our 1 year old.

Wow! We can hardle believe that O.N.E. year has passed so quickly, as today we celebrate the first year of our precious little boy! He has brightened our days (and many a night) and we just couldn't love him more than we do today...that is...until tomorrow. It seems hard to believe that at this very moment one year ago, we were tucked snuggly into our hospital room with oh so much to learn, but lots and lots of love to give. In the blink of an eye, one year has passed and those first twelve weeks are only a blurry memory of special (and sleepy) nightime moments, lots of playmat time, tight swaddling, and hot showers for my salvation. While 12 full months have flown by, it also feels like a world away from those first weeks at home. While our lives have changed dramatically in just one year's time to say the least, our little Eli has been our family's bright shining star and we know that God sent him to us just at the right time.

Happy Birthday, Eli! We love you!

xoxo

mountaineer saturday.

What a fun, blue and gold weekend we had! Uncle Kent and Auntie Danielle made the long and late-night journey from Morgantown to Louisville for a short visit and the WVU football game at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium! I just love when the Mountaineers come to town and get especially excited to be amongst fellow fans in this town of red and black or UK's blue and white. While Andy was kindly offered box seats from the Dean of the medical school, we just couldn't take the offer. We needed to sit with other Mountaineer fans. We needed to chant the familiar cheers. We needed to wear our blue and gold - and we didn't want to be discreet!

...and to top off our fun day at Papa John's stadium, our Mountaineers were victorious over the C-A-R-D-S! We just love a Mountaineer win!

While Kent, Danielle, Andy, and I were enjoying four quarters of football, Eli was loving his time with my good friend, loyal Cardinal fan, and soon-to-be-mama, Dena. Thanks so much, Dena for taking such wonderful care of our little guy!

thursdays at gymboree.

"Thursdays" are a favorite day of the week for Eli and I! Each Thursday, we have so much fun at our Gymboree Play & Learn class. Surrounded by lots of cute babies close in age, Eli crawls, climbs, jumps, explores, shakes, rolls, claps, catches bubbles, bangs on drums, rings bells, plays with a parachute, sings, and so much more. What fun it is for Eli to interact with other babies that are his age and what fun it is for me to chat with other mamas.
Each week, Gymboree's fun instructors select a focus for play. For example, last week was "fun with texture and different levels". Eli and I enjoyed playing with different sizes and textures of foam blocks, crawling through an obstacle course with different stair steps, ramps, and slides with smooth, soft, bumpy, and rough textures to feel. I love this time with Eli and especially love the stage that he is in currently. We just can't wait for Dad to enjoy class with us one day soon!

our dedication.

Last weekend, Andy, Eli, and I participated in Parent-Child Dedication at our much-loved church, Highview Baptist Church. What a special time it was for Andy and I to dedicate ourselves and declare publicly that we will lovingly raise Eli in the word of the Lord. Eli was in perfect spirits for his big morning -- despite the fact that it was the morning of Daylight Savings Time -- and jabbered the entire time while we were on stage. Our pastor even remarked, "...and this little guy is sure excited about this time. He is testifying!" We are both blessed and humbled by our responsibility as parents. It is our prayer that we raise our son to know and love God and to share that love with others.

Every good and perfect gift is from above.

- James 1:17

11 months.

As I think back to the beginning of last November, I am in total awe of how much our lives have changed in 11 blink-of-an-eye months. 11 short months ago, I felt like I simply couldn't grow another centimeter; I already had our home decorated for Christmas, every Christmas present was wrapped, and every bow had been tied. Today, while I hardly am as organized as last year and have just branched into the world of holiday shopping, I love spending each and every day with you! The way you smile, the way you love to jump, and the way that you are always on the go makes our hearts smile and we just couldn't love you more! You are funny. You are smart. You, sweet boy, have one spunky personality! There isn't a mirror in our home that you don't love looking in and talking to yourself! You shake your head quickly back and forth and the more I smile and laugh, the harder and faster you shake that head of yours! You are beginning to cruise slowly but surely, especially if there is something that catches your eye that you must hold! Nonetheless, you haven't shown that much interest in walking yet as you crawl to your destinations at the speed of light. You love to explore our home and while you adore your toys, I think you almost prefer to be on the go.

You love to eat your baby food, but are giving us a bit of a challenge as we try to transition you to more and more table food. One thing is for sure - you love multi-grain, blueberry waffles and pickles...not together, of course.

