It's been awhile

It has a little too long since my last post...we've been on the go quite a bit lately.

Let's see. Hampton and I went to OKC to visit my parents and brother. It was Oklahoma State's homecoming and Drew has asked me to come since he was a freshman. Since he is a senior now (so hard to believe), I figured I better go now or never. We had a free plane ticket, so we got to fly! I'm still not ready to make a road trip with Hampton by myself. Our plane going to OKC was delayed almost 2 hours, but I would rather play in the airport than risk a 4 hour trip turning into 6+ hours because of a fussy little boy. All in all, we still made if faster than if we had driven.

I was totally amazed at the time and work that goes into homecoming decorations at a big school. At ACU each social club decorates a float for the parade. At OSU each frat house pairs up with a sorority to decorate their entire HOUSE. You can see in the pictures that there is some unbelievable detail...and all of it is done with chicken wire and tissue paper! Hampton proudly wore his O State gear and made his maiden voyage in a big boy stroller. He did awesome of course, but got a little over-tired and way over-stimulated by the end of the night.

This little boy reminds me of Campbell

Dad and I went to the football game on Saturday night and Mom kept Hampton at Drew's house. It was COLD and windy, but we were loyal fans and stayed through the overtime. OSU lost a heartbreaker to A&M by 1 point (blocked PAT). We were so excited to come home to Mom's hot soup...warm's the soul you know.

Ben has been out of town most of this week and is AR right now on the big golf trip. I know he is having a blast, but we are ready to have him home! Hampton and I are just hangin' out while he's gone. We have relaxed, gone to a pumpkin patch with my mom group, shopped and played...nothing to exciting.

I am amazed at how much stronger Hampton has gotten in the past week or so. He can pretty much sit up by himself...but in a tripod/hunched over position. He likes playing on his stomach more than being on his back. He loves the exersauser, sleeps until at least 8 every morning (usually later), and doesn't hesitate to express his likes AND dislikes. He has been a little more fussy than normal, so I think he might be close to cutting his first tooth. It's hard for me to believe he is already at that stage. Now I understand why my granddaddy used to tell me he wanted to put a brick on my head so I wouldn't grow up so fast. This is a really fun stage, but I'm sure the next will be even more fun!


For some reason blogger will not let me upload any more pics. I will try again later :(

5 months

Our precious boy is 5 months old today. My friend Jamie and I took our boys (who were born on the same day) to the park to take some pictures. We had so much fun, but it turned out to be much warmer than we thought. When we finished taking pictures, we were all sweating.

Hampton is changing so much, so fast. He is so close to rolling from his back to his tummy. He is super tickelish. He loves his mommy and daddy and his face lights up when he sees us both. He plays great by himself, but definitely wants to be a part of anything that's going on around him. He reaches and grabs for anything and everything he wants. He is still super laid back (the ladies in the nursery at church say he is always the best baby in there!!!!!). He memicks us when he watches us eat. He still likes rice cereal and will hopefully like veggies too. He is facinated by the outdoors, captivated by the tv and loves to "talk" to Mommy and Daddy while they eat dinner. He is my joy and crown.

Daddy says, "Shewee bottom"

After our trip, we came home to the same sweet boy we left, but a few things had changed. He is much stronger, his gas really stinks like a grown person, he has decided that the whole sleeping from 8-8 is for the birds, and he is constipated (that's probably embarrassing and probably why his toots smell so bad). We got home on Wednesday and it wasn't until Sunday night that Hampton "had a big job." It was obviously a struggle and produced army-green-peanut-butter-looking stuff...POOR KID. I talked to the nurse today about the problem and she suggested 1/2 ounce of prune juice...worked like a charm!

Ashley McCaleb and her girls were visiting Josh and Jenny in Waco and made the trip up to IKEA. They stopped by to visit and then we went to lunch. Katy is a pistil and Callie Jack has definitely grown up. They are super cute girls.

Vegas Baby

It has been a while since my last post. Since then, Ben and I have been to Las Vegas. We made the difficult decision to leave Hampton here with my mom. I was a bit anxious about leaving him for 5 days, but it turned out to be beneficial. Ben and I enjoyed our time just the two of us. Ben had to go for work, so I decided to tag along. Our first 2 days there he didn't have to work, so we took in the sights. We walked a ton, had lunch at a cafe across from the Bellagio to watch the famous fountains, and rode the Manhattan Coaster at New York New York. I was amazed by the massive hotels, detailed architecture, and overwhelming amounts of people. I was surprised to hear that it is usually more crowded. One of my biggest accomplishments was walking a mile in four inch heels to meet Ben for a client dinner. I didn't have cash to pay for a cab, so I decided to buck up and bear the pain. Surprisingly, my feet felt pretty good until 6 hours later when we walked back to our hotel (you'll have to ask Ben why we didn't take a cab home...he did have cash). All in all, it was a great trip, but both of us were VERY ready to come home to Hampton!

