Fourth Anniversary Celebration Weekend

We had a great time celebrating our 4th anniversary over the weekend. We were fortunate enough, thanks to Mammy and Grandpa, to go to "Casa de Rosie" again. It's become a great tradition for our anniversaries-this year it was made even more special since we had Corban with us. Rosie was super excited to meet him. Even made an exception to her "no children" rule. We have become pretty close over the last few years after sharing many meals and conversations. It's such a great get a way. We stayed in the casita this time around and it was perfectly cozy. We got pretty spoiled by the king size bed
This photo of Casa de Rosie - A Mesilla B and B is courtesy of TripAdvisor.
This photo of Casa de Rosie - A Mesilla B and B is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Corban enjoyed exploring the place and loved the water in the fountain.





We made it to the Farmers Market in Cruces which is one of my favorite things to do. We also took a stroll around the plaza-walked along the irrigation canals, ate some delicious food, and did lots of relaxing.






By the end of the day, Corban and Daddy were tired!



So Peaceful (thankfully-because he had a rough go with teething earlier in the day)



Sunday, we got up and Rosie made us a delicious breakfast. She made fresh strawberry jam, homemade bread, and a Dutch pancake. She is so sweet , she gave me her sourdough recipe, along with a starter. Then it was naptime-clean up time-then pumpkin patch time! We had fun taking Corban to the pumpkin patch and maze. We took lots of pics and got a cute little pumpkin from the patch.
Overall, it was a wonderful weekend. So grateful for my marriage and my boys.




Love Corban's face on this one-





Thank you Lord for our son.



Our Love


(Hector and Letty, so glad you all got to come down to El Paso! Thanks for feeding our pups for us!)

Fall Family Fun

(even though Tech went on to lose to the Aggies later that day, Corban was representing}

Finally the weather seemed more like that of Fall this weekend. It was invigorating! Even the dogs were stoked! We woke up on Saturday morning, loaded up the fam, and went to the dog park that just recently opened up about 5 mins from the house. We had a great time chatting it up with fellow pet owners. It's a pretty big deal that we have an official dog park here on the Westside now.



"Happy Pups"



"Where's the ball?"


"That was fun"



Next, Corban and Daddy had some bonding time while Mama went to a baby shower. Then it was off to church where we heard a great sermon on Jesus being our advocate on Judgement Day. How we are going to be held accountable for every thought, word, and action-but through God's great mercy-we (as believers) have his Son by our side. Grace. Corban stayed in the sanctuary for the praise portion and he tried to sing with us. He really loves music.

Then, Sunday was a busy day. Daddy worked really late Saturday, so Corban and I got up and snuck out of the house so Dad could catch some Zzz's. We went over and hung out with Papa ( my dad) for a while. He cooked us some breakfast and Corban enjoyed his first taste of scrambled eggs and cheese. Yum! When we came home, Corban and I watched Dadadadada clean off a fun toddler slide that Tessie and Phil lent us. We put him down the slide a couple times and he LOVED that. Thanks friends for blessing us by sharing Felipe's toys.

Daddy then went off to sell shaved ice at the fields, and Corban and I went to visit Grandma and Grandaddy Billstone. It's always fun to watch the interactions between them. He loves them , and they love him-it's very evident. He coos, smiles, and rolls his rrrr's... think "RRRRRRRrruffles have RRRRRrrrRRRRidges" He had a great time running all over their living room from the picture frames, to the coasters, to their walkers, back to the frames, then the standing fan. He was a busy boy! I've said it before and I'll say it again, it's so special that they live close enough that Corban can know his Great Grandparents.

The rest of the afternoon, Corban kept me very busy. He ate yogurt, cereal, and apple pieces. We played in his room, made a mess of the kitchen, then went back outside to play with the swing, dogs, and slide.

"I got your back Corban!"



"And they called it puppy love"



"Happy Girl Karlee"



"Wonder if mom would notice if I just went down this slide"



"slimed!"




Finally, DADADADADA came home, took Corban to the store so that I could shower and have some alone time. Then we grilled steaks, had baths, and got ready for another week.

Life is beautiful.

Nine!

Been looking at this boy a lot and I seriously get overwhelmed at times with the love I have for him. Jaime and I went through a lot praying for the opportunity to be parents and we don't take one single day for granted.
He is 9 months old today! I was pregnant for 9 months and it seemed to take a long time, but now that Corban is 9 months, it's gone so fast!
We had a doctor's appt today for his well baby appt. Corban weighs 18.04 pounds, he is 28 inches long, and his head is...well, it's just perfect! So, he's grown almost 9 inches since he was born! Doctor G said he is looking good and meeting his milestones. He babbles, has mamitis (aka stranger anxiety) , plays games ... all the things a 9 month old should be doing-and more.
Corban will probably be walking soon. He was pulling up on his crib before he started crawling, so he has gotten pretty good at it. He walks around everything, and can stand on his own for a couple of seconds before falling. He also likes to climb on top of things and sit down. Pretty cute. This morning he climbed up his step stool and was holding onto the top of his crib! He also dances...a lot! He loves music and drumming on things. The daycare ladies get a big kick out of it!

