3 Months Old

Will turned 3 months old on January 19th. He has doubled his birth weight and more, weighing in at 12 lbs. He is also getting longer. He's outgrown his newborn clothes and we have moved on to 3 month clothes. Some are a little big, but he is looking handsome in them anyway. He's been enjoying his time riding in his swing, shopping with mom, visiting Dad and Grandma at work, hanging out with both Grandmas so mommy and daddy can go to a movie or dinner, and laughing a lot. He loves to laugh, talk, and smile. He's sleeping thru the night most nights and continues to eat very well (takes after his mom and dad there!).

Here are a few pictures from the past few weeks.

The monthly pictures are getting harder to take. Thank goodness for the hood and Dad's quick reflexes!!

Will smiling - one of his favorite past times! I think in is the sweater - thanks Aaron and Stephanie! He looks so cute in it and his jeans!

After his nightly bath. Sweet baby boy.

Playtime in the swing (aka time when mommy gets things done around the house)!

Multi-tasking - holding his keys and trying to eat his hand at the same time!

My Little Sister

My sister turned 28 on January 15th! It is so hard to believe. I realize that every year I get older she gets older, but I often still think of her as 11 or 14 or even 18. She was in town this weekend and we were able to hang out some. I miss her so much and wish that she lived in Dallas, but I am so happy that she is close by in OKC. I know that will not always be the case.

I have so many memories of our times together. Most sisters fight like cats and dogs at least part of their lives, but honestly Carrie and I have always been close. Granted I think for at least part of her life she would do anything to keep me out of trouble - especially during my high school years! For some reason she didn't like to hear mom and I scream at each other. :)

Carrie is a wonderful, loving, thoughtful person. She truly wants to make the world a better place and does so every day as a Kidergarten teacher. I realize that there are a lot of teachers in the world, but Carrie goes above and beyond the call of duty. So often she is calling me telling me she is going to a dance recital that a student invited her to or buying them shoes or clothes or even lunch to help their parents out. Things she is not required to do. She treats these children like her own and better. Carrie is also a wonderful wife, daughter, aunt, friend, and most of all sister. She makes everyone around her smile, is always willing to lend a helping hand, and is always the biggest advocate of those close to her.

Carrie, I love you very much and I am the luckiest girl on the earth to be able to call you my sister. Happy Birthday! Just think, in a couple years we'll be celebrating the BIG 30!

Happy New Year!

We want to wish everyone a VERY Happy 2008! I know the new year will bring great things to all of you and we are looking forward to sharing it with you. As we start the New Year, we want to thank everyone for your kindness in 2007. It was by far our most life changing year so far and the love we received from our friends and family is more than we could have ever asked for. We are thankful daily for the gifts we've been given and know we are truly blessed with such a loving family and great friends. Happy New Year!

Well, Chris and I didn't think we'd have that exciting of a New Years Eve this year, with Will being so young and it always seems overrated. We planned on staying home and watching Dick Clark and going to bed early (maybe even ringing it in on East Coast time). As it got closer, we decided we had to do something, so we invited friends over for dinner at our house. We had a relaxing evening and were excited to ring in 2008 with friends and Will. We didn't end up in bed until 2AM, the latest we've "chosen" to stay up in a while. On New Years Day, Chris went to Amarillo with his family to visit his grandparents. I went to Kristi and Chris's house for yummy food and football. As you can see from the picture below, Will is already just one of the guys! And for any of you that were wondering, YES he is a Cowboys fan! Don't think you can sway him any other way!

Jimbo, Will and Chris watching football New Years Day
Go Cowboys! Even at naptime!

Will's First Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas and celebrated with family and friends. Will really enjoyed his first Christmas - meeting family and being held by everyone. Here are a few pictures from all the festivities. We hope you and your family had a wonderful holiday season!

We spent Christmas Eve at my parent's house. We spent the early part of the day with our extended family and then had Christmas and Santa with my immediate family that evening. It was such a fun day and a great way to show Will what Christmas is all about at the Jones's house! Next year I am sure he'll be very excited about the paper, the boxes, and the ornaments on the tree. Get ready Grandma!

Our family in front of the tree at my parent's house.

Grandma and Grandpa with Will (nice jammies Mom!)

Josh, Me, Will, Chris and Carrie by the tree

Will LOVED the mobile at Grandma's house.

Mom (aka Grandma, Didi, Mimi, take your pick) did a wonderful job of hosting Christmas. Doesn't she look pretty?

We spent Christmas Day at Chris's parents house. Will was dressed in another of his MANY Christmas outfit and we called him our little reindeer all day. Will met his cousins Karina and Brennan for the first time on Christmas Day after hearing about them since the day he was born! I can't wait to see them all running around in the years to come!

" Come on Mom, let me out of this car seat and PLEASE stop taking pictures!"

