2011 Recap

Now that I have a free minute with a napping baby, I thought I would do a quick recap of 2011.

January:

I turned 24 (I was pregnant in this picture and didn't know it yet!)


We found out we were expecting a little miracle!


February:

We saw Baby Payne for the first time, a little blob.

March:

A quiet month, but a growing belly!

April:

Baby Payne is a BOY!


Revealing to our families.

Dakota gets a big girl room in anticipation of Lawson's arrival


May:

Dakota plays T-ball



Dakota's dance recital


STILL growing belly!


June:

Lawson's room is almost done!


Lawson is growing!


July:

Baby shower thrown by my mom, sister, and wonderful friends.

Lawson is so spoiled!

Getting a glimpse of Lawson



August:

Maternity photos


Another glimpse of Lawson

Dakota turned FOUR!

I was in TWO accidents with Lawson this month, and visited L&D six times! Not the best month in 2011 at all!

September:

Lawson is here!!!


Adjusting to life as a family of 4


October:

I went back to work and Lawson went to daycare


Lawson's first Halloween

November:

Lawson's first Thanksgiving and hunting season! :)


December:

Our first Christmas as a family with Lawson

2011

There is no possible way that any year could ever top 2011. 2011 is the year I became a mommy, and there's nothing in my life that will ever compare to that. 2010 comes in a close second since that's when we got married, but still not as good (sorry Chris, haha!).



It's so hard to believe that my tiny six pound baby is almost four months old and has already doubled his birth weight!

Watching Lawson grow and learn new things is the most amazing thing. It's also very bittersweet. Chris and I get so excited when he does something new, but there's also this little pang of sadness at the fact that he's growing up. We are just amazed DAILY by the things this little boy can do! Just this past week, he has found new sounds and is really close to sitting up on his own. It's so crazy how he literally changes over night. He will wake up some mornings and have a new "skill" to show off to us! It makes for some ROUGH nights sleep-wise, but I love the new milestones he is hitting.



One of his absolute favorite things to do is talk to us. He really thinks he is so big and tries so hard to make his mouth make words like ours. His little face concentrates so hard when he is "talking" or listening. We spend many nights and early mornings just laying in bed and talking to him. I have so many cute videos of him talking, but I can't figure out how to upload them here. Maybe some day I'll have time to figure it out. :)

Here's to a wonderful 2012 filled with many blessings and lots of love! Happy New Year!

Christmas

We have had a wonderful Christmas! We still have one more to go with Dakota and Chris' family, so we will probably do that one sometime next weekend.

Our kiddos are so blessed and loved by their grandparents, aunts, and uncles, and got more gifts than they know what to do with! We will definitely be doing some room cleaning this week!

Santa Baby...

Haha!

Lawson playing at the Bland Family Christmas

Playing at home

Here is what Lawson did most of the time we were opening gifts. He just smiled at everyone. Or he slept. He did that a lot too, ha!

Lawson got a Jumperoo from Grams and Pops, and he LOVES it! He plays in it every day!

His Auntie knows Santa, so he was hoping she put in a good word for him on Christmas Eve. :)

Dakota got lots of clothes!

And what she really wanted...a Nintendo DS.

DS games...sorry the picture is blurry, I was feeding Lawson and playing camera man. :)

Purse from Aunt Cara

Jewelry box from Aunt Sonya

The other toy, besides the DS, that she has been asking for over and over- a Barbie house! From Licia and Chuck.

Me and my silly monkey. :) Love this boy!

We are so blessed and couldn't have asked for a better Christmas, and especially are thankful for the reason we celebrate in the first place! We enjoyed spending time with family and just relaxing for a few days. I will never forget this Christmas because it was Lawson's first. Even though he slept through a lot of it and had NO clue what was going on, we did, and we love watching him be a silly boy! Merry Christmas!

Screaming and a Lovey

I debated even posting this, but if I only posted the good things, I wouldn't be posting about our real life, ha!

Screaming can be heard frequently at our house these days. Lawson is still happy as ever and plays so well, but instead of just being fussy when he gets tired, he has learned that he can scream when he doesn't get his way. Uh-oh! Here are a few faces that can be found at our home...


I know, I know...bad mommy for taking pictures of this. But he really is such a happy baby that I wanted proof that he does cry too! :) He really HATES to be burped now and when he is tired instead of his usual fussing, he screams. Those are pretty much the only two times he screams, but I have to admit that I am NOT loving his new found screaming freedom. Hopefully it passes quickly. Then of course we'll be on to teething and he will scream because of that. Always something, huh? :) Good thing he's cute!

Lawson's Honey (day care provider) got him a Lovey for Christmas. He LOVES it!! He likes to hold it and really loves having it for nap time. Here are some pictures of Lawson and his Lovey.


