8 Months Old!

8 months old!

7 months old

6 months old

5 months

 4 months

3 months

2 months

 1 month

 2 weeks old

Dear Elliot,

Merry Christmas, big boy!

The last month has held lots of activity for our family, packing for a big move North, Christmas preparations, two rounds of colds, and your first (double) ear infection. We are in Iowa now, and despite the best intentions, I forgot to take your blue chair picture before we left.

But given the latest weight check (at our urgent care visit on Wednesday ... 23 lb 5 oz!), I can confirm that you are certainly still growing and growing.

Despite those crummy colds, you continue to be very mellow, sweet-natured, and easy-going. But this last round has had you refusing to nurse (something never before experienced in your little life!), and I'm so glad that you seem to be getting a tiny bit better already with a couple doses of antibiotics in you.

In the past month ...

- You have added quite a variety of baby fruits and veggies to your diet. We even polished off a container of green beans (snuck in along with other purees), and you can pretty much put away a full container per meal.

- You have recently begun blowing kisses to us. Well, at least when we blow kisses to you, you smack your lips and give a big grin. So sweet!

- You are solidly in size 4 diapers and 12-18 months clothes. Well, the 12 month clothes are actually a tight squeeze to get on, but I haven't mustered myself to pull out the 18 month bin yet.

- Your cousins on both sides are so sweet to you, and you love hanging out with them too! You are generous with grins and cuddles.

- With all the neb treatments in our home lately, you're getting to be a big fan of Shaun the Sheep yourself. You will watch very intently with the rest of the crew on the couch.

It is such a special season of the year, son. Christmas lights, wrapping gifts, gatherings with family. But those are just the trappings, little one, the pointers to a bigger gift, a bigger hope.

That hope is the reason for your name: "The LORD is my God." This God, the great I AM, the God who sees, the God who provides, the God know created all things, the God who holds all things together by the word of His power--that God did not remain at a distance from us. Nor did He observe all the sin and brokenness of our hearts and our world and let us get what we deserve.

No, that God, our God, set aside the glory He was due and bent low to enter this torn world. A tiny little baby--like you were just a few months ago, nestled in His momma's arms. He came helpless and human so that He could offer Himself as a covering for our sin. The King of all kings and Lord of all lords came cloaked in flesh so that His flesh could be torn and pierced and could breath His last ... and by that final surrender forever break the grip of sin and death that keeps us away from Him.

These days may hold their trouble and trials, little one, but be certain of this: the One who came to be our Peace will never fail. May He find hearts of worship in our home today and every day we live.

Merry Christmas, Elliot, we love you!
Momma



One of my favorites this season:

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men."

Merry and Bright and Otherwise

It has been quite a December! Amid the dishes a-washing, laundry a-folding, and boxes a-packing there have also been many festive and sweet moments tucked in.

Special dinner with Mr. Kevin and Miss Sue

Our little family Christmas (coinciding with a new round of colds), 

and new sleeping bags to snuggle in during neb treatments

We got together with the Kattersons for a little Christmas celebration the night before we hoped to go to Iowa. It was a fun time, with jambalaya, games, gifts, and skyping Grandma Kay!

We made it to Iowa! 

Here is our houseful of cousins watching Shaun the Sheep

Pizza Ranch with Grammy and some droopy little boys

So good to see Grandma Vaupel and Aunt Sue!

All the boys were sniffling, coughing, sneezing, and generally seeming sluggish and lethargic. Elliot was not eating or sleeping well, and they were just feeling pretty crummy.

That night, instead of the planned big family dinner all together, we had a "big Katterson trip to the urgent care," where 2 of 3 boys were discovered to have ear infections.

After many prayers and several doses of antibiotics, 

we were able to get all the cousins together 

for Grammy's special ornament activity!

A little cutie pie (and a big one) able to smile again

Sometimes Christmas, with all its togetherness (or not), chaos, bad attitudes, sleeplessness, and viruses, provides an uncomfortable reminder that Jesus' first advent was not a journey of unbroken sweetness and cheer. The reason that Perfect Child came (in the chill and smelly welcome of a barn) was to unbreak the painful brokenness of our world, to extract the poison sting of sin and death, and by His own bruised body to crush the serpent's head. What a Savior!

Coming Up for Air

Whew.

December has been mild thus far as far as weather is concerned, but the level of activity around here definitely feels like a whirlwind.

We are packing for a move at the end of the month, so our only Christmas decoration set up right now is a Nativity scene.

BUT, we have been doing our Christmas chain, and thus far we have enjoyed these activities:

1. Go to a Christmas potluck at small group.
2. Go to IKEA with friends.
3. Make pumpkin chocolate chip muffins (and eat 3 extra chocolate chips).
4. Set up the Nativity scene.
5. Sing happy birthday to Silas.
6. Wrap a Christmas present.
7. Bake a tasty treat. And eat one!
8. Open a present.
9. Have a movie night.
10. Visit Mr. Kevin and Ms. Sue.

Crazy but special times.

