A Letter to Jayce: Ten Months

Hi there stinker!

It's officially time to start planning and making things for your birthday. I'm not okay with that. I couldn't wait for the first few months to be over since I was struggling so much. Now, time hasn't slowed down and I'm struggling with that. I can't help but think of you growing up, going to college, meeting that girl, and hoping I can cut the cord before then so I can be a good mother in law. But to stop all that, I've decided Jesus is coming back before you become a teenager. 😂😂 

Ok, onto you and less of me. This month was crazy. Mommy finally decided going on walks is really good for both of us so you found your new favorite things: the swing and Clifford at our neighborhood park.

We also are going to Tiny Tots and Tunes at church. You LOVE it. You like music, shakers, bells, and most of all, the bubbles!

You have started making so many noises too. Your fishy face helps make clucking noises, blowing bubbles makes a good spitting sound, and patting your open mouth & strumming your lips makes a great echo sound. 

You and Shorty are getting along better too. I think he finally realizes that you aren't going away, aren't staying still anymore, and you only want to love him & share things with him. 

You have officially learned how to use Shorty's stairs also. So, you are trying to translate that knowledge to other objects that can help you climb up on things. You're getting creative. 

You went to visit your Great Aunt Peggy,

You hosted your first Super Bowl party,

You celebrated your first Valentine's Day,

And you got your first viral infection and ear infection. 

Daddy and I were so worried about you when you were coughing all through the night. I took you to the doctor Monday morning before you were 10 months. It's the first time I've had to take you to the doctor for something other than your month checkups. Thankfully your antibiotics helped you start feeling better 2 days later. 

One of my favorite moments this month was you helping with the dishes. You LOVE to help me unload the silverware, whether it's clean or dirty. 😂 You are great at taking out one piece of silverware, showing to me, and then giving it to me when I say thank you. I just have to wait to load the dishwasher when you aren't looking. Otherwise, all the silverware keeps getting handed to me. Hopefully, this "happy to help with the dishes" phase lasts longer than I'm guessing it will. 

This next month, I'll be holding onto every moment. After next month, you won't be my baby anymore because then you'll be a year old. I can't believe it. 

I love you forever. 

Mommy

A Letter to Jayce: Nine Months

Hi handsome!

You are now 3/4 of the way through your first year on this earth with us. This month was so busy. You had more firsts, of course. 

You have started trying to crawl up things. A few examples are my legs, the couch, and Shorty's stairs. 

You had your very first Christmas. 

We spent Christmas Eve with Mommy's family. Uncle B and Auntie M got you the cutest sports socks. Grandma let Grandpa pick out toys for you. 

Mommy and Daddy got you some new Christmas jammies and a couple of toys with lots of parts. 

Then, we started to open presents from people in Oklahoma. 

 

You loved pulling the tissue paper and wrapping paper. 

There were so many presents that by the end of the morning, Daddy was opening everything for you and you were ready for a nap. 

You at least played with this toy from Santa before falling asleep. 

A week later, we celebrated your first New Year! You of course were awesome and went to bed at your normal time. You got to have your first mule rides on January 1, 2016. Even though it was cold, you loved it!!

The next weekend, we did a huge thing: we flew to California on an airplane! It's a really big deal to Mommy since she's heard that some babies hate it. You did so good! You slept/ate during takeoff and landing and you played so quietly during the 3 hour flight. I was so proud of you!

You finally got to meet Mommy's family in California when we went to her cousin's  wedding. You met baby E and y'all loved each other right away. You guys tried to hold hands and hug. 

You also had your first mohawk too. 

When we flew home you didn't sleep as much but you still did great. You didn't cry during takeoff or landing. 

You did something a few days later, you did something that made Mommy cry. I was vacuuming the rug and showing you it wasn't scary. You crawled up to me and did this. 

You had never done it before! You just rested your head on my legs and showed me love. I'll never forget that. 

The next week was Mommy's birthday. You hung out with Grandma and Grandpa while Daddy took me to finally see Star Wars (a month after it came out). We can't wait for you to watch the movies with us. The next morning was my actual birthday. You gave me lots of snuggles as if you knew it was a special day. 

On your 9 month birthday, we couldn't go to the doctor and it was MLK day. We'll tell you all about that later. Instead, you mastered using Shorty's stairs. I went to the kitchen to put something in the sink and I came back to this. 

You little stinker! Poor Shorty can't get on the couch any more. We can't leave his stairs by the couch because you climb them. Next, he won't be able to get to his food since we will have to block you from it huh?! 

We love you very much baby boy. Now I have to start thinking about your birthday party. Stop growing up so fast!!!

