Two Month Checkup

Hardin was two months old Sunday, and we had his well checkup on Wednesday.  He weighed in at 13 pounds.  His head is 16.5 inches and he is 23 inches long.  That puts him in the 50-75th percentile in height and weight, and 90th percentile in head circumference!  We are certain that is because his brain is just so big :)  He did great at the doctor's office.  His pediatrician once again commented on him being a laid back baby.

As you can see he is getting much more photogenic.   He is still stingy with his smiles, but when he shares them they melt my heart.  He "talks" all the time now, non stop coos and singing.  Uncle B came in during our photo shoot and H gave him this great big smile!  I'm still trying to figure out my new lens, so I apologize for the slightly blurry pictures.  

Christmas Recap

Sweet baby Hardin,

I know you will never truly know it, but you had an absolutely amazing first Christmas.

We picked up MiMi from the airport Wednesday night, with Sophie the giraffe in tow, to begin the festivities.  She hunted down that Sophie all over Ft. Myers, so I hope you love it!  Thursday morning, we took you to one of her and Jason's favorite restaurants, The Waffle House.  I am still distraught that I didn't have my camera for your first trip.  Your silly mommy forgot your diaper bag all together!  I am sure you and your daddy will spend many mornings at the WH, and I'll be sure to take a picture soon.  Next up was a day of shopping, holding the sweet baby and relaxing.

Uncle B arrived Christmas Eve, and was shocked at how much you have grown in two months.  We took you to your first candle light service and you were adorable!  I knew you would love it, but I underestimated how much.  Every time we stood and sang, you were thrilled and sang along.  I had to let GiGi hold you through Silent Night, so she could feel you singing.  The adults were drowning you out quite a bit.  You were on your best behavior and I thank you for that!  The T-berry side came back to our house after church, and we exchanged gifts with your Aunt Lara and Uncle Jason.  Mommy was so taken by the thought your Aunt Lara and Uncle B put into your gifts.  Lara gave you a children's Bible with beautiful illustrations, and a translation you can relate to in your early years.  I can't wait to read it to you, and know you will learn many of life's most important lessons from this sweet gift, your first Bible.  Uncle B gave you a magnificent Cambridge Bible with your name embossed on the cover.  I just know you, your children and grandchildren will cherish it forever.  You are a lucky little boy to have such a thoughtful loving family. 

Mommy and Daddy enjoyed you sleeping extra late Christmas morning.  We realize we only have one, maybe two years, left of that for quite a while.  We all went to GiGi's in our PJs for breakfast.  Christmas breakfast was your Grandmommy T's favorite, and it was fun to be in Georgia for the first time in many years to enjoy it.  Your GiGi is spoiling you silly already, but we love it!  We headed back to our house for the afternoon and Christmas dinner with the Macs.  Your MiMi spent two days cooking an amazing meal for all of us!  You had fun kicking and talking with Lillian, and your cousin Cawley just adores you both.  We were also very surprised that snow set in early Christmas evening and stuck.  Your first Christmas was white!  You are just the most amazing little gift, and your mommy and daddy love you more than anything in this world.  We can't wait for a lifetime of Christmases with you.

Daddy's Silly Face

Your GiGi sure loves you!

Cousin Lindsey

Little Lillian is one month older...  but you can't tell :) 

Cawley Walker

Santa was very good to you!

The sweetest book from Cathy & Justin... personalized with everyone who loves you!

Your first Christmas was white!

Merry Christmas!

"Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store.
Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more..." Dr. Seuss

MiMi is here, Uncle B is home, and we have a wonderful two days planned with GiGi and the family.  Mommy's heart is about as full as it gets.  
Merry Christmas!

The many faces of Hardin

The last week or so, I have been trying to capture all of my favorite faces our little cutie makes. I have no doubt I will remember them all forever, but just in case, I want to make sure. He has quite a little personality these days. No more sleeping the day away. He is awake for a good two hour stretch in the morning, about an hour or so early afternoon, and then he stays up for a 3 hour stretch in the evening (grumpy time). There are lots of shorter periods of awake time, but those are his longest. He has figured out how much fun there is to be had in this world, and wants to be having fun the entire time he is awake now! He LOVES his turtle play mat that Cheryl and Damon sent. He cracks me up kicking, swatting and yelling at it! He also loves the music and mirror on his swing.

