Letter of the Week: H

***Please scroll down past this post to answer my baby Question #4!!!***

Bless his heart! You would have thought he had won the lottery when I told him we were gong to do a Letter of the Week! It had been A MONTH sense we had done one…birthday, Easter, Nash’s room, etc. just got in the way! But, better late than never! I’ve OBVIOUSLY come to grips with the fact that we are going to get NO WHERE NEAR all 26 letters before Nash’s arrival! But, as Mammer said, “the letters will still be there after he’s born!”              is for

hi*happy*hippo*house*hat*hamburger

hot dog*heart*hand

We started the week with his special H lunch! He seriously would do flips if he could when I tell him he’s getting a “special lunch!” It’s so cute! And, I had fun making this one…

a hand sandwich, fruit on heart skewers, mini pepperonis in H’s, and a banana and cream cheese hot dog!!!…

…and my favorite…the happy face with silly hair and a hat! And, let’s just say, this boy was HUNGRY! Look at his plate after the meal! WOW! It made a mommy VERY happy! Our song/book by Frog Street Press this week was Hippo Hop…It drove Matt nuts! It is kind of an obnoxious song, but Quinn LOVES it!

The word hullaballoo was the part that annoyed Matt the most…and the fact that they say “hoochie, coochie, coo!” Even though we could easily guess the definition of “hullabaloo,” we honestly weren’t sure! So, I looked it up…

hullaballoo: noun
a clamorous noise or disturbance; uproar.

Seriously, I don’t think it’s a good thing like this song portrays!?

Then, we went on a little hat hunt. And, each hat had a heart inside with a capital or lowercase H. Quinn would run to sort them…and wear his hat as he hunted for more!!! 
 

   We tried to put all of the hats on at once, but it was harder than you’d think! :) Q did a little “H” search page! He was so proud of himself when he finished!!!Mid week, Daddy took Quinn on a “Dude Date” to the “XC Dallas” (in Quinn’s words) game! Since Daddy is playing soccer and Q is SO into it, Matt knew they would have a great time! I snapped these pictures before they left. Aren’t they so handsome!!!  When they got there, the camera I packed him was out of battery! SO SAD! So, he got this one picture with his phone. It’s of them with Martellus Bennett  from the Dallas Cowboys! Sadly, I had no idea who he was when Matt excitedly called me to tell me about it! But, cool, none-the-less!
Matt and Quinn both let me know that they had a great time at the game! Quinn was mesmerized by the game and by how far they could kick the ball! He also loved the FC Dallas mascot, Hooper! He got his own to bring home! Perfect for H week! And, he’s slept with him every night and nap since!   While running around, Matt picked up this High Flying Glider for Quinn. Quinn quickly found the H on the package and was SUPER excited to try it out one morning with his Daddy.   We did our H art activity…and Quinn put together the H this time! He did great!… Then, he chose red to stamp his hand all over the H. He thought it looked like Spider-Man’s hand! His imagination kills me!   After going to check on Nash at the doctor and hearing a super strong heartbeat, the three of us headed to the hospital where Nash will be born. We showed Quinn around and talked about what was to come! He loved visiting the “h place.” We read lots of books that started with H this week. This was the favorite……and it always included singing and doing the dance!!! Gotta love the Hokey Pokey!

One afternoon, we made homemade popsicles! And, the next day we tried to eat them but had a really hard time getting them out! ANY TIPS? They were still good all crushed up in a bowl!

One morning, Q and I went through old magazine and looked for H’s and pictures of things that started with H. I really tried to let him do it by himself and he did GREAT! After we cut them all out, he glued them on his page! We’ll do this activity again with other letters, for sure! 
And, for the grand finale of H week, I made a little hamburger snack for my sweet love! Is it not the cutest thing EVER!?!… I used Nilla Wafers, a peppermint patty, green grapes and softened starbursts for the ketchup and mustard! It was a HIT!!!…
And, my super happy boy enjoyed every bite!!!

Up next: Letter B

Question #4

OK…veteran parents…I’m talking to you!!! I need your help!!! I’m an only child so this is SERIOUSLY uncharted waters for me! I’m so excited to hear your responses…

 

What did you do to make the transition

easier from 1 child to 2!?

How did you help prepare/transition your

sweet first born? Did you do any special

activities or events to make

it better for him?

Dear Third Trimester {28 weeks},

Dear Third Trimester {28 weeks},
WHEW! We made it to the third segment of this pregnancy! And, I must admit, you have me tired! Sadly, you never fail to leave me with an aching back at the end of my days! But, you have me so very thankful!!! Thankful that we made it here and thankful that every doctor’s appointment gives us good news.

Because of you, the nursery is starting to take shape. …Walls are painted, glider is recovered, furniture is purchased, and decor is ready to be placed! I’m excited to see it take shape and to watch the first of Nash’s personality show up in his little room. Because of you, showers are starting to be planned by my sweet friends! The little bits I know have me SO very excited! Nash is so blessed to have people that love him so and we can’t wait to celebrate!

