Trip to Florida

At the end of February, me and the boys took a road trip to Florida. My BFF, Polly, was nice enough to fly up to Atlanta just to turn around the next day and drive with me and the boys down to St. Pete so I wouldn't have to make that drive on my own. Travelling with young ones can be challenging, but the boys did great! Carson loved playing with Reese (Polly's daughter).

Every trip to St. Petersburg inevitably results in a trip to the Fire Station to visit Auntie Joy. Carson has a blast exploring all the trucks. Timothy liked looking around the place too.

Three Months

It is hard to believe that Timothy has already passed the three month mark. Sometimes the days seem long but the weeks fly by. Carson has been a good sport. We spend most of our days at the house and Carson does a good job of entertaining himself while I tend to Timothy. I feel like Carson's imagination has really blossomed the last three months. I have enjoyed our winter "confinement" to the house...it leaves plenty of time for making forts, building Lego towers, and playing games (Don't Break the Ice is a favorite). Timothy is falling into a nice routine and, for the most part, is a pretty content baby. He has been blessing us with many smiles lately and has even given us a few laughs (but never when the video camera is on!).

Bath time is still one of  Timothy's favorite activities!

Timothy recently discovered his hands and loves sucking on them. I think I see a thumb-sucker in our future.

 

smile

Buddies

When Timothy is crying, Charles just pulls out his guitar and serenades him with some praise songs - it calms the little guy right down. It doesn't have the same effect when I  do it (probably because I only know one guitar chord and can't carry a tune).

Spit-up -- need I say more.

Timothy already has a couple of girlfriends. Annie is older and Adeline is younger - what's a guy to do?!





 

Upward Basketball

 

 

 

We were excited to sign Carson up for Upward Basketball this year. It is a great basketball program that really strives to teach the kids the basics of the sport. I don't think that Carson has yet grasped the concepts of the game but he loves running (or  skipping) up and down the court. He has practice on Mondays and games on Saturday mornings. It is so adorable to watch the kids (4 and 5 year olds) play on Saturday mornings. Carson likes to run off the court and give me a big hug during the game and then get back on the court to resume "playing." Last weekend his basketball career almost ended before it even began when he got bunked in the nose with the basketball and began crying. I took him to the bathroom to clean him up when he loudly declared inbetween sobs "I am never signing up for basketball again...I quit." I felt bad for the little guy but told him quitting was not an option...you have to finish the things that you start. He asked me to wipe his tears away and then headed back to the bench to cheer on his teammates.

Timothy's Dedication

Timothy's baby dedication took place at our church, Roswell Street Baptist Church,  on January 20th. It was a special day for us and we were grateful for the family and friends that were able to come and show their support for us and our desire to raise our children in a Christ-centered home. We received a children's "Read to me Bible" and a cross ornament to commemorate the day. After the dedication service, we hosted a luncheon at our home. We were so grateful that Charles' parents were in town for the dedication. They stayed with us for a week and were a HUGE help to me. Grandpa does a great job of keeping Carson busy and Grandma is a professional baby rocker and loved holding Timothy. I am blessed with wonderful in-laws! Aunt Julee, Uncle Michael, and cousin Cali also came to the dedication along with our good friends, the Harveys and Jim Vaughn. These family and friends have played a signficant role in Carson's life and I know will also play a significant role in Timothy's life as well.

The boys love hanging out with Grandpa and Grandma Hoffman.

 

We are so grateful to have family living in town. Carson and Cali are already good buddies and Cali loves to help me take care of  "baby Timmy" (as she calls him).

We are beyond blessed to have such wonderful and supportive friends like the Harvey family. We love them dearly and cannot imagine life in Atlanta without them.

 

Our friend Jim has been such a great support to us throughout the years and is a good buddy to Carson and am sure will be a good buddy to Timothy too.

 

 

 

Buddies

 

 

 

Christmas 2012

 

With a newborn at home, we had a pretty low key Christmas this year. I am so thankful that my parents and Joy were in town to celebrate the holiday with us. We enjoyed a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner at the Harvey's house. Carson was excited to open gifts on Christmas. Timothy could have cared less and slept through most of the festivities. Julee, Michael, and Cali joined us for Christmas dinner. Carson and Cali had fun playing together. They both love having Nana, Papa, Auntie Joy, and Lucky dog in town.

Photo Shoot

A friend of Charles' offered to take some family pictures for us shortly after Timothy was born. Here are some of the images he was able to capture: