11 month-old Boy. SO big & Friends

My boy is grown. I am so proud to have been E's mommy for this first year. I can't describe how amazing and hard it is to be a mom. It is the best feeling in the world. Here are some photos of his 11th month of life. My guy is so sweet, but does like to throw a little tantrum if he doesn't like what you take away/move him from/put him to bed.

How BIG are you? SOO BIG!

When Spaz died, gram Rena gave me the little "Spaz looking" cat that I once gave her. Eph LOVES this stuffed cat that sits on the fireplace. Here, he is talking to Spaz and smiling!

He is hanging out with Grandma! They are laughing and giggling here.

On Fridays, I try to get out and visit with other kids or moms. Here E is with Miaad, my ESL friend. She is due in August with her first son : )

Miaad, E, Me and Miaad's mother-in-law.

Car accident

Jerret's car accident was quite scary. I have photos of what his poor car look like, but not his bruising and marks. He is so blessed to have been spared and protected by God. We could have had a really, really bad week. I was able to stay home Thursday to help take him to a few doctor appointments. At the moment, it looks just like bruising is the only thing wrong. We are awaiting the results of a final CT scan early in the week.
A few quick details: Jerret was run off the road intentionally by another driver (who left the scene) in the city Wednesday night. He ran into a telephone poll to avoid an accident and the airbags went off and he and JD were not taken to the ER. The damage to the car is pretty bad. We are blessed that both boys were protected and are (seemingly) ok from the accident.

Thank you for your prayers.

So..whats with the blog?

This post won't have any photos....and, I feel guilty. Oh well. I write all these AMAZING (let me tell yoU!) blogs in my head, but I rarely actually post/write them on the computer. So, I thought I would blog about this blog. I am still confused about what I think the blog should be....I originally wanted it to be updates of our family with a little of mommy's opinion. Well, it turned into "I just want pictures" from the grandparents.

So, I thought to myself, I have thoughts and opinions I can share with my readers! I mean, don't you want to know what is going on in my life? Twitter, facebook and email just isn't enough updates for you!

I'm a decent writer and I think I'm pretty funny. So, this blog should be amazing! I find myself organizing and planning what I write and post. To me, that is a newsletter, not a blog. So, I will ATTEMPT to post more (with or without pictures and/or guilt!) And write more mommy comments to provide a rich description of our lives :) That way, you can SEE how cute E is and also read about how cute he is.

Cuteness example #1 My boy is a clapper now. SUPER cute when the little hands make that small little smack smack noise. I love it
#2 Miss L. at daycare taught him "SO BIG". He raises his hands (usually) to show you how big he is. I just love it.
#3 He knows how to give kisses. Sometimes, he just isn't into it.
#4 His army crawling has NOT evolved. He is too happy scootching on his belly or turning circles while sitting up. He DOES go from belly to sitting up by himself and rocks a little, but shows minimal signs of actually doing a "real crawl."

Some NOT so cute things:
#5 Teething! We have TONS of teeth now. These teeth have been hard and are giving fever/restless nights. LOTS of cuddling with mommy, though.....
#6 TEMPER issues. Little man has figured out HOW to express being dissatisfied. Not super charming, but a milestone met. We at least know when he is not happy and try to figure out why.
#7 Throwing food at dinner. We are frustrated, Sadie dog is happy. Enough said.

So, E is growing, learning and a HUGE sponge. He has words for Sadie, Arf Arf (what sadie does!), Num Num, Mama, Dada, U-oh, A-cho and maybe a few others. The kid is VOCAL! He is loud and he knows it. Its cute to hear him babble at toys or blankets.

We are so loving this beautiful weather with baby boy. He LOVES to be outside and enjoys our daily walks. He is a good baby and continues to bless us!

We are staying involved at Rooftop Community Church as much as possible. Its hard with work, teaching, class, family and baby. I'm in a Bible study with some women and have been blessed by the friendships and work that God is showing us. We have participated in some annual events and also continue to serve on Sunday mornings. God is good and we continue to learn more and trust in Him!

So, it seems this post is about all of our family and how God is working in us. Little E enjoys chewing on his Bible (its cardboard!) and will hopefully learn from his parents how to trust and love God with his own heart!

Check out my CHOMPERS!

Eph's top four teeth have come in and QUICKLY! He has a "cheese" smile when the camera comes out. Luckily, I can capture a shot of his teeth. Check out this cutie pie. (Click on the picture and it will get bigger, too!)
Oh, and YES, I am aware that he needs a haircut. I was just trying to hold out until after his first birthday.....we will see how long Daddy can wait.

Cardinals Opening Day

Eph is all ready for opening day! We didn't get to go to the game, but he watched some of the game on TV :) Technically, this is Eph's second Cards game. I went in late May with Jerret and his "work wife" Suzie. Suzie gave Eph this ball shortly after he was born. Go Cards!

My Big Guy!

So, he continues to grow. I am SO amazed at the difference in him within just a few weeks. Our babysitter is helping us teach him to crawl, walk with assistance, sign language and Italian (her, not us!) Plus, Eph eats SO good for Louiza! He loves eating what the big kids eat.

Ephraim is 10 months

Batson Family, Easter 2010 @ Rooftop Community Church

Easter Egg Hunt at Home, Easter 2010

Look at all those eggs!

Smiles after the ears come off!

Tasting the eggs!

Eggs we colored!

At church!

Cute moment captured at the Church Egg Hunt!

Momma and Big Boy Eph! We got THREE eggs!

He didnt want to let go of that yellow egg!

Daddy shows Eph his eggs

Miss Erin asked "who wants some Easter eggs!?" Eph raised his hand!

Pep talk before the hunt!

Basket from Grandma (Sadie is helping!)

Sporting the I LOVE NY onesie!

I am in complete denial that my baby is 10 months old. He is looking more and more like a toddler every day and I'm sad! I can't believe that he has been out of the womb longer than he was in it. It's hard to believe that my guy weighs over 20lbs and is SUPER long! It is also hard to believe that he will be walking soon. Every time I think of all these things together, I cry. Let's face it, I'm emotional all the time. I buy, eat, and argue on emotion. So, these milestones we have passed so quickly and his growth is really hard for momma.

Some updates from a few weeks ago:

Ephraim received a visit from his Aunt Kari and NEW Uncle-to-be Ryan. They got engaged last weekend! Eph also met Diana, Ethan, Jordan and Ricci! He had so much fun being the center of attention!

Grandma Rena visited to go with me to the Kids Resale Event. It was super fun and we shopped till we dropped.

Grandma Alice drove through over Easter weekend and stopped for a bit, too.

Eph had his first Easter Egg hunt on Saturday at Rooftop Community Church. He found three eggs! He also had an egg hunt at home on Sunday. (Pics to come soon!)

Eph figured out how to roll and roll and roll to get things he wants. While other babies figure this out quickly, he figured it out a little late. He continues to scoot, roll, push and move towards all things electronic (daddy's toys!) and all things he shouldn't have! He is such a big guy!

While reminiscing about my baby, I finally edited some video. I have compiled a video and hope it will upload here! (I always have issues with slow uploading or errors!) I hope you enjoy it!