December 2010

Joseph and his Daddy.

Me and my boys.

Jacob smiles so much. He lights up our world!

November 2010

Joseph with the Ginger Bread Man. He would not look at him. Just hold his hand.

Jacob is hibernating!

Joseph posing with his brother. He is amazingly loving with him! He's a wonderful big brother!

Jacob


My "cool" little man.

October 2010

Joseph is getting his face painted for the first time at the church fall fest.

Joseph, Jacob, Daddy, and Snoopy!

My little elephant!


Joseph tamed the lion in his old room.

My sweet angel.

September 2010

This month we had an addition to our family. Mr. Jacob Collier. He weighed 6lbs 11oz and was 19 and 1/2 inches long. WOW! He's a beautiful baby and we thank our wonderful God for bringing him to us. Labor was easy. And thanks to an AMAZING friend, Joseph was safe and sound while we brought this little guy into the world. Having a family of my own has taught me many lessons. And one of them being, I have some great friends who are there for us when no one else is. I cherish and hold them dear to my heart.

Grandma holding Jacob; and Joseph peeking at his brother for the first time. He wasn't quite sure what to make of him.

Joseph is still very young to fully understand his new relationship with this little person. But he is so loving towards Jacob. It makes my heart sing with joy!

Joseph got a work bench along with some tools. And here he is wearing his safety goggles. I LOVE these moments.

This little piggy went to the market....

Don't you just love it!

These are the beautiful boys that have stolen my heart. They have filled my life with love and joy. I love them more than words could ever describe.

Just a few pictures

Singing in the rain? It was pouring one day and I let Joseph catch a few sprinkles. He got a kick out of the rain. He wouldn't go all the way into it, but he'd get close enough to feel the sprinkles and laugh. It was too cute! One day he will play in the rain I'm sure. And I will be there with him!

This is Jared, Joseph's best buddy. He simply adores Jared! He's a great judge of character, as far as I'm concerned.

Joseph trying to walk in Jared's shoes. Literally. He looks up to him that much!

First Hair Cut

Joseph's first haircut wasn't quite a good experience for me. In fact, I still regret it. Not because I think he got a bad hair cut, though I confess to having nightmares about that, but because he didn't look like a baby anymore. He looked like a big boy. Well, a "little boy" to be more exact. The place we took him to was set up great! They had cars and airplanes for the kids to sit in. Wish highchairs came that way. They also had TV's in front of every seat that played any cartoon you could think of. Not bad. I do have to say that I am proud of my little guy for not being afraid and taking it like a man. He wasn't too sure what was going on. But as long as Mommy and Daddy were there, he didn't seem too concerned. Here are a before and after picture. Oh, it still breaks me...

BEFORE: Perfect little ringlets. He made many women jealous!

AFTER: He looks and acts tougher. But he's still my baby! And I cuddle with him every chance he lets me!!

Much too long!

It's been much too long since I've logged on and updated this blog! But time flies! What can I say? Except that we've been extremely busy enjoying our little guy!! Joseph is now 15 whole months! It seems like it was just yesterday that he was 15 days old. A FLASH!
We've been enjoying our summer by staying busy and playing outside. We visit our local library every week for story time. We get together with friends and go to parks, swimming, or whatever our hearts desire. Joseph is enjoying himself and his personality shines through everyday. For example, he loves to dance to just about any music. He loves us to chase him around the house. He seems fearless of pretty much anything. But he's very cautious around people he doesn't know. He observes his surroundings very well before deciding if he likes things or not. He loves to chase birds and kick balls. He has a new whistle that he carries all around the house. Just the other day he was singing to me in the car. He is the joy of our lives! And the best news is that we're expecting another little one by the end of the summer!! We don't know if the baby is a boy or girl, but have gotten many opinions. The majority think it's a girl. Phillip and I go back and forth. Sometimes it feels like a girl, other times a boy. But whatever the sex of the baby, we will be thrilled! It honestly doesn't matter to us what we have. We just pray that the baby is healthy.
Having said that, I will leave you with some pictures of the past few months, and promise to update more often.

