HAWAII

We just returned from a fabulous trip to Maui. We went with my parents and Drew to celebrate his college graduation (a little early...he doesn't graduate until December). We weren't sure how Hampton would do on the plane and with the 5 hour time change, but he did great. On the flight over (8+ hours) he took 2 good naps and met just about everyone on the plane. Ben and I had 3 seats and Mom and Dad had 3 seats which gave H a little room to wiggle...and wiggle he did. Dealing with the time change was not quite as easy...he usually woke up around 5:30 ready for the day. My precious husband took him every morning so that I could sleep longer. They read the Bible together on the lanai and went on several morning walks on the beach.

On the plane with Sweetie

We got there in the afternoon and took Hampton to the beach as soon as possible. I don't think we put too much thought into how he would react to the water, because we just walked right in. He was fine until a wave came...he squealed like I have never heard him squeal. It was a squeal out of sheer terror. The water was cold, loud and deeper than expected (only up to his diaper). After he realized he was safe with Mommy and Daddy, he was just fine. He loved playing in the sand and surprisingly didn't try to eat any. He crawled all over the place and would crawl to the water's edge, but would not get wet without his Daddy. I think the sound of the waves was a little unnerving to him. The pool however, was a different story...he was fearless and LOVED the water (at least the calm, quiet water). This makes his birthday party even more exciting for us. We often laughed as we watched other babies timidly play in the pool. They would pat the water lightly and sit quietly in their water toys. Hampton, on the other hand was splashing as much as he could and trying to climb out of his water toy so he could play rough. He loved being thrown up in the air and splashing in the water when he came down. We even took him down the water slides at The Grand Wailea. He took several naps in his stroller and was always content if we were outside. He LOVES being outdoors, would b-line it to the door if you even left it cracked, and would get upset of you wouldn't let him go out. I had so much fun watching him in a new surrounding.

On the beach with Daddy

Playing in the pool

Having a snack on the beach

Mom and I got to hang out a lot while the boys played golf. They enjoyed playing Wailea Blue, Wailea Gold and Makena North. I'm pretty sure they would all say their favorite was Makena North because it was secluded, had a creative design and had amazing ocean views. While the boys played golf, Mom, Hampton and I went to the local farmer's market, shopped, ate some wonderful lunches, and relaxed by the pool (usually while H napped in the stroller). When the boys weren't playing golf, Mom and I took advantage of the babysitters and went to the spa at the Grand Wailea. It was AWESOME. We spent a couple of hours relaxing in their hydrotherapy pool and had a massage. We loved every minute of it. We also got to go the pool for a couple of hours without Hampton...not that he was by any means a burden, but it's more relaxing without a 1 year old.

Wailea Blue Course

Makena North Course

On Wednesday, Ben and I convinced everyone to go to the north side of the island toward Hana. We didn't want to drive all the way to Hana, but we did want to see the lush vegetation on that part of Maui. We went to The Garden of Eden botanical gardens. Mom, Dad and I loved it, but Drew and Ben weren't too thrilled. We saw all kinds of interesting plants and marveled at God's amazing creativity. When you think of Hawaii, you usually think of bright tropical flowers, but there are so many colorful plants that don't even have flowers, and so many trees that produce the most fragrant beautiful flowers. I love admiring His creation. The road to and from the gardens (aka the famous "Road to Hana") was rough. I can usually handle curvy roads, but this one was out of control...it was much better when Mom and I moved from the back, back of the minivan. While on the north side, we also enjoyed a wonderful lunch at Mama's Fish House and took a super quick walk around Pai'ia.

The pointy rock that you can barely see in the background is where they filmed the opening sequence of Jurassic Park.

On Friday after lunch Drew, Hampton, Ben and I played at the pools at the Grand Wailea. They have a baby beach, that H wasn't really diggin' (mostly because he was running a fever for the 2nd or 3rd day in a row :(). He warmed up to it though and we ended up enjoying the water slides and lazy river too. We enjoyed a steak dinner on our lanai just before Ben and I went on a date. We walked along the beach and sat on the shoreline listening to the waves and catching up on some QT. Thank you to Sweetie, Pops and UD for taking such good care of Hampton when he wasn't feeling well.

