Well baby boy! You continue to grow and amaze us! You can finally do the tripod... You can sit on your own! I think you've been capable of doing it for a while but you're a lazy little stinker so you usually just try to lay back down or roll over once you're sitting up. The other day though, you sat up and just stared at Rocky for the longest time! Adorable!!

You are still such a wild little man! You love to wrestle and the rougher the better. You scream, holler, and laugh so loud when we scare you, tickle you, or just say "I'm gonna get you..." Sometimes, you "get us" and you bury your head in our necks and growl and wrestle back. We have so much fun with you!

Those two top teeth are still giving you trouble. The bottom two came in with little fuss but the new two are really rough. You are always chewing on your hands, drooling, and you want everything to go in your mouth! Those bad teeth!

It was pretty cute... Today your daddy was holding you and showing you yourself in the mirror and you kept reaching for your daddy in the mirror for him to hold you... Haha. You did not understand that he actually was holding you! You're so cute and funny!

Your Auntie Rebecca found out the other day that she is pregnant again!!! You're going to be a big cousin! I am very excited to be an aunt again because I just love Kendalyn and Kassidy so incredibly much! I bet she has another little girl. :)

I have had a couple friends lately that have had babies and unfortunately they are pretty sick. One had a stroke in the womb and the other has a brain bleed...I know this is a serious topic for your happy book but it just made me realize even more how thankful and blessed we are for you. My heart aches for those parents who are hurting right now with their innocent babies being so sick; it makes me realize how lucky we are to have a healthy little man like you. So much could go wrong and so much almost did go wrong - you swallowing the meconium, the cord being wrapped around your neck, your blood sugar being so low, etc. I was so naive and did not understand the severity and the seriousness of all of those things... I am so blessed and so thankful we have a happy and healthy little boy who loves us just like we love him! I pray for all of those families that have sick babies and I pray for your future little cousin to be healthy as well.

Your Ma has her scans on Tuesday... Thousands of prayers for good results. She means the world to our family so we need good news!

Love you my little stinker!

Go 4th!

Family! Fireworks! Fun! Your first 4th of July!!!

We did our normal July 4th traditions... On the 3rd our entire family goes to the Lake and shoots off our own fireworks. It gets pretty crazy with all of mama's wild and crazy cousins so I just like to sit back and watch... Your daddy likes to do sparkler bombs... Something you better not ever do! :) We helped Kendalyn and Kassidy shoot off some, but for the most part, we just enjoyed the company. I was so nervous the noises would bother you, but of course you were just perfect! You were in awe of the bright lights and colors so we kept you out past your bedtime. Your Ma was late getting there because she had to get blood due to her chemo... We stayed and hung out with her and poppy once they arrived.

The next day, the 4th, we had the whole family over for a BBQ and swimming. You were napping when everyone arrived so when you woke up, you were pretty excited to see a houseful of friends! :) The boys grilled hamburgers and hotdogs while everyone else swam, played basketball, or just stayed inside to beat the heat - it was 108!! We took you out to swim for a little bit but you ended up falling asleep floating in your raft....so you went inside and cuddled with Ma instead! We skipped the big firework display at the lake because it was way past your bedtime and mommy and daddy were exhausted! The neighbors made the neighborhood a war zone though and at one point you woke up really scared but after that you slept great! Thank goodness...because on the 3rd you didn't Want to sleep at all. I think it was all the excitement of your first fireworks.

I can not believe how much you have grown! Everyone always says that I did not get to have a baby for very long and that is definitely the truth! You are so strong and so independent already...if you could walk out of here I know you would. You are at the age where you are starting to throw temper tantrums... You know what you want and you let us know! It's not really a cry, but a full out yell. You have two teeth on the bottom and two more poking through on the top. You're only five months!!!!! You are very intrigued with Kendalyn and Kassidy...Kass gives you the most attention though. She is always talking to you, trying to pick out toys for you, tickling, etc. it's adorable! The whole family just loves you to death.... There will never be a time when there isn't someone there for you! You usually just get "passed around" because everyone wants a chance to hold and snuggle you! Your Aunt Rebecca calls you boogie, the girl's call you Buddy, and you are Ma's boy! So many nicknames! :)

