Micah Jay is 9 Months!

This big boy is (thankfully!) still not crawling or scooting, so we've got lots of STILL shots once again! I know my world is going to change very soon, but at least Micah is drawing out the baby stage as long as possible and giving me time to prep for the next one.... I'm not quite ready to release him into the mobile world just yet! ;) I can hardly get enough of this sweet face! He is just simply irresistable, in my opinion. This boy gets so many snuggles and kisses throughout the day and he loves every minute of it! I just want to bottle up his sweetness! It's so hard to imagine him doing anything wrong.... but I thought the same with his big brothers when they were babies too. Ha! Oh, but I'm loving this stage of just getting to ENJOY every minute of life with Micah... without the tantrums or battles or discipline...that's the benefit of being a 3rd born I guess, Mama knows what's coming and can linger in the JOY of today! What a precious and all-too-fleeting season!

Spike! His head was soaked with olive oil in attempt to get rid of the cradle cap, but big bros thought the spike was super cool! :)

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Fun Facts About our 9-Month-Old:

MICAH...

-loves to play and laugh and dance and wrestle.

-is very expressive! He's got so many different faces that make us laugh out loud daily.

-is able to get up on all 4's but has one leg that gets stuck underneath him every time.... he's trying hard to crawl but is not going anywhere just yet.

-is able to stand up on the furniture. Maybe he'll just skip crawling and go straight to walking. He's got some strong leg muscles but not the balance to support those muscles yet

-is starting to eat some table food (sounds like I'm talking about a puppy!). He LOVES new tastes and flavors and makes lots of grunts, grimaces, and puckers while trying to figure out what's in his mouth! So cute!

-all of the nursery workers just love him to pieces. They ooh and ahh over how sweet and happy and perfectly content he is. I can humbly agree! :)

-Micah's Stats: 24lbs 3ozs (73%), 30.25in (95%)

Micah Jay, You are the sweet little beat in my heart right now! Thanks for setting such a sweet tone in our home. You are full of laughter and fun but you also have a very sweet and snuggly reserve that just melts my heart. You are LOVED beyond words! Forever and For Always, Mommy

The Mystery Date!

My mama stayed with the boys while we escaped for a day to celebrate our 8th anniversary! Joe planned our date several months in advance and kept it a surprise! We headed downtown for some coffee, a little shopping, dinner at PF Chang's, and finally, the grand finale.............

A CONCERT!

I'm obviously very out of tune with KC happenings because I didn't have a clue what our plans were or who was in town. Joe tried to give me little hints here and there (like listening to a certain CD all day long!) but I was a space cadet and remained clueless.....that is, until we pulled up to Sprint Center and I saw lots of boots and hats! Yep, I knew immediately it was a concert and I was pretty certain it would be BRAD PAISLEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sure enough! Woo Hoo! And a little bonus of seeing Scotty and Band Perry too. It was soooooo fun and a great surprise...definitely a reminder of what life was like pre-kids.... we used to do that sort of thing (but didn't appreciate it nearly as much as we do now!)!!!!!!

Scotty

Band Perry

and my fav, Brad Paisley!

Loved the show and love the man who was next to me even more! :) Yes indeed, I can say I love him more now than the day I said 'I do' and guaranteed I'll love him more next year than I do in this very moment. As the lyrics go, "And I thought I loved you then." It is a wonderful life! I'm blessed beyond measure....

Merry Christmas, 2011

Here are a few pre-Christmas pix we tried to get for Grandma and Papa McCulley's annual Christmas letter...

We interrupted a golf game for this one! The guys were very gracious in holding back their shot since we were on the green and practically sitting on the hole!

Here are my 3 favorite little men on Christmas Eve. We went to service at Mimi and Poppy's church (where I grew up and also got married!) this year, then all went out to dinner (one of my favorite Christmas Eve traditions) at Cheesecake Factory. Yummo!

The boys got new jammies and also got to open one together gift before bed! Can you guess what was in the box?

....Shootguns!

I think this was last year's Christmas Eve gift as well. Not intentionally trying to make it tradition, but with a house of boys, it may very well be!

LOVE my boys!

We started the morning with cinnamon rolls. I was hoping for the from-scratch kind this year, but it didn't happen. Maybe it will be a tradition for a later season! : )

and read the Christmas story (our most favorite tradition)!

Then they dug in to their gifts! It was so.much.FUN!!!!!!

Wyatt sporting his new spiderman shirt and watch

more shoot guns! They are totally natural with weapons! I see law enforcement in someone's future... I'm hoping not, but I think it's inevitable! :)

I thought this pic was just precious of Isaac peaking in on his little $1 store treasure inside of the stocking...

Wyatt and I went to WalMart to let him pick gifts... He knew exactly what he wanted to get his daddy before we even walked in.... FISH! Daddy had to hold back the excitement a bit, but I think it ended up being his favorite gift of the year. Guarenteed it was given with the most thought and love from one very sweet boy named Wyatt!

