William's First Fishing Trip

One of our favorite things to do is go fishing. Will has been working like crazy and we haven't been able to get out and go, the weather has also been kinda crappy for fishing as well, but this past weekend we were able to take a little family fishing trip. The place we went isn't the greatest but it is the closest. I thought what the heck it is something to do, and ya never know we could catch a bunch. Well we didn't catch anything!! It was a very nice day out though and I got to be with my two favorite people, but that's the thing about fishing and even hunting for that matter, sometimes ya just don't get a thing.

St. Patrick's Day

One of my favorite holidays is St. Patrick's Day, not only because I have some Irish in me, but because I feel like it is the start of spring. Everyone is wearing green and it is just so bright and fun! This year we celebrated with our bestest friends and even Joe's brother and mom came into town! We had amazing food at the Mercier's and we had the traditional corn beef, cabbage and potatoes and I made my famous M&M cookies with Green only M&M's and I also made a very festive veggie tray.

Joe's mom offered to watch the kids so that us grown ups could have some adult time. She also wanted to spend some time with the kids too (that's what grandma's love to do). I was a little nervous at first because I'm still breastfeeding and the baby has never had a bottle in his life and I didn't think he would take one for her, but we were only a mile down the road and if he gave her any trouble she called me. He did good for the most part and I only had to go back to the house only once, right at bed time which is also his fussy time, but I put him to sleep and Ann and I started our journey back to join the party.

We had a great group of people and we had an awesome time! It was nice to get out for a couple hours without the kids, but I missed my little man like crazy, that's the first time I have left him and it was tough at first, but I knew he was in good hands! This was also one of the last times that we were going to get to go out with Joe because of his new job which is in Iraq.

What a night to remember !!

St. Patrick's Day Photos

"May the Irish hills caress you.
May her lakes and rivers bless you.
May the luck of the Irish enfold you.
May the blessings of Saint Patrick behold you."

4 Months!!!!

Our little man turned 4months old on Saturday! As I sit here watching him play in his floor gym as he is trying to roll over all by himself (and he did succeed a couple times so far) I think how much of a blessing he is. He makes me and Will so happy every single day just by being in our life. He is fully grabbing at things now and laughing and smiling at almost everything we say to him. We even get to carry on conversations with him and it is so funny because its like he knows exactly what we are saying. and let me tell you, he will let you know when he is mad. He has a real temper, and that is for sure from me, and he is so stubborn and that for sure comes from the both of us.

He had his well baby appointment today and he weighs a whopping 17.14lbs... He is still 99% for weight and 90% for height on the growth chart... He is gonna be a big boy for sure! The doctor said that we could start on rice cereal if we wanted too but i think we are going to hold off on that for a couple more months. He is clearly growing just fine and getting what he needs by the looks of it.

Daddy wasn't able to make it to this appointment because of work. Work has really consumed his time with us in the last couple of weeks and we don't see any let up till his orders are up at the end of April, but that's alright because in May we are gonna have a nice little vacation to PA were we can go fishing and enjoy the green grass and trees and lots of family and friends and have some time for mommy, daddy, and baby. We can't wait!

My Sweetest Valentine

Tuff Hedeman's West Texas Shootout

2 weekends ago we went to a bull riding event and it was ten times better than last year! We met up with our friends Karol and Mike and had dinner at a local restaurant and then made our way over to the Coliseum to watch top bull riders in the CBR (Championship Bull Riding). Joe had to work but Ann and the kids joined us anyways. This is Will's and I thing and we were so super excited to take the baby to his first Bull Riding event. We all had our "get-up" on and headed out for a fun night to watch the toughest sport on dirt!

3 months old

Three MONTHS old! Wow! William is growing so fast and he is such a wonderful baby. He is so curious exploring this world. He is grabbing at things, and looking around, holding things in his hands, smiling all the time, laughing, he is even trying to sit up on his own and he loves standing up on our laps. He had to go to a follow up appointment for his head control but the doctor thinks that he is doing 100% better. I mean come on lady he was only 2 months when you were expecting so much of him, but he is so much stronger now. He loves to play with his toys and talk to mommy and daddy. He is starting to laugh really easily now, and he loves to play peek-a-boo and he is so interested in everything. He grew about 2 inches and gained 2 1/2 pounds in one month! He is a big healthy baby and I love every inch of him! He is such a happy guy and we couldn't be more blessed! We are taking him to his first Bull Riding event this weekend and I can't wait, one of Will and I favorite things that we can now enjoy with the love of our life.

