Wednesday, June 20, 2012

It's official...

And no our family is NOT expanding. :) However, God has opened yet another door.  I will be a First grade teacher at Rehobeth Elementary.  I am extremely excited about this new chapter in our lives, but will miss my little man more than words can describe.  It has been an incredible year staying at home with him and it's going to be quiet an adjustment for us all (more me than anybody I'm pretty sure).  However, I can't help but be anxious and excited.  Afterall, God literally gave me this job.  I strongly believe everything happens for a reason so I couldn't fathom turning it down when it was offered to me.  I have subbed out there since August and even given the opportunity to do a maternity leave in first grade this past March-April.  Ever since starting in August, I have loved it.  Everyone is so friendly and has treated me like I had been there for years.  It reminds me so much of my first school I taught at, Chalkville Elementary.  Although, no one can ever replace the people or memories I have from my 5 years there, I have a feeling God is putting me as close to it as He can without being in Birmingham.  :)  Hampton and I went and saw my classroom yesterday and he got to meet a few people including the Principal and Assistant Principal.  I talked to him all about it in the car on the way there and when we left.  I'm almost positive he completely understood.  ;) 

Hampton in my first classroom at Rehobeth! :)

I have the old computer lab classroom, but best news is, it's in the first grade building.  However, I can't start moving in until they have everything moved and floors waxed.  Eeeeek.  Now, if you are a teacher reading this, you understand the stress level my body is feeling about having to wait.  BUT, in the  meantime, I am soaking up every. single. second with my precious baby until I HAVE to start on my room.

It's definitely a bittersweet feeling, but I'm excited to see what the Lord has in store.  All the praise and glory goes to Him.  Thank you, Lord, for your faithfulness and knowing what my family needs not in my time, but in YOUR time.  

Monday, June 18, 2012

Happy Daddy's Day!

First and foremost, Happy Father's Day to my Heavenly Father above and Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful father's out there!  Being a dad is not an easy task and fortunately I was blessed with an amazing daddy and now a husband that is one to our son. Daniel is the most caring, loving, and patient daddy to Hampton.  It makes my heart smile when I think of how wonderful a dad is to Hampton in just one short year of his life so far. 

We started out the day by visiting Wiregrass Church here in Dothan.  We then went to mother and daddy's for some yummy meat and veggies.  We ended the day by spending some quality time with Mama Hughes and gave Daddy his gifts.  At the end of the day, we even had a little "extra" time to rest.  I'm pretty sure it's safe to say my dad and Daniel both had a great Father's day and felt the love that we all have for them.

A look back on Daniel's first year of being a father...

What a memorable moment...the first time he held his son :)
Bring's tears to my eyes...

First (of many!) diaper change... ;)

Feeding his little guy for the first time

Like father, like son...

On his lunch break...July 2011

Visiting Daddy at work...August 2011

ROLL TIDE!!!...September 2011

October 2011

November 2011

December 2011

January 2012

February 2012

March 2012

April 2012

May 2012

Father's Day, June 2011


Father's Day, June 2012

Thank you, Daniel, for the being the best role model Hampton could have for a daddy. Thank you for all your hard work and dedication to us as a family.  I know Hampton already looks up to you and it makes my heart melt watching you two together.  We appreciate your patience, love, and understanding.  And most of all, thank you for setting the most wonderful example of a man after God's own heart.  Words can't express how much love Hampton and I have for you now and always. 

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Curious Hampton's 1st birthday day party!

Since we had a prior engagement, i.e. Lea and Josh's wedding, on Hampton's actual birthDAY, we had no choice but to have his party on the next Saturday, June 9.  Since he is SO darn curious AND he loves George on TV, I found it fitting to have a Curious George themed birthday party for him.  Not to mention the OCD teacher in me that thrives off of  "themes". :)  Of course, since he is only 1 and he doesn't go to daycare, it was more of a friends and family get together, but it was still fun nonetheless and the day went very smooth (minus mother nature not cooperating very well).  We had grilled hot dogs, chips and dip, homeade pork and beans (thanks to my mom), a cute smash cake for the birthday boy, a good 'ole Rolens cake, and a Bounce house/slide blow up.  I wanted to get the bounce house for all the kiddos to have something to do, but obviously  mother nature had other plans. 


However, she did spare us about an hour with no rain.  Just long enough for everyone to get a little outside time in.  Of course, Hughes, had NO problem getting out there.  Rain or shine.  He loved it.  And was soaking wet when he got done. 
Others, like Lucy, opted for the more drier options. :)


Alyssa sure is young to already be chasing cutie pa tooties like Caden!!  ;)

After eating a yummy lunch, it was time for mommy's heart to hurt.  Smash cake time.  Cake all over Hampton time.  Cake in Hampton's hair time.  Haha.  I was a good sport.  Afterall, it does only happen at ONE birthday party (thank you, Jesus!!).



