Another week flew by!

Cason turned 4 months old today!  And what a FAST 4 months it has been. 

Last weekend, my parents came in to babysit Cason.  AJ and I went to dinner and then to his company Christmas Party.  It was our first night out and the first time for us to not put Cason down to sleep.  I’m so thankful to have my parents so close and that they were willing to make the special trip up to babysit.  It was definitely easy to leave him knowing he was in such good hands.  Nana and Pop had a great time!  They played with him, fed him, gave him a bath, gave him his reflux medicine (he’s pretty dramatic when he gets it), and did the WHOLE bedtime routine!  Thank you mom and dad for taking such great care of our sweet boy!

A quick family photo before our night out.

That next night, AJ was on extended daddy duty while I went to a party with a bunch of friends.  Cason got to ride in Daddy’s big truck and went to Sears to drool in the Craftsman section.  Daddy gave him his bath, fed him, and got him down to sleep … and he didn’t call mommy once to ask questions.  I’m pretty blessed to have a husband who is MADLY in love with his son and can take care of him all on his own.  Being a daddy definitely comes natural to AJ!  I had so much fun seeing lots of friends that I worked with over the past 5 years.  Carroll Elementary became my family and I’m thankful to be able to stay in touch with everyone.

LOVE them!!!

This past week Cason and I got out of the house A LOT!  We finished Christmas shopping, ran errands for Daddy, met Pop for lunch at the Galleria (he drove up to pick up furniture they bought), went to dinner with Ron and Donna Pyle, and we went to Cason’s 4 month check up!  A special 4-month-old post will come later.

We are looking forward to waking up Christmas morning with Cason.  Now that we have our own little family, we’ll be waking up at our own house for Christmas now.  I can’t wait to begin our own family traditions and make Christmas morning memories in our home.  This is one of the many family moments I have always dreamed of.  I’m so thankful that God has blessed my life with my sweet husband and precious baby boy! 

We've been busy

This past week was quite eventful! 

Saturday, December 1

Cason rolled over from his back to his tummy for the first time!  He had already been rolling from his tummy to his back.  That started when we was almost 2 months old.  He was in his crib when he rolled from his back to his tummy and then later that morning he was rolling again on his play mat!  We were so proud of him and loved watching how strong he is. 

We also hosted a couple’s shower for my wonderful friend Jessica and her soon to be hubby Chad. It was so much fun “showering” them with love and gifts.  We can’t wait to see Jessica marry such an amazing man.  Jessica is an incredibly loving and selfless woman and friend.  She more than deserves Chad and I am so thankful that God brought them together.

That evening we had our Annual Progressive Dinner with a super fun group of friends.  The appetizer house had a photo booth set up!  We all had a little too much fun with it.  This was our 5^th year and we’re looking forward to many more years!

Pyramid gone wrong

Of course the guys had to out do us with a totem pole! 

Monday, December 3 – Wednesday, December 5

AJ had a client to meet with in Waco, so Cason and I rode down with him.  AJ dropped us off at my parents’ house and we stayed for a 3 day visit.  Cason loved his special time with his Pop and Nana.  Since Pop is retired now, Cason spent LOTS of time with him while mommy took naps and was lazy!  I am very thankful that my dad was so excited and willing to entertain and care for Cason while I took naps and leisurely went about each day.  My mom, Nana, came home for lunch each day and was in the door by 5:00 each evening.  Cason was quite the little motivator for getting out of work each day.  AJ came back to Waco on Wednesday to conduct some more business and then came to pick us up.  We went to Cheddars  for dinner with my parents before leaving to go home.  We LOVE Cheddars!!!

Cason is dreaming of the day that he can eat Pop's famous Chex Mix.

Cason really liked the yellow fish at Cheddars.

Thursday, December 6 … Elfing!!!

What is “Elfing” you ask?  Well, the other night our doorbell rang.  When I got to the door, no one was there, but there was a gift.  It was full of some Christmas treats and a note explaining the Elf game.  I of course jumped at this opportunity to ring peoples’ doorbells and run!  So, Cason and I went to Kroger to shop for our “Elf” gifts to “Elf” the neighbors.  We got 2 sets of a Starbucks Frappuccino, a Christmas mug, hot chocolate, and some M&Ms. After putting Cason to bed, I went out and “Elf-ed” two of our neighbors.  I had forgotten the adrenalin rush that you get when you ring a doorbell and run away hoping you get away before they open the door and see you!  It was quite the thrill!  I came home and told AJ that we would be getting more gifts and that we’d go out together another night so that he could experience the thrill again too! 

Want to “Elf” your neighbors?  Click here for more information. 

Gobble Gobble and More

He loves his fingers.

We spent Thanksgiving in North Carolina this year.  It was so fun getting to spend a whole week with AJ's family. Oma and Opa had a special room all set up for Cason when we arrived.  His pack n play was put together and he had diapers, a bathtub, and more awaiting him.  The door to the room had a sign that said "Cason's Room" and had 2 Sponge Bob Balloons on it.  I meant to take a picture, but forgot to.  (I've got to get in the habit of doing things when I think of it, otherwise I risk it not happening.)

It was Cason's first time to meet his Oma, Opa, and Aunt Holly!!  He quickly fell in love with them and greatly enjoyed the constant attention.  I also enjoyed a full week of being able to shower and take my time getting ready too. There was always someone to pass Cason off to. :)

No shoes, No Shirt ... No Problem!

Getting Cozy with Oma

By the end of the week our sweet boy was starting to get sick.  We think he must have caught something on the plane going over.  He was congested and his cry was very hoarse.  Thankfully he did a fabulous job on the plane coming home though.  The night we got home, AJ went out and bought a humidifier for Cason.  After a few nights of that, along with some other things, he started to get better.  It was a great feeling to take care of him when he was sick.  I loved being able to cuddle him and rub the baby vapor rub on his tiny little chest.  As a kid, my mom always spoiled my brother and I a bit when we were sick.  She would make us a bed on the couch and set up a little station of necessities on the coffee table next to us.  I look forward to being able to be home with Cason and pamper him when he is sick.

Once Cason was feeling better, we were able to start getting the Christmas decorations out.  He LOVED staring at the lights on the tree as I set it up and put the ornaments on.  This year, I decorated stockings for us.  I really wanted to sew them and use sequins to make the snowflakes, santa, and other decorations on the stockings like my Grandmommie did for my family ... BUT there wasn't time for that.  Maybe another year I will get around to hand making the stockings.  This year I had to resort to scrapbook stickers and "Girl Scout" glue (the tacky glue in the gold bottle).

He just started using the Bumbo this week!

Kisses from Kona