It's A...

...GIRL!

I know I'm a little slow at posting this, so hopefully you weren't all waiting on pins and needles.

Rachael and Matt are having a baby girl! I'm so excited and overwhelmed and out of my element. Girl babies seem like aliens to me. :) Can't wait to spoil her though. I had always thought it would be a boy, but then in the last week or so, I wasn't so sure. I ended up wearing blue to the party, so I guess in the end, that was my final answer.

So wrong. :)

I was so glad to be wrong though, since I knew Rachael really really wanted a girl. She and Matt had both thought it was a boy too, so they were in crazy shock after the sono.

I drove up to KC Friday evening and arrived just before the big gender reveal party. Rachael's friend Beth and I helped a bit with decorating and cooking, and then everyone else got there.

Here's photo proof that she's finally got a teeny little belly. Smallest pregnant lady ever award goes to... :)

Team pink:

Team blue:

For the big moment, Matt really wanted to use blue or pink smoke bombs. Since it was cold out, we went downstairs to their walkout basement and watched through the window as he lit smoke bombs whose color was concealed inside an egg carton. It was windy, and he had a heck of a time getting them to light. He gave up on the lighter and used matches...it took.so.looooong. We were all freaking out. Then PINK SMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOKE!!!!!!!!! And there was lots of screaming and hugging. I didn't take any photos of that part since I just wanted to be a part of it. So here's the aftermath the next day.

And Rachael wanted to do some 'It's a Girl!' photos the next day, so we just went out in their backyard real quickly to grab a few fun photos to commemorate the excitement.

So excited for a baby girl. It'll be so fun to do something different. Can't wait to get knee-deep in ruffles and bows!!

Sutton {19 months}

My dear sweet boy, you are 19 months old today! We're on the downhill slope to 2 years old!

Sutton, at 19 months...

*It seems as though you learn something new or develop a new skill every day. I am LOVING this age so much. I try to test you and teach you as much as I can...cycling through the words you can say, trying to get you to say more, asking you to do things to see if you understand, encouraging your independence. I'm finally feeling like a "parent" in that I am striving to help you develop into a smart and talented young man!

*You have lots of new words this month. I tried to keep a list but I'm sure we're missing a few: bubble (usually in reference to the air bubbles used as packing cushion that we like to pop), car, boat, ba-ball (basketball), bird, gawk-gawk (for duck...I think you're trying to say quack-quack, and this is how I first said duck when I was a baby, so that's kinda fun), alright!, copter (helicopter), battery, and the favorite that I hear 21,944 times each day: eeeeee, GO! (ready, go!).

*Dancing. Ohhhhh, the dancing. You are the most interesting dancer I've ever seen. This is probably the hobby of yours that you spend the most time doing. I love it.

*You finally are sitting down in the tub during bathtime and playing, instead of standing the whole time clinging to the edge waiting to get out. After I wash you, I let you play with your toys and foam alphabet for probably 10-15 minutes til the water's cold.

*You still take 2 naps most days. There are some days you just take one long one, but that's usually only if we have something in the morning that runs into your nap time and you are so done with life by that point.

 

*Our sweet friend Ginger is watching you on Thursdays while I scramble to try to get some work done. You do so great there, and Ginger sends me videos of you dancing with Avery. :)

*We mostly have you eat whatever we're eating, and you do pretty well. You definitely dislike most vegetables, and I think your ultimate favorite is strawberries. You've started drinking chocolate milk this month and you can down that by the gallon.

  

*You love to make us laugh. Your such a goofball...that was one of the things that I loved from the start about your daddy, so I'm glad you have it too. We just love having fun together, and if you do something that makes us laugh, you'll clap and do it again. One thing that can really get us going is when you toot...I know I shouldn't encourage it, but it's so funny that YOU already think tooting is funny.

*You made up a new game where you pull the throw rug from the back door into the middle of the room. You stand on it and say "eeeee GO!" and run to the other rug by the front door. And then back. And then again. And again. You usually end up making me do most of the running.

 

*You love to help, so I try to let you help as much as I can. You help me throw laundry down the laundry shoot (as evidenced in the video below), you help me put soap in the dishwasher, you help me put your cars away and even close the dryer after we're done loading it. Be careful what you wish for, you'll be getting your very own chores before you know it!

*You've known where your belly is for quite awhile and will lift up your shirt if we ask you where it is. But this month you've learned where your nose is (and mommy's and daddy's noses) and you kind of know about eyes too.

*Your hair is super dark red from being inside all winter. It's so pretty and we get compliments on it all the time.

*You're sleeping from about 8pm til about 7-7:30am each night. You're a perfect sleeper, you go down without a fuss and usually don't make a peep til morning. I'm so grateful because I need my 8 hours every night. :)

 

*I know every kid has things that are special and unique about them, but I thank God every day that I got YOU as my baby. You are so amazing and you fit in our little family perfectly. We're so proud of you and your awesome little personality and feel so blessed to be your parents!