A Letter to Jayce: Eight Months

Oh sweet boy,

You are getting so busy lately that I'm having trouble keeping up with your letters!

Your eighth month in life has been a big one. We have been seeing so many changes in you. One of the big ones is about your eating habits. We took a road trip to Oklahoma for Thanksgiving. On the car ride, you decided that bottles were ok. 

I was so happy that this happened. Until now, you were hit or miss on drinking from bottles. Now, other people were going to be able to feed you something other than bananas. You also started liking foods that were not just fruit flavored. You were making me feel like leaving you with a babysitter would be easier. 

The first time I left you with a babysitter was the day after you turned seven months. A very good family friend, Jane, watched you while Mommy & Daddy went to the movies with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle B, and Auntie M. You did great! She was able to feed you and put you to bed. So, when we went to Oklahoma, Mommy & Daddy went with friends to Stillwater to see and Oklahoma State football game. You stayed with Nana, Poppy, and Aunt N. We were so proud of you for eating and sleeping well for them. We got this picture soon after we left. 

We were able to visit Grandma M when she wasn't feeling good. You made her feel so much better every time we saw her that week. 

You are the sunshine in the family. Always happy, always smiling, always making sour and sad faces brighten up.

You celebrated your first Thanksgiving in Oklahoma with Daddy's family. We discovered that you like mashed potatoes!

You got to meet Daddy's best friends M & A, their wives M & L, and PJ - a sweet girl on the short list for your wife. 😂

When we got home from Oklahoma, something big happened. Mommy & Daddy bought our first house!! We cannot wait to see you grow up there, become a big brother there, and maybe even start going to school. You and Shorty were so excited when we were moving. 

After we moved in, you made your biggest leap yet - you started crawling!!

You crawl everywhere and pull up on anything that you can. You're fully mobile now! Mommy has to keep an eye on you at all times to make sure you don't find Shorty's food or hurt yourself. Look at these out takes from your monthly picture session. When you were done taking pictures, you let us know. 

We used the Santa hat because your eighth month was exactly one week before Christmas. You also got to meet Santa this month! Most parents have pictures that are of their babies crying when they meet Santa. They are funny once the baby is older and likes Santa. Here's your picture:

You did awesome!! I love seeing your sweet personality getting caught on camera.

A few other highlights from this month  are celebrating Daddy's 29th birthday 

Playing in our new park,

and taking a bath in your new bathtub! You're too big for the sink now!

I know it's almost your 9th month now. So many fun and new things have been happening and I can't wait to tell you all about them. Love you bunches baby!

A Letter to Jayce: Seven Months

Baby boy,

This last month has been so crazy that I forgot to write this letter to you! I'll explain in your next letter. I'm going to write this letter as if it's really a day after you turned 7 months, not 4 days before you're 8 months. ;-)

I accidentally put too many tally marks under the diagonal one! I promise this is your seven month picture even though there are 8 tally marks total. You have changed so much this month it's crazy to me. Where did my baby go?! As you can tell by this picture, you have learned to wave! It's so cute because it's not fully developed yet but you sure are trying to wave Hi. 

This is your favorite food to eat: bananas.

 I can put them on your tray and you can feed them to yourself! That hand-eye coordination is awesome. 

We even tried other foods but bananas are your favorite. 

You even started to learn how to eat from a spoon and drink from a cup. 

When eating from a spoon, you really like anything that has fruit/sweet flavors. 

One of your favorite things to do in the mornings is drink "coffee" with Grandma. 

We saw friends from Mommy & Daddy's birthing class. All of you babies were in all the mommies' tummies at the same time. 

We also made our first long walk to the Spring Valley park. You LOVED being on the swing. 

You really still love being outside too. 

You celebrated your first Halloween by being a cowboy. 

Uncle B and Auntie M wanted to to be able to have a gun like everyone else in the family. =) And Grandma got you your first pair of boots. They are still too big. We just put them on so you could have help standing up!

Mommy and Daddy also started looking for a house to buy on Halloween too. We had been given a great opportunity to be able to buy our first house. We actually picked the house and went into a contract on it on November 10th.

Your biggest accomplishment from this month (besides getting 2 teeth!) was starting to army crawl. I can show you the videos if you want. But here's a picture of you in action. 

But the most important things from this month are the promises Mommy & Daddy made to God and the church about how we want to raise you. 

On October 19th, we had Dr. Young present you with your very first Bible. 

Then, on November 8th, we promised the whole church that we would raise you according to what God says and make sure we kept you in church. 

Hopefully, as you read this, we have kept those promises and you understand why we made them. We love you so much and want you to know God's unfailing love and bountiful grace. 

I can't wait to show you what happened  in your 8th month of life!!