I know I have said this before...but you, Kendalyn, and Kassidy are truly the joys of our family. It has been such a rough few years but looking at you three innocent children...it really makes the world seem right again. There are some nights when my mom's cancer and the loss of my Grandpa becomes overwhelming...but a simple smile from you makes my sadness disappear. Thank you Lathan! Thank you Lathan for helping make my family happy again! God knows you make me the happiest girl in the world! :)

So you are officially mobile! Lord help us all! :) Last night you got up on all fours and scooted! It was the cutest thing...EVER! You did a little rolling, a little more scooting, and voila! You were all the way across the blanket we had down for you. Your daddy missed it (which he was very upset about,) but your ma and poppy were there! They got to see you be your normal CRAZY self...you are so full of energy you usually end up panting because you played so hard! Calm your little butt down! :) My mom said she's never seen a baby as wild as you are! Haha. Too darn cute!

Lance has been working the night shift the last few nights so it's been all mama! You were kind of a stinker last night...I sure hope you sleep a little better tonight; after a full day at work, a good night's rest is ideal...you're the boss these days though! Sooo...we will see! Either way, being able to cuddle with you or kiss you up...even at 3 in the morning...it is completely fine with me! :)

You love the water! You've gone swimming a few times...you splash and drink as much as you can! You also love back and tummy time...you roll all over the place, try to eat the blanket, scream at the highest octave possible, and just babble away. Everyone that sees you comments about how happy of a baby you are!

You still are solely on breast milk and then rice cereal at dinner time; you will start getting more solids very soon! As much as you love your cereal...I know you will love baby food even more! Our little eater!! ;)

Five Months!

So your five month birthday was this past Friday... It truly seems like just yesterday we found out we were pregnant. I was terrified! Then we heard your heartbeat... Holy cow! There's a baby in there! It was a whirlwind and now you're here... Dive months old...and the BEST thing that's ever happened to me. I can not even explain the love I have for you! enough being sappy... Sorry little man :)

You have gone back to being the perfect baby... We realized that the rice cereal was upsetting your belly. We were giving it to right before bedtime but we moved it earlier - 6 or 630 - and you have been much happier! We put you to sleep about 830 or 9 and for SIX nights in a row now, you have slept all night long... In your own crib!!!! You usually end up on your belly but you sleep so perfectly! There's been a couple times where you've fussed for a few seconds but you usually stop right away and put yourself right back to sleep. Mama and daddy are REALLY happy about that because we were getting pretty exhausted. You usually wake up about 5:30 in the morning which is the perfect time for you to eat and for me to get ready for work. Your daddy is still taking you to daycare on his way to work... He actually had to have a little talk with her this morning. She took you out to the pool Friday...but kept you in the shade... But our pale little baby got sun burnt! Friday night we saw it and was LIVID! We put aloe vera on you all weekend so you're fine...but Lance still told her to not take you again. It's way too hot out for you to just sit out there...especially without sunscreen! She feels horrible and said she will never do that again... She is a really good daycare lady, I just do not think she thought that our very well. Boy was your Auntie and your Ma and Poppy furious when they saw you too! Ha! Poor Nancy almost got their wraths as well! :)

We have taken you out in our pool a couple times...I still can not really tell what you think about the water. You splash around and kick your feet but you do not really smile too much so it is hard telling. You do try to drink the water though... You splash and then suck your hands as fast as you can. You are so fast when you do it and also very spastic! Ha! :) You are all covered from the sun though; we have you in a 12 month swim shirt because of your chunky little belly, trunks, and a big floppy hat as well! Then you float in a raft with a cover! That bad sun is not going to get you!

