November and December

Ok...so I am FINALLY sitting down to do a blog entry. You know, when you let so much time go by it's hard to get motivated and to remember what's even gone on to blog about. So, I'll just give a little recap of the last 2 months and hopefully I will get in the swing of things in the new year. November and December have been a lot of "firsts" for the Hill kiddos.

Lucy has given us her first smiles, her first attempts to coo and talk, her first diaper EXPLOSIONS, her first Thanksgiving and Christmas, first time to see Santa, her first trip to Columbia, first time to sleep in a crib somewhere else (she did great by the way), first time to sleep through the night (we are now consistantly sleeping from 10pm to 8am...thank you, Jesus!), and I'm sure many more "firsts" that are slipping my mind.

Henry has also grown up so much in just the last few months. He can count to 10 (always skipping 7 for some reason), he is able to say the alphabet (skipping a few random letters along the way), and is doing great at learning his colors. I am such a proud mom and love the fact that he loves to learn! It must be a first-born thing! It doesn't feel like work or class to teach him something new because he really just loves to learn. He is still obsessed with any form of transportation...trucks, trains, airplanes, buses, cars. He also has a love for coloring, which sounds sweet but is not one of my favorites. We are finding random "drawings" on walls, furniture, etc. He loves to find the moon in the sky at night. He remembers certain funny things that he does with different people. For example, he always has Laura and Megan smell his feet and wants them to say "shoo wee" and he has Sarah and Grant dance with him, he tells Papa about his truck, wants John to draw on his hand (which his Mama doesn't love) and so on. He has also had a few "firsts" of his own with his first time to have Christmas morning at our own house, his first poop in the tub (good ole Daddy got that one out!), his first time to play and interact with his little sister, his first time to eat real peanut butter (seems to be just fine), and many others I'm sure.

We love our kiddos and they continue to keep us entertained and on our toes. We are so thankful for our beautiful family and look forward to 2010. Our New Year's resolution...No more babies this year! (Seems like a joke, but it is for real!) :) So, there's my little brag letter about my family. Happy New Year!!

Lucy Elizabeth Hill

On Friday, October 23 at 7:51 am we welcomed our newest angel, Lucy Elizabeth Hill. She was 8 pounds 10.6 ounces and 20 1/4 inches long. She has been a joy every minute since her birth. As hard and challenging as it is, I still cannot imagine life without her. We are concluding our first week, and we have all been adjusting pretty well. We (actually, my mom) had a hard first few nights with Lucy while she was awake every hour wanting to eat. We worked through it during the last few days and last night had a pretty successful night and Lucy only woke up in time for feedings. Not bad for just a week old! Mom heads home on Friday, so this weekend Anderson and I are finding out what "real life" is going to be like. On one hand I know it will be challenging and exhausting, but it's still exciting. So, here are a few pictures of our sweet little Lucy. (I put a huge album on Facebook if you want to see more.)

Henry's last time to see Lucy in the belly.Welcome Lucy Elizabeth Hill

Our new family of 4!

Sleeping Beauty

Getting ready to go home in her dress that Ouida (Lucy's Granna) made for her.

Welcome Home!

Big brother, Henry, loves his new sister...most of the time!

Henry's Toddler Room

Here are pictures from Henry's new toddler room. Fortunately, it's a big room so we had plenty of room to add a crib until we're ready to transfer him into a big boy bed. We decided to do sort of a cowboy themed room and I think it's turned out really cute, and not too "theme-oriented". We were so fortunate to have Anderson's mom and Memom help us out with making the valences, pillows, and bed skirts. There are a few things that we still need to complete in his room, but it's pretty much done.

His letters were my arts and crafts project one day. I'm still not sure how I feel about making them plaid, but I guess they'll work for now.

I was so excited to find this changing station at a consignment sale. It was mint green, brand new and just $30. A little spray paint and it's good to go!This is a cute sign that Henry's Aunt Kim had given him as a baby. It's hangs over his door to his bathroom.

Lucy's Nursery

Here are some pictures I took of Lucy's new nursery. There are a few detail things that aren't completed, but for the most part it's done! We are happy with how it turned out and can't wait to see her enjoy it. We jokingly call it the "Steel Magnolias room" since her colors are pink and pink! What can I say?? I'm tickled pink!!

Her daddy worked very hard to hang the chandelier.

Sarah, Lucy's Tutu, painted the tree in her room. She is so talented!! That is one of my dresses from when I was a baby hanging on her closet door. I love that Mom still had that.

This is a door that I got at the antique flea market in Atlanta. I love it and it gives us a splash of another color.

Amusing

Again, this is from a few weeks ago and it's completely random, but I find it amusing. Henry has always been my little "cheeser". He is great at taking pictures and hamming it up for the camera...until lately. Now he just gets mad because he wants to hold the camera and not pose for it. Mom tried to take a family picture of us on gameday and as you can see Henry was not thrilled about it. She decided to give him something to hold and the closest thing was a loaf of french bread. That's all it took! Check out the grin!! Hilarious! What can I say? We love carbs!?!

Picture attempt #1.