He just LOVES his Honey and Chris and I are so grateful that he spends each day with someone who truly loves on him like we would if we could be home with him. She is a Godsend and we are thankful she is in Lawson's life.


I think Lawson may be getting this for a last minute Christmas gift. Some friends were discussing this today, and I really like the idea of it. I have a few of the Fisher Price apps on my phone and Lawson seems mesmerized by them, so I think being able to just hand him the phone instead of holding it for him (eventually) will be great!


Here are some photos of Lawson that just make me laugh. It's bittersweet to see him learning new things. I love that he is growing and developing, but I wish time wasn't flying so fast. We try to soak up every minute with him so that we don't miss anything!

He was supposed to be sleeping here...obviously he was not, ha! He is so funny and usually at night when Chris and I are exhausted and ready to go to bed is when Lawson brings out his cheesiness. He just smiles and laughs and we crack up. He must know that momma and daddy can't get mad at him when he's hamming it up, ha!

A little glimpse of my boy's sweet smile.

"The flash is way too bright, Mom!"

We can't wait to spend the first Christmas with our sweet boy! It will definitely be one to remember. :)

THREE!!!!

Lawson, you are THREE months old!

Here is what you are up to:

• You wear size 0-3 months clothes and I don't see that changing anytime soon! We may have to go up in sleepers and pants just because of the length, but as far as chunk, you have room to grow!
• You wear a size 1 diaper.
• You are about 11.5 pounds and 24" long!
• You are such a little person now! You smile and interact with us, and definitely have your own little personality.
• You LOVE your play mat! You lay on it and smile at your toys, or kick them, and you LOVE to hold your ball and stick it in your mouth.
• You have discovered your hands and they are ALWAYS in your mouth!
• You ROLLED OVER (tummy to back) this month! That's how much you hate tummy time!! (video below)
• You LOVE daycare, and have made lots of friends there. All the little girls there are so sweet with you and are your little mommies. Your friend Beaux is the only other boy!
• You are on a GREAT schedule, and you sleep all night! We feed you at 9 pm, and then you are asleep between 10 and 10:30, and we wake you up again at 6 am to eat!
  
• You eat 5 ounces every 3 hours! You are a little piglet, even though you aren't chunky. Your pediatrician calls you "slim!" Haha!
• One of my favorite parts of the day is when Daddy is talking to you and he doesn't realize I'm listening. You "talk" back to him and smile at him, and it is the sweetest interaction.
• You nap ok at daycare in your pack n play, but your 4:30 pm nap is ALWAYS on mommy, and I LOVE it! It's what I look forward to every day and what I can't wait to leave work for!
  

Here are some pictures and a video, in a very random order...

Playing with your ball

ROLLING OVER!

Play time!

You have changed SO much! I can't believe it! I wish you would just slow down and be little forever! Daddy thinks I'm crazy and can't wait until you are big enough to hunt! :)

Happy 3 months beautiful baby boy! You are our joy, and we can't wait to see what new things you will do this month!

TWO months old!

Lawson, you are two months old!

Your daddy and I love you so much more every day! Here is some of what you are up to at two months:

• You wear a size 1 diaper
• You FINALLY wear 0-3 months size clothes
• You weigh about 9.5 pounds (we will know your official weight at your 2 month appointment Wednesday)
• You are about 24" long!
• You have started smiling and laughing at us. It melts our hearts.
• You started daycare last week and you LOVE it! You just watch all of the other kids and are never bored there! You are always tuckered out when we pick you up!
• You are still a great eater and eat about five times a day.
• You mostly sleep through the night. You sleep from about 9 until 3 or 4 (sometimes 5 or 6!) and when you wake up you don't want to eat, you just want to fall back asleep with mommy and daddy. :)
• You love to look at what's around you, and cry when you get turned away from any action going on! :) You watch your sister and cousins so intently, it's so funny!
• You are so precious and love to snuggle. When you lay on Daddy or Mommy's chest you use your neck muscles and just stare at us while we talk to you.
• You "talk" to us all the time! It is so sweet!
• You had your first sleep over at Gram and Pop's house because Mommy and Daddy were both so sick and we didn't want you to get sick! We missed you so much and woke up a couple of times in the night thinking we heard you cry! :)
• You are such a little person now and not really a "blob" anymore, ha! We love seeing your sweet personality show and loving on you every day!
  
• We have NO idea what we would do without you!!!

You are growing SO fast!

Your sister LOVES you! One day this picture will be great black mail! Haha!

Your first Halloween!

Napping with Mommy

Smiling at daycare :)
Sitting up in the Bumbo like a big boy!

My sweet family