Baby Smalley #2 Growing Fast!!  BabyFetus Ticker

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Christmas Video

Sawyer Video Collaboration seven and a half months from Allison Smalley on Vimeo.

A little video collaboration of Sawyer's first Christmas.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

First Christmas as a Trio!!











So Christmas was wonderful this year.  It's amazing how much joy having a little one brings you during this holiday, and every holiday!  It was so much fun watching Sawyer open his presents and seeing that little smile on his face as his toys started to peep through the wrapping paper.  As soon as we walked Sawyer out into the living room once he had woken up, he immediately saw his little toys and completely lit up!   Josh had the camera on him all day and I think he captured these very special moments very well!  Just look at that little boy smiling, isn't he just too cute for words?!  Best Christmas yet for sure:)

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

ExerSaucer Expert


file://localhost/Users/allisoncsmalley/Desktop/exersaucer.mp4

This is only a small glimpse of what Sawyer can do in an ExerSaucer.  He is now able to completely walk the thing across the living room until he runs into the coffee table, which is his favorite part.  He loves banging into the table over and over and over again.  He is a mess!

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Once In Royal David's City



Once in royal David's city,
Stood a lowly cattle shed,
Where a mother laid her baby
In a manger for His bed:
Mary was that mother mild,
Jesus Christ her little child.

He came down to earth from heaven,
Who is God and Lord of all,
And His shelter was a stable,
And His cradle was a stall;
With the poor and meek and lowly,
Lived on earth our Savior holy.

And through all
His wondrous childhood,
He would honor and obey,
Love and watch the lowly mother,
In whose gentle arms He lay.
Christian children all should be,
Mild, obedient, good as He.

For He is our child-hood's pattern,
Day by day like us He grew,
He was little, weak, and helpless,
Tears and smiles like us He knew,
And He feeleth for our sadness,
And He shareth in our gladness.

And our eyes at last shall see Him,
Through His own redeeming love;
For that child so dear and gentle,
Is our Lord in heaven above,
And He leads His children on,
To the place where He is gone.

Not in that poor lowly stable,
With the oxen standing by,
We shall see Him, but in heaven,
Set at God's right hand on high;
When like stars
His children crowned,
All in white shall be around.


I love the lyrics to this song, and the melody too.  Christmas Hymns were definitely all written with Christ in mind.  Almost every single one is the telling story of Christ's birth, life, death, and resurrection.  The Gospel in and of itself.  These songs are some of the main reasons I love Christmas so much, and this one tops them all in my book.  Never ever forget that the story in this song is why we celebrate this holiday after all! 

Here's a video if you'd care to listen:)



Saturday, December 8, 2012

Baby-Zilla!!!

Baby-zilla/helicopter from Allison Smalley on Vimeo.





Sawyer watching Josh fly his mini helicopter around the house. He wasn't a fan.  Sawyer is 7 months old today!!

Oldie But Goodie

Sawyer's First Taste of Real Food from Allison Smalley on Vimeo.

Monday, December 3, 2012

You're Parading On My Christmas!






Can I just say that our little guy is such
a little trooper! He's always up for anything and
everything that his crazy parents throw at him. He
just takes it all in, and goes along for the ride. I just love him :)

(Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer?)



It's that time of year again! Christmas parade time.
Josh and I have been going to this parade every
year that we've lived in Alabaster (that would be 3), and were excited to bring Sawyer to his very first Christmas parade.  He had a blast watching the bands, dancers, cars, floats, and horses go by.  We were even able to collect some candy while we were there.  But only the top notch, good quality candy.  None of that cheep  stuff.  It has taken Josh a few years to finally understand which candy is worth bending down to pick up, and which is the kind you just kick to the side. But he definitely got it this year ;-)
It was a fun day! Always hits that little spot inside of you to jump-start you into the Christmas spirit!  Well, for Josh anyway.  My Christmas spirit normally starts around the first day after Halloween :).  Anyway, now we're ready!

Monday, November 12, 2012

Enjoying The Great Outdoors!