He is starting to really try and talk and sing. It is about the cutest thing I have ever witnessed in my life. If you hold him close and sing to him, he watches so intently and tries to move his mouth. Every few seconds a little sound makes its way out. I have also been singing him to sleep at night, and it calms him right down. Bless his little heart, he is the only person in the world that has ever liked to hear me sing. Jason and I always joked that as much as we would love one, there was no way we could have a musically gifted child. Our musical talents are limited to J's ability to clap to Cheeseburger in Paradise, and my one time ability to play the first few chords of Nirvana's Come As You Are (you can't go through an early 90s grunge phase without picking up that valuable knowledge). He may just prove us wrong. At night, I lay my iPhone on my chest and play music to sing to him. His favorites are Live's I'll Dance With You and Overcome. He doesn't know it yet, but his GiGi bought him an iPod/CD player for his room for Christmas, and I just know he's going to love it! Maybe it will even encourage him to spend a little more time in there.

Piles of Fun!

I have had a wonderful group of girl friends most of my life.  I have known some of them since elementary school, and some since middle school.  The seven of us became the best of friends in high school, and have been having a blast since then!  It's hard to believe that this pile of crazy high school girls, produced this pile of ADORABLE babies...  and I can't wait to see it grow.  We have been SO incredibly blessed with beautiful, healthy, happy babies! 

The oldest is Aubrey, 2 1/2, all the the way down to the youngest, little Lucas, 4 weeks.   In between, we have Sadie, 28 months, Liddie, 23 months, Halle, 8 months, Hardin, 8 weeks, and Olivia, 5 weeks.

I am sure Hardin will one day appreciate all of my friend's beautiful baby girls, but for now we are super excited to have another boy in the group!  It is so much fun to watch the big girls play together, and I can't wait for Halle, Livvy, Lucas, and Hardin to join in the fun!  H-man was awake the entire time we ate lunch and visited, but when it was time to take pictures, he was sound asleep.

My wonderful friends from the top left... Faith, Mary Ellen, Me, Cortney, Shauna, Lainie and Ali.

Edible words... and the nursery.





In his seven weeks, Mr. H has given me plenty to chew on by way of my own words. It took me way too long to learn one of the most valuable lessons of all time... admitting when I am wrong (I will try and help Mr. H learn this earlier than his mid 20s like his mama). No making up stories to justify my wrongness, I'm just flat out wrong sometimes. These days I have no problem admitting when I am wrong, so I figured I'd memorialize a few of the best. I've also been meaning to take pictures of the nursery before he gets a little older and destroys it. The pictures have nothing to do with the story.



Overpriced Changing Table

 "He's not allowed in our bed." These words are particularly scrumptious because they were followed with "and you know that softy Jason will be the first one to cave." HA! First, I said this because I know that being in the bed with Jason and me is not the safest place for him to sleep, not because I'm a mean old mommy. We are both active sleepers, not the type that wake up in the same place they went to sleep. I also don't want to wake up one day with a 2 year old that has to sleep with us.





Overpriced Stuffed Animal Storage Unit

It all started with him only liking to fall asleep on our chests. That was great for naps when we were downstairs, but not so great when he woke up in the middle of the night and I wanted to go back to sleep. At first I would let him fall asleep on my chest and then put him down, making sure not to fall asleep myself because I was scared I'd roll over and squish him, or something equally horrific. The first night Jason busted me sleeping with him in the bed, he rolled over and whispered "Tiffany... are you sleeping?" I responded "no." He said "then why are you snoring?" I couldn't help but laugh, but it made me realize I was probably sleeping more than I should be with a baby on my chest. I quickly put him down and swore that off. Then came the early morning cling fest. He goes down fine at night now, and sleeps about 6 hours, 7 if we are lucky. When he wakes up, he eats and goes right back to sleep, but is super clingy sometimes and screams if I put him down... so I don't always put him down. He cuddles up next to me in bed and we finish up our sleep. At that point I am not in a super deep sleep, and every move he makes wakes me up, but I love it for now.

Beautiful Paintings from Cortney



Mommy's Wall Art
(as well as the ones by his bed)

"I will bathe him every day, even as a newborn." This honestly surprised me the most. I was always SHOCKED to hear that not every mama bathed their baby every single day. Gross, I thought. Well, it turns out the little newborns don't get all that dirty. Add the fact that the kid HATED the tub, and you have a baby that only got bathed about every other day until he was about five weeks.





Reading Corner

And for the record... I do still iron his clothes :) Not all of them, just his cute outfits. The pajama types don't get ironed anymore, nor do the sheets. The picture above is of the paintings Uncle B gave Hardin. His very talented friend Kevyn painted them. I tried to paint his growth chart to match the sports theme but it failed. The "laces" look nothing like laces, but it matches enough.

This is the best thirty bucks I ever spent ($49.99, with 20% off, and $10 BRU rewards bucks). This thing is amazing... the Rock-N-Play Sleeper. Once there is a baby in it, it doesn't rock unless you move it. It keeps him up at an angle and he loves that. He has never done well flat on his back. I also think he likes that it is close to him on the sides, it seems cozy. It stays right by my bed and if he fusses I can reach right over, give him a quick rock, and he normally goes right back to sleep. We have already started dreading the day he exceeds the 25lb weight limit!

All smiles!

He smiles! Still not all that often or all that enthusiastically, but smiles nonetheless! He melts my heart. Love this pic because my favorite little ear is hanging out as well :)

Other big news, he's a happy camper in the bath now. He still hates to get out because he gets cold, but he will lounge around in the tub for a good 5 minutes. GiGi was sweet and bathed him so I could snap some pictures.

He also allows me to shower now, which is very nice. I have to put him in his bouncy seat in the bathroom, and sing the entire time, but as long as I'm singing he's content.

I also had to include this picture so I won't forget it. This hangs in the garage where I park. The sweet note was from aunt Cathy when H first arrived home. You will also see the initials of the last time Jason had someone here to play darts with... we sure miss Scott and can't wait for him to get here Christmas Eve!

Mommy and Daddy went out for the first time this Saturday night for the MGCC Christmas party, and GiGi came over to spend the night and babysit. I am pretty sure she is just as in love with him as we are, and Hardin loves her too! She is so calm and nurturing with him, and can get him to sleep like a champ. I have a feeling those two are going to have a lot of fun together over the years. She already has big plans for them! We stopped by my sister's house today after lunch with aunt Jackie. Hardin wore his adorable little elf outfit and charmed everyone!

Aunt LaLa got to see him with his eyes really open for the first time!

Just for the record, today was Hardin's first snow. Nothing stuck, but there were quite a few flurries.

Santa Santa Santa!

We love Santa around here, and as you can see, Hardin is super excited as well. Hopefully one day Mr. H will appreciate the fact that he had an appointment with the best Santa in Atlanta long before his arrival... and it took two days of mama checking online obsessively to see if the Phipps website corrected the problems, and allowed you to make an appointment. Cat and I made our appointments at the same time so we could get a family shot, but Cawley and Lillian were sick that week, so we decided to axe that idea. Mom bought H the cutest little Christmas outfit, size 0-3 months, but it was still way to big for this picture. We decided he would wear his winter whites and that would do just fine.

This was not only the young Mac's first experience with the Santa at Phipps, it was mine as well. Let me tell you, he lived up to every expectation, and then some. The man IS Santa. I had the privilege of being next in line before he took his break, so we got to watch the production that is the best Santa in Atlanta breaking. I laughed. First of all, I suppose he can't take off those perfect white gloves because two little elves came to him, one with a drink and straw to hold to his mouth, and another with a granola bar he broke in to pieces and fed to Santa. Hysterical. Then the photographer's assistant asked him repeatedly if he was doing okay, if he was sore, did he need to walk around, etc. I guess Cawley and Lil really wore his lap out ;) I will say, standing, he is even more impressive. He has to be six-and-a-half feet tall. After Santa's break, he opened those big old arms, with perfect white gloves, to greet my boy. He talked to him, asked him if he'd been a good boy in his two weeks and one day of life. Hardin slept. He did give an adorable little pout for the pic that I just love. I know it's hard to say for certain, but I am pretty sure this picture will remain in my top five favorite pictures of all time. I just love it. Sorry the picture of the print I took doesn't quite do it justice. I was too cheap to pay the astronomical price for the disk of the image.

Next up was breakfast with Santa at Monroe Country Club. We were warned that it was a madhouse that morning, and the warnings were accurate. Every kid of every member was out that morning, looking absolutely adorable in their little outfits. Little girls always look pretty in Christmas dresses, but I am a total sucker for little boys in sweater vests... and what better place to do it than the golf course! We lucked out and walked in just as our friends, the Holders, were about to take their picture. Hardin was awake at the time, so we jumped in line real quick. No one seemed to mind as it was not going to take Hardin long to tell Santa what he wanted. I was thrilled to get a picture of him with his eyes open. We don't have the official pic yet, but these are a few I snapped. I'll give this Santa credit, he had a real beard, a nice enough outfit (minus the bedazzled jewels) and was incredibly nice, but he just doesn't hold a candle to the best Santa in Atlanta.

After breakfast with Santa, Daddy played in the holiday scramble, and H and I headed to Atlanta so he could meet Jenna. Jenna thinks he may need botox by time he is ten with his concerned face all of the time :) We piled the babies on Cawley's lap and he loved it. He wouldn't let us take them away for a good while. What a good big brother and cousin he is!



