Baby Dedication

Yesterday, Adam and I stood before our church to dedicate William to the Lord. It was a very special day for us!

My prayer for William from the moment we found out I was pregnant was to raise him to fall in love with Jesus Christ. And understand how great God's love is for him! It is incredibly comforting to know we have a body of believers standing behind us in this great adventure of raising kids.

One thing is for sure, William doesn't have stage fright...I think he would have a given a sermon of his own had it not been for the nunni. [again and again, nunni to the rescue!] He did manage to get out a few of those excited screams. He was as happy as we were about the dedication! :)

It was also a blessing to be standing by one of my very best friends as she dedicated her sweet boy to the Lord. I LOVE knowing they'll be growing up in the church together...going to youth group and retreats, Sunday school and lock-in's. Learning about who God is and his plan for their lives.

Even in the pouring rain, we had a wonderful day!!!

love, lauren

The Glory of Zion

God has an interesting way of bringing his people together. I had one of these interesting encounters this week and I had to share.

Sweet Miss Barbara came by my house on Monday to take measurements for window treatments. All I needed was a quote and a little feedback but I got so much more than that! We made the “I love Jesus” connection pretty quickly and for the next hour we shared our lives. She is someone who overflows with the spirit…she’s got the JOY! Anyway, she kept talking about a painting I had made for over the mantle. She loved it and thought it would look perfect in her house. I told her I would be happy to paint something for her but we never really went into any details. She gave me a huge hug on her way out the door and that was Monday.

Tuesday morning, I get a phone call from Barbara. “Lauren, I can’t stop thinking about that painting and a verse came to me from Isaiah.”

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you.” 
Isaiah 60:1-2

I thought the verse was perfect for this painting.

We talked for another thirty minutes about the symbolism and how God is so good! She ended the conversation with “I must have a painting like this for my house!”

Such a blessing to meet Miss Barbara!

A little sweet potato!

He is such a sweet thing but he hasn't acquired a taste for sweet potatoes just yet! Rebecca took this video and his face cracked me up!

I also chuckled this morning when I was on hold for the pediatrician and the recording was telling me how we should only eat at the table...not during playtime or in the car, in the living room, etc. I will say, he only had a couple of bites [not his entire dinner] while sitting with Pops yesterday. :)

I'm also doing something fun with this fabric...hoping to finish tomorrow and I'll post some pics!

Oh, and I'm already not doing great with the P52 challenge. I have made my post for all three weeks we've had this year but all of them at 11:45 on Sunday evening! [the deadline is midnight] I have got to start taking more pictures!!! [that's the whole point of the challenge...TAKE MORE PICTURES!] This was my picture for last week...not great...I know. [It was taken Sunday night at 7:00 p.m.] But the caption was "Mom, I wanted the other octopus!" I'm probably the only person on the planet who thinks this is funny! ha!

I almost posted this one because it made me think of Toy Story 3...I could just picture the little octopus giving his "what have we gotten ourselves into" speech to Thomas the train for being dunked, chewed, banged...tortured in the tub! :)

Anywho, it's a lazy rainy Monday in Louisiana!

love, lauren

COFFEE & Artscow

I don’t even want to know how much coffee I have consumed in the last three days. All the books, most of my friends…they all say it takes three days. Three days of crying it out to get your child to sleep through the night! Time for a little confession…I have been feeding William at 2 or 3 in the morning for the past two months. He’s 10 months old and nearly 25 pounds…this feeding is totally and completely unnecessary!

It started when we were living with my parents and I didn’t want him waking up the entire house. And it turned into a nasty little habit! So we’re still trying to break this habit and I think it might take more than three days! Here’s to 3 more cups of joe…this morning! :)

Ok, and I’m so excited about this website I stumbled upon…www.artscow.com. I ordered 26 4x6 and 9 5x7 and all I have to pay for is shipping which is $5.48. New customers get 1200 free prints! Yes, two 00’s!! And they have a matte finish, which I love. I’m very curious to see the quality. Oh, and when your 1200 is up, 4x6 are 6 cents and 5x7 are 12 cents! I’ll take it!!!

Happy FRIDAY!!!

William, 10 months

My sweet little boy was 10 months on Friday. It’s hard to believe how fast this year is going by! [I’m about to have a one year old!!!!!!! WHAT?!?!?] We go to the doctor next week and I’m curious to see all his stats.

[We've had a very cold week so it was nice to get outside this weekend!]

Our two big accomplishments this month…crawling and clapping! He is everywhere and into everything…he is so curious!!! I can’t leave him alone for 5 seconds or something “not for William” is in his mouth…He is WAY more interested in my toys than his! Majorly time to baby proof! :) He just started clapping last week. There is just something so cute about babies clapping…oh, I love it!

[finding the leaf]

[eating the leaf]

[literally taking a bite out of the leaf] :)

William is still a master napper! [for the most part] He’s taking two really good naps a day. Now, sleeping through the night is another story. I’ll just leave it at that. :) But he loves his naps and he loves to eat. He’s eating mostly baby food but he’s also eating bananas, sweet potato and avocado.  Oh, and how could I forget puffs…we love puffs in the Haddox household.

“Toys” of choice these days are Tupperware containers and my keys [this really grosses me out but he loves to play with them]. He babbles and giggles and coos and screams [the excited scream] more than ever. Still holding out for ma-ma. He loves making messes all over the house; it’s so fun watching him explore!

[time for a nap]

There is nothing in this world like being a mom! I thank God every day for this precious blessing. 

love, lauren

P90X or P52, hmmmm?

I’ll admit, there is something extreme about taking on the P90X challenge! But what about the P52 challenge??? 52 weeks in a year, 1 picture a week…It’s a group on Flickr and I decided to join...officially accepting the P52challenge!

I am going to try real hard to stick this one out…we shall see!

This was my first picture of the year.

I couldn’t decide between these two pics. 

I had to choose between layout/composition or William’s expression. I know, the big ol' clunker of a stroller is in there but look at that grin and those huge cheeks...I couldn't resist!!! 

love, lauren

Man on the move

William is a CRAWLER!!! It's so funny to me how I would crawl on the floor with him and prop him up on all fours but every time he would fall on his belly and kick those legs. [I am still predicting he'll be swimmer!] And then one day he crawled a few steps and within days he is ALL over the place. I am trying to remind myself why I wanted him crawling him so badly! :) HA! Gone are days of getting the laundry out of the dryer to find him sitting just where I left him. Hello are the days of finding tiny pieces of glass, cardboard, rubber band, you name it in his hands and going into his mouth.

I didn't do a happy 9 months William so here's the latest...

His stats this month...24 pounds & 29 1/2 inches long! (in the 90th% for height & weight)

[Sporting his sunglasses on Christmas morning!]

He is also pulling up in his crib! I love walking in his room to see that smiling face. I do not love walking in there at 3:00 a.m. because he's standing and he can't get down. [really hoping he figures this "getting down" thing out quickly] But he's getting lots of practice because he is pulling up on everything within reach!

He plays with his toys which is fun for both of us. For a while there, I felt like I was playing with his toys more than him. And sometimes I think he would rather play with computer wires and the mail than any of his toys. :)

He screams [an excited scream, that is] whenever he sees other children, gags when I feed him soft solids [except bananas], Da-Da is his word of choice [still holding out for Ma-Ma], LOVES to bang things together, takes two great naps during the day but still isn't the best sleeper at night, he laughs & giggles, waves his hands in the air, overall a good natured, content child!

[This is his excited scream...playing with his cousin Evie over Christmas!]

LOVE HIM & he's almost 10 months...CRAZY!!!

Happy 2011!!!

love, lauren