A Thankful Heart

I don't even know where to begin! Jake's first Christmas was wonderful. We spent so much time with both sides of our family, and Jake was loved on endlessly by all! Christmas is one of my favorite times of year and now...with Jake...its even better! Of course, he didn't really understand what was going on, but he loved seeing everyone and showing off! He was also a GREAT baby! I really thought he'd come unglued by the end of the day Christmas Eve! He'd been up since 8 am and had been held non-stop all day long! By 7:30 that night, I figured he'd be a cranky lil dude, but he was all smiles! I could tell he was super tired, but not cranky at all!

Our family COMPLETELY spoiled him this year. SO MANY GIFTS!! We're so thankful and grateful to have such wonderful family. I'm putting this post up on Christmas night, and we still have the Veazey Family Christmas at our house tomorrow. So, I'm posting the pics I have so far. More to come....

Greg's sister's family-The Pitts. (L-R) Morgan, Gart, Madison and Angie.

Daddy and Jake- I love this picture!

Jake with Pappaw Ferguson - Greg's grandpa
My Uncle Mike and sister-in-law, Tonya, on Christmas Eve at my mom and dad's house.
This is the rocking horse my parents gave Jake for Christmas. It was mine when I was a little girl and is currently "under construction." My parents are fixin' er up! I can not wait to Jake on this horse!!!
Okay, so he was technically on the horse, but not really "rocking."
Jake and I unwrapping his ga-zillion gifts at my parents house. He is wearing the hat my brother's family got him and is actually more into the tissue paper than anything else! Go figure!
Okay, this is Jake opening his Jack-n-the-box from my grandmother. I just know he is going to love this!

This is actually the day before Christmas Eve. Jake is wearing a little polyester number of Greg's when he was a little guy. He looked so cute in it!

I just thought this was funny! No- its not a picture of the Octo-mom's mantle...its the mantle at my mom's house. We have a stocking for everyone and their dog....literally!

Jake unwrapping his present from his cousin, Ashton. Ashton ran out of tape and decided to just use blue painter's tape. Jake thought it tasted nice!

Jake and Sarah. Sarah is my cousin on my mom's side. She's going to be a great babysitter!

My niece, Ashton, opening presents.

My grandmother with her new walker/buggy! She's stylin'!

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas! Our family is certainly thankful for all we have and the best gift of all....Jesus Christ!

The festivities begin!

This has been a really long week for Jake and I. We went to Marion last weekend for my friend Anna's wedding. (Had a great time!) Then, back to Cabot to see Daddy who had been hunting all weekend. On Wednesday, Greg left for St. Louis for a few days. Jake and I loaded BACK up for Marion. My nephew, Hunter, had a lead in the church children's Christmas play, so I had to see it! Hunter did GREAT! The next day, we went to visit Sarah and Drew and drove back to Cabot that afternoon.

Two days later, Greg, Jake and I headed BACK to the delta for the Spence Family Christmas. We rotate the host location every year, and this year was my brother's turn. We had a great time catching up with my dad's family, who we don't see enough! Jake was such a trooper. There are a lot of little ones on this side of the family, which equals LOTS OF NOISE! Two words....drum set. Yes, my nephew has one, so we got to hear a constant melody of drums all night long. Nice. And I use the word "melody" lightly.

My nephew, Hunter, with two of his cousins- Johnathan and Brody.

Miss Kate with her grandpa - my Uncle Johnny.

Jake and Daddy

Jake in his Christmas outfit from Nan. Greg thinks it makes him look like a girl, but we think it makes him look like a little Christmas Angel!

So, simply put, we have been burning I-40 up! We're going back to Marion on Christmas Eve. I sound as if I'm complaining, but I love getting to see my family. Jake loves his Nan and Pappaw, so its worth the miles and miles and miles! :)

We'll post more after Christmas! I hope everyone has a great Christmas this year!!!

More peas, please!

