8 Months

Well, I obviously did not do a very good job of updating the blog any more often than usual...so here is my monthly post.

Hunter is now 8 months old! He is continuing to grow and change everyday. This photo shoot was a little more challenging than any others.






And now that Hunter is sitting up it gets a little more interesting!




By the time we were finished that 8 month sign was in pretty bad shape. He was so quick. By the time I would get him and the sign in place .... the sign would be in his mouth. I believe this will be the last one I will be able to do on my own. I may need some assistance next month. Hunter is a curious little guy!

Hunter has sprouted his first teeth! Yes - teeth .... he now has two bottom teeth. Hunter's teething symptoms included: a slight fever, runny nose and sleepless nights! All of these wonderful things lasted for about a week and a half. Thank goodness for teething tablets ... they worked like magic! Hunter does not always show his teeth, but here is a really cute pic of him hiding his teeth!



Hunter is also exploring the sippy cup. Right now he thinks it is a giant teether that gets him all wet. He will drink out of it if I hold it for him ... which totally defeats the purpose. I am sure in no time he will get the hang of it.



As I mentioned earlier, Hunter is sitting up!!! This milestone happened very quickly. One day he was very wobbly and needed lots of support .... then literally the next day he was sitting up with no support at all!!! He is so proud of himself. When he sits he has a look of accomplishment on his face.







Hunter took to the whole sitting thing really well! He now prefers to sit and play rather than roll around. Our little boy is growing up and becoming so independent!

One of Hunter's favorite things to do is go to the park. A few days a week in the evening his dad and I will load Hunter up in the stroller and walk to the park in our neighborhood. It is a short enough walk that Hunter is actually awake when we get there. The park has all new equipment. Right now Hunter prefers the swing.




Something Hunter is not very fond of right now is swimming. Ryan's nephew had a swimming party, so Hunter's Aunt and Uncle attempted to take him swimming. Poor guy cried .... it kind of reminded me of his baptism. I thought he would like it because he really enjoys his baths. I guess it may have been a little over whelming and a bit cold. In the mean time, we will just stick with a kiddie pool in our back yard. Here is a picture before his traumatizing swim :-)



I am so excited school is finally OUT!!! Now I get to spend all of my time with this cutie......



This month was my first Mother's Day! I feel so blessed to be a mother. It is truly an amazing adventure. Here I am with Hunter on this special day!



I am very lucky to have a wonderful example to follow ... Thank you Mom!

Solids, Easter, Baptism, Bluebonnets and Seven Months ....Oh My!

That's right ... Hunter is Seven Months!!! Here he is in his monthly photo shoot.....

Taking these pictures is always so much fun. As you can see, he is still just as happy as can be. He has also found that his feet have these little things called toes. He loves his toes! Hunter is also rolling over and once he gets his arm out from under him he can hold his head up pretty good!

*********Solids**********

Hunter is also moving on from the bottle and enjoying some veggies and a few fruits. So far he likes carrots, peas, green beans, squash, pears and bananas. He (or his tummy) does NOT like sweet potatoes, apples or peaches. Here are a few picture from one of his first feeding. He is enjoying some rice cereal.

Just look how happy he is with a full belly!

**********Easter**********

This past month Hunter also celebrated his first Easter. I attempted to get some creative Easter pictures of Hunter. This is the best I could do with a curious baby and a bunch of eggs that roll everywhere!

The Easter Bunny even brought Hunter an Easter basket full of goodies!

Hunter slept through his first egg hunt. So Mommy hunted his eggs and his cousins helped. He was so excited to see his basket full of candy and little chicks.
Actually I think he was still trying to wake up from his nap. But once he was awake he was ready to get a hold of those eggs! Here he is with his cousins at Mimi and Pawpaw's after his exciting egg hunt. He is trying to get his hands on his eggs!

**********Baptism**********

The weekend after Easter was a very big day for Hunter. Hunter was baptized at St. Mary's Catholic Church. He was so adorable in his baptismal outfit. He looked very proud that he would be soon be apart of the Catholic church.

Here we are with Hunter, his wonderful Godparents, Michael and Sarah.

The mass was wonderful and the church was so beautiful. It was such a wonderful day. What made this day even more special is that a year ago to the exact date we had our very first ultrasound. At this ultrasound we saw and heard Hunter's little heart beating for the very first time. The same little heart that God gave life to. We were so blessed to have two such important events shared by the same day.

**********Bluebonnets**********

We took Hunter on a little road trip on a Bluebonnet hunt! We found the perfect spot right outside of Chapel Hill. Here are some of the pictures of our little man in the pretties flowers in Texas!