Because of you, my belly is constantly in motion! This baby NEVER stops! He squirms and wiggles and jabs ALL of the time…there is really no specific time that he’s more active! I’m praying that it’s not a sign of things to come! :)

At our doctor’s appointment this week, the heartbeat was SUPER strong…150’s! But, when she did a “check,” she felt that he might be breech. So, because of that and the fact that my belly is measuring a little bit small (ARE YOU KIDDING?!?!…It’s HUGE!!!), we get a sonogram at 31 weeks! I can’t wait to see my littlest man’s face! And, I’m praying that he’ll do a BIG flip between now and then!!! Since we’ve made it here, I’m starting to make lists! …Things I need, things I want to do around the house and more! I feel like my nesting instinct isn’t quite as strong as it was when I was pregnant with Quinn, but it’s starting to pick up! I just don’t want to spend too much time organizing pots and pans when I could be enjoying the last little bits with my sweet only child! I must admit that I’m starting to grieve that a little bit…I have a feeling the emotional moments are about to pick up! Because of you, I’m wanting grapes and apples!…But don’t be fooled by the healthy choices… french fries are really good too! Even though I fell a little less “full” than I did with Quinn, my weight is now at about the same place! Let’s just pray that nursing does it magic once again!!! So, dear, sweet third trimester, go easy on me! Don’t go too fast or too slow! And, remind me to cherish every stranger that comments on my belly, every adoring look from my husband, every friend that gets to feel a kick and the little details (like writing in a baby book and looking for the perfect newborn hat) that I get to participate in each day! I am so blessed!

Question #2 & #3!

Let me just say that I LOVED your responses on my Question #1! I can’t wait to look at all of them again and try some of your favorites!

So, since you impressed me so, here are two more EXTRA important questions! ;)

2. What is something that you were SO thankful that you packed in your hospital bag? 

and…
3. Which car seat is cuter? 
(vote on the sidebar)

The one I really want is discontinued, but we have a coupon that is good through the next few days that we can use towards one of these!!!

Our Little Babymoon

This past weekend, on a whim, Matt decided that we needed to take a little time for “just us!” Embarrassingly enough, we (as a couple) have only spent one night away in all of Quinn’s life. And, I had never gone a day without seeing him. So, when Mammer and Slickpaw were willing and able to come and play, we jumped at the opportunity to book our hotel!

Sadly, Mammer’s half-a-day sub didn't show up, so Quinn ventured out with us for the first little part of our get-away. We left at around 2:00 on Friday afternoon and headed to Dallas to check into our hotel. After we saw our amazing room, we started through the list of “must do’s” that Moc-a-Moly had given us!

First stop…JD’s Chippery! YUMMY cookies in all flavors!  We took our dozen to a nearby park and snacked away! I’d say my favorites were the Snickerdoodle and PB Chocolate Chip! …And, despite Quinn’s funny face in this picture, he LOVED them too! After eating, we played and enjoyed our time together. To kill some more time before Mammer and Slickpaw got there, we went to Inwood Village for a little shopping! We all had a good time at Tyler’s! Quinn got some super cool flip flops and Matt got a T! I have a feeling we’ll be shopping there again!!!

While we were still there, Mammer and Slickpaw arrived to pick up our little man! We said our goodbyes, gave lots of hugs and kisses and Matt and I were ON OUR OWN!!! …

And, we were hungry! We headed straight to Matt’s Mexican Food Restaurant. It’s a Dallas favorite and was packed!!! But, since we only needed a table for two, our wait wasn’t very long! And, it was YUM!
  By the time we got back to our hotel, they had turned down our bed and gotten it all ready for the night! Beautiful music was playing and this cute quote was sitting on our bed. I took a long bath and we were so excited to go to sleep knowing that there was no alarm (be it the beeping kind or the three-year-old boy kind) that would wake us! :)

We woke up after 9!!!!! Isn’t that amazing!?!? We took our time getting ready and then walked to the Dream Cafe for breakfast! It was a cool morning and made for a great little walk! We spent hours at breakfast. Eating…drinking coffee…talking…journaling the goals and dreams for our little family! Then, we talked about what we had written. It was such a precious time! And one that we hope happens more and more often!  After that, we packed up our stuff, and headed to the Bishop Arts District. After walking around and browsing for a bit, we parked in the most fun little shop.  The Soda Gallery was the cutest and most well-done little place. We scanned through the CRAZY amounts of sodas before making our selections. Matt chose a Mexican Coke and I got a yummy Strawberry Soda!! We sat there for at least an hour, talking more and enjoying our fun drinks! When 2:00 came and went, we had no nap time to meet! It was fabulous! 5 As we drove back to our hotel, we saw THIS restaurant…crazy huh? … After a good nap, we got freshened up to go out for the night. We found a yummy sushi place, drove around some AMAZING neighborhoods, stopped by CVS to grab our movie candy stash and ended the evening with a trip to Inwood Theatre (our FAVORITE place EVER to see a movie) to see Date Night. We LOVE relaxing in their big couches! It makes a movie so much better!

 

  On Sunday morning, we slept until 9:45, watched a movie in bed and got ready. We waited until the very last minute to check out of our room…then headed back to the Dream Cafe where I devoured the MOST amazing chicken salad sandwich I’ve ever had! …

It was such a fun and easy weekend…and I’m so thankful that we took the time to make it happen! We needed it and I know that, if we didn’t do it right away, we wouldn’t have been able to make time for it between now and Nash’s arrival! …I love my husband and am so thankful that he is truly my very best friend, too!

P.S. A HUGE thank you goes to Mammer and Slickpaw for taking such good care of our little man all weekend! He had TOO much fun and missing us probably never crossed his mind! We are so thankful that they were able to come and pamper him…and, in turn, pamper us! It was a blessing that we will never forget!