Fall Family Photos 2012

Wow!  The last month has been a blur as we hosted family for 2 weeks and then traveled to Pennsylvania for Thanksgiving.  Today, I finally have a chance to sit down and catch up on our blog and I am so excited to share a few of my favorite pictures from a recent photo shoot!  

We had these taken the Sunday that Abigail turned 9 months old and I am so thankful to have such good pictures of our family.  

This little book is her favorite right now and one we received from Dolly Parton's Imagination Library program that sends children free books each month! If you haven't heard about this, check it out and sign up your little one! 

Abigail is growing and changing so fast.  I love these pictures and our photographer was wonderful to work with!  Here is her site and if you like her facebook page you can keep up with her specials!!  

A day at the Nashville Zoo!

My sweet little girl has been under the weather the last few weeks and she cut 5 new teeth within a few days so there have been lots of tears around our house.  She finally started feeling a little better this weekend so off to the zoo we went!
We had the best time strolling around and letting her take in all the new sights and sounds.   The weather was beautiful in Nashville and we were accompanied by a few of my favorite Colombians!  The Enciso family has been staying with us for a few weeks and we have loved having our home filled with giggles and excitement.  

I love making memories and that's what the last few weeks have been all about!  Here are a few pics of Abigail with her cousins and family at the Nashville Zoo! 

9 Months Old!

Abigail is 9 months old today and FULL of personality!  It seems like each time I pack up the clothes she has outgrown and start looking back at her newborn pictures, she does something so cute and silly that I forget how sad I am that this year is flying by and laugh out loud with this sweet girl!

She is really starting to interact with us and her personality is hilarious!  This is her new favorite toy right now. 

I was cooking in the kitchen this week and I could hear the most adorable baby giggles coming from the living room.  Mike was on his hands and knees pushing her through the house on this puppy toy!  Her Doo Dah brought this by earlier in the week and she is loving it!  You can also feed the puppy little shapes through his mouth and reach in on the sides to get the toys out.  Once she is standing and walking, there is a handle that pops up so she can walk along with it too!  I think she will get a lot of use out of this one! 

Of course her other favorite toy is Miller.  She crawls all over the house now and Miller is the perfect jungle gym.  Miller is such a sweet dog and just lets Abigail climb all over her! 

Watch out Miller, here she comes!

Busy little lady!

Here's what Abigail is doing at 9 months:

* pulling up on the furniture and playing in tall kneeling.  She will try to stand if you help her but hasn't tried on her own yet
* laughing a lot! She seems to understand when things are funny and she gets so tickled 
* she loves the laundry basket and pulling all the clothes out.  She recently reached out of her crib to the near by basket and pulled her dirty clothes back in the crib!  Little stinker!
* lots of jibber jabber.  I love to see her get on a roll and talk to us or her books 
* working on her pincer grasp and finger foods.  She mostly picks up her food and drops it for Miller...

Look at this serious face as she tries to pick up her food!

So far she likes to hold her food, but no way is she going to put it in her mouth!  However, she is happy to eat anything that I give her on a spoon...

And Miller just camps out under her chair waiting for little puffs to fall from the sky. It's like Manna from Heaven! 

Mike and I have been really busy with house renovations and work days at the new church building, but we are trying to spend as much time outside as we can because middle Tennessee is gorgeous in the Fal!  Yesterday, we decided to celebrate Abigail's 9 months by taking a family trip out to Gentry Farm and getting a few pumpkins! It's hard to believe that next year she will be running around and picking out her own pumpkin.

Happy Fall Ya'll!

8 Months and on the move!

So much has changed in the last four weeks!  Abigail is officially mobile and does not sit still!  Last month, I mentioned how easy it was to place her on a blanket and take her picture.  Hope I appreciated that!  She is a little explorer now and on the move!

If our neighbors got a glimpse of our picture attempt, they were in for a treat!  With birds chirping and children playing, there was just too much going on for this sweet little girl to sit still and look at us!  

If we were lucky to get her attention for a second, we mostly got faces like this.  She will be so happy I shared this one day!

And she's off again...

Abigail started crawling a few weeks ago and she is one happy little girl now that she can follow me around and explore!  

