Jesus Loves Me

A Summer Whirlwind

From birthday parties, to travel, to visitors, our summer has been nothing short of a whirlwind thus far. It all started with a trip to visit Aunt B in DC. It was the first time I had ever flown with Hutton by myself and boy was I nervous! He did surprisingly well. We had a great visit with Becca and Hutton was a hit at all the Congressional offices on Capitol Hill! One story I must note happened on our flight from Memphis to DC. We had an older lady sitting behind us that was probably in her 70's, maybe 80's. He and I were watching a movie on my computer, all cuddled up. All of a sudden I feel a tap on my shoulder from this older lady. She whispered, "I just wanted you to know that he is holding my hand!" Hutton had reached his tiny fingers between the seats and was holding this sweet old lady's hand while he was watching his movie!! So cute!! We celebrated Hutton's 2nd birthday over Memorial Day weekend! I cannot believe my baby is already 2! They have definitely been the fastest two years of my life but he just keeps getting more fun and sweeter over time! We had his Sesame Street themed birthday party at a local park by our house! Several of his little buddies were able to make it along with our families. It was such a fun day!

Craig and I enjoyed two getaways, thanks to his mother! We got to go to Athens, GA to celebrate my sweet friend Lindsey Goff's wedding! Then last week we were blessed enough to spend a few days at the beach, just the two of us! It was great to have undistracted quality time and be able to focus on each other! I think that is so important in marriage! Other than that, we have just been spending time with friends and enjoying some down time at home! Hutton swimming with his buddies, Pete and Hobson.

Hutton at Five Guys with his friends and neighbors, Charlie and Garland.

Hutton and his sweet Addison:

Hutton is very affectionate and such a lover! There is nothing sweeter than our cuddle time! He recently learned "Jesus Loves Me" at school and now we sing this every night before bedtime and I can't help but cry every time because of how sweet it sounds. I feel so blessed to be sharing this time with him by staying home. Excited to see what the rest of the summer holds!

Our Morning at the Mall

I took Hutton to the mall this morning just to get us out of the house. It's too cold to play outside so sometimes we'll go to the indoor play area at the mall to let Hutton run some energy out. Today he wasn't particularly interested in the play area. Instead, he saw the cars/vehicles that you put change in and the go back and forth. I think he tried out all of them, but Bob the Builder's bulldozer was his favorite because the theme song played over and over again. He was really fascinated by the life size Bob. When we were leaving, he said, "Bye Bye Bob." Oh my sweet little boy!

A tub full of poop!

Well my day started off strong! I gave Hutton a bowl of oatmeal this morning. He's doing a lot better using a spoon all by himself. Still messy but learning how to control it better. However, today he gave up the spoon and started using his hands. Needless to say he had oatmeal EVERYWHERE! So naturally, after he was finished, I put him in the tub! He loves taking baths so this was a no brainer. I stepped out for two seconds to grab a towel from my room and what do I come back to? Yes. A tub full of poop! I wasn't sure of the protocol in this situation because it had never happened like this before. It wasn't just a small bit...but a lot! So I pulled him out of the tub and started draining the water. As I'm doing so my sweet boy runs through the house naked and soaking wet. So I grabbed the clorox and my toddler and shut us in the bathroom. As I am cleaning the tub, Hutton continues to pee three different times all over the bathroom floor! GEE!! I needed help so bad this morning! Wish I could have had another set of hands! What's funny is that even though my initial OCD tendency would be to get upset, but laughed myself through the whole thing!

Note to self: Make sure your toddler has done his morning poop before bathing.

Christmas in the Bluegrass!

After seven weeks without a blog post, I have decided to finally sit down and write one. (This is for Celia Fish who got on me for not keeping her updated and for my mother in law who doesn't yet have facebook!! Here ya go Celia and Brenda!)

I'm sad to report that there was no snow in the beautiful Appalachian mountains this Christmas. However, Santa did leave his mark on Cedar Creek when we saw 6 beautiful deer on the mountain in our back yard on Christmas Day!!

Hutton has been like the Energizer bunny since we arrived last Wednesday. There's no place like Nana Land! Mommy threw all routine out the window and decided to let Nana and the Auntie's drive the ship for the week! So instead of abiding by his typical 6:30pm bedtime, Hutton has been staying up til probably 9:30 every night, snacking at all hours of the day, and running around in the nude as he pleases!

Needless to say, I knew it was just a matter of time before my very routined child would absolutely just crash...And crash he did. After a long day of opening presents and playing with his new toys, I decided to intervene and put him to bed at his normal bedtime. (One which my mother implemented in my life when I was young...or a teenager as well I suppose) So I put him down at 6:30 and was OUT!! (So was Nana!!)

My parents have graciously given Craig and I the upstairs room, which is on the opposite side of the house, so they had been getting up with Hutton each morning. When Craig and I went downstairs this morning at 9, we found that our sweet baby boy had just woken up himself...at 9:00am!! So after 14 1/2 hours of sleep, Hutton is revamped and ready to go!

Ho Ho was very generous to Hutton this year...Probably because he's been such a sweet boy. He got a new slide that we can keep inside the house (happy winter to Mommy!), a basketball goal just his size, a water table for the summer time, a ball pit from Aunt LaLa and Uncle D, and so much more! It should definitely get us through the cold winter when we can't go outside!!

Hutton and I will be staying in Nana Land through New Year's Eve! I'm looking forward to the company of my family and seeing my child filled with so much joy at Nana's house. Looking forward to see what else is in store this holiday season! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Turning a New Leaf

Fall has been nothing short of a whirlwind! I had no idea just how time consuming packing, moving, unpacking, and decorating could be! The funny thing is, I'm still not finished! Regardless, we are finally settling into our new home and absolutely love it! We've made some new friends and neighbors and couldn't feel more blessed to be where we are today! Hutton is growing like a weed!! I looked back at his nine month professional pictures and couldn't believe how different he looks just 8 months later!! He has completely lost the baby look and is growing to be such a sweet little boy!! So I won't spend my time writing, I'll just show you in pictures. Here is what October looked like for us in a nutshell!!