Vacation

Hawkins and I put our entire house in the car and headed to Americus last Thursday, spent the night, put Honey in the car and drove the rest of the way to Cashiers, NC. My parents bought a house here recently and we are excited to have a cool place to spend a couple of weeks this summer! Thomasville stays at about 100 degrees this time of year and I just can't take it.

We stopped in Atlanta at my sisters' and had a good break for Hawkins to crawl around. It is a LONG trip though, and we had ALOT of junk for our extended vacation. (Side note: Robbie insists I can't call this a vacation since my life is a vacation, but whatever.) It literally took us the entire weekend to unpack and get settled, but it was worth it. Big Daddy came later that same day and we have enjoyed spending time at our new mountain house.

Hawkins loves being with his Honey and Big Daddy. They live up to the grandparent rule and spoil him rotten. He loves his Big Daddy SO MUCH. This, of course, makes me happy, but you will never know how happy it makes my Dad. He giggles with delight when Hawkins cries for him and won't go to anyone but him. It's pretty funny actually.

At some point we (my Mom and I) decided that we would use this time to get in shape. (I need to mention here that my Mom is already in shape, so that means I need to get in shape!). I purchased a workout DVD that a friend told me about and vowed to eat right and get skinny!

Here is a glimpse into my "vacation":

6AM - Hawkins starts talking in his crib

Listen to him talk to himself and pray he falls back asleep

6:45 or 7AM - Get Hawkins out of crib, change diaper and warm bottle

Give bottle to H while facetiming with Robbie

(p.s. facetime is awesome if you are apple users)

Begin the days activities of chasing H around, entertaining him, changing his diaper ~75 times, playing with toys, getting things out of his mouth, etc

Drink coffee while preforming these activities

8:30AM Feed myself and H breakfast

(This sounds simple, but really takes 15 minutes just to prepare this picky child's food)

Pick up 3/4 of the food I fed him off the floor and feed him puffs just to fill him up

Pick up his sippy cup 23 times off the floor after he throws it

Proceed with chasing and playing to wear him out so he will take a nap

9:30AM nap....finally

Clean up toys, throw away diapers, load dishwasher, and clean kitchen

Finally have a few minutes to myself to go to the bathroom and maybe even brush my teeth

Use this alone time to do my new workout DVD!!

11AM H wakes up, change diaper and get him dressed

Give bottle and play for a few minutes

Put H in stroller and go for a walk with lots and lots of hills

Stretch out my tired and sore muscles

12:30PM Feed myself and H lunch

Mimic airplanes and trains to try to get him to eat a few bites of food

Give up and give him trays full of goldfish and yogurt melts and puffs

Pick up his sippy cup 32 times off the floor when he throws it

Proceed with chasing and playing to wear him out so he will take a nap

2:15 or 2:30PM afternoon nap

This lasts 40 minutes to an hour

I use this time to shower and get dressed

~3:15PM H wakes up

Give bottle and finally make an attempt to leave the house and explore this new mountain town

5:30PM Feed Hawkins supper

Repeat sippy cup and puff routine

Play play play, chase chase chase

7:30PM Bedtime for Hawkins!

Anyway...you get the picture. Life with a 11 month old is hectic! He does not stop moving - EVER.

We are having fun on our vacation!

Playdate with Miller Anne

Hawkins and I stopped by Americus on the way to the mountains last Thursday and got to have a playdate with Miller Anne!

MA was cutting some new teeth so she was not feeling well, but they had fun anyway! They watched Hawkins' farm video and played on his table. That table is popular!

Miller Anne is 3 months older than Hawkins and they have been boyfriend/girlfriend for awhile now. They love to get together in Americus and play. Becky and I could not believe their first playdate we had to lay them on mats b/c they were little babies and now they are all over the place.

They will be t-r-o-u-b-l-e when they get older!

