Ho Ho Huh? Who IS that guy!?

Mimi and Mommy took Tyler and Jack to see the man in the big red suit today. Surprisingly, Jack was excited to introduce his baby brother to jolly ol' Saint Nick. He planned to put a bug in Santa's ear about a Wii for himself and a playset for his brother. As one might have anticipated on December 23, there was a mad dash to get final requests in to the big guy. At 10:00 a.m., the line was already estimated at 1.5 hours wait time. Whew. Good thing we had Mimi! She met us at the mall and was able to stand in line for about 40 minutes before we arrived.

Jack enjoyed his visit with Santa very much. Tyler looked a bit like a deer in headlights, if you must know, at first. As the picture taking elf shook her squeaky ball to gain his attention, he gave a look to say "Um, I'm not sure what all this is about but, yeah, I'll look at ya." He then took his attention back to the big guy with all that hair and his eyes never left until we plucked him out of Santa's lap. We captured the moment with a few pictures of our own...and now we wait patiently for 2 more nights for him to make his appearance on our rooftop!







Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Our baby is becoming a...puppy?

Tyler loves Colby, our family dog. Colby is less fond of Tyler, but tolerant all the same. Seems Tyler, now heavy into imitating, has taken a few tips from Colby. Here he is in action...




Now to just get a picture of Tyler loving on the dog. It is truly one of the cutest things I've seen in a long time!

Happy Monday!

Giving Thanks

I'm taking a moment tonite, in the still of the late evening with both boys tucked in their beds, to give thanks. It shouldn't take a holiday to bring it to mind, but as is the season, here goes...

I give thanks to God for Scott, my provider and friend. Father to my boys...who strives daily to be the Daddy and husband he wants to be for our family. Jack and Tyler love their Daddy so much. Jack enjoys telling Daddy about his day and loves the way Daddy lets him listen to music when he tucks him in to bed. Little Tyler's face lights up like a Christmas tree when he sees his Daddy. Even without being able to yet say "I love you" his love is evident. I prayed long and hard for a Christian husband and provider for my family...and God granted my prayer request with a resounding yes.

I give thanks to Him for my beautiful children, who hold my heart. I also prayed fervently for children of my own and wondered, when I was 29 and single, if that would be a prayer that God would see fit to grant. Oh, did he do so! Jack is my ever loving, innocent angel boy. His spirit is honest and true and he loves us with great passion. I am proud to be his mom and even more proud because he can say so! He is growing up so quickly and I'm scared to blink for fear I'll miss a single moment! And Tyler, my sweet, smiling bundle of joy. How grateful I am that he has joined us and completed our family. He has brought renewed hope, healing and joy to all of our hearts. Most of all, he is a powerful force for Jack. We are blessed with the changes we have seen in Jack just since Tyler has arrived. He puts a smile on all of our faces. I can't wait to see what an amazing boy he will soon become as well!

I give thanks to my God for the relationship I have with my family. My parents, my brother and my mother in law. God has granted me wonderful people to call family. How lucky for me to have been placed, by God's own hand, into such a loving, caring and nurturing family as an adopted child. I am blessed beyond measure. And to spend almost every day with my parents this past year has been an enormous blessing that I could never even have imagined. I am so grateful for their decision to move to be near us and to be such a vital part in their grandchildren's lives.

I give thanks to God for my friends, both near and far. I have an amazing group of women that I can honestly call my friends. I am proud to call each one of them "friend" and rest in the comfort of knowing that they would rush to my aid, should I need it.

I am so grateful for this blessed life I am living. There have been many bumps in this road, but life is full of unexpected turns. I'm coming to understand that. Who wants to eat vanilla every day of the year? I know that my life experiences have shaped me into who I am today, in both negative and positive ways. I am constantly striving to be the woman that God intends for me to be...wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, advocate, contact person for help, volunteer at church and school. I enjoy the crazy, sometimes hectic place that I am in at this moment...and pray that God finds favor with it too.

Happy Thanksgiving. Give thanks for all that you have. Today and every day.

Brotherly Love

There's a love affair going on at the Halbert house...it seems the boys have already found their favorite person to be with is each other. Jack tells me repeatedly how much he loves Tyler and pushes us all aside to rush to greet him after they've been apart. Tyler gives Jack the biggest belly laughs and is constantly on the move to wherever Jack is playing. We hear "aaaah?" "aaaah!" yelled loudly when Tyler is searching for Jack. We are pretty sure he's calling for him... here's a little bit of what love looks like here between our two brothers.

One sunny afternoon in the driveway...

Playing miniature golf for the first time...

Tyler watching his big brother in a bouncy house...

A recent mode of transportation for Tyler (one he isn't all that fond of)...

A day at the park...

Jack helping Tyler enjoy the leaf pile...

A personal favorite of mine...

There is nothing love cannot face;
There is no limit to its faith, hope, and endurance.
In a word, there are three things that last forever:
Faith, hope, and love;
But the greatest of them all is love.

from 1 Corinthians 13

Hope you have a Roarin' Good Time this Halloween

...from our house to yours!

Tyler's Day Out WithOUT Mommy

by Tyler Halbert

Today was Big Brother Jack's first field trip. Mommy wanted to go with Jack to the Pumpkin Patch. Normally, Mimi and Grandpa would watch me but they are in Gatlinburg for a church retreat. So Mommy called her sweet friend, Ms. Amy, from our church to have me over for the day.

I got there at 8:00 and met Bennett and his big brother, Nolan. We had a blast all day! Ms. Amy took great care of me. I was such a good boy. I even took a 45 minute nap for her, just to prove how sweet I am. Boy, Mommy was surprised at that one! The boys were so much fun to play with and they made me laugh a lot!