Isaac trying to fit into Daddy's new shoes

Wyatt making a spider web with new crate paper

oopsies! For some reason Ike is wearing Micah jeans and on his tippy toes trying to get some goodies from the counter! :)

We spent the afternoon over at my sisters where the boys got to taste their first bit of prime rib and were given more shoot guns! :) It was a very FUN day!

Not sure wear the swim trunks came from.... Wyatt is in some kind of character form, I'm sure!

3 of the cutest spider men!

Not the best photo, bad had to post one with Mimi's black eye! Now that it's healed, the boys can think it's 'cool' picture (no, the boys were not involved in giving Mimi the black eye)!

And here's one last pic-sweet Great Grandma and Papa sharing Christmas with us!

Christmas, 2011 has definitely been my favorite so far! I loved getting to see all of Christmas through the eyes of my little guys this year--the lights, decorating, baking, reading the Christmas story over and over and over, the many questions, lots of laughter, opening of gifts, and time with family! These boys filled the season with much joy, awe, wonder and great imagination. What a treasured gift to get to see and feel and taste and hear and just experience Christmas through the life of little boys...with sweet perspective, amazing curiosity, and very teachable hearts.

"The enemy of value can be apathy from familiarity" -Jeff Terrell

Maybe that was just it for me this year... I was able to break out of the familiarity of Christmases past and really value the GIFT of Jesus right here in the present! I'm learning right alongside these little ones...some moments I'm teaching them and many moments they are teaching me!

Isaac is Almost TWO!!!

Here's our Isaac Owen just a month away from turning two...

Isaac loves glasses (often called "goggles"). I think I'm down to one pair of my own... the rest have either one lens or are so mangled that they got trashed! :) He finally got a pair of his own... we'll see how long they last!

Daddy and Ike bear gazing out the window!

This is the typical Isaac "cheeze" these days! He's a hoot!

First try on the potty.... his own initiative. I'm not even beginning that battle until age 3, but if he figures out on his own beforehand then I'll be very encouraging!

Look at that sweetness!

Isaac LOVES "brother" or "baby". I think he likes his lil bro so much because Micah really fuels his fire.... Micah Jay laughs hysterically at Isaac and Ike just eats it up!

Isaac is very hands-on! I'm finally able to leave him in a room alone with Micah while I step out for a minute or two.... but I'll often find Isaac on top of Micah trying to wrestle when I return. Yikes! Micah seems to hold his own though.

Isaac has a very tender and sweet, compassionate heart as well. He "shhhhhhhs" Micah when he cries and tries to sit him back up when he falls over. He makes sure that we pray with Micah each night before bed.... It is pretty cute to see Isaac standing right in front of Micah's crib with his blanket in hand saying "Pay, Pay" (Pray!).... Melts my heart!

First try in the big boy (toddler) bed! This was definitely not by our initiative, but out of necessity! Isaac figured out how to get out of his crib one night while Joe was out of town. It was a very Looooooooooong night for us both. I guess a very short night is a better description. At some point we both tuckered out on the couch together!

We tried everything in hopes of keeping this boy in his crib, but the little Houdini found a way out each time. After a few sleepless nights and when all other attempts had failed, we decided it was time to make the closet his new room. Yep, we did it.......... we locked our son in the closet! I have to add that it's a pretty large closet. We put the crib mattress in there, put up some glow in the dark stars, bought him a turtle night light, cut and extra inch off the bottom of the door to create air flow..... There you have it, problem solved. Isaac was a happy camper (after a couple of kicks on the door!) and we were sleeping again. If you are a parent I know you totally understand......... you do what you've got to do to get a little shut-eye! :) Our little buddy still needs some definite boundaries and confinement. He's got the routine down now of locking the door himself (I must note that I got locked in with him one afternoon during naptime.... Wyatt eventually came to my rescue! Whew!), turning on his turtle night light, saying prayers, and off to sleep he goes... Fun Facts About our 23-Month-Old:

ISAAC....

-refers to most people as either "a girl" or "a guy".... no names, just their gender!

-used his first 3 word phrase this month, "Go bye-bye mama" :( It was really cute... he was wrestling with Daddy while I was getting ready to head out to the store, apparently my conversation with Joe was interrupting his tackle time with Daddy so he was ready for me to leave! :)

-refers to his brothers as "Wy Wy" and "Broter" or "Baby"

-cutest word he says is "walrus"

-now says "pease" So cute!!! Still does the sign language too!

-loves guns. I guess this goes along with having a big brother. He makes the cutest shooter sound

-gives lots of hugs and kisses

-understands everything..... He's very SMART!

-is so much FUN! He is my little sunshine! :)

Isaac Owen, I hope you always have the gift of making others smile and your passion and zeal never fade. I love you SOOooooo much! Thanks for making my days full of sunshine! Mommy