First foods

Hawkins is almost 11 months old and we have been experimenting with "real" food for a few weeks now. He is very resistant to any chunky foods, so this has been tough! We have been practicing his pincer grasp (how he grabs food with his thumb and forefinger), and it was crazy how one day he couldn't do it and the next day he could! He is a pro now at picking up puffs, yogurt melts and goldfish and putting them in his mouth. Those 3 things are about the only things he will eat! I thought surely he would use this new trick to put other foods in his mouth too - no such luck!

I have received advice from several friends and online resources and everyone says "Oh, my child will eat anything! Just cut up food you are eating and give it to them." Yeah right, Hawkins will pick out the grapes or other food and throw them promptly on the floor while saving the puffs to eat. It is funny and frustrating at the same time. I can tell he wants to eat big boy food, but he doesn't like the texture!

Here are foods we have tried (in no particular order): the 3 above mentioned favorites, grapes, pasta, cinnamon toast, carrots, mashed potatoes, green beans, bananas. He will eat the potatoes and carrots with some applesauce mixed in, but he is not a huge fan. He won't even think about putting the green beans or grapes in his mouth. If I sneak one in, he makes the funniest face and spits it back out - and sometimes gags and throws up - nice. I just got mac and cheese to try, so we will see if he likes that.

He has toast every morning for breakfast and has gotten really good with it. I give him a half a piece and he can hold it and take little bites. Most days he throws more on the floor than he puts in his mouth though.

He still loves purees the best and could live exclusively in puffs, goldfish and yogurt melts alone. I worry that he is not going to get enough nutrition when we stops drinking formula.

I know this is a slow process and I have to keep giving him the food over and over until he gets used to them. Any advice for me???

iphoto

My blogger is messed up! I recently switched from a PC to a Mac and have enjoyed using iphoto until recently.

When I go to upload a picture from iphoto to a blog post my last few uploads are not there - only old photos! I tried using another uploading website like shutterfly and the pictures are there, so I know the problem is just with Blogger.

Any advice on how to fix this??

Hawkins' first haircut!

Robbie and I took Hawkins for his first haircut! We have given him a couple of little trims at home, but it was time for a professional to take off a little more. We took him to Julie who cuts Robbie's hair. She works your typical small town beauty parlor with 3 ladies who work there and lots of old ladies getting their hair done. It was the highlight of their week to get such a cute little customer!

The before picture

Where are we, Daddy?

He was so good it was unbelievable. I had snacks, sippy cups and lots of distractions, but we didn't need a single one...just his Daddy! He sat in Robbie's lap while Julie cut away. He was a little timid, but didn't cry at all. I was really surprised.

She didn't take off too much - just enough that he doesn't have a mullet! I know this sounds vain, but when I was pregnant I prayed and prayed that my son would have precious blonde hair. I had the prettiest curly blonde hair as a child, but my husband has dark dark hair and I just knew our children would have that dark hair. The Lord answered my prayers and gave Hawkins the cutest blonde hair! It is getting so thick (like his Mommy's)! I love it.

He warmed up and started waving and flirting to all the ladies!

All done!

After!

Thank you, Miss Julie!

Robbie's 30th Birthday!

I am way behind in recapping my husband's 30th birthday! This summer is just flying by way too fast.

First, I must explain that Robbie hates his own birthday. He wants no recognition or celebration of any kind. I am (by the way) the complete opposite. I countdown months, days and hours until my birthday and expect it to be celebrated for the entire month of April :) Just kidding...kind of.

Well, I would NOT let his big 30th birthday slip by without a party. I thought and debated on what I should do - big party, small party, cookout, go to a restaurant...? I finally decided in a very small get together at our home - with bbq. This would satisfy me and also make Robbie happy that it was not a big "to do".

Days before his birthday Robbie informed me that he would be traveling to NYC the night before - even better! I made my parents come that Thursday and we got to work on the party. I made personalized cupcake toppers and my Mom made a carrot cake - Robbie's favorite! We got our house all clean and my Dad worked in the yard all day

The highlight of the night was his gift from me - an Ipad! We are behind the times with technology, so I broke down and bought this for him with my hard earned money :) Hopefully we can figure out how to work it!

Crisp and Katie came from Albany and some good friends, Gordon and Dea came to celebrate - it was a small crowd, but fun! Robbie arrived home a little early, but that's ok. He got to spend some time with Hawkins and open a few presents before guests arrived. It was a fun but low key night - perfect for the birthday boy!

(Hawkins is LOVING my Dad these days. He only wants to be held by him and cries when he leaves the room. It is hilarious and of course my Dad it eating it up.)

Daddy and Hawkins

Our family

Singing Happy Birthday to the birthday boys

My Dad's birthday is the day before, so we had TWO cakes to celebrate!

The birthday boy!

Honey and Hawkins

Apple

Well, the Raybons have finally arrived in the 21st century. We are now Apple users! I got Robbie an Ipad for his birthday and then we got a Mac book b/c our laptop was on the brink of dying.

The Ipad is awesome and it is pretty easy to use, but I can't quite figure out the Mac book. I have saved some websites (blogs) as bookmarks, but I can't find a list of the bookmarks anywhere...? Where are they?

It is a new experience and we have alot to learn. First, we have to move over all our files and pictures from our PC to the new Mac. I am not looking forward to that. I do not even know where to begin!

I am excited about all the cool stuff on this Mac though. It has an awesome photo editing software that I can't wait to use. If I can only figure out how.

I am open to any suggestions or tips to all the experienced Apple users out there!

Bryan

I got my Atlanta fix for a while!

Our little family just returned from a 4 day trip to Atlanta to visit Robbie's brother, Bryan. Bryan has been battling Mantle Cell Lymphoma since January and started his 6th and most difficult round of chemo yesterday.

We dropped Hawkins off at my parents on Sunday and headed up to spend some time with Bryan without having to think about bottles, diapers or naps. It was great to be able to go out to dinner and shop around and be able to solely focus on Bryan and hear about the process he has been going through. It has been hard for us to be up there face-to-face since we are 4 hours away and have a baby and Robbie only gets 5 days vacation TOTAL in one year.

We joined Bryan at a friends' house Sunday for dinner and had a nice relaxing home cooked meal. It was nice to meet 2 of his friends and drink some wine! Monday we accompanied Bryan to Emory hospital to get an infusion. He had a cold last week and this infusion is to help boost his immune system. The bad part is that is takes several hours, so he was glad to have some company :) Only one of us could actually sit back there with him, so I took the first shift and Robbie took the second.

I was able to leave and run some errands that afternoon and cannot describe the freedom I felt to be in Atlanta able to go anywhere I wanted. I left that parking garage almost confused that I could go eat lunch by myself anywhere and then do anything I wanted! I don't mean to make this about me since the trip was about Bryan, but it was seriously a vacation for this SAHM. Everyone knows I love my precious little boy, but you forget what it is like to not be on a schedule and not be tied to a diaper bag and car seat. I ate lunch at Jason's Deli (one of my fav's) and then did some shopping at Toys R Us, Ulta, and of course Tory Burch. It was glorious.

After I hit those stores it was time to meet the boys back at Bryan's apartment. We left Bryan to rest and went back to the place we were staying to rest ourselves. We stayed with friends, Mary Catherine and Blake in their new fabulous house off Howell Mill. It was the perfect location near Bryan's apartment and they made it so comfortable for us.

The day got even better when everyone went to eat Mexican together! (We don't have a good mexican restaurant in T'ville, so I was craving it) Sarah and my sister also met us, so it was a fun crowd.

This is where things got complicated. We were supposed to head home early Tuesday morning, but our two day trip turned into four days when Rick (their Dad) could not come from Charleston to be with Bryan. He was planning to drive down on Tuesday to help get Bryan in the hospital for his chemo. Well, on Monday his Dad (Robbie's Grandpa, who is 93) went into the ER with phenomena (in Charleston). Wow, what a mess! It was God's perfect timing that we were with Bryan and able to stay to get him checked into the hospital and started on the chemo.

This round is particularly scary because it is a new regimen. Bryan had a pet scan 2 weeks ago that showed his doctor that the previous 5 rounds of chemo had not worked as well as expected - a complete disappointment to everyone. Now he has to do this new "intense" form of chemo to try to beat this cancer! We wanted to be there for the first part to make sure there were no serious side effects.

Bryan was checked in Tuesday afternoon (I won't even go into how incredibly inefficient that process was. Let's just say we spent the entire day waiting around.) He finally started receiving a preliminary drug around 7pm and we headed home around 8pm to get some rest. We packed up this morning and went straight to the hospital at 8am. They were administering the most intense drug at that time and Robbie wanted to be sure to be there in case anything went wrong. Bryan did great and didn't have any sort of reaction at all!

After we were sure he was doing well on the new chemo and ok to be by himself we started to head home. It was horrible to leave him there in the hospital alone, but Robbie had to get back to work and we both had to get home to our baby!

This was the longest I have EVER been away from Hawkins and it was killing me. I knew he was in great hands with my parents, but by day 4 I was going crazy to see him. I called my Mom approximately 42 times a day to check on them almost drove her crazy. She assured me that they were doing great and he was just perfect. He slept all night every night and took pretty good naps for his Honey. He didn't even miss us!

I can barely even describe what happened when we arrived to pick him up. He was asleep, so we had to wait on him to wake up. As soon as I heard him move around I ran in there to get him. Well...I should have remembered that he needs a few minutes to wake up, but we all ran in there and it scared him half to death. He was still half asleep and started crying! He only wanted my Mom and would not even go to me or Robbie...for like 10 minutes! He laid his head on her shoulder and looked like he didn't know who we were. It was horrible and almost brought me to tears. I know he was just confused, but it hurt! He was back to normal very quickly and then so glad to be back home when we arrived.

We really enjoyed spending time with Bryan and getting to visit with some friends in Atlanta. As always - it is so nice to be home again!

Please keep Bryan in your prayers as we battles this horrible cancer.

Make-up!

I don't want this blog to totally be about babies, so let's talk make-up. Mama's gotta look pretty, right?

How is it that I am 29 years old and just got my first Bare Minerals make-up? I have heard about it before, but I have always been a strict Bobbi Brown girl. I do still love my Bobbi Brown, but a woman's skin changes after having a baby and I have had to make some alterations in the make-up department.

Let's start at the beginning. I have near worn foundation, but I have really uneven skin with red splotches, so I have to wear some type of tinted moisturizer to even it out. I used to even use all the Bobbi Brown facial moisturizers, creams, and serums too, but after marriage and baby I could not stomach paying $60 for a container of face cream. I get some free samples from my sister (who works at a dermatologist office) for this awesome night cream, and I have recently started using mostly Aveeno products for other daily creams.

I put on this in the morning:






And this for tinted moisturizer:

BUT my face has been super greasy lately (especially in this 100 degree heat), so I needed something different.

Well, I spent the weekend with a good friend of mine over Memorial Day and we "got ready" together one night like back in college - it was so much fun. Well, I saw her using this powder and inquired what it was. Welcome to my life, Bare Minerals. I tested the powder foundation and loved it. I used it again the next night and then had to order my own.

After some education on the products I ordered the "Starter Kit" (in light) and patiently waited for it to arrive on my doorstep. It came with 2 powder foundations (light and medium), the mineral veil, warmth (bronzer) and some other cream that you are supposed to use after moisturizer - and the brushes that you need to apply it all.

I am only on my second day of using it, but I am already a huge fan. It is just what I needed to get some coverage, but in a dryer powder form. My face was not greasy at all yesterday! I especially love the mineral veil. You put it on last and it kind of "sets" the makeup and give you an airbrushed look. Love love love it.

Give it a try!

Ten months!

I am way behind on my 10 month post for Hawkins, and I think it's because I am in denial that he is really that old - seriously? I cannot believe that I am planning his 1st birthday party (which is going to be REALLY cute by the way). The saying is really true "The days are long, but the years are short".

Here is what Hawkins is doing at 10 months:

-Saying Mama - alot! He only said Dada for the longest time and can finally say mamamama. I am not sure, but I think he knows I am Mama too.

-We play the game "How big is Hawkins? SO BIG!" He can imitate me and put his hands in the air - so smart!

-He can give high and low "fives". He loves this and laughs when he does it.

-He will copy you when you shake your head back and forth.

-He loves to wave bye-bye. He knows when Daddy leaves in the morning or at lunch that it is time to wave bye-bye. He gets so excited and bounces on my hip while waving and screaming. He has even started waving at night when I leave his room while Robbie gives him his night time bottle (without saying bye-bye).

-He said "Bye" one time, but he has not said it again yet.

-Clapping

-Pulling up on anything and everything

-Cruising! I am afraid walking is only days away...

-He can stand by himself for 5 seconds or so before he falls down.

-We got him 2 walking toys and he loves pushing them around.


-We do not have stairs at our house, but when we visit a house with stairs he can climb to the top by himself!

-He is so curious. He wants to open every cabinet door in the house along with pantry and refrigerator doors too!

-We do not have a playroom, so his toys are everywhere. I bought some cute baskets at Target that makes the mess more manageable, but we really need a playroom! Toys have taken over.

-I have really been working with him eating "real" food. He has a very strong gag reflex and does not like the texture of chunky food. We have started slow with toast (which he loves), bananas, pasta, puffs, etc. I am being patient and continuing to give them to him even though he just throws them on the floor. Beau and Lady quickly discovered they love with Hawkins is in his highchair b/c they are going to get some food!

-He still does well if we eat lunch out. He will sit in the high chair and I always have toys and his lunch to feed him to keep him occupied. I know these days of eat lunch out are about to end...

-He is wearing some 12 month clothes and some bigger 9 month clothes.

-In between size 3 and size 4 diapers. We use 4's for naps and nighttime.

-His 2 top front teeth are starting to come in!

-May has been a very sick month. Poor baby was sick with colds and ear infections almost the whole time.

-He sleeps from 7:30pm-6:45 or 7am. He usually takes his bottle and goes right to sleep, but since he has been sick he wants to rocked and rocked and rocked before he is ready to settle down. We have spoiled him.

-He sleeps on his tummy with his hands under him and his booty up in the air - it is so cute!

-2 naps a day - typically 9:30-11am and 2pm-3:30pm. He has gotten ALOT better with naps, but still has bad days occasionally. I hear about all these babies taking TWO 2 hour naps a day - why can't Hawkins do that???

-We have the best naptime routine. I give him a couple of ounces of formula while his Baby Mozart music is playing, then we read a story. Then He turns around and puts his sweet head on my shoulder and I rock him for a minute or two to settle him down. I put him in his crib awake and he falls right to sleep - usually. So sweet!

-Oh yeah - he naps in his PJs. I don't know how this got started (especially with the afternoon nap), but he refuses to sleep in his clothes. I will try to break this habit once he is only taking one nap a day.

-We took a LONG trip to the mountains this month and Hawkins has hated his car seat every since - understandably. I have to bribe him with a toy every time I put him in it! Hopefully that will wear off soon.

I have to admit I am REALLY nervous about all the changes that are supposed to take place at one year old. Warm formula bottles to cold milk sippy cups....those are big changes!!!!!!!!! And 2 naps to one nap a day? That scares me because I love my time in the morning to shower or get things done.

Any suggestions on how to wean from the bottle?

Hawkins, we love you so much! I can't believe you are getting so big!