2 Months!!!

William boy was 2 months old on Wednesday and let me tell you I would have never thought he would grow this fast! He is already 14 lbs and 4 oz. and he grew 4 inches since birth. No wonder why his 0-3 month pants weren't fitting him... I knew he was growing but I never expected that much. He is such a sweet baby though, he loves being sung too and he loves when mommy and daddy talk to him. He is so alert and he loves looking around. He is staying awake longer during the day, and sleeping pretty darn good at night. He gets up about every 4 hours to eat and then right back to sleep he goes. He loves to cuddle and swing and he likes tummy time too. We still need a little work on head control, but we're getting it!

Will was able to come to his appointment, and I am always happy when he is able to come. He likes to be a part of that too and it's so nice to have him around. I know there are a lot of Army wives that would love for their husbands to be home for little things like this, so I count my blessings every minute!

William got 4 vaccines, 3 shots in his chunky legs and 1 oral vaccine that he did not like the taste of at all. He didn't like the shots as expected but it didn't take him long to settle down afterwards either. It was by far our roughest day yet, and Ann kept telling me it wasn't going to be a good day. When he slept he was good, but when he was awake he let us know that he was in pain, poor guy! I felt so bad for him and the most I could do was just cuddle him and give him infant Tylenol every four hours which really seemed to help him. I was nervous about laying down to sleep, but he slept really good. He really is a good baby, and I couldn't ask for more! I love my chunker!

Poor baby not feeling good

Happy New Year

Well, I bet you all can guess what we did for New Years... Yep, we spent it with our wonderful friends the Mercier's. We ate sauerkraut, mashed potatoes and yummy pork ribs that Joe made. Ann and I dominated the guys in "Catch phrase" and we watched the ball drop. Great night with great friends

*Let it Snow*

Who would have ever thought that I would be wearing flip flops one week and the next week seeing snow fall out of the sky? Not me! Well it happened and I was kind of happy. I really do miss seeing the snow back in PA but what we got here in El Paso doesn't even compare. I really wanted William's first snow to actually be in PA but that's alright, now he can say his first snow fall was in a desert. It just doesn't seem right, but it's funny. When I saw that it was snowing out, I hurried up and put on the baby's cute cute jacket from Aunt Brittany and Uncle Anthony and we headed outside. I'm not sure he liked it too much but I think he just didn't like the coldness on his face. Well it managed to stick over night and that was about it. It was fun while it lasted.

Christmas Eve and Christmas

Well this year was by far the most quiet Christmas Eve and Christmas I have ever experienced, but it still was wonderful and I really did enjoy every minute of it with my new little family and our very best friends the Mercier's. Christmas Eve I had everyone over to our house and I decided to make homemade wedding soup and Ann made shrimp chowder and I also made buffalo chicken pizzas. It was all so delicious and we snacked on our amazing cookies and also apple crisp.

We had a nice little dinner and then we all got our PJ's on and relaxed a bit. Ann and I made hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps and we loaded up in the trucks and went to look at this neighborhood that was all decked out in Christmas lights. It took about an hour to get through the whole neighborhood and let me tell you, I haven't seen that many Christmas lights in one place in a long time. It was really pretty! Will, the baby, and I came back to the house and snuggled on the couch then we ventured to bed because Santa was going to be here any minute :o)

Will read "The Night Before Christmas" to the baby and I and then we went to bed. I was just too excited to sleep because it was our very first Christmas as a family. It was something I was looking forward too for a long time!

Christmas morning was very relaxing and we weren't in any hurry to do anything. I got the kitchen cleaned up from the night before and then we opened presents. All in all I can say it was a pretty successful Christmas. The baby got lots of fun new toys, Will got a "Hickory Farm" beef and cheese gift set that he has always wanted and never got until this Christmas, and I got an awesome new camera. I was not expecting it at all, I was so excited. We sat around playing with our new stuff, and then we got ready and went over to Joe and Ann's house for Christmas dinner.

There we had a nice visit and we exchanged presents and ate TONS of food. We had a wonderful time with them even though we were all exhausted. When we left there we came home and before I even got my shoes off Will was passed out on the couch. It was a great Christmas even though it would have been nice if we could have gotten back to PA but I wouldn't traded it for the world. I had everything I needed right here, my sweet baby boy and my wonderful husband.