No pictures today. Just a warning! :)

I want to write about things going on in Ranston's world.

He is a whopping 10 weeks old this week and man, how time flies!

He does so many fun things. Like...

when he lies on his back and kicks, one leg kicks twice as fast and strong as the other...

when he sneezes, his arms and legs fly into the air...

he grunts as he "gets after" his hand until he finds his thumb...

he likes to "punch" his dinosaur (we names him Thuesa...long story) that dangles from his activity mat...

he is so mellow the majority of the time and loves to stare...

he loves to sleep as much as his mommy and daddy and is up to 7-8 hours at a time...

he is SUPER long...

and has SUPER long arms...

and fingers...

and legs...

and toes...

he is only 2.5 months old but can fill out (lengthwise) a 3-6 onesie with footies...

he has started sleeping on his side...

he smiles and giggles...

he stares into my eyes when I'm feeding him...(love it!!!)

once he starts "talking" (coos), he'll go on for a good while...

I love everything he does!!

I'm so proud of my husband!!

On May 8, 2010, Mike will be a college graduate!!

Mike will be graduating from Howard Payne University with his Bachelor's degree and I couldn't be prouder. There were many people that did not think he would finish...he has had more obstacles than one person ever needs and yet he has finished! Mike is the first to tell you that he doesn't enjoy school much. There are classes he enjoys and but overall, he does not care for school. He has worked so hard to finish his degree and I'm so excited his hard work has paid off.

Mike--let me start by saying that you are so much smarter than you give yourself credit for being! You have stuck with school when others would have given up...through hurricanes, serious illness including surgeries, numerous moves, uncooperative professors, crazy schedules and work in ministry, not to mention life in general! I am so proud of you and I thank God for giving you to me as my husband. I know that Ranston will be proud to call you his dad just as I am proud to call you my husband. May you always remember the feeling of accomplishment you feel as you receive your degree. I know you aren't finished with school completely yet but you have accomplished something many do not. I know that this was accomplished with God's help, direction, and guidance. You strive to follow His will and I believe this is part of His plan. CONGRATULATIONS HONEY!! I'll be cheering you on as you walk across that stage.

I'd love for Mike to be encouraged by notes of congratulations from our friends and family! If you'd like to send Mike a note, leave a comment letting me know if you'd like his email address or our home address.

Two months and growing like a weed!

Happy Friday!!

I decided to give our blog a new look. I'll probably play around with a few options before settling but it is nice to have a chance to give it a makeover!

Ranston and I have added Samantha to our activities a few days a week. Samantha is the daughter of our friends Jim and Gina and it was been fun having her with us. She's 6 months old and loves to "talk"...LOL I'm watching her 3 days a week and I'm looking forward to being used to having 2 babies! I knew it would take some time to get used to before I started watching her. This morning has been a bit hectic with them both wanting things at the same time. Thankfully they are both napping right now!

Ranston wore new jammies that had a matching hat. It fit like a "do rag" but I think it looked like a surgeon's cap! :)

Ranston is overall such a happy baby!! He definitely has his moments of fussiness but loves to smile and play.

I didn't make a sign for this picture. This is his 2 month picture. He has grown soooo much! At his 2 month appointment he weighed 11 pounds 12 ounces and was 24 inches long. That is 3 pounds 4 ounces and 3 inches bigger than he was at birth. He is in the 95th percentile for length and 50th for weight...which the doctor says is great!!

Stay tuned for what's happening in Mike's life in a few weeks!!

Hello all!! I'm very sad that I've only posted once since Ranston turned 1 month...he'll be 2 months tomorrow! Time flies!! Ranston and I have been busy so I haven't had a lot of time to post...but I have been taking pictures. I'll put a few captions but I know he's going to wake up soon so I better take advantage of my few minutes.

Ranston in an outfit from his Lala. He wasn't excited about it. LOL

Ranston snoozing on his daddy

We were invited to spend Easter with friends and they have BEAUTIFUL wildflowers in their front yard. We snapped a few pictures!

Ranston and I ventured to West Texas for a week. The rest of the pictures are from our trip. He was a GREAT traveler!!! I'm glad too because we like to go, go, go!

We started by staying a night with Mike's grandparents.

with our friends Leslie and Conner (15 months old)

Aunt Christy

Grandmother

our friends Lindsey and her daughter Emily

meeting his great-great grandmother Molly. She was a hoot with him!