Abigail at 8 months: 

* crawling EVERYWHERE 
* lurred to the vent covers and wall outlets- time to safe proof! 
* trying to pull up on our coffee table
* babbling a lot!  " ba ba ba"
* loves to scream and make the loudest noises she knows to make! 
* she figured out how to shake a rattle toy.  She raises both arms when she does this- cutest thing ever
* continues to enjoy when you read or sing to her.  she puts her hands on the books and talks back to them! 
* content as can be in the Ergo baby carrier.  I can shop or hike or do just about anything with her snugged up in the Ergo.  
* Peek a boo is the coolest game ever!  She even plays with her Grammy and Grampy on Skype!
* She loves to snuggle up with her Daddy!  Nothing makes me happier than watching Mike and Abigail together!  


I am so thankful that the Lord has blessed my life with this precious gift and I pray that He will teach me how to lead Abigail well.  I am reading This book right now and there are nights that I fall asleep praying for Abigail.  I wish I could forever see the sweet innocence in her eyes and hold on to a little girl that shakes rattles and laughs back at her books.  But, there is a scary world that awaits her.  If I let my mind wonder too far into the corruption that will chase after her heart one day, I can get completely overwhelmed.  I daily remind myself that she belongs to the Lord and He loved her first.  My desire is to model for her and teach her how to trust in the Lord as she navigates through this life.  This verse is always encouraging to me and a good reminder that the Lord is our counselor!

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
    I will counsel you with my loving eye on you."  Psalm 32:8

Abigail 8 months old!

Fall Baptism 2012 ~ Green Hills Church

On Sunday, Mike and I celebrated with our church family as four dear friends from our small group got in the Little Harpeth River and publicly shared their faith and allegiance to Jesus Christ! It was a beautiful afternoon! 

Baptism is such a special moment in the life of a believer and a day they will always look back on with joy!  It was awesome to see so many friends and family come out to show their support!  

How cute are these two? They bring so much life to our small group and I think they are beautiful people both inside and out!! 

Abby and Jessie have a new little baby and I am so proud of the spiritual tone they are setting for their family!  Abby is one of my best friends and I have literally watched these two grow up together.  Seeing Jessie baptize his wife was incredible!

Green Hills Church Fall Baptism 2012!

Adventures in making baby food!

My Mother's Day gift this year was the super fabulous Beaba baby food maker. So far I am really enjoying making Abigail's food and since it's been pretty easy , I thought I would share my experience! 

Mike and I spend a lot of time together in the kitchen and we cook most of our meals at home, so making Abigail's food has not felt like a chore.  In fact, it's been so much fun! Here is a quick run down of how to make your own baby food.  

First, pick the fruit and vegetables for your little one and soak them for a few minutes in a mixture of vinegar and water.  This will help you remove any bacteria or pesticide residue that may be on the skins. I think it's helpful to know what the " Dirty Dozen" are so you can buy organic or clean them really well before feeding them to your baby.  

Next, you want to chop your produce.  Certain vegetables like sweet potatoes will retain more nutrients if you bake them, but most are easy to steam and then puree.  The Beaba actually has the ability to steam and puree so if you are making a small batch or a single meal, this is a wonderful food cooker!  When I want to make a larger batch of food, I will use my stackable steamer and pile it up with goodness!  

Here is a great website for baby food recipes and helpful tips for making your own baby food.  Abigail is eating pureed food right now, so I am transferring my steamed produce to a food processor.  One thing I really like about steaming her food is that you can retain the nutrients in the water and use this for your puree.  

There are lots of different options for storing your baby food.  Many people like the convenience of using ice trays to freeze food and then transferring the cubes to freezer bags.  I am trying to use glass when I can, so I found These glass jars for storage and they have worked great so far! Another fabulous feature of the Beaba is that you can place a frozen jar of baby food within the basket and turn the dial to steam and it will thaw your food in less than 5 minutes. 

Of course, making baby food wouldn't be as fun without my little helper!  She entertains herself while I am chopping and filling the jars.  

So if you have been wanting to give it a try, I promise it's easy and fun!  Bananas and avocados are also super easy foods to try because you just mash them!  No cooking needed!  

Happy adventures in baby bood making!