A New Chapter Begins

Finally...the word is out and I can write about what has been going on in the Blackburn life that has been keeping us so crazy busy!

To make a long story short... after lots of prayer and unmistakable leading from the Lord...Jay decided to return to full time ministry and has accepted a youth ministry position at Grace Crossing in the Woodlands...so we are moving! It has all happened really fast. We put our house on the market a couple of weeks ago and within four days we had 4 offers on the table one of which was for $5K over our list price! Needless to say that was a no brainer...we went with that one...God is so faithful! We have a contract on a really cute house in nice neighborhood in Spring near the Woodlands and not far from the church. It is beautiful there...tons of trees and pretty wildflowers, doesn't even look like Houston. It is going to be a fun place to live. We are set to close on our current house on April 30th and on the new one May 14 so we will be staying with family for a few weeks during the interim. We are so excited about the our new church family, they are a people truly seeking after God's own heart, we can't wait to get there and join them in their pursuit of the Kingdom! And we are super excited about working with teens again...Jay has such a passion for that age group and he fits right in with them...crazy man! I have a feeling Josiah will be immediately embraced by lots of tons of teenagers...it should give him plenty of stimulation for sure!

We are also sad to leave our friends and family, neighborhood, and house down here. So it is a bittersweet thing. But God has just opened so many doors and given us such solid confirmations that this is where He wants us...and there is no better place to be than in His will...we are eager to watch and see what all He has in store. One thing we know for sure...it is gonna be good! "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Please keep us in your prayers for a smooth transition as we move...especially for Josiah that it won't create a feeling of instability for him.

There are apparantely a lot of baby boys right around his age at the church right now...so he will have buddies when we get there. Today we stopped by the office and one of the other ministers and his wife had their almost 4 mos old baby boy, Eliam, up there and we put the boys on the floor together and they just stared at eachother for a while, then Josiah rolled towards Eliam and reached out and touched his face...so precious, they were instant buds!

Pics of the new house to come...eventually!

Half a Year!

We have been crazy busy and I have been seriously slacking when it comes to blog writing. But I thought Josiah's 6 month birthday deemed a break from the craziness so that I could share some pics and updates on him!

As you can see...Josiah is officially sitting up now without support! It has been slowly coming but Thursday he just started being able to sit for long periods of time while playing with his toys without falling over. He still topples every now and then and sometimes purposely lunges forward like he knows how to crawl...but he doesn't yet. He did start rocking a little on his knees yesterday though...except he pushes himself backwards instead of forwards. He he!

He is still such a happy little boy. He just goes with the flow. I am thankful that although he is not a great sleeper he is a happy little camper! So on a whole for the sleep situation...I thought we were making slight progress when a few wks ago he had a couple of 5-6 hrs stretches at night with no waking. Then this week it has been rough every night...until last night...and he surprised us with 9 hrs of sleep no waking! Jay and I had gone out for our 5 yr anniversary (yes, and it has been a WONDERFUL 5 YEARS...I have been blessed with an amazing selfless and servant hearted husband who keeps me on my toes with his passion for the Lord and life!)...anyways, Jay's parents kept Josiah, gave him a bottle of formula at 7:30 and put him to bed. Normally he wakes up to eat again between 10:30-11 but he didn't wake up until 4:30am! Jay and each woke up once to go check on him b/c it is so unlike him to not make a peep...but he was just sleeping like a little rock. He had shots yesterday so I don't know if that had something to do with it or if maybe...just maybe...he is gonna start sleeping longer at night....I hope and pray! And I think he will be getting a bottle of formula in the evening from now on if it continues to help the sleep situation!

He has been saying "hey!" lately. At first it was just an interactive little noise he would do back and forth with us. But now we are starting to think he actually might know it is a way to greet people. When he hasn't seen Jay or I for a while and he spots us he will say "hey", it is really cute.

We still think he might be teething due to all the drool and constant gumming of anything he can get into his mouth...but no teeth in sight yet.

