Silly Seven Months

wow o wow. time is flying. i know i say this every month, but its true, i CAN NOT believe my little boy is 7 months old now!! what the heck?!!! he is getting closer & closer to that one year mark, and i'm holding my breath b/c i want him to stay my little baby forever. i know some people don't enjoy the baby stage, when they aren't crawling yet & they are so dependable on you. but i must confess, i absolutely LOVE it. i love carrying him around, holding him and meeting his every little need 24/7. now don't get me wrong. i'm exhausted. completely. but i wouldn't trade it for 200 nights of sound sleep. i just can't get enough of him. he's really so much fun. and this month has been amazing. he has learned SO much. and he's becoming more independent & more mobile. (watch out world!!) he's also gotten sick for the first time. and its terrible. i hate watching him suffer & not being able to do much to help him. he's had a terrible cold & cough. poor sweet baby. and poor mommy. no sleep for jack = no sleep for me. but even so, ben & i have had so much fun this month & we just have so much love for this little man.

Little Boy,

i love you. you are such a treat to have around. i seriously can't get enough Jack in my life. you have been learning so much this month. you can do a bunch of new things & you are enjoying figuring everything out.

here are some new things you can do:

* SIT UP!! you've been working on it for awhile but you finally got it down. you look so cute doing it. you love to play with toys on the floor.

* sit up, in the sink & take a bath. you really love this lately. we give you a cup and let you play with the water as it comes out of the faucet. you would sit there for an hour if we would let you. its so much fun

* pick up food off your tray & eat it. i just discovered you could do this today. its very cute. you study the food so intently & then you try so hard to pick it up & put it in your mouth. you're getting very good at it.

* roll all over the house. if you see a toy you want, you just roll & scoot to get it. its hilarious. you usually just end up doing circles & getting frustrated!

* you love to look in the mirror & play

* you can just about hold your bottle by yourself

* you constantly try to grab our food & you try to put our cups to your mouth to drink.

some not so fun things this month:

* you got sick for the first time, you've had a bad cold for the past week & now you have a nasty cough. there's not much mommy can do to help you & i hate that!!

* you missed out on your aunt lindsay's wedding day b/c you were running a very high fever of 103.2, your mamie & granddad kept you for us. at least you got to be at her rehearsal dinner.

what a wonderful month we've had with you!! it's been such a blessing to watch you grow & learn. we love that you are now starting to reach for things, including us. it's so sweet. you are so observant. you notice the little things like a towel on mommy's head, when i wear sunglasses or when daddy wears a hat. you're just so smart!! you've become so much more vocal. you love to watch fans and look at lights. you are still very much in love with lola & your baby faith videos. we love to watch your little face light up when you see them. you love to grab our faces and try to "eat" our chins! you grab and touch everything you can get your hands on! you have the cutest head of hair, ever! everyone wants to touch, it stands straight up & we love it! you are quite the little show off too! you love to make noises and be silly with your aunts & uncles. they just love you SOOO much. we can't wait for this summer so we can travel & swim with you. we just love including you in everything we do now! you gave me my first mother's day & we are so excited about daddy's first father's day coming up! you are our greatest blessing. we love you and pray for you daily. what an honor it is to be your parents!! WE LOVE YOU, SWEET BOY!! happy 7 months!!!

Jack's Room

i LOVE reading Kelly's Korner. its the cutest blog. her little Harper is a doll. she has been doing a tour of homes for the past couple of weeks. i've been wanting to jump in & participate but i've been lazy & busy with Jack. but this week, since the theme is children's rooms & nurseries i decided it would be so fun to show off Jack's room. when i was pregnant, i really had a lot of fun planning out his nursery. i wanted something different from the usual planes, trucks, farm animals or noah's ark themes. (not that there are anything wrong with those!! they are cute, i just wanted to branch out!) so here is my labor of love for Jack:

this is the view from the door. i went with a carmel brown paint color for the walls & i'm really happy with it.

another view. his room is kinda small so we had to put everything close together.

i LOVE his crib. i knew i wanted to go with black furniture up against the brown walls. so i did A LOT of research to look for a good quality crib that wasn't going to break our bank. i ended up finding this at Babies R Us.

my brother, ricky, & my sister, katie painted his letter canvases. they turned out awesome. they got the colors from the bedding and just created some patterns. i got the supplies at walmart for about $25!! i love it. ricky created the pattern & katie created the letters. they did sooo good. i love them. and i love that Jack's aunt/uncle helped in the design of his room.

