Night Cap

One of Wesley's new pj's had a little cap that went with it. We tried it on him just for fun, and Graham thought it was so funny. Graham insisted that he wear a hat with his pj's, too. Of course, he didn't have a little matching cap, but we found his cowboy hat (Thanks, Kyle!). It's so funny to me how he often wants to do the same things that Wesley is doing. Shouldn't it be the other way around-the little brother wanting to do what the big brother is doing? I guess that will come in time.

Fast Asleep

"Nothing in this world is quite as sweet as a tiny baby fast asleep.

I could watch you to the end of time...especially when that baby is mine."

These words are in a song written by Sarah Groves. She has become one of my favorite artists. She has a beautiful voice with insightful lyrics, and many of her songs are about being a mother.

So, my baby is not so tiny anymore. Wesley had his 6 month checkup last week and weighed 19.5 pounds. That puts him in the 75 percentile for weight which is strange to me because Graham was always in the 10% percentile. I love his nice, chubby thighs! Right, Nana? :)

Never Cease to Praise

Here are the words to one of my new favorite songs that we sing at church. Our minister of music wrote the words, and I just love it. I always get tears in my eyes as we sing the last few verses.

Never Cease to Praise

May we run this race, may we keep the faith; May our eyes be fixed on Jesus-
That we'll not lose heart in our struggle with sin, And through suffering know endurance.

May we arm ourselves with the mind of Christ-To rejoice in trials and be not surprised.
May our hearts be so consumed by You That we never cease to praise!

May the words we share be Your grace and peace; May our tongues speak Your proclamations-
That the many parts of the body of Christ Be affirmed in their right relation.

As we long and wait for the groom to come, May we learn to love, and spur each other on.
May our hearts be so consumed by You That we never cease to praise!

When that day arrives, and the race is won, When our griefs give way to deliverance.
We will fully know as we're fully known, All our groans will end as new songs begin.

And a multitude from every tribe and tongue, Wearing robes of white, will stand before Your throne,
And our hearts will be so consumed by You
That we never cease to praise!

Some of their favorite things...

Jumping in the JumperooSleepingHelping Mommy in the kitchen and being a taste-tester

My boy is all boy!

Graham, Gretchen, and Emma went for a wagon ride Saturday morning while Tucker and Wesley napped. Graham wanted to show the girls how the common area in our neighborhood had filled with water after a big storm earlier in the week. He insisted that he go down and get a closer look of the water. He was the only one with boots on and the only one that really wanted to go, so we watched from the sidewalk as he walked down the hill. He, of course, took his stick so he could go fishing. He loves to explore and get dirty and wet. Most of the time, I just take a deep breath, let him explore, and know I can just do more laundry. What's a little dirt when your boy is having fun?

Graham's checking out the water and trying to catch a fish with his stick as we look on from the sidewalk.
After the wagon ride, we went in our back yard and Graham decided he needed to explore some more. Emma and Gretchen anxiously looked on as he got pretty wet and dirty. They were a little nervous that he would slip and fall, but he was having so much fun.
My boy is all boy and Gretchen and Emma are all girls.

First Sleepover

We had 5 kids last night to feed, bathe, and put to bed and boy was it fun!! We had Gretchen, Emma, and Tucker over for the night, and in a few weeks, Graham and Wesley will go spend the night at the Fulks' house. This is great fun for all the kids and it gives the parents a night out and a Saturday to sleep in. I loved the idea, and everything went really well. We played lots of games!
We watched a few movies and snuggled with blankets.

Everyone got a bath and slept well.
We had waffles for breakfast on Saturday and played more games. I think all of the kids can't wait for the next sleepover.

Wesley is six months old!

Our little buddy

The Dynamic Duo!

Big squeeze from the big brother!

kisses from Mommy

It's hard to believe Wesley is already six months old. He's such a sweetie and each day we enjoy him more. He loves to giggle and make squeaky noises. He's not that interested in rolling or learning to scoot, but he loves watching Graham. They are starting to interact more, and they make each other laugh a smile a lot. Wesley's a great eater and is quite a bit bigger than Graham was at this age. We are so happy he's a part of our family and we look forward to watching him grow and learn over the next six months.

What we've been up to this week...

catching a few snowflakes on our tongues

riding a new pony that Perpy gave us

reading books in Wesley's crib

enjoying being together again

A Few More Pictures

All of us before on Christmas Eve

One of Graham's favorite gifts this year was a game from Nana called Hungry Hippos. It makes a lot of noise and you get to bang on it. No wonder he likes it so much.
enjoying some yummy Mexican food, a night out with friends, and free babysitting

More Highlights

Graham and Tim drove back to TN with Perpy earlier in the week while Wesley and I stayed a little longer in Tyler. I enjoyed some quiet time with family and giving Wesley some one-on-one attention. I think Wesley also enjoyed all of the extra attention he got from Nana. Unfortunately, he got a very bad cold at the beginning of the trip and it just keeps hanging on. He's fine during the day but has a terrible time sleeping at night. We'll all be glad when his cold goes away.

Christmas Highlights

First, we drove to Memphis and spent the night with Perpy. She traveled with us the next day to Dallas to see Tim's sister, her husband, and their children, Hayley and Davis. We had an interesting time trying to get a picture of all of the grandchildren with Perpy. Here's the best we could do. :) Doesn't Perpy look beautiful! After a nice visit with Aunt Melanie and her family, we drove to Tyler to visit my family.

Nana helped Graham make the birthday cake for Jesus.

Wesley enjoyed some time with Nana and Grandpa Sam.

My granddad, GG Pa, came by for a visit and met Wesley for the first time.

I was thrilled to spend some time with my good friends, Christine, Anne and Natalie. The last time I saw these girls, they were taking me to the hospital to deliver Wesley. It was so fun to spend time with them and meet Anne's boyfriend. Soon, Christine will be having her third boy and Natalie will be having her first child-a boy. Lots of little boys in our group!