The Not So Little Brother

Today Hampton had his 6 month check-up. He is doing so well! Here are his facts and stats:

He weighs 21 pounds and is in the 95th percentile for weight.
I am not sure of his height, but he is in the 95th percentile.
He is in the 95th percentile for head circumference. The doctor kept commenting on his rolls and big head!
He is eating solids now (3 times a day) and loves it! Hampton's love language we decided is food.
He is almost sitting up on his own.
He loves to play with toys now.
He is sleeping through the night.
Hampton loves to be snuggled and cuddle. I love it too.
Everett can throw Hampton into fits of laughter. They have a love for each other already that brings me to tears, I am so happy. I brought Hampton to a different doctor last week by himself and he did not like riding in the car without his brother, he whined the whole time.
He is 98% of the time content.
He loves to be sung to.
I love this baby. He is a great addition to our family!

The Weekend

This weekend Eric's mom, also known as Gigi, came for a visit. Saturday we had planned on visiting a farm, but the weather prevented us so we stayed in instead. Gigi and the babies enjoyed watching Georgia football. Eric and I made some chili and it just felt like Fall.

Saturday night Eric and I got to enjoy a date. We went to Olive Garden and it was so good! Sunday morning, Gigi stayed home with Everett since he was getting over sickness, and Eric and I took Hampton to church with us. After lunch, Gigi headed home and we all stayed in and "relaxed." I got to end the weekend like this......

So happy for family time this weekend.

This and That

Lately we have been doing a little of this.......sitting up with support.

A little of that......playing with markers. Like his mustache?

A little of this.....the enchilada ring I made the other night.

And a little of that......snuggling, what Hampton does best.

And some of this......Hampton playing in the waiting room at the doctor's office.

And a whole lot of that......cuddling with mama.

We Came. We Saw. We Zipped.

On Saturday Eric, my mom, and I went on the Navitat Canopy Tour, a birthday gift from my mom. It was amazing! An experience I will never forget and something I definitely want to do again. A life experience where many memories were made.

Here we are gearing up. There were 8 people in our group with 2 guides.

This is one of the first zips in "ground school." Those first few zips were really scary. I knew I was harnessed, but still.

This was one of the longer zips. It was my favorite. I was grazing the treetops and the mountain views were breathtaking. I was trying to take it all in and not think, "Okay, when do I break!?!"

This bridge was scary!

My mom zippin it up!

Eric was our photographer and I am sad there are no pictures of him zipping, but the camera was strapped to his gear.

We also did some repelling. This was actually scarier for me than the zip lining. There is a point when you are on the stand where you have to just step out in faith.

So fun! It was an experience I will never forget.

Afterwards, we came home to our other exciting adventure! We had a full day. Our canopy tour was about 3 1/2 hours and then later that afternoon my mom and I went to the Apple Festival in Hendersonville. Overall, I had a great day!

North Carolina Creek

My mom came up for a visit last Wednesday. On Friday we went to one of my favorite park/playgrounds here. Everett spotted the creek that runs through the playground and he was drawn. I had a spare set of clothes in the car, so I let him just go for it. He was all boy and I had one of my "I love living here in North Carolina" moments. He had so much fun.

Hampton was just a spectator this time, but one day soon he'll be in there playing with Everett.

I love his red undies peeking from his shorts.

I had fun wading around too. The water was so cold!

A Deep Breath

We have added several things to our calendar. We have gotten involved with a community mom's group and went to a playdate on Monday morning. I considered not writing about how that playdate was because I don't really want to remember what went down, but maybe, just maybe one day I'll look back and laugh. It was horrible. I enjoyed getting a few minutes of chat with the other moms, but Everett's behavior was right off of Supernanny and I am not just being dramatic. He wailed, he threw markers, he threw food, he tantrumed, he ran off.....I was mortified! What happened to my child!?! I left without a shred of dignity (although I am positive the fellow mamas totally understood) and went home to re-evaluate and pray. I have let some of the discipline of Everett's behavior slide and now it was time to get back on track. The playdate from you know where happened for a reason and well, it happens.

Everett also started preschool yesterday. I had to work so Eric took some pictures from me. Eric said he cried when he dropped him off, but our babysitter said he was doing great when she picked him up. The teacher's report was that he did well and liked music class the best. Everett's report was "school fun" and "playground." I think he'll love it.

This morning we started MOPS (Mother of Preschoolers) at our church. Everett cried at drop-off, but quickly recovered. In fact, he cried about leaving. Are you sensing a theme here? It was great to connect with other moms of young children and I know I'll love going to that group.

Overall, I know we'll go through phases of behavior ups and downs, but through prayer and discipline we can stay on track. Some days are amazingly smooth and others have their share of bumps. And although I see this face a lot these days.......

I wouldn't have it any other way! I am a tired, worn-out woman at the end of the day. But I love it. I love the peanut butter on the wall, the Thomas the Train underwear I am so tired of washing, the pile of diapers throughout the house, the toy cars I constantly step on......I love it all.

This and That

Yesterday Hampton had to go to another cardiologist appointment. He was having an echo cardiogram done to see if they could up his dosage on his medication. He also had another EKG. Everett loves that office because all the nurses dote on him and there are lots of fun toys!

This picture is a little blurry, but this is where Hampton had his echo. Everett asked to get on the "bed" and they put Thomas the Train on for him to watch. I eventually took Ev out of the room because Hampton fell asleep during the procedure and we didn't want to disturb him.

Here he is in his little hospital gown. I just love this baby!

The results of the echo were good. The doctor decided it was safe to increase his dose of the beta blocker, so hopefully we will see results for his eye soon. He did discover one of his ventricles was enlarged and leaking, but he believes he'll be fine. It scared me, but he said he wouldn't even check on it again until he was three. He believes it will not affect him, so that is good.

After his appointment we came home and Hampton had some more rice cereal. He loves it! I was going to wait a couple of more weeks to introduce solids, but he is a hungry boy and nursing alone was just not cutting it. I am happy to report that he is now (finally) sleeping through the night! I pray it stays that way.

Later on that afternoon we took a walk through the neighborhood. I have been trying to do this with the babies every afternoon because they love it. Everett likes to collect rocks, sticks, acorns, and pine cones and Hampton just enjoys the ride.