dedicated to the Lord

Warning: photo overload!

August is a pretty packed month for us. Our anniversary is the 9th, David's birthday is the 23rd, the twins' birthday is the 24th, mine is the 26th and my sister's is the 27th. Plus, we have tons of friends' and extended family birthdays scattered throughout the month. So naturally, we decided to add one more thing to this month and dedicate Crawford. Our church does a quarterly baby dedication, so Crawford was one of a dozen or so littles that was dedicated that night. Even though it was at the most ridiculous time for such an event (after our Saturday night church service... like 7:30pm... aka, bedtime), it really was a special time to commit to raising Crawford in a godly home and to pray for him to know the Lord as his personal Lord and Savior. Leigh and Sam dedicated Larkin also, so it was sweet to share this with our small group (Paula and Chad were out of town though, boo!). My family (minus Greg... boo again) was there and Kevin and Lynn came too. 

So, needless to say, Crawford is sleeeepy in these pics. We really try to limit the paci-in-public usage, but it was critical in this situation. He finally passed out by the end of the night, and he really was a trooper for the whole thing. Love that kid!

 Pastor Kenny praying over Crawford

 Love these friends!

Dad looks a little crazy because he was distracting C with a piece of cake. He (Crawford) was enamored by it!

They really love each other! Quick side story: Jodi went to pick Ella up from the nursery at Bible study one week, and the ladies said she really loves one particular little boy. It was Crawford! She kept taking him toys and loving on him. It's so special to me to know that even at such young ages, our kids love spending time together and really know each other!

David introduced them as our "adopted parents", and they are that and so much more. We are so thankful for these friends.

Chase videotaped Kenny's prayer for Crawford, and though the quality is sad, you can sort of make out what he's saying.

Matt & Becca: married!

Forgot to post this last week... oops!

Our dear, sweet friends Matt and Becca got married last weekend. We love these two so much, and the whole weekend was a perfect celebration of them. David and Becca were friends in high school (and they dated for a short while!), so after his first summer at camp he mentioned she should come work too. She did, and she met Matt. So, David likes to take credit for their union :). Matt was already a good friend of David's so we've had a blast hanging out with them over the last... SIX years. Whew! 

Blog readers will remember that Matt is our friend who battled (and beat!) leukemia beginning in January of 2011. We've been with these friends as they've walked through such hard times, and it made this celebration that much sweeter. 

I helped out by directing the wedding, so I've gotten to be with Becca through lots of the planning and preparing parts of the whole wedding endeavor. It was such a sweet season to share.

I do have to brag on both of my boys. I was super apprehensive about the whole weekend because of all of the logistical things had to work out just perfectly - both for the wedding AND little Crawford. Plus, David's friend Mike and his girlfriend came down to stay with us for the weekend so they could also attend the wedding. I was torn about being a hostess and a mom and a wife and a wedding director. I definitely failed at the hostess part, but Mike and Lynaye were gracious. David and Crawford were both rock stars. Starting with the rehearsal on Friday, David helped me SO much. We were totally in sync with each other and Crawford and everything went so smoothly. The boys hung out with Dr. and Mrs. Mosier during the rehearsal (my precious husband... had time to kill and called them to see if he could stop by! heart of gold, that man), and we tag teamed with C at the rehearsal dinner. I left Crawford with David while I did the pre-wedding stuff on Saturday, and they met me at the church in time for the ceremony. We peaced out before it was over (sadly) to give us time to get down the mountain, feed C, and double-check the reception details. Y'all, if you need a good wedding director - hire my husband. He is so thoughtful AND attentive. For example, when Matt's parents arrived at the reception and David took Leaba's bag into the reception hall and gave her the best seat at their table so she would have a good view of all the action. When the horse and carriage arrived at the end of the night, he was the one directing traffic, putting Becca's bag in the carriage and helping them get in. Overall, he's the best. The end.

sweet boy at the rehearsal dinner (too bad you can't see his cute smocked outfit from Wai-Po!)

Daddy got him ready for the wedding :)

sad family picture... ha.

playing with Sophie

Mr. and Mrs. Cash!

fun friends and our babies

Fortunately, my "duties" calmed down for me a bit at the reception and I was really able to have fun. We danced and partied (Crawford slept in the Ergo - he's the bomb) until the bitter end, and it was so so fun.

We crashed at home, and for the second night in a row Crawford went to bed at about 11pm. We were all pooped, but our hearts were full.

I had lots of emotions through the course of the weekend, certainly pertaining to Matt's health and our thankfulness for all God has done in his life. Additionally, now having a son made me extra thoughtful about raising him to be a sweet, loving man like Matt. His brother gave the most touching speech and it made me want to raise children who love each other as much as Matt, Andy and Kathryn do. I kept asking Leaba for advice on raising sons, and she kept giving me the "lots of prayer" answer. We've got that covered, but MAN! I wish there was a detailed outline on how to raise kids into fabulous adults. 