i got his bedding from target.com. when i first started looking for boy bedding, i just couldn't find anything that i liked. so i started playing around online. i found stuff that i liked but it was super pricey. once i checked target's website, i clicked on this and fell in love. the colors are just what i was looking for. and i got a great deal on it!

my mom made the curtains. we got the blue material from target but once we hung it up, it was way too short. so we went to walmart & found chocolate brown material that matched perfectly!! we also got a cute detailed ribbon to bring it all together. it works great with this room! thanks mom for all your hard work! Jack really appreciates it!

the ribbon that goes across the curtain.

the changing table/dresser. i got this from walmart.com. i originally wanted the matching dresser that goes with his crib, but it was WAY too expensive. so i found this online and i think it matches perfectly. plus i got free shipping using walmart's site to store shipping.

a sweet lady at our church painted this for Jack. i think it's so cute. its hanging on his dresser drawer right now b/c i'm not sure where else to put it. remember, his room is small!

this is hanging on the wall next to his door. i saw it at lifeway while i was pregnant & i instantly wanted it. so, my sister bought it for me!! the colors match his room perfectly. i eventually want to find a black shelf to go underneath this. this wall is pretty bare.

this is hanging on the door of his room. my brother painted it. i got the supplies at walmart for about $5!!

his closet. its just a little full. and he has tons more in the dresser. i just love picking out stuff for him to wear every day!!

my hubby had this futon before we were married. we had to keep it in Jack's room b/c there is no other room in our house for it. but it ended up working out great. i actually got the inspiration for the colors of his room from this futon. i wanted it to somehow match. plus, it takes up wall space. my mom made the pillow. i fully intend to buy more throw pillows for it.

all the little animals that sit on top of the futon. all of these were given to him by friends & family. Lola, our dog, loves to try & jump up and get them. i'm sure Jack will love to play with them one day too!

my best friend's mom painted this. i had no idea she was doing it. one day she called & asked for the colors of his nursery & a bible verse for Jack. at my baby shower, she showed up with it. i really really love it. it's so special to me. thanks missie!!

thanks for visiting my room!!! love, Jack!!

Family Wordle

so i decided to go back to the website and make a family wordle. it gives you the option of typing in your blog address & it will create it for you or you can type in a bunch of words yourself. it only put the words in the wordle that you type. the bigger you want the word to be the more times you type it in. for example, i typed in "williams" 4 times. i wanted that to be the biggest word. this is just a rough draft. i think i may see if there is a way i could make a real one, print it out & stretch it over a canvas. it would be a neat piece of art to decorate with. i'm thinking a bathroom or my hallway. or my kitchen. i have a few places in my house that need some help!!! i just thought it was a fun idea. everyone else may think its crazy!!! go try it out yourself, have fun!!

WORDLE

this is a wordle. it takes random words and words you use most from your blog and creates this image. you can choose fonts, colors and layouts. i just thought it was pretty neat. it kinda gives you an idea of the kind of words you flavor your speech with the most. kinda funny. if you want to make one yourself, just click on the word, wordle at the beginning of my entry! its fun!

Jon, Kate & the poor 8

normally, i would never give much thought to or much less dedicate a post to celebrity gossip. mostly, its ridiculous and overrated!! i mean, come on people, i do not care about who Miley Cyrus is dating!! but the story of Jon & Kate Gosselin is just so sad & it honestly really bothers me. i hate seeing a christian (or supposedly) couple's marriage fall apart. and the fact that it is happening on national television is just disturbing.