We took him on his first camping trip Easter weekend. It is a tradition of my families to go camping every Easter...it was a whole new experience with a baby but such a blast. He loved being outdoors. Here are the TWO pics I took the whole weekend...pathetic I know. My mom and sister took a bunch so when I get a chance to download their pics I will post some more.

Hiking at the falls...so beautiful!

Josiah with his Easter presents!

....more camping pics to come!

Josiah 5 Months!

Our sweet boy turned 5 months on Monday! He is rolling all over the place now, can sit up without support for about 30 seconds or so, is getting really antsy to be crawling...he gets so frustrated when he can't get to a toy, he initiates peek-a-boo by holding something over his face until we say "where's josiah?" and then he pulls it down cackles when we say "peek-a-boo!" He is still a drool machine and constantly gumming whatever he can get into his mouth but no visible sign of any teeth yet. He is such a joy and when we don't think it's possible to love him anymore than we already do...he captures our hearts by surprise and we are completely overwhelmed with an even deeper love for him!

We have been taking advantage of the beautiful weather this week and going for lots of walks and spending time outdoors...he LOVES being outside!

Note the look on his face...

"enough pictures mom put me down and let me play!"And so I did...

"Look mommy's not holding me up!"Jay misses Josiah so much during the week, as soon as he gets home he takes over for a while so I can have a break and he can have a little time with him before he goes to bed at 7. Josiah lights up when his daddy walks through the door! This is tonight after Jay gave him his bath. Doesn't Josiah look so proud to be sitting on his daddy's shoulder?! Love it!


We love our little man!

The Sweetest Sound!

Saturday night I was feeding Josiah before bed and when I stopped to burp him and switch sides he started fussing...and amidst the fuss I heard the sweetest sound to a mother's ear..."mamamama!" I couldn't believe it...but my mom was my witness...she heard it too! Since then he has said it a few other times and Jay has heard it now also...all when fussing, he is one smart boy...he has figured out how to melt my heart and get his way...at least a few times anyways! I am surprised it came before "dada" since I hear that usually comes first. He can make the "d" sound but has never said "dada." It has been a few weeks coming that I was thinking he was trying to say "mama"...all when crying, and he finally did it. I was just reading the other day that between 4-6 months you may hear those precious syllables but that the baby can't actually connect us with them yet...maybe that's true. But I find it interesting that he only says it when fussing like he is pulling out all the tricks to get his way?! Whether he knows he is saying my name yet or not...I don't care...I am so excited he can say it, I can't wait till he says it when he is happy to see me, like when I go get him out of bed in the morning...that will be the best! I think it won't be long before Jay gets to hear "dada" either...he's so close!

Another sound we've been hearing from him lately that is sad rather than sweet is an aweful cough! =( Poor baby! At the beginning of last week he was just feeling rotten, he was coughing, clingy, fussy, and sleepless. But towards the end of the week after a few days of a humidifier, steamy bathroom treatments and baby tylenol he started acting himself again, his cough is lingering though...along with old sleep habits of waking up ALL NIGHT LONG! Super bummed about that...we had been making such headway, before he got sick he gave us one 9 hr and one 7 hr night admist many 5 1/2 to 6 hr stretches with minimal crying. Last night he was awake crying on and off from 1:30 to 4am...we are tired today.

On a more fun note...my birthday was Friday and Jay's is this Thursday so we have been having lots of fun birthday celebrations! Friday my sweet in-laws sent me a really pretty arrangement of pink, green, and white flowers. Then a few hours later I heard another knock on the door and it was another delivery of beautiful roses from my precious husband...2 fire and ice and 8 red = 28 yrs old! I felt so loved. Friday night Jay cooked dinner for me and rented a movie for us to watch. Saturday we went out to my parents house and my mom took me shopping while the guys watched sports all afternoon and kept Josiah. Then my parents made Jay and I an awesome steak dinner for our birthdays and gave us gifts, we sat around the table talking until late...it was great! We will be celebrating our birthdays with Jay's family this weekend...I will have to write about that later as some plans are still in the works.

