Baxter's Dedication

Today Baxter was dedicated at our church here in Shreveport - Broadmoor Baptist Church.  He was a perfect angel through the whole dedication and the rest of the service.  We had some friends, Mackey, Mickey, Riley, Toye and Sutton, come to share in this wonderful day.  We know God is blessing our family and we will continue to teach and raise Baxter to know and love Him.

More Smiles!

We've been capturing more smiles on camera and our little guy is becoming quite sociable. Baxter went this past week and stayed a day with the lady who is going to be keeping when I go back to work next week. He enjoyed himself and it was great knowing he has such a wonderful place to stay. We hope everyone is doing well and that you enjoy these pictures.

The occasional frown- he has quite a pouting face when he wants

Trip to Kentucky

A lot has been going on since we last posted. Unfortunately Abbey's grandmother who lived in Kentucky was diagnosed with lung cancer about 2 and 1/2 weeks ago and passed away about 1 week ago. Abbey's mom flew in from Russia along with Nelson and Sarah, who were there visiting during their summer vacation. Alice, Matt and Emma Kate came in from Arizona and we all met up in London, KY for the funeral. We were able to visit with almost all of our extended family and we enjoyed seeing everyone even if it was difficult circumstances. Unfortunately work kept Warren in Louisiana but we were glad to get home and celebrate Warren's first father's day on our return. We got a few pictures of Baxter's first plane ride and then several of the whole family. There were a lot of young kids there as it seems as if all of my cousins are new moms and dads. I have 20 aunts and uncles, 23 first cousins and it only grows from there. I want to thank everyone for their prayers and support for me and my family. There are also some great pictures of Baxter and his new smiles - they truly are blessings every day!

Here's Abbey and Baxter practicing to carry all the bags for the flight (I carried on all the luggage (the backpack), the diaper bag, the carseat and the baby). I felt like a pack mule!

Baxter on his first flight and with his in-flight snack!

Baxter with his aunt Rachel (Abbey's cousin)

Baxter with his GiGi and GiGi's twin sister, Aunt Brenda.  We love you!

Baxter with his godparents- Alice and Matt

Baxter with Abbey's aunt Sue

Abbey and Baxter on the left with all of her first cousins and their spouses and children- Wow, Big Family!!!

Aunt Sarah with Baxter

GiGi (on the far right) with her brothers and sisters

GiGi saying goodbye at the airport- We miss you and love you!

Baxter made Daddy a Father's Day card!  We're so proud of our little prodigy.

Baxter with one of his stellar smiles!

Baxter's getting so big

Baxter and I are really loving our time at home together and although I miss my work I'm still not quite ready to leave my little guy. I have a few more weeks and trying to make the most of it. He really started smiling at us these last few days and each one makes all the sleepless nights just fade away.   I always get such a burst of energy when I see those little smiles. He's getting so strong, holding his head up and hanging onto his toys. Here's some pictures of our past week.

We met Warren at work one day and had a picnic lunch, Baxter really enjoyed it as you can see!

Baxter loves playing with his stuffed animals and learning all their names.

He's getting so big and in this picture looks like he's thinking "help mom, I don't know how to let go!!!"

One of our friends Easton came over and spent the day with Baxter and me - you can sort of see that Baxter is laughing.  We really had a good time but I'm glad I have only one child right now, thats about all I can handle.

Growing Up!

Baxter is getting so big so fast and I'm sure it will only keep feeling faster. He's holding his head up and really making eye contact now. I keep trying to coax out an intentional smile but no luck yet. We'll definitely keep trying. We hope everyone had a great Memorial Day. We went to Caddo Lake (close to Shreveport) with some good friends, the Sugars. We really enjoyed ourselves and are so thankful to have such good friends. Here's some more pics from our trip back to Birmingham and some from since we've been back in Louisiana.

Emma Kate having fun with GiGi's glasses

Emma Kate driving us back to Birmingham!!!

Emma Kate and our friend Riley (they had a great time playing together)

Warren, Easton and Baxter- the guys just hanging around

Baxter and his aunt Jan

Erin "Giesa" and Emma Kate "Tater" playing with the car

Fun!Fun!Fun!

Sorry we haven't posted in a while but hopefully we'll get better. We went to Birmingham and had a great time getting to see friends and family. Alice and Sandy Mulvaney threw a wonderful baby shower and of course Baxter stole the show (even though he slept through the whole thing!) We had a great first Mother's Day and we were able to spend some time with both GiGi and Gimma. Warren had to come back to Shreveport a few days earlier so Baxter and I stayed in Alabama and went to visit Pappa (Abbey's grandfather) with Alice and Emma Kate. Alice, Emma Kate, Nelson (Abbey's brother), Abbey and Baxter then drove back to Shreveport for a week of fun in Louisiana. Emma Kate had a great time with the "baaa-beee" which is what she calls Baxter (it is so cute!) and Alice and Abbey had a wonderful time getting to spend time with each other even if it was crazy busy with 2 young kids. We want to thank everyone for making such big efforts to see us while we were in Birmingham and for those we didn't get a chance to see we hope it won't be too long before we can visit with you!

Here we are at Pappa's house

Warren and Baxter all painted up!

Erin Harkey in town all the way from New York City

My old roommate and longtime friend Katie Beaton

Baxter, his aunts and 2 of his girlfriends Emily and Emily!

Some pics from the shower (thanks Sandy-your house is beautiful)

19 Days Old!!!

We have now been parents for 2 and 1/2 weeks! We're getting the hang of 3am feedings and changing diapers, but it seems you can never fully wrap your mind around how much you love this new little person. We can't fully describe how much we love him and we can't thank God enough for him. Abbey and Baxter had their first day at home together after GiGi left and Warren went back to work. Everybody survived but was even more thankful for all the help they have had over the pat couple weeks. Here's some pictures of our week, we hope you enjoy. We can't wait to see everyone in Birmingham this weekend and for everyone to meet Baxter!