first, it really makes me mad that a family TV channel, TLC, is loving and making gobs of money on the marital troubles of one couple. so ridiculous. i wish they would be grateful for the time they've had with this family but cut their losses and allow this family to heal. but of course we all know, its all about the almighty dollar. dumb. second, just b/c you say you are doing something for your kids, doesn't mean you really are or that its best for your marriage. the Bible teaches us that a man shall leave his father & mother and cling to his wife. that couple becomes one & NOTHING, except Jesus, is to come between them. nothing takes priority over that marriage relationship. nothing. when kids come along, it definitely shakes things up and it becomes harder to have that one on one time b/c you are so busy caring for them, but you never put the relationship with your child before your relationship with your spouse. (now if anyone is reading this who isn't a christian, please don't think i don't love my son & value my time and relationship with him. b/c i promise, i do. but in order for me to raise my son in the most healthy environment possible, he has to know that i love his daddy, first. Jack must know that mine & ben's relationship is strong and Christ centered in order for him to have the best possible upbringing. its biblical & i've seen it work. praise the Lord for my godly parents who love each other & put each other before us) i know Jon & Kate say that their kids aren't suffering, but they will, just give it time. divorce tears families apart and often leaves the kids with a tainted view of one parent and they feel forced to choose between the two. so sad. third, the bible is VERY clear about our roles as hubby & wifey. husbands, love your wives as Christ loves the church & wives submit yourselves unto your husband as unto the Lord. its just black & white. there is so much freedom to be found in following the Lord's guidance in what He intended for marriage. now, i know there are 2 sides to every story & the media only lets us see what they want us to. but what we see, on tv and in magazines is that these roles have been reversed. media tries to portray Jon as this submissive meek hubby who sits at home & never gets time to himself and that Kate is this overbearing control freak who constantly bosses her husband around as she tries to be the leader of the family. i don't know how much of that is how they really live, but its still sad. i don't want to be judgemental, hatefeul, critical or a holy roller. but it just seems that somewhere in the past year, as money & fame & things & bigger houses & nicer cars & freebies have been thrown at them, that they have lost sight and priority over their marriage. i remember watching 2 seasons ago & even though they did fight some on camera, they seemed happy with each other and truly trying to love each other amidst the craziness of raising 8 kids! i know what its like to grow up in a large home. i have 5 younger siblings. and in the past year, my parents have begun adopting 2 more!! but i always knew that my parents are in love. i never questioned that. and it's been such a blessing.

i only have 1 child. and its hard enough to find quality time with my hubby. so i can't imagine the difficulties in raising 8 kids and trying to keep the romance alive. but we are given the ability to make choices. marriage is work, sometimes hard work. every day we must choose to love our spouse and be forgiving of their faults. anger, malice, bitterness & ugly words have no place in a marriage. they only tear down not build up. i just wish i could tell Jon & Kate a few things, in a loving way, of course! 1. give up the show. 2. get normal jobs, you can do that. you don't have to have the show to make a living. 3. get some counseling. 4. forgive each other. 5. never speak badly of each other in public, much less a magazine or on tv. 6. things and a comfy lifestyle are never more important that your marriage 7. if you love your kids, then love show them that by loving each other 8. show each other love & respect 9. you belong at home with your family. not out at bars at 2 a.m. or out on the road signing books and giving lectures 20 days a month. 10. where is the faith that you talked about and clinged to in earlier seasons?

as i was watching the season premiere last night i was just so sad. sad for jon. sad for kate. and sad for those 8 kids, who are living in a fishbowl and watching their parents drift apart and consider divorce. i really hope & pray that they will be drawn back to the Lord, and each other. one of my friends on facebook had a status about Jon & Kate and i thought it was completely appropriate.

"What does it profit a couple to gain an audience but lose their family?!"

so true. if you are a christian, please pray for them. i can only imagine how much they are hurting. i know i'm not above any of this, it can happen to anyone. and i don't want to be a know it all about their situation. i just hope they get some help & save their marriage. and as much as i used to love watching their show, i hope it goes off the air. i think it could maybe do them all some good.

Going to the Chapel

one of my best friends is getting married on saturday. and i am SO excited for her. she is going to marry the boy of her dreams & he is truly perfect for her. i know they will will have a godly marriage, & oh so much fun!!! what makes it even better is, she's my little sister. Lindsay is one of my 2 little sisters. katie, the baby sister, is getting married June 20. talk about a crazy time for the weaver family. but we are all so excited for Lindsay & Ryan, Katie & Josh. Ben & I are so excited to get 2 new brother-in-laws!! We can't wait to go on trips with them, spend holidays with them, hang out in each other's homes & raise our kids together!! We are truly blessed and we love them so much!!! Lindsay, i love you & i'm so proud of you!! I can't believe my little Linny Loo is about to be a MRS.!!!

Congrats to Ryan & Lindsay Stevenson!!! (well, as of saturday!!!)
i'll post pics of the wedding fun next week! and i can't wait to do a post about Josh & Katie!!!

