Sunday, January 26, 2014

Lately...

 Belton has really developed a LOVE for coloring! All. The. Time. Ususally, he spends more time playing with the crayon box that actually coloring. But that's okay!
 We got Belton a toy chest. We love it! I'm so excited that he finally has a good place to keep his toys!
  Belton has really started using a fork. Not that he's great at it, but he enjoys it!
And it motivates him to actually eat! Yay!
 We went to a first birthday party for Belton's friend Ava!
Every morning, every night, and many other times during the day, Belton goes over to these pictures of Jesus and says "Jessusss". It is so sweet. Matt and I hope and pray that Belton always loves Christ as much as he does right now!
He also began folding his arms for prayers. And he folds his arms when he gets in his highchair. I think that it's so sweet that he knows it's time for a blessing on the food!

We sure do love this little guy!

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Trucks!

 Belton really enjoys playing with cars and trucks.
 Almost any time that I need for him to be distracted, I can say "where is your truck? Go play with your truck!" and he will go looking for one. It's great!
 Lately, he likes sitting in this dump truck and scooting himself backwards.
 What a cutie!

Friday, January 24, 2014

Cabela's

 For our mom's group activity this week, we went to Cabela's!
 Belton enjoyed looking at all of the animals and fish. We even got to watch the big fish be fed little fish! That was interesting! :)
 These cute boys and the big moose!

 Belton loved playing in the tents and then he and Cole did some target practice! ;-)


Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Bubble Bath!

Belton had his first bubble bath this week!

 He had fun playing in the bubbles!
 

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Baseball Fun with Papaw

 Belton loves playing and exploring outside, and Papaw loves to take him!
 Some of these pictures just melt my heart!





Saturday, January 11, 2014

Belton: Fifteen Months

I can't believe this boy is already 15 months old!
Right now, Belton:
Loves outside!
Loves picking up leaves and carrying them to the car every time we leave our apartment.
Says "vroom!" when I tell him we are going to get in the car or when he hears a loud truck/motorcycle go by.
Runs to the front door whenever I start turning the lights off or putting on my shoes, because he knows this means we are going somewhere.
Loves climbing in and out of chairs that are just his size.
Calms down in the car when we sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star or If You're Happy and You Know It!
LOVES Jesus. He sees pictures of Him in our apartment or at church and always points Him out, saying "Jessus". He loves looking at the pictures when we read Bible and Book of Mormon stories to him and pointing out the pictures of Jesus in those books, too.
LOVES going up stairs, but still hasn't figured out the right way to go down them! 
Puts his head on my shoulder when I ask him to give me a hug. <3
Loves running around and being chased. He giggles nonstop when we do this! Every night we play a game of "I'm gonna get you!" right before bath time. We all have so much fun!
Enjoys listening to music and dancing. He even dances along to the "beat" of the dishwasher running. He dances all the time! 
Hates having his teeth brushed. 
Plays peek-a-boo all the time. He covers his eyes (or just part of his head) with his hands and pulls them away suddenly with a grin. He's thrilled when we say, "there he is!!".
Holds his arms up to you and opens and closes his hands when he wants to be picked up.
Is terrified of the vacuum cleaner- even when it's off.
 Isn't really into eating. He eats a few bites usually, and that's it. 
Doesn't like being touched by anyone, except Mom or Dad. But he'll eventually warm up to you!
Brings us books to read to him all the time. He loves reading!
Plays well by himself for a little while, most days.
Knows lots of animal sounds: cow, dog, cat, bird, fish (goes swish swish), bee, horse and lamb.
Lays down on soft blankets (or sometimes just the floor) all the time. He loves soft things and cuddling! 
Belton is a very effective communicator. He says several words, but most often communicates by getting our attention and then pointing while going "eh eh eh" until we go follow him so he can show us what he wants. 

Words he says: hi, bye bye, mama, dada, highchair, apple, pear, tree, leaf, teeth, cheese, ice, please, water, up, toes, shoes, toys, eyes, jacket, chicken, Pooh-bear and keys.
 He LOVES his milk, too!
Belton's fifteen month appointment was a rough one. He had to have blood taken to check to see if he has a nut allergy because he broke out in hives once, when he had eaten peanut butter. The nurse had to strap him down in this papoose so that he would stay still enough for the blood draw. It was definitely the saddest parenting experience I've had so far! He just cried and cried and cried and cried while he was strapped down. It wasn't so much about the blood draw, just the being strapped down! Poor, sad baby. We haven't gotten the results yet and are crossing our fingers that the hives were just a fluke!!
  Fifteen Month Stats
Weight: 23 pounds, 15 ounces, 45th percentile
Length: 31.25 inches, 50th percentile
Head: 19 inches, 80th percentile
  11 teeth!!
 Belton is our sweet, precious baby and we just feel so very blessed to have him in our family. We sure do love our little guy!!

Friday, January 10, 2014

Hervey Christmas!

Well, to start off the Hervey Christmas, Belton ended up in bed with us around 4 am. This was the first time in his life that he has slept in our bed, so I guess we're doing pretty well! 
And it sure was sweet to wake up next to him. :-)
Once we were all up and ready, we went out to enjoy Christmas morning! The stockings were filled and these boys enjoyed their toys! 
 Belton got this chair from Grandmom and Granddad. He LOVES it! 
He goes over and sits in it all the time. 
 He seems so proud of himself!! 
Peter got a BIG present that Dad had to bring in on the dolly!
 Mom framed Granddad Hervey's masters hood from when he got his masters degree at Texas Tech in 1931.
And again, Dayton slept. :)

Hervey Christmas Eve

 We had a great Christmas with the Herveys last weekend!

 During White Elephant, Taylor opened the Dr. Pepper lamps that Matt made about 8 months ago at a work event. He was thrilled!
 But, someone stole it from him, so he and Peter were both excited when Peter stole it from them! Third owner keeps it, so they went home with the pair of Dr. Pepper lamps! :-)

 Marcus got a gnome that he tried (unsuccessfully) to get rid of all night.
 Marshall got a happy spoon! :-)
 I opened these earrings made from real animal bones/feet. EEK! Luckily, Lauren stole them from me!
 Phil got the mardi gras beads.
 And before all of our friends left, we were able to get a family picture of all FIFTEEN of us! This family sure has grown in the last few years! :-)
 Right before Belton's bathtime, Claire enjoyed giving him a ride in this basket.

 And Dayton, slept. all. week. long.
What a good boy!