This week, we started trying to feed Jake with a spoon. We're not doing it everyday yet, but just letting him practice. We tried rice cereal first, but he cried everytime it hit his mouth. I guess he's not going to be a cereal fan...at least not for now! So, we tried a little peas tonight. He made the funniest face...as if we'd just given him some terrible medicine! But, after a little while, he got used to it and finished his plate! :)
Here's a short clip. Enjoy!!

Jake and Santa

Jake got to sit on Santa's lap for the first time tonight! Greg and I took him to a restaurant in North Little Rock that was hosting Santa for kids. There were so many cute babies there!!

I'm pretty sure Jake was telling Santa that he wanted that hat OFF for Christmas! :)

The Big D

Greg and I took a little weekend get-a-way last weekend to Dallas. Greg had to be there for work, so I went along to do a little shopping and get some much needed rest! I missed Jake so much while we were there, but it was a good weekend for us both. Jake stayed with Greg's parents and had a great time!

While we were in Dallas, we stayed at The Gaylord Hotel. What a place! They had so much family stuff going on....Christmas trees everywhere, breakfast with Santa, a life-size gingerbread house, lunch with The Grinch, displays EVERYWHERE to take family photos...I could go on and on. They also had The Grinch Ice Exhibit. It was created by the chinese and brought here. Its an entire "village" made of ice to replicate the Grinch movie. It was amazing, but COLD. We had to wear parkas into the exhibit!

The Christmas Tree at The Gaylor Hotel...well, at least one of them!

The Ice Exhibit. Literally, all ice! Amazing!

This is ALL ICE!!

Its going to be a whirlwind December for us...like most of you! Traveling, Christmas parties, shopping, etc. Then, in January, I go back to work. Boy, that will be a change! I haven't done 8-5 since July!!! But, I'm looking forward to returning and getting back to a daily routine. Let's hope Jake adjusts easily!

Just a cute pic of Jake!

Thanksgiving and Shots...but not at the same time!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving this year. We certainly did. The holidays are always full of family and DRIVING! We hit up Greg's family in Carlisle Thanksgiving day and headed to Marion that weekend for some time with my fam. Jake was so good the entire time...even with his cold. He's been a little sick this past week, and its really thrown his schedule for a loop. Oh well! He's getting better every day, but now I have it. The cold actually started with Daddy, then Jake and now Mom. "Welcome to parenthood," I'm told.

This picture was taken while Angie, Greg's sister, was talking to Jake. You can tell he's very interested in what she's saying!

The Veazey women

Jake and his Veazey cousins, Morgan, Caden and Madison. All three show Jake so much attention and love! He's a very, lucky little guy!

Jake with his Aunt Peggy. They were doing a little catching up!

Dadoo, Greg's dad, feeding Jake.

Uncle Kevin, my brother, taking a little nap with Jake.

After naptime, it was playtime!

Granny, my grandmother, and Jake

Jake turned four months old on the 28th. He's getting so big and is such a good, little guy. He has a very relaxed personality and loves to smile and talk to anyone! He will just stare at people and watch them talk....so sweet. We had our four month check up today...so...SHOTS! Ugh. At the two month check up, he didn't fuss much, but today was a whole different story! I have NEVER heard him scream like that! He screamed for about 2 minutes and then he was fine. While two minutes doesn't seem long, it seemed like an eternity to these new parents. I HATE HATE HATE shots!!!

Jake weighed 16 pounds, 12 oz. (90th percentile)

He is 25 1/4 inches long. (75th percentile)

His head is 16 3/4 inches. (25th percentile)

