Christmas photo-shoot outtakes

After waiting for almost 3 hours to take pictures for Christmas, it was almost a given that there would be several outtakes. Some of them are funny but some are just a reminder of how hard it was to get Rayce to corporate for the photo shoot. Anyway, I thought they were worth sharing so here ya go.

First steps

Rayce took his first steps at the beginning of the week. It was so unexpected and out of nowhere. Ray and I were just joking around and told Rayce "go to daddy" and he did. Then he did it over and over. It was to darn cute. I cried of course.

Now he will take a few steps here and there, mostly from the coffee table to the couch. Sometimes he doesn't realize he is doing it, not really paying attention and I get startled then he gets startled. We're learning together, it's definitely going to take some getting use to.

1st Christmas

Didn't go so well. He was Mr. cranky pants for the most part and cried almost the entire time. I mean if you think about it, it was to be expected. He was around a bunch of people he didn't know and every time Ray or I were out of sight he freaked out. I'm not talking just a little whimper, I'm talking full-blown hold his breath for forever freaking out. Poor little guy. He was totally clueless as to what was going on. On a positive note, we did have a great Christmas morning as a family. We were up before 7 a.m., turned on Christmas music and opened presents together as a family. Rayce wasn't thrilled with the opening part but it was great to see the look on his face when he finally saw what was inside all that paper. All in all our day was ok and I can't wait to do it again next year.

Holiday fun

Holiday Fun

Getting ready for the Holiday's can sometimes be stressful so I decided to do this to take my mind off of things for a minute!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Both

2. Real or fake tree? Fake, real ones are messy.

3. When do you put up the tree? Sometime after Thanksgiving.

4. When do you take the tree down? Usually after the New Year.

5. Do you like eggnog? No.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Scratch off lottery tickets in my stocking.

7. Do you have a nativity scene? No, I need to get one though.

8. Hardest person to buy for? Sinda.

9. Easiest person to buy for? Ray and Rayce.

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I plead the Fifth.

11. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Shrek the Halls.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Like a couple weeks before and it always stresses me out.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes, who hasn’t?

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Cookies - yum!

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? We have colored on the tree.

17. Favorite Christmas song? I like them all.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home. Somehow we always end up traveling.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? I think so, let me try...Rudolph, Donner, Dancer, Comet, Cupid, Dasher, Blitzen, Prancer, ... How many are there? I guess not!

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Trying to get everyone together under one roof.

23. What I love most about Christmas? Presents! Jk

24. Do you do returns on the 26th? No way. I don't go any where near stores.

25. What's your Christmas wish? For everyone to get along.

Ok back to wrapping!

He's standing

He's standing!

I leave town and come back to my baby standing on his own. It's only for about ten seconds, real brief. I haven't been able to catch it on camera yet but it is oh so cute. I see walking in the near future. Go Rayce!

Rayce's scrapbook

Rayce's Scrapbook

I've been working on Rayce's scrapbook and I hope to have his first year of life done by his first birthday. It has really been fun and has kept me occupied while without Internet. I'm starting to run out of supplies but while at Wal Mart today I looked at thier scrapbook stuff and basically it sucked. I didn't like any of thier stickers. I didn't like any of thier stuff for that matter. I sense a trip to Hobby Lobby soon but for now this is what I have so far.

I don't have a scanner, these were just takin with my digi. Of course they look better in person, these are just to give you an idea.

11 months

11 months old

My baby boy turned 11 months old today. I love this kid more and more everyday. We have so much fun together and without a doubt he keeps me on my toes. As usual he’s into everything. His latest thing is swinging on the kitchen table and pulling pots and pans out of the cabinets. There is never a dull moment with this kid, I’m not even kidding. He’s still working on those two front teeth. I estimate he will probably have them by Christmas. Speaking of Christmas…I cannot wait! It’s going to be Rayce’s first but most of all I can’t wait to spend time with my family again.

Here are some 11 month photos, kind of Christmas style to get you into the Holiday spirit.

