GOOD MORNING :)

How can you not LOVE waking up to this face (and hair :)?!? Crockett can be such a ham sometimes! There is NOTHING better!!!

10 MoNtHS oLd!!!!!

Another month has quickly come and gone... now the countdown to my baby's 1st birthday is officially ON! This month seemed to have gone by even faster than the others. Maybe it was due to me chasing Crockett all over the house pretty much 24/7. I always thought that my nephew, Braidy, was the busiest kid I had ever met. I think Crockett is giving him a run for his $money$. Not only that, but he is SUCH a mommy's boy! If I am in the room, he wants me to hold him and if I am not in the room, he is screaming. I do LOVE the way he LOVES me :) Everyone told me that little boys love their mommy... boy, do they ever! At the beginning of January, those two top teeth FINALLY came through. They were sure stubborn. Now everytime I see them, I no longer see my baby, but a growing little boy. They have a slight gap, but are the 2 cutest teeth I have ever seen. He is now walking around the fireplace, coffee table and couches and he has even stood by himself, but only for a few seconds at a time. Walking will happen soon, but probably not too soon. (Which is fine with me :) Crockett is such a happy boy. Especially when we are out with friends or running errands, he never fusses or makes a scene. I am always SO proud of him on those afternoons when we miss a nap and he acts like such a big boy. Naptime and bedtime at home are SUCH a different story. I have never heard a kid put up such a fight to go to sleep.... but Crockett does. I hope it is just a phase. In fact, I know it is just a phase, I just hope it ends quickly. Daddy is the only one that can get him to sleep in his bed without a knock-down, drag-out screamfest... Thank goodness for Daddy!! Dinner time is very interesting these days! Crockett eats pretty much whatever mommy and daddy eat (so does Saydi since he loves to throw it on the floor or at her :) He really likes big people food and does not want to be fed by ANYONE! Unless it is pudding or yogurt... he likes those so much, he doesn't care how he gets them! It is quite messy, though, and he always ends mealtime by spitting out whatever he is eating... he is DONE! Finally, I think it is just about time for a haircut. His hair is out of control. When it is wet, it goes onto his back. I have just kept putting it off, knowing what a little boy he will look like when it is all done, but it is really time. It MUST. BE. DONE.

I know the next two months will go by just as quickly as the last 10... I remember this time last year; all the anticipation and excitement that we were experiencing. This year, I am feeling the same way, just for my almost one year old baby boy and all that the future holds.

Crockett, Watching you grow and learn and become a little boy instead of a baby takes my breath away. You are such a fun little man to wake up to in the mornings and such a blessing to thank God for each night when I go to sleep. When your daddy and I dreamt of what our son would be like, there is no way we could have hoped for someone, something as wonderful and precious as you. You have enriched our lives in everyway and made us become better people. We love you so much, baby boy, and cannot wait to see what you will surprise us with next.

FLORIDA!!!

Blue Moon

Weary Travelers... BUT we made it!!

Sand between his toes

Kathryn's Bridal Breakfast with her family


With the Bride-to-be!

The Stone Family

The camera man

Walking down the aisle

Giving his baby girl away :)

Mr. & Mrs Keenan Taylor!!!

Hanging out on the beach

The proud parents of the Bride

1st dance as husband and wife

My sleeping man

Dancin' with my 2 favorite guys!

YUM-O!!

90 miles to Cuba! Key West, FL

I really want one of these!

He found himself in the mirror!

It was swimming toward us! Ahhhhh!

This is Rosy :)

Right after Christmas, we re-packed our bags and headed south for Florida for Kathryn and Keenan's wedding! We met mom and Les in Dallas on Dec. 30 and flew out of Love Field the next morning! It was Crockett's 1st BIG trip... so I was a little nervous to see what kind of traveler I had on my hands. (We all know how much he loves the car! HA!) He was AWESOME! AND, we ended up being in the air for about 2 hours longer than expected due to lots and lots of fog in Houston and the runway lights had gone out. So after circling Houston for about an hour, we were diverted to San Antonio to re-fuel THEN sent back to Houston! From there we flew on to Ft. Lauderdale. Another two hours later and we were in Islamorada, FL... FINALLY! Due to the delay, we were a little late to the rehearsal dinner. It was so great to finally be there and see everyone! We all celebrated New Year (a little early... maybe 9:00 p.m. :) and caught up with everyone under the Blue Moon... it was beautiful! On the morning of the 1st, mom and I had a bridal breakfast for Kathryn and her special people. It was very nice and we all had a great time celebrating her big day. The wedding began at 3 p.m. on the beach at the resort we stayed at. It was so nice and such a sweet, touching ceremony. The weather was beautiful for the wedding but about two hours later the rain came.... it poured! Luckily, we were all under the patio. But after it stopped there was the most beautiful rainbow (and awesome photo op!). It must have been a sign from up above :) We had such a nice dinner and we danced and chatted the night away... Crockett had a great time, but was pooped by the end! He took a short nap during the reception, but woke up for cake!! It was such a wonderful, beautiful, fun, lovely wedding and we were so glad we were able to be a part of it!!! Congrats to Keenan and Kathryn Taylor :)

The next day, we headed even further South to Key West. It was about a 2 hour drive, but a very pretty, scenic one! We had a great lunch of salad, pina coladas, lobster and key lime pie... mmmmm! Then we walked around and shopped a little bit. It was a little chilly for Crockett so we didn't stay a REAL long time. Before we left Key West, I wanted to take a family picture of the 'Southern Most Point of the U.S.' Little did I know that so did everyone else, and there would be a LONG line.... But we waited and made it to the front :) We even saw a lady there walking her miniature horse... just like it was a dog. It was funny and SO SO cute!!

