Merry Christmas!

This was such a special Christmas for us. Our first one as a family of four :) We have felt God's hand on on lives so closely this past month and He has truly blessed us. Eric and I were so excited to be so close to our family for the holidays and just soaked up some family time! This has also been the ideal month for Eric and I to go on a couple of dates (which are far and few to come by these days!!) due to Christmas parties and 1 dinner alone :) We're also looking forward to ringing in the New Year tomorrow with some close friends and enjoying a yummy Italian dinner while my parents babysit. Then next week MMO starts back and our normal routine will be underway. January is my motivator month! Love it!!!

Nolan's new hair-cut

Nolan got a big boy hair-cut today. I snapped this pic of him this afternoon on the playground before he got knocked down by a fast flying soccer ball! I sware...Nolan has more accidents at the park than anyone I know. The shirt he wore today ironically says it all, "Little Tough Guy"...and that he is indeed!

I call William my "sweet precious" because of his sweet spirit, but I also call him "bright eyes" because he's always got his eyebrows lifted and eyes wide-open taking it all in...like in this pic all snuggled in his stroller at the park.

December begins...

It's the holiday season and one of my favorite times of the year. It's been pretty chilly here in Gulfport and I actually got to wear my coat for the first time last week! Wow, huh! We are all enjoying the change in weather and warm fires in our cozy living room. The stockings are up, the tree is decorated, and the Christmas shopping is just about complete. We are most importantly reflecting on our blessings from above and celebrating the birth of our Savior.

Bright eyes!

William wants so badly to sit-up...he's not as laid back as Nolan was at this age.

Always together :)

1st pic in front of our tree

Not too sure about Santa

Crosby's 2nd birthday (and yes Nolan is sitting in his chair!!!)

My dear friend Lauren (we were pregnant at the same time and had our babies a week apart in July. This is also Crosby's mom...Nolan's best friend). This pic was taken at their annual Christmas party.

Saved the best for last...my sweet husband, I love you babe!

4 months old

I've been such a bad blogger and even skipped posting William's 4 month pics & stats! He was 4 months old on November 23rd and at his routine visit last week, he weighed in at 16 pounds, 14 ounces (75th percentile) and was 25 inches long (50th percentile). He is changing so much everyday! He is teething all the time, loves playing in his exersaucer and jump & go and still really enjoys tummy time. He can roll over from stomach to back and from his back to stomach now. He has this squeaky singing voice sometimes when he's playing or interacting...it's hilarious! William loves watching big brother Nolan all the time and smiles every time he hears his voice. Lately he's been enjoying watching Nolan play with his trains and just loves looking at the Christmas tree. I've been dressing him in all of Nolan's hand-me-downs (some of which Nolan never wore b/c he grew so fast) and he's wearing 6 month old clothes now. I think by January he will be completely out of size 3-6 month clothes.

We have also moved into our rental house. It's great and we have so much more space! I'm most excited and most thankful to God for blessing us with this home before Christmas so we wouldn't have to be in that apartment any longer. It was difficult moving with 2 little ones, but so worth it!

Feeling better

We all felt more than stir crazy yesterday being stuck inside for all the bad weather. I had 2 cranky boys that eventually settled down for a brief moment in the afternoon so I could snap a few pics. William's fever finally broke early this morning and we were able to make Bear Cub Club at the discovery center for playtime. They're both down for their afternoon naps at the same time today (Praise God) because I'm feeling pretty run down again. Having all 3 of my boys sick at the same time has been a challenge I don't ever want to experience again.

William has such good head control now...may start rice cereal soon

Full body shot...he's growing so fast!!

Always has a hold of my hand or finger. This one is for sure a mama's boy :)

Nolan always trying to share his juice!

Always loving on his brother :) Hope he always will.

Lazy Morning & Bumbo

Looks like it's going to be a lazy day as we hang out through this Tropical Storm Ida watching the weather. It's been a very early morning for us. William woke up with a fever and runny nose, and Nolan is still uncomfortable with his ear infection refusing to take his antibiotic (doesn't like how they flavored it). So looks like we're going to unfortunately spend the day inside, unless we make a trip back to the doctor's office!

William sitting in Bumbo seat at 3.5 months

Hanging out in our pj's watching Mickey Mouse

Where did October go?

