7. 8. 9

Because 10 is almost here!!!

7 Months
OK, this photo shoot was supposed to take place in the ginormous pile of leaves in our backyard.... but as soon as I set Josiah in it, he freaked out...he didn't like how it felt, he didn't like how it sounded, and no manner of cajoling was going to change his mind! So into the swing he went....
and he even smiled after the leaf trauma!

8 months
Of course December birthday pics always have to be taken by the tree...my favorite on I put in the Christmas post, but this first one is just captures perefctly the sweet disposition of our little treasure!
And he is all smiles for daddy!

9 months
I just love baby pictures in their jammies! Jeepers, creepers, I just love those peepers!

I can't resist a few smoochies!


Just this week my littlest prince went into size four diapers. Sniff, sniff. It just goes too fast, doesn't it?!?

14 yrs ago....

Then....
Now...
What makes the birthday boy happy?
A lot of this...

along with some of this...


What makes the birthday boy's momma kind of sad...
Last birthday:

This birthday:

Is all that growth really possible in just 365 days? I wonder what the next birthday will bring?!?!

Until then, here's to another year of enjoying the blessings that come from having this fabulous kid in our home! He's growing into a stalwart man before our very eyes, but while we've still got him we will continue to enjoy his quirky sense of humor, easy going personality, delightful big brother skills, and developing talents! We are blessed by our Christian Eli!

A post with only pictures of BRIAN!! (seriously!!!)

Every now and then, Brian gets "the itch" to grow a beard...and then within weeks he can't stand the" itchi-ness" any more! This time, we had some fun documenting his various looks! So here is Before, After, and all the in-betweens!

Before....MOUNTAIN MAN


After....BABY FACE


and all the in-betweens!

THE GOATEE


THE REDNECK


THE GUIDO


THE FLAVOR SAVER


Can you believe he actually not only let me take all those goofy pictures, but even encouraged me?!?!?!? I wonder if he'll ever ask me to take his picture again...

Twas the Season of Christmas....

Twas the Season of Christmas,and all through our days...

Rejoicing and happiness in so many ways!


Bright lights and laughter, family and friends...


Cookies and music, Merry wishes to send!



All celebrating that first blessed morn...


A sweet baby, our Savior, to this world He was born.


To bring joy and gladness, end sorrow and tears...
A promise of new life beyond counted years.


So no wonder the smiles, the joy, even glee...


On each face of our family we hope you will see!

May our hearts always be filled with the spirit of CHRISTmas!

Who's at the door?!?!? Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Blessings to all!

For Thanksgiving we......

finished the Book of Mormon (again)!

In October we realized we were pretty close, and if we made a little extra effort, we could finish by Thanksgiving! We thought that would be a great way to show our gratitude for the many many blessings the gospel has brought into our lives. So Thanksgiving night we read the last 2 1/2 chapters, and accomplished our goal! We now have read the entire Book of Mormon 7 times as a family!

And to keep with tradition, we always take the kids picture to commemorate the accomplishment, and use it to point their hearts toward being missionaries! HERE are some of our other Book of Mormon pictures. It's fun to see our family grow through the years, and realize what an important part of our lives the scriptures have been! Our home and heart are more fully turned to the Lord, and our desire to be like our Savior continues to increase. We feel God's love in our lives. We are so thankful!

Denial

I just didn't want to believe it. Josiah turned 6 months old...2 months ago! I'm just now able to think it's possible. Every momma asks, "Where does the time go?" Well let me just ask,

"WHERE DOES THE TIME GO??"

I mean, seriously, I'm pregnant for like 12 years, and he was only born like a few weeks ago, right? Nope. So let's look at the bright side of things, right? What's one of my favorite things about turning 6 months? Comparing the littlest guy with the other brothers when they were 6 months!!! So let's have even more fun and make it a game, OK? Below are brothers A, B, and C. Identify each brother, and then tell me which one you think Josiah most closely resembles! Here we go!

Brother A

Brother B
Brother C

So what do you think? I think he has a lot of all those guys in him, is totally a brother, but he does remind me of one guy in particular! Oh, and look how cute these next pics are...
6 month b-day
1 day birthday
He still clutches his hands like that! Funny the unique little tricks they have from day one!

And here is a total bad momma testimonial. When Josiah turned 6 months, I took out all the brother pictures and realized baby #8 was a bit....ummmm.....behind developmentally. the little guy was so loved in arms all the time, he was my first baby not to be sitting at 6 months. Oops!!! Or roll over both directions. Another Oops. We just all snuggled and cuddled him so much, he was rarely down. Well, it was kind of tough, but we all made the effort to get our little guy up to speed, and within the month he was totally on target! I love to see each new stage, but it was particularly hard this time to say goodbye to the baby baby stage! sigh. Which makes me ask again,

"WHERE DOES THE TIME GO?!?!?!"

Maybe I'll blog his 7 and 8 month birthdays in a year or two....