Prayers for Lauren & Andrew

Anyone out there reading blogs today, please keep our friends from college, Lauren and Andrew Hess, in your prayers. Their 3 month old baby boy, Brooks, is having emergency heart surgery tomorrow (Wed) morning. This was a total surprise to them and they have been through so very much already. I can't even imagine ... anyway, please think of them over the next several hours and days.

Thank you!

we are here

two weeks since last posting, I know, we should be ashamed. sorry! we have been out of town and I've been under the weather with an annoying cold, but we are all doing well. pictures from Florida to come ...

Trip, thanks so much for the cool Clifford slippers! Henry loves them.
we were changing the sheets on our bed and shelby made herself a palette on the dirty sheets. too cute.

same night (when changing sheets), savannah didn't care that we covered her with our comforter as a joke. I guess she was just glad we came home!

this is for Grandma Jan ... thanks for my Steelers outfit! as you can see, it makes me relax and hope for a good season this fall. hope all is well in PA!

eighteen months

he turned eighteen months today ... seems like a big milestone. here are a few photos from our futile attempts to play photographers ... enjoy!

eighteen month update:

• has mastered walking and is now attempting running. his running in place is really funny.
• still a good eater and has gotten much better about eating things with varied consistency. he would eat pretty much most things, but if the consistency wasn't mushy, he wasn't too crazy about it. not anymore-yea! no more pureeing certain things.
• still a good sleeper ... wakes up between 6:45-7:15am, naps 2-2.5 (occasionally 3) hours in the afternoon, and goes to bed at 7pm. for this we are very grateful and I still stand by the words, babywise (the book) works, it really does! :)
• starting to really understand a lot of what we say - he can follow directions pretty well. you can literally watch him learn something new every single day; so much fun!
• not crazy about the nursery at church or mother's day out. he does okay, but some days are worse than others as far as him just being unsettled. he rarely cries any other time, but it never fails when I pick him up, they will say he cried off and on the whole time. this is hard ... as a parent you never want your child to be sad. I know he will get through this but it is still no fun.
• wants to talk a lot, and he tries to talk a lot too! he can put two words together, like "momma car" or "blue truck." he will often "jabber" riding in his car seat, which is really amusing.
• still doing well with his sign language. he's learned a few new ones: dirty, train, water, and bike.
• he is in the squirmy phase ... if you aren't reading, sitting in a high chair or car seat, he likes to be moving around. lots of energy!
• getting much better at blanket time (telling him to stay on a blanket with several toys and playing by himself, until Momma says he can get off the blanket). 20 minutes is his record so far.
• still loves stuffed animals and pillows.
• his eyes have turned more green and less blue. they are almost identical to my brother's.
• loves to try to eat with a fork and a spoon. he's much better with a fork though!
• loves to be outside
• has started to interact with the dogs a lot more - he brings them their toys and tries to pet and play with them. bricks is afraid of him (go figure, bricks is a 95 pound teddy bear), shelby doesn't really "play," and savannah will sometimes play, sometimes not.
• loves shoes. if there are shoes laying around the house, he will pick them up and bring them to their rightful owner saying "momma shoes" or "da-da shoes."
• henry is curious but not overly so. we have not "baby-proofed" anything in our house (which may or may not be wise) and don't plan on doing so. I guess we figure he needs to learn what cabinets he can and can't get into and if we go to someone else's house, that house may not be baby-proof either. we just keep a close eye on him and try to work with him on what he can and can't touch. so far this has worked pretty well (that doesn't mean there won't be a post down the road where I eat these words!).
• he weighs 26 pounds. not sure how tall he is. he hasn't gained weight in a while-all the walking is burning calories I suppose!
• he still has the sweetest smile ever.
• he still likes to be rocked from time to time and enjoys snuggling.
• who knows what the next 18 months will bring, but these past 18 have been a blessing and a journey. God is good!
  
  
  

chatty henry

touchdown Auburn and War Eagle ...

henry loves oatmeal. you can ask him what he wants to do on a given day and his response will be "oatmeal." or, you can ask him how his day was, boom, "oatmeal" again. oatmeal, or "uht-meel" as he says it, is one of his favorite words to say.

this one is for his buddy Adam P., or "ah-om" as henry says.

we can't wait to see all the perlins next weekend!

celebrations

hope everyone had a nice holiday weekend! we are so fortunate to live in a country where we can celebrate our freedom. the price was and still is high, and truly no words can express our gratitude for those in uniform who sacrifice everything to protect the many freedoms we enjoy. our nation has its current troubles, no doubt, but it is still one undeniably great place to live.

celebrations over the last few days ... congratulations to Katherine and Doug who welcomed Alexander William Bentley at 10am on Friday, July 3rd! Alexander or "Alex" weighed 6lbs 1oz and was 19.5 inches long. We were able to visit them at the hospital and he is one beautiful baby! We are very excited for them. And, Katherine is one TOUGH woman!

henry celebrating a ride on Cole's 4 wheeler he let us borrow.
celebrating with my sister and family at the lake. henry rode on the inter tube with his momma while his daddy slowly pulled us. he didn't like it at first but soon after seemed to enjoy it a little. he looked so funny with a little life jacket on!

swimming in the lake with daddy
gary did some clearing out at the land and henry, the dogs and I met him out there so the dogs could swim and frolic. it was actually a breezy morning and very pleasant temperature wise the day we went (it has been really hot here the last couple of weeks).

no, we don't have a new dog. that is susie (above), the peterson's dog in case you are curious.

sterling and savannah

shelby, the best retriever of them all, sporting her "summer cut"

sweet brother bricks

everyone wants the tennis ball ...

hugs for momma

henry attempting to throw the ball for shelby and reese (the other peterson pup)

Sometimes I catch grief about the amount of pictures I take of our dogs, but they are such an important part of our lives I want to capture memories of them on film as well. It makes me sad when people's pets get pushed to the back burner when the two legged children arrive. Sure, people's schedules take on a totally new meaning and there are some adjustments; but those dogs, cats, etc., that loved them before little Susie or Johnny came along are still there and love them just as much. And, these creatures are only here for seemingly just a little while.

On that note, go give your pet/four legged baby or babies some extra love today! :)

Here is some raw footage of all the dogs in action ... enjoy!