Mama was out shopping the other day and your daddy called to tell me that you just got a bath. He said that you were playing in your exersaucer and he saw that you were stomping your feet around - after looking a little closer, he realized what you were stomping around in! You had a diaper blow out and it had ran down your leg and you were having fun stepping in it! He said it was EVERYWHERE! You are so hard to change these days too because you kick, roll, buck up, twist, turn, etc. he said you were getting it all over the place, all over you, and all over him! He finally gave up and just put you in the bath tub! Haha. You are such a power pooper...I can not even count how many times a week we have to SHOUT your clothing because you have gone through your diaper and stained your outfit. Our little pooper!

We took you to see the Ear Nose and Throat doctor this past week... Your pediatrician was worried about your snoring so they referred us. Dr. Barnes (ENT) said that he thinks it is just because you have smaller nostrils but gave us a nose spray to use at night's. We will follow up in eight weeks to see if it's gotten any better. I think you're just fine, but Dr Parr just wanted to make sure.

You roll all over the place! You have two teeth and the way you chew on those hands and drool, I think more are on their way! You are so strong and can bear a lot of weight...Ma says she has never seen a baby as strong as you! When you're on your belly, you pull yourself up on your knees - I bet you're crawling soon! You are so intrigued with the dogs! You just laugh, smile, scream, and holler at them all the time. You laugh out loud all the time...you get to cracking up and your laugh is contagious... We start cracking up too!!! You love to watch baseball...oh great! Another sports nut! My personal favorite milestone...YOU SAY MAMA!!!!! I'm not sure if you really know what you're saying, but when you're sad, you saw Mamamamama. Your daddy finally admitted to me he hears you say it! That just makes me smile so big! Mama! :) Ma says you have a love affair with your daddy and I... You just stare at us and smile all the time! You're our world and I guess we are yours too! :)

Your Ma has been feeling better! In fact, she has spent a lot of time being able to hold and cuddle you. We go to Ma and Poppy's house a lot! Mama is very close with them so I usually do not go too many days without seeing them! She has her chemo again tomorrow... We just continue to pray that this is working! In my heart, I feel so positive about this treatment. I honestly feel that we will have her around for a while! Wahoooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Fathers Day!!

Today was your daddy's first fathers day! You had a very special book made from Shutterfly full of pictures of you and him and cute little quotes and poems about how much you love him! Also... You got him a HUGE grill! Half charcoal, half gas, with a smoker on the side. Great job little man! He was very very surprised... Poppy had to go pick it up for me because it was too big for mama's Escape!

Today we took you swimming for the first time! At first you did not know what to think of the great big "bathtub" but after a few minutes you were splashing and kicking away! I think you will be quite the waterbug! :) We had bought you swim shorts and a water shirt but you're quite the big old' boy bc the 6 month swim shirt was a complete belly shirt. Haha. Such a long little chunk! :)

Yesterday was Ma's 50th birthday! We had a cook out at Rebecca and Ezra's house with our whole family. It was a beautiful beautiful day! We had a surprise card shower... We told all her extended family and friends to send her a birthday card to Rebecca's house and then we gave them all to her at once. 169 CARDS! She was so surprised... She cried, I cried, we all cried! We have a lot to be thankful for baby boy... A few months a go I honestly feared I wouldn't get to spend her birthday with her. Her cancer was so aggressive... But I believe her chemo is helping her! She has more strength and her blood levels are staying up. Your Ma is doing a lot better! We are so blessed to spend that special milestone together!

You, my young one, have been quite the fuss bucket lately! We are trying to transition you to your crib in your own bedroom and it isn't easy. I am sad to move you out of our room and I do not think you want to be in your room either. You were hysterical last night when you woke up in your crib! Soooo... You ended up in our bed! Whoops! :) In our defense, you were screaming so loud and tugging at your ears... We thought you were sick and we just wanted to comfort you! We took you to the doctor today (Happy Fathers Day, huh?:) ) And the doctor said there's nothing wrong with you at all. It could be your teeth...but the doctor thinks its more than likely you're just going through a phase and also dealing with separation anxiety by being in your own room. I pray you let us get some sleep tonight... It's been two weeks of this nonsense!