 

1 Year

Today marks one year since we lost this big guy:

It still stings to think about, and it's crazy to think that Sutton was only 6 months old then. So much of our life has changed since Axl left us! The time has definitely helped, but it still puts a lump in my throat to think about our precious puppy, and all that happened on this day one year ago...the decisions we had to make, the goodbyes we had to say. We'll never forget our Axl...he was one of a kind.

BUT! HARK! :)

Today is also an AMAZING day because...Rachael is finding out if she is having a boy or a girl this June! Hooray! She's more worried/eager to see if everything is on track and healthy...which makes sense since she's a nurse. I'm praying for the perfect little son or daughter for our best friends. But I really, really can't wait to hear what she's having. My initial vote was boy, though now I'm not sure. They're having a party tomorrow night up in KC that I'm heading to where they'll reveal the big news. Can't wait!

Suttons "Cah"

Now that I'm working from home, all my prints and albums are delivered here, so I have an abundance of cardboard boxes. I get restless when Sutton and I don't have something productive to do, so I decided to combine the two issues and make him a car out of a cardboard box. Car is one of Sutton's words, but he pronounces it like a New Yorker..."cah."

We started with a plain box that I cut the top flaps off of.

Put the baby in paint clothes and got to work!

Every time I put a new color on the plate, he would dip his brush in it, and then try to grab the paint off the brush. So he ended up with more paint on his hand, belly, and pants than on the cah.

After I we finished painting all four sides, I put the dogs in the bedroom and carried the messy baby to the bathtub. As I was stripping him down and washing him off, he was playing with the faucet and accidentally turned the shower on, which drenched him. Screaming commenced.

The kitchen floor was a casualty, despite my best efforts.

The painted box. Isn't it pretty? This didn't cost me a dime...I actually dug out some of my old acrylic paints from my college art class days, so this was expensive paint, but hadn't been used in years, so I figured it was fine.

During naptime, I painted some wheels and other details so that he would realize it was a cah. 

 

When he got up, he got some rides in his sweet new wheels. Then he decided his turtle needed a ride. (This turtle is like his babydoll. It's actually for a sprinkler in the summer, but he puts it to bed at night and likes to carry it around). Oh....and feel free to press mute on this one. My voice is NOT like it sounds in my head...

Leap Baby

You know...like leap frog? Adam and Sutton found a fun new game tonight. To translate, he keeps saying, "Go!"

This was about 2 seconds before bedtime tonight, so when Adam stopped, Sutton threw a fit and was real mad. So I tried to continue the fun, and it lasted about 3 jumps. But alas, I am shorter than Daddy and knocked the poor boy over. Then it was REALLY bedtime. Sorry, baby.

Today with Sutton

I realized I hadn't blogged many photos of the baby since he got his new haircut. It's already quite a bit longer than it was (that boy's hair grows fast), but you still get the idea. As I've mentioned before, Sutton is in love with dancing and music. He always wants us to turn on the radio. And in his mind, dancing and jumping are one in the same. So today he was dance-jumping around the house and I grabbed the camera. His current favorite song is Pumped Up Kicks by Foster the People. :)

When I first got my camera out, he thought he needed to sit down and pose.

But this boy is constantly on the move (and his mama is constantly tired...in a good way), so he got up and resumed the jumping.

One thing that many of you may not know is that Sutton is a very strange child. Quirky, if you will. We are always laughing.

There you have it. My strange cute baby.

Natalie Got Married!

My friend Natalie got married Saturday, and it was a beautiful wedding! I was the photographer (of course) :) but I also got to go to all the wedding festivities that I normally don't get to go to since we're also friends! It was super fun. The weekend before we went out on the town for her bachelorette party...

The bestie - Rachael - was a bridesmaid in the wedding so it was fun for her to come down and hang out two weekends in a row!

Rachael, Natalie and me. We all met up at K-State and have kept in touch over the years.

In her embarrassing getup for dinner. :)

Then this weekend, we had the rehearsal dinner on Friday. It was great food and company. 

The view of Wichita from the Petroleum Club at night.

And Saturday was the big day when Natalie became Mrs. Hinkin! It was a long day but it was so amazing to be a part of it. Here's the photo I posted on my photography blog of the happy couple.

Unfortunately the wedding was smack in the middle of Sutton's nap time, so he and Adam couldn't make it to the wedding. They came to the reception for about an hour before Sutton needed to go home and go to bed. Side story...Natalie has a brother named Sutton which is how I first heard the name. He was an usher in the wedding, so at the reception, I introduced Sutton to Sutton...it was cool because big Sutton told me that he's never really met another Sutton!