8 Months

My boy is 8 months old!  He is such a joy.  Just a big old sugarbaby! 

 

He is always happy.  Content to just sit and play.



 

No, your eyes are not deceiving you...he really is THAT big!

This baby loves to kiss and snuggle!  He is SO loveable!!

 

 

But something is wrong with the child.  He still won't crawl!  I think he is lazy and smart...a dangerous combination.  I'll explain.  I wanted to get some pics of him assuming the crawling position so I sat a toy just outside his reach.

He would streeeeetch and not reach it.  Then he would sit and study it.  Then he would streeeetch again.  After doing that about 2-3 times he reached forward, grabbed ahold of the blanket and pulled the blanket to him then grabbed the toy and laughed!!

Just like you're probably doing, I didn't believe he would actually be doing that on purpose!  So I changed the toy, moved him around....all the same result!  The kid is too smart!

Yoga with Jack

Jack has been perfecting his Yoga skills...

 

 

"Okay, start on your hands and knees"

 

 

 

 

Cow Pose

 

 

 

 Downward Dog

 

 

 

 

Cobra

My future Yoga instructor is so talented.  I won't mention that he's almost 9 months and still not crawling, but oh so talented!!

7 months...kinda

By the time I actually took Jack's 7 month pictures he was closer to 8 months.  Oh well...at least I took pictures.

 

 

My little sugar baby...

"Wait, wait...did you get my good side!?"

"Yup, you did!"

 

Oh my gosh. He gets cuter and cuter.



He still isn't crawling.  He still has no teeth. He still won't sleep through the night consistently. He LOVES solid food.  So much so that he wasn't getting enough formula.  So we had to start cutting back on solids to make sure he was getting enough formula.  He didn't really like it.  He is the happiest, easiest baby (except for the not sleeping through the night).  I'm in love.  Deep.

Tell me again why we have all these kids?

The weekend after New Year's Day we went to Alvin for our annual Christmas/Grayson's birthday celebrations.  We arrived on Wednesday and went to Bibby and John's for a delicious roast dinner...my favorite meal by Bibby (its the same meal she brought us after Elijah was born!).  They gave Elijah, Sadie and Jack their traditional pjs and a toy.  I was having some allergy problems and didn't get a single picture!  Elijah and Grant were allowed to spend the night and had a wonderful slumber party.  They felt so grown up! 

 

We had our Ballard/Scogin gift exchange on Friday night.  Before opening our presents I wanted to get a picture of all the kids together.  I'm apparently a bit of an over achiever.  They are all together in "most" of the pictures, but I guess wanting them to all look at the camera was a pipe dream and smiling while all looking...not. going. to. happen.

 

Here's the run down.

 

Of course Elijah is looking and smiling.  Grant and Grayson are obviously bored to death.  Sadie is pre-occupied and Jack is fascinated by the pattern on the rug.

Sadie must have made some sort of joke (or noise)...

At least this time Jack is looking in the general direction of the camera.  Grant and Grayson...still bored.  Sadie...who knows.

Ummm...not really sure what Grant is trying to accomplish.  I love that Grayson's face has not changed in any of the pictures.

 

 

We are swirling the drain...

No words.  Grant showing off his manicure.  Elijah is showing off his molars. Grayson has been possessed.  Jack is scared.  Sadie...who knows.

In an attempt to try to get every kid to look at the camera I asked everyone to say how old they are.  Grayson...evil spirits are gone, boredom is back.  Poor baby Jack...he looks worried.  He hasn't spent enough time around this group yet.

 

 

This time I said to act like your favorite animal.  Once again I love Jack's expression. 

 

Um...ya.

By the way, Aimee, Sadie is doing her Grayson face to Grayson...makes me giggle. 

Then I thought we'd get artistic.  Bad idea.

Where's Grayson, you ask??

 

 He appears to be the only sane one in the group.

 

 

When we opened gifts I was so excited about the gift I made Grayson.  He loves to help Aimee in the kitchen and he loves hats.  I made him an apron that says "Mommy's Little Sous Chef" and a chef's hat.  Pay no attention to his face...he loved it.  I'm almost certain.

