Birthday Preview!

James is turning four in less than a week now which is unbelievable but true. When I began thinking about how I wanted to celebrate his birthday about 6 months ago now if I'm honest (I love love to plan my kids' parties around a theme that they love!), Stephen was working 60 hours a week and the thing that we all wanted more than anything was just more time together. We had talked for a while about saving for a family vacation, and we thought it might be a good option to take our first family vacation the week of James' birthday. When we learned that James' birthday week happens to be one of the cheapest of the year to go to Disney, the decision was pretty much made!

We will be headed out in a few days, and our excitement level is through the roof. The anticipation ranks up there with our wedding day and the birth of our children (slight exaggeration but still!). And even though we won't be inviting family and friends to a party this year, I still have been working on making some decorations for our hotel room and extra touches to take with us to make his day extra special while we are gone. James is completely into race cars right now, so the "theme" of our celebrating will be Disney Pixar Cars. I'm sure I will have a ton of pictures to post when we return, but here are a few pictures of the decorations that I made for around the house or that we will be taking with us.

The "Rust-eze Bumper Ointment" is clear, fruit punch I found at Walmart and we switched the label to fit the theme.
I made mickey ear shaped cupcake toppers with Cars stickers (I'm going to let him stick them in his food throughout the week and especially on his actual birthday.) The Cars game and travel Cars Bingo (perfect for our long car trip!) were free printables that I found on the internet. 

I updated his birthday banner that I have used every year with the Lightning McQueen wooden shapes and checkered flag Mickey ears.  I used a generic trophy James received from the library summer reading program and printed out a Piston Cup logo to glue onto it. I made a new door hanger for his room, and I will put a picture inside from our trip when we get back. 

 We had a countdown to Disney:

I had planned to make cupcakes to bring to James' church friends on Wednesday night, but it was cancelled due to all the snow. So, we enjoyed making snow cream and brownies last night instead. I might still try to make the cupcakes the following week when we get back...but we'll see! :)

I have a few more themed decorations and surprises up my sleeve. I'm sure I'll post many more pictures of our vacation/birthday celebration when we get home. :)

Jude is on the move :)

Jude started to get on his knees and army crawl right around 7 months, and he got so efficient at it that we thought he might skip regular crawling all together. But about a week ago, Jude started crawling and hasn't stopped yet. James crawled for the first time after a pool noodle and empty soda bottle, but Jude's motivation was my iphone so we joked that maybe he has expensive taste! Here are a few pictures of him crawling:

And then the last few days he's been crawling, sitting himself up, and then pulling himself up...! And so it begins... :)

The Many Hats of January!

I feel like we've worn a lot of different hats lately - literally and figuratively!

Hats we made at preschool choir:

Crazy Hair Day for our Upward Basketball Game (we figured hats were close enough!)

Oddly enough this stuffed animal is named "hat" as well. :)

Crazy Hat Night at Awana: 

And the last few days...Snow Hats!

It started out wonderfully fun. We were only expecting to get some flurries or just a dusting at best...

(Stephen told me one time that when you live in Alabama you should always go out immediately because you don't know how long the snow will last (this was the day last winter that I told James we'd play in the snow after his nap and when he woke up it had all melted.)...so we did!)

Jude's first (for real!) snow - the last little flurries we had a few weeks ago,  James wasn't even able to see (tiny and so sparse!) so Daddy said it didn't count!

This snow bunny was tuckered out!

 And then a little over an hour later, everyone realized the weather forecast was wrong and we were having major accumulation on the roadways. Schools and jobs began to close and then began the winter gridlock of 2014 (the media's name for this, not mine!). As I type this, there are roads completely impassible do to ice and abandoned cars. Many children and teachers had to stay overnight in their classrooms, churches and other business became shelters, and some people waited it out in their cars for 24 hours. So many are still not able to make it home. People were tweeting last night and asking for food, blankets, and formula for their babies. My heart is so burdened. 

Stephen debated about staying overnight with his coworkers or trying to come home. He decided to come home (afraid the roads would be worse today!), and the normal 15 minute commute took about 6.5 hours. He had to leave his car when he finally got off the exit to our house because the hill that leads to our neighborhood was impassible and attempt to walk the last 2 miles or so. As he was walking, a stranger on a 4-wheeler passed and gave him a ride home! We have never been more thankful to be safe and under one roof together as we wait for the snow to melt. Praying for all those that are in such difficult situations today! I cannot even imagine. 

We had a little fun in the snow this morning. :)

The snow is so beautiful and powdery. It's not even wet enough to make a snowman. 

