Southern Babe...

A little over a month ago Hunter and I had the chance to go to North Carolina for a week to visit Blaines family. I loved every minute of it because I finally got a small taste of the Fall season. Living in Arizona really makes a person miss the change of seasons.  Especially Summer to Fall... Which is kind of a bummer because Fall is by far my favorite! It was very nice to get some quality time with his family. We ate tons of good food (love the south), went trunk or treating, visited a pumpkin patch, and even rode the train in the mall.  Nana and Papa sure spoiled our boy.  Can't wait to get back to the south! Christmas can't come soon enough! 

Hunter's First Birthday Party [12 months]...

ONE!!!  My baby is ONE! As cliche as it is to say, but there is no way this possible!   It feels like it was just yesterday we brought him home. We had the chance to celebrate our sweet little man this past weekend and I thought it turned out pretty great. I will share some pics of our fun day but first let me brag about my growing boy... -----------------------------------------------------------------------

This little man of ours definitely keeps us on our toes.  He is non-stop, go GO GO! Constantly walking, running, climbing, opening, closing, playing, babbling, eating, ect. He is all over the place and gets into everything! Hunter is infatuated with cars... Actually anything with wheels. Our living room is covered in cars, trucks, dump trucks, and hot wheels. "VROOM VROOM" is said on the daily in our house. The past couple weeks he has learned and changed so much. He has recently started dancing, waiving, and kissing... lots and lots of kissing (which melts me) On his actual birthday we went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner because B was working. It seemed like everyone and their dog was celebrating a birthday. We heard the birthday announcement every 10 min. It was cute though because H actually clapped! he clapped whenever everyone cheered after. First claps for our little man. As I said earlier, Hunter is always eating. He LOVES food! Some of his favorites are canned peas, mac and cheese, milk, yogurt, beans, peanut butter, blueberries, apple juice, and animal crackers. If you are eating something in front of him, and he wants it, he will stand in front of you and do one of two things; grunt or laugh very excitedly. (the laugh is hard to explain... its something you have to hear to truly understand) This kid currently has a mouth full of teeth...  top four + two molars, bottom four + two molars.  Really?! 10 teeth?! This wouldn't be so bad except for the fact that he bites :/ We try out best to help him understand that biting is not nice... its still a work in progress. Hunter is all boy.... loves to be outside, is constantly covered with scrapes and bruises, and destroys everything in sight.  ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Hunters birthday was small and simple.

[Papa and Nene... Quentin, Kristina, and Adelyn... Maddy... Justin, Kelsey, and Henry... Brian, Teri, and Bo] We had some of our closest people come party with us and enjoy some awesome food made by B.  We had pulled pork sliders on Texas Roadhouse rolls, baked beans, homemade coleslaw, Rudy's creamed corn, cupcakes, and cookies. 

 ^^Someone was a little sleepy during his party

^Best pictures I could manage of the three of them 

^^These two are so in love

Happy Birthday our dear sweet boy... Mum and Dada love you oh so much! We love you more than you will ever know

Hunter's Birth Story...

Since my baby is practically a year old, I figured it was high time I share how this sweet little man came into our lives...  ------------------------------------------ Today (a year ago) B, my mother, and I were anticipating the arrival of Baby H. He was over his due date and we just wanted him to  make is debut. We just moved into a new apartment so we were busy getting all the furniture in order and decor put on the walls. We were hanging the last of the pictures when we received a call from the hospital telling us that we needed to be there within the next hour if I wanted to be induced.  At that moment so many emotions ran through me... nervousness, panic, joy, but most of all... excitement.  I showered, we packed up our things, made sure the car seat was installed, ate some food, and headed to Banner Estrella Hospital. It took about an hour to get all settled in.  We had to fill out paperwork, get put on machines, and answer lots and lots of questions.

Once we were comfortable they started labor. First pitocin: 7:30pm (Nov 13) --> nothing Round two pitocin--> nothing Gel--> nothing Lots and lots of walking--> nothing It wasn't until they broke my water the next morning (7:30am) that things started happening. By mid-afternoon the contractions were kicking my butt.   I really wanted to do the whole thing "natural" but it got to the point when I just couldn't stay awake anymore so an epidural was a must! B was doing an amazing job through all of this... he comforted me, encouraged me, kept me hydrated, and never left my side. Once the epidural kicked in I was finally able to get some sleep. Before I knew it my dad showed up from Vegas, I was fully dilated, and the nurses were coming in.  They placed Blaine on one side of me, my mom on the other, and told me to start pushing.  After about 45 min of pushing and being told how to breathe, we saw our little man.  In movies they always make it seem like babies come out screaming...  Well, in my experience, that is NOT what happens.  They had to clear his airway and unwrap the cord from his neck... It felt like forever (it was maybe 30 seconds) until we heard his sweet cries. He was finally here at 7:26pm. And we instantly fell in love... Our little man... 8lbs 11oz 21.5 inches long. They cleaned him up, checked his vitals, weighed him... He was perfect! Once they were finished with him I held him close.  I tried my best to memorize all of his little features...  His tiny hands and how he had such long fingernails, the way his ears looked like wavy ribbons, and how he sucked on his bottom lip. Blaine sat on the bed with me and we just admired this little person that made us a family of 3. Our lives were changed forever.. for the better. It took us about a day to finally give him a name... HUNTER BLAINE HOWELL and he was ours!!