Boaz's First Thanksgiving...

I had a great first Thanksgiving. It was full of lots of time with family and friends. Here's a recap in pictures...

This is my mom & dad. They love me bunches and are thankful for me. Mom and I spent a lot of time talking about all the things we are thankful for this week.

I got to eat the same food as the adults and I thought that was special. I had carrots, green beans, mashed potatoes, and peaches for my Thanksgiving meal at Grandma Bartlett's house.







This is my great grandma Shirley. I liked spending time with her.














After the big meal, we all spent time talking, relaxing, and watching football. Uncle Justin and I played together. After the relatives left, we got really relaxed - as evidenced by the picture of Grandpa Bartlett below....

He slept really hard for a few minutes. We thought he looked funny.













On Friday night, we went to Dennis & Terry's house for the meal that my dad looks forward to all year long. Terry is an amazing cook and makes all of daddy's favorites. She definitely has the gift of hospitality. My mom has no idea how she pulls this meal off and has everything ready at the same time!!

We got to see a lot of relatives here also. This is dad's cousin Bailey, Uncle Daryl, and cousin Brad. Brad made silly faces that made me laugh. Bailey, Shirley, Daryl, and Jordan gave me a nice present. They picked out a book and a lullaby cd for me. I thought that was really nice of them.

Uncle Dennis thought I was pretty fun to play with. Maybe because he's kind of a big kid. :) We sat around and played with toys together. Aunt Terry found me a tiny pot and a spoon that I thought were fun.

We went back to Dennis and Terry's on Saturday morning for another visit.

Cousin Jordan and I thought the meal was tasty. I got to try my first bites of turkey at Terry's house. I really liked it and didn't want to eat any more vegetables after I tried some.





Mom's college roommate came to visit us on Saturday afternoon. We always love when Beth comes to see us.

This Thanksgiving was a great one. I was a bit sick with a high fever (104.8) on Thursday night, so mommy and I didn't get much sleep. But luckily the Dr. said it's just a virus. If I stay on my tylenol and advil, it helps me a lot and I'll hopefully feel better soon.

We have so much to be thankful for this year... a beautiful baby boy, family that we love dearly, friends who are always there for us, and so much more. We thank God daily for how much He has chosen to bless us.

Fun Weekend.

This past weekend was a really fun one for our family. The whole 'Glace' family gathered in Des Moines and spent the night in a hotel. Boaz had a lot of fun playing in the pool with his cousins and grandparents!!

These are all of Boaz's cousins.... blake, boaz, hannah, brenna, zach, & ellie with grandma & grandpa Glace.

Emily, Katie, & Dad ran the Living History Farms Race Saturday morning. The rest of us swam and entertained kids in the hotel.




We all enjoyed a delicious meal at Rock Bottom on Saturday. It was great to have the whole family together!!








Luke, Boaz, and I stayed in Des Moines to visit some friends the next couple days. We saw our friends Sarah, Harrold, Emily, & Brandon. Brandon & Luke went to Champs to watch the Iowa game Saturday night, while Emily & I walked around the Jordan Creek mall. We got Boaz this cart to keep him entertained since it was waaay past his bedtime. He did well and loved driving the car and looking at all the Christmas lights the mall had up.

Boaz is pulling himself up on everything these days. His favorite toy in our house is one of Luke's cashregisters. It's in our office being programmed, but Boaz thinks it's just for him. He could stand at this thing and push buttons for hours.

Boaz & I had fun creating some art the other day. He enjoys all things messy. Fingerpainting was no exception.

He concentrated hard on his designs...


















He must get his concentration from his daddy. The other night I was back giving Boaz his bath and heard the sound of blocks in the other room. I figured Luke was picking up the living room, but instead he was creating a masterpiece on the dining room table!!


Our good friends Teresa & Joni came to stay with us for a couple days this weekend. Boaz enjoyed unwrapping his gifts from both of them!! Teresa is an incredible photograper... she took Boaz's 3 month photos. She made an amazing calendar for us using a bunch of pictures of Boaz.





Joni gave Boaz his first pizza play-set!! He will enjoy serving up some slices very soon!! Joni is a missionary in Africa. We are glad we got to see her while she was home for a couple months. She is also a photographer and took some 9 month pictures of Boaz while she was here. We can't wait to see how they turned out!






The last night they were here, we all went out to eat at one of our favorite restaurants with Molly Hagen. Molly is a missonary in Cambodia and is also back for a short time. We enjoyed our time together and our Pollo Cabo Blanco!! Mmmmm....

Boaz learned how to wave a couple weeks ago and is perfecting it each day. It's his favorite thing to do! The other night someone in the room said 'hi' to me and he waved at her without prompting! I often find him sitting on his own practicing. Here's a video of his skills...

9 months old.

Boaz is 9 months old!! Can you believe it? It's getting harder and harder to take these monthly pictures. This is the only one he was sitting for.

The day he turned nine months was a big day....

Our little friend, Gavin, came over to play for awhile today. I'm watching him just a few times for a friend who is in nursing school. Gavin is 6 weeks old and Boaz was fascinated by him. Boaz had a good time trying to entertain him.

