Henry: 6 Months

Today is Henry's half birthday, although Brett says we don't celebrate half birthdays (for mommy at least).  This past month has been busy for Henry.  He was dedicated at our church.  Brett and I committed to raising Henry to know God's love and the precious gift He gave us in Jesus.  It is our prayer that Henry comes to know Jesus as his Savior at an early age.

Henry has started to sit by himself pretty well the past week.  He still leans a little to one side, but he is getting much better.  If something is out of his reach, he is starting to put his legs under him to try to get to it.  It ends up that he does a small face plant into carpet like a seesaw.  He's one tough kid and doesn't seem to mind.  He continues to roll across the floor and loves to lay or sit next to Piper.  Piper has been our saving grace when Henry is fussy.  He looks at her and just starts to smile or laugh. 

We started some solids this month.  His favorite has been rice cereal, followed by sweet potatoes and carrots.  He doesn't seem to like fruit yet.  He has tried pears, apples, and bananas.  Henry is teething like crazy.  I think his teeth are getting closer to the surface, but still no breaking through.

Henry has his 6 month appointment in 1.5 weeks so I will update on his weight and height when that happens.  In the meantime, enjoy some pictures from Henry's sixth month!

This is what month pictures looks like with a 6 month old

This picture is hilarious to me. Henry kept on eyeing Chris while he ate these chips. And of course, Chris teased him.

Henry's Sports-Themed Baby Shower

On March 28th, my best friends and sisters-in-love threw me a wonderful shower.  I had mentioned that a sports-themed shower would be really neat and had pinned a couple of things on Pinterest to give them an idea.  Wow. They did not disappoint. Below are some of the amazing details.

Megan made this cute little banner. I love the colors.

Kelci had this sweet and creative cookie cake made.

I think Maggie made this banner for by the food.

Jessica and Meesh made diaper cakes! So fun.

Gail knows how much I love cupcakes from Ocean Isle, so she brought them as favors.

Because Brett's parents live pretty far from us and I would be doing the driving by myself with spring practice in gear (hello being a coach's wife), we decided to do one joint shower with my friends and family, my parents' friends, and Brett's parents' friends.  Needless to say, a ton of people were invited.  We ended up with around 25, which was a great number.  

The thing I loved most about this shower was that most of my extended family came!  We had family flying or driving from Connecticut, Boston, D.C., South Carolina, Alabama, and Florida.  It made me feel so loved that they would take the time out of their busy schedule to shower Henry and me with gifts, fellowship, and love.  Here are some pictures from before the shower.

Piper has learned what an Oba massage is from watching Sierra

Daniella and Mimi reading Goodnight Moon.

Uncle Rich and Aunt Nan seeing me with a belly for the first time. Love the reactions.

Our family patriarch. Oh, how I love him so.

Oba, because of her dementia, forgot Chris was coming. Her reaction was priceless.

The "kids" table. Just missing Brett, Kyle, Sam, Adrian, and Cassy.

My baby girl and my men, minus Brett.

Most of my family came in before lunch so I was able to hang out with them before the shower.  After lunch, most of the guys went to take naps since a lot of them had to get up early to make it by lunch time, while the women attended the shower.  The shower was so much fun!  Laura had planned a game where people filled out if Brett or I would want Henry to have an attribute from Brett or me.  For example, who did we want Henry to get his personality from?  Daddy. How about teeth?  Mommy.  Brett and I had filled out the answer key together.  There were some things where we said, "Oh definitely not Daddy" or "Definitely not Mommy."  We had a lot of laughs and fun thinking about what our little guy is going to look and be like.

There was also a there was a present with multiple layers of wrapping.  Each layer had a phrase from a poem that described a person in the room, like who has on clothing with the most buttons.  The person that matched the description would tear off one layer of wrapping, read the next line, and pass the gift to the person it matched.  At the end, the gift came back to me.  Inside was an NFL football that became the guest book!  I loved it.  The football, with names that would mean so much to Henry throughout his life, is sitting on his dresser in his nursery.  I'll treasure it forever. 