5 generations on my side of the family! Ranston, me, my dad (Pop), Grandmother, and Molly

Ranston and I with my cousin Sumer and her son Drake (9 months old)

The Helvey great grandkids

Me and Ranston, Sumer and Drake, Hunter and Rori

We tried to get a pic of Nana with all the greats but Rori ran off and Drake wasn't happy. We gave up quickly. :)

@ Cassidy's Sub Shop in Andrews...mmmmmm....

with Nana

with Bonnie and Shaun Swanson

with Papaw

with LaLa

I worked with these girls at First Methodist before moving to Beeville. It was so great to catch up with them before leaving town! We never imagined we'd all have boys 2 years after working together!!

Misty and Gatlyn, Jana and Alex, Me and Ranston

Ranston was sniffed by so many animals on this trip. Not including the cats, he was sniffed by:

YoYo

Katie

and Frisbee

Check back soon for Ranston's 2 month picture. We go to the doctor tomorrow and I can't wait to see what his measurements are!

PIcture of the week!

This is from last week when we went for a walk with Gina and Samantha.

Too cute!!

a day in the life of Ranston and Cymbre

Our little boy is over a month old!!

We have friends who took pictures of their son with a stuffed animal as he turned a month older to show his growth. We found the cutest dinosaur (for those of you who don't know, Mike likes dinosaurs!) and decided to do the same. I wish we had gotten the dinosaur when he was a newborn to show his first month growth...I can't wait to find out his measurements next week! He had a little trouble being propped up next to the dino but it looks like he is going in for a hug.

Well...we have somewhat settled into a routine and although I know it could change any minute, I couldn't be happier! :) Ranston is sleeping about 3-3.5 hours at a time at night. He sometimes goes 4-4.5 but usually stays around the 3 hour stretch. and that is fine with me! Getting a solid 3 hours at a time goes a LONG way! He eats about every 2-3 hours during the day...which I found out this morning he shouldn't be eating earlier than every 3 hours since he's on formula. Because of that he is having some problems digesting. The doctor's office wants me to give him water every 2 hours to help hydrate him and hopefully that will do the trick. Of course, I wanted to give him water as soon as I hung up but it hadn't even been an hour since he ate so I'll wait. :)

Ranston's first Sunday morning to attend church

Ranston went to morning church for the first time Sunday and did pretty good. He did start to get noisy during the sermon so Mike went out in the hall with him. Funny enough he ran into our friend Gina and her baby Samantha in the hall! There has been such a baby boom in our church and it is so fun to be a part of it. There have been 4 babies born since October and are several others that are under a year. I'm hoping to start a play group for the moms...the babies don't really care at this age but I think it would be good/fun for the moms to get together! Most of us are first time moms and it does help to have other moms to talk to about stuff. With Ranston being the youngest, at least the other moms have already experienced most of the stuff I'm going through.

LaLa and Grandpa (my mom and Craig) are coming this weekend!! We are excited to see them. They'll get here Saturday and leave Monday...short trip but I'll take what I can get. :) This will be Craig's first time to see Ranston so it will be fun.

He (Ranston) got to meet Angela last weekend when we met her in San Antonio for a few hours. She was on her way to meet friends for the weekend and thankfully we were already in San Antonio. We met Mike's grandparents there to help them purchase a computer. We are S

OOOOOOO excited that they have a new MAC and we'll be able to ichat with them and send them pictures/videos! They live outside of a small community and haven't always had high speed internet available so the internet was not something they used often. But....it is now!!

I need to take advantage of Ranston snoozing in his swing and get a few things done!

Some of Mike's family came to visit this week!

We were very excited that Mimi (his great grandmother), Carolyn (his great aunt), and Lisa (his 2nd cousin) made the trip from Spring to see Ranston! Plus, we were able to get a 5 generation picture! How awesome to get a picture with 5 generations! Ranston will have 2 pictures like that. I'm heading to West Texas in April and will get a pic with my great grandmother. It is so neat for Mike and I to have living great grandmothers...what a blessing!

Ranston all squeaky clean!!

We went to Austin for Michael and Anneke Swanson's wedding...here are a few pictures from the reception. Ranston was a big hit!

Gina and I have finally gotten on somewhat of the same schedule! :) We were able to go walking last week with the babies and it was such a great day! It helped a lot to be able to get out of the house and socialize...and it was GREAT to finally get to catch up with Gina.

The rest are just random pictures of Ranston and his cuteness! Enjoy!