Decorating for Christmas

This is the first year I actually had ROOM for a FULL SIZE Christmas tree!  Brian and I bought one after Christmas for really cheap about 2 years ago but have never really had room for it.  I have to say, I didn't put up many decorations because I ran out of time and just didn't really mind, but I LOVED having a tree.  At first I would turn on the lights when it would get dark then turn it off before bed, but pretty soon it was on 24/7.  Something about it just made me so happy.  Brian and I had fun decorating it all crazy with some funky decorations we bough after Christmas one year from Target.  We couldn't decide between putting a star or an angel on top because we both grew up with different traditions, so we settled for a cool exploding star-type thingy.  It was so fun and it has really helped it feel like Christmas around here, so it didn't sneak up on me too fast this year.

The manger my mom gave me and adds a piece to every year

My grandma's old tree with the mult-colored lights, which just added to the chaos of the decorations!

This one you can actually see the tree topper we're putting up...

Izzy just hangin out with us and walking all over everything

Such a pretty dog; he sits so proudly!

tree topper

Legend at 6 months!

(constantly sucking, chewing and drooling on everything!)

  This month you had a couple of really BIG milestones, but not as many little tiny changes as usual.  One big thing is you got your first tooth!  Grandma Pearce noticed it had pushed through while babysitting you on December 16th! I knew it had been on it's way for a while because you were a bit of a grump that week. But that's ok. You got your second tooth not too long after that.
You are sitting up pretty good but I still keep pillows around you just to be safe! (sometimes you tip over when you're looking around or just not focusing quite as hard as you normally would).

You are now eating more baby food and you LOVE sweet potatoes and squash. I tried to give you peas once and you gagged. I didn't make you eat any more; I wouldn't have liked them either! You also like apple sauce and you do okay with bananas but you don't usually finish the jar. You do great with a spoon but you like to put your fist in your mouth and look all around which makes it hard to feed you and makes a mess!

You are discovering your lips and making different shapes and still making high pitched squeeky noises all the time, along with "singing" to music and babbling and giggling. So cute!
You love your dog Izzy and he gets you to laugh all the time. You love to grab on to his fur, especially around his mouth and eyes and he'll just whimper until mom makes you let go! (You have a very strong grip...)  He loves to sneakily lick you and put your hand in his mouth and that always makes you laugh.

You have LOVED the Christmas lights this season. You love to lay under the tree and stare at them, then grab for the tree branches. If you are fussy I will take you in to the front room, turn off all the lights except the tree and rock you while you watch the lights.

You are a very happy and social, though high maintenance baby. You love YOUR bed and you do better if I keep you to a pretty strict schedule.  You still love bath time and your bouncer and all that fun sort of stuff!

my Forever Family

This is true bliss. Right here.

Five Months

Legend, you are five months old now and growing up so fast! I don't think I'll ever stop being surprised at how fast time is flying by.

Here are some things we have discovered this month:

You are trying to so hard to sit up. You are still wobbly, but if I put pillows around you, you will lean up against the couch and you love it!

You have discovered the music in you! You have certain songs that when you hear, you start to sing along.  This was discovered first when dad and I were listening to "I Love You Love" by John Legend. You started cooing along with the song.  I thought it was a fluke or just us getting excited that you might love music the way we do, so later I played some other music, then went back to that song and sure enough, you started to sing again!  As time has passed we have found a few other songs as well that you love to sing along to.

You started eating cereal and you love it!

You got your first ear infection; it was so sad.
You had your first Halloween

  

You are talking a lot more and you smile so easily now!
You are REALLY giggling, but not all the time. You still grunt a lot when you laugh and when you decide you are done finding something funny, there is NO getting a laugh out of you again.
You have started TRYING to roll over while laying on your back. You will bend your knees and tip to the side but that's as far as you go.
You are very good at grabbing things, you reach for your toys as well as other things... such as mommy's hair and earrings. Ouch!
In the bath tub you love to find the towel and suck all the water out of it. I have to make sure to ring it out several times because you've given yourself a tummy ache from drinking too much water from the towel!
You got to meet your cousins Elsie and Alia finally! We spent a whole week sleeping over and Grammy and Pops' house during the Thanksgiving break. You loved your cousins, you would all sit and stare at each other and you would grab on to the girls' skirts or hands and just look perfectly happy to be together.

You are very sensitive. If you ever hear another baby cry your eyes immediately fill with tears and your bottom lip comes out.
You suck on your bottom lip when you're tired.
You met your great grandpa Williams for the first time

We discovered you have another cousin on the way! Baby Pearce will be born May, 2012
You put EVERYTHING in your mouth, especially your fist and fingers along with the knuckles of whoever is holding you at the moment.
Everyone always says, "OH! THOSE CHEEKS!" when they see you.
You drool ALL the time.
And most importantly, you were blessed this month!
We love you so much and that love grows and grows every day. I sometimes just sit and watch you and still can't believe how cute you are and that you are MINE!  Your great grandma Pearce lives with Grandma and Grandpa right now and every time you visit she just says how beautiful you are and that she's never seen a more beautiful baby. People are always telling me to put pictures of you in baby contests or try to get you in Gerber commercials. You are such a little man and have never been mistaken for a girl because you are just so clearly a boy baby.

I love you so much!

What a blessing!

