pumpkin patch

we headed out to the pumpkin patch at the dallas arboretum today. we had a "mini-session" with a professional photographer to get some cute pumpkin pics of our little "pumpkin"! well, let's just say that there was WAY too much to look at for him to even look at the camera, much less smile for it. i think she got maybe 1 or 2 smiles, the rest of them he was looking all around or fussing cuz we put him on hay for the first time. :) so, as soon as we get them back, i'll post them. in the meantime, here are some that i took. we had fun with mimi & pops who joined us and helped us carry all of our "stuff". yes - i can't believe it took 4 people! :) it was REALLY hot, so most of the pics are court in his birthday suit. since the aggies aren't doing too hot this season, the first pic is court in his red raider attire! :)

6 months

don't you think court would make a great "hat" model?

this first six months of court's life sure has flown by. rhett and i talk daily about how blessed we are to have this little ray of sunshine in our lives. each day brings more giggles, more fun, and an indescribable amount of love. i don't want to miss one second of life with court. i'm trying to soak up every single moment and savor every little "look", "smile", "snuggle", and "kiss". yes, court gives kisses now - well, if you consider him opening his mouth as wide as he can and pulling your face as close as he can, a kiss. it's a little slobbery, but worth it every time!

God has given us one of the most amazing gifts, and i now understand His love for me even more now that i am a parent. 

some of my favorite things about 6 months:

• court loves faces. he will pat your face, pull on your cheeks, feel your skin, and he loves to "study" all of your features
• court "hits" everything with his hands. he uses his right hand alot, but also his left. i'm calling it right now - i think he'll be a righty!
• i love how court is so full of laughter when the dogs are wrestling or playing
• court is now an expert at putting himself to sleep. we just lay him in his crib WIDE awake and he talks for a couple of minutes and is out like a light - no crying at all. now, this only happens if we put him down during his "sleep window". if we miss it, it's not that pretty. 
  
• court tries SO hard to sit up by himself. if you lay him down, he wants to sit right up. he tries to "pull" himself up to a sitting position all the time - it won't be long until he can sit all by himself
• court LOVES, LOVES, LOVES any and all baby food. he hasn't met a food he hasn't liked so far - lets hope it stays that way. some of his favs right now are: avocado (we call it his own guacamole), pears, apples, bananas, squash, and peas
• court loves to suck on his piggies (toes). he likes them with or without socks - no preference really
• record 11 hour sleep one night last week- yes - you read that correctly! whooohoooo! i'm probably jinxing myself right now :). hopefully, it will continue
• court is "practicing" with a sippy cup filled w/water. i don't even know why we have to do this - i don't want him to be old enough for a sippy cup or a regular cup- EVER!!!

wordless wednesday

in case you're wondering......

THE PRUNES WORKED ...  IN A MAJOR WAY!

my new best friend

court has realized that he now has built in entertainment at our house, "a.k.a. : tucker & ruby". ruby is definitely the most patient of the two. here are a couple of pics of court and our first children, tucker & ruby.

hey ruby, "what's up?"

i like your fur. if i could just figure out how to get your arm into my mouth!
ruby: "if i close my eyes, maybe he'll think i'm too tired to play!"
tucker: "somebody, please pour me another tall one!"

5 months old

well, since "little mr." is almost 6 months old, i'd better hurry and make a 5 month post!! time is flying WAY too fast for me. i can't believe court is almost 1/2 year old! we have been blessed beyond belief by this ball of energy! i've always loved newborns because they are so tiny and sleepy and will just let you hold them all day. but i LOVE the non-newborn stage even more! court has new "tricks" every day! rhett went on a business trip to hawaii for 3 days and said that court looked longer and so much bigger to him when he came back. we were SO excited to have dad back!! we hung out at mimi & pop's house for the long weekend and had lots of fun playing. 5 things i LOVE about 5 months:

1. court looks for me whenever i start talking. then, he gets a great big smile on his face. i just think that is the sweetest thing ever!
2. he just loves to talk in the late afternoons: he'll coo, then wait for you to respond, then coo right back
3. i love how he talks if he wakes up in the middle of the night. it is such a sweet, quiet sound, like he's just seeing if anyone else in the house is awake.  although i would love for him to wait until daylight :)
4. he curls in a ball when we hold him - i think that means "put me down", but i usually get a couple more "squeezes" in before i do
5. i LOVE to watch him when rhett comes home. he has an ENORMOUS smile and just starts laughing and talking to rhett. it seems like he's saying - "where ya been all day?

ok - i've been trying to upload a video forever, but it's not working. hopefully, i'll figure that out sometime soon!! :) it is really cute!!!

