Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Seriously, he's got to slow down...





Hunter has decided to do all kinds of big things at once, and I've given up trying to stop him. :) While it is so fun seeing him do all these new things, it is a little sad too, because I know he is our last one, and he is growing up so much faster than I like.

Let's see, in the past week Hunter has:
~ turned eight months old (unbelieveable)
~ started saying "MAMA" (I am loving that one) :) I think he is going to be a chatty one~ he's already mastered DADA and BUBBA too. Harrison loves it that he said Bubba first.
~he is now officially pulling up on furniture, and is so very excited about the new world of opportunities that lie before him. I, on the other hand, am a little nervous. :)
~today, he started crawling up on his knees. He hasn't officially given up his usual commando style because he is so very speedy that way, but I know it won't be long...

Here are some pics of our very big boy~ enjoy!

A new life together







This weekend my sister, Reagan, got married to a great guy that we are happy to welcome into our family. The wedding was so beautiful, she looked amazing, and it was so fun to watch them begin this new stage in their life together. The boys are so excited to have a new uncle, and we all think Jon is awesome. Brian performed the ceremony, and did a great job. My job was to keep all three little H's quiet during the event, which thankfully for me only lasted about 10 minutes. :) Because I was so busy keeping everyone quiet, I didn't get any pics of the actual wedding, but I'll share some from the rehearsal and the reception...

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Bubba Teeth

I had to post this picture of Hunter, because it totally cracks us up. Brian did this to my poor baby a couple weeks ago~ these are those dumb fake teeth you get out of a vending machine. It's actually a family joke that started a few years ago with my Uncle Mike~ he wore them to a restaurant while we were on our Bennett Springs trip. It really was one of those "you had to be there" moments...but what made it really funny was that when he started placing his order with the waitress, she didn't even seem to notice. Not too surprising, considering we were in the middle of the Ozarks. :)


But anyway... Hunter really is getting teeth of his own~two have come through on the bottom, two more are coming in on either side of those, and I think maybe one is trying to come through on top. So he does have teeth, and thankfully these aren't them!

Some stuff I made...

I can't believe I'm posting these, but apparently I am. Since my "Papered Blessings" blog hasn't been touched since I orginally started it, I'm thinking I may just post some things here from time to time so you can see what I'm up too. Please feel free to leave your comments, critiques, whatever~ I appreciate the input!



This first one is a scrapbook layout I will be teaching at the store. We've had several requests from customers for friends layouts, and I thought it would be fun. Since I mostly scrapbook the boys at home, it's fun branching out and doing some other things. I think I enjoyed doing a girly-themed one way more than I thought I would! This one is of my friend Tomi~ she and I share a love for scrapbooking, and really all things creative, and dream of one day having our very own store. Maybe someday...that would be so fun. She's been my friend for a very long time (nineteen years actually...wow). She is my "person"~ any of you out there who are Grey's Anatomy fans will understand what that means. I'm thankful for her friendship, her honesty, the way she loves my boys...she's awesome.



This second thing is my attempt at a canvas I saw on this website (http://www.warehouseartchix.typepad.com/) that you have to check out. Sandra and Debra are AMAZING, and have inspired me big time. I can only hope to have an ounce of the talent they have. I love how their blog inspires me to try new things~ and this is my first try.

School Boys






I know I'm late getting these posted~ it seems like ever since school started life has been a complete whirlwind. Harrison started first grade 3 weeks ago, and is loving it. His only real complaint is that there is "way too much paperwork" in first grade, but other than that he is having fun, and thinks he's the king of the school. I'm excited about his teacher, Mrs. Napp. She is so on top of things, really fun with kids, and a graduate of OBU. She graduated the year before I started there, and I graduated with her sister, Blythe. Such a small world...but anyway, his year has gotten off to a great start!


Hudson started preschool last Tuesday, and did great! I was so nervous about him this year, because he did not have a great year last year, and he is my little homebody. He would way prefer to just stay home with me, but I know it's important that he go now that he's three. He handled the first day like a champ, and has been excited to go back each day since. He has two great teachers, one who is a friend of mine, and that makes it so much easier. I know he is being loved and nurtured while he is there. I feel certain that he will have a great year.


Even Hunter is going one day a week for now, but that may change soon. I thought I would be working on Tuesdays, so that is the only reason why he's there. But my schedule at work has not gone the way I thought it would, and because I do so much from home, it really isn't necessary that he be there. So I'm thinking we will be pulling him out, and just using the school on a drop-in basis, which is a great thing to have. I love it that Brian works at the church where they go~ it helps this overprotective freaky mom a lot. :)

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Homesick

I left last Friday afternoon for a scrapbooking retreat that I have been looking forward to for several months now. I went for the first time last year, and LOVED it so much, that I couldn't wait to go back this year. Of course, I never handle being away from my boys very well, but I know that the time away is a good break for me, and it's good for them to get time with Brian, so once I'm gone I'm usually good to go. Not so much this year.
The first day I was fine~ laughing with friends, enjoying the peace, loving that I could totally focus on getting caught up on my scrapbooks, which is seriously like therapy for me. And I admit that it was nice not having the interruptions of, "Hey Mom, could I have a _____?"(fill in the blank with whatever you want, b/c this question gets asked a lot, and the blank is always different), or having to break up an argument, or even to have to stop to change a diaper, or to take Hud to the bathroom. Again.
I slept great that night, with no 2 am tap on my shoulder, no cries from a crib...just quiet. But the next morning, when I should have woken up refreshed and ready for another day, I woke up feeling very lonely, which is a strange feeling when you're sharing a house with around 28 people. I tried to shake it off by reminding myself that I would be home the next day, but it didn't work. At around 3:00 that afternoon, as I was in the middle of scrapbooking Hunter, I'd had enough. I missed my boys. Way too much. So much, that I decided that I had to get home that night. And when I got home that night, everyone was already asleep. I checked in on Harrison and Hudson, tucked them both in and kissed them goodnight. Then when I went in to see Hunter, he woke up and rolled over. I picked him up and I swear he gave me his first real hug. Both of those sweet arms wrapped around my neck, with that little face buried in my chest...totally worth a late-night drive home. I carried him off to bed with me, crawled in next to my sweet hubby, and happily drifted off to sleep.
I learned something this weekend. I learned that all the sleep-deprived nights, the refereeing, the cleaning up after, and any other not-so-fun part of parenting is totally worth all the benefits. There is nothing better than being with my family. I still think it is essential for a mom to get a break every once awhile~ I know it definitely makes me a better mom~ I also know that it makes coming back home to reality even sweeter.