Yum mom!

Handsome

Such a goofy boy!

Baby Jett

Yesterday I held baby Jett for the first time. What a little guy he is. When he was born he weighed in at a whopping 4 pounds 14 ounces. One little peanut indeed! He is so sweet and innocent, it was a great feeling to hold an infant again. I took some pictures to share with everyone...

Baby Jett

Me and Jett

Dara, Sha, Jett, and Chris

Congrats to Chris and Dara on a job well done. :)

Thanksgiving

I'm back! And we had a very happy Thanksgiving. I got to spend it with my mom, Jessica, Melissa, Vanessa and Isaac. Everything went great. The food was good, the games after were great but most of all it was great just to have everyone together again. We took some pictures but not as many as I would have liked. These are some of my faves.

Vanessa and Isaac

Melissa and Me


And last but not least....

Rayce and his Thanksgiving photo shoot!



Whatcha doin mom?

Uh...

Hi Mom!

Like my pumpkin slippers?

Rayce was very good for his first Thanksgiving but boy was he tuckered after it was all said and done. Love this kid I can't believe he's almost 1.

Elmo is a no go

I repeat elmo is a no go. Rayce is without a doubt scared of Elmo. The real life version anyway. He loves to watch Elmo on tv but for some reason he is terrified of my hokey pokey Elmo. Here's a video check it out for yourself.



If you listen I ask Rayce if he likes Elmo and he responds!

Me: "You don't like Elmo?"

Rayce: "NOOOOOOOO!"

Sounds like it to me...What do you think?

10 months

Rayce turned 10 months old today. What a big boy he is. In the midst of everything else I totally forgot to update you guys on crying it out. Well, lets just say it was a SUCCESS! Yep you read it right. Rayce is now sleeping through the night like a big boy. He usually goes to bed around 7:30 (because of the time change), will wake up to eat around 6 and then he will go right back to sleep until 8 or 9. Hurray for over 12 hours of sleep! It makes a world of difference let me tell you. Other then that nothing else has really changed. We’re in the market for a new car seat he has just about grown out of his other one. He hasn’t cut another tooth. He isn’t close to walking. Still no clapping but he does wave occasionally. He does however understand the word NO, he knows when he is not suppose to get into something. Although he does try my patients many time through out the day. Little stinker.

Here are some pictures I attempted to take. I had to bribe him with a sucker just to get him to sit still. Not the best of pics but I still love this kid so much it hurts.

First Halloween

Rayce's first Halloween was a hit and we had a blast trick or treating. He absouletly loved it. I tell you he is such a good kid. He did not even get scared at the scary houses and did not once fuss or whine. We walked throughout the park for almost 2 hours, he just looked around and was just so curious as to what was going on. We had a lot of fun as family. I'm am really pleased with the way the night went. I must say we really did have a Happy Halloween! My son is the champ of all champs!

Monkey boy waiting for daddy


So we can go trick or treating


Daddy where are you?


Ugh I give up!


From the outside looking in


One of the scary houses


All tuckered out


We hope you had a Happy Halloween to!

Meal time fun

Like I have stated before there is never a dull moment in our house. Lately most of the fun has been at meal time. Rayce likes to make the most out of his food! Including but not limited to; in his hair, on his ears, nestled in his eyebrows, and my all time favorite up his nose! This kid is nuts!

But I still love him!

Cry it out night #3

After having a rough weekend and Rayce waking 2-4 times a night again Ray and I carefully decided to give the crying it out method one more shot. Only this time we decided to just turn off the monitor. The reason being because half of the time he doesn't wake up full blown crying he just whimpers and whines until one of us goes in. So tonight will be crying it out night #3 and I’m only counting the days because Rayce's doctor said it could take up to 7 days to start seeing results. So far it seems to be working. Last night he did wake up a few times but only cried for less then five minutes and went back to sleep. Also his napping schedule has changed. I’m not sure if it because of the crying it out or if he is trying to cut another tooth but lately he is being a none napper and it’s really making it hard for mommy to get things done. So hopefully this will pass and things will start to get back to normal around here. If not like always we will roll with the punches and take it one day at a time.