Yesterday was Legend's baby blessing and it was such a fun day! It was extra special because he shared the day with his twin cousins, Elsie and Alia Carlile.   It was so neat to see our closest friends and family gathered around us and to feel the spirit of these three sweet babies.  It was a very sweet moment to hear the girls blessed because it was such a journey for Mike and Joelle to get them here; they are truly miracles! 

sneak peek of family pictures

Today we had family pictures with the Williams family at the State Capital.  It was fun to see everyone all dressed up and matching, ESPECIALLY the little ones.  We all wore reds, blacks, grays and whites and we all looked pretty dang good! Here's a little sneak peek of everyone; Joelle remembered to bring her fancy camera and caught a few extra pictures.

such a cute boy! (he ALWAYS has his fists in his mouth...) 

 with uncle David

 the boys...

 Baby swapping!

 Legend LOVES uncle mike... and has a fascination with mouths lately.

 With the twins

 Elsie Lavinia

Such a fun day with the Williams family!

family is forever

This picture is a little blurry, but I had to post it; it is just so sweet.  Graci and Makenna are such amazing aunties to Legend.  Graci is constantly making noises and pulling faces and entertaining legend when he comes over;  She can always make him smile!  Makenna is my little helper.  She loves to hold Legend, feed him, entertain him and is always willing to jump up and grab his burp cloth or find me a diaper if I need one.  These two are so loving and in turn will have so much love from their nephew and future nieces and nephews! I can't wait to see them teach Legend to run, jump on the trampoline, do cart wheels and throw toys all over the living room. It's crazy to think that when he is starting Kindergarten, they will both still be in Elementary!  Hopefully we still live close by so that they can watch out for him and hold his hand on the way out.  I sure love these girls and I am so grateful they are my sisters for eternity!

YAY for cousins!

Last night we found out some very exciting news!  WE had some of the cousins over at our place for a game night.  Towards the end of the night Trevor and Sherstin were chatting with Brian and I about what our plans for the weekend were and such when Trevor asked if I could do him a favor. I said sure and asked what it was.  He pulled out a white onesie and I was expecting him to ask me if I could sew something on it for a friend or something.  I was about to ask who was pregnant when I turned the onesie around and saw that it said, "Big Cuz!"  I looked at Trevor and said, "ARE YOU GUYS PREGNANT?!" and sure enough their answer was YES! I am SO excited for them.  Brian and I have been talking about this a lot lately and hoping that they would decide to get pregnant soon so that Legend could have cousins close to him on both sides.  I don't care if they have a boy or a girl because cousins are cousins, but I am secretly leaning towards them having a boy so Legend has a sleep over buddy and everything.  Ok so it's probably not so secret that I want them to have a boy. Bad news is that their doctor already said he suspects it's a girl because of the advanced brain development.  Either way, I am so happy for them and I can't wait to see what this little bean looks like!  So today, Brian and I put Legend in his new onesie and covered it up with a Michael Jordan track suit and met Trevor and Sherstin over at mom and dad's.  I told Trevor that Legend was probably hot and that he should take off his jacket... *wink wink... ha ha.  He did and he held him facing out to see how long it would take someone in the family to notice what it said.  It didn't take too long but it was pretty funny waiting because my mom was in the middle of painting the living room and a bit preoccupied. We were all standing around chatting and Trevor kept straightening the shirt waiting for mom to notice. Finally she looked closer and said, "what does that second word say?" then when Trevor straightened it again she said, "I KNEW IT! Dad, read his shirt!" Then dad did and said, "OH! I saw it earlier but that is said BIG CUSS.... I thought it was a little rude." ha ha.  Funny family.  All in all, everyone is excited for them (of course) and I can't wait for this baby to get here. I am so happy Legend won't have to be the older cousin with no one his age to play with.  Sherstin is due May 23rd, so they will only be 11 months apart! I wish they would be in the same grade but there's always a chance that they will go to the same high school if we all end up back in Kaysville. We'll see.
Congratulations Trevor and Sherstin!

The diversion outfit....

Four months

This last month definitely went by so fast! This week has been hard for me to adjust to saying "four months" when people ask me how old he is.  I feel like I just got used to saying three!

Legend, month three has had some new milestones for you.  This month....

You have started getting so strong and you love to stand up "on your own"

You are eating 7-9 ounces consistently! 

You figured out how to kick your feet and jump in your bouncer and you LOVE it! You always concentrate so hard while you are doing it, then you will pause and smile.

You have started to giggle more and more but it is still some effort to get those giggles out of you! Most of the time you still just grunt.

You have started reaching for things and your hand eye coordination is improving. Towards the end of this month you were finally able to focus on a toy and reach out and grab it pretty quickly.

You love to lift your head up to see what's going on. As soon as you turned 3 months I would notice you doing this, especially if you are leaning back on the couch or sitting in your car seat. You don't want to miss a thing!

You are sleeping 11 hours most nights! (thanks to all the eating most likely.)
This isn't new but I thought I would add it; you love to sleep with your arms above your head (just like your mommy!) but it scares me because often times I will go check on you and you have pulled your blanket completely over your face! 

Your hair is filling in and it is darker in the front

You are drooling so much that the front of your onesies are constantly wet.

You still have to be constantly entertained and held

and you HATE tummy time!