Little Reindeer with his Daddy

And with his Mommy in front of the tree

Karina and Brennan "helping organize" presents. Aka - looking for ones that have their name on them!

Karina holding Will. Such a good big cousin!

Will snoozing during dinner.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Big Boy!

That is right! Will is 2 months old! Time is passing so fast - I know all parents say that. We went to the doctor for Will's 2 month appointment. He was a very big boy - he got 3 shots and another vaccine by mouth. He was not too pleased with the shots, but he handled them well. Not sure that I did though - I couldn't watch! I made Chris stand by him and I hid in the corner of the room. The screams were bad enough, I couldn't handle seeing the actual shot. My favorite part of the visit is getting to weigh him. He weighs 9 pounds 9 ounces! He is 24 inches long. They said he is in the 15% for weight, but is in the 50% for length and head size (which is great based on how small he was when he arrived).


We've had a busy few weeks preparing for Christmas. He's also learning a lot and keeping us all very busy. We are looking forward to Christmas and seeing our family and friends!

Will had a big weekend last weekend - going to Kelli's for dinner and Katherine's house for our annual Girl's Christmas Party.

Chillin' on the couch with Aunt Emily and Aunt Kelli after dinner at Kel and Jimbo's house.

Admiring Aunt D at the girl's holiday party. Will had so much fun hanging with mommy's friends!

Telling Aunt Heather all about the ceiling fan!

Things Will has been doing over the past couple weeks:

Smiling! He is smiling at people and he really likes to smile at the ceiling fan! He's even cooing some.
Chilling on the couch modeling his paci and "stud muffin" shirt Grandma Halpin gave him!
Sucking on his hand. He found his hand the other day and keeps putting it in his mouth.

Chillin' in the boppy on mom and dad's bed before bedtime.

Relaxing on the changing table after a long trip to the mall.

Busting out of the swaddle! Just call him Houdini.

And his favorite place...napping on Dad's chest on the couch. Chris likes this as well, if you couldn't tell! If you look closely, the burp cloth says Texas A&M Class of 2030. Thanks Joy for the cute burp cloth. We are doing our best to brain wash him now and this definitely helps!

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas! Only 4 shopping days left! Of course, Chris and I got the best present we could have ever asked for this year and it came a little early! We love sharing Will with you all and hope you are enjoying him as well. This will definitely be a Merry Merry one for the Halping family.

God bless,

Chris, Courtney, and Will

Will meets Santa!

Will met Santa for the first time on Friday. He was very happy to see him and they had a nice little talk. If I had to guess, Will asked for an unlimited supply of milk for Christmas this year and asked if Santa could get mom to stop using that blue aspirator so much.

As you can tell, Will and Santa had a good laugh. Probably laughing at mom and dad trying to get him to look at the camera.

Then Will had enough and decided that Santa's arm was very very comfy and it was time for a nap! Thanks Santa for a wonderful first visit! We could not have asked for more!

Will is Six Weeks Old

It is so hard to believe that the little man has been here six weeks. We can't remember life without him, although we do recall what actual sleep was like before. But we know we'll be able to sleep longer soon - although probably not as soundly for the next 18 years.

We went to the doctor last week and Will weighs 8lbs 2 ounces. He is growing quickly and the doctors are very happy with his progress. They actually seem to be amazed at how fast he is gaining - so he may be a bit of a piglet. But that is okay - we want to fatten him up!

I've been a little delinquent on updating pictures, so I am including pictures from week 3 thru week 6.

Will at 3 weeks

Sitting on the couch watching TV
Napping after he busted out of the swaddle. He loves those arms up!


Abby and Murray - had to give them some love. They are being very good dogs, although I think they are missing all the attention.

Will and Uncle Josh. Will can't wait for Josh to teach him to play golf!

Will and Aunt Carrie. Look at him checking her out!

Will at 4 weeks! Thanks for the cute outfit Kristin.

Will at One month old! He looks like he's tired of these hippo picks. I promised to only do them once a month from now on!

Will napping during Thanksgiving Dinner. Proof that this is what turkey does to all!

Will with Grandma and Grandpa Jones on Thanksgiving day.

Our family on Thanksgiving

Dad and Will preparing for the t.u. game. Chris had to give him the history on the t.u. rivalry. I think Will brought the Aggies good luck this year!

I call this proof that I am here also! I always seems to be behind the camera. This was taken after the Aggies beat t.u.!!!!

And one more football pic for the day - Gig'em Aggies!

Grandma and Will by the Christmas tree after a shopping trip to North Park. They talk to each other a lot!

Will and Mom after shopping for several hours! He will likely be a professional shopper since he hangs out with me all the time!

We hope you are enjoying the holiday season so far! We are loving it. Will loves to look at all lights - so the tree is a big hit. As always, more pictures to come!

Happy Hanukkah to all who are celebrating.