Cute Shots

Had to share these shots w/ Auntie Liz and Bonbou (sp) and Pop :)
Our little tennis player and for some reason the red makes me think of Liz...I picture Liz having a little girl with a red bow in her hair (but her hair will be dark) :) One day maybe I will be passing on the bows... HA HA

All I want for Independence Day are my two bottom teeth, my two bottom teeth...

Deanne witnessed Mailee making a mess with her brocolli on 4th of July and snapped this picture. I realized last night when I was downloading all the pics that you can kinda see Mailee's 2 bottom teeth :)
Check them out.

Happy Birthday Melody!

So happy you are closing the huge age gap between us! Ha Ha. We are so lucky to have you as not only our nanny but our friend. Mailee loves you!


Check out the BLING on Melody's finger... SHE'S ENGAGED!! :)

Our little Hokie

Mailee finally fits into the cute onesie that Todd and Erika sent.
We had to snap a picture of our little Hokie.

Swim Lessons

Monday Mailee had her first swim lesson... I would love to report that she enjoyed the water just as much as her daddy does, but that wasn't the case... I think she cried 80% of the time :( We THINK she may have just been cold, so we ordered her a baby wetsuit for next week's lesson... we shall see.
Here are a few pictures... don't be fooled though... she really did cry the majority of the time.. I don't know why my pictures don't show it.

7 month update!

It seems like just yesterday John and I were figuring out how to change a diaper or burp our little pumpkin... then you blink and 7 months have passed! So many changes and she is growing so fast (well, kinda 14.5 lbs ;)... we couldn't imagine life without her and I just love starting each and every day with her sweet smile and baby talk in the mornings!






Let's see.... Mailee is up to all sorts of things now... she loves "trying" to talk making a variety of sounds and she loves copying the funny sounds we make.
She is a very active little girl too... she is constantly trying to stand up and she doesn't have much interest in crawling anymore.. this girl WANTS to walk, but let's hope we have a little more time before we have to really start chasing her everywhere!
Her two bottom teeth are coming in too... we can see them popping through! I didn't think it was possible... but this motherhood thing just keeps getting better and better!

John's First Father's Day!

Mailee sure is lucky to have her daddy! From day one she has had him wrapped around her little finger. It is adorable to see the two of them together and as a mom, I couldn't be happier! I love you babe - Happy Father's Day!

We celebrated Father's Day weekend with the Hilburn clan b/c it was also Jay's bday weekend! It is awesome to be able to get the whole family together! Father's Day started out w/ a wonderful breakfast with all the Hilburn dads, then John, Mailee and I headed home to have our own celebration. We surprised him with a BBQ dinner and a digital picture frame loaded w/ tons of Mailee's favorite pictures of her and her daddy!!

Happy Birthday Jay!

We are so glad that we were able to celebrate the birthday of such an awesome brother, brother-in-law and uncle! We love you!

Happy 40th Anniversary Mom & Dad H!!

We are so proud to have parents that are celebrating 40 years of marriage! What a milestone... something to be proud of! You have done so much through the years and best of all raised two sons while teaching them the true meaning of love! Thank you for that! We love you!!!

I love these pictures... they make me think of you two looking towards a wonderful future together while reflecting on the memories you've made in the past... standing on the sandy beach looking at the water for some reason just seems right too.

Happy Birthday Chap!!

Thinking of you on your birthday and missing all the good times we've shared. Can't wait for you and Charlie to come visit us in the Pacific Northwest!

Happy 30th Lauren!!!

oh Mini, you are turning into a true Cougar now! Wishing we were all back together to celebrate with you. Hurry up and move to Whidbey!!!

Austin Turns 5!!!!

Happy Birthday to the sweetest 5 year old boy around! Cha Chi and Cee Cee love you very much!!

Finally... Summer!!!

The gray days are finally gone! We are getting out and about to start enjoying what has already been an awesome summer! There is probably no better place to be than the Pacific Northwest in the summer months (ok, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but still)
We have already been out hiking, to Rosario Beach etc. etc. Jay, Deanne and the boys were here over the weekend and we met them for some grilling at the campground. Looking forward to the warm days ahead!

Videos

So here are a few older videos... I've been meaning to post them, but haven't found the time b/c they take FOREVER. They are from when Mailee first started to crawl and some even from before that when she would do her back flop/scoot. They aren't the best videos b/c I was taking them w/ my camera and it kept running out of space but better than nothing. And of course now she is a much better crawler.. I'll take newer video this week. Grandma R has been bugging me to get these up though.

CRAWLING!!!

Oh boy... so we've been warned that life as we know it is now over since Mailee has just started to crawl! On Friday when she was just a couple of days past 6 months old and after weeks of trying to coordinate her arms and legs to work together she made it across her bedroom rug to get a toy. She still likes to flip on her back and and do her backbend scoot though too... It is hilarious, I need to post some video of that.
Hopefully John and I have a few days to child proof the house before she really starts taking off!