At our condo pool

No thank you...too cold

The Baby Beach

1st time down the big slide

After the big water slide

2nd time down the big slide

Most of Saturday was spent preparing to come home. Our flight back was much shorter and we has much less room to move. Thank goodness it was a red-eye and Hampton slept on our laps most of the trip. It was such a fun trip...Thank you Sweetie and Pops for making it so great. We love you and treasured our time with you all.

Thank you so much, Pops!!!

Bowline Knot - The Ultimate Knot

We recently bought Hampton a kid's swing for the tree in our front yard. Ben went out to hang it one night and came in after only a few short minutes. "I need you to look up how to tie a bowline knot," he said. "Papa taught us how to tie one with one hand and our eyes closed when we were little, but I can't figure it out." We found a great knot-tying website and practiced a few times before we climbed up the ladder. It was a little different trying to tie it around a tree. After lots of laughs we hung the swing, and it's even level! Papa would be so proud and Hampton is LOVING his swing. He bangs on the front door wanting to go outside and if he hears a door open he kicks it into high gear to make it out before it closes. The weather has been beautiful and we have truly enjoyed being outside.

Check out those bubbles he's blowing :)

We have a blue bird nest in our backyard. The parents always attack Sydney when she goes near it. The other day, Ben called us into the office to look at one of the babies. This was Hampton's first experience with a wild animal...and this one was WILD. He was very interested, but probably would not have been very gentle. I love that he is so interested in animals!!! He's like his mommy.

Spring

Over the past few weeks we have had some fun outings. The weather has been pretty so the park and the Dallas Arboretum have been calling our names. Here are a few pictures from our spring fever.

Getting some exercise with Caleb

The Dallas Arboretum

Such a big boy standing up

Fresh cut grass...yummy!

Any tips on using photo shop to get rid of those orange cones?

He loved the soft green grass (unlike at home)

Look at me!!!

All that fun wore him out

He is CRAZY about his Daddy!

Playing tough with Caleb

1st baseball hat...

"Get this nasty OU thing off my head"

I've put this off long enough!

I would like to blame my blogging absence on our super crazy busy life, but the truth is...I just haven't had the desire. It has been a long time since I posted about our family, so I'm sure this will be a long one.

In March, we went to South Carolina with Gran and Poppy. Hampton and I flew out on a Wednesday evening. Our flight was quite a challenge since we were crammed into a 6 inch seat next to a man who was trying to sleep. Hampton did not want to follow his example and squirmed the ENTIRE time. Needless to say, we spent most of our flight "playing" in the isle and in the front by the cockpit. Hampton and I got to spend 4 full days at The Cliffs outside of Greenville. The Cliffs is a golfing community with great restaurants and wellness centers. The first night we had a wonderful dinner with white table cloths and everything. This was Hampton's first fancy dinner. I was a little nervous about how he would behave since we had been traveling all day and he hadn't napped well. His behavior was great, but he threw up all over Gran and the fancy white table cloth. We managed to catch most of it, but it was still an embarrassing mess. The next day, Gran and I got massages while Poppy watched Hampton. Just before we left, I put Hampton down for a nap and told Poppy that we would probably be back before he woke up, so it should be pretty easy. He assured me that Hampton would have a dirty diaper while we were gone and he would end up changing it. Sure enough...before he fell asleep he had a dirty diaper and cried until Poppy cleaned up. He never naps with dirty britches. Ben joined us Thursday night after his meetings. All 5 of us played golf on Friday morning. It was overcast and cold, but Hampton was a trooper. Gran and I played alternate ball for the first 9 holes. Let's just say I didn't contribute much to our journey to the hole :). Hampton and I spent the afternoon resting while everyone else finished the round. Saturday the boys played golf while Gran, Hampton and I went to a small town for a "funsie" lunch. We strolled along main street and ducked into a few little shops, but ended up spending our money on treats from a bakery and a few toys for H. Gran bought him a wooden shapes puzzle and magnets that spell his name. He loves the magnets!!! When he is in the kitchen he always plays with them. His new found trick on the trip was waving. We have been trying to get him to wave for awhile, but for some reason he loved waving at Gran...and eventually everyone else.
Hampton was a trooper!!! We went to some fancy restaurants and he was perfect. On more than one occasion we were at the dinner table for more than 2 hours and he remained content. We have been blessed with such a precious boy...I'm a little nervous about his future siblings ;). He has spoiled me!
Before Hampton and I flew home on Sunday, we went for a nature walk. The weather was perfect and we enjoyed the scenery. We all talked about how much fun it will be when our WHOLE family gets to go to The Cliffs. Hampton and I flew home Sunday evening and it went much better than our flight out. We had 2 seats to ourselves on the front row with lots of room to play on the floor.

