So I don’t know how we did it, but we managed to buy and wrap presents for everyone, and then pack for the whole family, and then fit all of these things in our small SUV. It just barely fit! Sheesh, we’re going to need a freaking minivan before we know it. (Noooooooo!!!)

Our first stop on our Christmas tour was Branden’s family farm. It is so pretty out there! You can see the stars at night. You can hear the cows mooing off in the neighboring pastures. You can smell nature all around you. You could also hear the grating cries of our six month old as he refused to take his naps.  (Ahh, the joys of traveling with a baby…)

But one thing Matthew did enjoy doing was our daily walks through the woods.

Branden and Matthew

If Matthew could talk, Branden thinks he would have been saying, “Hey guys, follow me!!”

Branden’s dad, Ernie (Pa Paw!), Branden, and Matthew

It was so fun to experience Matthew’s first Christmas. I don’t know if he realized anything exciting was happening, but we like to think he did!

I can’t wait to teach him the story of Baby Jesus.  What a blessing it is to have a child and have the opportunity to teach him about our Savior!

Pa Paw and Granny P were so generous to cook for us and to shower us with Christmas presents! Matthew got the cutest walker, we can’t wait for him to use it! Just a few more inches and his feet will be able to reach the floor in it, haha!

Paula (Granny P!) and Matthew

Our next stop was Dallas, where we got to hang out with a lot more family and some friends too! They were all happy to see Branden and me, but Matthew was the real star of the show…

My dad, Jeff (Grandpa!) and Matthew

My grandma, Sandra, (Gigi) and Matthew

Branden’s mom, Debby (G-Mama) and Matthew

My mom, Le Ann (Grandma) with Matthew

Side note…  See the cowboy boots Matthew is wearing?  My mother made those!  Not to mention the rest of the outfit he’s wearing in those pictures!  She never ceases to amaze me!

Our sweet friends Josh and Anna Cochran (holding Matthew), plus their two adorable little girls, Claire and Julianna

When we got back to Houston we also met up with my dear friend Rachel and her family.

Her little boy’s name is Blake, isn’t he precious? Rach and I have been friends since high school and it has been so fun to get married together (well, not TOGETHER, but you get my point) and now start families together! If she and her hubby would just move back to Houston! (They live way-the-heck up in Memphis.)

So now we are back home in Houston with more baby presents than we know what to do with, but we have lots of happy memories to keep! If only we could get Matthew back on his nap schedule!

This made Branden reflect on how much his life has changed compared to when he was a bachelor. I guess wearing matching argyle sweaters and posing for a photographer who persistantly shakes a stuffed animal crowing “Boo!” and “Uh oh!” isn’t exactly macho.

But then I reminded him of some of the benefits of being a married man and he agreed he’s much better off now. =P

Next year Branden thinks we should all wear tacky Christmas sweaters and send the photos out in our Christmas cards.

I think that would be super fun, but then you know there would be one family member who thought we were serious, and then they’d start a rumor about those idiots Branden and Liz…

Nah, still worth it!  I hereby declare 2012 shall be tacky Christmas sweater year! Who’s with us?

Happy 2012! Wow I can’t believe it’s already January! Where did the last two months go?  I’ve always thought the holiday season was too busy for its own good, but this time it was ridiculous!  Half the time I wanted to scream and pull out my hair, and the rest of the time I felt like bursting with joy. Such is life with a baby. =)

Thanksgiving was wonderful because some of our family came to visit us. (Bless them!) Any time that you can avoid traveling with a baby, jump on it!!  My mom, dad, grandma, and Branden’s mom Debby came to visit us, and we cooked us a mean turkey! This was the first time for us to host Thanksgiving at our home and it was super simple! (Mainly because Mom and Debby did most of the work, haha!)

It was great to have family here, not to mention the extra babysitting!

Matthew enjoyed all of the extra attention too! This is Matthew with his GiGi.

Matthew with his Daddy and Grandpa

Matthew and his Grandma and Grandpa

Matthew was ready to chow down!  (Don’t worry we didn’t give him any turkey.)

Alright now that I’ve reached this point I realize that I’ve got a ton more to write about with lots more great pictures.  As I don’t particularly want to make everyone read an enormous blog post, let’s just call this the intermission. =)  Part 2 coming soon!

• Took a nap while Matthew napped.  This was completely deserved, especially since Matthew has been waking up early for no good reason lately
• Tried to nap again during Matthew’s second nap, but I guess that was too much to hope for
• Fought the urge to shower Matthew with kisses, to avoid giving him whatever annoying bug I’ve contracted
• Went outside in the backyard in the afternoon to enjoy the beautiful weather!  66 degrees and not a cloud in sight.  Just me and my little man.  Ahh, bliss.

• Thought about going to the store to get some important stuff, but decided staying home was much nicer
• Watched lots of Cooking Channel and wished I had the energy to make french macaroons

• Sadly cancelled plans to go to my Sunday school ladies’ dinner and my massage on Saturday.  Also cancelled my dentist appointment on Monday but I felt no sadness in doing this.
• Laid on the couch while my sweet husband picked up hot soup from Panera (Yum!)

