Highchair Hatred

 Seriously, my baby hates his highchair.

 We put him in it, put on his bib, and this is what happens!

 Sometimes he calms down a little bit when he has food in his mouth, but not always.

It's Bath Time!!

 Now that Belton sits so well, he has loved sitting up during bath time!

 He plays with the toys, and tries to figure out how to pick them up in the water.

And then, when he is ready to get out, he holds his arms up to Matt and sometimes grabs his fingers and just smiles at him until Matt takes him out. It is so sweet! I love that he is figuring out how to communicate with us more and more!

Mother's Day

 I had a wonderful first Mother's Day last week. I didn't change a single diaper all day long! :-)

 And this sweet little boy was just as sweet as ever!

I am so grateful to be a mother. I am grateful for Belton and the chance I have to raise him and teach him so many things. I pray constantly that I will have the wisdom that I need to be the kind of Mom that Belton needs. 

I am blessed to have a wonderful example, my own Mom! I am starting to learn, just a little bit, what kind of sacrifices she made and work she put into raising all four of us. She raised us in the gospel, and the influence of her righteousness is far-reaching. Thank you for all that you did, and continue to do for me and now my family, Mom!

I am also grateful for Kelly, Matt's step-Mom. The blessings in his life that stem from her influence are incredibly obvious to us both. You know how grateful we both are for you! Thank you for all that you do and are!

Happy (quite late) Mother's Day to you both and all of the other Mother-figures in our lives!

The Aquarium!

 A few weeks ago, when we had Claire, we went to the aquarium! It was fun!

 My sweet friend, Katie watched Belton and Claire for me so that I could go to a doctors appointment. (Thank You!) She and her kids came with us!

 Claire touched a starfish

 Katie's kids

 I loved the turtle, my favorite!

 This was a neat area, the tunnel- fish were swimming above and below us as we walked through!

 Claire and Belton

 We even got to watch the stingrays be fed!

He's Growing!

This little guy is just growing and learning new stuff every day!!!

Matt started teaching him how to balance these rings on his head...he really does try to sit still until they fall off! It's cute!

Look at those grins!!!

And his tummy time skills have definitely improved...he keeps on trying to crawl!

Meredith's Birthday Party

A few weeks ago, we went to Meredith's first birthday party! My friend, Lydia set up a super cute party and we all had a lot of fun! These pictures don't even do it justice! What a perfect theme, especially when you have newborn pictures like that one! :)

We took Belton over to the park to try out the swings, now that he is such a good sitter! He grinned for some cute pictures!

 But really most of the time, he looked like this...and just stared at the ground!

 Belton even went down the slide with Dad! 

I'm not sure that it was the thrill he was expecting...

 And they went about halfway through this tunnel, before Matt decided it was too difficult!

 And thanks to Lydia, we even got a family picture!

We had a great time at Belton's first friend birthday party! Thanks for inviting us!

Lately....

Belton has started playing with blocks!

He has enjoyed reading some books with Dad!

 ...and taking some naps with Mom!

One morning when I went to get him from his crib, he was like this...stuck! (said the duck!)

 He sits and plays and plays with his toys these days!

And finally, he tried on a hat, so cute!!

Claire's Visit

We have had a couple of crazy weeks lately! First, Claire came and stayed with us for a week. We had a great time with her, especially once she got over being sick, poor thing! 

She LOVES playing with all of Belton's animals and often calls them "babies". Pretty much any time Claire was awake, the swing was on with a "baby" in it, covered by a blanket (or burp cloth).

Claire was also a great helper with Belton. Anytime he was sitting and playing somewhere and would start to get fussy, she would quickly bring a toy to him or say "maybe he wants a bottle!". Even when we would sit down to eat a meal at the table, Belton would be playing nearby, and she would say, "when he gets fussy, can you please pick him up?". She's a sweet girl and will be a great big sister one day! :-)

One day, during her nap time I could hear Claire making noises in my bedroom. When I went in there to get her, I saw that she had a fun time with my sock drawer! She is so silly!!