You were seventeen pounds today! Little chunk! :)

Love Love Love You!!

Oh baby boy! We have SO much fun with you... We had no idea how incredible it would be becoming your parents. You have us laughing and just cracking up the better part of the day with all your goofy grins, faces, noises, etc. You are absolutely hilarious!!!

You had your four month appointment the Friday before Memorial Day... You have gotten soooo big! You were over 15 pounds (50th percentile) and you were in the 80th percentile for height! The doctor was so impressed with you... You were the perfect baby and you have met and passed all your milestones for this age. You have two teeth already which she thought was super early; she said she thinks you'll do everything early! I think so too... Definitely! You got your four month shots... Baby boy, I think my heart completely broke when they did them. You bawled and were devastated! Your daddy was up by your head for comfort but I just had to look away. Just remember... It's for your safety and health in the long run. Due to Ma going through chemo, she couldn't be around you for eleven whole days! She was so upset... She had me show you pictures of her so you wouldn't forget her in those eleven days! We finally got to go over there yesterday and she was amazed at how big you have gotten in such a short amount of time!

You love your exersaucer... You sit and play with the toys for so long! But you really love your jumper... Boy, are you WILD! You just jump and jump and jump! You scream and laugh...you have so much fun in that thing! You were sitting in it watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse cracking up the other night. Your giggle makes us laugh...I don't think you could be any darn cuter!

You had cereal for the first time last night!! We made it really milky but you did great with it! You really took to the spoon without a problem! We gave it to you before bed and then again this morning. Last night was the first night we tried having you sleep on your back rather than in your bouncer...we also didn't swaddle you. You did fantastic! You're growing up so fast baby boy!

Ma is still going through chemo and it is a daily struggle for her. She's such a fighter though! I know it is so hard on her to miss so many important things for you but just know that she loves you to pieces and when this chemo kicks this cancer's butt... She won't miss a thing! :)

Well that's just a quick recap of the last few weeks with you! Love you Lathan!!!

Happy Mothers Day!!!

Thanks to you, little man, mama got to celebrate this year!!!! Having you has been the best thing that has ever happened to me... You really are a blessing!!! I always knew i wanted to be a mama... But you have truly made my life complete. I thank God daily for you and everything you make me want to be for you. I want to give you the world! For Mothers Day, "You" bought me a pair of gorgeous diamond earrings and a rose bush.... Thank you baby boy!

You had your baby blessing at church today...we bought you the cutest little outfit and mama bought a brand new dress. We went down in front of the church and low and behold, you decided to fill up your diaper...very loudly! As if that wasn't enough...you did it again and it came out onto my brand new dress! It was hilarious. People came up to me afterwards and told me how they had to do everything they could to not laugh out loud. Oh Lathan... Definitely a funny little story! You got a cradle cross... The same one mama got 27 years a go. It was certainly a special morning.

After church, we came over to Ma and Poppy's house for Billy Vanilly cupcakes and presents. Ma was in the hospital all last week but got out yesterday... She got up and got dressed for church but just didn't feel good so although it killed her to miss it, I told her to stay home and rest instead. She has had a rough few months but she loves you so very much Lathan. She will hold you and love up on you despite how tired or how much she hurts. She's a wonderful person! She really really is. I hope you look back at me years from now and think as highly of me as I do of your Ma. She's taught me everything I know on being a mama... I'm trying my best! :)

You are SO much fun! I know I always say that...but holy cow, we love you do much. You just wake up laughing and smiling. You are really big into raspberries right now and blows spit all over the place! It's hysterical! You love to carry on conversations too...we talk and you just chatter and talk for hours! It is so precious! :)

We took you to the zoo last weekend...you really only cared about the monkeys. You got pretty excited when you saw them but none of the other animals were really that active so you weren't very interested!

You have found your thumb...we have ourselves a thumb sucker! You look so cute doing it though!

You are wearing 3-6 months clothes and size 2 diapers... You have your four month appointment in a few weeks so I'm really excited to see how big you have gotten!

Thank you for being perfect! :)