Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

It's so hard to believe Christmas came and went! This year has been a blur with being pregnant, becoming a mother, trying to Christmas shop and prepare for family to arrive! Yes, I've stressed myself out at times, when I didn't need to, but I've also enjoyed all the new challenges and festivities. My sister and her family arrived Christmas morning around 10:30. They drove through the night Christmas Eve, from Michigan. This was their first time driving through the night and they liked the experience. We both know many families who do this and really enjoy it. It was so nice having them here Christmas morning! I started making sausage balls, a Barker family tradition, as soon as they got here. We ate those all morning and opened gifts. After lunch, everyone took a nap. We went to Joe's parent's house for Christmas dinner around 6. We had a wonderful home cooked meal! We've only eaten out one time since Andrea and Kris arrived. Its been nice! I always enjoy the fellowship more when we can eat at home and be in that element rather than a restaurant. We've stayed in our PJ's alot and have had a very relaxing time. Andrea and Kris will go to the WILDS for their annual music conference this week. I am going to keep the girls here most of the time and they will visit with Grammy and Papa too. My parents went to Florida for Christmas and brought back my grandmother this past Wednesday. This is the first time for her to meet Jonas, her 9th great-grandchild. I'm so glad she can be here. Joe and I will be taking her back home this weekend.
It has been so fun watching Andrea's girls interact with Jonas. Emma makes Jonas light up! She has made him chuckle more than anyone. It is so cute. I'm so thankful for this time together with them. It really stinks that we live so far apart.
Here is a slide show with a lot of pictures taken this past week. I've never posted this many pictures in one slide show so there are quite a few to see! Happy New Year everyone!

Mission Accomplished!

Our little man sleeps on his tummy. However, now he knows how to flip over. He has cried out in the middle of the night for several nights because he is "stuck" on his back while half asleep. Much to our surprise one morning we found him sound asleep on his back. He's done this twice now, so hopefully he's mastered it! I had to capture his sweetness while sleeping.

Just because...

He's mine and he's sooo cute! We thank God for you Jonas. What a gift you are!

Our First Family Trip

We went away this past weekend to Pigeon Forge, TN. Joe asked me about a month ago to call friends of ours who own a mountain house there. They had the weekend available and we had a much needed time away. Jonas did wonderful for his first mini-vacation. He slept really well and was pleasant when we went out to shop or eat. Aunt Kim and Uncle Joel came up on Saturday and babysat Jonas while mommy and daddy had a date night. We also spent time watching movies and shopping with Kim and Joel. We always have a great time together with them and Pigeon Forge is a place we all love. I'm so thankful for awesome in-laws since I don't have my own sister near me. I took our digital camera and video camera but had disappointments with both! I left the memory stick at home by accident and the video camera was left on so the charged battery quickly drained! Thankfully Kim brought her digital and we got some pictures.

Best Friends

I know some of you think I'm crazy. That's ok. :-) I'm sure Daisy and Gracie have no concept of friendship, but in a dog's world, I'd have to say these two girls are pretty close friends! They were able to spend the weekend together at Gracie's house while me, Joe and Jonas went to the mountains for the weekend for our first mini-vacation together. Lydia was able to capture some pretty great pictures. I had to post them. These are two of the BEST dogs around! They have been apart now for the last 15 hours or so and the reports are in that they are worn out and sleeping like crazy. I know you dog lovers appreciate me and my pictures. haha!

5 months old!

These are just a few pictures I've snapped the last few days. Jonas has great hair. I can comb it all different ways. Its usually pretty humorous when he wakes up in the morning. I took a picture of him sleeping in his church clothes. I'll get a front picture of that outfit later. Its one of my favorites for this Christmas! Ok, the last picture...The hat and gloves are my $ .50 deal at Kohls at the end of the season!!! Can you believe it! I was visiting my sister in MI and found it at her Kohls. I've been longing for the day for him to wear them. hee hee!

Our Sweet Pea

I'm going to try to post a couple things today. Its been a while. Jonas turned 5 months old this past Sunday. It's hard to believe at times. I so don't want to forget these last 5 months but I know there will be things I don't remember in the future. I'm not very good about writing everything down. I don't keep a journal. I should. Back to Jonas...His vocals are finally unleashed! We have been able to get him to chuckle several times the last couple days. It is so cute! We've been wondering when he would laugh out loud. He did it once for Papa (my dad) about a month ago and then there was a long break till a couple days ago. He used to smile so big and his face was full of happiness but nothing would come out. So, its great! We're loving it. The video below is his first experience with baby food. We tried peas for the first time and made sure we captured his reaction. He is now enjoying them and ate his full jar today!

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