Baby Faith

ever heard of Baby Faith? well, its amazing! someone gave me one of the Baby Faith dvds at my baby shower & i forgot all about it. one day i was cleaning out Jack's closet and i stumbled upon it. he was probably around 5 months old. i had tried Baby Einstein before & Jack was a little interested in it, but not much. so i kinda just gave up on the idea of entertaining him with a video. well, when i found this dvd, i popped it in & Jack was instantly mesmorized. he absolutely LOVES it! its just like Baby Einstein. same concept. but it is Christian based & each dvd tells a different story. the one we have is called "God Made Me'" & it tells the creation story and the music is baby friendly hyms. its really very cute. Jack just loves the puppets, his little face lights up and he just talks & giggles. its so cute. it really hold his attention so much better than Baby Einstein. and i love that he's hearing a bible story as he watches it! he usually watches it 2 times a day and sometimes more. i put it in when i need to shower or clean or just need a break. he sits in his swing or on our bed and i have about 30 minutes to get something done. it also really seems to soothe him if he just gets in a funky mood. now, i'm not the mom who just plants my child in front of a TV screen all day, but hey, i need a minute to sit down every now & then! and i don't mind getting some help from a friendly dvd!

i just ordered him the "God Made Animals" dvd & i can't wait to get it in the mail tomorrow. its the story of Noah. i know Jack will love it. i just wanted to pass along this little gem i discovered. its great. you can find them at babyfaith.com or amazon. let me know if you try it & what you think!

Super Six Months!!

so i figured that since Jack will be 7 months old next week, maybe i should put up the 6 month post!! i honestly would've done it weeks ago, but i've had SO much drama with my computer lately. i still don't have it completely fixed. its so annoying. but on to the good stuff...........

6 MONTHS OLD!!! i can't believe it. this really was a milestone for me, and jack. i just can't believe he is half way thru his first year. where has the time gone?!!!! it really does fly by soooo fast. he is just growing by leaps and bounds before my eyes. i'm loving all the new things he's doing but it makes me sad that he's growing out of the baby stage!! i'll really miss it. this past month has by far been my fave. he is doing so much and learning so much. i'm so proud of him & i hope he knows it! we took him to the doctor on April 27 for his 6 month check up. here are his stats:

height: 25 inches. (that's 7.5 inches since birth!!)

weight: 13 lbs 2 oz. (almost 9 lbs since birth!!)

head: 42 cm

Dr. Bubba said that he is doing great. he is in the 25th percentile for height and weight and 10th percentile for the size of his head. but Dr. Bubba wasn't concerned. he said he is growing right on schedule and he's even a little ahead in some areas of development. (i knew he was perfect!!) he told us to start letting Jack eat, naw or chew on some soft foods. he suggested bananas, ritz crackers, and even pizza crust!! he said once Jack can pick up foods that we should start giving him more solid food. can you believe it?!! he's growing up. (insert my pouty lip!!)

Sweet Boy,

i'm shocked at how fast these past 6 months have gone by! i can barely remember what life was like before you. you have changed our lives so much. we praise the Lord for your sweet little life. we are already starting to see some of your personality. you are very sweet & cuddly. you are pretty much always in a good mood. you're always grinning and giggling. we love it. you have learned so much in the past month. you can almost sit up completely by yourself. you reach for your toys. you can take your paci in & out of your mouth. you are learning what certain toys do and how to operate them. you love to take baths. you have put yourself in a wonderful routine that both of us have adapted to very well. this has made our days so much easier. you go to bed at night with no problems. you take great naps. you light up any room and everyone loves to get their hands on you. especially mommy. daddy and i find ourselves talking about you all the time. you're our favorite topic. we are so excited about doing some fun things with you this summer. we love you so much and we don't take a single day for granted. you are our greatest joy!!!

things you LOVE:

* your paci

* your colorful squeaky rattle toy

* Lola. you can't get enough of her. you light up when she comes into the room and you constantly try to reach for her. its so sweet.

* your BABY FAITH video. you probably watch it 2 or 3 times a day right now. i plug it in when you are extra fussy or when i need to shower. you get so excited and you giggle so much. we love to watch you as you watch it!

* applesauce, bananas, squash, rice cereal, ritz crackers, pizza crust

* your bottle. you've started reaching for it! and you can almost hold it yourself

* riding in the car and stroller

* being outside

* trying to reach for our cups as we drink something. you are so curious

* your blanket and lovie. you always need them for night night.

* your bumbo, swing and bouncy seat. you are very easily entertained. good for momma!

* bath time. you love to splash in the water and watch us pour water from your cup

* mommy and daddy. i think that by far we are your favorite toy and thing to look at. and we wouldn't want it any other way!!! you are going thru an attachment phase though. when we leave the room, you get so upset!!

things you DON'T like so much:

* waiting too long for a bottle

* when your food is all gone

* when mommy lays you down for a nap & leaves the room! but that only lasts a couple minutes

* when you can't figure out how to get a toy in your mouth

* sweet potatoes. sometimes i think you love them & others you spit them right out

* apple strawberry banana mixed gerber food. for some reason, that combo just doesn't do it for you!