Thank you Gran and Poppy for such a great trip!

Downtown Greenville

Sweet Poppy

Golf Course with Gran

Not a Huge Fan of the Prickly Grass

The Boys

The Waterfall on Our Nature Walk

Our Sweet Family of Three

His Newest Trick...Waving

Ridin' on Daddy's Shoulders

Playing Like a Big Boy on the Plane

At Home, Playing with His Magnets

Baby Jayde went home to Jesus early this morning. Kanyon is doing well. Please, continue your faithful prayers.

PLEASE PRAY!!!

Many of you will not know these people or ever meet them. But all of you can affect their life dramatically through your diligent prayers.

Some friends of mine from ACU, Jaymie (Spencer) and Kory Phillips were expecting twins. At just 25 weeks the babies were born on Monday. Doctors tried to stop the process, but ended up delivering the babies. They are in NICU in Longview, TX and are battling the first crucial days of their lives. The babies are Jayde and Kanyon. Jayde weighed 1lb 12oz and Kanyon weighed 1 lb 9 oz. Please lift this sweet family up in your prayers as often as you are amazed by the blessings in your life. You can read updates on the family at http://thephillipsphamily.blogspot.com. Thank you so much!!

Well, it's official. As of Tuesday March 20, Hampton can stand all by himself. He can't get to the standing position on his own yet. But if we stand him up he can balance until he wants down. He can even squat to pick something up and then stand again. I must admit that I am proud...he's the only baby in our little group who can stand alone. But as proud as I am, I'm a little sad because my baby boy is growing up too fast. I know his first steps are rapidly approaching. I'm not sure I'm ready :).

He is my treasure!

New Things

Today, I felt one of Hampton's top teeth coming in. It has already broken through and I didn't even know it. Now he has 3 on the bottom and 1 on the top. He's such a big boy.
Tonight when I was feeding Hampton I asked him if he was "all done" and signed it to him. He answered by shaking his head no and when I asked if he wanted more, he grunted. After I gave him some more Cheerios I asked him again if he was finished. This time, he signed "all done". I was so excited and cheered for him. He smiled really big and kept signing "all done, all done". PRECIOUS BOY! I realize that this was probably a total fluke, but I would like to think he is super smart! A fluke or not, I am one proud mommy!!!

Story Time

Hampton has started to love his books...expecially the ones with parts he can touch and move. Reading to him is about the only way to get him to sit still. Ben really likes reading to him. He is amazed that Hampton will sit still while he reads him book after book. I love these pictures...my precious boys!

Hampton was not himself last week. He ran a fever most of the week and wanted to cuddle all the time. His Motrin made him feel much better :)! He was cutting another tooth...on the bottom. He is working on his 3rd tooth on the bottom and doesn't have any on top. He is feeling much better this week and is back on his regular sleeping schedule. Today was the first time he woke up during his nap and put himself back to sleep after fussing for about 15 minutes. He is becoming a big boy.