Merry -Almost- Christmas!

We had our first Christmas of 2012 today, and it was awesome!

I got to put my new skills to practice after my Thanksgiving lesson from Grandma, and I think the results were pretty positive!  

The Turkey turned out nice and juicy, stuffing from scratch, appetizers, gravy, corn and homemade dinner rolls.  I'm pretty happy with how it all turned out and I had a lot of fun getting it all together!  

While everything was quite tasty, Jon did provide the quote of the day, "I don't think I've ever seen something that looks so much like dog food but tastes so good."  He was referencing my homemade stuffing lol.  It really wasn't the most appetizing by looks, but it did have some great flavor!  He said it's a keeper :)

My favorite part was baking biscotti last night with Jon! It turned out delicious and we had fun!

Special Thank You to Kathy for her hard working doing ALL of the dishes after lunch! 

Here are a few snapshots of our day! 

Afternoon snack with Great Grandma!

"I love you Uncle Tyson"

"Aunt Kathy is so fun, and don't I look so cute in my new Christmas clothes from Great Gma?!?"

"You're close!  Keep guessing!" - Gma's first time playing Catch Phrase

"You know it's by the door....."

"and it's a flat rectangle."

"I'm so sleepy, but this game is awesome."

 POSER 

 Looking good in Wildcat gear!  EMAW

"I know that it's 4pm and I haven't slept since 9am, but I really am not tired!"

We had a great time today, and are so blessed by these amazing people!  So grateful for the time we have with our loved ones, and for our Lord and Savior!  Merry Christmas! 

Baptism

I am quite behind on this post!  I thought I'd finished this one a few weeks months ago, but I guess now is as good a time as any!  

We are so blessed!  So, SO blessed!  Kincaid was baptized on Sunday, October 28!  We had some very special people here to celebrate with us, and know that many others were thinking of him from afar!

P.S. - I am missing a number of pics that are on that silly computer!  BUT, I just need to get this posted! So it's brief, and the pics aren't in order, and I'll post the other pics as soon as we get that computer back, because they are awesome!

Six Months!

I can't even believe it, but Kincaid is now 6 months!  I'll try to get his picture uploaded, but remember, the computer with all of his sweet photos crashed!  We'll see what I can scrounge up! 

He had his well baby exam on Friday, and the reports are in!  Happy & Healthy!  He weighed in at 18 lbs 2 oz and measured 26 3/4" long!  His height and weight are beginning to plateau a bit, which the doctor says is normal heading into these next few months.  

Kincaid is as active as ever, and really is starting to cover some ground while playing on the floor!  He can twist, turn, roll, etc to make his way from one place to the next, and he is a very determined little fella!  His BFF is Grace, though I'm pretty sure she doesn't return the sentiment....yet!  When Grace comes in sight, Kincaid gets the biggest grin, and automatically tries to get near her!  He's so fascinated by her, it's too cute!

He also is a rockstar sitter, though again, he cannot sit himself up - it's us plopping him on his bottom!  He is also starting to pull his knees up into the crawling position, but hasn't gained enough strength to stay there long enough to move forward on hands/knees!  He IS however starting to pull himself up to a standing position.  He has done this for a number of weeks of you hold out our hands to him, but he's now started to do so on his own using this wooden toy box and also in his crib.  Needless to say, the crib experience led to papa dropping the mattress this weekend!  

Let's see, what else....Food!  Kincaid is eating solids 2x a day, and is finally agreeing to take a bottle!  It's been really fun to introduce new foods to him and to see his response to the different flavors/textures!  We're going slow with the intro, and it's been great!  He digs his rice cereal & bananas, and is less sure about apples, pears and avocado!  I got a great book from Cait on homemade baby food, and we're having fun exploring! Some of it, if Kincaid hates, I'll eat - they're good!  For example - he hasn't liked the cinn/pear/apple sauce so far (see evidence below), but it is really good and we'll eat it if he doesn't!  

This is such a fun age, and a tiring one!  We're so tuckered out each night, but neither of us would trade it!  What an awesome experience to see the world through a kiddo's eyes and to watch them take on adventure and exploration!  So very cool!  

Up next for our fam:  
Christmas #1 TODAY!  - wish me luck - we're hosting!
Work party!  Traveling to the Mitten for Christmas #2!  Christmas #3 & New Year's Eve!

All Good Things Must Come to an End...

I asked Kincaid if it HAD to happen, and he said yes, it really did.  

What had to happen?  What had to end?  You remember that one of the cool perks of my job is the Infant to Work Program, right?  This was one of the benefits that sealed the deal for me, and led me to turning down another position even though it paid a bit more!  How could I not choose a job that would allow me to bring my baby with me?!?  

As you can recall from other posts, the time we had with Kincaid in the office turned out awesome!  He is a rockstar, and brightened everybody's day with his smile and giggles :)  My coworkers have loved getting to know him, seeing him grow, and hanging out with him!  Even customers enjoyed coming in to the office to see him!  

All of this has now come to an end :( Friday, November 30, Kincaid had to say his goodbyes ;( It really was a great last day, and though the office has been much quieter without him, I am so very grateful for the four months he was there with me! I believe he really benefited from that experience, and I know he is very missed by the people at work.  And, I've had customers come in asking where he's at as well & reminding me how cute he is and what a good baby he is (like I need reminding!).

I've really missed Caid while at work these last two weeks, but you know what?  The very first day he wasn't there, we were SWAMPED!!  I mean, busier than we've been the whole time he was with me, and my coworker (we work up front together) was gone for several days!  So, I was reminded of the Lord's perfect plan and was in awe of His timing!  

While I've been missing Kincaid, he's been happily playing, learning, laughing and snuggling!  He's had some time with Gma B, Ms. Wynn, and will hang with Gpa C this coming week!  So far, they've reported how he awesome he continues to be, how great he is at eating his milk and solids, and how much fun he is!  

Jon reminded me that we'll need to work hard to keep him humble after weeks like these!  We're so blessed and Kincaid certainly is LOVED!

Whew - Turkey Day Part II

So, I'm a little behind!  I guess posting everyday up to Thanksgiving wore me out!  

Let's start by filling you in on the rest of our Thanksgiving weekend.  Part 1 was with dad's side, and Part two took place Friday night - Sunday with mom's side.  We had another fun few days with extended family and lots of delicious, though untraditional Thanksgiving day, food!  We're happy to have gotten in our fill of turkey and stuff the day before, but didn't hesitate to eat up the oysters, mac & cheese and other delicious fixin's mom made up!  We also had a really great game of football, though Jon's team won :( lol.  It was a great time and we were SORE for the next few days!  

Kincaid had a blast with Zayley, and it was so cute to watch them play together.  Most of the time Caid seemed in awe of her, and she would just babble and play while he watched.  Other times, they would both be just having fun together!  I wish I had pics, but they are temp unavailable as the computer they are on crashed!  Yikes - hope they get recovered!!

Up Next - All Good Things Must Come to an End....