1st Birthday

We had a fun little 1st birthday. I usually work on Thursdays, but I worked wednesday instead so I wouldn't miss being with my sweet boy! And drum roll please!!!!......Nick surprised us and took the day off work! :) Unheard of right? I know! Thursday, January 12, 2012, Nick Goltry took a day off work! (His wife was not having a baby, and he was not sick or crazy!) He took the day off for his son's 1st birthday! Justus...I want you to know how stinkin' special you are!!! Anyway, Nick did have a game to coach, so we stayed at home and had a nice morning. We did take Justus up to the park, but he started getting tired, and there was a really obnoxious girl there, so we hung out for just a while then went home.
Justus...at 2:53pm (the time you were born), a year later, I got to hold, cuddle, and pray with you! So special! Love you so much and I'm so thankful for you!

Thank You Lord, for allowing us to take care of Justus for You! May we bring him up in a way that is pleasing to You!

Nick and I got Justus a toy Pirate Ship. He loves the canon on it!!!

Playing with his work bench from Jean Fowke. Loves it!!!

Park time

Loved the swing...for a little bit, then he looked like he was sick! :)

Cute little snaggle tooth!

Loves picking the bark off trees, and trying to put it back on!

My two faves!

Loves him some dirt and bark!

Our Blessed Family of 3

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY JUSTUS MICHAEL!!!

Justus Michael at 1 Year Old!

Wow! I know I keep saying this, but time is just going by so so quick!!! Pretty sure this has been the fastest year of my life! I can't even believe we have a 1year old! Sniff Sniff!

Justus...here are all your "tricks" :) (Like you are my circus clown or something!)

~You took your 1st steps on January 2nd, 2012. Since then, you are getting more comfortable, and can pretty much cruise around the whole house. You just need a piece of furniture or a wall to help you back up when you fall.
~You know what the cow says (you say...mmm), and what the lion says (you put out your tongue when you growl) :) Just the other day you meowed a couple times too! You don't  always perform when I ask you though!
~Yesterday when I showed you a fish in your book, you sucked your cheeks in! So smart!!!
~You can show us your hair, feet, nose, teeth, tongue, hands and...your little "man part"
~You sign, "more", "please", and "all done" Sometimes you get them confused, but you get your point across! So funny!
~You point to everything and sign "please" You are so interested in learning and studying things. Dad was messing around last night snapping his fingers. You watched him close, and started trying to snap yours!
~You have been doing the "itsy bitsy spider" motion with your hands for a while now
~You have 4 teeth! Your top right one came in a few days before your birthday, then your top left tooth after your birthday.
~You are a smart little stinker...The other day you were ready to be done eating, and wanted to get out of your highchair, but hadn't eaten all your veggies yet.  I told you you had to eat all your veggies 1st, then you could get out. A few moments later, you were waving "all done" I looked at all your veggies were gone! They were all stuffed in your mouth! Haha! Made me laugh! I kept my word and got you out! You went and played with your mouth full of vegetables, and ended up eating them all! :)
~We took away your "Pa" around Christmas time, and you have done amazing! Haven't needed it since!
~You like your "Nesting Blocks" and love trying to figure out how to put lids on things.
~You LOVE your Praise Baby DVD. You will watch it and lift your hands and sing! When we ask you to "praise Jesus" you lift your hands and sing. You also did this when Grandpa Grib was out and played his guitar for you. So precious! :)

Love you and so Proud of you! It's amazing watching you grow and learn!

Justus's 1st Steps!!!

On January 2nd we went over to Nicks parents to watch a football game, then Nick and I were gonna go out to dinner and leave Justus with Grandpa and Gami.  Justus's new trick that day was standing by himself for a good amount of time. The football game went later than we expected, and Tami had just made her home-made pizza. We couldn't pass up that amazing pizza, and we wanted to get Justus to bed on time, so we ended up just staying over there. Thank God we did! When were getting ready to leave, Mike put Justus down, expecting him to show us his new trick and stay standing. He didn't...instead he walked to daddy, who was several steps away!!!! What the heck? I was so excited, I screamed...and almost cried!!! :) So glad we didn't miss out on that milestone!!! And Oddly enough, with Nick always at work...He still has seen most of Justus's "1st's" What a blessing!!!  GO JUSTUS GO!!! :)

These weren't actually his very 1st steps, but really soon after!!! :)

Merry 1st Christmas!!!!

Our 1st Christmas as a family of "3" was Lovely.  In my previous post, I mentioned that we got to celebrate Christmas during Thanksgiving with the Grib side. That was too fun...watching sweet Justus's face when he got excited about something was just so cute!!!

We got together a little earlier in the month with the Kenan portion of the family, had chili, and had our "gift/stealing" exchange. It was a great time!

Justus and Uncle Aaron

Concentrating a little to hard...he sticks his tongue out like his daddy! :)

Christmas PJ's from Auntie Joy

Christmas eve we stayed home together, ate some yummy home-made soup, "web-casted" the Christmas Eve. service, opened our stockings, and played some canasta! We hope to keep this as "our tradition." Except in the future, we plan on actually "going" to church instead of just "watching" it. :) It's nice to stay home and relax during this "crazy" time of year! We had an awesome night! 