Anyway, all in all we had a really special time celebrating Matt and Becca. We're so sad they are moving to South Carolina, but I have no doubt we'll be seeing them on a regular basis. We can't wait to see them when they get back from Canada! Love you guys!

food!

Now that Crawford is six months old, we've decided (with our pediatrician's blessing) to attempt Baby Led Weaning. This isn't a new concept by any means, but it is new to us! When talking about feeding C, the pediatrician (before I even asked about BLW) said "we do things the way we do them not because they are the only right way, just because it's the way they've always been done". Sooo... we're going to try to skip the puree stage, and go straight to feeding Crawford whole, table foods. Our goals are: 1) eat better as a family (more fresh produce) and 2) help Crawford learn to be a well-rounded, healthy eater (unlike his mom).

After a few pretty failed attempts at rice cereal, we dove right in and gave Crawford steamed baby carrots. Y'all, he loved it! He didn't ingest very much (though I did find some evidence in his diaper that he ate some), but he does a great job holding and chewing/sucking on the carrot. We can tell that he is really enjoying being in his high chair with us at meals, and it is SO sweet watching him explore food.

first rice cereal

We gave Crawford rice cereal for the first time, and as expected, got some awesome facial expressions as a result of his disgust.  

lunch with the Jenkins

I cannot believe the Jenkins have TWO middle schoolers... What?!

Ellie and Laney are so, so sweet to Crawford (even though he turns into crazy baby around them...). I hope one day I can be a role model/mentor/dear friend to these two like their mom has been to me.

Beauties!

[six months]

One month:

Height- 20in,  Weight- 8 lbs. 9 oz.

Two months:

Height- 23in, Weight- 11 lbs.

Three months:

Height- 23.5ish in., Weight- 12 lbs.

Four months:

Height- 24 1/4 in. (25%), Weight- 12 lbs. 11 oz. (10%)

Five months:

Height- 25 in., Weight- 13 lbs. 10 oz.

Six months:

Height- 26 3/4 in. (64%)
Weight- 15 lbs. 11 oz.  (19%)

Crawford, at six months old you...

• have never met a stranger. You smile at everyone who looks at you, and your little gummy grin lights up a room!
• are really squirmy when you get your diaper changed. Not because you don't like it, just because you've realized that you can twist from side to side on your changing table.
• sit up unassisted really well (but we put something behind you for the inevitable flop).
• arch your back when you get mad or frustrated.
• have a really consistent sleepy whine, and you say "mama" non-stop when you're sleepy. You've also started saying "em" which is hilarious to us!
• love to watch tv, but obviously we don't let you! We don't mind for you to see the tv (or even pay attention to it from time to time), but we won't be turning on any kid tv for you anytime soon... sorry, bud. Blame the pediatrician :)
• drink water from a sippy cup. You're basically obsessed with water, and you grab our cups all the time. You like for us to drop water into your mouth from a straw, and you even had a sip from my cup one time! 
• are capable of rolling over both ways, but you never do it. I'm ok with that because it means you stay where I leave you still.
• can sit in a high chair at a restaurant and have sat in the buggy at the grocery store.
• still don't have any teeth! But (as evidenced in the pictures below), your hand - or something else - is always in your mouth. Teeth soon, perhaps.
• usually wake up two times a night to nurse. Argh... You were such a tease sleeping through the night at 4 weeks! Some people have encouraged me to let you cry it out, but I'd just rather feed you :)
• are very chatty, and you love to shriek loudly - usually in public places.
• take two good naps a day (morning and afternoon) and usually a cat nap in between.
• are getting pretty mobile in your crib. Sometimes your head is 180 degrees away from where I put you to begin with.
• are really attentive. You pay close attention to people and toys around you. This is such a fun stage!
• think people (or dogs) walking past you is hilarious.
• love to ride in the stroller and go for walks in the evenings. 
• look JUST like your Uncle Greg at this age. It's crazy!
• found your paci in your crib and put it back in your mouth for the first time today. PTL!!!
• rub your feet together alllll the time. Just like your Wai-Po!

For some reason, I've been especially emotional about Crawford reaching the six month mark. I guess I've anticipated lots of things changing (using the high chair, introducing solid foods, consequently adding the diaper sprayer to our toilet, bigger clothes, mobility) though now that I look at the list it's so silly. Most of those things continually change with a bambino... I guess I'm just so enjoying my time with this little guy that I don't want to skip a beat. I'm sure at some point I'll be anxious for some time away, but for now I'm just soaking up every bit of the six-month-old goodness the Lord has given us in Crawford.