Picture attempt #2! Here's to french bread!!

Gentry Farm

About 2 weeks ago we went to the Gentry Farm in Franklin. I have always known about it, but have never been. We had such a great time! There was so much to do and we were amazed at the organization of it all. Henry had such a great time trying out all the different activity areas. And let me just say how thankful I am for a helpful husband! Anderson is such a good daddy, and it makes things so much easier as I get bigger and more uncomfortable. Yes, there are tons of pictures but I just couldn't decide which ones to post. We highly recommend the Gentry Farm is any of you have never been.

Henry playing in the log cabin. He loved playing with all the dishes and pretending to feed himself.

Henry and Daddy playing with the corn. Who knew this could be so much fun?

Checking out the goats and all the other animals.

Henry loved riding the tractors!

The tire swing was maybe not the best thing to try at this age, but Henry wanted to do it once he saw the other kids doing it.

We highly recommend taking a wagon verses a stroller. SO much easier and nice to carry your pumpkins away!

Family pic on the truck. Yes, my stomach is huge!

First Weekend of Fall

Steve and Ouida hosted a fun fall family day this past weekend. The Hill side of the family got together to enjoy beautiful weather, good food, a fun hayride and good conversation. Here are some pictures from our fun weekend. Yes, there are quite a few and mainly of Henry, of course.

Big Dolores...hehe

Well, we officially have a huge baby in my belly. I went to the doctor today for a scheduled ultrasound since Lucy has been measuring so big. Well...rightfully so. (First of all, we discovered that she is also a breech baby. We make beautiful babies, just upside-down.) So, Miss Lucy is already weighing in at approximately 5+ pounds and I'm just about 35 weeks. They estimate at the end of pregnancy that the baby will gain about a pound a week. Due the math! They are estimating that Lucy will be a 9+ pound baby!!! GOODNESS GRACIOUS! This is one of those moments where I'm thankful for a known c-section delivery. She is going to look so big up against those 6 pounders in the nursery. I just wanted to pass along our new baby news.

The Date is Set!!

Well, we officially have our date set for the arrival of Miss Lucy. Since we ended up with a c-section with Henry, we have one scheduled for Lucy as well. It's strange how official and planned it is this time around. Of course, all plans are out the window if we go into labor before the scheduled date...which I gladly welcome. So mark your calendars...Friday, October 23 we are admitted at 7:30am and surgery begins at 9:30am. Crazy, huh? So...there you have it!

1st day of school

Well...we did it! We survived the first day of school...both of us. Henry cried and was not very happy when we walked in the classroom. (This is a new phase we're in though: separation issues) I sat down to play with him and show him all of the exciting toys, and he would walk to them with interest and then get upset again when he'd see me start to stand up. So...I decided to go ahead and leave the room to turn in forms and checks and come back to check on him. Thankfully, when I returned the teacher smiled and said "He's just fine. Go on. " So, off I went. I didn't think it was possible to go so many places in just a few hours. It was strange not having him with me, but I was pleasantly surprised with how productive I was. He was sound asleep when I arrived to pick him up and they said he had a great day. I loved having his daily report in his bag to see what all he played with and enjoyed at school that day. I really think this is going to be a great thing...for both of us. Day 1: success!

Growing Up...

This has been a big week (or few weeks) for us at the Hill house. Henry has officially started walking...FINALLY! :) I guess it's better late than never. He will still crawl when he sees something he wants badly and wants to get there fast, but he mainly just wanders around the house (usually carrying something like a box of raisins or the Wii remote) testing out his new skill and smiling. We have also transfered him to his toddler room this week. We are still finishing up the decor in the room (I'll post pictures when it's finished) but his new bed is made and he has transitioned beautifully. What a blessing! I wanted him to have a few weeks in the new room before Lucy arrives and takes over the nursery. Yes, he is still in a crib for a few more months, so that has helped with the transition I'm sure. And finally to top off our week, Henry will be starting Mother's Day Out this week. He is going to go just 1 day a week this first year, and he starts Friday. Please pray for little tears and no melt downs...on either side. It's so bitter sweet for me. It's wonderful to see how much he's grown and what a sweet boy he's becoming, but hard to feel like our baby is gradually changing into a boy. So, all in all it's been a pretty eventful week. Here are a few pictures from the last week or so...

Here are Henry and Anderson on the first Game Day of the new season.Bye bye baby boy nursery. Playing in the back of the truck with Daddy. We have a new found love for trucks!

Welcome to Blogging - General Update

Well, the Hill family has joined the world of blogging! This is pretty new to us, so we'll do our best to keep it updated.

Life is pretty busy right now. Henry is growing and turning 17 months old this week! He is blossoming into such a sweet boy and has such an expressive personality. We're in the process of setting up a toddler room for him as we prepare the nursery for our new little addition. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with the deadline ahead and with all of the little decisions that have to be made. Anderson is busy traveling with work, while also trying to help me out at home as I get bigger and more uncomfortable.

We'll do our best to get some current pictures posted soon. We look forward to sharing our lives with you and learning more about this blogging process.