Hank at 2 months

 Your chunky thighs are to die for!

My Sweet Hank,

You have had such a great month!  Now that we are out of the true newborn stage, we've really hit a sweet spot.  You are really the best baby - so happy and easy - and I am so proud of you!

You have grown a ton over the last month.  Today, we went in for your two month check-up and you were 13 pounds even, at the 70th percentile, and your length was 23 3/4 inches long at the 80th percentile.  Your head circumference was 75th percentile, so you are right on track in every measurement and we were so proud of you!  You are officially wearing 3-6 month clothes (except pants and shorts are still 3 month size).  You are such a good sleeper - I am incredibly happy with you in this department.  Three times this week you slept 8 hours straight!!  But, even when you wake up around 2 or 3 am, you just eat and go right back to sleep - truly knowing what is day and what is night.  I love you for this!!

 

You are happiest when your dad is playing with you.  It is so funny to see your face light up with the biggest smile ever when Dad tickles you or plays peek-a-boo.  It is easy to see how much you love him, and he is definitely the best at getting you to smile.  He even gets a good chuckle out of you sometimes, and that is the most wonderful sound in the world to us.

 I know you love me too, Hankster.  When someone else is holding you, but you hear my voice in the room, you always turn to look my way.  You are so comforted when I pick you up in the middle of the night to feed you, and it is my biggest joy when you literally hug my neck when I'm holding you. You are really starting to "talk" to me in response when I am talking to you, and I just love it!

Your favorite place to be lately is your swing.  One day when I put you in there awake, I left the room and came back to find you laughing at yourself in the mirror.  I don't know what tickled you so much, but ever since then, you are always looking up at that mirror and smiling.  You love the swing awake and you love it asleep.  We are VERY thankful for that swing - mom gets to take showers and get ready on a much more consistent basis now.

 This crooked smile just slays me every time, Hankster.  You have so many funny facial expressions - you make everyone laugh with your judgmental looks.  One day at the grocery store, a lady thought you didn't like her because you were looking at her like she was crazy!  I call it your "Whatchu talkin' 'bout Willis" face.  And that is a reference that you will never even know of in your lifetime, but oh well!

You also still love to lay down on the changing table.  You do most of your laughing in that spot.  Right now, you think it is hilarious when I take off your clothes or diaper to change you.  We just sit and play there all the time because it makes you so happy.

 The things you love right now: Daddy, the swing and the mirror above it, the changing table, being swaddled in the miracle blanket, staring at your best friend the fan, peek-a-boo, and your mobile (and any soft music playing).

The things you don't so much love right now: loud, sudden noises (like Mom's sneezes or Nala barking), the nose sucker, dirty diapers, being hungry (no one does), getting shots (yowzers you can get loud), and when you go awhile without being held.

We are so in LOVE with you, little man.  We pray big things for you every day, but most importantly that you grow up to know Jesus.  Thank you for being the best thing that ever happened to your daddy and me (besides each other).

Love, Mom

5 smiles

It's been a great week in our house!  We switched over to the miracle blanket, per a friend's advice, and haven't slept less than 6 hours straight at night since!  Wednesday night, Hank slept a full 8 hours before waking up.  I feel like a new person from these few nights of better sleep - it's been a fun week!  Here are some other highlights from our week...

1. Hank got his ear molds and tape off for good this week!  No more plastic surgeon visits or sponge baths for this guy.  I was very happy to put this phase behind us - though, I will say it did go by fast. I took this selfie at the doctor's office since Aaron was out of town (I send him lots of pictures when he's gone) and I was super excited.

 

2. Catherine, one of my best friends from high school came in town from California with her little boy Amos.  I got to meet him when he was six weeks old, and she got to meet Hank when he was six weeks old!  These two were so cute together, and I can't believe how much Amos had grown.  We also got to go to JG's with Steph and it was really fun for us all to hang out with our sons.  Plus, I needed a trip to that skinny mirror.  It is truly the best mirror in Dallas.  Ok - that was random, but if you are having an off day, just go check it out.

3. I've been doing a little online shopping lately, trying to stock up a bit for when I go back to work and can't wear stretchy maternity pants.  Boo!  Anyway, there is this great blog Pinterest Told Me To that I have discovered recently.  The writer lives in the DFW area and basically finds outfits she loves on Pinterest and recreates them.  She gives great tips and the heads up on sales.  I have gotten a few of her "must have items" that were on mega sale at Nordstrom this week - her must have shirt by Pleione and this Kut from the Kloth white denim jacket.  Love both - super comfy and great for work!

 

4. Hank had a small sip and see this weekend and it had a cute bow tie "little man" theme.  He looked adorable in this Janie and Jack outfit, and we got a good family picture in!   It was a blast, and I will blog more about the insanely cute details of the party next week.

