13 Months Old

Hallister is getting to be such a big boy. He likes food that we eat: lasagna, spaghetti, rolls, baked chicken, mashed potatoes, and now chicken nuggets. He is able to eat this food with his 4 new molars, and 8 front teeth. He drinks so much water that at night he is soaking through his diaper. We are going to try overnight diapers. He is walking faster and faster, and doesn't hold his hands out as much in case he falls. To get up from the floor he leans forward, straightens his legs, and then lifts his torso up. We are working on the signs "Help, Please, and Thank You". He has started to actually say "Tank Eww". He is so cute now saying "Bes Eww" after we sneeze. He is getting brave climbing on things and a video is coming soon of what he recently climbed on.

Worship

We have been taking Hallister into Worship time at church, which is at the beginning of the service. He really loves music and is very aware of people around him worshiping. We also do a Kid Time song in Lifegroup for the kids to sing and do motions with where he bounces and claps. The other day I was working and he was playing in his yard. I started to listen to a new worship song I downloaded. I looked over and well....he had stopped playing and was worshiping. It was such an awesome sight.

Excitement

Hallister loves music and when he hears music he gets real excited, dances, and bounces. Now he has learned to verbally let us know when he is excited by screaming.

Catch Up

I feel like we are playing catch-up with updates. Hallister is now drinking whole milk instead of formula. This is a blessing since it saves us about $75 a month. He also seems to have Italian taste buds, liking lasagna and spaghetti. We just blend it up and feed it to him. We did let him have fun with the spaghetti the other night. He is not a fan of chicken, which makes since because when I was pregnant I desired beef more than chicken, and before I was pregnant it was the opposite. He also climbs on the futon in his room and loves to jump on it. An amazing thing we discovered is how much he is understanding at his young age. I was working and Hall was playing in his play yard. I sneezed, he stopped playing and said "Bess You" (Bless You). It was amazing. Jonathan and I say this all the time to each other. And the last thing is that he waves goodbye now without prompting and says "Bye Bye." Even this morning Jonathan went to hug Hall before leaving the house and he waved his hand saying "Bye Daddy."

Walking

Hallister is walking everywhere now. Even if he happens to fall down he will get up by himself and walk again, instead of crawling. When he is put on the ground he wiggles away from you (as you can see in the video) because he is determined to get balanced on his own. It is so amazing to see him developing and learning.

Financial Peace

We have thoroughly enjoyed taking Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University classes offered at Antioch, the church we attend. We are on Week 8 of 13. Dave teaches how to make wise financial decisions and explains using scripture. I just want to take a minute to give God the glory for all He has taught us and thank Him for how He has blessed us. We are now on the envelope system with a certain amount designated for groceries, eating out, gas, and miscellaneous. We use cash to buy everything. This has already helped us not purchase things because we see our cash diminish. If we don't have the money for it then we save up for it. No more buying things with credit or 12 months no interest deals. Chances are we can even negotiate a lower price if we show someone the cash. We have been needing extra income since one of my clients cut back her services. We were so thankful that God brought me a temporary job through a friend that helped us, within one month, fund our $1,000 emergency fund and pay cash for new tires for the Rav. It feels so good to own those tires. After going through the budget we noticed our electric bill is our second largest bill each month. After speaking with friends we found we were paying 4 cents more per kilowatt than their rates. Dave Ramsey did a session on salespeople and negotiating. I called Reliant saying we need to get our rate lowered or we will switch. After an hour of being on the phone we got our rate lowered from 14.6 cents per kilowatt to 10.9. Praise God! The customer service person was very nice and appreciated our business. (Check rates at www.powertochoose.org) After receiving this month's bill we have already saved $150. We are thankful for the financial knowledge we now have and look forward to being debt free soon, with sacrifice and determination. We want to live like no one else so one day we can live like no one else! If FPU is in your area we definitely recommend it.

Wagons

Hallister loves being pulled in wagons. Here he is with a few friends enjoying himself in different wagons. In the leggo wagon he crawls in it and loves to be pulled down the hall.