merry christmas

Christmas is by far my favorite season of all! I love the nostalgia of the season, the crisp air, all the jingling bells, the giving spirit, copious amounts of cookies, twinkling lights, cheerful carols and mostly the celebration of Jesus' birth.

My prayer this year and for all Christmases to come is; as we parent Margo that we can teach and model the importance of this season beyond the giving and receiving of gifts. I pray that we can share the importance that God chose to send Jesus to redeem us from our sins. It is such a celebration and deserving of all the joy and merriment!

We hope you have the merriest Christmas and enjoy spending time with friends and family, eating the copious amounts of cookies, singing and jingling!

margo: baby dedication

Yesterday was Margo's baby dedication at church. We publicly dedicated ourselves, as parents, to raise Margo in a home that follows Christ and our family and friends publicly agreed to hold us accountable and to come along side us in raising her. It takes a village and we have the best village possible.

My Mom, Dad, Aunt Linda, Becky, Jared, Ethan, Nora and Atley were able to represent my side of the family. Alex's parents, grandparents and each of his siblings and their families were also able to join us and our community group was able to be there too! I am so thankful that everyone saw the importance of this event and could join us.

After the service we had a delicious lunch and chatted while the kids played. My heart was so full getting to see all of our favorite people in one room. It's not often that both sides of our family and friends are all in the same room, I think the last time was at our wedding! All in all, it was a great afternoon and we feel so blessed, thankful and loved.

Margo and Jack were the only babes being dedicated this week

All of my nieces and nephews that were present 

(my other six nieces and nephews live on the west coast)

but it quickly turned into a loud mess of yelling CHEESE!

let's zoom in on that poor babe 😂

(she was soooo tired)

Atley was disappointed that Margo wouldn't say CHEESE! 

"Margo say cheeeeeeese! Margo say it!"

margo: nine months

Our little peanut is growing before our eyes! She had a doctor's appointment and weighed 18.6lbs (42%ile), measured 26.5" (17%ile) and her little noggin was 41cm (0%ile). Her doctor is still concerned with her height and head circumference, so we'll be heading to an endocrinologist for a second opinion right before Christmas.  

So much has happened in the last month- Halloween, an election, our friends moved in next door, Thanksgiving and now we're decorating for Christmas! Margo has been such a trooper and is growing and learning new things every day. Some of her newest tricks include clapping, waving, demonstrating that she's "sooooo big!" and feeding herself finger foods. 

Her new milestones seem to be coming in clusters, but she still isn't crawling. She rolls across the room and scoots when she really wants a toy, but she's not crawling...she's not in any rush and I think I'm ok with it. Either way, she is a happy girl. 

Her schedule is still the same: two 2-hour naps (9a-11a and 1a-3p) and nursing four times a day (7a, 11a, 3p, 7p) and eating solids twice a day (8a and 5p ish) and sleeping from 7pm to 7am ish. Her favorite food is cottage cheese and she really liked turkey on Thanksgiving, so we'll add that into her diet more regularly. We still go on frequent walks, albeit a little more bundled up,  we read books, play with Little People and sing silly songs. 

We are so smitten with this girl and it is so much fun getting to see her grow and achieve new milestones!

we voted and have the stickers to prove it!

mid-stroll photo session 

patiently waiting for naptime

she's a proud Blues fan!

practicing for our Christmas card pictures

snuggling with cousin Nora

 bath time with cousin Atley

Margo's one and only Thanksgiving picture

her onesie says "Gobble til you Wobble"

go vote

Today we had the opportunity to cast our ballot and vote for local, state and federal offices. I'm not one to share my political views publicly, but I will say that I'm glad that, after today, we won't be receiving any more political phone calls, letters, fliers or door hangers! Today was the second time that Margo got to go in the voting booth and I look forward to explaining the democratic process to her as she grows up.