Big Smiles!

So, I was going through some videos last night, and found this one of James at 7 days old.  We thought he was so cute, and of course, he was...if you like babies that look like old men!  hahaa...just kidding!  Anyway, the second video is from this morning, at almost 10 weeks old...He has grown so much!  I finally captured one of his smiles!  He is pretty happy in the morning right after he's fed, so we take as many pictures as possible then.  The rest of the day seems to be hit or miss when it comes to smiles, so we take them when we can get them! 

Best Buddys!

My good friend, Jenny and I finally got together yesterday for some mommy time!  She has two adorable kids, Emma who is 3, and Shane, who is 9 weeks old.  Jenny's husband and Steven worked together during the whole deployment, and when they got home Jenny and I  met and have become great friends!  Our boys were born just 8 days apart and are sure to become best buddys!  Here are some pics from our play date. 

Big Boys

Kissing!  hahaa! 

What a good big sister!

Sweet Family.  They all have these striking blue eyes, so gorgeous.  Shane looks exactly like his dad...wish I had a pic of Nick....next time!

Happy Time!

Things have been going pretty well here lately.  James is still really gassy and uncomfortable for lots of the day, but we are getting in some more happy time!  He seems to enjoy sitting up in his chair, swing or on his mat much more this week, which is a nice break for my back!  Here are a few pictures from the past week or so.  My girlfriend and neighbor, Regan, ran over and took a few pictures of James this weekend.  He was not being very smiley..hopefully he'll feel like smiling on cue sometime soon.  I need a little happy face! 

Baby crying, gotta run! 

How hilarious is this face?!!

Funny Faces...I love them!

He is going to have the cutest dimples! 

James and Daddy

I love taking pictures of James and Steven, these two are seriously cute!  We have also discovered that we are completely spoiling our child.  When he screams bloody murder in his crib and cries real tears, we go pick him up.  The instant his head hits our shoulder, he stops crying and is asleep....that's when you know you've been had!!  By a six week old baby!  we are suckers!  we better get a handle on this issue before it's too late......

Family shot from last weekend.  I definitley did not get enough pictures...guess Grandma and Grandpa Dowling will have to come back to visit again!  Pay no attention to our disheveled son with his one sock and unbuttoned pants!  yikes!

Thank You! Thank You!

The doorbell rings, dog barks like crazy, I think it's another pest control service salesman at the door, I approach apprehensively, no one's there!  I see the mail man drive away, open the door and find a cute little package on my doorstep.  It's from Courtney, one of the girls who played on my high school volleyball team this year, and her mother, Jennifer.  I open it up and this gorgeous hand made quilt is inside.  These two wonderful ladies MADE this amazing quilt for James!   It is seriously so beautiful, I had to share with everyone!  These animals are quilted on there too...each smile, eye, and ear stitched on with perfect precision.  I am in awe at the skill it takes to make something this gorgeous.  I can't say it enough, Thank You, THANK YOU!  James and I will cherish this always! 

Snow in the South

We finally got a little taste of winter here this past weekend.  On Friday evening the snow started and didn't stop until Saturday afternoon.  We accumulated about 6 inches in total!  What cracks me up is that schools were closed on Friday...because the weatherman said the snow would come on Friday...did i mention that it didn't actually start snowing until about 3:00pm that afternoon?  yeah...they are a little too precautious on the closings.  AND schools have been closed both today and Monday, it's insane.  The roads are perfect...wet, but safe.  Oh well, gotta love the south! 

My parents came into town on Thursday night and we had a wonderful weekend.  Friday we basically relaxed all day and then went out to dinner that evening during the blizzard.  :-)   Saturday my Dad and Steven went to the range and did some shooting.  My dad came back to the house pretty pumped about all the different types of guns he got to shoot.  He had a great time and Steven says that he's a pretty good shot!  My mom and I just hung out and enjoyed our visit, and then Saturday night we went to Regan's house for a super fun wine tasting party.  Of course, I forgot to take my camera ...you'll have to check out Regan's blog Huneycutt Happenings for pictures of the party. 

Sunday we made home made cinnamon rolls and then mom and dad took off around 10:30ish.  We had a blast and were sad to see them go.  mom was sure James was going to smile this weekend, but no luck yet.  He's been pretty gassy and uncomfortable for the past few weeks, so when he's awake, he's sad and crying usually.  No happy faces so far.  We'll keep you posted!

Lacy loves the snow!  We take her out to play and she runs around, chases snowballs, and burrows down into the snow.  it's so cute.  Unfortunately, Steven is in the field all week so she's missing her playmate.  James isn't ready to go out and play yet, so Lacy will just have to play by herself in the backyard.  :-( 

Washington...Here We Come!

We finally purchased our tickets for Washington last night. Since Steven will be leaving the 101st for a few months to go to the Captain's Career Course at Ft. Knox, he has the opportunity to take quite a bit of time off to transition in late March. We're excited because that gives us a chance to go West to visit his whole family. We'll be splitting time between Long Beach, a cute little touristy town on the Washington Peninsula where his mom, cousins, aunts & uncles, etc live, and Woodland/Longview where his Dad and Grandma's live. It's been a year since we've been there, and we are looking forward to another nice visit. All you WA folks...I think Grandma Shirley is planning a get together over the weekend of the 27-28th...stay tuned for details, it would be wonderful to see everyone!

We will drive up to Fort Wayne, IN first to visit with my family for a few days. We'll leave Lacy to stay with Grandma and Grandpa Dowling and then fly out of Indy on March 23rd. We'll be in WA for a week and fly back to Indy on the 31st.

It's going to be a great trip, but the question is...how will James do on the airplane at just 3 months old? I am a little nervous about all of that. We'll have to check his car seat at the airport and we'll be praying the whole time that our luggage doesn't get lost! Plus, I just don't want to be that lady with the baby who screams the whole trip! If that happens, I'll just hand James over to Steven and go sit by myself! hahaa...just kidding!

So Spoiled!

We are so blessed to have a few friends who have some major skills in the photography arena. Last week, Erin took the awesome pictures of me and James, and this past weekend my other friend, Regan, took these pictures of all of us. When everyone offers their expertise, it would just be foolish to say no! We want to offer sincere thanks to both of you wonderful women for spending so much time and effort! These pictures are so wonderful!

So, Saturday afternoon we went out to Boy Scout Park here in Clarksville, and the weather was perfectly overcast and a nice 58 degrees. James was in the middle of his nap time, so getting him awake without screaming was quite a job. However, Regan rolled with it and did such an amazing job! How do we choose?

It's so funny...when we got home and were looking at the pictures, Steven said, "Man, we look tired!" So true. James has been sleeping decently at night, but the 3 hours in between feedings means only about 2 hours of sleep at a time! We also think he's going through a growth spurt because the last two nights he's been super fussy and wants to eat every 2-2.5 hours...it definitely wears on you! We are really looking forward to the day he sleeps through the night. I know we need to keep things in perspective...James is only 5 weeks old...but one can hope!

On the bright side, he is being quite a bit more vocal, which is so fun. He makes these adorable little noises and is having more alert awake time! We cannot wait to see him smile! hopefully that's not too far away.

Peek-A-Boo. How cute is James peeking out over Steven's shoulder?? I love this one!

I think one of these last two is going to be a mantle picture. You know it's us...but it's more of a piece of art and a little less intrusive for a mantle piece. What do you think?