21 weeks down...ALREADY?!

One of our friends asked me the other day how far along I was...I responded and Jon somewhat froze!

Jon: 21 weeks?! Already?!
Me: Yep, over half way there babe.
Jon: Holy!

Suppose he hadn't noticed my growing belly (ok, and hormone levels)!? But really, this pregnancy has flown by! We've only had the "normal" doctor appts with baby Joel verses an average of one a week when I was pregnant with Jude...makes a HUGE difference. Plus, Jude keeps us quite busy!

Jon: Do we need to set up the other crib?!
Me: Not yet! Can we just get thru Christmas first then think about that?
Jon: Oh. yeah., totally. OK.
Me: You ok? Nerves?
Jon: Nope, I'm good. (smiles)

HaHa! I love my boys!! :) Here we grow again...ready or not! ;-)

Par-tay Time! Jude bug is 1!

Jude's 1st birthday was a total success! Thank you to all the family and friends that came to cheer on our little cowboy as he tasted his first cake, opened his first present and enjoyed his first party!! We had a blast and hope you all did too!

Yummy desserts! I was so happy with how they all turned out! :) Note to Keller locals...I got the boot & "Smash cake" at Albertson's off Golden Triangle. I just brought them a picture and they did GREAT work...for MUCH less $$ than surrounding bakeries! ;-) Ask for Natalie if you ever need anything, she's just wonderful!!

We ordered brisket and pulled pork from Up N Smoke (in downtown Keller, off Main Street)...so yummy! My step-dad, Marc, was gracious to smoke the sausage and chicken for the party and my Nana (Mom's mom) made delicious homemade potato salad! We had popcorn chicken for the kiddos and lots of appetizers...everything was really delicious! :)



It was a packed house! I was so thankful for the gorgeous weather so we could use the backyard/patio too!



He LOVES his new little pony! Thanks Marc & Andrea!



We waited til' everyone left to let him attack opening presents...a good idea! He was pretty tired but managed to get thru them all and enjoy ripping the tissue paper to shreds in the process! THANK YOU to everyone!! He is one spoiled fabulous little cowboy!!

Look at those toys!! Look at that belly! ;-)
Thank you, Thank you again to all that made the day a total success! We love you!
XoXo,
The Howertons

Jude visits Santa

We took Jude to see Santa Claus this past weekend... This year marks his second trip to visit Mr. Claus but you can hardly count the first year since he slept thru most of it and he was only 10 days old. ;-) I loved the Santa they had at North East Mall last year so I opted to stick with him.

Jude had a blast...in line! He was flirting with all the parents, clapping to all the other kiddos and totally full of smiles...then we got to Santa... As soon as we set him on Santa's lap, his face went serious. He would NOT take his eyes off of daddy no matter what sounds/faces we made. Ofcourse I still purchased the outrageously priced pictures. :)

We missed having cousins along on this year's trip but it was still another fun memory made and I can't wait for Christmas even more so now!

Christmas Countdown Chain

One of my friends had one of these at her home. I loved the idea and wanted to share it with anyone that might be interested....what a neat idea to do with your kiddos/family!:)

Cut out and paste together 25 links for a paper chain. The links are numbered 1-25 and on each link is a different theme and scripture reference (see below). Hang the chain with 25th link at the top and remove one link each day during December leading up to Christmas, using the scripture for family devotions and the theme as a focus for prayer. It's a handy way to count off the days until Christmas and learn more about the real meaning of the holiday.

Christmas is...
1. A TIME OF SHARING - Read John 3:1-21

2. A TIME OF MEMORIES - Read Luke 1:68-79

3. A TIME FOR GREETINGS - Read Luke 1:39-55

4. A TIME FOR CHARITY - Read Matthew 25:31-40

5. A TIME FOR VISITING - Read Romans 15:1-7

6. A TIME OF HOPE - Read John 14:1-6

7. A TIME OF FAITH - Read Isaiah 55:6-11

8. A TIME OF PROMISE - Read Galatians 3:23-4:7

9. A TIME FOR CANDLES - Read John 11-14

10. A TIME FOR MUSIC - Read Psalm 150

11. A TIME FOR BEING IN TOUCH - Read John 15:1-11

12. A TIME OF RUSHING - Read Luke 10:38-42

13. A TIME FOR SINGING - Read Colossians 3:12-17

14. A TIME FOR FAMILY - Read Luke 1:5-80

15. A TIME FOR DECORATIONS - Read Psalm 118:19-29

16. A TIME FOR BAKING - Read John 6:32-40

17. A TIME FOR LOVE - Read 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13

18. A TIME OF SOLITUDE - Read 2 Corinthians 1:3-7

19. A TIME FOR REMEMBERING - Read Isaiah 25:6-9

20. A TIME OF PEACE - Read Matthew 11:25-30

21. A HOLIDAY - Read Hebrews 4:9-16

22. A TIME TO GIVE THANKS - Read 2 Corinthians 9:6-15

23. A TIME OF BLESSING - Read Ephesians 3:14-21

24. A TIME FOR GIFTS - Read Ephesians 2:4-10

25. GOD WITH US - Read Luke 2:1-20

Happy 1st Birthday Jude Bug!

