1/2 year birthday!

I can't believe that Shepherd is officially closer to his 1 year birthday than the day he was born.

He's getting SO big SO fast!

I completely missed his 5 month stats. whoops. 

 It's hard to believe how much he has changed in the passed 2 months!  

Here are his 6 month stats:

He weighs 18lbs 4 oz.

He measured 28 inches long. 

(Although, at his 4 month check he measured 28.5 inches. Not sure where the error lies. We will measure ourselves and see what we get.)

He is in size 4 diapers and wears 12 month clothes.

He nurses every 4 hours and has started eating cereal, green beans, peas, prunes, sweet potatoes and squash. He loves ALL foods!

He has started sleeping a little bit better. 

He usually goes to bed around 8-8:30 and will sleep until sometime in the 5 o'clock hour. BIG IMPROVEMENT! I will take it! 

Sometimes, he even nurses and then falls back asleep for a couple hours.

Shep's personality is really beginning to shine! 

He is very social! When someone walks into the room, he will "eh! eh! eh!" at you until you acknowledge him. Once he has your attention, he will give you the biggest grin! It's precious, really.

He is very driven. 

He has started crawling and is EVERYWHERE! It is a fun new stage for us. He seems so much more content now that he can get where is wants to go- which is causing Sister to have to start learning what "sharing" really means. 

Speaking of Sis, she has always taken the "hands-off" approach to Shepherd Man. She isn't too fond of anything that is unpredictable. And "unpredictable" defines Shep perfectly. However, she has taken a new liking to this sweet boy. It's actually pretty hard not to. :) They play together really well as long as he gets his way! 

He says "da da da da da". 

Wes has been working on this with him since birth so it's no wonder it is his first "word". :) I bet Wes is rethinking all that practice when Shep wakes up in the wee hours of the morning and calls for "da da da".  Kidding! 

He has started reaching for people -especially, Mama, Dada, and Sister's HAIR! 

He loves his walker. We now have hardwood floors so he can scoot all over the place!

We love each moment with you, Shepherd! You are a sweet blessing!

Atlanta, Texas

This post is LONG overdue.

About 6 weeks ago, we moved from our home in Fort Worth to Atlanta, Texas.

Wes took a pastorate position at the First Baptist Church. 

This day has been a day that Wes and I have been praying for for a very. long. time. 

Wes was called to the ministry at 16 years old so we always knew that the pastoring of a local church would be in our future (unless God throws a curve ball, which He sometimes does).  In God's perfect timing and providence, He paved our way to Atlanta. And we faithfully followed. 

Fort Worth was our home. Full of memories.

It was is where we lived on nothing more than faith as newlyweds struggling to make ends meet.

It is the home of the first church Wes and I served together.

It is where had our children. Aubri. Wesley Adam. Shepherd.

It is where we laughed and cried with lifelong friends. Brothers and sisters, really.

It is where we had begun laying roots.

But when it came time to move, God, once again, gave us His peace that surpasses all understanding.  With much joy and excitement, yet with grief and sorrow we packed up our home and moved to Atlanta,

where we were greeted with the kindest, most loving church family. 

Our hearts were instantly united in a way that only God can do.

The past 6 weeks have been AWESOME! 

God is working in Atlanta and it is humbling and exciting to be apart of it. 

We have already made great friendships and have been so encouraged by our new family.

Yes, there are days when I feel so far from my sisters in Fort Worth. When Satan creeps in and tells me lies and for a moment I believe them. But, God reigns supreme. He comforts my heart and reminds me of who He is. He sends His love and encouragement through our new Atlanta family and gives me a glimpse of His work that we get to be apart of. Satan's lies don't stand a chance. 

I am so excited for Atlanta to be our home-where our roots, Lord willing, will run deep.

Where we raise our children. And maybe even have a few more. (That's for you grandparents!)

And where God cultivates more friendships that become family.

4 month update

On the 25th, Shepherd turned 4 months old. 

