Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas this year! The night before, we made Christmas cookies and decorated them to leave out for Santa. John and I heard the girls start to talk and giggle around 4 am. I think they confirmed that our house had been visited by Santa and then they went back to sleep until 7.

JT was still sleeping, so we let him be and let the girls get going on their stockings. My thought is let sleeping babies be unless absolutely necessary. No need to wake him this year, since he doesn't have a clue what opening presents on Christmas morning means. JT woke up about an hour later and we finished the girls stuff and then ate a nice breakfast.

Then our little man finally was allowed to open his gifts with all eyes on him. The girls arranged his presents and Lindsay let JT use her Christmas blanket to sit on to open his gifts. To our surprise, JT really enjoyed grabbing and ripping the wrap off! So much of JT's enjoyment of this morning was his ability to make noise with the paper, put every single gift in his mouth while still wrapped, and have his family OOOOoooo and AAhhhh at his every move.

After a wonderful Christmas ham dinner, we had a little photo shoot of JT in a Santa hat and nothing else! It was so cute. I just love the soft baby skin and all of his little rolls that go along with that sweet smile. Merry Christmas!!

Giggle Time

JT is at the age where some of the most simple things crack him up! I love the pure enjoyment of life that little ones express. Here is Courtney playing cars with JT:

6 Months

In getting caught up with the business of the Christmas season and life, I have not made enough time to make JT's official 6 month post until he is almost 7 months! Bad Mommy-LOL! I think he will forgive me though.

JT is now half a year old and John and I often say, where is the time going? He's growing up so fast! I look back on the photos from a few months ago and he has grown so much. He was so little! I know that he's still little by all accounts, but the growth he's had in just 6 months amazes me.

He has tripled his birth weight, now just a hare under 19 pounds, grown more than half a foot to just over 26 inches, and now can eat fruit,veggies, and nibble on the occasional finger or two :) JT is now sitting unsupported. Being able to do this has been a big milestone for his happiness. He can now happily play with toys circled around him while I do something like prepare dinner. Before he was stable, he wasn't very happy lying on his back or tummy for long periods of time. He was by most accounts, a "momma's boy"- he was most content being in my arms or sitting on my lap. Something I am very happy to do most of the time, but I do have 3 other children and a husband- let alone myself- who have needs that need to be met!

Some of JT's favorite things to do right now are playing with his feet! In November, I was telling John, " I wonder when JT is going to notice his feet?" I had tried getting his attention with them, playing foot games,etc. but JT couldn't have cared less. Now, it seems God heard my little request, and JT LOVES FEET! Whenever he has the chance, he is chewing on his toes, trying to pull off his socks, and chewing on his socks as well. When I change is diaper, up the legs go and both hand grip tight to his little feet :) It's a cute little stage to enjoy.

This month I have also found a food JT isn't in love with- green beans! He has had green beans several times and every time I have given them to him he fusses and expresses displeasure with me serving this veggie. I decided to be a nice Mom and I am giving him a bit of a break from eating them this month, but plan to keep trying every few weeks. They say you have to sometimes eat something as many as 10 times to "appreciate" the taste. I hope he comes around and like the green beans as they are my favorite vegetable- but I didn't start liking them until I was in my twenties. So I won't push too hard :)

All I want for Christmas...

is my two front teeth! I'm sure you all remember that song from your childhood, I sure do! Well, JT is the perfect image for that song this year!

A few weeks ago his first two teeth sprouted up through his gums. It was a slightly painful process for him as they both decided to come up together. A little Tylenol, lots of chewing toys and many drool bibs helped the process along.

I have been trying like crazy to get some pictures of his new teeth to post, but up until a few days ago he wanted nothing to do with my request. Now, he has begun to smile this goofy smile and proudly displays his two front teeth :)

JT's time of being out of misery from teething was short lived as his top 2 are heading on down. His poor little gums are swollen and you can see where one corner is trying to break ground. Poor little fella! Enjoy JT's cheesy smiles!

