Our First Family Pictures

CJ and I were so happy to finally have the opportunity to take family pictures. We were really surprised how well Channing cooperated. He was cheerful and behaved really well. He didn't cry once and he was super flirty with Emma, one of the photographers. Here are a few of our family shots.

As anyone who has ever met Channing knows, he LOVES to be naked. Needless to say, he was super easy to photograph when we stripped him down.

I picked these two pictures because they represent Channing everyday. The pictures where he is smiling are cute and all, but these two best exemplify my baby boy.

We hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we do!

Mammaw's Birthday Party

We recently headed down to Bastrop, LA for CJ's grandmother's 80th birthday party. It was good to be able to meet all of mammaw's friends and some family that hadn't gotten to meet Channing yet. It was fun catching up with people we hadn't seen in a while and celebrate mammaw's big day with her! She had a wonderful party at her church and we were so happy to be included in the festivities.

Channing was all about this balloon! He did not want to let it go!

4th of July

We had tons of fun for Channing's first Independence Day. Dad and Benjamin were able to come up from Tuscaloosa and help us out around the house and have a nice visit with Chan man. We had a blast at the gun range and at the beach. Channing really enjoyed playing with Dad in the sand. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera during that particular outing but we had a great time nonetheless. Benjamin and I tore up the back yard being pyros in the back yard with the fireworks and the fireworks show in the park was amazing. We were able to take them out to eat at Amos Mosquito's and have smores at the table, and we enjoyed barbecuing as well. Here are a few pictures from their trip!

Channing really enjoyed being towed around everywhere by Dad and Benjamin.

Here he is being tossed around by Dad.

This is the Alabama outfit that my stepmom, Donna, picked out and sent for Channing. He looks so cute in it! He had a blast opening up the gifts she sent!

Summer Time Fun

This past weekend we decided to take Channing to the pool on base. It is his first time in the pool and absolutely loved it. At first we just stepped in and let him stand up. He was able to stand up in the 1.5 ft section of the kiddie pool. While he was standing there, he started bouncing and jumping like he does in his jumper. It was too cute. Channing really liked his pool float. He would lean down and try to splash the water and then look up and grin when it splashed in his face.

He was a little cautious when we let him float on his tummy, so we will have to work on that. We tried to help him float on his back, but the sun was shining in his eyes and he did not like it. When we got home he crashed for an hour and a half, so it wore him completely out. We had tons of fun and I can't wait to take him again!

Mom's Memorial Day Trip

Mom and the boys came out for Memorial Day and we had a great time! Channing really enjoyed being the center of attention and getting spoiled. While they were here, CJ and I took them on base to see the aircraft, we took Channing to the beach and the aquarium for the first time, and we hung out around the house and hung out. It was a really nice relaxing holiday weekend and we are so glad they were able to come!

These pictures are from the Aquarium at Pine Knolls Shore. The first one is of me, Thomas, Mitchell, and Channing on the big aluminum turtle right outside the front of the aquarium. The second is a crab inside the aquarium. Channing was so funny, he was trying to crawl through the head hole and I had to hold his little arms still to keep him from doing so.

These pictures are from one of our many bbqs. We had a blast watch the boys and pups play around in the backyard. Thomas had a blast finding "brown crystals" and Channing enjoyed being able to look around and scope everything out.

These are pictures from the flight line. The aircraft to the left is an EA-6B Prowler from CJ's squadron. The aircraft on the right is an F-4 Phantom that was still on the flight line from the airshow the weekend prior. Mitchell was super pumped to see the Phantom up close.

These pictures are from Channing's first official beach trip. He loved sitting on the blanket and playing with his shovel and pail. Between that and demanding Gerber Puffs he stayed pretty busy. He wasn't so sure about the water though. It was a little chilly, but he got fussy when we tried to put his feet in the surf. We have taken him back since then and he does great getting in the water, but on this first trip he was a little apprehensive.

