little photos round 2

we had some photos taken of our sweet Townes, at just 8 days old.

Erin did an incredible job of capturing the deliciousness that is a newborn

i just adore these and am so happy to have this special time documented so beautifully

i think this one is my favorite.

 we did attempt some photos of Judson and Townes and some family photos and they went... ok. 

but will keep me from attempting a family photo session again for another 18 years.

just when you think you've got parenting a toddler under control or simply maintained... try family portraits.

and what kind of mom would i be, if i didn't do a side-by-side comparison of my children, huh? 

besides the obvious difference of their level of modesty, they look incredibly different to me.

but i'm pretty sure that you haven't studied their faces as intensely as i have-day in a day out.

let's talk about the hairlines.

i love my little Townsie

and cherish these photos that look so serene, when in reality...i felt like my head was spinning off of my body as i was sweating like a pig. hi-five to one week post-partum!

if you are interested, click here for Judson's newborn photos

Judson talks....

...and never stops

this kid

he is entertaining
at 21 months, he is able to have a conversation (i use that term loosely) and get anywhere he pleases.
he repeats everything. EVERYTHING. be careful little ears.
thanks to Hoda and Kathie Lee he said "gaaaaawsh"repeatedly the other day.
he most often responds to our questions with a "kaaaayyyyy" or "uh-huuuuuuuh"
emphasis on the second syllable.

he talks incessantly
and moves his body in the same fashion
thank goodness he sleeps like a teenager on summer break
little buddy slap wears himself out doing all that running, jumping, climbing and talking.

and wearing this.

some of his specialized words include:
"Ninny"- Honey
"bay-bank"- blanket
"dah-doh"- Donald. for Old McDonald
"pee-pee"- Pizzza. go figure
"ah-hi"- outside
"nay-nay"- lemonade
"tray-tray"- trailer (flat bed, not house. although we having nothing against the mobile home)
"Geggy"- Grammy
"Git"- Garrett

and of course "doo-droh"

Woodrow, the most patient and kind dog

 he is putting two and three words together, attempting a sentence.
with a giant pause in between words
"biiiig____truck"
"town____hole"- Townes, hold. he wants to hold the fragile newborn (no, but thank you)
"new____oooosh"- new shoes
anything that starts with an "s" does not have an "s" when JR says it.
 i.e., "ocks"- socks, "eee"- see, "it"- sit, etc
he says "new" for anything that he has never seen before
and says "ole"- old when he sees a sippy cup that has been sitting out for a while, holding ole mom responsible for any rotten milk.
watching hunting shows, "ooot nuddah"- shoot another. his fathers doing

(i apologize for the excessive amount of quotation marks)

and let me emphasize the enthusiasm in which he says all of these things and the number of times he says them. it's a lot. a whole lot.

he also wants to go "down___pahn___ish___orrr-orr"- down to the pond to see the fish on the four wheeler
he will repeat his sentences over and over(and over to infinity) until you repeat it back to him and get it right.
to which he replies, "KAAAAYYYY" every enthusiastically, delighted that we finally understood him!

my personal favorite, "Wub"- love you

the first month

i blinked.

and here we are. 

 Townes Wesley, you are 5 weeks old!

you are such a little love nugget and i am addicted.

if we are apart for any length of time, i start having withdrawal symptoms. you are just the sweetest little thing!

it's truly amazing how well you just fit our family, as if you have been here all the time.

let's pick up where we left off (1 week) and do a little week by week update on your life thus far, shall we?

you are a delight little buddy

you end up in our bed more often than i would like to admit

but i actually really love it

1st Saturday morning at Cracker Barrel with the Mamaw's

1st horse show at the Ike Hamilton

lots of naps on mom and dads bed

those lips...i can't stop kissing them!

you prefer to sleep on your stomach

you're a noisy little fella-making puppy noises, grunting, squeaking
and all noises are magnified if laying on your back.

they're mostly due to gas, i'm thinking.

if you grow into your toots, you're going to be a big man...they're epic.

let's move on, shall we?

we had our good friend and photographer Erin come over to take some photos of you and our fam

we love her, she's the greatest

i've also got the hots for the lighting guy

week 3 brought some new friends!!!