Justus loves his daddy!!!

Love these two!!!

Justus watching church on the computer :)

On to Christmas day...

We got up, and I was so excited! So excited to watch Justus be excited! But he wasn't! :) HaHa maybe next year! I really don't want to put such a huge emphasis on "gifts." I want to emphasize "Jesus" during Christmas, but its hard, because there is just something so sweet about watching your baby be excited about something, and that's usually presents!!! I Gotta figure out how to make the "Christmas Story" fun and exciting each year!

Justus' 1st ornament...Yoda of course! :)

This silly toy...Before Christmas, I kept trying to hide it, and Justus kept finding it. I would find him in a room, sitting inside a box that I tried to "block" the toy with and spinning the little doodad. :) Was so excited to see him be able to play with it! He still loves it! :)

After our morning at home, we went over to Grandpa and Gami Goltrys. The kiddos opened gifts from GiGi, we hung around, relaxed, ate, and did gifts with the "Goltry Clan" in the evening. Justus did good,  and had fun seeing all his extended family!

Loves his Gami...Loves his Smoothie

LOL...This is Uncle Nathan's gift for Justus. Buddy says "Justus can't read, so I drew a picture of us so he will know it's for him and from me" HaHaHa (Justus even has his red dot, and Nathan his patchy beard)...Love Uncle Nathan!!!!

Typical Nick

Kisses from Auntie Joy

Loved his "Little People" School bus from his cousins Chan, John, and Ann :)

GiGi with all the Great Grand Kids (who could come this day)

Love the faces!!!

Crew Shot

Playing with Gami and Daddy...so sweet!

We had a wonderful 1st Christmas with you Justus...and we pray there will be many more to come! We love you!!!

Happy First Thanksgiving!!!

Our first Thanksgiving with our little boy was a blast! We went out to visit my parents in AZ.  Justus had fun crawling around playing with grandpa, hanging out with grandma, and visiting with Auntie Sarah (who he hadn't seen since he was only a month old!). We even celebrated Christmas, with the "Grib" side of the family. Oh and I can't forget all the yummy home-made meals and thanksgiving dinner! LOVE LOVE LOVE my mommas ham! :) I am so blessed to have my parents live so close now! I can't even imagine them still living all the way in Oregon! Thank you Jesus for bringing them out to Arizona!!!!

Justus couldn't even wait to get on the stinkin' road!

Grandpa gave Justus his leather hat! Oh so many memories with that hat! :)

Hopefully Justus gets his Grandpa Misha's musical talent!

1st Family pic in who knows how long!!!! 

Auntie Sarah has got some musical jams too!

You Love your Snowman Cup with a straw... you are so big! 

You love drinking "Gami's" home-made smoothies in this cup!

You loved your new cell phone from grandma and grandpa Grib!

Justus, every time Grandma and Grandpa Grib see you, they are blown away by how fast you are growing and how fun you are getting. :) Hope you enjoyed your 1st Thanksgiving! :)

Justus 11 at Months!

Here we are in December and you are 11 months old! Can't even believe it!

Here is what you've been up to lately...

-You are definitely getting your own little personality!
-You can be a little copy-cat! If I cough, you fake cough...so cute
-Just today, you have started this "come here" looking hand gesture...so funny
-You HATE your diaper being changed! It has become a nightmare to change you, you flip over and try to get away! Make things really difficult when there is some nastiness in there!
-You are quite a handful. If I'm not careful, you make it places quick...garage, stairs, etc.
-You seem to need my Undivided attention 24/7. If I am working in the kitchen, and not paying attention to you, you know right where to go...the stairs! Haven't got a baby gate yet, so you go right to the stairs and stare at me 'cause you know I'll come get you!  Stinker
-You like the dishwasher
-You love chewing on large carrots
-You also like onions from our garden...Daddy is to thank for that!
-You have been eating more "big people" food, mostly fruits and veggies in chunks, but you are very finicky!
-You love Gami's homemade wheat bread! You'll shove so much in your mouth at one time that you'll choke!
-You love testing your boundaries of what you can and can't touch
-You like intricate things
-You can make a "doggy sound"...adorable
-You give the best kisses
-You have been doing a funny "Darth Vader" noise
-You do a "wiggle"
-You can throw a pretty ridiculous tantrum
-You've started throwing things, and you've got a mean arm
-You STILL wake up at least twice a night! Although last night only once!!! Thank you for that!
-Oh, I've been putting saline in your nose to keep you from getting sick. Only after a couple times, you took the can, put the tip in your nose and sniffed!!!! LOL!
-I've tried hiding a Christmas present from you in a couple different places, but you keep finding it and trying to play with it. You've even crawled into and onto boxes that were blocking it! I also caught you trying to take the blanket off of it! :) Silly Smart Boy!
-You LOVE LOVE being outside!!!
-You can show me your nose!
-You say "All Done" by waving your hands so good!!!

Justus, you make me Crazy, but you make me Crazy happy too! We love you, and are looking forward to celebrating Jesus' Birthday with you!!!