Sweet baby before church this morning. I am so, so thankful his ears are finally clear and he’s feeling like himself again!

Occasionally when I put him on the floor, he tries to stand up instead of dropping to his knees. He can only stand for about 5 seconds but we’re so excited for him. He’s 9 months now and just moved into Walt’s big car seat. He’s almost 21 pounds and growing way too fast! This is a funny face he makes sometimes, I guess because of his new teeth. He’s working on number 8. So crazy!

His big brother is growing too. At his 3-year-old check-up last week (we’re only about 4 months behind on that one), he was 39 and a third inches tall and 33.7 pounds. As much as I hate to admit it, he’s dropping his afternoon nap. I know…. So sad. But after he took a two-hour nap this afternoon, he was wide awake until approximately 10:15 p.m. Seriously. A nap isn’t worth that!

He was pretty funny tonight though. After I put him to bed at 8:30, he came in the den several times for toys or to tell me something, which isn’t unusual, but one time he said in a very pitiful voice, “I need somebody to scratch my back and tell me about Jesus.” And on the way to his room, “Why won’t somebody sing me a lullaby?”

Oh my goodness. He knows what he’s doing. Of course I couldn’t say no.

OK, one more. Silly baby’s toothy grin :)

This was such a fun year. Walt was SO excited about Christmas. He asked almost every day, “Is it Christmas today?” He was an angel again in his program at school. He learned most of “Joy to the World” and “Away in a Manger.” His other favorite song was “Rudolph.” We talked about Rudolph a lot in December. A lot. And Frosty the Snowman. And he did ask me how Santa could bring us presents if we don’t have a chimney? So fun. We drove around and looked at Christmas lights many, many nights. He loved them so much. He still doesn’t understand why the lights can’t stay up all year.

Poor Elliot was at the doctor’s office Christmas Eve morning with high fever and a bad infection in each ear. Thanks to a great shot, he was feeling better the next day and was able to enjoy his first Christmas. We spent Christmas weekend here at home and celebrated with my dad’s side of the family on Christmas Eve and my mom’s on Christmas Day. Then we traveled to Mississippi for a few days with Lance’s family. Here are some photos in no particular order…

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. Isaiah 9:2

Thank you, Jesus, for being the Light. And thank you for the joy of celebrating your birthday!

Walt: I want it to be Dadda’s party now!

me: It’s in 2 days.

Walt: But you said Dadda’s birthday was in 3 days!

me: That was yesterday. Now his birthday is in 2 days. It’s getting closer.

Walt: It’s closer? Is our house moving?!

 

This little guy has learned a lot the past couple of months…

Shoes are really cool.

Jeans are pretty awesome too.

Lots of belly time!

Getting stronger…

So proud of himself :)

Crawling!

A good technique for falling is important too.

And it’s always nice to have a big brother to cheer you on.

You bring us so much joy, sweet little E! We love you!

I have a bit of catching up to do. About 2 months’ worth! Here we go!

Walt is so excited to be 3. He and his buddy Brooks are only two days apart, so we went to their class on Walt’s birthday to have a little “party.”

(Brooks and Walt have the exact same food allergies, so note the egg-and-peanut-free dessert by Katie!)

That night, we went out for ice cream, just like last year. Our family pic from last year (we were expecting little E, but weren’t telling anyone yet!)

And this year’s photo (Uncle Daniel was able to be there with us, so he took this one of our family of four):

Elliot must have felt like his big brother was getting too much attention, because he decided to do this for the first time:

That weekend, we celebrated with my parents, Uncle Clint & Aunt Leah. The next weekend, Lance’s parents were here so we got to celebrate with them, Uncle Daniel, Aunt Mary and Walt’s cousins. It’s so much more fun when birthdays are stretched out over a couple of weeks!

One funny thing that happened the morning of Walt’s birthday…. I was getting dressed and Elliot was (supposedly) taking a nap in his room. Walt pulled his chair into Elliot’s room, woke him up, climbed in bed with him, and this is what I found when I went in there:

Silly boy. He didn’t get in trouble. It was pretty funny, and it was his birthday :)

Lance’s brother, Daniel, and our sister-in-law Mary have lived in several places. They started out as newlyweds in Mississippi, moved to Georgia for a few months, and then spent two years in Suriname in South America. For the past 6 years, they’ve been back in Macon, Georgia, growing their family of five. Here is Walt with his sweet cousins:

Usually, we only get to see them about twice a year since traveling with babies isn’t exactly easy…. We are absolutely overjoyed that they are in the process of moving HERE!!! Daniel started a new job in our area at the beginning of August! They now own a home about 10 minutes from ours, which is an unbelievable blessing! We are thrilled to have them close by and to know our kids will have the fun of growing up near their cousins.

They make the big move as a family this weekend. We are praying for safe travel and an easy transition for the little ones!

I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of this game! :)

Last night when I was putting Walt to bed, he held up 3 little fingers and said, “When I turn 3, I’m gonna get a dog!” I just knew Lance had put him up to that, but it really was Walt’s idea. I hope he’s not disappointed next week…. I told him maybe when he’s 5 or 6 :)