Braxton Update

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Braxton is now 7 weeks old and has been so much fun latley. He is kooing and talking, laughing and smiling. He can respond to us and can reach out to bat at his toys. He loves going and doing, as that is the only way I can get him to sleep for more than 30 minute at a time. He is eating good and sleeping great at night. I only have to get up once at night to feed him. He even went 8 hours between feedings one time last week. Now if Brian and I could just get to bed earlier we'd be doing great! The dogs are getting adjusted as well. They still want more of my attention but seem to understand when I can't give it to them. I took the leap today and took all three of the "kids" on a walk. Braxton slept the entire time despite my discipline of the dogs. But really the dogs did great. Was not a very relaxing walk but we all got some exercise nonethless. I took a nap the other day (rare!) and had Braxton on my chest, Max (the cat) on my feet and the dogs as close to me on the floor as they could get. I felt very loved!

A New Decade

Wow- Can't believe it is another decade! Can't believe Braxton is already 1 month old! Parents always declare that time flies and babies and kids grow too quickly- now I understand. Braxton has already changed so much. He is making eye contact with us, smiling at us, enjoying his bath time more, and sleeping up to 4.5 hours at night. Once he hit the 4 week milestone, we ventured out of the house. His first outing was Target then the next day it was on to bigger and better- the Galleria :). He even accompanied us to the new neighbors house for a New Years Eve cocktail and made an appearance at the Collins' annual New Years Day party. He did great and it gave me more confidence getting him out and about. I figure he needs to get used to being on the go since his mom and dad always are.

We are so looking forward to watching him grow this year! We have some other excitement for the upcoming year as well- a new niece or nephew on the way and two new second cousins. MJ and Jeff are expecting at the end of June. The new little Childress and Braxton will only be 6 months apart- they will be the closest of friends! We are so very excited for them. They are wonderful parents and Ajalee will make a great big sister. My cousin found out she is also having a little boy, due this summer as well. Christmas at the McFarlands next year will be too fun! Brian's cousin is also expecting in April. Braxton will have many playmates in the family.

Our First Christmas as a Family of Six

This Christmas was truly a blessing! A new addition to our family to celebrate the special holiday with. In addition, we we were able to enjoy time with each other, our families, and our friends from the comfort of our living room. For those of you that know us, we typically spend the holidays traveling from one locale to another. It was so wonderful to spend time in our new home for Braxton's first Christmas. A huge thanks and appreciation to those who traveled to visit with us over the holidays and those who helped us clean, cook, and decorate. Everyone definitely helped make our holidays great. Now, if there are any volunteers to help take the decor down, give me a call.

Below are some of the details of our holidays. To see more pics, click on the picture.

The weekend before Christmas Pappa O and Nana came to visit with us. Aunt Martha surprised us by bringing MawMaw and PawPaw Nick up from Tuscaloosa for the afternoon. We had 4 generations of Nickoles boys in the house!

Poppa O & Co

We did something a bit different this year for Christmas Eve. Gran & the gang came up and we all went to a candlelight and musical service at our church. We then came back to the house for a great lunch that Gran & Mimi had prepared. After a late lunch we exchanged gifts and hung out before they had to head back to t'town to get ready for Santa. It was great to see our niece Anna Katherine enjoy her first Christmas!

Gran & Fam

Mimi and Daddy G were already in town and MJ, Jeff & Ajalee came in town Christmas night. We did our Christmas with them on the 26th and they spent the remainder of the weekend with us. On the 27th, Molly's Aunt JoGayle and Uncle Sammy brought her Grandmother to visit. She was thrilled to meet her first great grandSON. We had a wonderful dinner and spent the night talking and playing games. Our niece Ajalee had a great time with all her new toys, the dogs, and most of all the kittie cat. She did not however like her Mom and Dad giving attention to little Braxton :).

McFarland visit