So, I knew today would be rough...with shots and all. But, I had no idea how rough! Jake really gave me a run for my money this morning! First, he awoke at 4 a.m. laughing and cutting up. He ended up getting upset when no one wanted to join him for his little play time at four am. So, I got up and went in to get him back to bed. I discovered he had busted out of his swaddle and had quite the look of pride on his face! So, I rocked him for a little while and that was getting nowhere fast! So, I decided, in a moment of weakness, to feed him. Finally, he was back to sleep. He slept until 8:15. Greg got him out of bed, only to find he had leaked out of his diaper and he, the bed and his jammies were soaked. So, I ran him a bath...I couldn't take him to his 9:30 doctor appointment smelling like tee-tee! Well, at this point, we need to leave the house in 30 minutes! I had a wet head and Greg was already dressed in his suit. So, I get Jake undressed and quickly set him down in his bouncey while I got the bath water ready. In a matter of SECONDS, he has pee'd all over the bathroom and pooped himself! So, Dad cleans that up while I put him in the bathtub. I'm halfway done bathing him when I noticed MORE POOP floating in the tub! GROSS!!! So, I grab him up and start screaming for Greg! I start screaming, so Jake starts screaming. I'm in my robe, a towel around my hair, holding a naked, screaming baby above a poopy bathtub! Ugh. Now--we have 15 minutes before we need to leave.

So, we take Jake to the kitchen to finish the bath in the sink. Greg gets him dressed, while I rush to finish getting ready. WE MADE IT TO THE DOCTOR ON TIME! Of course, she was 40 minutes late, but that's ok! We love her anyway!

ughhhh.......now he's down for a nap and I'm exhausted! :)

Thankful Pre-Thursday

So, I've been trying to do a Thankful Thursday section on my blog. In light of this Thursday being Thanksgiving, I doubt I'll have time to write and post. So, here's my pre-Thursday thankfulness...

I've already mentioned I'm thankful for Jake and my family, so today I'll share how thankful I am for my country! Most of us take for granted our incredible freedom and spend time complaining about small inconviences. But, in reality, we have very little to complain about. We have the freedom to worship our God freely. We have clean water to drink. We have the right to choose our leaders and when one is chosen we don't agree with, we get to vote someone new in four years later. Women have the right to do, say and be anything they please. Our poor have access to free healthcare. I could go on and on.....

In addition to being thankful for my country, I'm also very thankful for our soilders who fight so fearlessly for it. Regardless of your opinion on the war, we should all be thankful there are men and women (most of a very young age) that are willing to part from their families and protect our country and those weaker than themselves.

I hope everyone enjoys this Thanksgiving and remembers to tell those they appreciate the most how thankful they are for them!

Just a few pics of the little guy....

Always on his belly now! He loves to practice his "half roll!"
This is just hillarious to me! Caught him in the middle of trying to flip back over!

Awww....sweet smile!

Didn't have anything to really blog about, but felt like posting a few pictures of my little angel!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Where did the year go?

I just can't believe we're in full holiday season mode for 2009! It seems like it was just Christmas 2008. Is anyone else this blown away by how fast the years go by? Older folks have always told me that time flies by even quicker when you get older, and especially fast when you have children. I always thought...that's stupid, a year is a year. But seriously, I see what they mean!



I was thinking back to my college days and how it seemed I was in Jonesboro forever. I never felt like time was flying past me. But now, looking back- it seems like I was just there and its been years!



It also seems like I was just finding out I was pregnant. We told our families around this time last year that we were expecting, and I turn around twice and Jake is four months old! Wow.

I guess I'll get off my old, wooden rocking chair now! :)



I have 46 days until I go back to work, so I'm going to soak up every minute at home with Jake. He's getting to be so much fun! Last night, Greg and I were laying in the floor with him, and he was cracking us up! He has mastered the art of rolling from back to tummy, but he can't get back over. So, he'll laugh and grin for a little bit--- very proud of himself for getting there, but will break out into tears when he discovers he can't roll back! What was even funnier...as soon as we'd flip him back, he'd do it again! Boys will be boys!



Jake trying to flip back! Pardon the footage- its not easy crawling on the floor while shooting video with an iPhone!



Have a great weekend! We're going to the game, so I'll post pics then!

'Tis the Season!

Well, some would say I'm nuts for putting up the Christmas decor so early, but I start earlier every year! I love Christmas and LOVE having the tree up! Its just nice to look at everyday and gets you in the mood for the holidays! So, last weekend, my parents came in town and helped get everything up at our house. For those of you who know my mother, this comes as no suprise. For those of you don't know her, she is FANTASTIC at holiday decorating, making crafts, sewing, fixing things...or any other project you throw her way! So, as you look at the pics below, remember...I had her help. I did NOT do this alone! :)

Everything isn't quite done yet, but you get the idea. I still need to hang Greg's stocking and put some candles on the candle sticks. Greg thinks the lack of his stocking is my way of telling him something! ha!