Hughes and Lucy of course helped him get started.  Which they didn't mind at. all.  :)


But, once he got the hang of it...it was ALL OVER from there!!! To say he loved it, would be an understatement!  It was every. where.  Even in his ears everywhere.

To the shower we went when we called it quits...


Next up...cake for the adults. :)  Thanks to Rolen's for exceeding my expectations for his George cake!


Last, but not least, it was time for sweet boy to open his well deserved gifts!  Again, Lucy thought it would be best to help him with this. ;)

All in all, it was a special and fun day with some of my nearest and dearest friends and family that helped Hampton celebrate his day.  Thank you to everyone who came to party with Curious Hampton.  We hope you had just as much fun as we did.  It took 2 days for this momma to recuperate from this one festivity.  Whew.  Now to plan for his 2nd...juuuuust kidding.








 Happy 1st Birthday, Hampton!  You are SO loved by SO many!!!






Wednesday, June 6, 2012

12 months old. 1 YEAR old. 365 days old

Warning:  This post is more of a keepsake for me to look back at in the future and see/remember what Hampton was up to at this point in his life.  It may make anyone reading it besides myself a little bored or possibly even drowsy.  Read at your own risk.  You've been warned. :)

Whichever way you want to look at it, Hampton turned the big 1 on June 2.  My, oh my.  WHERE has my little baby gone?!  It was a bittersweet day to say the least.  We had his 1 year appointment yesterday and Dr. Williams said he could not be any more perfect...developmentally and physically.  Needless to say, I was a proud mommy!  I guess I was so overwhelmed and attentive during his appointment (and mostly probably due to the fact that Hughes was also with us) I was bad and didn't even take a picture of him.  :(
Oh well.  Life goes on.  However, I will share a few of my favorite month old pics, which I won't even begin to whine about how hard they were to capture.  The boy can't sit still, but oh is he happy and SO dang sweet, not to mention, PRECIOUS!!!



This one captures our little fella really well.  He thinks everything is funny. 
Especially everything his daddy does. 

His 1 year stats were:

weight:  21 lbs 6 oz
height:  29 inches
head:  48 1/2 cm

As of now...

he loves to eat!  He will eat ANY baby or table food you put in his mouth.  Haven't found one thing he doesn't like yet!  Not a picky eater and I'm not complaining!  He also loves any kind of drink.  Green tea, sweet tea, chocolate milk, and all sorts of juices are his favorite.  He even loves prune juice.  Yuuck.

he is now on whole milk in a sippy cup.  Thank you, Lord!  No more Dr. Brown bottles and his 16 parts that go along with it.  It was NOT a fun battle, but we didn't give up.  It took a whole week for him to transition and progress to nothing but sippy cup.  I started whole milk and sippy cup all in one so it was a huge adjustment for the little guy, but he did really well.

he doesn't suck a paci OR any fingers.  Again, thank you, Lord! Just one less thing we have to give up. :)

he blows kisses (even though it doesn't really look like it).  For some odd reason, he sticks out his tongue when he puts his hand up to his mouth when you tell him to blow you a kiss

he loves to give high 5 (his Aunt Brooke taught him that at La Bamba one night!) and then he claps EVERY. TIME. afterwards

he will now start a game of peek-a-boo with you instead of vice versa.  It's way cute.
Here he was even playing a game of it with himself.

he is definitely a water baby.  He LOVES being in the pool

he loves to wave to ANYBODY or anything

he goes crazy over balloons anywhere we might see them

he loves to throw the ball with you

he can scroll through pictures on an i phone.  CRAZY doesn't even begin to explain it.  He will also scroll down Facebook when I am on it.

he loves baby apps on my i phone as well.  His favorite is a counting Fisher Price one.

he won't sit long enough to let you read him a book, but he loves to look at them with you and on his own.  Here lately, I have found him in his room by himself just looking thru a book.  It melts. my. heart.

he shakes his head "no" at you.  When you try to teach him the "yes" motion, he shakes his head no and laughs.

he has just started pitching temper tamptrums if he doesn't get his way.  "No, not Hampton?, YES.  Sweet. Innocent. Hampton."  I don't make this stuff up.  He will usually rare his head back and whine or cry.  Depending on the severity of it at the time.  It only usually lasts for about 10 seconds, but still.  He has his daddy's attitude, what can I say?! ha! ;)

he has 7 teeth.  4 on top. 3 on bottom.


he loves to stick out his tongue for some reason these days (and thinks it's funny) and he's so darn cute when he does it, but then again, he's so darn cute when he does ANYTHING!!


he's pretty ADD at this point.  He plays with something about 5 minutes and is then on to the next thing.  He gets that after me I'm pretty sure.

