T's first Bird Hunt

For Christmas, Travis and I gave my dad, his dad, and our brother-in-law a guided bird hunting trip in the area. Of course Travis went too! They hunted for quail and had a ball. They shot 26 of the 30 birds that they were after and enjoyed watching the dogs flush the birds out and collect them! Their guide said they did awesome for their first time. We have a quail dinner coming up really soon if you're interested in joining us! Here are a few pictures from their shoot...I know they are hoping to go again really soon! 

I love that Travis has a hobby that he enjoys and shares with the other men in our family! SO fun!

More soon!~

Peace and Love,

Kristen

8 months and Christmas

Blakely turned 8 months on December 6th. She is growing like a weed, is so curious about everything and just a sweetheart!

We took some "normal 8 month pictures" and then I took a few in front of our Christmas tree! 

Surprisingly, she wasn't really interested in the lights. She did try to pull the bows off of several gifts!

At 8 months Blakely Kate:

~ weighs 18 lbs. 8 oz.
~ 28 and 3/4 inches tall
~ wearing 9 month and 6-12 month clothes
~wearing size 3 diapers
~is officially crawling and on the move!
~is more curious about things than ever!
~got her first ear infection
~eating anything her Nana makes her (mom has been making homemade baby food for a while now and Blakely and Penelope love it!...I love that we know exactly what she is eating and mom is a great cook, so it has been great!)
~drinking apple juice and about 24 oz. of formula a day
~pulling anything and everything out of the wall
~Saying "ma-ma" a lot! (Don't tell Travis but I've really been working on this with her ;))



I love Blakely's curiosity! She is really taking everything in in the world around her and while that puts us on the move keeping up with her, it is amazing to watch her little brain process it all! She is such a snuggle bug and sweet as ever.

As you may be able to see, taking the rocking chair pictures we have taken each month has become much more of a challenge as Blakely is on the move! She wants to play with mommy's camera rather than let me use it on her!

She loves her teddy...Her daddy says she is fulfilling one of his life goals- to wrestle a bear (~sigh!)

 Christmas

For Christmas, Blakely got a few toys and some clothes and some money for her college account (yeah, we're trying to get ahead of the game!). She got a precious little swing and slide for our backyard, a "grow-with-me" tricycle, a play camera and phone and several other things! We knew she wouldn't really know what was going on and so we asked everyone not to do too much for her first Christmas! She pulled a few pieces of tissue out of some bags, but other than that, she napped most of the morning and then played with her toys! We had a great first Christmas as a family and Travis and I know the greatest gift we received this year came back in April! It's a gift that keeps on giving to us each day!

Playing with her camera

Blakely and her Daddy

Riding Cousin Penelope's elephant...B wasn't so sure about it at first. She really enjoys it now!

I'll have more Christmas pictures and 9 month updates when we go to the doctor in a few weeks! We pray you and your family have a fantastic 2014! We are excited for what the Lord is teaching us and leading our family to do this year! Blessings to you~

Peace and Love,

Kristen