We pushed the boys in this southern "sled" around the yard. :)

Jude in Shoes :)

I barely ever put shoes on my babies before they start walking, but last week when we went to story time at the library I decided to put a pair of shoes on Jude (maybe for the second time ever!). He looked too cute not to snap a quick picture on my phone. They fell off approximately 37 times at the library (and I remembered why I never put shoes on my babies), but he absolutely just kills me with his cuteness. Any labor for him is totally a labor of love.

Upward Basketball

One of the ministries at our church is Upward Basketball. Several months ago they were trying to recruit more volunteers, and Stephen agreed to coach the youngest age group. And since Stephen was coaching, we decided to let James join the team as well. After the first practice I really struggled with whether or not he was too young (not because I care remotely about how good he is at basketball but because I sensed he was more interested in running around the gym chasing his teammates than learning how to play), but I also knew that he would be heartbroken if I didn't let him play. At the next practice he settled down a little and listened and cooperated better for his Daddy (who he calls Coach Stephen at practice. Ha!).

Saturday morning they had their first game and it was so precious! James was truly just happy to be there. He ran up and down the court and guarded the player on the opposing team with the same color wristband very well (even when he didn't need to be!). He touched the ball a few times in the game and got to throw it in once and run it down the court once (literally! No dribbling :)) It is very difficult for him to throw that big ball all the way up to the goal, but he tries with all his might.

I love the Upward program. They have halftime devotions and earn stars for their uniform for memorizing verses. They can also earn stars for sportsmanship and Christ-like Character. This week James earned the "effort" star.

I tried to get some pictures but between the lighting and motion and taking care of Jude, I couldn't get the setting right. I also took a few on my phone but they just aren't very clear. Hopefully I can figure it out before the next game.

"Ready Position"

James is guarding the other players :)

This week they wore their favorite color under their uniform. This shirt had blue and green. :)

 A few pictures from before and after the game:

I tried to have us all color coordinate. :)

Jude Brooks is 7 months old!

Jude's first year seems to be going by so much faster than it did with James. It's hard to believe he was born 7 months ago now, but here we are. Here is a quick update on him at 7 months:

Wearing: Some 6 month clothing but mostly 6-9 month clothing now; size 3 diapers

Sleeping: He's no longer sleeping swaddled this month. He has not been sleeping as well the last few weeks, but I would guess it's a combination of teething and interruptions from developmental milestones. He still takes about 3 or 4 catnaps each day and about 10 or 11 hours at night but is waking up to be fed about once at night and then goes right back to sleep. I still consider him (as far as my experience goes) a very good sleeper!

Eating: cereal, yogurt, and stage 2 baby food. He seems to like everything, but he did reject peas recently when I didn't offer cereal along with it. He is still just eating twice a day, and he seemed to cut back on solids while he was sick. Nursing will continue to be his primary source of nutrition for the first year (so I don't stress about the amount of solids that he is consuming), and he still just pretty much nurses on demand (but with predictability). He enjoys drinking water from a sippy cup at dinner each night.

Personality: He continues to be content and laid-back. He is starting to show some signs of separation anxiety and fusses a little more than he used to about things he finds upsetting.

Teething: He cut his first tooth on the bottom right after he turned 6 months old and the second tooth a few days ago, so they emerged almost a month apart. He is drooling and chewing on anything he can get his hands on.

New "Tricks": -Reaching his arms out for Mama when he wants to be picked up, army crawling and moving himself in circles, getting up on his knees and up on his hands and toes but he hasn't put it in motion yet, he has just started pulling himself up to a standing position now but is still a little wobbly (his arms seem stronger than his legs), saying "mamama" when he's upset but I'm not sure if he knows what he's saying just yet, and making the funniest face constantly (see pictures below!)

Pulling Himself Up :)

The Face:

James is also doing it in the background.

Likes: Playing and getting into everything, playing chase (in my arms) with James, riding on our shoulders, peekaboo, being tickled, bath time, and watching us brush our teeth.

So content just to roll around and play. He is very efficient at getting to whatever he wants (almost always James' toys that James proceeds to take away from him!)

Dislikes: when James takes a toy from him and being left in the church nursery (I left him this past Sunday morning and he cried so loud that I could hear him in the service. Needless to say, I went back to get him). 

Firsts: First Car Trip/Overnight Trip, First Santa Visit, First Christmas, First Two Teeth, First Time Swinging

We love you, Sweet Jude! The last 7 months with you have been so precious!