On his 9 month birthday, he also officially learned to crawl! He's been scooting around and half-crawling for awhile now... but he's figured out how to keep that tummy in the air now. His favorite thing to do is explore the house... we need to do some kid-proofing!! Boaz has wormed his way under this exersaucer thing several times... then cries because he thinks he's stuck.

My dad came to visit for a bit on this same busy day and Boaz pulled himself up from his tummy to standing for the first time! We had all kinds of milestones in one day!

There's no story with this picture... I just thought is was cute. :)

All three of us have been fighting a cold. It's been super fun... (I'm being a bit sarcastic). Boaz has been up some at night, but mostly just can't nap during the day b/c he's so stuffed up.

It's really easy for us moms to fall into the trap of feeling frustrated and grumpy when we get tired. It's way too easy to let the tired take over the day and steal our joy. When I'm tired and dealing with a cranky little man, I'm trying to remind myself of what an incredible blessing God has given me! God gives us each precious day- and I don't want to waste it. Even when Boaz sick and cranky, he's my little man... and I love him dearly. I'll take the mornings when I want to turn off the moniter b/c it's 4am and nobody in their right mind should be starting their day, I'll take the nights when I don't want to get out from under the covers to suck out his nose with that silly blue bulb, and I'll take the evenings when I want to shut myself in the bathroom and cry because I'm so tired. This little snot-covered boy is a gift from God, and it's my pleasure to plow through sickness and be his loving and joyful (even when I'm too tired to feel like being so!) mommy.


** Zoom in on this last photo for a nice look at how Boaz looks when he wakes up lately... and still all smiles!

where's my baby boy?

My little baby is turning into a little boy. Everyone told me it would happen fast, but I didn't really comprehend just how fast it'd be. Boaz has been a tiny guy the past few months (height/weight). The doctor suggested we start giving him a bottle after he was done nursing to see if he'd take more... maybe he was an inefficeint nurser and thought he was full, but wasn't. The first couple days he took another 2+ ounces after each feeding!

We've been giving him lots of fun finger foods- today's lunch was greenbeans, grapes, and cheese... followed by sweet potatoes and oatmeal! He's also been getting a bit of juice now and then. His tummy sure does get full. And it's working... the bottle combined with lots of food is making him gain some weight finally! I think he's gained at least a pound in the last week and a half!

Since he's been doing so well with his bottle, I decided it was time to quit nursing. There were days in the past when I felt like I spent a ridiculously large amount of my time nursing him and wanted to quit. Now that I've officially quit, I'm mourning those days a bit. My little baby is growing up. We are still enjoying cuddle time as he takes his bottle though. He'll always be my little baby.

One benefit of not nursing anymore.... PEANUT BUTTER!! Luke is allergic to peanuts and there is a chance he's passed that allergy along to Boaz. So all through my pregnancy and while I was nursing, it was suggested that I avoid all things peanut. The first day I was done, this was my lunch... grilled peanut butter and jelly. Man, did I miss peanut butter!! Jenny Rogers- I can now eat one of your monster bars that have been tempting me at every single get-together for the last 18 months!! :)

This past weekend, my Grandparents and Aunt Sandi from Oklahoma came to visit us!! I'm sad that I didn't get a picture of all of them, but this is a good one of Boaz with his great grandpa. We had a nice visit with them- but it wasn't enough time!! I guess we'll need to plan another trip to see them soon! Grandpa kept laughing at how full and hard boaz's tummy was after lunch! I told you he was eating lots...

A new part of our morning and post-nap routine- I open the blinds and we look at the weather. Remember how we used to talk about the weather at the beginning of each day in kindergarten? Boaz & Ozzie have enjoyed sitting and pondering what the day will be like. They are quite the pair. Boaz likes it when Ozzie runs around the living room and shakes his toys... Ozzie likes it when Boaz drops food for him to eat.

Happy Halloween.

Happy Halloween! Boaz was a cute little pumpkin this year. The weather was beautiful, so we set up a couple of chairs in the front lawn and handed out candy all evening. We had over 250 kids come to our house! Boaz loved watching all the costumes, and the neighbors riding by on a hayrack ride.

Let's take a vote... do you say 'hayride' or 'hayrack ride?' This has been an ongoing debate for Luke and me. :)





Boaz is all smiles. He is such a joy-filled little guy. He does have his moments, but for the most part he is a perfect little baby. We are enjoying this stage of his life so much. Tonight daddy and Ozzie were great entertainment. Boaz was near tears he was laughing so hard at them. He brings us great joy.







Boaz is learning how to be nice and gentle with Ozzie. He's entered the hair-pulling stage... so far Ozzie has been patient with him. We anticipate that these two will be best buds soon.





This weekend, we went home to Eldora to see my parents and visit our grandparents from Kansas who were visiting. When we arrived, we dressed Boaz up in his costume, set him on the front steps with a trick-or-treat bag in his hand, rang the doorbell and ran. When grandma answered the door, all she saw was this little pumking sitting there. She laughed really hard...and we all did also. :)



We got this rocking horse from some friends of ours. It's been through their kids and now is at our house for Boaz to enjoy. We're trying to get him to say 'yee-haw' while he rides. Today he almost perfected "Ta-da!!" He's also working on his wave... he's getting pretty good at it!



Boaz loves his puppy blanket that Grandma Glace gave him. He snuggles with this every naptime and every night when he goes to bed. How precious....