Special Sunday

This past Sunday was a special day for the Apedaile Family. We had JT's baby dedication at church. What this is, we as parent's dedicate ourselves to raising JT in a home that will focus on teaching, loving, and serving our lives to Jesus. A tall task indeed, but one Christ has called both John and I to do so with His grace, mercy, and direction.

There were many families also doing the same thing at this service. One great thing was 3 of our close friends were also dedicating their babies as well. JT's friends, Finn, Micah, and Abby were dedicated on Sunday. The service consisted of the parents pledging to raise their children in a Christ centered home, prayers for the families, and a small photo slide show of each of the children being dedicated that day.

As remembrance of this day, the church gave the Mommy's roses, Dad's a New Testament Bible to present to their babies/children, and a certificate noting this important day. As Psalm 127:3 states, "Children are a gift from God;they are His reward."

Lindsay's 12th Birthday

The last year before Lindsay Marie turns into a teen! My, the time goes by so fast! I remember when about 10 years ago most of what we heard Lindsay say was "mine!", or refer to herself as "Beezy Apedaile". Why she was able to say her last name so clear but had a hard time with Lindsay still makes me laugh :)

Lindsay still has quite the creative soul as you will see her turkey creation made out of Lego's below. She decided to make this Thanksgiving/Birthday morning getting inspiration from a turkey picture she did in math on graph paper. I was quite impressed to see her work- I don't think I would be able to come up or create this even now! Also, I have a picture of her penguin pillow she made in teen living. She again loved making this and enjoyed learning how to use the sewing machine at school.

Lindsay especially enjoyed having Thanksgiving this year land on her birthday. This hasn't happened since her 1st birthday. We did all of her presents before the meal and let her choose her dessert- Oreo chocolate pie we made together- to accompany the pumpkin pie. It was a great day to celebrate Lindsay's birthday!

Thanksgiving

Well, it's almost a week late, but better to post than never at all! We had a great 1st Thanksgiving as a family of 6. We had a double celebration as it was also Lindsay's 12th birthday as well, but that will be another post all for her :)

We enjoyed the day together doing some of the things we typically do each Thanksgiving. We made cinnamon rolls and watched the Thanksgiving Day Parade, tuned in for some football, and had a fire. This year we also played a family game of Risk. JT observed as Mommy and his sisters tried their best to fight off John, who has much more experience and mad skill in world domination.

We had a great feast of turkey, stuffing, homemade mashed potatoes, rolls, green beans, among other yumminess! John and I made the Apedaile double layer pumpkin pie and also had Lindsay's request of chocolate Oreo pie that she helped prepare. JT just had some baby food of sweet potato and bananas. I did give him 2 finger licks of mashed potatoes, but didn't give anything else so I didn't give him an upset stomach from uncharted territories food wise.

We have much to be thankful for each and every day. The Lord has blessed us with such wonderful children, a great marriage, church, and friends to share life with. On Thanksgiving we just take a special pause to recognize these gifts that we thank God for each and every day.

Musical

Courtney has from an early age had more of an appreciation or gift towards anything musical. Maybe her abilities are something she gets from me, as I played in orchestra from 4th-12th grade and played violin and viola. She has always loved singing, performing, and dancing. She is easily the best dancer in the family, and for the past year, she has been involved in the music program at her elementary school.

Here in middle Tennessee, its different than in Clovis Unified where I attended. Music classes with instruments aren't offered until middle school. Back in the day when I was in school, we were able to play starting in the 4th grade. So that stinks a bit, but its what it is :) So what they do at Courtney's school is something called Orffestra. No that's not a typo, its from composer Carl Orff, which devised a way to help younger children develop musical ears and have a positive musical experience. They use a lot of percussion instruments and recorders to perform these songs.

Courtney has been playing her recorder since the 3rd grade and has been in Orffestra since last year. Its an honor to be in this group because the music teacher selects the students by invitation only. Courtney practices after school with the group and works at home on her parts.

This past month, she has had two performances. The first, she played a big drum for families and kindergartner's at their Open House and then she played her recorder for the 1st grade play for Thanksgiving. Courtney did a great job at each performance and we are looking forward to more!