You are a true thinker. This week at our Gymboree Play & Learn class, you crawled through a short tunnel to capture a cage bell that you fell in love with. Upon introducing you to a much longer tunnel and enticing you to crawl through with that same cage bell, you simply turned around, backed out of the tunnel, and crawled beside of the tunnel to retrieve the bell from the teacher at the other end. We all had to laugh at your creativity to get the bell without crawling through the long tunnel.

This time 11 months ago, we just couldn't wait to meet you. This time 11 months ago, we couldn't wait to see what you looked like. However, this time 11 months ago, we knew we would love you, but we had no idea of how in love with you we would be. Your birthday is fast approaching, Eli, and we just thank God each day for you, your health, your happiness, and what you have added to our family!

boo to you.

Last week, Eli and I gathered paint and holiday paper to create some pretty "boo-tiful" Halloween cards. I must say, I think they turned out super cute and no doubt will hang on a few refrigerators! What a cutie Eli was as he carefully studied me painting his entire hand with white paint. I will neither confirm nor deny that my little artist had a snack in his other hand to distract him just a bit during our artistic endeavor. I look forward to days ahead when Eli and I can have a regular arts and craft time. I have lots and lots of cute monthly projects (and the bins in our garage to prove it) up my sleeve from my years in my Kindergarten classroom.


...conversation with my husband as he returns home from work and sees our ghost art drying on our kitchen counter...

Andy: Wow, Honey! Those are super cute! Where did you get that idea?

Devon: ...Ummmm...Did you forget what I used to do before Eli Monster?

Andy: (smiling and laughing) Oh, yeah!

Devon: Oh, geesh!

rainy day.

As a cold, rainy, and very windy day set in yesterday, Eli and I were confined to the warmth and safety of our home for the entire day. With tornado warnings and watches looming over all of our area, we needed to find something fun to do during the three or four hours that we normally sneak out of the house for a bit to run errands or go for a nice long walk. After a quick thought, I decided to remove two cushions from our sofa, a no-longer used bed sheet, and make Eli what every little kiddo needs at one point or another...a fort.

While I know he will love this more and more as time moves forward, I couldn't help but take advantage of his ever-present curiosity, and just give the homemade fort a try. What a success!

He loved crawling back and forth, out and in, and laying and sitting in his new "cave" with his toys. This mama couldn't resist crawling "under" and playing right along.

What a fun morning we had, despite the gloomy and scary weather! Sadly enough, our much-used outdoor table didn't have such a fun morning in the 80 mph wind. I suppose this is the perfect excuse to purchase beautiful outdoor living furniture next summer!

our little pumpkin.

baby bradford.

Yesterday afternoon, I was able to sneak away from our home, leave Eli in the safe hands of his dad, and spend some time with Dena, one of my most favorite mamas-to-be, and a few sweet friends at baby Bradford's baby shower! What a wonderful family baby Bradford has been blessed with. Loving parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and many good friends are eager to meet this sweet boy and simply cover him with snuggles. We have prayed and prayed for Bradford and are so happy that our God is an awesome God and this baby boy will soon make his arrival! As for me... I just can't wait!

What a perfect shower Dena and Bradford were gifted! As you can see, this is no doubt one special and loved little cowboy!

simple + delicious.

During the fall and winter months, we, like everyone else, love to make warm and cozy food. While Andy loves a big pot of homemade chili and I prefer homemade vegetable soup, we both agree on one of our most favorite dishes - Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup. While this recipe is super easy and fast for me to prepare, as an added bonus, it cooks right in the crockpot! Don't you just love a good crockpot recipe?!? After preparing this yesterday for Andy, myself, and a few spoonfuls for Eli, I decided to share in hopes that this favorite of ours might become a family favorite of yours!

To begin, dice one cup each of carrots, celery, and onion. Add your diced veggies right into your crockpot.

Next, shred one entire store bought (I told you it was easy), rotisserie chicken, with skin removed, and add to your carrots, celery, and onions.

Stir in one entire box or four cans of low-sodium chicken broth and the secret ingredient, two cans of Campbell's cream of mushroom with roasted garlic soup. Season with salt, pepper, and herbs de provence.

Cover and cook on low setting for 8-9 hours or on high setting for 3-4 hours.

When your creamy chicken noodle soup has finished cooking, and right before serving, add a handful of egg noodles to your crockpot and let cook for 10 additional minutes. Be careful as to not add too many egg noodles because they will soak up and swallow lots of your delicious broth.

So easy and delicious...Yum! Yum! Yum!