Linley June was born!

we just love her

i'm so excited to watch your relationship as your both grow

your brother and her sisters are the same age...what fun we are going to have in the years to come!!!

you also met one of my best friends

Buzz from Dallas.

 or Laura if you prefer.

she came to our house to meet you and you slept the entire time.

what a charmer, you are!

your first month has been very busy, little man.

and you have taken to it like a champ!

you visited your daddy at his office for the 1st time

you took your first road trip to Texas and were pretty happy about it

we went to church with you for the first time

you are starting to smirk and make hilarious faces

and you try so hard to talk and are starting to smile (on purpose!, i think)

i love hearing your "coo"

if you aren't asleep, you are moving. your arms, legs and head are in constant motion.

and you neck is incredibly strong, you hold your head up and look around like a big kid.

if i remember correctly, your brother wasn't even as active as you at this age (which makes me incredibly nervous about your future activity level!)

your dad just said the other day that holding you is like holding a slinky.

constantly readjusting to keep a good hold on you!

i like your little spunky spirit! 

your brother still asks for you and about you all of the time

he's learning to be gentle with you, but with little success

we're working on it.

little Townes, we are so glad that you have joined our family

you make our days a bit sweeter and our nights a tad bit longer

and we wouldn't have it any other way

i sure hope the rest of your life goes more slowly than this first month, but i kind of doubt it.

i so enjoy you and want to soak up every single second of kissing, rocking, feeding, smelling and loving you

We praise God for the gift that we have received in you!

How to manage life with 2 kids and other random things

HA!

i kid, i kid.
i know nothing about managing life with 2 kids

16 days into this gig and I have, most definitely, NOT figured it out.

and i assure you that I will never have the answers to life with kids.

except to live next door to your mom...

for years i have loved the name Everly and thought that i would possibly name my daughter that one day, if i had a daughter. The only place i could recall ever hearing that name was in a song I listened to in college.
1. we haven't had a girl yet
2. the name is getting more popular (thanks Channing Tatum)
3. i couldn't remember what song it was
so, the other day i had the "singer-songwriter" station playing on the tv and I heard it.
Brandi Carlile, "Happy"
and wouldn't you know? it ain't Everly. it's Amber Lee.
"I'm happy, can't you see? I'm alright, but i miss you, Amber Lee."
close, Kate. real close.


i have decided to quit trying to wear my regular jeans and wedding rings
i thought my hands were just pregnancy swollen
but 2 weeks post-partum and the rings still won't fit...perhaps it's not just edema. yikes!
we'll try back in a few weeks or months.
perhaps i'll just get a "GT" tattoo on my ring finger!?

speaking of GT, he has been building stuff like crazy lately and it's awesome!
he fashioned us a fence around our A/C and trashcan last weekend. 

with some stellar help!

ain't it grand???
so straight and pretty!

he also built this little wall thing for Townes little nook in our bedroom

out of pallets
i love it
just love it

Townesy is treating us well, still a dreamboat!
unfortunately i am still in school this semester which meant, i had to get in some clinical hours
which meant, i had to give him a bottle
and i was sad, but he took it like a champ!

JR wanted to "hawp"
and help he did
he is surprisingly a good helper.
not mad about it.

i have about 2 weeks left in this semester and then i get a 2 week break and i am living for those weeks!
so, once that break rolls around, i will do some major blog catching-up.
for now, i am catching up on a LOT of work that i got behind on when i-you know- had a baby.
yesterday was my first day back at clinical and i think i delivered more than just a baby in that hospital room, i delivered every single ounce of knowledge and thought-processing potential i ever had.
hopefully it's still filed away in there somewhere, as i have a final next Monday.

happy thursday peeps.
hope this random post found you well and chipper.

1 week young

i've heard that the baby stage goes by more quickly with each baby that you have.

i will verify that, as this was the fastest week i can recall to date.

we have done a whole lot in this week

and i so don't want to rush this

Townes Wesley, you are the best 1 week old that I know!

you are an easy keeper and are very alert 

probably questioning all of the ruckus going on around you

we have spent a lot of time snuggling you and your unbelievable sweetness

but, we have also been getting out and about. 

to the mall

to a night with Kari Jobe and Christine Caine. which was incredible!!!

you slept the entire time, except for waking up to eat

and it was LOUD, but you were sleeping beauty

we have had your cousins, aunts and uncles over to visit

gone to your Aunt Chrys and Uncle Johnny's for lunch and cousin fun

 to your Mamaw Jo's for Sunday lunch with the fam

and out to eat lunch twice!

of course, we have spent quite a bit of time at your Honey and Pa's

your Honey spoils us and we really don't know how we'd survive without her next door

we are really enjoying every second with you!

you eat and sleep really well and i am hoping that continues FOREVER!

after you eat, you nuzzle up on my chest with your arms folded under your chin and i can't even handle it. 

you had your first doctors visit and you are already back up to birth weight 

packing on them lb's....or ounces

which will come in handy, since you will need to keep up with your big cousins and brother

i praise God for the gift of YOU!

even though you've only been here for 1 week, it seems that you've been in our family forever.

so quickly, i have forgotten what life was like without you in it.

your brother is pretty fond of you, too.

he asks for you each time after he wakes up and gives you kisses before he goes to bed.
if he doesn't know where you are, he will call out, "Town?" and search until he puts his eyes on you.
he's going to teach you lots and take good care of you....until you can fend for yourself, i'm sure.

we praise God for you, little Townes Wesley

He has truly blessed us beyond what we could have asked or imagined!