Moo Moo Mr. Cow-Cow

We got the chance to head up to Knoxville this past weekend to visit Kurt's family and friends. Kurt spent most of his time recruiting at a local track meet; and Knox and I got to spend some much needed quality time with Uncle David (Knox's godfather) and Nanni (Knox's great-grandmother). Uncle David is in the animal pharmaceutical industry, and he has always loved cows. In fact, he rents several acres of a farm in Oak Ridge and owns 10 of his own cows. So, of course, Knox needed to meet them!!

Of course, he loved every second of it! The boy loves to be outside, and the "moo-ing" of the cows made him laugh hysterically!

We left Rosie at Mom-Mom's house for the weekend, so we drove back through Nashville on our way home to pick her up. After petting the cows, I felt like Knox needed a thorough deep clean. This kid is a monkey and absolutely LOVES bath time!

One day, he's going to hate me for posting pictures of his little wee-wee...and he'll hate me for calling it "little". Sorry buddy!!

Also, as most of you know, my brother-in-law, Kyle, was recently deployed. We are in the process of making him a care package which will include a picture of his nephew proudly wearing his "mini-marine" shirt!

And, finally, in other Knox-related news, he is officially 9-months as of the 5th of July; and I must say that this past month, he has grown up and changed the most dramatically of all the months of his life! He went very quickly from scooting, to army crawling, to crawling, to standing up, to cruising. Maybe I was misinformed, but I could have sworn each of those milestones happened in gradual phases? Not with this kid! As soon as he discovered his new found independence, he has not stopped moving! We are also in the process of learning to drink out of a sippy cup. For some reason, this transition has not been as easy...but he'll learn eventually.

He is always smiling! Knox now weighs 20lbs. 6 oz. (50th percentile); he is 27.5" long (25th-50th percentile); and his head is 18" (50th percentile). Even though he is almost perfectly average (albeit a little short and round...just like his momma), people still stop me all the time to tell me how huge he is for a 9 month old! Why it bothers me, I'll never be able to explain!

That's pretty much it for the Thomas house! Oh, we have FINALLY started to paint! My mom was tired of hearing me complain about how much I hate (and I mean hate with a fiery, burning passion) the green the previous owners painted the living room, dining room, hallway, AND master bedroom...so she went out and purchased 3 gallons of Benjamin Moore paint for us over the weekend! We have pretty much finished the study/Knox's play room - it's now Hawthorne Yellow (I fell in love with it in one of the latest Pottery Barn catalogs...very bright and cheery). And we're going with a color called Grege Avenue for the living/dining room (I'm hoping for a neutral gray/brown shade). I hope I like it because my sweet mom already spent a small fortune on it! Maybe, if I'm brave enough for the feedback, I'll post before and after pictures soon.

'Til next time!

Beach Baby

We've had an exciting week here at the Thomas household! Last Thursday, we celebrated Kurt's 25th birthday (again...for the ?? year in a row) - we had some friends over for food and birthday cake, then went to the Birmingham Barons baseball game for Thirsty Thursday. I hope Kurt felt the love, because we certainly do love him! I told him on the morning of his birthday that I was so glad he was born - I think he laughed at me ;) But it's true! Life is just better with him.









We also got to celebrate Rosie's doggie friend Sadie's 4th birthday at the park!

Then, Friday morning, we drove to the beach with our friends Will and Erin to celebrate 4th of July AND Erin's 30th birthday! We had a great time! But...vacations with a baby aren't quite as relaxing as they used to be...no more sitting on the beach for hours at a time with a cold beverage in hand. It's OK, though - I'll trade that any day for this sweet face!

yes, that is knox pooping :)

It was a quick trip, but it was well worth it to spend time with great friends!

And finally, yesterday, we had Knox dedicated at church. It was an awesome service, and we feel so blessed to have an awesome church family that is dedicated to help raise Knox up to know and love the Lord. Praise God for that! I'll post pics as soon as I get some.

We are off to Knoxville this weekend so Kurt can do some recruiting and so we can visit his friends and family. On the road agan....

And just a little shout out to our sweet friends Kim and Patrick who introduced their sweet baby girl, Audrey Elizabeth, into the world on Tuesday, July 6th. She is beautiful and I can't wait to get my hands on her! Just another girlfriend for Knox ;)

Funny things

I'm sure I'm the only person that thinks Knox is the funniest child on the planet. He is just always doing things that make me crack up! Jordan has always said the hardest part about disciplining Evey was that even though she may have been doing something wrong or bad, it was still just so stinkin' funny that it was hard NOT to laugh. I have a feeling I'm absolutely going to be in that same boat!

So, one of the funnier things Knox has been doing lately is shaking his head violently back and forth like he's saying "no". I could shake my head up and down saying "yes, yes, yes", and he would just go "no, no, no, no, no". It is so funny! I finally got a little clip of it on camera, so I just had to share!

By the way - two blogs in two days? Go me! (Oh, that's because I'm a master-procrastinator. I have a presentation tomorrow, a 10-page paper due on Friday, and a final on Saturday. Have I been working hard? Nope!) :)

I have the greatest friends ever!

So everyone knows that nothing about this past year has been "traditional" - we have kind of done everything backwards: had a baby before we were married; actually got married before we had a wedding; got engaged even after we were already married. What can I say, we just want to keep everyone guessing ;)


However, the fact that my sweet friends wanted to do something traditional for my nontraditional life meant so incredibly much to me.


