1 month

Little buddy, you have had a very busy first month of life!

I'm glad to have you as a travel buddy and my side kick.

I enjoy your company very much

You're so serious. 

You are still a very content baby, but we have yet to see you smile at us.

Apparently, you smiled at your Honey and I might be a little jealous. 

Within your fourth week of life:

you met your Granny

She came in town for the weekend with your Grammy and un-named grandpa (ha!, we're working on his grandad name)

You loved it and were spoiled rotten. as you should be, right?

you got lots and lots of loving from your Grammy and just stared at her.

p.s. i love your little chin rested on your little folded arms

Beau was also in town and actually gave you a kiss on your head!

best friend cousins in the making

sweet cuddles with your g-daddy(?)

you took a bottle for the first time and took it like a champ! 

a whole new world for your mommy

you also held your own bottle

no joke

twice

well....we had to place your hands there, but you kept 'em there.

perhaps it has something to do with your crazy long fingers

you had your first real bath in a tub and...

it was cute, afterwards....

you HATED it. every single second of being naked. hated it. 

luckily, we have tried another kind of tub since and you LOVED it (pics to come) 

you played on your play mat for the first time

"played" is to be used loosely

you just looked around and discovered there's more to look at than my face. and quite liked it, i think

i just love your little grunt-y voice and can't wait to hear more of it.

You are a very vocal little guy and let us know every time you have some gas. isn't that special.

you are awake SO much more during the day and I love our time just talking and looking at each other

you go 4 hours in between feeds at night and it's lovely

you are one long little bean pole, but your belly is starting to get cute and round

you love nothing more than laying on someones chest 

you do a great job of going to sleep by yourself for a nap during the day on your beloved nap-nanny

you have blue eyes like your dad and i hope they stay that way. they are big and just beautiful

you had your first Thanksgiving and are definitely my favorite little turkey

you traveled to Tyler, Tx twice and are a great traveler... luckily, because we do a lot of it in our family.

There's so much more for you to do and see and learn and I am so excited I get to be the one to share all of it with you. 

Your dad and I get to be the ones to watch you experience new things and I LOVE that.

We love you, little Judson Ray, and look forward to watching you grow!

playing in the hay...literally

My dad has some hay sitting by our house and it has provided a great lookout perch for Trigger.

He sits on top at all hours and barks at anything. n-e-thing. that might come into our yard...or even think about it.

GTs parents came in town a couple of weeks ago and Beau was here as well.

I found these 3 outside like this when they went missing from the house for a while.

he climbed all the way to the top, after Woodrow gangily googily bound up there.

Remember this video?

Beau is warming up to Trigger more and more and leads some interesting conversations between them. 

he also makes funny faces at the dogs (expecting them to respond...ha!) 

i love 2 year old thoughts

boys playing outside

Who knew that all you needed was a few bales of hay?

we'll have to keep them stocked at all times for Triggers perch and Beaus playground. 

hours of fun

Blessing into praise

I was rocking little Judson Ray yesterday and singing to him. Not quite sure why he loves it so much, but it completely soothes him. After I sang my 2 standard songs to him, I started on church songs. 

My brother Jake told me that years ago, when he was a youth minister, when he was leading singing and couldn't think of a song, he would just go through the alphabet and start whatever song came to mind. "a"=all creatures of our God and King, "b"=before the throne of God above, "c"= create in me a clean heart, etc, etc. 

So I got to "b" and started singing Blessed be your name and when I reached the chorus, something happened. I was completely overwhelmed by the words and how fitting they were. My eyes filled with tears and I had an incredible moment of praise to God right there. Looking at Judson, I was simply grateful for the blessing of him and his health and reminded that I should turn that blessing right back into praise. I was singing loudly and on purpose....not much of a lullaby. But I think JR liked it just as much.

Every blessing you pour out, I'll turn back to praise.

When the darkness closes in, Lord still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your name

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your glorious name

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Happy thanksgiving

Ready to get my turkey on.

I've spent years working on thanksgiving, away from my family...that makes being with them so much sweeter and makes me so much more grateful! I have much to be thankful for and I try to acknowledge those things every day, not just today. But, it does help to have a day dedicated to gratitude...to remind us of our blessings (and how they most definitely out way the negative things).

I'm thankful for many things.

A few are

These guys.

Our large families

This country and our freedoms

My job

Our health

Our home and fall weather

Most of all, I'm thankful for a God who forgives and loves me.

As much as I love my life...this world is not my home. I'm just a passin' through. And praise God for that!

Happy turkey day friends,

Kate 

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

little photos

We had some photos taken of our little family of 3. 

I will cherish them always as they capture Judson Ray at just 8 days old...so new.

the twin bed in his nursery

be still my heart

skis for feet

squishy squishy lips

GT was not so keen on sitting in the grass for a family photo.

He kept referencing his 6'4 tall body and that it really wasn't meant to sit on the ground for pics.

Erin asked him, "how do you normally sit on the floor?"

GT, "in a chair".

point made

Luckily, he's pretty agreeable and parked his rear in the grass for me...all 5 feet of legs and all. 

JR anointed this blanket with some poop. 

you're welcome

i spy a little foot

oh my lands

Thanks Erin for these awesome images...I adore them. 

if you want equally great photos...contact her here at Stokes Images

Have an excellent week of Thanks!

Kate

3 weeks

3 weeks with little Judson Ray

You are turning into a little boy so quickly. 

Part of me wants you to slow down and stay a newborn for a bit longer 

the very, very tired part of me is kind of ok with you growing up quickly (only if more sleep comes with age).

it seems that you are getting longer and longer, but not much fatter

i'm pretty sure this will be your life story

In your third week of life...

you wore a cardigan and i died 

nothing cuter than a baby cardigan pocket. nothing

you were completely spoiled by your Hunny

since your dad was gone for the week, we camped out at their house and honestly...we both got a bit spoiled

You make the cutest tight little circle with your lips after eating

you went to Monroe's new Rivermarket and loved all of the vendors

or slept the entire time

You went on your first walk and LOVED it

you seriously.. i mean seriously have ridiculously defined leg muscles for a wee babe. 

scrawny as they may be, they are long an lean machines.

somehow, you turned into a little boy this week

you can already hold your head up

not always..but it's still quite impressive

You started cooing a tad and I'm sure there is not a sweeter sound in the world

You missed your dad while he was gone. We talked about him a lot

your dad was super excited to get back home to you. we were equally pumped to have him home

The weeks are going by so fast and I cherish every day with you.

Sometimes, I just stare at you because I want to remember exactly what your little baby face looks like.

I love how you just stare right back at me, as if you feel the same way about me. 

Hopefully, that will never change (i'm sure it will)

River Market Saturday

Monroe is growing y'all!

We have a River Market open on Saturdays and it is just lovely

Hopefully it will help our community grow and bring some new fun things to the area

we found this cute kid working a booth

it felt great to get out of the house and enjoy some great weather

Judson behaved himself perfectly. Only one spanking

So, if you're in the area...stop by!

It's a happening place