5 months, christmas and more!

Whew! I have survived my first holiday season as a mother, and John Mark has survived his first Christmas. I believe that we both passed through them with flying colors, and only a yucky cold as battle wounds. :o)

John Mark turned 5 months on Thursday. I know I say this with each new month of his life, but I can't believe it's already been that long. And I can't believe how much he has grown and changed in just another month. He is rolling over constantly now, which equals him sleeping on his stomach most of the time. He also discovered his feet on Christmas eve. Now every time that we sit him up, he tries to get his sock off. If he doesn't succeed in getting it off, he just sucks on it, leaving him with soggy socks. He has also become very good at grabbing things- the lady bug on his car seat, the fish that hang from his swing, my hair... anything that comes within grabbing range is fair game.

We went to the doctor last week for his 4 month appointment. John Mark got his shots, and we also got the green light for cereal. I've tried feeding him a few times, but with the arrival of Christmas, well- life was crazy enough without the huge mess of eating cereal. I will say that I quickly realized that I'm going to have to get over my dislike of messes when it comes to feeding this baby- well, pretty much everything about having a baby is messy, so I'm growing! The most exciting thing that I got from the doctor was a whole new hour of my life that I had forgotten existed. That's right- John Mark is now on a 4 hour feeding schedule. That means that I just gained a whole new hour to my life. He only eats 4 times a day. For all you new moms who read this- hang in there. A day is fast approaching when you too will be able to fit more than a shower in between feedings! John Mark weighed 18-2 (95%), was 28 inches (100%), and I don't remember his head- it was 85%.

Well, I obviously have written a long enough post without any Christmas pictures or stories. I guess you'll have to hold onto your seat another day for those! :o)

john mark and santa

John Mark met Santa at the mall today. He was very good for him and didn't even cry! This was the cutest picture. I thought it looked like he was really telling Santa what he wanted for Christmas! It's a little fuzzy because, of course, I had to buy the picture. So this is a picture of the picture!

John Mark is getting very good at rolling over. He does it almost every time we lay him on his back- except of course when I have the video camera there ready to capture it. Then he just looks at the camera and smiles. It's funny that he knows what to do already.

He went with us to the Christmas party last night and did wonderful. He got passed around from person to person and never once cried. I guess he got his mom's love for people!

little slugger

I have to say a great big THANK YOU to our friends the Callison's who live in Tennessee. They sent John Mark this adorable Louisville slugger onesie and baseball bat. I put him in it and did a little photo shoot yesterday. He looked so handsome! :)

We're staying busy around here getting ready for Christmas. I actually think most of my shopping is done. The Christmas cards have been mailed. Presents are wrapped. I even got the presents I needed to mail to Jacksonville in the mail. Man! This may be the earliest I have ever been ready for Christmas in my life! I'm not going to lie, it's pretty exciting!

We have 3 parties left to go to. One tonight, for the student ministry small group leaders that I'm so looking forward to. We get to eat Ted's, and play crazy games. Then our small group party is Sunday, then Micah's work party next Thursday. I love Christmas parties!

Here is one final picture of John Mark with two of his new favorite things. One is his pappy (pacifier). He hated that thing until one day around thanksgiving I gave it to him out of desperation... he's been a happy sucker ever since! The other is my good friend Kelly. John Mark has finally decided that he loves her. He even went to sleep in her arms last week!

light

I have always been a little bit scared of the dark. More than a little bit, really- I slept with a nightlight until I went to college... and even now I have to have the light from the clock in the room. It's not the overwhelming fear that it once was, but any time I am forced to be in darkness, I can feel that familiar panic rising up in my throat. Someone once told me that to get over my fear of the dark, I must learn to find the light.

That has stuck with me. Physically, it is true that there is almost always some form of light. But I think that spiritually that statement struck an even bigger chord with me. This world that we live in is dark- the blackness of sin is thick among us all. How do we survive? How do we not allow this darkness to swallow us? We have to find the light.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:5

There have been times in my life that I have walked in darkness- not because the light was not there, but because I chose not to find the light. And yes, it is true that the darkness can be overwhelming, the darkness can become so terrifying we accept it- but the truth is that the darkness CANNOT overcome the light. The light is always there.

Will you choose to see the light this Christmas?

ROLL OVER...

John Mark just rolled over! Actually, he's done it twice now. He flipped himself from his back to his tummy. I think my life just got a little more complicated... no more laying on the couch... or the bed...

girls night

I am so unbelievably blessed. Not only do I have the most amazing husband and little boy in the entire world... but I have wonderful family, church and FRIENDS!!

I got the privilege of spending some quality time with my friends over the past few days. On Friday night I hung out with two of my most favorite people in the entire world- Kelly and Lesley! We had good times eating Cheeseburger in Paradise, shopping, watching a movie and taking about a million pictures of ourselves. It was a nice break from the routines of life.

Then on Tuesday, we celebrated Natalie's birthday. 3 years ago (can you believe it's been that long, girls?) on Jamie's birthday we started a tradition. We give a gift from Pottery Barn, then go to dinner and walk around Target. We usually eat a PF Chang's, but with the arrival of Cheesecake factory... well, we had to go there!

I love you girls!!

getting so big!!

I can't belive how big my baby boy is getting!! This is him sitting up with only the boppy supporting him! I would also like to point out the fact that he somehow (when he was wiggling in his crib NOT taking a nap) managed to get his feet out of the footie part of his outfit... I'll never know how that happened!!

We're still working on rolling over. Right now he's pretty content to just roll onto his side and hang out there. He really tries to get out of his little bouncy chair when he's sitting in it. If he tried that hard when he was lying on the ground, he'd be over in no time!

Well, I guess I should get back to writing my Christmas letter to put in with our Christmas card. I hope everyone is having a fabulous holiday season so far. Thanks to everyone who commented with family traditions!

Love you all!!

John Mark's first snow day

John Mark experienced his very first snow day this week. We spent all of Wednesday and Thursday inside, bundled up and staying warm. I think we got close to 8 inches of snow. On Friday we ventured out- partly because I wanted some cute pictures of John Mark in the snow and partly because I thought I was going to go insane from being inside my house for 2 whole days!! We went and visited Jamie and Caroline and then went to see Aunt Emily. I honestly think that John Mark was as excited to get out of the house as I was! He was getting FUSSY!!

The sad news about having all this snow was that his 4 month dr. appointment got cancelled. So I don't know how big he is... or if I can feed him cereal. I was really looking forward to feeding him some cereal so he will sleep all night (hopefully...) I guess I'll just have to call the doctor on Monday and see about getting this boy some cereal!

I've really been thinking about what kind of Christmas traditions I want to start and pass on to my kids. I have always loved Christmas-- the twinkling lights, the music, the general holiday cheer... the presents, family, the FOOD... and I want each Christmas to be so special for my kids.

And so... I am going to ask a question that will hopefully generate a few responses and maybe some new ideas for me.

What is your favorite Christmas tradition??