 

 

He also loved his Cookie Monster socks.

 

 

 Saturday was Grayson's birthday party.  It was a construction party...so cute!!

We had to leave shortly after Grayson blew out the candles.  It was a great week!  We love our Alvin family!!!

That sums up our Christmas holiday!

Christmas in Rosebud - what I remember of it.

After we opened our gifts on Christmas morning I crawled back in bed and stayed there until it was time to leave for Rosebud.  We had what I hear was a wonderful lunch (I couldn't eat).  I was going down hill fast, but still enjoyed spending time with our family.

 

Frankie listening in on the kids' very interesting conversations while they play.

 

 

Elijah got the first gift.  A very loud toy gun...thanks! :/  Ha!





Elijah and Sadie helping Aunt Crystal open her gift...



 

 

Sadie got this apron, mitt and chef's hat.  It says "Official Mess Maker".  She wears it almost every day when she helps me cook!  So cute!!

After gifts the kids played with their new toys, the adults played a game and I curled up on the couch in the fetal position.  By the time everyone got the kids bathed and put in pjs I had a fever.  I wanted to get a pic of all the grandkids, but this is as good as I could get.

 

 

 

So, unfortunately, I didn't get very many pictures and I dont' remember a lot of that day.  I spent the next 3 days in bed while Beau pulled double duty.  Let's hope next Christmas is better!

Merry Merry Christmas!!

 

Getting started on Christmas 2012

 

 

 Elijah and Sadie were very helpful.  All the ornaments were on the bottom half.  I kept trying to spread them out (even in the days after putting up the tree) only to have the kids get really upset and move them all back. 

They were really cute, though.

 

 

 

The night before Christmas Eve Sadie threw up 3 times.  Each time we would get up and clean her, her bed, her carpet...it was horrible.  I was supposed to work on Christmas Eve, but got put on call which was fine with me since we were up so much during the night.  I spent the day taking care of Sadie.  Beau took the boys to Rosebud and I concentrated all my efforts on Sadie.  By bedtime she seemed like she would pull through, but I was starting to feel bad.  I went to bed hoping it was just in my head.  But when I woke up Christmas morning I knew it was going to be a bad day. 

 

 

Christmas morning.  Look at all those presents!!

My baby boy!  

I was already feeling really bad.  I sat up the video camera...but forgot to turn it on.  Beau gathered the kids around and read about the birth of Jesus out of the Bible...I forgot to take a picture.

 

 

Sadie went first...



 

 

(it was a princess horse and carriage)

 

 

Elijah was really excited...about everything.

A new basketball!

Her own helmet...



 I got to go next.  This is how my gift was wrapped...and no...it wasn't wrapped by any of the kids.

 

 

Jack enjoyed some breakfast while we opened gifts.

 

 

 100+ pieces of fake food for Sadie's kitchen...in retrospect...a horrible decision.

 

 

Jack's owl hat...

 

 

All the kids got Disney ornaments to remind us of our trip.

I gave Beau a blade to a table saw.  He is making that face because he doesn't have a table saw.

Little did he know I had one waiting for him in the porch!  He was really excited! 

 

My babies getting their stockings.

Mom of the Year award winning moment...realizing (as I put the gifts out Christmas Eve) I didn't have a stocking for Jack.  We looked at those stocking for a month and no one realized there wasn't one for Jack!  I threw one together in a few minutes.  I promise I'll have one next year!

 

 

Loaded with lots of awesome stuff!

Very exciting.

 

 

 

Oh my gosh.  Eat. Him. Up.

Elijah is ALWAYS checking up on Jack.

I think he had a great first Christmas...

What an awesome rubber ducky!!

I had bought all the stuff to make a wonderful Christmas morning breakfast!  Rosemary and brown sugar bacon, apple and cream cheese stuffed french toast and scrambled eggs.  But I was feeling so bad I just went back to bed.  I think Beau made the kids some breakfast.  I stayed in bed until it was time to leave for Rosebud.  I'm really hoping Christmas 2013 is better.  Being sick was awful, but I tried to focus on the fact that I have a happy, (mostly) healthy family.  We are blessed beyond measure.  Merry Christmas!