So Thankful

Feeling so amazed by God's kindness this week...

Thankful moments for: 

The first snow 

(enough for a snowman and some fabulous all-family sledding!)

A fun, creative, sacrificial hubby 

who is a great lover of children (our own and others')

Special times with our extended family

An unexpected delightful "exploration walk" finding hidden Blue Oxen at Lebanon Hills

And, not pictured:

Cinnamon rolls, spontaneous family photos, a "Black Friday" outing to Menards, Grammy and Grandad coming to visit, chubby baby knuckles, and 5 days in a row with Daddy at home.

There are so many moments of grace each day. 

But beyond all those, I am so grateful for a grace that fills all those other kinds of moments as well. I took the boys to their first funeral this week--for a tiny baby, who lived just a bit over one hour. 

Deep loss like that, plus the daily rhythms of inconvenience, frustration, sorrow, and testing, finds its meaning in the universe-shifting gift of Jesus. What a Savior, who knows our sorrows, carries our burdens, was crushed for our sins, and rose triumphant to forge our open access to God! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Child Dedication

Last Sunday, we were able to be a part of the Child Dedication at church with Elliot.

We love these "parental promises" and words of dedication.

It is our aim, with God's help:

1. To recognize our children as gifts of God and give heartfelt thanks for God's blessing.

2. To dedicate our children to the Lord who gave them to us, surrendering all worldly claims upon their lives in the hope that they will belong wholly to God.

3. With God's fatherly help, to bring up our children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, making every reasonable effort, with patience and love, to build the Word of God, the character of Christ, and the joy of the Lord into their lives.

4. To provide, through God's blessing, for the physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual needs of our children, looking to our own heavenly Father for the wisdom, love and strength to serve them and not use them.

5. Relying on God’s help to make it our regular prayer that, by God's grace, our children will come to trust in Jesus Christ alone for the forgiveness of their sins and for the fulfillment of all his promises to them, even eternal life; and in this faith follow Jesus as Lord and obey his teachings.

WORDS OF DEDICATION

Elliot James Katterson, together with your parents, who love you dearly, and this people who care about the outcome of your faith, I dedicate you to God, surrendering together with them, all worldly claims upon your life, in the hope that you will belong wholly to God forever.

Amen, little son, may it be so!

7 Months Old!

7 months old!

6 months old

5 months

 4 months

3 months

2 months

 1 month

 2 weeks old

Dear Elliot,

Here we are, marking another month of your life. Time is flying by!

You are still our sweet Mr. Chunker Monker. Nothing is so sweet to me as sweeping you up after a good snooze and snuggling your sweet squishy self. You casually rest an arm on my shoulder and let me cover your face with kisses. I love it!


In the past month ...

- You have begun eating cereal, and you really picked it up like you were born for it. Green beans on the other hand ... not such a fan! You made the funniest faces and grimaced and half-gagged at every swallow.

- Since it's turned a bit cooler, I am now bundling you with socks, onesie, footed sleeper, AND sleep sack, and you are now sleeping almost through the night! We have a meal sometime in the 3:30-5am range, and then you sleep normally until 7 or 7:30am.

- You are such a chatty little guy. "Da, da, da, da, da" and "Bot bot" or "Ma mam mam" are some favorite expressions. You'll often throw your head to the side and lounge back in your exersaucer after talking to us for a while, just to take the world in.

- You have slowed down on the blowouts, but our last one was notable. We were at the park, on a blustery November day, and I realized that my "back-up outfit" was a 3-6 month sleeper, which I couldn't possibly cram your generous self into. So you were kicking around naked in the chilly wind, whilst your big brothers played on the playground (and one of them got pretty scared by another child and was screaming frantically) while I tried to scrounge around for another option. Turns out Josiah's 3T pants were not unreasonably large at all!

- You roll all over the place when I put you down, but so far you aren't starting to actually crawl yet. But I know my days are numbered.

- You love banging your arms, putting toys in your mouth, seeing everything that is going on around you, and eating. And you're a good swinger.


I was reflecting on the meaning of your name this week, "The LORD Is My God." Oh little son, we pray that this will be true for you. In a world that is constantly changing, there is no Rock like our God. He is so faithful, so generous, so kind. He never changes, never fails us, never forsakes us. He is the Good Shepherd, who will tenderly guide us step by step along our path. He knows our frailties, our failures, and our foibles. He created us, wrote all our days in His book, and will fulfill all His purposes for good in our life. And most of all, He gave His own Son, Jesus, to pay the price for our sins, so that all who trust in Him could be with Him forever. This is our God, sweet son!

May you belong to Him forever. We love you, Mr. E!

Love,
Momma

Funny Boys

Josiah, listening to opera on classical radio: "Can you stop this funny song?"
Victor, a minute later: "Can you press stop?"

Ben, interviewing the boys for my birthday:

First Cereal

At last, I remembered to get baby cereal when I went to the store.

And so, after many longing glances, Elliot finally got his first taste of "real food." Big fan!

 

Totally took it in stride, like he's been chowing down cereal all his life...