13 Months

This past month has been so much fun for our family! Elizabeth is more mobile; she is walking more and more everyday. She also has become excellent with her receptive language. She follows directions like, "Go get your night night book," and "It's time for a bath, let's go!" and "Bring me your shoes." Elizabeth has also become quite the parrot. Though her words don't always sound like you would expect an adult to say them, she is really good with communication. Here are some of her words: Momma, Daddy, ball, bye bye, more, baby, bear, uh-oh, no, yes, play, diaper, duck, book, more, dog, bite, and that. Another accomplishment this month has been learning her body parts. So far, she can point to her hair, eyes, nose, mouth, belly button and toes and clap her hands.

Our little munchkin loves to dance and "sing" to her multiple musical toys. By chance tonight we discovered her love for Dancing with the Stars. We don't even watch it usually, but when we got home from our walk tonight, I just flipped on the tv, and it was on. Elizabeth went crazy and danced away!

Here are a few recent pics:)
I can get onto my rocking horse all by myself! Aren't I such a BIG girl!?! I have learned to blow kisses XOXO... this melts the hears of many. I give Momma and Daddy real kisses too!
I love my friends! I love pretty much everyone, especially if they smile at me. I am sure to wave to anyone within a hundred yards!
I am VERY mischievous! If you can't find me, a few of my favorite hiding spots are under the bed, behind the couch, in my Tupperware cabinet, or my most favorite... very near Kyleigh's bowl!

Our Big Girl!!

Well, Elizabeth in officially a toddler! She has taken a few steps; yet her strong willed personality is very evident!!! "I will walk when I feel like it Momma and Daddy!" is what she appears to be saying when we try to get her to show off.
Anyway, she keeps us laughing and smiling and thanking our God for the little things. I love that she is amazed by a light switch, the feel of flower petals, the light shining through the trees, and bubbles! What great reminders of the intricacies of our God and His presence in the seemingly small things.

Here are a few pics from her 1st Birthday Party as well as a few other fun ones.

ONE WHOLE YEAR!

Wow! Just a year ago, Justin and I were thrust into the amazingly wonderful, yet incredibly overwhelming world of parenthood by the arrival of our sweet Elizabeth Grace. Though the time has flown by, we have really tried to savor every moment. Our God has so graciously given us what we need for every trial and provided a multitude of sweet memories. Here are a few pics to recount the past year.

Friends

One of the best things about summer is that I often get to see people I haven't seen in awhile! Lately Elizabeth has gotten to hang out with many of my bestest friends. Here are a few pictures from summer lunch dates and the like.

Aunt Julie went to high school with me and now lives in Chicago. It was a fun surprise to have her stop by during her time in Texas.
Aunt Sarah is living in Italy and sharing the love of Jesus with people there. This picture was snapped just before Elizabeth spilled Sarah's coffee all over them both. (Atleast it wasn't hot!)
Aunt Tressa has been my best friend basically since birth! She is now a volleyball coach and teacher at Rockwall Heath High School. This picture was at her very first volleyball tournament; those girls are blessed to have her as their coach!
Aunt Martha and Maegan (3 months) came to Fort Worth for a visit! They now live in Pensacola, Florida where Matt, Martha's husband, is in the Air Force. I think Elizabeth and Maegan are going to be great friends too!!!
This is Elizabeth and her best friend Kyleigh! She is sometimes annoyed with Elizabeth, but also plays with her a good bit too!

Running Makes Me a Better...

Running is something I have always loved to do, but I have been on somewhat of a hiatus for a couple of years. When we moved to New Jersey, it was not safe for me to just go running, then when we returned to Texas, I was a rather large pregnant woman, and then after having Elizabeth, with crazy schedules and such, I just didn't have it in me. Now, however, I have dream baby who goes down between 8:00 and 9:00 sleeps until 9:00 the next morning on a normal day! Justin doesn't have to leave for work until 8:00, so this leaves me with an early morning window of opportunity. Although 6:30 am seems quite early when I don't have to get up, I feel like a whole new woman when I do! I have started off slowly, just running a couple of miles, but it is such sweet time! From the sunrise to the wind against my skin to the sound of the birds, my senses are awakened to God's beauty in this time. It seems that during the rest of the day, I am much more consumed with my "to do list", and I miss out on the good stuff around me. I had forgotten how much God uses my running time to convict me, teach me, and love on me, so running makes me a better follower of Jesus. When I return home, I am able to make breakfast for Justin and spend a little time with him before he leaves for work, so running makes me a better wife. After Justin leaves for work, I get to have some Jesus time in the word and get things done around the house, leaving me more time to actually get on the floor and play with Elizabeth later in the day, so running makes me a better mommy!
Not that running is magical or anything, it is just what God has given me as a tool to start my day and in effect, make me a more productive follower of Jesus, wife, and mommy. Thanks God for your good gifts to us!
I'll leave you with a few pics of course!!!

Flowers Get Thirsty Too

Elizabeth has a new favorite thing... giving the flowers a drink. It goes something like this, sometime between breakfast and lunch Elizabeth eyes the makeshift watering can kept by the back door. She makes her way over to it and lets me know it is time!!! Regardless of what else may be going on, at that moment, the flowers become our priority! We fill up the plastic pitcher and out we go. The planter box in our back yard is just the perfect height for Eliz to cruise around and "help." She loves to feel everything she can get her hands on and is quite fond of the feel of flower petals. Here are a few pictures of flower time!



We are so thankful to have such fabulous parents! At the end of July my parents took us on a trip to beat the heat in the mountains of New Mexico. We drove 9 hours in my grandparents all too cool conversion van, but it was all worth it. The deer came to visit Eliz nightly and she gladly waved and "talked" to them. Justin and Daddy played golf and went fly fishing. I got to read over half of a book not concerning baby stuff and got a pedicure. Nothing fancy, but a much needed break from the craziness of our daily lives. Justin was also able to prepare for his sermon without the stress of school and work. Thanks Momma and Daddy!

Way to go Justin!

Daddy gives the BEST baths!!!

Daddy taught Elizabeth how the "shooter" works... it is by far the best toy ever!

Congratulations to my wonderful hubby! Today, he completed his second seminary class this summer. The past month and a half has been pretty crazy for him. Between taking classes, working at his "money job," serving as a pastor at CityView, being a super Daddy and a loving husband... he has been going non stop! Yea for a hard workin' hubby!
We had a lot of fun yesterday as we had friends over in the afternoon and then joined our friends, the Richardsons, to watch fireworks from the TCU soccer fields. We had just enough reprieve from the rain to see some pretty fireworks light up the sky. Elizabeth really liked them and squealed with delight as she watched.

Here are a couple of pics from Elizabeth's first 4th of July

This is Elizabeth's response when you pose the question,

"How big are you?" She is SOOO BIG!

My girl loves to read! Look at the expression already!
We have no shortage of books!

A Sweet Sunday!

Last Sunday was such a sweet time for our family! We had Elizabeth's baby dedication at CityView and were joined by many of our family members and close friends. As Justin and I discussed the purpose of dedicating our daughter, we came to the realization that it is actually more of a commissioning of us as parents and a plea to those around us to keep us accountable in raising Elizabeth Grace in the ways of Jesus. What a fun task!!

She is an absolute joy and has already been used by God greatly in her 9 months with us. Our heartbeat is that she would see Jesus clearly in our lives and that He would draw her to Himself at an early age.

We are so thankful for our family and friends and the abundance of support by which we are surrounded. Our community at CityView is so very precious, and I am thankful for Elizabeth to grow up in this unique place!

As usual, cameras were flashing!