Well...much more is going on in the life of the Blackburn family but that is a brief snapshot for ya!

Speaking of snapshots...here are some from the past few weeks!

He loves this!

Grandma Freckles and Old DudeUncle B and Aunt BrittAt Jay's parents lakehouse last weekend...

Today...this was too cute I had to capture it on camera...he loves to play with his feet!

Have a good one!

Josiah 4 Months!

Josiah turned 4 months old on Monday and he is Mr. Personality!

At his Dr. visit Monday he weighed 13 lbs 13 oz and was 26 inches long!

4 New Things he is doing:

1. Rolling over all the time from tummy to back!

That one time he rolled before was a fluke he started on Tuesday to really roll over. He sleeps on his tummy and I started finding him after nap time awake and happy on his back! Now the only problem is that he can't get back over to his tummy and doesn't like to sleep on his back so in the night when he rolls over we have to go in there and roll him back so he will go back to sleep!

2. Started cereal on Monday

...he is loving it and is doing surprisingly well being spoon fed, the first couple feedings were pretty messy but he is getting to where most of it actually stays in his mouth now!

3. Waking up happy from naps!

4. He gets very distracted while I am nursing him now if there is anything social going on or American Idol is on!

....that is right he LOVES American Idol, it is too funny! I don't ever plop him in front of the TV (except for an occasional Baby Einstein dvd) but whether I am feeding him or he is playing somewhere in the living room, if American Idol is on...he is glued to the TV!

Happy Valentine's Day!

It has been a great start to our Valentine's Day today! This morning Josiah woke up at 7:30...his usual time...but was so tired still after eating that I put him back down at 8 and he slept until 10:20...which meant...Jay and I SLEPT IN! Then we woke up and cooked breakfast for eachother, watched Josiah play in his Excersaucer and Jay just took Josiah for a walk! Later we are heading to SL and my parents are going to watch Josiah while we go on our first date since he was born. We are going to Outback and then to see Benjamin Button! So excited!

Josiah loves mirrors!

Before his walk with daddy!

As I was reading my sister's blog this morning she was talking about reflecting today on how God romances us and I was reminded of one year ago today when God lavished His romance upon Jay and I and we found out after a long time of trying that we were pregnant! It was the best Valentine's gift ever....God is so sweet in the way He works things out like that in such impeccable timing to let us know how much He loves us! Now we are sitting in daily amazement just marveling at the gift He has given us in our perfect, precious, bundle of joy...Josiah. When I recall His faithfulness to me in those ways my heart swells with love for Him...I am wooed and won over by the Lover of my soul! Thanks Lindsey for reminding me to reflect on HIM today.

Happy Valentines Day everyone!

McDrooly!

We found the perfect pacifier for Josiah and a perfectly suited new nickname too...McDrooly!

Do you see that little wet chin?

(this pics a little blurry, he was swinging)
I definitely get pelted with drool everytime we do airplane!
Note the drool spot on Mr. Handsome's shirt...it's small compared to usual and has become a constant spot on mine too!
With all the drooling and him constantly putting his hands and anything else he can get in his mouth, you would think he was teething already! I've read some babies start this early but I don't think he is.

Now...for some random pics of the past week or so...

This morning he tried out his excersaucer for the first time! He was pretty wide eyed the whole time he was in there! It was fun watching him discover he could turn himself around in there.

"Oooh...this is so fun...wish I could get these toys in my mouth somehow!"

He thinks his daddy is SO COOL!

(and he is... truly such a fun dad)

Jay gives him baby mohawks after bathtime every night!

(he is a very helpful dad too...de does bathtime just about every night)

So happy!

He will be four months old on Monday! I can't believe how fast the time is passing! He is such a joy!

Changing subjects....

SHEETS!?!

Does anyone know of some SUPER soft cotton sheets that you just love? What kind? Where can you get them, etc.?

We are on the hunt for some new sheets and I was greatly disappointed by the last ones I got...they were scratchy and have already started balling up after just one wash...unacceptable, if I had the receipt I would try and take them back...but I don't!