The next day, we drove back to Ft. Lauderdale, but first, we stopped at the Everglades. Chris and I got to take a ride on an airboat and look for some alligators!! It was so much fun (not to mention cold!)!! We saw some really cool birds (blue heron, vultures... I forget what the other ones were called, but they were cute! Our guide even had 2 that knew their names :), some raccoons, and an alligator that got VERY close to us! I wanted to see more, but he said it was a little too cold that day for many of the animals to be out and about. It was so neat!

We had such a great time in Florida! It was nice to get away for a while to a place with no snow :) Crockett was such a trooper... It was great to have LuLu and Les there to help us with him and he loved getting to hang out with them too! Where are we going next?!?! :)

Crockett's 1st Christmas!!!

This was as close as he got this time :)

Braidy in Uncle Chris's boots

Braidy and Crockett playing with Papaw

The best gift of all :)

Mommy helping her favorite gift open his gifts :)

Annual sister's picture with all the babes

Saydi LOVES the snow!

Who needs Santa when you have Grandma?? :)

Christmas with Grandmaw Elwanda and Grandma Welch

So hard to believe Christmas has already come and gone! We all work so hard to prepare for it and then overnight, it is over! Christmas is such a special holiday and this year it was even more special since we had Crockett to celebrate with! Ours started out on Tues. Dec. 22 when we packed the car and the kids (Crockett and Saydi :) and headed to Lubbock. We spent the next few days hanging out with LuLu and Papaw, Mon, Ryan and Braidy and Rachy. It snowed on Christmas eve morning but we went ahead with all of our plans! Santa was going to be at City Bank, so we decided to take the boys. Now, I already knew Crockett was not a big fan of Santa's, but I thought maybe the 3rd time would be better.... Not so much. Braidy really liked him, though! Braidy also liked everyone else in the lobby and went around saying "Hi!"! He is so cute and such a friendly little boy :) Later that night, Mom, Rach and I met Mon, Ryan and Braidy for their church's Christmas eve service. It was a U2 Christmas message on the song 'I still haven't found what I'm looking for' and was great. We really enjoyed it and the music! After that was over, we headed home for some great food and family time. It is our family tradition to open gifts from each other on Christmas eve... and the little boys liked that. They would have been ok with just one present, but they got LOTS of great stuff. Crockett got a wagon and Braidy got a car (which he would not get out of :). We all got lots of good stuff... Chris and Ryan really outdid themselves this year too :) Santa came to visit on Christmas morning! I don't know how he keeps track of all of us!!! Chris, Crockett and I were supposed to drive home Christmas day, but there was a blizzard back in Wichita Falls and it was going to be too dangerous, so we got to stay at LuLu's and hang out with the family all day! The next day was Christmas at Grandmaw Elwanda's, which we missed! I hate that we had to miss it, but we still went to her house when we got home (to LOTS and LOTS of snow, I might add!) and opened gifts with some of the family. It was not the same, but atleast we got to see her. We had gotten to spend some time with her and Grandma Welch right before we left too. The next day we went to Ringling to spend some time with Chris's mom, Trisha and Kelly and Brendan. They had not been able to make it to Elwanda's either. I guess Christmas is not just on one certain day, but whenever you are able to celebrate it with the ones you love. It is so hard with so many families to see. And this year we did not get to see my dad and Jan or Steve yet.... but we will. Crocket was a great sport with all the traveling we did. He had a wonderful Christmas this year and I can't wait to see him at this time next year!

Nine Months Old!!!

Santa's Little Helper

Helping wrap gifts

Such a little urchin :)

Taking a bath with Daddy

WOW..... this is late! On December 22, my sweet little boy reached the 9 month mark. I never can believe how quickly the time goes by. It seems the past few months he has gone from that sweet little baby to a busy, talkative, into everything, curious, loving boy. Crockett, here are some of the wonderful things you are doing:

• You are 28.5 in. (50th percentile) tall and weigh 20 lbs. 8 oz. (50th percentile). You have stopped gaining so much weight each month and are beginning to slim up a bit.... but you still have your sweet little baby rolls :)
• You now say "mama" and "dada" which makes us the two happiest people in the world :)
• You talk A LOT! There is always something coming out of your mouth, and it is mostly happy sounds. You really want to talk to kids you see pass by. Such a friendly baby!
• You are a mover and a shaker! You do not want to sit still for a minute... you are into everything and nothing is safe! You are are not even still when you sleep!
• You know how to "bounce" and "dance". It is one of the cutest things I have ever seen. If I tell you to bounce, you very gently move up and down, even if you are sitting.... PRECIOUS!
• You love to pattycake and have gotten SO good at it! You have done it for a while, but now you do it on cue or by yourself!
• You have become a total MOMMY'S BOY! You want to be with me constantly and are always looking for me if I am not holding you. I cannot get too far.
• You love to read your books. You especially love the ones that you can feel.
• You are still very hard to get to sleep and still want to be nursed, or else you WON'T go to sleep. It is ok, I cherish those moments with you and know that they will end all too soon.
• You love the bath. You would play for hours if we would let you!
• You are trying very hard to get your top two teeth. We have thought they were going to cut through for weeks now.... soon hopefully! They have been very hard on you and made you not feel too good.
• You are wearing 9 month clothes and size 3 shoes, but you really hate shoes (and socks)!!
• You love to play peek-a-boo! When you don't have anything to cover your eyes with, you just cover your ears and wait for everyone to say "where is Crockett?"... it is too cute for words!

There are so many cute, wonderful things you are doing at this point in your life. It is hard to believe that just 9 short months ago it was just mommy and daddy. We always wondered what our son was going to be like, but there is no way we would have ever imagined you would be as wonderful as you are! We love you and our love just grows each and every day!