Maci Makes Me Smile

Elijah's girlfriend, Maci, is turning 1! We received the adorable invitation and Elijah has just been smiling at her picture since! Even when he's crying, if we walk over to the fridge (where it's hanging up), he will start smiling and touching her picture. Watch out Dearmon Family...Elijah is in love with your daughter!

Maci's Birthday invitation with her picture on the front. Adorable!!!

Rough Naps

Elijah's nap time has recently become interrupted with play. We captured a rare photograph of lingering evidence of play:) He had been flailing his arms and legs and playing with his feet. Guess he just got too tired to keep it up. He's also waking up crawling and sitting up. Ah milestones, how you demolish sleep schedules. Our little man is growing so fast. I still can't believe he's crawling!

Little man, passed out mid play :)

Playground Fun

The weather has been so beautiful here for the past few weeks, reaching the high 60s and 70s. Yesterday, we decided to go on post to one of the many wonderful playgrounds. Elijah has never been to a playground, so we thought it would be fun for the whole family! It's always great being able to go outside and play, but Matt seemed to enjoy himself just as much:)

HAHAHAHA!!!!!

Anyhow, we really had a nice time and even ran into our friend Mandy Culver and her 2 year old son, Parker. It was great catching up and watching the boys play. We miss our military friends, as we've been pretty disconnected lately. Hopefully as summer comes along, we'll be able to get together and get the kids together too. 

Mommy and E-bug on the teeter-totter. Daddy is on the other side:) 

E-bug LOVES swinging. He's been known to laugh the entire time.

The rare family shot, thanks to Mandy Culver (son Parker in the background)

Mum Mum Fun

Elijah was cracking me up today, so I thought I should just share with you all. He's such a joy to be around and really brings so much joy into our lives. We are so blessed with one another. Enjoy!

Is there something on my face?!

Boomer Sooner!

Today, we drove up to Norman, OK to Oklahoma University. Matt's cousin-in-law, Lisa, was there with her gymnastics team for a competition. Lisa is the gymnastics head coach at Texas Women's University. Unfortunately, Lisa had to leave Austin, her 2 month old, with a babysitter back in Texas, but at least we were able to visit for a bit with her. We even walked around town for awhile, enjoying the almost 70 degree weather. Ahhh spring is here!

Play Date with Ellie

The other day, I had a play date with my friend Ellie. She has so many great outdoor toys and the weather was beautiful at 75 degrees! We played on the slide and with a bunch of toys. Ellie even got pushed in her swing! We had such a great time and I really enjoyed getting some time in the sunshine. It makes Mommy happy too! Maybe someday, I'll have a swing and backyard toys like Ellie!

Ellie let me borrow her hat:) 

Ellie, Mommy and me

Ellie and my Daddy

The sun really wears me out

Elijah Eats Waffles!

Our little boy is getting bigger by the second! He is almost 9 months old, which is unbelievable, and he's moving, eating, and babbling non-stop. It's harder and harder to take pictures, as most of them are blurred! The other day, in an effort to introduce more finger foods, we gave Elijah a Kashi blueberry waffle. He LOVED it! Not only did he thoroughly enjoy it, but he was flailing all over the place with excitement.

Grandma and Grandpa's Visit!

Grandma and Grandpa came to visit me this past weekend. Since we had missed Grandma's birthday on the 13th of February, we had a make-up birthday celebration. Mommy baked a cake and I helped blow out the candles, although I was much more interested in trying to grab them:) I had so much fun playing with my grandparents and they seem to have a lot of fun with me too. I can't wait to see them again soon!

Happy Birthday Grandma! 

Happy Valentines Day

Happy Valentines Day to all our blog followers! Elijah and my amazing Hubby wowed me this morning with a BEAUTIFUL necklace! Elijah even picked out an "I love you" charm. I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful family and two men who love me so very much! On this Valentines Day, I'm thankful for my two favorite men. I'm truly the luckiest woman in the world!

Elijah helping me put on my new necklace. XOXO

SNOW!!!!!

Although we have really enjoyed our 60 and 70 degree winter days, last night we finally got SNOW!!! I would say somewhere between 1-2 inches:) I was super happy and Elijah had his first snow day! Daddy made a snow man and Elijah got bundled up (as much as we could considering we never invested in snow gear living in Oklahoma where it stays so warm). Elijah seemed to enjoy our brief outing, as did Mommy and Daddy.

Busy Week!

This past week definitely kept us moving at a fast pace! Coming off a drill weekend, we swung into full gear getting ready for Nonna and Papa to visit. There was a lot to complete, but we still made time to read together.

