Happy 1st Birthday JAKE

At 2:06am on Friday, May 3rd, 2008 (my step-dads birthday by the way) our HANDSOME baby boy, Jacob "Jake" Alan Beard, was brought into this world weighing a good 9 lbs. 14 oz. (the last ultrasound was VERY close), and was 21 inches long. Time again stopped and all I could focus on was this handsome wide eyed baby boy. My son! I cried harder than I have ever cried before. I felt emotions that a woman won't ever be able to experience unless she gives birth to another human. I was completely and irrevocably in love with this little boy.

So here we are a year ago today life as we know it was about to take a drastic change. A year ago today, I was completely blind of what Mike and I were going to experience the coming year . A year ago today, I was experiencing a whole new level of emotions. A year ago today, I was scared to death. A year ago today, my water had just been broken. A year ago today, I was about to be given the best gift God could ever offer a living soul. So here I am, exactly one year later, mother to an amazing one year old miracle. If someone could please tell me where the time has gone, I would greatly appreciate it. This year has been full of adventure, sleepless nights, tears, lots and lots of laughter, tons of milestones, and multiple scrapes and bumps (I swear I don't beat my child), a few episodes of pulling out hair...Hey, its gonna happen, but more than anything, love. The love I have for this little boy grows uncontrollably every single minute, and will last throughout eternity. I thank God for him everyday, and wonder how in the world I ever deserved such a precious, perfect gift. I am extremely excited to watch him grow into a toddler, into a child, into a teenager (even though I am scared out of my mind about that stage), and even more into a man of his own, though at the same time, I am sad to see my baby grow up, and out of arms. Guess its time for more (wink wink), OK, not now-now, but maybe soon. I just want to enjoy him as much as I can right now because in the blink of an eye he will be off to college.

Baby Beard just hanging out

Just arrived

His daddy praying over him

With the birthday boy

Not so sure about his cake

Mommy's little boy, forever :)

Long time coming!!!

Well it's been a while since I have posted anything on here. I guess yo can say our family is little "busy bees". I'm sure I have tons to tell everybody. First off I finally finished school. Graduation is May 9, I have not been this excited in a long time. So that is a pretty good feeling, now if I could just find a J-O-B. As for the rest of the family Mike is still working at Turbo and it's almost time for softball to start. Jake is now walking EVERYWHERE! He is almost 11 months old and weights 30lbs. Yeah he is going to be a big boy. He will be the body guard for all the girls. He now has 12 teeth and working on one more. He is loving "big people" food. It's so fun to let him try new thing. He will eat anything, he gets that from his daddy. We are in the process of planning his 1st birthday, it can be kinda stressful, but fun. Jake is learning all kinds of new and fun things. I have added some recent pictures below. ENJOY!!!!!

M-E-R-R-Y C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S

So, this is Christmas morning ...Everyone is here. I don’t really understand it‘cause it isn’t very clear, but Mom and Dad are happy, there’s pretty ribbons everywhere, lots of things that they call presentsand even paper we can tear! They keep showing me this new stuff, balls and books and even sox’s ... They don’t seem to know how fun it isjust playing with these boxes.

Our first Christmas as parents was amazing. We had a wonderful time watching Jake pull paper off of presents. I will have to say he was more into it then we thought he would be. We were super tired by the time we made it to our last stop, but it was well worth every min of it. We took Jake to the Magical Night of Lights, he enjoyed seeing all the different colors, he mostly just enjoyed riding out of his carseat!!!! This was a very exciting year. We can't wait until next year when Jake kinda understands what is going on. Jake started crawling the day after Christmas, so we have had to baby proof the house. He is all over the place.

WOW Jake is 6 months old!!!!

Well, Jake hit the half way mark. November 3 he turned 6 months old. It is so amazing to watch how he has grown. We went for our 6 month check up and he is still a VERY healthy baby. We are trying to do the whole crawling thing but he get so mad and just rolls to where he wants to get. He is also pulling up on EVERYTHING. I have a funny feeling we might walk instead of crawling. Which is exactly what mom did. He is still loving staying with Mrs. Cindy. which is great she is amazing. So all is great with the Jake man :)

I am in the downhill slope of my student teaching which is great. I finish at Lanier on December 12th, I'm so ready to be in my own classroom. So those of you teachers out there keep your ears open and let me know if you hear of any openings. Other than that we are living life to the fullest and loving every minute of being parents. We thank God everyday for each other and for providing for us a s a family.

Jake 5 months old

So Jake is now 5 months old. He is fixing to hit the half way mark of a year. He is trying so hard to crawl, but he gets so frustrated and just rolls to where he needs to get. We have started eating fruits and veggies. He was not crazy about bananas but loves pears, peaches, and applesauce. Jake is sitting up very well, he tends to tumble over if he gets excited. Jake now has 6 teeth, four on top and two on the bottom. That is a little crazy to me. So before you know it he will be eating "big people food". He now weights about 23lbs. Jake is a bundle of joy. I am so thankful that he has continued to be a healthy and happy baby. God has truly blessed us. Jake is loving going to Mrs. Cindy's house everyday. He gets to play with Charlie and get spoiled rotten. I'm okay with that because I know he is being loved. We went to our first GA game as a family October 18, Jake did a great job he slept through the first half and then stayed awake for the second half. It was so much fun to go as a family. Mike and I were in a Bible study group during November and October. We took all of our children to the nursing home dressed in their Halloween outfits and gave out cookies. It was great to see the smiles on their faces.

Jake 4 months old

So Jake is 4 months old now. It's amazing how time goes by so fast. He has his two bottom teeth and is now eating cereal. He is so much fun to be around, he is now laughing out loud and pretending to talk. I'm so ready for him to say "Mommy". But life is great with the Beard's. Below are some of the pictures from his 4 month shots.

BeAcH tRiP 2008

Well we tok Jake to the beach for the first time. We went to Coco Beach. Mike's family went with us. Jake got to see his Gramma Beard for the first time and all of daddys uncles and cousins. It was a great trip. Jake loved the pool and the beach. We can't wait to take him again. Towards the end of the week Jake started cutting his first tooth and he rolled over. It was a very exciting week for him.

Family photo

Jake in the sand

He loved the pool