Happy First Birthday to my sweet baby Jude bug!! There is no way I can capture how precious this year has been for me in a blog... And yes, it may be that I’m pregnant while writing this but the emotions are in high gear! I’m just so thankful and feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family! I look forward to the years to come but for now, will reflect a little on the "past year of Jude." ;-)

Born Dec 14, 2009 at Baylor Hospital in Grapevine at 9:08am. Weight of 5 lbs and 9 ounces and measured 19 3/4 inches long. You had so many vistitors! Everyone was so happy to meet you! Your dad and I were already in love with you before you were born but we couldn't have imagined how special this day would be for us! Our family had grown to three (four if you include our mini schnauzer ;))and you were absolutely perfect!









You are so loved! Happy 1st Birthday Jude Kaylor Howerton!! We look forward to so many more! XOXO!!

Momma's lil' man is almost ONE!!!

I cannot believe it!! 11 days from now, my baby boy will be turning ONE!! *sigh* I still fall in love with him more every day! I adore being his mommy and am so so very thankful for the overwhelming joy he has brought to Jon and my life! We'll be celebrating with a party ofcourse to show off our "little cowboy" (LOVE how the invitations turned out!) but also wanted to take a moment to brag some on what's going onin our world with him RIGHT now too. :-)


No more formula or bottles! Hooray!! We're on to sippy cups, whole milk and solids!! This made for a very successful Thanksgiving!! He enjoyed tasting new things...especially Jon's cousins homemade cinnamon rolls!

He can still wear his 12 mos clothes for the most part but the sleeves are short and we've brought out the 12-18 mos to start the transition. As of 12/1 he weighed just over 21 lbs and was almost 28" tall. We go in for his 1 year appt on 12/23 and I'll post his stats afterwards.

As you can see, we still have a blondie! Jon and I both have blonde relatives so...who knows, just might stick!


He's a total ham, which I love!! He gives "high fives" and waives "bye-bye" with a huge smile! It's precious! He loves all of his fam...grandparents, his cousin Kathryn...he just loves people! Not a single sign of stranger danger yet.


He's no fan of the car but has become quite the road warrior by force after our Thanksgiving trip to Colorado! He did so great considering we were in the car (FULLY LOADED DOWN) for prob min of 30 hours!!

The boy likes to shop! HaHa! Could it be that I've been toting him from store to store from birth?! He's such a fun "partner in crime"...he thinks everything looks good on me! ;-) Judging by his grip on "The Princess Bride" I'd definitely say he has some of his daddy in him too! HeHe.

No walking yet but SO SO close! He holds on to anything he can to steady his pacing and he LOVES his VTech Walker! The most I've witnessed is 2 consecutive free handed steps but then he gets scared and drops as soon as he realizes what's going on. I'm A-OK with it too...this whole year has blurred by! He can crawl a bit longer for sure!! ;-)

Cuddles....oh the cuddles!I can't get enough and he's been in the mood to give me all I want lately. "Momma" is his favorite word and I LOVE HEARING IT!! we sing "La La La" together and ofcourse, he gives a "dada" pretty frequently too. He shakes his head when we tell him "NO" so I'm fairly confident he understands it's meaning.

THE TONGUE WILL NOT STAY IN HIS MOUTH!! This is the one thing I won't be sad to see him outgrow! It's like he watches our dog, Bentley, and copies him! It's cute...but won't be when he's 5. HeHe. We gotta get it under control! Please...

Bathtime is suddenly a struggle. I don't know what happened but one night he was having a ball in the bath tub and then the next he started screaming as soon as he hit water and ever since, it's been a no-go. Thankfully he does still enjoy a shower with daddy! Hoping we can try bath time again with more success this month...

That's enough for now I suppose. I could talk about him all day ofcourse! Yes, you can gag now ;-) I am so proud of him and just love him to pieces!! XoXo

"Way out West" fam photos

Family Pictures
Roscoe, Texas - November 2010

"Team Howerton"


I see baby bump ;-) HeHe






The Boys :-)

Ow, Ow! My mom & step-dad, Marc ~ XoXo

The girls, definitely outnumbered! Kissin' on our momma! Mwuah!



The whole fam!


The Seilkopfs :-)Mike, Staci, Allen and Austin

Austin

Allen


Love my family and think the pics turned out so great!! Had a blast!
*HUGS*
Brooke

Adding to our "Team" in May

Yes, it’s true! Baby #2 will be here before we know it! We’ve known since late August we were expecting again but we just found out last month WHAT we will be having… another BOY!! I’m ecstatic for Jude b/c they will be so close in age! I honestly couldn’t tell you what I hoped we would have, Boy or Girl, but when we found out the news, I couldn’t have been more thrilled!! Joel Phillip Howerton is due May 6th 2011!!