Speaking of daycare, he has some good buddies there. Besides Marisol, the owner, there is a boy named Augustin. Every morning Augustin patiently waits for Corban to arrive, then he runs and gives Corban 2 balls to play with. One for each hand. They both get all smiley and excited. Augustin will not give the balls to anyone other than C. Augustin is 1 and a half. His other buddy is a cutie pie 3 year old named Kai. Kai will hold Corban's hands and dance with him-all the kids are so sweet and precious. So thankful God put Marisol into our lives.








Oh, and today, Corban's bottom left tooth poked through! His grin is too cute.




Some comparison shots:
9 days



9 weeks



9 months

Peek-a-Boo

We have been playing this with Corban for months and he loves it-really cracks him up. The other day, I was at the end of the bed, and Corban was standing on the other side of the headboard. I grabbed the top of it and squatted down. I look up to him peering over with a huge grin and I pop up and say, "peek-a-boo!" he laughs and I do it all over. Next thing I know, he is slowly descending below the headboard with a smile from ear to ear. Then, he comes back up and his eyes are so wide-he squeals as I say "peek-a-boo!" Then he did it again. He was impressive! It made us both laugh. Next, we go into his nursery and as he stood by the ottoman, he picked up a blanket and pulled it clumsily up to his face and then lowered it again. I said "peek-a-boo" and he was thrilled, like , "oh she gets it!!"

Labor Day Weekend Sept 3-Sept 5

So, here we are a few weeks after the fact-but some big things happened that weekend and my goal was to have them written about before Corban's 9 month blog. Well, in an hour and a half, Corban will be 9 months, so here we go- goal achieved.

It was a big weekend! On 9-3 Corban and I went to the Farmers Market to visit Daddy. Then, we went to a birthday party. Corban seemed pretty tired, so we came home to nap. He didn't nap. So, we played, but he was a little more serious than usual. He finally napped, but seemed a little more sensitive when he woke up. Well, he cut his first teeth! His top two! Poor little angel face. He had a slight temp, and cried pretty hard when we put him down for bed. He's never acted that way, and we just felt terrible for him. Jamie went to the store for teething gel, and humphreys #3 tablets. We fixed Corban up and the next morning he was back to himself.

Look, Teefers!!!




Then on Monday, Corban started clapping for the first time! Jamie and I went to go see a movie while his Papa watched him. When we got back, I was standing in the kitchen with him and he started clapping! I was so excited. Now he randomly practices clapping. Like while nursing back to sleep in the morning, he practices in slow motion. Awww, love.

Watch Mammy and Grandpa-I can clap!

Eight!

2/3 of a year! Amazing :o) He is our babbling, crawling, cruising ray of sunshine. Everynight we thank the Good Lord for our precious boy.

Since our 7 month update, I've returned to work, and Corban has gone back to daycare. He has continued his early to bed, early to rise routine. This is fine with us!! It works for him and seems to keep him pretty stable. Plus, it gives Jaime and I some time to catch up, relax, and then go to bed. We're tired too!
Corban has changed quickly in the last month. Right before returning to daycare-he started crawling!! He was just a few days over 7 months. Now he is 8 months, and he is FAST! At the time he started crawling, he had also been pulling himself up on his crib-and on other things. Now he pulls up on everything, cruises around the furniture-and can carefully pick up objects off the floor-and stand back up with them. He is quite the explorer and gets so tickled when he crawls after us out into the hallway. He can hardly contain himself when he sees Haley ,even more so now that he has become mobile. She has learned to run from him! He just laughs and keeps in hot pursuit :o) In the mornings, he wakes up , smiles, kisses and squeels. He is so happy. Such a sweetie.
He is great with finger foods now-and hasn't turned his nose up at anything really. Although I don't think peas are his favorite. Who can blame him?! So far he has had-watermelon, pears, carrots, butternut squash, yellow squash, sweet potato, peas, whole beans, a little bread, yogurt,parsnips,broccoli, organic apple cinnamon cereal, puffs, avocado, peaches, plums, apples, and bananas.
Jaime and I have been going to church on Saturday nights now-since Corban naps during the time we would go on Sundays. It's been a nice way to end the week. There is a band and the leader is great-super voice! Corban goes to the church nursery now and so it's sort of a nice time for mommy and daddy time.

Seven !

Our Lovebug is 7 months old today!




We spent Corban's 7 month birthday in Austin with family. He got to meet his Aunt Mandy, and his cousins Michael and Maren. We had a great visit. The plane rides went smoothly as he nursed, then slept.



At the airport



At the end of the ride, Corban earned his wings and got to visit the cockpit with Daddy





Meeting Aunt Mandy for the first time!



Katie came to see us too!!




We got to go visit little e and co



Then lots of fun family time


















He is loving picking up food with his fingers and trying to get it into his mouth. He is also just about to crawl. He gets on all fours and he inches forward a little, or he kind of lunges and then goes onto tummy. He hasn't quite perfected it, but boy is he close. I think it will be less than a week before our boy is mobile!