Jax's Dedication

Today at church we dedicated Jax to the Lord. This is a day I've been eagerly looking to for so long now-probably since we found out we were pregnant. I believe with all my heart that children are a blessing from God and have nothing to do with our own goodness or abilities. I realize how incredibly fortunate we are to have a healthy baby boy and want nothing more than to honor God with how we raise him. We don't believe in baptizing babies, but we do dedicate them. Essentially it's just us as a couple vowing to stay married, to live lives that are pleasing to God, and to raise Jax in a house that loves and serves the Lord.
We were so blessed to have both sets of parents at church with us today, and that our families from out of town were able to watch online. It was a sweet little dedication and I was so glad that Pastor Ken (whom I call Poppy) was the one to do it. He is the Pastor that married us, but even more than that, he's my best friend's father. I've known their family for years, have spend birthdays and holidays with them and he is like my adopted dad and it was wonderful have him be the one to present Jax to the church. Jax did wonderfully and just took it all in. He looks so serious in all the pictures, which is so funny since that is definitely not his personality! We were able to get some sweet photos of the day that I know we will look back on and treasure.














It was such a wonderful day and I am so thankful that our friends and family who love us were able to see it and that our parents could be there with us. We pray for Jax, that he will know the Lord and have a heart for Him and I hope that this is just the beginning of his life with Christ. My greatest desire is to be able to say this one day:
"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth" 3John1:4

The New Date Night

We were walking into Babies R Us tonight and was telling Jackson that I remember the days where I swore to myself that I would NEVER go out in public looking disheveled and undone with a baby that had stains on his clothes. It only took me 7 months to break that promise! It's Friday night and I was too tired to really go out and do anything but Jackson wanted to get the little guy a walker so we packed up quickly after dinner and headed to the store.
Jax tried out a few different walkers...

And then we decided the pick up a few things like diapers and formula. I grabbed a box of teething biscuits and will live to regret the decision to give Jax one while we walked around. Yes, I realize that doing that is a little WT (or poor taste for a more "politically correct" term) but I didn't want him fussing while we shopped. And then it happened in the clothing section. A small piece of the biscuit broke off (I thought they weren't supposed to do that!) and Jax gagged it out. He also gagged out the rest of the dinner he had just eaten...


Um, yeah. Needless to say I was laughing so hard I didn't know what to do. It was all over the floor, myself, and the baby. I love the look on the baby's face. It's like "what"? Jackson ran back to grab some wipes (after telling me "I told you so"!) and we managed to clean up my arms and the floor. But I then had to take the walk of shame to the car with both the baby and I covered in mess. Ha! The life of a mom. Needless to say: lesson learned. No more eating in the store!!
At least it will be something to look back at and laugh about....one day.

Jax's 7 Month Update

Dear Jax,
I'm gonna have to ask you to quit growing so fast! It just hit me today-I have a 7 month old. You are no longer a little baby. You have, in fact, become a very big, determined little boy! This past month has been a tough one. You got your 6 month immunizations and had a bad reaction to one of them, you were teething, and you got another summer cold. You've also grown tremendously this past month. Not only are you sitting up, but you're crawling everywhere. Here's what you've been up to:
You wear a size 3 diaper and 6-12 month clothes. You can still wear 3-6 month shorts.

You take around four 8-ounce bottles every day and eat fruit for breakfast and veggies for dinner.

This past month you've tried peas, broccoli and cauliflower (and loved all of them!) as well as peached, plums, and nectarines.

You're getting into a better napping routine and sleep about an hour in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon.

We had some rough nights this month with you being sick, but now you're back to sleeping through the night. You wake up between 6:30 and 7 and go to bed at about 7:30.

You fall asleep easily and rarely make a peep. You love your blankie.


You love drinking water from your sippy cup

You still love to eat

You LOVE bath time.



We took a little trip to Orlando where you swam in the amazing hotel pool.

We had another playdate with your friends.

You were invited to your first birthday party.
We often play in the kitchen in the afternoon while mommy cooks dinner.

You've decided you REALLY want to feed yourself and some days you insist on it.


We've lowered your crib

You are crawling everywhere and have even started pulling up some.


And sometimes you get stuck...


Your first two teeth have come in. your first lower (left) incisor started coming in right at the 6 month mark and your right lower incisor came in this past week.

You love your teething biscuits

And enjoy playing in your pool.


Most days are spent hanging out on your blanket playing with toys and in your exersaucer. You've just started crawling around and trying to get to things you shouldn't (remote controls, laptops, etc.) and get quite upset when we tell you "no".


You've been saying "mamama" to me, which is about the sweetest thing I've ever heard. You are such a happy boy and have a sweet disposition. You really only fuss when you're tired or hungry. Every day gets more fun (and challenging) as we navigate this world together. I pray so much that God will take the strong will and determination you're showing and use it for His glory. I pray that your daddy and I do right by you, teaching you to walk in the Truth and love God. I couldn't love you more if I tried and I am forever humbled that God entrusted you to me. I can't wait to see what this month brings! We love you!
Love
Mama and Daddy

Sweet Stuff

Today we went over to Tara's house to hang out for a while. It was pretty much the only place I was going to go seeing as how I was in gym shorts and a t-shirt and looked like a bum. So Jax and I headed over there for a little bit to give him a taste of what it's like to have siblings. Ha!
He also got a taste of something else...

Aunt Tara gave him his first lollipop. And he loved it (really, who's surprised?!). I really can't complain about it since I'm pretty sure I introduced all 5 of her kids to the wonderful world of candy, soda and chocolate!
Unsure about this...

Getting a good taste of the butterscotch...

Going back in for more

Grabbing her hand-at this point, he wanted to be the one to hold it!

And then my favorite...

Doesn't he look like he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar?


I'm so glad Jax has fun people in his life to make sure he gets to do and enjoy the things his mother would doesn't let him do. I'm just dreading the day that that includes this:

I bought Cade one of these loud poppers when he was a baby and I'm afraid his mama's counting down the days til she can pay me back!