Baby's First Christmas

Christmas came and went so fast! The weekend before Christmas (Dec 17th) LJ and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary. We were so fortunate to have my mother in town to keep Barnes. LJ and I went to dinner and met some friends for a few drinks. It was pretty low key but so nice to have a quite dinner with LJ. We don't do it often enough these days.

Saturday the 18th our friends Jennifer and Drew got married. LJ and I took a few photos that I had hoped to use as Christmas cards but that hasn't happened. Sunday LJ ended up with the stomach virus and my mom didn't feel well so my plans of getting "a lot done" went out the window. Barnes and I did enjoy a day together. I ended up with the stomach virus on Wednesday - yuck! The only upside was shedding a few extra pounds! Barnes was still pretty congested so LJ took him to the doctor and Barnes was started on antibiotics to prevent an ear infection. The combination of the antibiotics, humidifier, elevating the bed, and saline drops seems to have done the trick.





Taking photos with Barnes before we went to the wedding.


The girls at Jennifer's wedding!

Needless to say I did not get all of the baking and decorating I wanted to get done for the holidays. We did get the house cleaned for our house guests on Christmas Eve. We had 3 couples over after church - it was fun to spend Christmas with some of our good friends. LJ, Barnes and I spent our first Christmas at our house. LJ and I stayed up and put Barnes' play mat together that he got for Christmas and we spent Christmas morning just relaxing before going up to Rock Hill Christmas Day afternoon. Barnes met LJ's friend Will and his mom - we stopped by to visit them before heading to LJ's sisters for dinner.




LJ and Will with Barnes.


We spent Christmas Day evening at LJ's sisters with their family. We exchanged gifts and ate and then headed home!



Katie, Lillyann, LJ and Barnes. (First photo of Barnes with his cousin Lillyann)



Barnes is growing so fast. He has officially found his hands and can't get enough of them!!!

Ho Ho Ho

Really mommy?

New Photos

One of my favorite photos!!

2 Months!

Well...our little man was 2 months old the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. The Tuesday that we returned (11/30/10) we headed to the doctor for his 2 month check-up. He came in weighing 11 lbs and 9 oz and 23 inches long. The pediatrician said that he was perfect and right in the middle for growth and length.

I am amazed every day at how much I love this little guy! He is starting to smile and coo at us and really seems to enjoy the sound of mommy and daddy's voices. He is such a happy little guy.

This past Thursday Barnes went to day care for the first time to test the waters. I start work on Monday but I wanted to take him a few days to see how things would go. I didn't leave him all day and was so glad to go and get him. I know Monday is going to be hard and I hate that I have to take him but I feel great with the day care we found. They are great which helps so much when you have to leave your child!

LJ and I enjoy Barnes more and more each day and can't wait to see what he does next.

Thanksgiving at the Byrd's

Thanksgiving Day in their fall outfits

This year for the first time we spent Thanksgiving at my Aunt Lori and Uncle Bobby's house in Alexandria, LA. Of course we had great food (pumpkin cheesecake was my favorite), enjoyed spending time with family, and watched our two favorite teams - Arkansas and South Carolina win!!! Barnes wore his razorback onesie for the first time. LJ and I met Sarah and my parents at my brother-in-law's Ace Hardware for photos with Santa. Parker and Barnes looked so cute in their matching outfits. Sunday we headed back to South Carolina - we stopped in Alabama for barbecue and ran by Bass pro shop. Barnes once again did great in the car and slept most of the way. I don't know how road trips will look next year but we are thankful that for now he does great.

Barnes and Parker with GiGi and Pops the day after Thanksgiving



Saturday getting photos made with santa




Barnes and Mommy

Barnes and Parker Meet

Well, not only did LJ and I get to meet our beautiful niece, Parker, for the first time but Barnes got to meet his cousin. Our trip to Sarah's was to short - Sarah had literally moved into to her house the day we arrived to stay. We swapped stories, advice and really enjoyed spending time together. We took the babies downtown for a walk (with LJ - Sarah's husband had to work). Mom and Dad got to have both of their grandbabies in one place. There were lots of photos and outfit changes including photos with Santa in their matching outfits!! They did great and were soooo cute! I hope Barnes and Parker grow up to be close even though we are far away. I know Sarah and I grew up close to our cousins.

FINALLY!!!

I am finally updating!! It has been too long. I have been side tracked with my road trip to Arkansas and Louisiana and before that I was busy planning my trip!

It has been longer than I thought since I updated! Barnes was two months old last week and had his two month check-up today.

Since I last posted LJ and I got to go to the Ark v. SC game together. We are fortunate enough to have LJ's mom in driving distance and she came down to keep Barnes. It was a long day away - too long! We tailgated and went to the football game and not only did we loose but I was so ready to get home when it was over. Waiting in traffic was torture.

LJ and I at the SC game.

LJ went to the South Carolina v. Florida game while Barnes and I hung out at home. We spent our first night by ourselves - it was pretty uneventful. Saturday we drove to Spartanburg to visit my cousin David and his family so they could meet Barnes. We had a great visit - wish we could see them more frequently but we all seem to stay so busy.

Libby and Barnes

Emily and Barnes

Mom flew in Saturday night while LJ was in Florida. We started getting ready for our trip to Arkansas on Sunday and left early Monday morning. Mom and I left with Barnes early Monday and arrived LATE Monday night. Barnes did great! He slept when we drove and ate when we stopped. Unfortunately we ran into a lot of rain which slowed us down. Once we got to Arkansas we stayed busy. We had visits from my Aunt Liz and many of my mother's friends. We took Barnes to his first dinner out - he went to Outback and one of our favorite Mexican resturants.


In the car on our way...

Barnes with GiGi and Theresa

Barnes with Diane

While we were at home in Arkansas, I got to visit with my best friend Britani and meet her newest addition, Avery. Avery was born just a few weeks before Barnes. It was so much fun to be pregnant together. Britani already has 2 boys and has been my "go to" for all baby boy questions! Barnes and Avery had their first date - we took them to On the Border and then they got to hang out while Britani and I visited.


Barnes and Avery

We had such a great time visiting with Mom and Dad and seeing all of our friends and family in Arkansas. Barnes had a lot of firsts that week.

1. First road trip to Arkansas
2. Frist dinner out to a restaurant
3. First time to church
4. First time to sleep in the same room with mom (he has always been in his own room)


On Tuesday before Thanksgiving Barnes and I headed to Shreveport to pick up daddy at the airport. We hadn't seen him in over a week and we couldn't wait to see him! We got there an hour early!

Photos and stories from Thanksgiving and meeting Parker to come....