For REAL...we have not stopped. Seems like each week has been busier than the last and we have been on the road every weekend! Whew! So glad it's November, the cooler weather is here and the holidays are just around the corner. Our biggest news....drum roll please!!!!....we are moving out of this apartment and into a 2600 sq. ft. rental home. Praise God!! It's going to seem like a mansion compared to this 1400 sq. ft. apt we've somehow managed to live in the last 8 months with our growing family. We are so ready to settle into a home and have chosen to rent instead of buying because we still have not sold our home in Birmingham. It will be 1 year this December that it's been on the market and no decent offers. I think people looking to buy a home right now really think you will practically give your home to them. We are already going to lose a significant amount of money on the house, but are really ready to move forward and let it be a blessing to another family.

The boys are great. Nolan has become a little chatter box, really starting to talk in better sentences and communicating a lot better. He still gets pretty whiny (I think it's a terrible two's thing) and we are really having to crack down on the discipline and time-outs. It works! William is 3 months and is already teething! Nolan didn't start this till 5 months, so we're a little surprised. He recently found his giggle (Nolan made him giggle so hard the other day for the 1st time) and coos all the time! He makes the sweetest sounds ever and makes me smile with so much joy everyday!

To catch you up on the last few weeks, here's a few photos:

Boo at the Zoo in Birmingham on Halloween

My sweet little Penguin!

Trick-or-Treating at the Zoo

Southern Miss Homecoming game

The girls of our tailgate group

Pumpkin Patch in Biloxi

Nolan searching for the perfect pumpkin

Cutest little pumpkin in the patch :)

William and Mommy wishing Nolan would sit down for a pic too!

Nolan with Nommie at Playhouse Disney LIVE!

Nolan loved this Handy Manny light-up spinning toy Nommie got him at the show

The shirt says it all!!

11 weeks

William will be 11 weeks old tomorrow and we visited the doctor today for his check-up and shots. He was 24 inches long, 12 pounds, 14 ounces and measured in the 75th percentile for weight and height. Nolan was 23 ½ inches long and weighed 12.12 at his 8 week check-up!!

William has been sleeping through the night for about 2 weeks now doing an 8-8.5 hour stretch. Nolan did not sleep through the night like that until he was 8 months old! It's so nice to wake up in the morning and actually feel rested and not need a nap. William is such a happy baby and is always smiling or focusing closely on something. He has a strong upper body and loves tummy time mainly b/c he sleeps on his tummy (the only thing that works with his reflux). He has the sweetest spirit and loves when we sing to him. He's so precious and Nolan has really grown attached to him more and more every week. They're going to be such great buds ;)

Fun at Nonna and Pa-Paw's house

Now that we live so close to Hammond, the boys get to see their grandparents all the time! While Eric was out of town the last 2 days, we came for a visit and they are being loved on so much!

William is 9 weeks old with Nonna in this pic

Just a laughing away!!!

Nolan on his choo-choo blow up bed excited William is laying next to him!

2 months Old

William is 2 months old today. I can't believe it's already been a month since I last updated our blog. I used to have so much more free time to journal and upload pics, but the days seems to quickly get away being busy with two kiddos! Life as we know it these days is non-stop from the early morning hours till the last time I nurse William at 10pm. As challenging as it may be...it's SO WONDERFUL having 2 children and we feel blessed everyday :)

William will be 9 weeks old tomorrow and has changed so much over the last 4 weeks. His hair is starting to turn more of a reddish blond color, his eyes are slowly turning green around his pupil, he's outgrown all of his newborn clothes, and is sleeping through the night a few days a week. He is cooing and smiling and loves playing on his baby Einstein mat...making all kinds of noises and light giggles! He also loves to watch Nolan and often smiles when he hears his voice. William has such a sweet spirit and I love watching his face light up :) Nolan loves him so much and has really started getting attached to him now. He's always looking out for him, checking on him, running to his side when he's crying, and always by my side helping out. The family of four can be tiring...but it's all worth it at the end of the day.

1 month old

William turned 1 month old today! Can't believe how quickly the last few weeks have flown by. We are very blessed with such a good baby :) William is on a 3- 3.5 hour schedule during the day and usually goes down at 9:30pm and will sleep till 2:30 or 4am. He's still not very consistent with his nights and sometimes he does great...other times he's up and hungry! The last few days he has really starting smiling a lot and making sweet sounds. I often get told by people everywhere I go that he looks like me. What do you think?

My Brother

Nolan has really started to adjust having a baby brother around all the time! At first I think Nolan wasn't sure what was going on and didn't like the attention being shifted, but over the past 3 weeks, he has really wanted to be where the baby is and has started interacting with him a lot more. It is so sweet to watch how Nolan has gone from only child to sweet Big Brother. Here's a few pics we've snapped of the two of them: