YAY Uncle Matt & Aunt Tori

Matt and Tori got married Saturday May 23. No, I didn't get any pictures of the bride and groom or us with them. I was busy keeping a 9 month old occupied during a wedding that some of his favorite people were in. Zeke did so great though! He got a little chatty when he saw his dad and any time Spence began talking again. He said "mmm" after each "amen" through out. He did try to grab a container of puffs out of my hand, and spilled half of the bottle on the floor. Zeke had a super long weekend, but was such a trooper! He had little sleep and was around tons of new faces. But he still smiled and charmed everyone through out. We did get a picture of Spence and me (it originally had Z, but he wasn't looking) and one of our family, since we have very few.
Matt and Tori, we are so excited about how God has brought you together. We can't wait to be a part of seeing what He does through you next. I know that whatever you do, you will seek Him, and it will be all to His glory! We love you and can't wait for you to get home so we can hang out!

The mommy and daddy

The Sheltons

Happy Birthday, Uncle Scott!

Church Nursery

To what extremes do the workers in your nursery go so that a baby can sleep while at church? I have had leaders sit on hard concrete flooring with my sleeping son. I have seen workers walk a sleeping child in a stroller for a solid hour. And this one worked herself to sleep with this precious baby (who just happens to be Zeke's girlfriend Bryleigh)

Rubber Ducky, you're the one!

Zeke has gotten to where he loves taking baths. He is so much fun in the tub now. He splashes, gets onto his belly and scoots all around, he loves catching his frog and duck, and opening and closing the drain. He doesn't even mind when I lay him back to wash his hair, well as long as I sing while I am doing it he doesn't mind. He may hate us for the following pictures and video one day, but while he is still too young to protest we are sharing them with you.

It's a full moon, and then some...

Looking punk

Loving his frog and duck

Achoo!

Zeke cracks up everytime I pretend sneeze. We found it out one day when he sneezed for real and then I fake sneezed. He cackles each time I do it. I was able to catch some pictures of him in the after effects of my "sneezing".

What a huge smile!

Check out those teeth!

Maybe the best pic I have taken of this sweet boy!

Walkers lead to...

Soon after Zeke began really walking in the walker, he began standing on his own. He still isn't 100% confident with standing on his own. He loves trying to stand though. He also has begun walking while holding our hands. He thinks he is such big stuff walking around the room. He gets so excited when he sees someone or something that he wants to go after.

Standing at the leapfrog table

Proud boy!

Hanging out with dad

Zeke loves his walker

Zeke's Yaya (Courtney's mom) brought a walker to our house a couple weeks ago. Zeke has become a pro. He does laps around the island in the kitchen. Spence chases him, and he gets so excited he forgets to move. Then he realizes that Spence is chasing him and he tries to go really fast. The funniest part, though, is that he gets distracted by seeing himself in the dishwasher and oven. He is so stinking cute!

Chick-Fil-A

The doctor told us we could start doing little bites of meat with Zeke. What better place to start than Chick-Fil-A? Zeke and I went last week and he enjoyed some french fries and chicken nuggets. Well, he probably ate 2 fries, and 1/4 of a nugget. But he seemed to like it when he wasn't distracted by the people, the windows, and the balloons.

Happy birthday Uncle Matt

Parent Commissioning

On Mother's Day we had our Parent Commissioning service at church. Parent Commissioning is a new name for a service we have changed quite a bit since I came on staff. When I first began it was Baby Dedication. Then it became Parent-Child Dedication. Then we realized that this ceremony truly does not have much to do with that child. It has to do with a parent's commitment to raise their child in a gospel centered home. It has to do with a parent's commitment to raise their child based on what the Bible teaches and not Dr. Spock, the Baby Whisperer or Oprah think is the correct way. This is our church's way of acknowledging that we do have a responsibility to the families in our church. We need to partner with families in raising their children in homes that are focused on Jesus. I believe there is a common misconception with families that it is the church's job to teach children everything they need to know about God and being a Christian. This is completely unbiblical and not the way God has intended the job of parent to be. Our church recognizes that parents will need support, prayer, and sometimes help with raising their children in a Christ-centered home. When we have these ceremonies, we are acknowledging that and agreeing to partner with parents in this huge task.

This day was extra special for us because I did not just plan this one, but Spencer and I participated as parents for the first time. It was so awesome for Spencer and I to be prayed over as parents of Zeke. It was also incredibly scary to think about as members and staff members of our church to think about all the individual families in the room with us (there were 18 other children and their families). It is quite daunting to think about each child and how we can be there for their parents. We families standing in that room together made commitments not just to our children, but to each others. My prayer is for these children to grow up together and spur one another one. To sharpen one another with God's Word and not tear each other down. To encourage and challenge each other into a personal relationship with Christ. My prayer is for these parents to not take the easy road of parenting, but to biblically discipline their children. To not privatize their rearing, but to ask for prayers and help from their church family. My prayer is for our church to love these families and join with them in raising their children in a gospel centered context. Having taken part in this from the parents' side has definitely changed my view of Parent Commissioning, and I think it has for the better. I look forward to partnering with the families in our church not only as they raise their children, but as Spence and I raise ours.


Here are some fun pictures from our day.

Each table had a fun kiddie toy and balloons

Here a close up (too bad it looks like I was hanging the duck)

Spence, Zeke, Ryan, Samuel, Jason, and Holt (best buddies)

Some of my favorite people

I love how we are each looking at our respective cameras...

We had 5 staff babies present. There have been 5 born in 7 month period. Ridiculous.

Oh and Holt was crying because he busted his lip on his mom's head.

My parents and Spencer's parents and grams came to celebrate with us.

Faker

Zeke has recently begun making a new sound. He started it while eating solids one day and I got worried until he smiled. Now he does it everytime he eats. He also loves it when we make the sound back at him. In the video, he has hiccups on top of making the sound. Zeke gets the hiccups all the time, as in at least once a day most days.

Wanna be a balla..

This is Zeke and Spence's newest favorite game. They are having so much fun together lately. I love the male bonding.

Happy Mother's Day!

9 months

Zeke is 9 months today! It is amazing to watch him each day. When we went to the dr this week we got the latest on his stats: 20lbs, 10 oz- 50%, 28.25 in-50%, and his head was also 50%. He has finally started leveling out.
Zeke has changed a ton in the last month! I think he is losing that baby look and looking like such a big boy. He has become much more inquisitive recently. He looks at any sound that he hears. He responds when we talk to him with all kinds of fun sounds. He now has five teeth- three on the top and two on the bottom. He is not crawling, but that doesn't stop him from getting anything he wants. He rolls, sometimes in a continuously line and at other times he kind of wiggles back and forth to get to exactly what he wants. He is not pulling up on stuff, but will pull to standing while holding our hands. He says mama and I am pretty sure he knows that is who I am. (he actually said it last week while looking at the door I had just walked out) He says dada, very infrequently- we all know this means he loves me more :-) He has now been totally on formula for a week. He can hold his bottle on his own. Since transitioning over to bottles, he has gotten much more interested in his daddy. When he sees Spence, he lights up. He has even started fussing when Spence leaves a room. He is eating more and more finger foods. He really enjoys holding a banana and biting it. His favorite foods are still avocado, sweet potatoes, and yogurt. And sleeping issues have pretty much been worked out. He sometimes sleeps through the night (it has now happened a total of 5 times in the past three months- 3 in a row when he turned 6 months, and two nights in a row this past weekend). He goes down for 2 or 3 naps each day with little to no crying.
We love him so much and still can't believe how blessed we have already been in the past 9 months. We praise God that we have such a happy, healthy baby!

Sitting in his UNC rocking chair

(I will be doing a seperate post later about his awesome chair his Yaya made him)

This smile will light up your world

Riding in his wagon

Holding his bottle

Weird kid

Morning videos reach a new level

Firsts this week

Zeke has had some fun this past week with a new toy and a new way to eat bananas. Oh and he has learned to wave, but only when the mood strikes him, never on command...

Waving while riding his car

He wasn't quite sure what to make of this

But he quickly got the hang of it

YUM!

Baby Dos update

I realized that I haven't really talked about baby dos in a while. It's still here, growing away. We went to the dr last week and got to hear the heartbeat. I have been fearful that because we went through all this already, things wouldn't be as exciting. I must say hearing that sweet heartbeat brought tears to my eyes and does even now as I am writing a week and a half later. Our God is so good!
Also, I can't believe it, but I have already been feeling the little one move! It started Monday evening, and I didn't think it was for real. But every evening when I have settled down and I am just sitting, it is just moving around like it is saying "hey, I am here" So cool!