BIG BROTHER!!

As eluded to in the prior post, Ryan and I have some very special news...WE ARE PREGNANT AGAIN!

We have known all along that we wanted to expand our family, so we decided last month to "not be so careful" and what do you know...this month I'm pregnant!

During our vacation last week in Cape Cod, I got sick one evening but Ryan got sick too, so we passed it off on something we ate or a little bug we caught. However, Ryan's passed immediately, whereas I had occasional waves of nausea which persisted. Something about that feeling just can't be mistaken, morning sickness has a slightly different feeling than nausea you experience when you have a stomach bug. So Ryan and I suspected we may be pregnant and joked about it during the 11 hour drive home. When we got home I looked for the pregnancy test I had left over from the 3 pack bought to test for Hunter's conception...it was 2 months expired, but what the heck! Ten seconds after peeing on it, Ryan went to check and gave me a "you are not going to believe this" look! I thought he was pulling my leg as the test is supposed to take 5 minutes for results, but as he turned it around so I could see, we both marveled at the positive sign! I believe my exact words were "Holy Crap, We're Pregnant!" followed by a lot of laughing. We are still just amazed at how quickly it happened for us, and know how blessed we are to have it so!

Now we are in for a wild ride ahead! Our newest family member is due for arrival on April 30th, thus 21 months younger than Hunter...OH BOY! We think Hunter is going to make an amazing big brother, he already shows some interest in babies and he is so sweet natured, I just can't wait to see them together!

Here are a few pics of Hunter rocking his "Big Brother" gear...I just couldn't resist running out and buying this right away!

Guess who's coming to dinner?

Aunt Joanie from St. Louis was in town for a visit with her sister and we got to meet up with them for a nice dinner together at Mimi and Opa's. It was a visit enjoyed by all and Hunter was in heaven running around entertaining everyone. We had some very special news to share with everyone, so Aunt Joan's visit couldn't have been better timed!

Of course, Ryan and I realized that we enjoyed the visit so much that we forgot to take as many pictures as we would have liked...

Vacation!

Summer Vacation...YEA! Ryan, Hunter, and I just returned from a wonderful trip together. We started in Newport, RI - what a cute little town! We spent two nights in an adorable B&B while we explored. Just loved all the artsy stores and the coastal living. We put Hunter in the backpack and hiked the famous Cliff Walk, which is lined with beautiful mansions. Such a pretty sight! Then, Hunter got a stroller ride around town, as we checked out downtown Newport with all it's shops and restaurants, and incidentally saw the most amazing sunset. We did a ton of walking and it felt wonderful!

Next, we headed further north to Cape Cod, MA to meet up with our good friends Ken, Greeta and their son, Bennet. We stayed in a beautiful home with several nearby beaches and really got down to some serious rest and relaxation. We stuffed ourselves with seafood (Ryan excluded) and ice cream, and went to the beach every day. What a great way to spend a vacation. Bennet and Hunter got along very well and were pretty easy to please! They had a blast playing with toys in the house and in the sand, and just went with the flow. I think they must inherently know that vacations are to be cherished!

A Visit with the Stokelys!

Hunter and I headed to Edgewater today to visit our dear friends the Stokely's and the newest addition to their family, Trisha. What a precious little girl! She was so tiny and sweet!

Of course, Hunter had the best time playing with his buddy AJ who was excited to show him all his favorite toys. It was a wonderful day with old (and new) friends.

Of course I wasn't able to post my FAVORITE picture which was of AJ wearing the hot pink tu-tu I made for his sister. I put it on him and he was spinning around like a beautiful little ballerina! His daddy was so proud! I promised his mommy I wouldn't post the pictures and I've kept that promise...but she didn't say anything about talking about it!

First Haircut

Hunter went to Carroll County to visit his great grandparents this weekend. His Memaw is a retired hairdresser, so we asked if she would give Hunter his very first haircut to make it extra special. Lucky us, she was able to do just that while his Great Aunt Faye held him. He was such a good boy, and it was an added bonus to watch the sisters poke fun at each other during the process.

And this is how Memaw cleaned all the hair off of Hunter afterwards. I'm pretty sure she didn't learn this at beauty school!

Big Fat No-No!

When I went to get Hunter up after his morning nap today, I found this:

Fortunately for you, the pictures do not depict the full nastiness of this scene. Hunter had apparently pooped during his nap, then proceeded to open his diaper and paint his crib with it. Even worse, his cute little fingers were covered in it as though he had been squeezing it through them, and there was a tiny smudge of on his cheek. (Not sure if he actually tasted it or not. There was none around his mouth and don't want to think about it too much.) UGH!! SO DISGUSTING!

Ryan and I did, however, learn a valuable lesson - Hunter will never be put to bed in just a diaper and t-shirt again. He will always get pants now! We are hoping this is the first and last appearance of our little Poo-Poo Picasso!

1 Year Check-up

Hunter had his 12 month check-up at the doctor's office today. He now weighs 23lbs 5ozs (59th percentile) and measures 30.6 inches long (75th percentile).

The doctor gave us the green light to give Hunter all the table food that we ourselves eat, with the exception of those things that may pose a choking hazard, which we were already doing this past month for the most part. The doctor also said we can now give him whole milk instead of formula or breast milk moving forward. So...it is time to start weaning from nursing (in the mornng and evenings), which is going to be bittersweet for Mommy. More big news - Hunter is taking his liquids during the day through a cup, so we are totally done with bottles now (HOORAY)!!

Our doctor also told us some things to look forward to over the next few months; we are looking forward to it!

Here are some of our favorite pics from this last month...Enjoy!

Our Little Cruiser!!

Seems that Hunter was just waiting for his 1st birthday to come and go before he really took off walking. Previously, he would take about 6 steps before losing his balance, now he just goes and goes and goes... Actually seems to prefer walking over crawling already!

Life just got a lot more interesting...

Hunter's First Trip Around the Sun

Soon after Hunter was born we began taking daily pictures of him (minus days we were out of town) to document his first trip around the sun.

It certainly got more and more challenging these last few months as Hunter became more mobile and less willing to lay on his back for a photo, but I'm so glad we stuck with it. It is amazing to see how much he has changed this first year!

Farm Fun Birthday Weekend!

We are now the proud parents of a one year old!!! Can you believe it??

We had a great weekend celebrating this momentous occasion with our little guy! On Saturday, we held his birthday party in our backyard with family, close friends and neighbors. Given that Hunter loves playing with his farm animal toys and (for quite some time now) has demonstrated that a cow says "Moooo," we used farm yard decorations. He especially loved the giant cow and pig balloons!

Hunter seemed to hold up pretty well with all the excitement, though there were times when he seemed a bit in awe of everything happening around him. He LOVED his cake and ice cream, and has really enjoyed playing with all the generous gifts given to him! Taking a page from his parent's book, by the end of his party he was under the table (literally)!

On Sunday, we continued the farm theme, by attending our local Harford County Farm Fair. Hunter got to see (and in some cases touch) cows, pigs, snakes, ducks, chickens, goats, rabbits, and roosters. We especially liked when we asked Hunter "What does the rooster say?" and a rooster nearby cried out "Cock-a-doodle-doo!" The look on Hunter's face was priceless!!

Monday was Hunter's actual birthday and he celebrated with another party at his Day Care, followed by lots of playtime, and another cupcake at dinner with Mom and Dad. We definitely saw the affects of a cupcake sugar rush as Hunter was playing with Jack the Cat in some of the tissue paper left from his gift bags. He didn't seem to know what to do with himself, and wanted to go in 5 different directions at once!

Needless to say, we all had a blast!!

SUGAR RUSH!!!