until i can get the video on blogger, just click here to see it

video of court giggling

fun with the fam

court had an exciting week seeing his aunt and uncle so much. wednesday, uncle jon & aunt missy came over for dinner. jon read court his bedtime story which court just loved! he loves reading now. well, i think he loves reading (being the teacher that i am). he's probably just trying to figure out how to get those pages into his mouth!

sunday, rhett didn't feel well, so we ended up staying home from church. pops called and said they were meeting jon & melissa for lunch, so court and i loaded up and met them at fudruckers so rhett could get some sleep. he LOVED fudruckers! i don't know if it was because of all the t.v.'s they had or all the action going on!

can you say "sleepy"??? :) just thought this was such a cute picture! :)

we are taking court on his first airplane ride this thursday. we're flying to the big city of groom to see nanny & grandad. court will also get to meet his great-grandparents on rhett's side for the first time. it's only an hour flight so it "shouldn't" be too bad, right?!?! :)

4 months

court is 4 months old! he weighs 13 pounds and is 23 1/2 inches long. i can hardly believe it. i was reading through some of the previous blogs and i can't believe how much he has changed already. i saw that at 2 months he was taking almost 2 hour naps during the day. well - that has changed lately. when court got his 1st cold, we got all out of sorts. but, we are working hard at getting back on track. we "attempted" solids this week, but i think we're going to hold off on that for another week or 2. i'd rather work on these naps and get that straightened out first. momma needs a nap every once in awhile.

my favorite things about 4 months:

• court has found his feet!! they fly high in the air now. pretty soon they will be in his mouth
• he is really chuckling now when he laughs - it is the most precious thing
• he is very interested in tucker & ruby - he follows them with his eyes
• rolling over
• sitting up with help
• loves to hold on to you - boy does he have a grip!
• loves to put anything and everything in his mouth. he just looks at tucker's big ears with his mouth wide open....yum!yum!
• swimming - loves the pool and loves taking a bath. he gives rhett and i a "bath" every time - it's either pee or bath water. :)
• he really recognizes us when he sees us now. his whole face just lights up!
• he still loves to talk: i sure wish i knew what he was saying
  

court, 

i am so lucky to be your mom. you brighten my day from morning til evening. i love how you smile all day long, i love when you nestle in my neck when you're tired, i love when you talk to me and giggle. i just love, love, love every little thing about you. dad better watch out because i am head over heels in love with another man in our house. you are so precious to me and i love you very much.

love,

momma

3rd month's a charm

wow! i can't believe how fast these months fl by! it seems like yesterday when i was still pregnant, and so excited to meet this little guy inside me. i remember thinking that i would "never" go into labor. then, in the middle of the night - BAM! those contractions hit me like a ton of bricks! whoever said that lamaze breathing works is CRAZY! we are having so much fun with this little guy! :) he is laughing up a storm and is changing more and more every day. he is over 12.2 pounds and is growing like a weed! we are officially in size 2 diapers today after the biggest diaper explosion i've ever seen! obviously the size 1 diapers just cannot handle all he has to "get out". 

i always knew that i would feel this amazing love for court that i couldn't explain once he got here. but, i never knew how much i would ache when i'm not around him. even when he is with the grandparents or aunt/uncle so we can have a date night, i want rhett to speed home just so i can snuggle with him. the other day, we were going to pick court up from mimi & pop's house and rhett was going literally 12 mph (i know that is hard for some of you to believe seeing as how much he really wishes he were a nascar driver). i was about to jump out of the car and walk because i thought it would get me to court faster. i told rhett that i don't know when i'll ever be ready to put him in the church nursery (not because i don't trust them, but just because i'll miss him too much). rhett said we don't have to do any of that until i'm ready! what a great hubby.

my favorite things about 3 months are:

1. he has started "flirting" with me while he is nursing. he talks and looks up at me and smiles until i look at him and give him a kiss. it takes longer for him to eat, but it is priceless!
2. he "sighs" alot and his favorite word is "ahhhhh". the sighing sounds like he has just had the longest day and it's a sigh of relief to vent his frustrations
3. he has found the TV! if it is on when he is in the room, his head turns and he can't focus on anything else: nursing, dad, mom, anything! rhett says it proves that he's a man!

my favorite things about 2 months!

1. 2 gorgeous blue eyes to stare into every day! (yes - they are still blue - keep your fingers crossed)
2. smiles and giggles ALL day long!
3. almost 2 hour naps during the day - still hoping for that sleeping thru the night thing to catch on!
4. 2 legs that can kick and bounce til he's all tuckered out
5. 2 hands that want to hold onto mom when we're "talking"
6. coos and laughs as he is learning about the world around him
7. 2 cheeks that i just want to squeeze all day

i could go on and on.... 

i am so in love with this little boy!