Joseph with his favorite blanket. He loves to wear it like a scarf! It's too funny!!

Joseph and Daddy at the beach. He loves the water!

Easter egg hunting this year was so much fun. Meagan and Jared joined us. Here's Nutmeg (Meagan), Joseph, Mama, and the Easter Bunny.

Joseph's 1st birthday! He had a great time at his party with family and close friends.

Our first Valentine's as a family

Firstly, Happy Valentine's Day to all our loved ones. From the bottom of our hearts, we hope your day was filled with love and joy.
Our Valentine's Day celebration stared on Friday at Meagan's school party. I was hesitant to take Joseph out in the cold windy weather as he's had a runny nose here and there. But when I saw the excited look on Meagan's face, I knew it was worth it. Joseph and I sat next to her and enjoyed her party. She was so excited to show us all her projects and drawings and work. It was so cute. She told me that she prayed that Joseph and I could go to her party and it came true. What a beautiful heart she has.
On Saturday Jared, Meagan, and I went to decorate mini Valentine's heart cakes. We all sat and decorated and talked. It was really sweet. I'm so glad our neighborhood grocery store has events such as that. It makes holidays that much more special. We even made a cake for grandma!
Today was our very first Valentine's Day as a "family" and boy, did it feel good. I love my family. I love living every single day with them, and we always love on each other (hugs & kisses) when we can. It is the sweetest thing in life for us. Especially now that we can share that love with our son. Both Phillip and I have lost loved ones and we like to cherish special moments because we know what it's like not to have dear loved ones in our lives.
We had a great service this morning as we were welcomed into our church as new members and Bible study was very meaningful and touched our hearts. Phillip shared his sentiments of watching the opening ceremony of the Olympic games, the power of prayers from the one minute of silence for the kid that passed away, and the powerful song Hallelujah sung by kd Lang. He was moved by that experience and decided to share it. Phillip is such a loving man. I thank God for giving me such a blessing. On the outside it may seem like we are total opposites. But our hearts are definitely in sync and in love. And that alone overcomes everything.
The kids (Meagan & Jared) went to Sunday school and they seemed to enjoy themselves. Meagan kept talking about getting into the Kingdom all throughout the day. The message seemed to sink in for her. Bless her heart.
When we got home we enjoyed our Valentine treats (including our mini cakes) and hung out. We watched movies, the kids played outside, and we all played with Joseph. It was a great Valentine's weekend! Thank you God!

Big Boy

It's amazing watching Joseph grow. His personality now shines through, and I have to say he is definitely a character! He likes to explore and get into everything. Last week I opened the refrigerator to get something out, turned my back for a few seconds, and when I turned back around, Joseph was IN it! He managed to use the shelves as steps to get inside. (I took him out, and watched as he did it again.) He's been walking more and more and I finally managed a decent video of him. He's growing and changing and learning so fast I cannot keep up! Here are some recent pictures.

Our all American boy.

Joseph and Daddy playing on the computer.

Uh Oh!

Aside from saying "mama" and "dadda", Joseph has learned to say, "Uh Oh!" And uses it correctly! When he falls or drops something. It is so cute!
I've been noticing that lately he mimics not only sounds, but tones. He loves loves music, and stops doing whatever he's doing when he hears something he likes. He's been dancing for a couple of months. And at church he likes to sing with the congregation. Trouble with that is that he doesn't stop when the rest of us do. I think I need to put him in music classes.

Joseph can walk!

Joseph took his first few steps today completely unassisted! Just hours shy of turning 10 months. This little boy seems to be in a hurry! Hooray for Joseph! Video of this milestone will be posted later.

Bonne Annee 2010!

New Year's 2010 - Paris, France

Jared and me wishing everyone a Happy New Year!

The Sammons family at Sacre Coeur.

My little French bebe!

Jared took to the French culture very nicely!

Spending time with Delphine and her family.