ABC adventure

This is too cute. If you can't get it to play then click the link below. Enjoy!


http://www.myabcadventure.com/index.htm?movieid=1F7F1DCB-0F53-43FB-A546-EA7985D33FCE

9 month check up

I totally forgot to tell everyone that Rayce had his 9-month check-up on Thursday. He weighed in at a whopping 20 pounds and is 28 inches long, which is right at the 50 percentile for his age. Go Rayce! We also had a few discussions with his Dr. about sleeping through the night and eating more solids. She pretty much said that he has no logical reason not to be sleeping through the night and that he is waking up out of pure habit, the only solution to this problem is to let him cry. She basically said we have one of two options, we can just let him cry or we can be sleep deprived for who knows how long.
Ugh, I will update you later on what we decided.

For the first time Rayce was actually a little behind developmentally for his age. Every time we go for an appointment they ask us a serious of questions as far as what he is doing and not doing. Usually we answer yes to all the questions and this time that wasn't the case. Apparently Rayce should be clapping and waving hi or bye. None of which he is even close to doing. So we have been working on patty cakes and saying hi or bye. I'm not to worried about this because every baby develops at different pace.

I thought for sure this visit we would be shot free but we didn't have such luck. We elected to get Rayce a flu shot. It wasn't mandatory but the flu is yucky and children die every year from the flu. Hopefully we made the right decision.

Auntie Jess came to see us this weekend. She got a heavy dose of what it's like in the day and life of Rayce! It was so nice to have her here and I'm looking forward to spending more time come Thanksgiving. Love You Jess, thanks for all your help.

Did you all enjoy Rayce’s ABC Adventure? I thought it just was the cutest.

Don't Blink

I recently heard a song titled Don't Blink by Kenny Chesney and I instantly fell in love with it. I'm not one for country music but this song caught my attention. Everyday I realize just how fast Rayce is growing up and this song pretty much sums it all up.


Don't Blink

I turned on the evening news
Saw a old man being interviewed
Turning a hundred and two today
Asked him what's the secret to life
He looked up from his old pipe
Laughed and said "All I can say is."

(Chorus) Don't blink
Just like that you're six years old and you take a nap and you
Wake up and you're twenty-five and your high school sweetheart becomes your wife
Don't blink
You just might miss your babies growing like mine did
Turning into moms and dads next thing you know your "better half"
Of fifty years is there in bed
And you're praying God takes you instead
Trust me friend a hundred years goes faster than you think
So don't blink

I was glued to my tv when it looked like he looked at me and said
"Best start putting first things first."
Cause when your hourglass runs out of sand
You can't flip it over and start again
Take every breathe God gives you for what it's worth

(Chorus)

So I've been tryin' ta slow it down
I've been tryin' ta take it in
In this here today, gone tomorrow world we're livin' in

(Chorus)

Naw, don't blink
Life Goes Faster Than You Think
Don't Blink...

Where has the time gone?

HAPPY 9 MONTHS MY BABY BOY!

I can't believe Rayce is 9 months old. Where has the time gone? Before I know it we will be having his first birthday party. Time sure does fly when you're having fun. I can't imagine what life would be like without Rayce but one thing I do know is; I'm one proud mom!

Some of Rayce's milestones to date are:

*Says mama and dada

*Passes objects from one hand to another

*Stands while holding onto something

*Searches for hidden objects

*Pulls himself to standing and cruises

*Picks things up with thumb-finger grasp

*Drinks from sippy cup

*Feeds himself

Now if we could get the kid to sleep through the night we'd be set!

Here's some pictures I took for the special occasion.

Playing with his Elmo guitar!

Isn't he sweet!?
One of the many faces of Rayce.
Huh?
I love him!
And those big beautiful eyes Standing!

I love this kid so much, sometimes it hurts.