Note to self, don’t do a photoshoot with the babes when it’s nap time. Here are Ari’s pictures at 8 months!

To be fair, he didn’t cry the whole time. But poor guy, I don’t think he enjoyed it.


In all seriousness, we’re excited for Ari’s first advent season. As excited as we are to take him out to see Christmas trees, to look at Christmas lights, and to open presents, we are also eager to start a new family tradition where we teach our child the story behind Christmas. When we celebrate Christmas, we want to tell Ari about baby Jesus being born in a manger; when we put a star on top of our Christmas tree, we want to tell him the story of the three wise men and how they followed the star to meet their savior; we want to tell about Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem and the angel that visited them. Most of all, we want to communicate that this season brought about good news of great joy. Russ and I hope and pray we’re able to remember the importance of this season and clearly tell Ari (and future children) the meaning of it – and that we don’t get lost in the busyness and distractions around Christmas.
Happy 8 months, Ari. Let’s celebrate the good news with great joy.