller for the first time while going to the airport for the first time. 

Thanks, Mrs. April, for driving me!

Our friend, Zach, left for Iraq Thursday, so a group of us went to the airport to see him off and for moral support for his wife, Lisa, and their son, Gaige. What an emotional experience...one that brings back so many memories of my Daddy and his many years of service in the Navy. Going to the shipyard to say good bye is such a sad memory, but going back to welcome him home each time is a very happy one. Thursday was a good reminder of how much we should all support and show our appreciation for the men and women who are serving our country...

While at the airport, JT got to meet Mrs. Crystal for the first time! He got some sweet hugs and love from everyone there, and he embarrassed Mommy with his stinky poots! He pooted on our Pastor while he was holding him (sorry Jeff) and just about cleared the room with each poot! This boy has MAN farts for real!

JT getting some lovin' from Crystal...
(He wore his camo gear to support Zach and
the men and women who are serving our country)

Friday afternoon before going to Nana and Papa's house, JT sat in his Papsan chair for the first time and he had a blast! It made him feel like a big guy :) 

Friday night, we decided to get JT's Bumbo seat out to see if he'd sit in it, and he did...for the first time! However, he didn't like it so much because it required him to hold his head up while sitting, so he only sat in it for a few seconds...enough time to snap a picture! Haha!

And to end the week, Daddy and I took him shopping around town Saturday afternoon for the first time, and Daddy got to push him in his stroller for the first time...as you can see, we had a very big week!

That's the hottest Daddy I've ever seen! :)

Do You Get Bored?

It's only Tuesday and it's been a busy week already. I've been keeping JT busy taking him to the store to help me get groceries and taking him to the office while I get some work done...and he's definitely been keeping me busy trying to rollover while drooling and slobbering all over everything. 

JT helping me grocery shop at Piggly Wiggly

I walked away for a second, and when I came
back, he was on his side!!!

Last night at supper my father-in-law asked me, "Do you get bored? Like when he's napping? Don't you miss working?" I said without missing a beat, "Nope...I AM working. I can't get bored." And I proceeded to share "a day in the life of me." Haha! It was an interesting conversation. I will say that I used to have the same mind-set that he has about stay-at-home moms...that they must get bored and have all the time in the world to get everything done. I can't even imagine how working moms do it with a full time job! I have a new found respect and admiration for all the mommies in this world. (There's my shout out to all my mommy friends!)


I have to add something here...I tend to make this blog all about JT and me, and I cannot end this post without a HUGE shout out to the best hubby and daddy in the world. Four years ago yesterday, in the front door frame of our house under construction, Shawn got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I'm so glad he did, and I'm so blessed to have him as my husband and best friend...God is too good to me!

We love you, Daddy!
(JT showing off his new church outfit)