Batson Family

Ephraim turns 8 months on February 1. I can hardly believe it! What a big boy! We went to our friends, Jacki and Dan's, wedding this weekend. Eph was SUCH a good boy at the wedding. Here he is all ready for the wedding! We thought he looked adorable and wanted to share : )

An entire blog devoted to my late cat, Spaz, isn't enough. He was such an awesome cat and my best friend, its hard to imagine life without him. I've had Spaz for 8 years, I got him in DuQuoin, IL in 2001 and he helped me get through SIU-C, he cuddled with me when Jerret moved to St Louis and I was still in school in Carbondale, he kept my parents company while I was in France, he moved to North Carolina and spent a lot of time outside (by sneaking out!), he ruled our first home together, he was happy when we got married, he helped me graduate from NC State, he missed me when I went to France (again), he helped us through our unemployment in North Carolina and moved back with us to St. Louis and became friends with Mr. JD. He has been the cornerstone in our lives and he will be missed--immensely. Here are some quick (ok, a lot!) photos of him that I had on my hard drive. YES, I have too many photos of my pets. I am aware that it is a problem, but now I know why God wanted me to take so many photos. LIFE IS SHORT!

January 1, 2010 Mr Ephraim turned 7 months old! I can hardly believe how big he is getting! Bath time moved from the kitchen sink to the bathtub. Little guy was kicking water around the kitchen. Still in his tub, but in the big boy tub, too. Mommy and daddy don't want him to float away in the big tub!

Well, we decided to stick around STL for Christmas--just in case the weather was bad. We didn't want to be on the road traveling too far with baby boy. Plus, we wanted to see the joy in his eyes when he opened presents (or mommy opened them for him!) We had Lum, Rena, Billy and Noah on Christmas day. Lum made us a yummy pork tenderloin for dinner! Then, the next day Alice, Gordo, Kari, Mike and Ash came to see baby and celebrate. What a joyous time :)
We did find out on Dec 26 that our baby Spaz was dying of kitty cancer. I was very upset and everyone in the family felt sad too. He wasn't given very long to live, but he was with us until January 19. May he rest in peace (will have another post for him!) I was so overwhelmed with emotion, that I didn't take any pictures when my in-laws were here. There are some on facebook, but I Hope to update the post after I get some of their pictures.

We went to Tremont to visit in December and to get some baby pics taken by Michelle. Little man loved being in front of the camera! Our pictures were on our Christmas card this year :)

December 1, 2009
So, Ephraim turned 6 months today. So much has happened in our six months of life together! Its hard to believe that he wasn't here 7 months ago. While I am excited to see him grow and learn, I'm also sad that he is growing so quickly!

This week we decided to stop nursing (well, Eph made that decision two months ago!) The breastfeeding thing worked so well for the first four months, but then Eph decided to go on strike. This was quite frustrating and unpleasant for a while. I tried to work with him and tried MANY things, but he wasn't having it. So, for the past two months I was exclusively pumping (about 9-10 times per day!) To say that I was worn out does not even begin to describe how I felt. See, I would pump for 10-15 minutes and still have to feed Eph a bottle, wash the parts and feed him cereal. It was a FOOD cycle and I was wearing thin. So, while I do miss the bonding time we had with nursing, I don't miss pumping! I know that he got all the good milk for the first six months, and thought that would be a nice goal to attain. I wish I could have done it longer, but it was stressing me out too much. So, I have stopped nursing and its been emotional: happy, sad, frustration, relief, and relaxation. I feel as if I have more time to focus on my baby, myself and my family. It just felt right, so I did it.

At Eph's 6 month appointment with Dr. Collier, he was 17lbs 15ounces and 27 inches long! He is in the 60% for height! We are excited--and can already tell he is a long boy!

Ephraim's new favorite things to do include: Jumping in his rainforest jump-a-roo, reading books, jumping on your legs, and laughing at Sadie dog. He still enjoys munching on his toes, sucking on his fingers and screaming/laughing/talking.

His personality is starting to come through! Its so sweet to see him think through or ponder at things in his life. He REALLY is a little sponge!

Daddy got a new guitar and was strumming it in front of the little man. He started to SING (not talk, not scream....really sing!) No one prompted him or anything! It was so CUTE! Daddy is learning some new guitar things, so I think Eph will be involved in that too. Ephraim has a leapfrog guitar he likes to play with, so I think he is trying to be like his daddy : )

Ephraim has two little teeth that just popped out! The first one was on his right side bottom tooth, and now his left is quick to follow only a day later. No WONDER he was up all night for a week. His little mouth was hurting! We are excited to see the teeth, but Eph is reluctant to let us in for a feel. He thinks we are putting that yucky tasting baby orajel on his gums. He perfers to purse his lips and deny us access, so we have to be more crafty at getting into his little mouth!

Eph is such a joy in our lives, we are so happy to have been blessed by God with this little child!

Ephraim was dedicated at church Sunday, November 30, 2009 at second service. He was greeted on stage by Pastor Matt, our friend from small group. Pastor Matt saw Eph grow in mommy's belly and is so supportive of our family. Eph was a little grumpy that day and wasn't his usual self, so he was quiet on stage. The few times he went to small group at Matt's house he "talked" or jabbered the whole time (hmmm...sound like anyone you know?) He liked all the lights, guitars and people to stare at, that is for sure. Matt asked Mom and Dad if we would care for him and raise him in a Christian home, then Matt asked the congregation (which included all types of the grandparents!). The answer for both was "I do." So great to know we have a a church family who is supportive and helpful in raising our kiddos. The dedication was quick, but meaningful to our family!