And if you are wondering, H is still not a smiler. He has let us have a sneak peak of a few grins, but no full out smiles. Six weeks, two days, and counting...

:(

Little man's face says it all...  this is how we both feel about daddy going back to work Friday.  I can honestly say, without a shadow of a doubt, that this has been the best six weeks of my life.  Although the first two weeks I felt, as my friend Jill would say, "shave my head and call me Britney Spears crazy," I wouldn't trade a minute of the past 6 weeks for anything in the world.  Jason and I have had the best time getting to know our son.  He is wonderful, and exhausting, and amazing. 


Jason and I started dating when I was 19.  I have spent almost 1/3 of my life loving him, and I thought I was doing a pretty good job.  Little did I know how much more I could love him for giving me my sweet baby boy.

Here's to the most amazing 6 weeks spent as a family... looking forward to sharing the next six weeks with the little man all to myself during the day :)  

No babies were hurt in taking that picture.  It was taken while I was trying to get the one month block shot, and Hardin was over the crib.  As soon as he flashed me that face, I snatched up the cutie, loved on him on TON, and the frown was gone. 

Absent Minded Mommy

I decided to do a Christmas card/birth announcement combo this year, because Mr. H was born so close to Christmas.  I sat down to order the cards the day I received the CD of Hardin's newborn pictures in the mail.  He was about 2 1/2 weeks at the time.  I walked over to the fridge to look at Lillian and Paige's birth announcements, to see if the length of the baby was listed on the same line as the weight or the line below.  I must have gotten distracted at some point between the fridge and the computer (imagine that), because, by the time I got back and pressed order, I forgot to put his length on the card at all.  I just about cried when I picked them up the other day.  So, when you receive your Christmas card/birth announcement combo, please forgive me and know that the little man was 21 inches at birth.  Silly absent minded mommy...

The picture above is one of my absolute favorites.  He is growing so fast right now I can't stand it, and this just makes me remember how tiny he was a few weeks ago.

One Month Old!

Today is HP's one month birthday :) He celebrated by eating and sleeping. I CANNOT believe it has only been a month or that it has already been a month. On one hand it feels like we just went to the hospital to have him yesterday, but on the other hand it feels like he has been a part of our family forever. I can't imagine our life without the little guy. If you could only see the outtakes from our photo shoot you would be laughing. I took 57 pics, and that was the best one by a long shot!



His long arms hang out!

 He continues to stay awake a little more during the day, and sleep a little more at night. Yesterday he was awake a lot with all of the Thanksgiving commotion, and slept like a dream through the night. Seriously, you could have set your watch to his feedings last night. 10, 2, 6, 10... almost to the minute. He stayed awake until about midnight after the 10pm feeding, but went right back to sleep after 2 and 6. He is very alert now when he is awake and loves to look around and take everything in. Still no smiles, but we think he's happy under the solemn face. He is incredibly strong for such a little guy. He has been holding his head up for a while and will push up from his belly. I am terrified to cut his nails still, so he has been tearing up our chests with his clawing! I almost got up the courage to cut them, but then yesterday Cathy told me she cut Lillian's a little too short and it bled. I lost all faith in my ability to cut them. Cathy is a total super mom, so if she can't do it there is no hope in this world for me! The only other noteworthy event is that I put him down to nap in his crib for the first time Wednesday, and again today. He was in a bassinet, but lately he has been sleeping in his bouncy seat in our room. I know that is not the best thing in the world, but it is the only place he likes to sleep, and the pediatrician said it is fine until he gets a little more mobile. I looked into one of those fancy sleep positioners for his crib, but basically it was a bouncy seat at three times the price. He sleeps okay in his crib for a while, but if he wakes up he does not go back to sleep. I'm still happy with the results for the first two days. We'll continue transitioning from our room to his over the next few weeks, and I am confident he'll be settled in there for good before I go back to work in January.

We had an absolutely fabulous Thanksgiving week. It started with a visit with two of our favorite couples and their 4 month old baby girls. Hardin was quite the ladies' man. We had lunch and compared mama stories. It is just so much fun to have this many babies around! The boys are holding their own babies, the girls are not.

Next up was Thanksgiving at our house. This was our third year hosting and the smoothest on my end so far. I delegated a LOT of the cooking and purchased a deep fried turkey and spiral honey ham... and I didn't feel guilty about it at all! MiMi drove up from Ft. Myers to join in the festivities. We missed B as this was the first time in 27 years mom and I have not been with him on Thanksgiving. That said, the boy cooked Thanksgiving dinner for one-third of Hawaii so we know he was having fun and eatin' good.

Baby Lillian and her adorable hair :)