Cute little Fish & skeleton

I took a few quick pics of Alec in his Halloween costumes. I think he was the cutest little fish! He couldn't sit up on his own yet (he was about 3 months old was all) and got tired of me prop-ing him against the pumpkins, but I just had to get a few pics of him!

General Conference

 Over General Conference weekend, we joined some friends at a cabin in Bryson City, NC and enjoyed playing games, eating yummy food, watching conference, hiking, and using the hot tub!

 Alec did so great and it was so fun to have him with us!

The talks from conference were fantastic! One of my favorite quotes is:

 "Many voices in the world today marginalize the importance of having children or suggest delaying or limiting children in a family. My daughters recently referred me to a blog written by a Christian mother (not of our faith) with five children. She commented: “[Growing] up in this culture, it is very hard to get a biblical perspective on motherhood. … Children rank way below college. Below world travel for sure. Below the ability to go out at night at your leisure. Below honing your body at the gym. Below any job you may have or hope to get.” She then adds: “Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. You do not collect children because you find them cuter than stamps. It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in. It is what God gave you time for.”" From Elder Neil L Anderson's talk.

All of the talks were uplifting and inspirational, but as a new Mom I am constantly searching for opportunities to be uplifted and I reaaly enjoyed this talk about children.

Here is the link to all of the conference talks from this last session:

http://lds.org/general-conference/sessions?lang=eng

Alec & Adam

I love seeing Adam with Alec. He is a wonderful Dad & we are so lucky he is ours.

I take about a thousand pictures of Adam & Alec, but here is a favorite from one of Adam's intramural  football games that we attended to cheer him on.

Birthday

 For my birthday, Adam treated me to a wonderful night with him & Alec. The day before, I flew back from Colorado and he greeted me at the airport with flowers. We went to the mall, dinner at Macaroni Grill - which was awesome (I had the pesto Spaghetti- YUM!) and then I went to the Relief Society broadcast. The next day we enjoyed an ice cream cake and games with friends. Adam got me some photo items I have been wanting for a year and my new favorite cookbook- you have to check it out. Its from the blog: our best bites. I have made a ton of recipes from it and LOVE it. It feels like a family cookbook with normal ingredients, easy recipes, great tips, and fantastic flavors. I know it sounds like I am promoting it- but I am not. I just love the cookbook :)

 Whenever we get an ice cream cake we are reminded of Adam's from a few years ago...

I think the writing on this one is pretty good compared to Adam's :)

Anyway- it was a wonderful birthday & I am so glad I got to spend it with Adam & Alec.

3 Months old

3 Month Stats:

25 inches 

15 lbs. 3 oz.

- Had his first real laugh

- Still holds onto his thumbs
- Still a great sleeper & eater

(goes to bed around 8pm!)

- Laughs and smiles a lot

- Got his first haircut (we cut off 2 inches)

- Laughs whenever we take his shirt off- very funny. 

- He found his hands! He can grab his own hands/ put them together. 

He also likes to look at his hands.

- Can hold onto toys and bounces himself with one leg while in his bouncy seat.

- Loves to look at his mobile

- Still has not peed on me - which is quite an accomplishment for a little boy.

- Enjoying baths more and looking at toys

- Tries to grab toys that hang above him

- Will stand up while we help him under his arms

- Likes to be able to look around

- "Talks" to us. It is funny.
- Whenever I tuck his arms into his blanket- he somehow finds a way to sneak one out. (if not both)
- Sleeps with his arms raised (like a touchdown signal) or out to the side (like a T) or next to his face.
- He will wrap his hand around one of our fingers like he is holding our hand and we love it.

Basically we love him to pieces and want to record all of the little milestones.

One of the best things about parenthood is sharing it with Adam- because both of us think that it is the coolest thing whenever Alec does anything :)

Alec's baby Blessing

At the UT women's soccer game

 We blessed Alec over Labor Day Weekend and we were so blessed to share the occasion with lots of family. Lacey & Stew and kids came from Ohio, Rich & Kelly and kids came from Georgia, the E* parents came with Bird from Colorado, the P* parents came from Oregon, and Abbi & Chad, Jessi & David, Audra & Mike & kids came from Georgia. We had such a fun weekend and we feel so blessed to have so much support.

at Market Square farmer's market

We love this little guy!

  Playing at the park

Tummy Time

Whenever we put Alec on his tummy he can't help but keep his head up like this. When he gets tired he will cry in this position until he gets rolled back over onto his back. Hope his smile makes your day like it does ours.

Halloween Party

We had a great ward Halloween party this year. Lacey let us borrow a fish costume she had and our friends Lindsey and Doug gave us the vests to complete the ensemble. Isn't Alec the cutest fish?! Our friends were the best rednecks and old people! After the party we had them over for the best fall treats you can imagine: carmel apples, kettle corn, and yummy cream cheese apple dip. Hope everyone had an excellent Halloween!

Pumpkin Patch

It is a fall tradition to go to a pumpkin patch and pick out a pumpkin. We were lucky this year because we got to go with some of our friends from our ward, Anna, Ryan, and James. It was a beautiful day and the Oakes Farm had lots of fun fall festival activities to do.