 

 5. Finally, saving the best for last, FOOTBALL season started!!  This is such an awesome time of year with football beginning and baseball still going on.  Hank looked adorable in his new football hat from Aunt Jordan and Uncle Brian, and was excited to hear me sing "The Eyes of Texas" to him over and over.  Hook em Horns!

Hank at One Month

 Our Golden Boy!

Well, I am going to go ahead and say it.  It's the most cliche thing in the world, but seriously!  Where does the time go?  This month has absolutely flown by, and though we've had some long days (and nights), the weeks are fast and somehow, it all added up to a month very quickly.  Our precious little man is now one month old, and he is growing up before our eyes.  I am going to do our monthly updates in letter style, so hopefully one day, he can read these too.

Sweet Hank,

When we were waiting for you to enter the world just a month ago, your dad and I had no idea the kind of love and joy that we were in for in our lives.  We both feel completely in love with you and already can't imagine our lives without you.  You are such a sweet and good little baby - you rarely fuss unless you are hungry (which is often - you are your mom's child) and you love to sit and stare at whoever is holding and talking to you.

 Sometimes you make a bit of a judgmental face while listening to me, but I understand.

 You love to lay in the sunlight on your changing table and be outside.

You are such a wiggle worm Hankster - you kick and squirm around all the time, and are so strong - always holding your head up on your own!  One day, you actually rolled over!  We were shocked and pretty sure it was a fluke, but you definitely rolled from your front to your back during some tummy time.  You make so much noise in your sleep - squeaks, sighs, grunts, and I hate to say it, but lots of toots (your dad is proud).  You are constantly making noise over there in your pack and play while we sleep, but between you and me, I am so glad because it gives me a peace knowing you are ok. 

Your dad and I have all kinds of little nicknames that we call you, Henry.  You go by Hank the tank, little man, hankopotamus, hanksters, buddy, hankeriffic, Golden Boy, and whatever else just comes out.  Buddy and Hankster are the names I call you the most.  And you really are my little buddy - you are definitely who I spend the most time with these days, and you are my best little friend.  I love taking you to the mall to walk in your stroller since it's so hot outside.

One of my favorite things you do is prop your head up on my chest.

You are on a pretty good little sleep schedule at night - it didn't start out that way, but lately, you've been sleeping from around 7-9 in the evenings, 10-1 or 2 am and 2 or 3-6 am.  We get some pretty good stretches of sleep in there nowadays.  Early on, sometimes you were up each hour, but we figured out that you weren't eating too much and that wasn't letting you stay asleep.  During the day, you eat, sleep, and want to be held at all different times. You like to nap in your swing, but only if you are really sleeping.  Otherwise, you like to sleep on mom or dad during the day and we don't mind too much!  On your one month birthday, we put you to sleep in your crib for the first time.  You were ok, and I only shed a few tears.

You look exactly like your daddy, buddy.  In fact, you don't even have one of my features, but that is just great with me!

We went through a few little medical issues right off the bat.  Nothing too serious, and definitely nothing compared to what some families go through, but I have to admit that your mom fell apart a few times with worry for her newborn.  Being so exhausted didn't help, either.  First, we found out in the hospital that you were born with "flat ears".  Your ears on the top don't curve over naturally and kind of come to a point (purely a cosmetic issue).  It wasn't even something your dad or I noticed in the hospital, but the pediatrician did.  Now, you see a plastic surgeon each week to check on your ear molds that are currently forming your ears into the perfect shape!  This doesn't hurt or bother you at all, and by far the most traumatic part was when mom had to see the hair around your ears getting shaved off.  You were born with the most beautiful blonde hair, and that first haircut was just too much for me.  I know that it grows back,  and I know that it's totally vain and not a big deal, but I didn't like it.

You also had a bout with jaundice early on and had to stay in a little "tanning bed" for 48 hours.  This was something they delivered to our house, so we were SO lucky to not have to take you back to the hospital to get it fixed.  Basically, so far you have been treated by a plastic surgeon and have spent time in a tanning bed - a true Dallas boy through and through. Ha!

You don't cry a ton for a newborn, but when you do, you are quite loud little man.  That's ok though, because usually all it takes to calm you down is for me or dad to pick you up or give you a good meal.  And who doesn't get a little dramatic when they're hungry?

I love this smile more than anything.  You are smiling so much, happy boy!  It is one of your few tricks as a one month old, and I can't get enough.  I know they are not necessarily on purpose, and it's mostly right after you've eaten (again, you are my child), but I love them.


Your stats this month:

Weight: 10 pounds, 6 ounces - 75th percentile!
Length: 22.25 inches - 75th percentile!
Once you gained weight, you really gained little one!