Splish Splash I was takin' a Bath!

Channing took his first bath in a bath ring tonight. We filled the bath half full and added some baby bubbles. At first he was grabbing at the faucet trying to catch the water while it filled the bath tub. It was too cute.

He also likes to chew on his cup. He fishes it out of the water and tries to drink the water out of it. He's just starting to get use to having water on his face, but so far he's handling it like a champ.

We are having so much fun with these new experiences. Channing is such a happy baby and these are such exciting times. Everyday he does something new and we are so grateful for such a happy healthy baby.

Grammy's Trip

Grammy and Mammaw came to visit us for a week or so to see Mr. Channing and help us out with our move. Grammy hadn't seen the little man since he was 3 weeks old and it was Mammaw's first time to meet him. He's gotten so big since then and it was a fun visit.

Channing started sitting up on his own while they were here. He's still a bit wobbly and he can't really catch himself once he gets past a certain point, but it's a starting point.

His Grammy was so excited to see him. They were able to play and visit all day for quite a few days and I know she was super sad to have to leave the little man.

This is a great picture of four generations of CJ's family. We really enjoyed their visit and can't wait until they can come see us again!

Our First Easter

We celebrated our first Easter this year. We had so much fun with Channing an his first Easter basket. Will and Lenora were also here t celebrate with us and we enjoyed having them with us very much. Chan Chan was very eager to see what the Easter Bunny brough him.

He got some awesome new shades and some hand knitted Easter eggs from CJ's grandmother.

Channing also got some baby crocs, which he promptly put in his mouth to chew on. He got some new pacifiers and a hand woven bunny.

As you can see, he was all about getting to his Easter goodies. He was grunting until he was able to gt his chubby little hands on anything in the basket.

This is the Easter Bunny that Lenora and Will got him. They also got him a Peter Rabbit book to go with it. It was a great first holiday and we can't wait for next year.

Fun at the Circus

So we decided to take Channing to the circus when it came to town. I think it was more for us, but the baby was a great excuse to go. He liked the bright lights and the colors, but other than that I don't think he cared one way or the other. They wouldn't let us take him on an elephant or camel ride, but we had plenty of fun nonetheless. We did get this great picture with one of the clowns though.......

5 Months old!

Woo-hoo, we made it to 5 months with relative ease! We are so happy to have daddy home, the extra hands are a blessing! Chan the man is about to start level 2 foods, bring on the hawaiin delight and chicken with gravy (can't wait for those diapers!). Little man is getting so big. I would guess that he's pushing 19 pounds or so, considering he was almost 18 lbs at his 4 month appointment. He's almost fully into 9 month clothes and I am able to find such cute little outfits for him now. We are readjusting to having CJ home, but I think he's getting more and more comfortable with him. I think CJ is just so silly that Channing just adores him. He's really starting to pay attention and soak up everything around him. He's grabbing dog ears and tails now, much to the dismay of Reese, Tucker and Saban. He's always tryng to sit up if he's laying down, and as soon as we lay him on a blanket he rolls over to his tummy. He's starting to lift his little butt and pull his knees forward in an effort to crawl, so that is exciting. He can generally kick and wiggle enough to rotate himself until he's facing whatever he's playing with. Channing absolutely loves Jack's Big Music Show and Pinkydinkydoo. He's also getting very talkative and his little facial expressions are a riot. It's so sweet to hear him talking to his frog that we have hanging on his carseat. If he's not reaching or grabbing at something, those little hands are in his mouth. We can feel the two little bumps where those bottom teeth are starting to come in. Other then that, we are learning new stuff together everyday, and just enjoying our little boy.

We took his onsie off and it got caught on his head, so CJ grabbed the camera and was able to get a few cute pictures.

He's such a little ham!

He's having a great time playing with his daddy.

These are some cute pictures I took of my boys playing together the weekend CJ got home, as well as the picture of them napping together at the top.