Beach Getaway, 2016

There is nothing sweeter than holding a newborn baby and watching them sleep peacefully in your arms. And then there is nothing more exhausting when they are wide awake screaming in the middle of the night.

One year and three months ago, my little Henry was born. Between the lack of sleep, dealing with a cranky toddler big brother and coping with those glorious hormones, I suggested to Jesse that we go on vacation...withOUT children.

Now of course, we realized we would have to wait until Henry was weaned and all, but we got the idea rolling with some friends and everyone was on board quickly. Oh and did I mention, our friends also have young children who don't always like sleep. How could they say no?

So now here we are, over a year later and the vacation was just what the doctor ordered. We traveled to St. Thomas Virgin Islands. And oh it was glorious.

Sit back and enjoy these pictures. I look at them frequently to remind myself how fantastic of a trip it was.

Day 1: Everyone arrives. Touch the ocean in Hull Bay right by the house we were staying in.

Day 2: Spent the afternoon on Water Island. Night snorkel for the guys. 

Watching the boys from our balcony. They saw things like eels, squid and big fish. No thanks!

Day 3: Shopping and then a boat ride over to a "private" island. And by private I mean it's public, but nobody was on it, so private for us. We spent the late afternoon on Hans Lollik island snorkeling, climbing a coconut tree and just relaxing. On the boat ride home we watched the sunset. Perfection.

First priority, buy a floppy hat!

 Hans Lollik Island. The most remote place I've ever been.

 

I never pass up a tree swing : )

They succeeded at getting a coconut and we drank the water out of it. We could totally survive on a deserted island.

Day 4: All day snorkel tour. Out to eat at an amazing restaurant, Thirteen.

Day 5: More shopping, snorkeling/paddle boarding in Hull Bay. Trip to Magens Bay to watch the sunset.

Sunset on Magens Bay

Look out point on our way home.

Final sunset from our balcony.

Day 6: Final day spent watching the waves and surfers from our balcony. We were all sad to leave, but ready to get back to our babies.

A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in. -Robert Orben

Thanks, Robert. That's exactly what we did.

Smile. It's Family Photo Time!

Family photos. This is Jesse's least favorite thing in the world. I know that's a bold statement, but I promise it's true. I, on the other hand, absolutely love taking family photos! The struggle is very real between us.

So I obliged my husband for a whole year, but as soon as my baby turned one, it was time for some (dun dun dun)...family photos.

 Here are a few of my favorite from the shoot.

"Dear in the headlights" was a very popular look for Henry in this photo shoot.

My big boy! 

He looks so much older in this photo. I was so proud of how well Emerson did during most of the photos.

 Happy toes!

I nailed this one!

Love, love, love our brick wall background.

Such a fun photo set-up

This is my favorite! Love how it captures him just playing.

This is my second favorite. So much boy about this picture, it fits him perfectly.

Although the boys did great, it was not without it's tough moments and tears. Emerson was adorable though trying help make Henry smile for the camera. I'm sure we all looked ridiculous. Oh well.

Henry's First Birthday Party

Happy FIRST Birthday, Henry! 

Henry means the world to us and we are so blessed to have him in our lives. And what a year it has been! Being the second child, I knew this first year would fly by and it did so even faster than I could have imagined. 

We had a fun day celebrating our sweet boy with a small party at home with another special family that is close to us, the Hall family. Ms. Traci has been a huge help to me and the kids since day one of Henry's birth and to top it off, they share the same birthday! It was nice to get to celebrate with her and her kids. 

Henry's party theme was construction since that is also his nursery room theme. Here are some party pics:

 

 Smash cake.

Adorable shirt my MIL made.

He loved the cake!

Traci with her family.

Brother of course had to help.

The birthday folks.

After cake picture. I think he liked it.

Henry's 12 Months Old

We made it to the BIG first birthday! A few tears may have been shed by myself, but mostly it was a happy day full of reminiscing over the past year. And oh what a wonderful, challenging year it was.
Henry taught all of us so much, and hopefully we taught him a thing or two :)

I should have put the sticker on his bottom for this photo shoot.

Other than turning one, another big first for the month was Christmas! He met Santa and did NOT like him, understandable. He opened a present from under the tree all by himself and without me knowing, but great job, bud. He enjoyed celebrating Christmas in Oklahoma with tons of cousins. And he certainly enjoyed opening and playing with all his new toys.

This boy would not sit still!

Here is what all happened this month:

Eating: I started weaning Henry from breast milk. He now only gets breast milk three times a day and gets cows milk with his snacks. He took to cows milk like a champ. He is definitely easier at transitioning to new things, unlike his brother.

Activity: I've noticed Emerson and Henry interacting and "talking" more to each other. I love watching their relationship grow. Henry has started to cruise the furniture and stand up independently, but I still feel like we are still a long ways away from walking. He is also now waves and points to things.

Sleeping: Henry has been hit or miss on naps lately. Some days he takes only one, other days two. It's nice to be able to skip that morning nap and be able to get out and about. But he really needs two naps still. On the days he just takes one, he is cranky and most likely over tired and won't nap well. We are just in the glorious phase of nap transitioning.

Serious...

Smirk...

 

Smile.

Doctor Visit Stats:

• Height: 2 ft, 5 in (75%)
• Weight: 21 lbs (47%)
• Other: We switched pediatricians and I could not be happier! Sometimes the hardest part about moving into a new community is not knowing who and where to go for health care. After living here for over a year, I received lots of good advice about who to go to. Our new pediatrician got lots of great reviews and her husband is a family doctor in the same office, so it's a one stop shop, so to speak.

Likes, Dislikes and Other Milestones:

• Hair is still thin, but it seems to be getting darker and curler in the back, so in other words, he has a mullet.
• Finally seem to be gaining weight. Love seeing rolls on those thighs.
• Said his first word, "Dada."
• Loves giving kisses.
• Has mastered walking in a walker when we play outside. 
• Wears a size 4 diaper.
• Wears 12 month clothing.
• Still working on getting his front tooth in, has 5 teeth total.
• Loves reading his Baby Peek-A-Boo book. 
• Likes bath time with brother, but only for a short amount of time. 
• Does not like being taken in and out of the car seat/stroller.
• Does not like green beans.
• Loves blueberries!

Christmas, 2015

Doesn't Christmas feel like forever ago? Really it was only about 15 days ago, but my neighbors stare at my lingering decorations and outside lights as if 6 months has passed. I'll get them down, eventually. Besides, I can't take it all down without having posted on my blog about Christmas, right?

So here it is...

1) We had some pre-Christmas fun: pancakes with Santa and sugar cookie baking. 

I would cry too, Henry. 

 

2) We opened our family presents. Emerson's big gift this year a tricycle. He loves it! He can't quite reach the pedals (oops), but likes to push off the ground with his feet.

3) We then traveled to Oklahoma to celebrate with my family.

Cousins, cousins everywhere! 

Matching jammie boys.

Cousin picture. The only two not cooperating are mine, of course.

 Merry first Christmas, Henry!

4) We took a cold trip to the mountains on Christmas day. We drove up Mount Scott, fed prairie dogs and then ate Chinese food. You know, like a normal family.

5) Then of course a trip to my family would not be complete without seeing a pet hedgehog (not pictured) and some chickens.

Emerson could not contain his excitement, but was still too afraid to actually touch one.

Henry had no fear : )

 

6) And lastly, we got to make a bonus stop in Dallas to see several of Jesse's family. 

Now that that's done, I can take down my Christmas decorations and focus on my sweet baby turning ONE! Stay tuned for that...