I'm a little behind on getting his stats posted because we have been so busy... another post about this will be coming soon! (We have BIG and EXCITING changes ahead for our family!)

Here are Shep's 4 month stats:

He weighs 15lb 5oz

He is 28 inches long

He is in size 3 diapers

and size 6-9 month clothes

He eats every 3-3.5 hours and has started rice cereal 1 time a day.

He is still struggling to sleep through the night and it is making me CRAZY! 

He is laughing and smiling all the time!

He loves to watch his sister play.

and she loves to change his diaper!

 

He has started playing in his exersaucer and he LOVES it!

He is now reaching for everything!And most everything goes straight to his mouth.

He has started turning over from his back to his tummy. But, not consistently.

The first time he did this, he was swaddled up in his crib. He wasn't too happy about not having his hands free! :)

 Isn't that a cute little bald spot! :)

 

Shepherd is 3 months old!

Happy 3 months, Shepherd Man!

 Here are his stats:

He weighs 14 lb 14 oz.

He is in size 2 diapers

Wears 6 month and some 9 month clothes

Eats every 3.5 hours

He has started waking up once a night to feed.

Wake time has stretched to about 2 hours between each feeding.

He loves to watch his sister play. 

He loves to chew on Sophie the Giraffe.

 He has started turning over from tummy to back.

He has started grasping at objects.

Still loves his play gym.

He is drooling like crazy! (Could it be teething already?) 

He startles very easily. Even a sneeze can scare him.

 

4 years old!

I can't hardly believe that our little girl is now 4 years old. 

The Lord is continuing to fashion Aubri into a beautiful, kind little girl. 

She loves to...

 learn during our home-school time,

say her bible verses,

sing songs,

dance around the house,

 play dress-up (and change clothes at least 5 times a day!),

play with her animals,

 watch Doc McStuffins,

pretend she is Doc McStuffins and give all her animals a check-up

work puzzles,

make tents out of sheets,

get a reaction from brother (whether it be a smile, laugh, or cry.)

read books, 

play with dada

and snuggle with momma.

Last year we started her Birthday Questionnaire, this year I tried to video it but she was ALL over the place so, here are her answers instead.
Aubri- Age 4

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1. What is your favorite color? Pink           

2. What is your favorite toy? Baby Nala           

3. What is your favorite t.v. show? Sophia the First

4. What is your favorite game? Don’t Break The Ice

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? turkey

6. What is your favorite outfit? Princess clothes

7. What is your favorite snack? Hot dogs (which isn’t true. She hates hot dogs…:)

8. What is your favorite animal? Nala

9. What is your favorite song? Jesus loves me

10. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play ball

11. What is your favorite drink? milk

12.What do you like to sleep with at nighttime? animals

13. What is your favorite breakfast? cheerios

14. What do you want to eat for dinner on your birthday? Pancakes

15. What do you want to be when you grow up? a Momma

16. What is your favorite thing to do with your brother? Cover him with a blanket

17. What is your favorite thing to do with momma? Play in my tent

18. What is your favorite thing to do with dada? Fly like a fairy

19. What is your favorite book? Tinker Bell

20. What is your favorite movie? Aristocats

My 2 month old.

Shepherd is 2 months old!

Here are his stats:

He weighs 13lbs 6oz

He is 26.5 inches long

wears size 2 diapers and size 3-6 and some 6 month clothes

He eats every 3 hours

and has started sleeping a glorious 11 hours at night!

 He is already a momma's boy! It's so sweet! He just loves to smile and "talk" to momma!

He loves to watch sister play.
He still hates his tummy time.

Pre-K

I started doing a few "home school" pre-k lessons this fall with Bri.  She is loving our intentional time learning together and is soaking it up like a sponge! We got a late start because of Shep's arrival but we have just finished our 5th letter, "U", from the Letter of the Week program. 

Practicing graphing with cheerios

Letter "A" with the geoboard

Playing with pom-poms