Catching up!

Wow! The past few weeks have flown. Today was the second day out of school with ICE STORM 2009 and we get to stay home tomorrow, too. So, I think it is time to catch up on some blogging. I realized there are several things that haven't made the blog, so here goes...

Just before Christmas, Adeline was baptized at St. John's Episcopal Church, the same church where I was baptized and our parents' home church. Adeline has been God's child from the beginning, but we stood together, with her godparents (Grace and Jaron) and the rest of our family, to acknowledge our call and responsibility to raise her in Christian life and love. She wore a beautiful white gown that was handmade by a longtime family friend/Kevin's godmother, Madrina (Spanish for godmother). Madrina was one of the first people my mom called to share the news of our pregnancy. She began working on the gown immediately, adding her prayers with the rest of ours for a healthy baby. All our prayers were answered! God has already used Adeline to bless others and we look forward to all He has planned for her.

Uncle Kevin left for his new cruise adventure on Saturday morning, January 17. He flew to Miami and set sail that afternoon on Carnival Destiny. At this time, Destiny alternates itineraries in the Western and Eastern Caribbean. As far as we know, he'll be playing five hours each evening in 2 one-hour sets and 1 three-hour set. Lucky dog...the entertainment for the first cruise was the "Battle of the Bands" so he didn't even have to play that first trip! Then, the second cruise was the KLOVE Friends and Family cruise with a wide variety of Christian artists on board. He was supposed to play some that trip, but I didn't get to talk to him when they were in port. Hopefully we'll hear from him on Saturday.

Some fun new things about Adeline...she can roll over from her tummy to her back! YEAH! I'd been helping her do it for a few weeks. Of course, the first time she did it, I'd set her down on her tummy, left the room for a moment, and returned to find her on her back! I immediately rolled her back to her tummy and she did it again! What fun!

She's also discovered she likes sucking her thumb, not just the whole fist! It's a pretty precious sight. She seems to be taking to it like her godmother, Grace, who wrapped her other fingers around her nose! Yes, Grace was pretty cute, too! (and still is!)

I missed last Thursday! All day long, I thought about what I wanted to write, but didn't make it to the blog. I know if I was thinking about it then I was being thankful, so that is good. I'm going to go ahead and take care of tomorrow's list right now.

1. I'm thankful that God is healing me of the infection that has caused me to have crazy headaches for more than a week. I don't get sick very often (Thank you, God) and I have felt pretty rotten. The days at home have helped, so I am thankful for the winter weather we've been having.

2. I'm thankful for Ben who made us a yummy breakfast this morning. God knew what he was doing in giving me a husband who likes to cook. Ben is so like my daddy in that regard!

3. I'm thankful for Adeline's smiles. Even at 5:30 in the morning, I can't help but smile back at her. In those moments, all is right with the world!

4. I'm thankful for my kids at school, esp. the small group of BOYS who wonder if my hair will be curly or straight. They said they liked it better curly...we'll see what the day brings! (They'll make great husbands some day!!)

TGITh

Thank you, Father, that it is Thursday again. Thank you for walking beside me and carrying me through this week. Thank you that little one is asleep and that I will be soon!

I have NO IDEA what happened to Thursday!

My thankfulness is for our family and friends who prayed for us this week as Adeline started at "baby school" (that's how I described it to my kids at school) and I returned to work. All in all, the week had many more ups than downs...and we made it to the weekend! It was a joy to get to rock her and cuddle her this afternoon...there's nothing like it!

Tonight, Ben and I managed to get the ornaments off the Christmas tree (and he is now tackling the lights!) We still have our Fontanini nativity village to do, too. We are firm believers in the 12 Days of Christmas, which officially ended with Epiphany this week, but it is time to pack it away once again. Father, again we say thank you for your blessings throughout this holiday season!

14 weeks and counting...

Adeline is 14 weeks today! She had a well-baby visit today and things are looking good! She is 12 lbs. 7 oz. and 24 1/2 inches long and was very brave when getting her shots. Keep growing, little girl! You have many more great things to accomplish and we can hardly wait to see what you'll do!

Adeline started at her CDP (child development program) yesterday when I had to return to school for real! (The week before Christmas break was just the trial run.) I cried several times before I left the house but managed to keep myself together at school. Thankfully, my days at school are pretty much non-stop so I don't have much time to dwell on being sad. I can honestly say I didn't cry as much today...Yeah for Mommy!

Random comment...I just looked outside the window and saw the new fence panels on my fence. A few weeks ago, I commented on being thankful for my brothers who had helped us keep it standing in all the crazy Oklahoma winds. Well, I am VERY thankful for my husband and father-in-law who have since replaced two posts and six panels. This was acutally accomplished several weeks ago on that Sunday afternoon when the temperature dropped about 30 degrees in a very short time! We have some other panels to deal with...but springtime will do for those!

Happy New Year!

NOTE: Ben and I wrote this post together on our laptop on Thursday, but all of the pictures still needed to be uploaded to the desktop. So, here it is Sunday and everything can be put together to post it for real!!

2009! WOW! What a year this has been! In all things, God has taken care of us throughout this year. Of course, our greatest blessing of 2008 is Adeline, but much more has happened, as well. In April, Chris and Julie were married so we increased the girl power there, too. Julie is a perfect fit for our family and we are so glad she's a part of us! We are thankful for our families now and always. Our niece, Haley, will be getting married in May, so our family will grow yet again. It has been fun getting to know Willie and we're glad to have him, too.

Some fun things about Adeline as we celebrate her 3 month birthday...
Just this week, she has started cooing and "talking" to us. She has been making all kinds of sounds before now, but you can look her in the eyes and talk about all kinds of things! It's so fun! She's also been blowing bubbles and chewing on her fist. The baby books have a space for logging when the baby finds their thumb, but we need a space for fist!! Maybe she'll go for the thumb later. It is fascinating to see different pieces of her personality forming. She has those moments where she laughs, giggles, and smiles, and then has these very serious faces when we wonder what she is analyzing inside that little brain.

We took her 3 month pics in her Christmas outfit this week. There were some great shots of her and the three of us. A few are posted below, as well as some of the other Watson Family pics from a few weeks ago. We captured some great moments for sure!

May God bless you and yours in 2009!