Check-ups

We took Jayden and Journey to their checkups last week (his 18mth/her 2mth).  Jayden weighed 24lbs 14oz (34th percentile) and was 33 in. (67th percentile).  Baby Journey was 14lbs 2oz (98th percentile) and 24 inches (94th percentile)! Both of them had 3 shots, which made for an interesting few minutes.  They recovered pretty well and later that day welcomed both of our families into town.  We have spent the last 3 Christmases together and it is such a great thing! More Christmas pics to come...

Growing Up Too Fast

Journey seems to be growing up so fast. I have really allowed myself to enjoy her newborn days and I'm glad because they are dwindling away. I feel it noteworthy to mention that she is wearing a size 6 mth outfit that my friend Morgan gave her (pic above)! And the outfit in the picture below is 3-6mths, which is the size she is consistently wearing. Shane and LaJuan's twins wore the outfit in the picture below less than 2 months ago (they are 9 months old by the way). Needless to say she is growing in every way.

Leaving on a jet plane...

We thought it was noteworthy to blog about Jayden's 20th airplane ride (and Journey's 1st). We have taken several trips since Jayden was born, which we calculated as 20 actual take-offs and landings.

Friends

We were able to visit lots of friends while in Mobile.  I loved this pic of Jennifer and Journey

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Jayden and Olivia back at it again~these two locked lips with little persuasion. They are almost the exact same size now and even their hair color is similar.

 

Jayden was able to play with Abby too! They were really sweet together.  We are trying to teach Jayden to be gentle with girls...I think he's catching on.  Abby was so sweet and seriously charming. Abby's parents have a blog and we have a link on our page.  Check it out, you will be encouraged! 

I'm in love with this picture.  Abby has such an endearing look on her face.  She is such a cute and sweet spirited little miracle

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Hudson and Jayden with the "deer in the headlights" look on their faces.  Do they look like trouble or what?  We played at Matt and Morgan's just before we played with Abby.  Let's just say that there wasn't a lot of "gentle" playing going on, which of course we loved!

A Visit to Little Donald (aka D3)

While we were in Mobile we were able to meet Demetrius' cousin Christy's baby boy Donald III.  This little man is a fighter...adorable too.  We didn't get a picture of him because we didn't want to wake him up before it was time to eat!  He is almost 4.5 lbs and should be coming home really soon!  Little Donald was born at 23.5 weeks gestation and he has been growing strong by the grace of God.  Below is a picture of Christy with Journey.  The picture above was taken in the waiting room. 

First Smile on Camera

We were finally able to capture Journey smiling! She mostly smiles and laughs in her sleep but she does occasionally smile back at us.  My mom caught this grin on camera.  She took a million pictures of the kiddos, which is why she wasn't in any of the slide show pics! We had such a great time visiting family and friends.

Journey's Baptism

We were back home in Mobile this past week for Journey's baptism.  We are so thankful that God has blessed us with this little girl! We pray that she will come to know Him and love Him. 

True Love=Broken Hearts

If anyone loves Demetrius as much as I do it is Jayden. I cannot describe the extent to which he loves his daddy. It amazes me every day. Well, today it broke my heart and Demetrius' as well. Here's what happened...

Demetrius had to go to the Seminary to work on a paper so Jayden and I walked him to the car. We knew Jayden would cry when he left because he always does. But after spending several days straight where Demetrius did not leave his sight, he was more upset than usual. Picture this now...Demetrius pulls out of the driveway (Jayden screaming in the background) and starts driving down the street. Jayden dramatically runs down the driveway, into the street (which he never ever does because he knows he is not allowed) and starts chasing the car. Meanwhile I go after him and witness major tears streaming down his face and falling onto the pavement. Sad is the only way to describe it. He was heartbroken. I was heartbroken. And as you can guess Demetrius was most heartbroken as he watched from the rear view mirror.

Fun Times

Rock-a-Bye baby in the tree top! I have to watch Jayden anytime Journey is within reach because he LOVES his baby sister so much that he wants to touch, poke, kiss, stroke her ALL THE TIME! He loves to swing her really fast which she obviously does not like too much.

Sweet Christmas baby! My friend from college sent this Santa outfit for Journey. I thought she looked adorable in it. Of course I think she looks adorable 100% of the time! I mean, would you look at those cheeks???

This was Jayden's first time holding Journey. He squeezed a little too hard, which caused this funny look you see on Journey's little face. The contrast of their hair colors makes me laugh too!

Thanksgiving Vacation

This year we were not able to travel for Thanksgiving and since our roommates' families came into town we decided to take a family vacation here in Florida. We stayed in Sarasota, Fl at a friend's parent's condo. We had the place to ourselves and we definitely enjoyed the get-a-way. We did miss our families and the traditional Thanksgiving feast (no I did not cook thanksgiving dinner). This pic represents what Journey did the entire 4 days we were there...sleep!

We ventured down to Siesta Key, a beautiful beach with powder-like sand. It was gorgeous but Jayden was afraid of everything. He eventually played in the sand a bit but he mostly enjoyed sitting in the yellow chair chugging his apple juice from his cup. He is a peculiar little kid to say the least. Gotta love him...

I decided to put Journey in this very "florida-like" dress since we were near the beach. It was way too cold for spaghetti strap dresses but I had to at least put in on for the picture. Because as you can see she's growing out of her clothes FAST! She continues to capture our hearts with her sweet spirit.

Jayden continues to be awe struck over his "daaaaaad." I thought this was a sweet picture. He thinks everything Demetrius does is cool (except when Demetrius has to spank him of course).

FUNNY FACES...no captions needed