Family Outing

Hampton made his first trip to the golf course. Ben wanted to play, so the three of us enjoyed an afternoon on the course. Hampton did great...he loves being outside. Hampton and I left after 9 holes because he desperately needed a good nap.

Hampton is loving his rice cereal now. I think we discovered that he actually likes it a little thicker...which makes it easier to feed him as well. He is so quick to smile, loves to squeal, laughs alot, and is all around a happy, easy baby. He brings a joy to our family that we never could have imagined!!!

Play Group

I wanted to share some pictures of the new moms and their babies in my "play group." They have been such a blessing the past few months. There are 7 of us who meet once a week. The oldest baby is almost 8 months old and the youngest is 3 months old. It is nice to have so many girls in the same life stage. There is a lot of "is he doing this...?", "has your hair started falling out?", "how is your husband handling...?" We are all very different, but have so much fun together. I am so thankful for these new friendships. Thank you Lord for being faithful once again.

7 babies all happy at the same time...can you believe it?

Hampton and Sidney...she is almost 8 months old.

Nothing like a major blowout! Love the socks. He was born the same day as Hampton.

Go Hampton

Yesterday was Hampton's 4 month check up. It was by far our most traumatic appointment yet. We didn't see our usually doctor, who is a lady, for some reason we saw a male doctor in her group. He was not nearly as gentle with my sweet baby. At one point I felt faint because I knew Hampton was hurting so badly....not to mention he had to get four shots. Aside from the trauma, Hampton is very healthy.

He now weighs 14 pound 9 ounces, which moves him up to the 50th percentile. He is 25 inches long and up from the 25th to the 50th percentile. But the big news...drum roll please...his head is 41 cm which leaves him in the 25th percentile. That's pretty impressive for a Stites :).

The doctor told us we could introduce rice ceral, so last night he had his first taste. He wasn't quite sure about the whole thing, but by the last 2 bites, he was opening for it. He did rub his mouth and then his eye though. This afternoon we tried again and it was a little smoothier. I'm just shooting for a few bites.

Ben and I are going to Las Vegas (I have never been) in October. So...we are leaving Hampton with my parents for FIVE DAYS. Needless to say, I'm a little anxious about that. I know it will be a great time for us and I'm sure it is needed more than I realize. However, I would appreciate any and all prayers.

By the way, we did have a disappointing night at our house on Saturday. Hampton's first Tennessee game was not a success...bummer.

Daddy says this is one of the coolest parts of the game...

watching the Volunteers run through the "T".

Rice ceral...yummy, yummy

you can't see it, but it's all over his face

Birthday Wish

Hampton is FOUR months old today. He said his birthday wish is for the Vols to beat the Gators!

GO VOLS!!!

He is doing great and not really waking up at all during the night. He usually goes to bed around 8, eats one last meal around 10:30 and then sleeps until 7ish. He is such a joy and blessing to us. He has started laughing a little bit, but not consistently. He is drooling like crazy and blows bubbles all the time. Needless to say, his collar is usually pretty wet. He loves to play on his playmat, and will usually play by himself for 30-45 minutes...talking and squealing the whole time. He is not the best napper right now and I'm not sure why. He will put himself to sleep, but only for about 45 minutes. Any helpful suggestions would be great.

Ben had a great week and has "them lined up outside his door." He is really good at what he does and make me more and more proud to be his wife. His integrity and motivation is so pure. I started a Thursday evening Philippians and Colossians study this week and I'm really excited about it. I think it will be good for the boys to have a night just the two of them. Other than that things are pretty normal around our house.
Here are some more recent pictures.

15 weeks

So much fun with Daddy working at home!

He loves to fall asleep with his silky blanket.

Check out those "shoes"

This was about a 10 minute nap!

PS I know the Tennessee outfit is way too big...it's a 12 month :)

Photo Shoot at Kelly's

These are some pictures we took at Kelly's. The artistic ones are Kelly's...she is really talented! The not so artistic, regular pictures are mine.

My precious brother mailed us his camera to use while ours is being fixed, so I should have pics to post.

Hampton is doing great and has started smiling at strangers...still no giggles yet. It's hard to believe, but next Saturday he will be 4 months old.

Ben's birthday is Monday. I'm sure he would appreciate any birthday wishes.