Hunter's dedication

Today at church we had Hunter's baby dedication.  This is similar to a baptism but without the water.  This is our promise to Hunter that we will raise him to know and love Jesus to the best of our ability.  The church also promises to come along beside us to support and love us.  When Hunter is older, he will make the decision to be baptized.  This is a moment I have been dreaming about for years.  It was great to be able to share this with our family and church family who have been there with us along this long and wonderful journey.  We were also able to share this moment with two other precious babies.  What a sweet time it was for our family.  Afterwards we had a celebration luncheon at our house.  It quickly turned into a three ring circus!! We ended up having 22 adults, 11 children, 4 "babies-on-the-way", one dog...and a partridge and pear tree in our house.  It was great to have all these very special people in our home.  It is just such a testament to the amazing people in our life God has blessed us with.  With that said- my head was left spinning between the massive amount of food, fun and laughter of our friends,  children running around in circles chasing Charlie, and the all boy wresting ring that was my living room.  It was great but boy am I tired!!

Giving our promise to our children

Receiving a blessing and prayer

The "after party"

Christmas time!!

So for years we have been hoping and praying to have our baby for Christmas-- well 2011 was our year! We have so much to be thankful for, especially to have Hunter this Christmas season.  Here are a few pictures to help you get in the Christmas spirit:

The great Dobbin Camp Out

This past weekend Hunter went on his first camping trip---well sort of.  Several of our close friends and their kids came with us to Dobbin where my parents live.  The guys have been wanting to have a father son camp out but didn't want to go full camping for the first time.  We decided Dobbin would be a safe place because all the mommies could stay in the cabin while the guys were in the woods.  The little boys would also be close to restroom and mommies when needed.  Did I mention there were 7 little boys??? Yes, 7!  Ranging from 3 months to 7 years old.  They did great and had such a fun time.  Hunter stayed with me in civilization of course but made his appearance to the campsite wearing his camo outfit for pictures.  The mommies decided to escape before the boys were let loose to find us and we went to the mall!  So fun!  The guys successfully made it through one night of camping and decided to stay inside with us for the second night since it was going to rain.  Here are a few of my favorite pictures from this weekend:

 The guys making a political statement ;)

The boys

Hunter's BFF- Ben

The baby boys on the way to the Mall with their Mommies

Mimi and Papa with the babies

The crew minus Michelle and baby Sam who couldn't make it.  We saved a spot for her.

Daddy and son

Working mom

I have been meaning to update my blog for a while now, but have been sooooo busy.  Being a working mom is a challenge.  We survived our first week back to work and Hunter starting daycare.  He adjusted really well and seems to like his teachers.  Every day when I pick him up they are always doing something fun- reading books, singing, snuggling, playing with other babies...  good stuff.  Hunter goes to chapel weekly, but sleeps through it still :)  The second week of daycare Hunter came down with a very strange rash.  We are pretty sure it was hand foot mouth disease.  He looked like he had polk-a-dots all over his face.  Fortunately it was a very mild case and didn't seem to bother him.  He was able to play hooky from daycare for two days though.  Now my poor baby has an ear infection and upper respiratory infection.  Looks like he gets to play hooky for a couple  more days this week.  With my job, I've had parents call me many times to complain about their daycare.  They say it must be really dirty because their baby just started and gets sick all the time now.  I then get to explain to them that it is totally normal for children to get sick a lot when they start daycare for the first time.  It is totally different to experience it for myself though.  I understand it, but I sure don't like it.

Here is a picture of my silly boy.  The "polk-a-dots" are still there but faded a lot.  Just imagine this but bright red

Hunter also had his first round of shots.  He was a trooper and the nurse gave him Spider man band aids.

We had a great Thanksgiving and had so much to be thankful for this year.  It was so much fun to finally have our baby for a holiday.  He loves being around family and plays up the cuteness big time.  Here is a sweet picture of Hunter and his Mimi from Thanksgiving day.

I can't even believe Hunter is already three months old.  He is such a cutie and has such a fun personality.  He is also such a strong boy already.  He has been able to hold his head up from just about birth.  He tries to pull himself up from lying down to sitting when you are holding his hands.  And he finally decided to start sleeping through the night in the past couple of weeks- thank goodness!!

Even though I don't want to be working full time, I can't complain.  The transition back to work actually went really well for everyone.  I am tired, but not as bad as I thought I would be.  Hunter is such a wonderful baby and I feel I have an important role at work and at home.  Every night, Hunter and I say our prayers and pray for God to show us a way for Mommy to stay at home with him if she can.  I got my Christmas present early and got a new DSLR camera.  I have a lot to learn on it, but have the hopes of maybe doing photography someday.  Maybe that can be the answer to our prayer :)