Before I knew it, my playtime was over and Mommy and Jack came to pick me up. I really wasn't in any hurry to leave because they had cool toys and books that I had never played with before! But it was time to go, so we packed up and headed home.

Jack and Mommy had a great time on Jack's first big school field trip. And my big brother promised me that he'll make a Jack-O-Lantern for me out of the pumpkin he got at the pumpkin patch! I can't wait to see it!

Here are a few pictures from our big day. Thanks, Ms. Amy and my new friends, Nolan and Bennett!! I had a great time! I hope we can play again soon!


Here's the face I made at Mommy when she arrived. I was hoping she would have stayed at the field trip a little longer!



Here are a few pictures of Jack on his field trip to the Honeysuckle Hill Pumpkin Patch! I can't wait to go to big school! It looks like fun!

Checking off the baby to do list!

Tyler is 8 months old now and boy, has he been busy! Here's the latest, just in case it has been a few months since you've seen him...

* standing in his crib

* crawling EVERYWHERE



* babbling "ba" and "da"

* signing "more" and "milk"

* eating small diced fruit

* has 5 teeth!



* noticing his Mommy leaving the room (and not liking it)



* standing everywhere...sit to stand to sit



* clapping



* waving

* drinks from a straw

but he does NOT sleep through the night! No one seems to mind the last one too much except for his Mommy!

Happy Fall!

Jack was quick to point out, on September 22, that Fall was officially here! Yay for our favorite time of year in Tennessee!! Crisp mornings, warm afternoons and beautiful clear blue skies! Makes up for those steamy hot August days, I suppose. As we took a walk on Sunday evening, we noticed a few of the early 'turners' already at work...the Bradford Pears were golden and even crimson (go Tide!). So, in the spirit of the season, Fall picture taking has begun. This season, Tyler is the ever ready subject, eager to go wherever Mommy takes him. He poses well, unless placed near grass or leaves, all of which he has deemed as edible!







So from the Halberts to your home, Happy Fall!

Frogs and Faeries Photo Shoot #2

My sweet friend, Heather, is an awesome photographer. She took some pictures of Tyler in August. I thought I'd share a few of my favorites, though it is so hard to choose! Tyler was not the cheeriest of fellows that day, as he was teething. We really had to work for the few smiles that we did get! As he's still teething 6 weeks later, I suppose she captured what is the "norm" for now. If you are interested in her work, check out her blog (link on the right side of the page) or go to www.frogsandfaeriesphotography.com.

Muaahaaahaaa!

- that's vampire for Ha Ha Ha. We are brushing up on our vampirese as it seems we may have a little vampire in our midst and we'd like to be able to converse with him. He's about 2.5 feet tall, has very little hair and the sweetest (umm, I mean scariest) little grin you've ever seen!

Yes, Tyler is getting some teeth! Not exactly the ones you'd expect, but we are under the assumption that all teeth are good ones and there are no hard and fast rules for tooth rearing. Take a look at the top row...you just don't see that every day.



And there's one lone tooth standing on the bottom, just right of center. No friendly toothmate to the left yet. We are left wondering if Tyler's gonna be one of those kids who does everything his own way. If the teeth are any indication, we are in for some interesting times!!!



Put it all together and you get one sugary sweet smile sure to melt your heart...don't believe me? Come on over and see for yourself!

Babble Babble Babble Babble Babble

Tyler just turned 7 months old...and he's started babbling. He's one happy baby!

6 month old Tyler

Sweet baby boy!

Happy Baby!!

I say this each month but WOW, time is moving so quickly. And Tyler, to quote Mimi, is changing. He's sitting like a champ and curious about everything around him. Someone comes in the room? He's whipping his head around to see who it is. He's too nosy to eat in a busy place. He's too nosy to nap with anything going on. He can be totally asleep in your arms, but put him down in his crib and those eyes pop open and he's wiggling around everywhere! Naps are lasting 45 minutes at the most, and there was a tooth that caused us all some serious grief at night!! Weighing in at over 17 lbs. and 26.5 inches, he is your average sized baby, measuring a little smaller than his big brother at the same age. And he's a doll!

The tooth finally popped through this week and sleep has been easier. He's dropped an evening feeding this week as a result and Mommy is getting some much needed sleep! It's hard for a mommy to be at her best when she's up every 3 hours all night long!

And we've started solids now that he's 6 months old. We've been battling some lion-sized tummy troubles, so slow is the method of choice. Tyler is very excited about it and so far has enjoyed everything he's tried! We started with avocado and banana, with great success. Sweet potatoes didn't seem to sit well, so they are back on hold and pears are in the current rotation. Mommy is enjoying making baby food again.




Tyler is started to show some stranger anxiety. Yesterday Mimi and I took him to have his picture taken by a photographer friend and he was a bit overwhelmed by it all. We had to work a little to get those smiles! Of course, as soon as we got in the car, he looked over at Mimi and gave her the biggest grin! And today my sweet friend came over to see him and he started to pout and actually turned and put his arms out to me! May not be too much freedom in sight for Mommy for a while. For a short time you can check out those pictures at www.frogsandfaeriesphotography.blogspot.com. The title of the preview is "Mr. T."

Mommy took some adorable pictures of the boys together this weekend. It was Jack's idea, actually. Of course, it might have been easier to take a picture of a litter of kittens, as much as they were moving and jostling about! Here are the keepers of the bunch.






Speaking of moving about, the photographer's son is just 2 days younger than Tyler and is already crawling. Mommy and Daddy are NOT ready for a mobile infant just yet! Thankfully, he's not showing much readiness in that department just yet. But I'm sure it is just around the corner!

Here are a few other favorites from the month:

That's a great ride! Tyler and his Daddy.

These two guys never get tired of each other!

Tyler's first salad? Mmmm. Thanks, Carney and Faye for the gorgeous backdrop!