She is also starting to make a lot more sounds and has lots more to say these days; na, and da are her favorites... Of course on Mother's day she decided to put the sounds da-de together - John got a kick out of that.

Happy Birthday Stac!

Happy Birthday to one of my favorite people - EVER! Hope you are enjoying your first birthday as a mom! Wish we were there to enjoy the weekend activities you have planned. We miss you lots!

Can you believe it? 6 MONTHS!

That old saying "Time flies when you're having fun" sure rings true for us these days.... I am surprised at how quickly the first 6 months have flown by since our little pumpkin, our little grinch, our sunshine has joined our family.
We have been amazed watching Mailee grow (not just physically) but how much her personality has started to shine through. My heart melts every morning when I am greeted by my little sunshine. She always brightens my day with her big smile when I come into her room for the first time. I can tell she thinks the world of me, just as I do her. I love everything about her... how soft her skin feels, her smell, the way she lights up when Sahara enters the room, how she watches her in awe. I love that I can comfort her when she needs comforting and how she can comfort me too. She is silly and sometimes demanding and stubborn - but hey, she IS a mix of John and me :)
My emotions are all over the board with every milestone she hits; they go from excitement and pride to fear and sadness of my baby growing up too quickly. On one hand I can not wait to experience all the "firsts" with Mailee through the years and getting to see the world through her eyes... but I also want to hold on to the precious moments of her as a baby who wants to snuggle with me. My good friend, Meredith (who has 3 children, one of whom will be entering high school next year) warned me how quickly the years go by and sometime when I am in a hurry and need to get something done and wishing that Mailee will hurry up and finish nursing... I stop and remember Meredith's warning and advice and hold Mailee's hand and look down at her and think to myself how lucky I am to have my little girl.

Mother's Day

OK, I'm not going to lie... I was really excited for Mother's Day this year! Of course to let my own mom and MIL know how much I love them, but mostly because I had finally entered "the club" and there was finally another day in every year (besides my birthday) when I would be spoiled and pampered! One of my friends here Jen sure had a good idea: to go out for a ladies night on Saturday that way if we are tired on Sunday and need a break we wouldn't feel bad about having dad step in.
So, obviously I jumped on that. Saturday night I enjoyed an evening out for dinner and cocktails and some "adult" conversation and woke up feeling very lucky to have not only an adorable daughter on Mother's Day but an amazing husband as well.
He got up and got Mailee and we enjoyed her beaming morning personality just relaxing in bed... then he got up and made me breakfast burritos (my fav) and gave me some beautiful white roses (he claims that Mailee picked them out) and best of all the sweetest card.
That took a lot of energy for a new mom who had been out late the night before, so I spent a few hours doing absolutely nothing (who knew nothing could feel so good?)
When I finally felt up for an outing, we headed to Washington Park with Mailee and Sahara and enjoyed a little time enjoying the weather and beautiful scenery.
Of course, it wouldn't be Mother's Day without a little bit of humor: As John was snapping the picture below of me, Mailee in Sahara, Mailee decided to give me a special present - yup... some poop on my shirt and jeans. I felt special. :)
Back home for a delicious Italian dinner prepared by Chef John. Mom and Dad H joined us too. It was an awesome day - the only thing that could have made it better is if my mom could have spent it with us too. But I know that Liz took good care of her.

Our Little Grinch

One of many nicknames that Daddy and I gave Mailee is Grinch since she tends to be pretty stingy with those smiles... such the serious baby. Of course we couldn't resist this onesie when we saw it in a store during our Langley trip.

Sweet Cousin Austin

I am always amazed at how much Mailee's oldest cousin Austin looks after her. He always wants to know how Mailee is doing and wants to shower her with so much love. He really does have the biggest heart!
Here's an adorable shot of Austin and Mailee from a couple weekends ago... Austin had picked Mailee a flower and put it behind her ear... Mailee was not so sure about it though. One day she'll know just how lucky she is to have her cousins Austin, Jack and Liam. :)

Welcome Ava Hope

Angi and Justin just welcomed their baby girl, Ava Hope into their family!
She was 7 lbs 9 oz and 20.5 inches long! Congratulations!!!

Happy Birthday Annie!!

Can you believe how the years have flown by... can you believe we've been friends for nearly 20 years?? I miss you lots and cherish your friendship! Wish I could have been at your surprise bday bash.
Love You!

More Tulips

Call me crazy... but I just HAD to go back to get more pictures of the tulips...not once, but twice more :) Soooo pretty! I wish you all could be here to see this!
Who wants to plan a trip for next year???

Yummy.... Solids!

Just a few days ago, at 5 and 1/2 months Mailee had her first taste of rice cereal and seemed to like it. (Well, the little bit that she actually ate and didn't end up on her face, hands and bib). I thought my house was a mess before this... but I guess it is only going to get worse. Oh well... I wouldn't trade moments like these for a cleaner house. :)
Here are a few pics from the past few days. I'll try to load video a bit later.