Guests also filled out little silver stars where they wrote wishes for me.  I've been a little anxious recently so reading them has given me a lot of encouragement.  They also wrote funny things on some diapers for some comic relief for me during those middle-of-the-night changings.  I haven't looked at those yet, as I want them to be a surprise.

Then came the gifts, which were more than I ever dreamed.  There were some really practical gifts, and also some really creative and heartfelt gifts.  After the gifts, we got some group pictures.

Me with the hostesses: Henry's aunts and honorary aunts (my besties)

Hickman women (and two little Hickman fellas too)

Fantastic four

Girl cousins!

The cousins that made the trek to Mom and Dad's

Silly picture

Grandchildren with Mimi and Pappaw

Henry and his great grandmothers. Such a special moment to treasure in my heart.

Laura and Weston. Me and Henry.

Henry with his Grammy (my mom) and Nana (Brett's mom).

My family stayed until the next morning, since we don't get to see each other much.  We just enjoyed each other's company and ate more food.  Isn't that what happens when all families get together?  One cute moment was when Mimi and Pappaw gave Daniella an Easter dress.  Daniella loved it!  She kept twirling around.  Growing up, Mimi always bought me a birthday dress for my birthday pictures. She still had great taste in little girl clothes. 

My bro

Daniella modeling her new dress

Excuse the tired looks. This was early in the morning.

Henry's first Easter basket (and some candy for Brett and me)

Thank you Megan, Meesh, Jessica, Laura, Maggie, and Kelci for hosting an amazing shower, and to my family and friends who made the weekend unforgettable.  I love y'all!

Southern Comfort, Baby Birthday, and a Dog Whisperer

Two weekends ago, Brett and I headed over to OIB to go to Laney's first birthday party.  I can't believe she is one.  Anyway, I made my way to the beautiful little Southern town of Southport to get coffee with Megan and Whitney at Moore Street Market before Laney's party.  I cannot tell you how refreshing it is to be around these two women.  Although I had to wake up early on my first morning without Piper, it was well worth it.  I love their spirits and hearts, and cherish time with them.

After coffee, I headed over to New Beginnings to Laney's party.  Although it was a little windy, the sun was out, warming the chill that had been on my body from this extended winter weather we're having. Laura and Will did such a great job with everything.  They had a ton of snacks and pizza, a bouncy house and ball pit, cupcakes for the guests, and a lot of balloons and Laney decorations. 

We ate lunch, then went inside to watch Laney eat her cake and open presents.  Laney seemed a little unsure about te cake at first, but ended up loving it. The biggest smile she had was when she shoved a piece in Will and Laura's mouth. Adorable.  I think it is an understatement to say that that child is loved.  Laney was able to last through about half of her presents before she started to check out and get tired.  Girl was a warrior though to get through even half of her presents!

Birthday girl

Cousin and sis-in-love

These two are hilarious together

So sweet.

Hubby

I love how silly he is.

Lillian is stylin' in those shades.

Cousins: Laney and Nora

Laney about ready to dig into her cake.

First bite!

Letting Daddy have a taste.

I think she likes it.

Now Mommy can try it.

My favorite.

Mommy and baby

Laney with our present we got her.  A gift from a coach. Working on that hand-eye coordination. 

One of the great decorations for the party

Uncle Sam and Auntie Maggie's present was a hit.

Uncle B and a tired little Laney

That sweet smile.

Babies' turn in the bouncy house.

Love my niece

After Laney's party, we headed back to the beach house for some ACC basketball tournament and some rest.  Sam mentioned going to Provision Company for dinner.  It ended up being a quadruple date with Brett and me, Sam and Maggie, Yogi and Gail, and Ms. Leslie and Mr. David.  I had such a fun time with them.  Not only was the shrimp burger amazing, the fellowship was great too.

I'm so glad we were able to make it to Laney's party.  The only way that was possible was to have my dad, whom Brett named the "dog whisperer," stay with Piper.  Piper slept through the night for the first time while Dad was here.  He taught her touch and sit.  He also taught her not to bite down too hard.  We wish he could come every week. Piper just loved her granddaddy. Thanks for watching her, Dad!

Piper loves her granddad.  She's even smiling!

Well that's my recap of Laney's first birthday party. So glad we could be a part of that sweet memory.