A little bit of life lately.

On December 22, 2013 Deacon was given a name & a blessing by his Daddy. It was a beautiful, unusually warm winter day. We had a slight drizzle of rain and everything was green, the snow hadn't arrived yet and we didn't even wear coats to church that day.  Mckay did a beautiful job and sitting there listening to him bless our little son was such a special moment, one I will never forget.  I love my boys more than anything. (*We tried to move his little arm down, because it just looks kind of awkward but he moved it right back up! So he won and now we have these great pictures with his awkward arm placement!)

The Craven clan spent Christmas with us! They stayed 9 days and we were so happy to have them. They spent some time in New York City and did a little Connecticut exploration but most of their vacation was spent staying cozy with us in our little apartment. It was basically 9 days of 8 adults who couldn't get enough Deacon time. This picture was taken right before we were headed out the door on Christmas Eve to eat Thai food! Such a fun memory. I love my sweet siblings and I'm so glad they all got to bond with Deacon.

Deacon loves to grab on to stuff when I put him to sleep. It's usually my shirt collar or a necklace I'm wearing but this night it was my cheek. It was the sweetest thing. I know the rule is "lay them down sleepy but not sleeping" but I just can't bring myself to do that! He is so sweet & so peaceful nuzzled in my neck and warm in my arms. It's always hard to lay him down in the bassinet.  The only plus side to him sleeping in his bassinet is that I can watch his sweet face and give my back a rest. It's almost not worth it though.  He is such a cuddle bug and would be so thrilled if I just let him take all his naps in my arms with his face pressed right up against my neck... sometimes I wonder how he breathes like that!

My Mom calls these socks his "lumber jack socks". Haha. We love them. He is always so happy in the mornings after his breakfast. We usually get at least 10 or 15 minutes of pure smiles, leg kicks, arm waves and funny un-developed baby laughs from him.

He loves bathtime. Every time I get him out of the bath and wrap him his towel he gives us a big smile or a funny little laugh. I don't know what is so amusing but we love it.  He is less enthused when the towel comes off and his clothes go on. 

If Mckay could have these two betrothed he would. Sweet Tillie Rose meeting Deacon. She kept saying "it's Deacon (Dee-on!)" in her sweet voice. She was so gentle and gave him lots of kisses and pats on the head.  

He's pretty happy in the mornings.

He loves his new mobile that Mommy got (and set up!) him. Find it here.  

Also note the crib sheet and matching quilt that my talented Mom made him!

Recenetly, we've stayed for all three hours of church! I was nervous about it, and hadn't been staying for the entire thing for various reasons (that's a story for another day), but we braved it and this little guy was such a champ! He started out quiet and just observed everyone and everything from my arms, then he went to Daddy to who got him to take a 1.5 hour nap, then back to Mommy for lunch & happy and smiling (& quiet!) for the last 30 minutes of church. We were so proud of him. He got a lot of attention in his cute church outfit too.