the j-man is TWO!

This month my little J-man celebrated his 2nd year of life! Happy Birthday, sweet guy! 

A couple of weeks ago I had the chance to stop by his place and drop off a few gifts to him. My grandparents and Bart's mom sent some very thoughtful gifts for us to deliver to him. We love that our family considers him part of "the family", not just a kiddo that was in and out of our lives or a child that we "babysat". He is family. Even after he has returned home. 

The visit was a very sweet time. He has, of course, grown into the cutest little man! All the gifts were a hit! "Cars" themed gifts from my grandparents, cute outfits and a Sesame Street puzzle from "Nana", and then farm-themed legos from us. Of all this...the boxes were the most fun to play with after all the gifts were opened. Not too surprising, right! ;)

J's mom shared with me that the clothes will be perfect for him to wear to church. Did you catch that? They are now members of a CHURCH! They attend every Sunday for service and then Wednesday for Bible study and are very involved on top of that with other events. Mom says that she learns something from the sermon every week. We continue to pray for them every night that He would continue to radically change their lives and bring them Life through Christ.

Thank you, Lord, for working in the lives of those we love so dearly. 

remembering our little celebration with him this time last year!

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 

(John 8:12)

first things first {part 2}

Some fun "first experiences" continue...

4) Big hiking trips: Recently we've been so thankful to have had the chance to be out and about in nature. Even the heat hasn't been able to stand in our way!

Father's Day Weekend Camping Trip to Enchanted Rock

At the top of Enchanted Rock . If you haven't hiked this before it's a great climb and VERY vertical! 

Dad and Chick enjoy the view together

 One Sunday in July we took a day trip to McKinney Falls. It was so refreshing to escape from the hustle and bustle of suburbia and see green! Well, even if it's Texas cedars (one of the few things that are green around here)- we'll take it!

Chick is a nature gal. Now that she has figured out the pointing game, being outside is even more fun. It's as if we get a little glimpse into her mind since we at least get an idea of what she's seeing and thinking about.

5) A farm: Again, being the outdoor-lover that she is, she felt right at home at this special farm. We took a trip to see my side of our family this month. We don't get to see them nearly enough. As part of our fun that week we enjoyed the afternoon here at Lucky Ladd Farms. It's a combo of a petting zoo, playground, and a whole lot more.

My sister, Cassie, and her little guy, Mason. 

A farmer in the making

Chick is mesmerized by the ducks

Gigi totes Chick around in the Moby wrap. Two bugs in a rug!

Check out THIS cowboy-move! This little guy would fit right in here in Texas!

6) The classic zoo: Well, I have to clarify: she's been to a zoo before, but now that she's older she really seemed to enjoy herself even more! This time, we got to enjoy the zoo with her Papaw and Gigi. Fun, fun, fun! The Nashville Zoo was perfect- all the animals that you love to go to the zoo to see, but a very manageable size zoo.

Giraffes! How did God think to design them this way? Very creative, I'd say.

She was inspired.

We also got the chance to feed the larakeets. I don't think she's ever been this close to a bird! She was in love.

Thank you, Papaw and Gigi for treating us to a WONDERFUL trip!

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That's all of our fun "firsts" for now! I'm sure we'll add a few more here and there...

first things first

This season of life is a blast. I can't get enough of all the "firsts" that we get to watch Chick experience. Bart and I have the best time exposing her to things and then watching expectantly to see what her response will be. Then we amuse ourselves by evaluating her response- assuming that we know exactly what she is thinking.

Well, what has she been experiencing? I know you're on the edge of your seat waiting to find out, so without further adu, here is the (in)complete recap:

1) The paci. Yep! The pacifier. I can read your thoughts right now... "The paci? She's just now discovering that wonderful piece of soft plastic. I thought she was 9 months-ish!" Trust me, this is not the first time we have offered it to her! I think up until now she just preferred the real thing ;)
A few weeks ago she discovered a paci on her buddy's floor and was very curious when she saw her buddy sucking on it later that day. Because she puts everything in her mouth she finds on the floor AND anything someone else has she wants-- she thought she would try out this thing for herself. Now she is a paci believer. Below you will find her recent dilemma: food or paci? food or paci? How's a girl to decide?

2) The Olympics. Here we are enjoying the opening ceremonies together. We risked our carpet's white(ish) color and put her high chair in the living room during dinner this night so we could all enjoy the ceremony together. It was well worth it- Chick was instantly won over- hand waving, happy baby noises, and lots of smiles. And our carpet still remains white. ish. 

3) BBQ. Some friends of ours are starting a new business venture and have opened up a food trailer in southwest Austin. I'm not the biggest BBQ fan in the world, but this BBQ I will be craving on a regular basis! We were invited to their private tasting (sounds fancy, doesn't it?!) and were won over instantly. Chick included. I'm glad her first tasting of BBQ was the real deal. Woodpile BBQ- delish. 

If you spend any amount of time with us you've probably noticed that our child is not dressed very often. The main reason is, during meal time she loves to express her love for food by wearing it, throwing it, and of course, eating it. Bibs cannot contain her. So naked baby, it is! During this particular outing we got a few "looks" as we undressed our baby for meal time. This is such a part of our home culture now, sometimes I forget that normal parents don't undress their child as often as we do! Ha! But I'm glad we did. Chick had sauce, BBQ, beans e-v-er-y-where. I love to see her enjoying food so much. She gets that from her mom. And her dad. And her grandparents. And her... well, the list goes on. I'll just end with... it runs in the family :) 

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And this is only the beginning! More "firsts" to come...