And we're off!

Well, we are all about to leave the nest for a bit... Nathan left yesterday to go to Tallahassee for six weeks for his summer masters program... H and I are going to leave soon to go to Cali to visit my parents for a couple of weeks, and Leonard is even leaving! He is going to stay with N's parents while I am gone.

I know that we will all miss each other! Thankfully we have a webcam so we can see each other often as well as talk to each other. I miss having my honey with me, just because I love him, but also because being a parent is much easier if you have another person to help! I am sure that these six weeks will go quickly, and I will truly enjoy being with my parents and letting them really get to know little H!

Happy Father's Day!

Because it takes a special person to work so hard to provide for his family and come home at the end of a long day ready to play
Because it takes a special person to take care of the mama after she's had a long day of diapers and tears on very little sleep
Because it takes a special person to create such a special little person......



Happy Father's Day to Nathan on his first Father's Day. I know that we will not only create but raise some wonderful children who I hope to have their daddy's sense of right and wrong as well as his sense of humor!




Happy Father's day to my Daddy on his first GrandFather's Day- who filled my life with soooo many good things through his hard work and love. I hope that our children will have his sense of strength and honor.



Happy Father's day to Nathan's Daddy, who, we hope will set the example of his unspoken desire to bring joy to others.



Thank you to these wonderful men for all that they do for their children and their wives! I am very thankful for my hubby, my Daddy, and my Dad-in-law! We love y'all!

Sidenote: Last year I gave N a card for Father's Day - saying that he would be a wonderful father in the future, and then the next day we found out that we were expecting H - no surprises this year!

A little bit of morning cuteness

This morning after I came back in the room after getting myself ready for the day I found this cute boy trying to escape from his cradle! I guess he was going to leave his monkey behind...
He had his four month checkup yesterday and weighs in at a healthy 14lbs, 15oz. The doctor was asking me if I was feeding him meat and potatoes.... just regular old Mama's Milk. The four month check-up also means the next round of immunizations..... maybe they won't give him pink bandaids this time!

Nathan leaves in one week for Tallahassee - for his summer masters program. He'll be gone for six weeks, and we will miss him! I'm a little worried about handling a baby by myself for that long, but thankfull I will be in CA with my parents for two of those weeks, and we will get to meet up with N about halfway through the program. It will be interesting next summer when he will be in London for six weeks...

Captured Moments

One of the new things that makes H laugh is coughing. He cracks up if you cough! Especially if you get a coughing fit... he just laughs and laughs. But, he only laughs at coughing once or twice a day - any more than that and I guess it just isn't funny!

Also, just before he gets ready for a nap or bedtime, he usually gets a laughing bug. And then he starts crying and laughing, and then just cries - I guess there is a fine line between happiness and tears! But it is pretty cute when he goes back and forth - like he can't decide if he wants to laugh or cry.

Cuddling with Mama before bedtime.

Snuggling with Daddy during naptime.

Upcoming events: We are about to head west to stay for a couple of weeks with SweetHart and PopHart in CA. I am a little nervous about flying with a baby. I hope that he will be one of those babies who just fly beautifully. My two main worries are nursing on the plane (he still doesn't take a bottle), and the fact that he fights sleep. Any advice?

Nanny's house

I have many memories of my grandmother, Nanny's home. It has always been one of my favorite places. It has a wonderful smell - a smell that would always be on packages that came from her house - the smell of clean laundry, lavender, something cooking and love. Many summer vacations were spent there, and since coming here for school six years ago - every Sunday afternoon has been spent there as well.


At the kitchen table, many meals with family, playing spoons with the cousins, sitting in Gary's or Daddy's seat, Papa eating cereal with a fork, introducing Nathan to Nanny and my parents, "Taco Sunday's," and now playing with H.

I was trying to capture a smile -
but I got this....
is he trying to tell us what he thinks of pictures?

In the backyard, playing, playing, playing, running, the old shed, swinging with Nanny, watching out for wasps, family pictures after Papa's funeral, family pictures after my Junior and Senior recitals....
H is wearing a Feldman Brothers outfit that Nathan's school gave us. I wanted to make sure he got to wear it before he outgrew it, and Nanny's is the perfect place for pictures!
I think Nathan missed the memo about wearing blue and white today....

Milestones

We have been busy! He is still probably a little too small, but has seemed bored with some of his other toys, so I put H in the 'jumperoo' and he really enjoys it! Kicks his feet, bounces on his toes, chews on his hand, and is pleasantly occupied!



He outgrew his other swaddler and the velcro was wearing out, so, I decided to make him one! here he is trying it out. It was surprisingly easy to make, and I think is cuter than the ones we bought. One thing I have found about being a stay at home mom is that there is some extra time that needs to be filled. There is only so much time that I can spend sitting and watching him - even though he is very cute - and only so much that I can clean the house, etc, while he is napping. So, after the daily household upkeep is done, I have enjoyed doing some projects: swaddler, bibs, bumblebee dolls, monkey toy, felt food, baby shoes, boppy cover, etc.... We end up using the things I've made, it is less expensive than buying said items, it fills my time, and I enjoy it! So, the sewing machine and fabric all over the floor is becoming a norm around here. At least H is too young to mind if I've overtaken his room with crafting!



He enjoys his 'modified' tummy time much more than regular tummy time. I prop him up on the boppy (the cover I made is in this picture) set out some toys, and he will play for a little while! Is this baby cute, or what!!!!



And... he turned over today! I guess not totally over, but he turned on his side! The first time I think it was in pursuit of the pacifier that fell out of his mouth, but the other six or so times he had the pacifier in his mouth, so, he has reached another milestone! Go H! In this picture is how he looks when he tries to give a kiss! Mouth wide open! Nice and wet kisses too!