Trip to Tennessee

Walking

It's official!!! Hampton took his first steps today. Late this afternoon, Ben took a quick break from work to play for a few minutes. We decided to try to get Hampton to walk back and forth to us. We have tried this before, but he was not interested...we even tried this morning. After his nap and this evening, he was loving it. I was so excited...it's been a long time since my cheeks hurt from smiling and laughing, but the did today...twice. I'm so proud of him. Those of you who are moms know what I mean when I say that there aren't words to express the joy of your child's achievements. I cannot express much fun it is to see him proud of himself. Hampton is my "joy and crown."

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Happy Birthday!!!

Hampton was itchin' to celebrate his first birthday...bug style!!!
here are pictures...details to follow

We had such a great party at our neighborhood pool! Lots of our friends came to celebrate with us and Ashlee brought the kids (Emerson, Sadie and Campbell). My parents brought Hampton's Gigi from OKC. We had balloons, pizza, cake, swimming and presents.

Campbell - Sadie - Ashlee - Emerson

Hampton

Playing with Uncle Ben/Daddy in the cold pool

Hampton loves the fountain in the baby pool.

"I love my Pops!!!"

Hampton playing in the fountain with his friends.

Ben and I made bug's antennae for all the kids to wear at the party.

First pizza

Emerson and Me
Daddy - Sweetie - Gigi - Pops - Mommy

Hampton

This is the life!!!

Caterpillar Cake

Singing Happy Birthday

Kroger was supposed to make Hampton his own little round cake, but they dropped the ball. Ben went to pick up the cakes. I'm glad he handled it. They ended up giving us one of the cakes in the case that happened to be a HEART! Needless to say, we were a bit upset, but ended up getting the cake for half price.

Campbell just couldn't wait for his own piece and sneaked a taste of Hampton's.

YUMMY!!!

"Hmmm, my hands are dirty."

"I'll use this napkin to clean up."

So big!!!

The cake was tasty, but the icing left it's mark...on everything!

Hampton's playgroup friends with their antennae.

What a precious little bug!!!

Hampton,

Your daddy and I love you so much and are amazed by you daily. You are such a joy and blessing to us. We are in awe of how much and how fast you learn. You are quick to smile and love waving at strangers who aren't looking at you. You always look at me as if to say, "Don't they know I'm saying hi?" You love to ride in the basket at target. You hold on to the front and bounce up and down in excitement. When we go "fast," you look back at me with the biggest smile as if there is nothing better in life. You can say "dada, mamamamama (milk, not Mommy), dog, duck, and bye bye." You make the same sound for Sydney, but it would be a stretch to say that you could actually say Sydney. You aren't walking yet, but we aren't pushing the issue. You are absolutely crazy about your Daddy and light up when he is around. I know you love me too! Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!!!

We love you,

Mommy and Daddy

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!!!