In case I haven't mentioned it before, there was a time when I really, really struggled with constantly worrying about being judged for the things that have happened. BUT, I believe in a God that loves us and forgives us, and can REDEEM any thing and every thing. So, I've started to worry less about people's judgements which has freed me to live in Jesus' grace. {Can I get an AMEN???}


I say all of this because I have truly seen the love and grace of God through my friends who helped throw me a beautiful, wonderful wedding shower this past weekend! See TRADITIONAL! And I loved it!! Every thing, from the decorations to the cake to the food to the company, was just perfect and more than I could have ever asked for or dreamed of. Here are some pictures from the event:

The cake matched the shower invitations perfectly; and it tasted AH-MAZING!

Allison & Amy worked their booties off carrying all my gifts back and forth; and Allison tried to fix my hair :)

Yea, just a little excited about everything!

Knox was starved for attention - no one paid any attention to him the whole time. Yea right! As usual, he stole the show. He is precious, if I do say so myself.

This beautiful girl (Caitlin King Rossman - check out her blog by clicking on her name!) actually took time away from her husband (they have a long-distance marriage...how hard is that?!) to come attend and help host my shower. She is wonderful!!!

Some of the beautiful hostesses - Samantha, Jenn, Caitlin, Allison, Kim and Amy. We missed Jordan, Hillary and Anna Clare; but I am so thankful for ALL of them for throwing the shower!!

Samantha actually had the shower at her new home, which was perfect!

And of course, my family. We did not plan this patriotic theme; but it was appropriate since we were really missing my Navy Doctor sister, Jennifer!

So, again, to my wonderful friends for throwing the shower, to the guests who attended (both from Nashville and from out of town), to the guests who did not come but who still sent us gifts, we are simply BLOWN AWAY by your goodness and love for us. And we are so incredibly thankful!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Quick Catch Up

Wow - it has been over a month and a half since I last updated the blog. And, man, has a lot happened since March 25th?! Here is a quick rundown of what we have been up to:

• Papa and Anita came to visit! Papa built Knox an awesome bookshelf for his bedroom, and he fixed our dishwasher - PRAISE THE LORD! Knox loved Anita - I think he picked up on the "grandma vibe" instantly!
• Nana and Ed came to visit the next week, and we had an awesome time! Handy Ed installed a garbage disposal for us (amazing how much we rely on that thing!) and fixed our chandelier, just to name a few of the many projects he completed while here. Nana and Knox bonded even more, and his affinity for her grew even more!
• Knox and I have made a few quick trips up to Nashville for random things like working on wedding plans, visiting with Aunt Jennifer, and throwing Kim and Audrey a baby shower.
• Kurt has been all over the place for track season - Tuscaloosa, Gainesville, Knoxville, Baton Rouge, and Oxford. Knox and I got to go to Knoxville, too!! Coach KT and his girls left early this morning for Orlando for their Outdoor Conference-USA meet. Good luck! Go Blazers!!
• Kurt and I actually went out one night, hired a babysitter, and got to celebrate Jordan's birthday with other friends and couples! I know this may not seem like something blog-worthy, but let me tell you...IT IS! We haven't done anything since Knox was born, so it was such a blessing to us to spend time with other couples and have a fun night. Plus, we got to celebrate Jordan's sweet life, and for that, I am extremely grateful!
• I FINALLY finished another semester of grad school last week, and I made two B's. Eh, not horrible; but for those of you who know me well know that I do NOT like to make B's. My 4.0 GPA is no more; but I still have a 3.46 which is somewhat respectable. And trust me when I tell you that I have been struggling for months with how to balance everything - how can I be a good mom and a good student at the same time? It's impossible.
• My LIFE group (a small group at church) just wrapped up last week as well, and we finished the semester off with an awesome trip to Jordan's parent's lake house and an amazing, life-changing retreat. Seriously - LIFE CHANGING. 2 Corinthians 5:17 - "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come!" Praise God that he can wipe away all my sins and love me, desire me, and pursue me!
• And this morning, Knox and I are heading up to Nashville in order to fly out to Washington, D.C. for Aunt Jennifer's medical school graduation! Can you believe she is an official M.D? Dr. Smith! Crazy!! I am so incredibly proud of her.

Since I still have about 250 pictures to download from the past month, I will throw a quick few up here from our visits with grandparents, our travels, and of course, of Knox. I will update more when we return from our latest trip!!

Seriously, are those not the sweetest cheeks you have ever seen???

This kid bounces so hard in his little jump-a-roo thing that he actually falls asleep in it - it is absolutely the most hysterical thing I have ever witnessed!

NANA!! They are both quite happy right here :)

Getting some love from Papa - it is crazy how much they look alike!

Yes, we are rednecks who sit their naked baby in a red lawn chair on the front yard while we do yard work and take pictures. We live in Alabama, remember??

There is no one in the world that Knox loves more than his daddy. He lights up when Kurt walks in the room. It makes a momma happy.

Sweet friends celebrating Jordan's birthday! Love them!!

LIFE Retreat - an awakening of my soul.

This precious girl is Elizabeth Ann. Y'all, she is only 14 and she is one amazingly talented photographer; not to mention that she has such a heart for kids. Knox loves her!

Evey will be my daughter-in-law one day ;) I simply adore this child. Her energy is contagious!

That's a lot of kiddos!!!

Oh yea! I forgot to mention that Knox has moved on to solid foods. This kid is a chunk! There isn't a thing he doesn't like. Mmmm, carrots!

This was Knox's first time to go swimming, and he LOVED it! I've got to put this kid in swim lessons soon!

I know I'm biased, but I just think he is the most handsome little creature on earth. I'm so thankful he looks just like his handsome daddy!