Reading "On the Night You Were Born"

We made several trips to pick up the necessities, like salmon, coffee and other staple items. Elijah was a trooper and really enjoyed riding in the carts like a big boy!

And finally, Nonna and Papa arrived!!! We picked them up at Lawton airport in the early afternoon and brought them home with us!

Unfortunately, we didn't take very many pictures:( But we really enjoyed our time and look forward to the next visit!

Drill & Church

Mommy had drill this past weekend, so Daddy and I were left to our own devices:) Thankfully, Mommy was able to come home from drill early to go to church with us! As always, all the ladies gushed over me and said how big and cute I am. Of course, I already know this because Mommy and Daddy tell me every day. Our favorite elderly ladies were there today too! Nettie and Sally love talking to me and loving on me. I love our church family!

Fun with our food

Elijah is making progress with finger foods. Initially, when he was given finger foods, he would get them to his mouth, but then gag once they were in there. It was kind of funny...parents are mean. Anyhow, in the past week or two, Elijah is not only getting them in his mouth, but he's chewing! What a big (and I mean big at 24.2 lbs) boy!

Apple cinnamon rice puffs! Yum yum!

Mum mum snack....stuck to my lips :)

Super Squishy

Apparently Elijah teething again, as he seems to be putting EVERYTHING in his mouth and, well, leaving it there. And if that isn't enough, there's a small faucet that seems to be leaking from his mouth. A continuous stream of drool is running out of it at all times, making bibs and burp rags a necessary tool to keep handy.

In my jumper...is there something in my teeth?

No Mommy, I don't know where Sophie went?!

SUPER SQUISHY!!!!!

Ugh, I found this in my toys and it got stuck on my two teeth!

He is such a big boy and really is beginning to develop a big personality. At 8 months of age, Elijah is playing independently for longer periods of time, sitting up on his own and is able to pull himself to a standing position with minimal assistance. Where does the time go?! And although he has yet to crawl, Elijah is utilizing the "roll" for transportation. Matt and I are just so amazed with each passing day. 

New Bath Toys

This weekend when we were up in OKC, Baylee and I made a run to Babies R Us. I was on a mission to find Elijah bath toys that did something...anything. Living in Lawton, we have been limited to toys from Walmart and needless to say, they're no good. Most of them either sink to the bottom, turn upside down (despite it being a boat and lighthouse toy) and otherwise just stink. But lucky us, we were able to find some GREAT toys! Baylee bought Elijah a swimming Nemo and Squirt the turtle toy and I found a squirting squid toy! Elijah LOVES them! He had so much fun, we had to capture it on video in yet another bath time fun adventure!

The Jackson Family

This weekend, we spent time with our friends, The Jacksons. Bryan and Baylee, Elijah's Godparents, invited us to OKC for a swap date night. On Friday, Matt and I had a wonderful date to our favorite restaurant, Nonna's, in historic Bricktown. Then, Saturday night, Bryan and Baylee were able to go out for their date. It worked out so well that we're going to make it a monthly (or so) thing! It's so nice being able to get out together and not worry about the babysitting cost or Elijah. Thank you Jackson family!

Although we forgot to take pictures most of the time, we did manage to capture the boys playing in Owen's crib. Elijah is approx 5 months older than Owen, but it seemed like they enjoyed smiling at one another and touching hands. I can't wait until they can actually play games with one another, like Cowboys and Indians!!!

So cool!

Elijah is getting bigger by the day and that means, new clothes and accessories! WOO HOO. I just had to share these photos with the family and friends. Matt and I are just so in love with our little boy!

Elijah's Date Night

Last night, we had a wonderful time on a multi-date with Brandi and Shane Dearmon and their two girls, Bella (4 years) and Maci (10 months). Elijah and Maci interact so well and have a lot of fun grabbing each others faces, hair (well, Maci has hair) and playing with one another's toys. Bella is a big helper too as she watches the kids and keeps them pretty content while the adults are visiting, eating, etc.

Elijah's casual face after the massive blowout 

Notice blowout material up to his ear!

The last time we had a date night together, hosted at our house, Maci had a blowout requiring an impromptu bath. In an effort to even up the score, Elijah had a MASSIVE blowout at the Dearmon's home, requiring a bath WITH pre-rinse. YIKES! It was definitely the worst I've seen as of late, which was probably a result of the apples with prunes lunch.

We're so thankful for great friends that are understanding, helpful and going through the same thing around the same time as us:)