Josh and I have been talking about and planning a little hiking trip out to the state park for this past weekend.  We had even found and purchased a little backpack carrier to carry Sawyer in while we hiked the trails.  Of course we were eager to try it out.  We went for a few hours to Oak Mountain (a local state park in Birmingham) and hiked hiked hiked!  The backpack was amazing! Sawyer loved to kick back and ride while taking in all of the beautiful fall scenery.  Josh said it was very comfortable to wear too, so score for the backpack carrier:)



We had so much fun.  It was so good to get back outside and out in the woods as a family.  Something I have missed immensely ever since I was too big pregnant to even want leave the house. So it's been a while. :)  Josh and I were also happy to see that our little boy enjoyed the outdoors every bit as much as we do!  I guess we can add hiking to the list of family outings now:)

Friday, November 9, 2012

Six Months Down...






(I love this last picture of Sawyer. I'm sure he's thinking "please mom, no more pics. I'm WAY to cool for this".)




So our little boy is six months old nowadays. That's half a year.  Around 183 days.  In other words, he's O.L.D. OLD! And boy, does he know it!  He can be quite the little stinker some days.  He's already figured out that for now, and until he can do more for himself, Mommy and Daddy are here to serve him and him alone (or so he thinks anyway).  He milks us for all we're worth.  I'm scared that we've got trouble coming in our near future!  On the other hand he can also be the sweetest little boy who just wants to cuddle on you, love on you, laugh at you and give you kisses.  Yummy, big, open mouthed, slobbery kisses.  It's adorable.  And I love every single thing about him.  Good, and not so good. :)

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Sawyer's First Halloween!










Because this was Sawyer's first Halloween and he is still not yet 6 months old, Josh and I thought it might be a little awkward taking him trick or treating considering he can't eat candy yet.  But we definitely wanted to do something since this was his very first!  So we took him to "Boo At The Zoo" at the Birmingham Zoo!  It was soooo much fun with all of the different activities that they had set up for the kids.  He and I both rode the "Scarousel" together, and all three of us rode the train through the spooky forest.  He was even able to go through the trick or treat maze and collected some candy for us;-)  Everyone who saw him loved his little costume, although most of them thought he was a "Who" from "Whoville"?  Just to clarify, he was a "Pea In A Pod":)

We had so much fun hanging out just the three of us, and made some great memories together for Sawyer's very first halloween!

Monday, October 15, 2012

The Grand Ole' Pumpkin Patch!










Sawyer's first trip to the Grand Ole' Pumpkin Patch in Clanton, AL!  We all had a blast together riding the hay ride in the wagon down to the pumpkin patch to pick Sawyer a little pumpkin just his size.  Sawyer LOVED everything about the patch, but mostly I think he just enjoyed sitting back and taking everything in.  I still love to watch his expressions as he experiences new things for the first time in his life! This was year one of our family tradition to Clanton in October.  Complete success!

Friday, October 12, 2012

Sawyer's Baptism 10-7-2012








This past Sunday (Oct. the 7th) Josh and I had Sawyer Baptized into our covenant family!  I know he is now 5 months old and that's kind of old for an "infant" baptism, but with all of the chaos and happenings that have happened in our lives since Sawyer's birth I feel like we didn't have much of a choice.   Almost all of our families came for this sweet time in our lives, which made it that much more special.

 I would like to clarify why we had Sawyer baptized as an infant for those of you who might be wondering "why infant Baptism?".  Although our church denomination (The Presbyterian Church of America -PCA) does practice infant baptism, Josh and I do believe that the bible teaches that this is the new sign of the Covenant.  Back in the old testament, and before Jesus came to die for our sins, circumcision was considered the sign of the covenant of Abraham (this of course was only practiced on the males). But after Jesus came into the world, he would baptize whole families in the name of the Father, the Son and The Holy Spirit.  These families also included the children and baby's as well.  Saying that baptism had then become the NEW sign of the covenant which was meant for the WHOLE world (male & female alike).  We, of course do NOT believe that because Sawyer was baptized as an infant,  he is now a Christian and will spend his eternity in Heaven no matter how he chooses to live the rest of his life.  Of course Sawyer will one day have to make his own profession of his Faith, and will have to choose to live his life for the Lord, understanding that he is a wretched sinner and that the only way to salvation is through Christ Jesus who died on the cross for his specific sins!  Sawyer's Baptism was more of a covenant that Josh and I were making to the Lord that we will raise Sawyer according to His word, and teach him the Gospel so that he may one day call upon the Lord to be his personal savior.

I just wanted to clarify that real quick because I know that some people believe that infant Baptism = infant salvation. Simply not true. :)  Anyway, it was a very sweet day for us and we would like to thank all of our friends and family who were there to take part in it with us!

Acts 16:31-34 "And they said, "believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And  he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all of his family. Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God."