We love you more than anything, Henry boy!

Hank's Newborn Photos

Both of our desktop backgrounds - oh how I love this one.

Our incredible wedding photographer, Carter Rose from F8 Studio, came over last Saturday to take Henry's newborn photos.  We had to book him at the last minute for a few reasons - one, mom didn't get on the ball and figure it out ahead of time, and two, Henry had to get little earmuffs put on his ears at 6 days old and I vainly didn't want them in the pictures (more on that later - totally a minor deal in the grand scheme of things).  Carter doesn't shoot a ton of newborn photos, so we were really grateful that he could come over at the last minute to do these for us.  We think they turned out fantastic and really captured Hank's little personality.  We love Carter!  These are a few of our favorites.  Warning - motherhood has made me the cheesiest and sappiest person alive!

 This is his little personality exactly.  Such a sweet boy!

 Love his little baby toes!

 I hope I never forget what it's like just to hold him and snuggle while he sleeps.  It is my very favorite thing in this whole world.

 Always has his hands by his face.  He was even born that way (which didn't make delivery any easier, Hank - you owe me one)!

 Hank Stevens - our future Rangers second baseman.  Doesn't his name just sound like a baseball player?  This is one of my favorites because he is sitting in my catcher's mitt and is holding one of Aaron's game balls from his childhood.  Plus, I just love his smushed-up face.

 By far, this is the cutest thing I have ever seen.  I realize that I am super biased.

 My sister ordered his elephant hat on Etsy last Thanksgiving - the day our families found out we were pregnant.  I had told everyone that we wanted an elephant theme in the nursery.

 Love this shot of the three of us and his nursery in the background.

 Had to get a Longhorn pic.  Hook em!

 He has such beautiful hair. And amazing arm rolls.

These two guys are my absolute everything.  I just can't get enough of either of them.

Introducing Henry Thomas

We are so proud to announce that our little BOY Henry Thomas "Hank" has made his way into the world.

He was born at 7:03 pm on Sunday, July 14.

He weighed 8 pounds, 11 ounces and was 20 3/4 inches long.

Hank is the absolute love of our lives and even though he is only 11 days old, I already can't even imagine our lives without him.

Our little man brings us so much joy and laughter (and might I say a few tears too).

Thanks to everyone for all of the love and prayers.  We are so blessed and amazed at God's creation and that he would give us this incredible gift.

Poppy's Nursery!

 Mal and Jordan made this cute banner for my baby shower.  I love it on the door!

As we count down the days until Poppy gets here (not that we know how many days that is - let it be today!), we fall more and more in love with our baby's nursery.  It is truly the best room in our house, certainly the one we have spent the most time and energy into decorating.  I love it in there and even though it is finished and organized, I just like to go in and spend time.  All we need is our baby (and the rocking chair which is hopefully coming in soon)!

Here is a little nursery tour.

View from the door.  Light fixture from Pottery Barn kids.

 View from the opposite corner.

 And another corner view.  Plus a view of the amazing closets that Aaron built.  That used to be all one closet, and he made it into a closet with a door on the left and built in's on the right.  Baskets from Target.  Shelves from Container Store.

 Changing table.  I LOVE how our dresser and "changing table" turned out.  They were my old bedroom furniture that Aaron painted white and I got the new knobs at World Market.  We were so happy not to have to buy a bunch of new furniture, since this will all be useful down the road too.  Changing table pad from Pottery Barn kids, lamps from Target.

 Just a little detail that I love - I found this elephant bowl at World Market too.

 Little basket for the changing table - ready to go!

 Swaddle blankets washed and folded - just need a baby to swaddle up!

 Beautiful quilt that Nana (Aaron's sweet mom) made for us!

 Our crib, bedding, and mobile are all from Pottery Barn kids.  LOVE this Taylor bedding.  The white blanket was made by my best friend Sharon...I absolutely love it!  The pictures were purchased from Etsy and we found the frames at IKEA.

 Aaron IKEA-hacked this little side table from two IKEA lack side tables.  It is right next to where the rocking chair is going as soon as it gets here.  Seriously - such an awesome DIY.  Those tables are $7.99 each, so we got a great side table for $16!

 These cute shelves are also from IKEA.  Rocker will be right below these shelves.

 The frames and colorful animal prints - IKEA, of course!

 The rug is one of my favorite parts of the room.  It is also from Pottery Barn kids and matches the bedding, but it was discontinued and sold completely out back in December.  I had been so sad to not get it and was looking at other rugs online, but my mom surprised me and actually got it for me right when she knew I was pregnant!  Love this rug!

Paint color - Shaken Not Stirred from Valspar. It was our perfect shade of gray!

Well there it is!  I can't wait to put a little baby in there one day VERY soon!  11 days until the due date!