Mother's Day!!!

i had a FANTASTIC first Mother's Day with my Jack. growing up, i always dreamed of having kids. and every year, when we would celebrate my fabulous momma, i would think about the day when i would celebrate being a mom to my own child. so i was actually really excited about experiencing this day with Jack. i have learned SO much in these last 6 months of being his mommy. and it truly is the best thing, outside of marriage, that i have ever been a part of. it is the most sacrificing and demanding job i've ever had, but you couldn't force me to change anything about it. i absolutely LOVE the responsibilty and privilege of taking care of my son. he is the Lord's blessing on my life and i am honored that He has entrusted me with Jack. i have a few very close friends, that i REALLY want to have a baby. they are all married girls, with great husbands and healthy marriages. but i'm just so loving being a mom that i want them to understand when i describe to them in particular how great it is!! i'm thinking of one friend in particular, and you know who you are! but no pressure!!! she will be such a great mom and i can't wait for us to celebrate mom's day with our kiddies one day!!

this year, in particular, the Lord has taught me so much about the blessing of pregnancy and child birth and raising a child. ever since the day ben and i decided to start trying for a baby, it seems like i've come across more and more situations where women struggle to have babies. and it is heartbreaking to me. i can't imagine the pain of wanting to conceive a child and not being able to. as women, we believe it's our God given ability (and it is) to grow and bare a child. so not being able to do that, must be so hard. i am a firm believer in the Lord having specific plans for everyone, and i know that means that not all women will have kids. and i know He gets the glory out of those instances. but to have the longing to be pregnant and then not being able to do it, that i just can't imagine. i have a sweet friend who has been trying for 2 years to get pregnant with her first baby. it has been a long and painful journey for her. she's had to watch as all of her friends have popped up pregnant, had babies and now are raising them. she is so precious and my heart has been hurting for her. my hubby & i have been praying for this couple for a VERY long time. well, this past week she called to tell me that she is PREGNANT!! PRAISE THE LORD!!! i literally had tears in my eyes when she told me, and after we got off the phone i just cried and praised the Lord that He is blessing her with this baby. i know she will be an incredible mom. so congrats C!!! our little pet name for each other is MA, and i'm excited b/c now we both will literally be a mama to sweet babies! i can't wait to meet her little one in December and love on that sweet miracle baby!!

for Mother's Day we went to church. each mom was honored with a silk rose, which i thought was so sweet. then we met Ben's parents for lunch at their country club. it was brunch and oh so yummy! Jack did great! Ben's parents gave me a yellow rose and his dad bought tickets for me and my MIL to see the American Idol Top 1o in july when they come to Memphis!! we were so excited! i can't wait!! then ben and i headed home with jack for a much needed nap and some down time. Jack gave me his card that he picked out (with a little help from daddy) and ben told me that my mother's day gift is being mailed to me and i should get it on monday. then that evening, we went to my parents for supper. we celebrated with my very large family and soon to be brother in laws!!! we always have so much fun over there. we came home late last night and crashed! overall it was a very special but normal day. which is just what i wanted. Thank you Lord for the blessing of motherhood. help me to never take it for granted.

i'll post later tonight about my gift and what i made the jack's mamie and lolli for mother's day!! also, a few pictures. i still need to post Jack's 6 month post too!! have a great Monday!!!

FREE 3 month Pink Palace Membership!!!

hey hey hey! i've been pretty lax on my blogging lately. i've been having SO many computer problems. super long story!! but i plan on getting Jack's 6 month post done this week. but i wanted to pass along this great offer!!!

my bloggie buddy, Audra, posted about this! i'm pretty much just going to copy and paste what she said on her blog. she explains it great, and i'm feeling lazy!!!

its a FREE 3 month trial membership to the Pink Palace for 2 related adults & their kids.

click here for Pink Palace offer, your membership card is emailed to you after you sign up!!!

You and your family get...
* Invitation to Dinosaurs and Sea Monsters Exhibit Preview
* Invitation to Under the Sea IMAX Film Preview
* Unlimited Museum Admission
* Unlimited Planetarium Admission
* Unlimited Lichterman Nature Center Admission
* 10% discount in the museum stores
* Discounts on IMAX tickets

i already got mine this morning! with the long and crazy hot summer coming up, it'll be nice to have some FREE indoor activities to do! if you have any friends or family or would be interested, just pass that link along!! Thanks Audra for the link!!!