I've noticed lately, he gets frustrated easily.  For example, when a toy is in his way.  He doesn't do anything drastic, just grunts at it real loudly.  It's sort of amusing watching him.

he's not walking yet, but he's oh so close.  He will even be sitting or crouching down on the floor and can stand up by himself.  He's still using the table, chair, couch, anything around him to cruise around while standing, but then he crawls to get elsewhere.  He took 2 steps on his own at Brooke and Jerry's the other night, but that's all for now.  Needless to say, he's got the crawling thing down pat, though.  He's quick these days, as he should be. 



he's got great balance as well.  He loves to stand and wave or clap.  He knows he's doing something "big"!! :)

by the way, he loves his new trike he got for his birthday from us.  There again, he loves anything outside as well.  What kiddo doesn't, right?!


he still is in the bed with us at night, but we are slowly, but surely working on that.  Although, he starts out in his crib, but doesn't last nearly long enough; maybe only even 2 or 3 hours.  He's smart enough to know he gets to come to mommy and daddy's bed after that.  Who wouldn't wake up then?!  BUT, he does take 2 naps, one in morning and one in afternoon, in his crib. That's something to shout about right?!  :)

he now dances for you when you tell him to...eh, or more of a drop it like it's hot sort of move.  Either way, it's hysterical.

I would have to say he is truly your typical 1 year old little boy!  Sweet, lovable, funny, smart, and energetic just to name a few.  Daniel and I are more than blessed to be called his mom and dad.  He has brought more joy to our lives than I thought was possible.  He has opened my eyes to what life is ALL about and I couldn't be MORE proud of him for all of his accomplishments in just one short year of his life.  He makes me laugh, cry happy tears, and smile on a daily basis.  My heart swells with more and more love for this child with each day passing.  It has been one incredible year watching him learn and grow.  I look forward to many, many more!! 

Happy 1 year, Hampton! 
Don't you ever forget, mommy and daddy LOVE you to the moon and back sweet boy!!



Sunday, June 3, 2012

Happy 1st Birthday Hampton!

Well, the day came, just as I knew it would.  June 2 rolled around and our precious itty bitty turned 1!  It was a very bittersweet day for me.  You can't ever tell if a 1 year old is having fun on his birthday for obvious reasons, but I know we had fun celebrating his first full year of life.  We started out with a birthday breakfast at the none other Cracker Barell with the whole fam - Jerry b/c he unfortunately had to work.  We got Hampton his very own birthday pancake and boy did he think he was in heaven!  :)

I'm pretty certain he's very confused with this whole food in front of him thing;
from the smash cake last weekend to the whole pancake that morning.
 Aunt Brooke with the birthday boy!
 All he cared about was the candle at this point


After breakfast we headed back home for him to open his present from us.  It's a 3 in 1 trike that will grow with him.  :)  He loves it!
He's quiet the little pro at ripping the paper these days...

 Being silly...peek-a-boo :)

All ready to go!  Thanks to hard working Daddy who put it together while he was napping :)

This girl (Lea Burnett) decided it would be a good idea to get hitched on Hampton's first birthday so we had to postpone baby boy's birthday party until next weekend.  ;)
Congrats again, Lea and Josh!  Everything was beautiful and we all had a blast!
 

I had to post one with his stalker...



Annnnnd as if he hadn't had enough fun (and sugar!) already, Aunt Brooke and Uncle Jerry wanted him to come spend the night with them and we didn't argue with that offer!!  :)

They also got him a little something to dig into for his birthday

"I DIDN'T DO IT!!!"  hahaha I'm obsessed with this picture!  Too funny!

To hear them tell it, he had a pretty fun time and I'm sure not surprised.  Actually, I'm a little nervous about the future when he can actually talk and want to go to Aunt Brooke and Uncle Jerry's ALL the time. ;)

We all had a great day celebrating his first birthday!  He has filled our lives with so much joy and I can't imagine what life before him was like.  Had to have been pretty boring!!  He makes our family complete and I thank God several times a day for allowing us this huge honor of being his parents.  We will never be worthy of such a blessing. 
Happy FIRST birthday Hampton!  We love you to the moon and back!