Yeah, it stinks being sick, but it’s nice to have an excuse to sit on my tush!  Now if I can only convince Matthew to stop waking up at 5:30am…

Branden’s mom, a.k.a. “Mama Ramsey”, a.k.a. “G-Mama” came to stay with us for a little last-minute trip on Friday and Saturday! We had a really great time and Matthew enjoyed seeing his G-Mama. And I’m not gonna lie, I enjoyed having an extra person to watch my child! =) Friday night we got take out from Cheddars to celebrate Debby’s birthday, and then on Saturday Debby was really sweet and babysat for us so Branden and I could go out to eat with our friends the Matterns, who are expecting a little one of their own! And on Sunday I did something I hadn’t done in probably years… I painted my nails!! I felt so fancy. Debby also taught Matthew a little trick:

Isn’t he talented? =)

And then on Monday night my dad came to town for business and came over for dinner! I was so happy he was here because we hadn’t seen him since Matthew was born back in June!

Oh, and in case you were wondering how Matthew handled the time change, HE DID AWESOME! He slept until almost the exact time I wanted him to wake up. I couldn’t believe it. Now, I’m not gonna lie, there were a few days after that that were a little rough =) but I can’t blame the kid. Nobody told him about the time change. Plus it’s pretty much impossible to be angry at someone who is this cute:

DID YOU SEE HOW CUTE HE IS???

When Matthew gets older we’re going to teach him to say “Did you see how cute I am?” We figure that will help him get out of trouble with his teachers and such. =)

Can’t wait to have some more family time during Thanksgiving!!

Be afraid.

Be very afraid.

Happy Halloween! =)

Yay for photos with all three of us in the shot! These are rare and usually require us to beg a stranger to take our picture. Fortunately Matthew is adorable and no one can resist him. =)

Props to that poor man who took our picture. Trying to get an infant to cooperate during a family photo isn’t a cake walk. For example…

Makes you appreciate the final product, huh? =)

The two men in my life

Mommy and Matthew!

The church where this pumpkin patch was located also offered a free 5×7 from a professional photographer (score!) He was super nice and also sold us an electronic copy of the photos he took, which I should be getting next week! Can’t wait to see them!

Oh, and side note:  Don’t you just love Matthew’s little candy corn outfit?  My mom made that!  It also says “Matthew” on the front, although that’s probably hard to tell in these photos.  Mom is a superb seamstress and also does English smocking.  (Check out her Etsy shop here!)  Yup, my kid is well dressed. =)

-Liz

P.S. Thanks Abby for suggesting this pumpkin patch location! It was just what we needed. =)

Can you believe it??  I sure can’t.  There is no way my little baby boy is already four months old.  He’ll be going off to college before we know it!  (Excuse me for a moment while I go dry my eyes…)

Here are a few things Matthew has been up to this month:

• Plenty of laughing and smiling
• Still sleeping through the night, yay!!
• Sucking his thumbs (I guess we’ll start saving for braces!)
• Holding onto a rattle (although I don’t think he understands “shaking = noise” just yet)
• Lots of baby talk (“Aaraaraaraarahh!”)
• Rolling from tummy to back (See previous post)
• Batting at toys hanging above his head
• Rocking every restaurant we take him to (he sits quietly and looks around the entire time!)
• Supporting his own head!  He can almost sit in the Bumbo all by himself =)
• Accompanying Mommy at the grocery store (I carry him in the Bjorn, which he seems to like pretty well)
• Still kicking those legs 90 mph
• And yesterday he went to the church nursery for the first time! (It was a little emotional for Mommy, but Matthew did great)

TA DAAAAAAAA!!!!  My child is gifted, you know.

Matthew was born on June 23rd at 10:50pm, weighing 6 pounds and 12.5 ounces. The delivery went really well, thanks to my doctor, and besides a little jaundice Matthew was born a happy and healthy baby! Praise God!

This also means that I am now a mom. I have to pinch myself every day, because it’s hard to believe that God has blessed Branden and me with a little life to take care of. What a huge responsibility! And a huge joy! At times I have felt completely overwhelmed and anxious, but God is faithful, and as time is slowing moving on, I have felt more confident in my new role.

Today Matthew is 15 weeks old, or a little over three months old. And I think he’s growing more handsome by the day!

He has the cutest little personality! He smiles and laughs all the time when we’re at home, and when we go out in public he is very quiet and observant. He loves to be carried upright so he can look around. Lately he has been talking up a storm, lots of gurgling and cooing and “Aaaaaaaahs!”. One of my favorite things to do right now is talk to him and listen to him talk back. He has also, as of a week ago started sleeping through the night! PRAISE THE LORD! He’s backtracked a little over the last couple of nights, but we’re almost back to sleeping the entire night again. For those of you who have never woken up two or three times a night for three months straight, let me just say that this turn of events is LIFE CHANGING.

Thank you to everyone who has made an effort to come out and see us and visit Matthew. Branden and I have felt so loved by all of you! And if you haven’t met Matthew yet, then shame on you! You are missing out by not experiencing all of this cuteness in person.

And if you need more proof of how much cuteness can be contained in one little body…

Can you handle all of this cuteness? NO YOU CAN’T!!!

Alright it sounds like my little man has decided to wake up early from his nap, so I better go check on him. More to come!
-Liz