While the folks were in town, we also drove down to Hot Springs so they could see our condo. The lake was beautiful and the weather was perfect. We got to sit out on the deck for a while and enjoy the scenery...while pappaw let Jake sleep on his shoulder!

Our view...the lake was so quite this weekend! I could spend hours sitting right here!

Greg spent the weekend in the deer woods, but no kill yet! So, I guess that's his excuse to get to go back!

In Jake news....he weighs 16 pounds now and is doing great. He's "talking" all the time now and really enjoys the sound of his own voice. His favorite toys consist of anything he can get in his mouth! He loves, loves, loves to lay on his blanket in the floor and just roll around. He's sleeping pretty good now and wakes up around 4 or 5 am most nights, but will suprise us from time to time and sleep from 8 pm to 7 am. WE LIKE THOSE NIGHTS! He did it twice last weekend!

I missed Thankful Thursday last week, so I'll go ahead and say....I'm thankful for my home! For those of you who read Kelly's Korner, you know she recently spent sometime overseas and posted some pics of kids living in terrible conditions. I'm so thankful that I have a warm, clean home to bring Jake home to and raise him. I'm so thankful we have a place that we love and are grateful that the Lord has provided for us!

Have a great week!

Go Hogs!

Greg and I got to venture up to NWA for the Razorback game this weekend...and what a game it was! The Hogs played great and took the Gamecocks down! Nana and Dadoo (Greg's parents) kept Jake overnight and did a fabulous job! Jake stayed on his routine and slept great...we are proud parents!

We had a great time with our friends in Fayetteville and certainly wish we could get up there more often. My high school friend, Rob, invited us to his tailgate, which by all measures was awesome! He works for Slim Chickens and they had rented a house right next to the stadium for the day. We had breakfast there and lunch after the game. Thanks for the invite, Rob! We had a blast.

At the game...pre-sunburn! ha!

So many toys, so little time!

Today I let Jake try out his baby Einstein seat for the first time. He LOVED it! He can't really sit up straight in it yet, but he can lean over and grab the toys. This thing has toys all the way around, so, naturally, I spun him around until he played with all of them! His eyes were so big! He would play with one thing and then his eyes would catch another toy and he'd get distracted. It was super cute. Here are a few pics of my little man playing!

I also took him outside for a while so I could work on the landscaping. It was a beautiful day! I got most of the work done, but in no sort of timely manner... let's see...we stopped to play, stopped to eat, stopped to nap, stopped to clean off a dropped rattle....definitely not easy getting work done while watching a three month old!

Jake's First Halloween

Well, I have to say, Jake's first Halloween was a complete success! We took our little tiger to the harvest festival at church and then trick or treating in our neighborhood. He was a complete angel the entire time!

We invited Greg's sister, Tammy, her husband and their little boy, Caden, to join us. We also met our cousin, April, and her little boy, Jack. We all had a great time at the festival at church playing games and eating. Then, we came back to our neighborhood for a little trick or treating and visiting with the neighbors. Caden had a great time picking which houses he thought worthy of a visit from Woody (his costume!). Jake was just along for the ride!

I can't wait until next year when Jake's getting around on his own and can enjoy it all a little more!

(Ignore the order of the pictures...like so many other bloggers, I can't figure out how to put pics in the order I want them...at least now without spending hours trying!)

Family pic at church

Jake with his cousin, Woody - I mean, Caden.



Caden and Jake

Caden testing his skills at the church festival

A little play time with Aunt Tammy and Caden when we got home.

Roxy in her jester costume...she's not a fan of it at all!

The family out trick or treating!

Down for the count at the festival. He woke back up for trick or treating though!

Tammy and Caden

Our little tiger just taking it easy!

Taking it all in!

What would Halloween be without a little candy! Nan sent him these suckers!