What a year

As the year is coming to an end and I have a few minutes of quiet, I thought I would take the opportunity to finally update our blog. I know that it has been months. It has been quite a year for us. The Lord has blessed us in so many ways. Joey got a new job with the federal government. We endured close to 8 months of separation, but he completed his training at the end of October. The kids experienced their first plane ride as we flew out to Maryland for his graduation. It was a proud day for all of us. We are now finally back together as a family.

On July 23, Connor celebrated his first birthday. He actually got to celebrate two times. Once in June while Joey was home and then again in Leavenworth with my family. The cake and cupcakes did not go over so well. Connor has learned to walk and is running now. He is quick and keeps me on my toes. He is learning to talk. Mostly, he just babbles, but he looks at you as if you should know what he is saying. Once he really starts talking, I don't know if he will stop. He loves walking around outside, Veggie Tales (still), and stuff about the farm. We had a wonderful time in Leavenworth with my family. He and Grandma were very close. I don't know if it was harder on me or him when we said goodbye to her at the end of October. He also loved hanging out with his Grandpa, as you can see in the picture.

On August 29, we welcomed Bailey Elisabeth Moore into the family. She made a dramatic entrance at 3:17 in the morning, 2 1/2 weeks early. She weighed 8 lbs, 4.5 oz. and was about 18 inches long. Unfortunately, Joey was not able to be there for her birth, but he came out that Thursday night. She has her daddy wrapped around her little finger already. She is our little social butterfly. She hates to be by herself and has a smile on her face when she sees someone.
She is already cooing and trying to sit up. It is hard to believe she is almost 4 months old. She loves her big brother. Connor loves his little sister, although sometimes he wants the attention that she gets. He tries to be a good helper boy. He tries to give her blankets, wipe her face, and put a bib on her. He loves to give her hugs and kisses.

We are now settled in a cozy two bedroom apartment in Maumelle, AR, a suburb of Little Rock. Joey is really enjoying his job and I am enjoying being a stay-at-home mom. It has been a crazy year, I can hardly believe it is Christmas. As I praise God for all His blessings, I am especially grateful for His gift of salvation. I can only imagine how difficult it was to send His Son to die that we might be saved. May the Lord bless you this season.

I wear my sunglasses

Connor has been enjoying the beautiful weather we have had recently. He loves wearing his sunglasses. He is now 8 months old. Time has really flown by. I was cleaning out his closet last week and packing up his old clothes. It was so hard to believe he was that little. He has two teeth on the bottom and more are soon to follow, I think. He loves rolling around the house in his rolly chair. He tries to get into everything. This is just a glimpse of things to come when he starts walking. We are adjusting to having Joey gone. It has been hard, especially with me still working and being pregnant. Joey's parents have been a big help getting the house ready to put on the market. Pray that it will sell quickly. I am currently 16 weeks pregnant. Provided the baby behaves, I will find out what the sex is on Apr. 14. I can't believe it is already time to find out what I am having. Joey is doing fine at his training. He is enjoying the gym and being able to work out so much. He is still adjusting to having to study so much. I hope you all had a blessed Easter!!! God bless!!!

Our Own Veggie Tales

Ah Veggie Tales. I think I lost track of how many times I sang the theme song to Connor on the way home from Leavenworth. For some reason, that song soothes him. It is so funny to watch him watch the video of the song on YouTube. He is so fascinated by it. Well, we started fruits and veggies on our trip. He tried bananas first. We are now doing all the veggies and then we will do fruit. He seemed to like peas last night. Green beans are still under consideration. Connor is already a picky eater. He likes the veggies warmed up slightly. As you can see, he is ready for grown up food. Joey was eating pizza holding Connor and Connor would just follow the pizza as Joey ate it. He so wants to try it. Eating grown up food will be here before I know it. It is hard to believe that Connor is 23 weeks. Almost 6 months old. Where has the time gone? We are looking forward to the next 6 months as Connor hits more milestones. God bless!!!

My First Christmas

We celebrated Connor's first Christmas. Joey was wonderful enough to drive us 8 hours to Leavenworth. Connor did fairly well stuck in the car for that long. Only a few meltdowns. As you can see, Connor is showing his independence. He wanted to open his presents by himself. He is a big boy!!! Connor also got see his first snow. We did not go out in it. It was way too cold. We did get snowed in and had to spend an extra day so the roads could clear up. We had a great time. Connor loved spending time with Grandma and Grandpa Davis. They even watched him for a night. Joey surprised me with a night at the Chateau Avalon, a hotel in Kansas City with themed rooms. It was great and so relaxing!!! It was so wonderful to be with my family and spend Christmas with them. It was a time to reflect on our blessings. The birth of our Savior and also the birth of our precious baby boy!!! God has truly blessed us. We hope you all had a blessed Christmas as well. Happy New Year!!!

What do these people have me doing now?

Connor has started eating cereal now. I think more of it ends up on his face than in his belly. It is hard to believe that he is 5 months old. He is such a blessing in our lives. We are truly privileged to be his parents. He loves hanging out with Daddy. I think he is a Daddy's boy. It always brings a smile to my face to see Joey and Connor together. Joey can always make Connor laugh. I have recently discovered that Connor likes the Veggie Tales theme song and Miley Cyrus's song, "Party in the USA." He likes "noddin his head like yeah, movin his hips like yeah." It has been cold enough for Connor to wear a hat. Not quite sure what he thinks about it yet. I think he looks adorable. We are looking forward to Connor's first Christmas. We hope and pray you all have a blessed Christmas and a wonderful New Year.

Who should I text next?

Connor is trying to decide who he should text next. He was so intent on finding out what Joey was texting when I took this picture. It was so hard to keep from laughing. We enjoyed a great weekend with my brother, sister-in-law, niece, and nephew. The cousins really enjoyed Connor. In the words of Zane, my nephew, they liked "all of him." Connor had his first trip to the zoo two weeks ago. He slept right through it, except for a melt down when he was hungry around eleven. He is babbling more and more. I think he tries to have conversations with his toys. His smile is much more frequent these days. I think he is about to roll over. He really enjoys his bouncy chair toy.

Joey is still going through the process to be hired by the Secret Service. They have started his background investigation and we have the home visit next week. Hopefully, we will know something by the end of this year. Thank you all for your prayers so far. I am busy with Connor and school. I look forward to days off and breaks to spend time with my guys. It is so wonderful to see the two of them together!! Joey is a wonderful father. You can tell Connor loves his daddy so much. I look forward to the day when I can be a stay at home mom. All in God's time, I guess.

Whacha lookin' at?

The first picture of a father/son staring contest. Well, Joey went back to work last week and I go back to work on Thursday. We are both dreading me going back to work. We are both still adjusting to lack of sleep. Connor is growing so much. He is now 12 lbs. 8 oz. according to our bathroom scale. He is about 22 1/2 inches. He has also recently discovered his fingers. He gets a little frustrated when he can't put them in his mouth. I think he is trying to start babbling. He just makes random noises when he is awake. Sometimes he loves tummy time, other times he hates. He loves taking a bath but hates getting out. Too cold.
Joey is anxious to start his training. He is trying to teach Connor how to throw a punch, a jab, and a hook. Saturday, Connor got to hang out with Daddy, Grandpa, Uncle Luke, Aunt Chelsey, Drew and Mommy and watch UFC fights. Not quite sure how he liked them. He got to stay up past his bedtime. Our next mission is to get him on sometime of schedule. Hopefully, we can do that with as little pain as possible. Thank you for all your prayers and we are praying for you all too.