Alexis' 6 Month Pictures...

I took Alexis yesterday to finally get her 6 month pictures taken. She did so well and smiled for every picture like an angel! Once again, I had a couple of outfits for her to be photographed in, but still love the one of her with barely anything on the most! Enjoy!!!

Alexis in the same 3 poses each of her brothers had for their 6 month pictures...

Snuggling with a teddy bear...

Her eating her "toesies"...

And lastly, here she is in the dress and bonnet her Nana Millard bought her from Dollywood...

In Gods Hands...

 "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14

This past Sunday, my church did baby/child dedications. I had been wanting to do this for a while, and should have a lot sooner, but I can now say all the kids are officially dedicated to the Lord!
Usually when the kids and I get to church, I sign each of them into their classes and then head to the sanctuary for my service. Well because the dedications were right after praise and worship, the kids had to come into the regular service with us. For those of you who know Aaron, know how much he HATES a change in routine, so as normal, he ended up throwing a big fit. However, once he saw my mom and dad, he went to them and calmed down quickly and was fine for the rest of the service. Austin also did well in the service until he felt the songs needed to be over. At one point he even cried out loudly, "NOT ANOTHER ONE!", which got quite a few chuckles from people around us. Thankfully, Andrew and Alexis didn't have any issues with any of it which helped immensely! When they called us all up to the front, every one went pretty well... I held Aaron and Jason held Alexis, while Andrew and Austin walked on their own. But soon after, Austin didn't like all the attention and started to slowly inch his way back to his seat. Luckily the pastor was quick with everything! He asked Jason and I, along with the other parents dedicating their children, the questions about raising our kids in the Lord quickly and then did a short prayer over each of them.

All of us in front of the church...

Austin inching his way back to his seat...

He HATES being the center of attention...

Pastor Lee praying over each of them...

After that, the kids were able to go back to their own classrooms and I was able to enjoy the rest of my service as well. After church, we took the kids out to breakfast with my parents to celebrate. All in all, it was a wonderful Sunday and I am excited to see the kids grow stronger in the Lord each day!

Having a Ball...

Andrew started his first season of basketball a few weeks ago. He's definitely more of my "sports" kid, and I love watching him give it a shot at each new one he tries. Since 1st grade is the first year you can sign up to play bball, Andrew was a little hesitant but is slowly getting the hang of it. Coaching the kids are the boys G-A Varsity and JV Bball teams. They spend 1 hour every Saturday showing the kids the basics of the game - dribbling, passing, shooting and defense. After that, the kids get 15 minutes to do a little scrimmage against each other.

Practicing dribbling...

Passing...

Going for a shot...

Working on defense...

Finally game time...

It's all quite humorous to watch and makes me anxious to see if one day he will be the one "coaching" the little kids in the years to come!

Bouncing Around...

The last Saturday of the kids break from school, my friend Arlene and I decided to take our total of 7 kids to Bounceland for the afternoon. It was definitely a great way for them to get out some of their energy they had been building up over the last few weeks. While Alexis and Arlene's daughter Denise enjoyed a napping playdate together in their strollers, the rest of the kids climbed, slid and bounced the afternoon away!

Andrew and Austin racing on the obstacle course...

Austin coming down a slide...

Andrew taking a break from climbing and sliding...

Aaron and I at the end of his first slide ever...

Us coming down the slide head first...

Me sliding down with my boys...

Aaron and Austin all tuckered out after a long afternoon...

Alexis' World of Wonder...

My little girl is half a year old already! It seems like her first year is just flying by and there is nothing I can do to slow it down. I took her to the pediatrician the other day and she is weighing 13lb, 4oz and is 25 1/2 inches long. She's still on the petite side, only in the 5th percentile, but is steadily growing. I'm starting her on baby food soon so that should help her gain weight a little faster! Her milestones these last 3 months have been minimal, but nevertheless, she is becoming her own person more and more everyday. Recently she has started to laugh when being tickled. It's so funny because at first it sounds like she is getting ready to cry, and then her face lights up and you realize she is cracking up. She is also starting to roll side to side and turn around when she is having "tummy time". She especially loves eating her toes too when she is just chilling in her crib or on the floor. For Christmas she got an activity center she sits in and one she can lay under and loves them both! She spends quite a few hours during the day playing in them. She also loves to watch her big brothers in action. There is such a special little bond there and I look forward to seeing that strengthen as they get older. With how demanding she is now with me, I am going to assume soon she will have her brothers wrapped around her little pinky soon too! At her 6 month appointment, Austin already freaked out when the nurse gave her some shots. After the last poke Alexis started crying and Austin said to the nurse "umm Nurse, you REALLY hurt her!". Already such love!

Alexis playing in her activity center she got from Santa...

And her playing underneath her other new activity center...

Little Lexi having "tummy time"...

Going crazy in her activity center...

Getting ready for bed...

Out with the Old, in with the New...

Happy New Year and hooray for 2010! I'm sooo looking forward to this year and all the changes it has in store for me and my life! Every year I try not to give myself resolutions because deep down I know I won't follow through with them. Instead, I am going to have the outlook of "strive to be better today than I was yesterday"... a better mother, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, etc. I want 2010, and the years that follow, to be about not living in the past, only looking towards the future with high hopes and great expectations! Cheers to the beginning of a new year, new decade and new start!!!