**********Oh My!**********

It seems like these months are flying by! Hunter is accomplishing so many little milestones and experiencing so many new things my monthly post are getting longer and longer. I am going to do my best to post a little more often.

Cute Comparison

Check out his picture and see how much Hunter has grown ......

The little outfit next to him was one of his preemie outfits. He wore it a few times when he was in the NICU. It looks so tiny!

Half A Year Old

Hunter is 6 months old!!! Seriously ..... how can half a year go by so quickly? Half a year!!! WOW! It seems like everyday Hunter hits a new milestone. Here are a few pictures from our 6 month photo shoot. It took a while to get the shot, but it was so worth it.....and so much fun!







As you can see he is starting to use his hands a WHOLE lot more! He is grabbing everything and anything that is near him. One of his favorite games to play is tug a war with a blanket. He holds on so tight with both of his hands .... he almost beat me a few times!

Usually whatever he gets his hands on will make it to his mouth. Here he is trying to figure out which pacifier he is going to use.


This month Hunter accomplished a new milestone. He rolled over from back to belly! The first time it happened was when he was at Mimi's. She texted me a picture of him laying on his stomach. Being a working mom I know I will miss out on a few things. Thank goodness for technology I felt like I was right there. Here is the picture she sent me.


When we got him home that evening he showed off for us too ......



Hunter is also able to join us at the dinner table. Ryan and I are very happy to finally be sitting at the table as a family. Right now Hunter is not enjoying food at the table, but toys. When he is sitting there he has a look on his face like he wants some food too. I am sure it will not be long before he is eating right along with us.
Hunter loves to go outside. He likes to sit on the swing with us and watch the trees. We have also taken Hunter on a few walks. Now that the weather is cooperating I see many more walks in our future. Here he is ready to go sporting his camo hat.

By the time we got home he was sound asleep.

Since Hunter is able to support his body a little more he can enjoy an occasional ride in his jeep. Let's just hope he learns to drive like his daddy.

Hunter is getting more handsome and cute everyday. He smiles and laughs all the time. During this past month I have taken close to 300 pictures of Hunter. I wish I could post them all, but here are just a few of my favorites.





Ryan and I are so amazed at how much Hunter has grown and how quickly he is changing. We are so thankful for every moment we get to spend with our little MVP!

"God has poured out his love into our hearts." Romans 5:5

One Year Ago

One year ago Ryan and I found out we were expecting. We were so happy but still a little scared. Ryan and I were the only ones who knew the wonderful news ... it was our little secret. This was the day that would forever change our lives!

Ryan and I are so thankful Hunter is here and healthy. Although our pregnacy path was not like the norm. ........ we would have not changed it for the world!

"The Lord is my strength and my sheild; my heart trust in him, and I am helped." Psalm 28:7

5 Months

Here is our happy little 5 month old! Hunter is weighing in at 17lbs and is getting more adorable everyday. As you can see by the picture he loves to laugh and smile. He is very ticklish, just like his momma. Even is you pretend like you are going to tickle him he will bust out in a giggle. One morning he woke up around 3 a.m. I went in to check on him. He looked at me and just smiled the biggest smile and started laughing ...yes even at 3 in the morning it was the cutest thing ever!

Hunter has also found his legs. He likes to lay on the floor and raise his feet in the air. He tries to kick whatever is hanging. Now that he is moving his legs and feet more and more it leads us to this......One sock on and one sock off!

Hunter is working on sitting up and rolling over. He can sit in his Bumbo pretty good, but he is not ready to sit on his own. Without the Bumbo he can sit up for just a little bit on his own then he will slowly start to lean forward. I am sure in no time at all he will be sitting on his own.

Yes he is sitting in a purple Bumbo. We are borrowing it for now. I figure once he masters the whole sitting up thing he really won't need the Bumbo much.

As far as rolling over goes, Hunter is pretty content with staying on his back or belly. He can get to his side from his back, but he has only done that a few times. So here he is on his belly working on holding his head up and moving it around. I keep tucking his hand under his chin, hoping to get a roll over from belly to back.

One BIG accomplishment Hunter has made is sleeping through the night. He usually get a good 5-6 hour stretch in, but so far we have had 3 total 8 hour nights! Two of those night have been in a row ..... and mommy feels SO refreshed! Hunter really does like his crib. He sleeps on a wedge which helps his reflux. Here he is hanging out in his crib watching his mobile.

Hunter has enjoyed watching the Olympics. I think it is all of the white snow that gets his attention. Here he is watching curling. I took the picture at the perfect time and got the Olympic logo too!

Hunter still looks a lot like his daddy and he is starting to act a lot like his daddy too. Here are a few pictures so you can see what I am talking about.

He is such a silly boy!