Phoning It In

Since it's the end of the month, Tanner cleaned out her photo album on her iPhone. Here are some of the pics she's taken lately. Enjoy!

These Boots Are Made For......

.....playing with, of course!

Birthday Weekend

Saturday was Tanner's birthday, so we've been busy celebrating! Friday night, we had yummy petit fours from A Specialty Bakery, which were delicious as always. On Saturday, Grandi & Granddaddy kept the boys while we went to Pensacola. Tanner was wanting to browse some new stores and pick up some spring clothes, and since it has been forever since we'd bought stuff for ourselves, we went for it! We absolutely shopped until we dropped, but it was so much fun. We don't really know the last time that we had the whole day to ourselves with nothing to do but goof off....it was such a treat! Sunday was busy with errands and some housekeeping, so the day flew by. It was a great birthday weekend and a fun kickoff to being 33!

yumminess!

Partied out!

Friday Photo

TN trip

This past weekend, we headed to TN to introduce Harrison to Tanner's family. We made it there by lunch on Saturday and got to visit with not only Tanner's grandparents, but also her aunts, uncles, and cousin Katie. Hampton enjoyed opening his Christmas gifts (hey, we like to spread out the cheer around here!) and playing with Tanner's uncles. Harrison got tons of attention and was quite content being held and talked to by all the ladies. It was a short but great trip, and we're hoping to come back and visit again this summer.

Mardi Gras

Yesterday was Mardi Gras, which means fun, fun, fun around here! Bo's office was closed & the weather was awesome, so we headed out to the parade. We got there quite early to stake out a good spot before the roads closed, and Hampton was a champ while we waited. After the parade, we headed to the zoo, then off to a lunch of "hamburgers, pickles, and ice cream!", which is what Hampton proclaimed he wanted. After all that, we ran over to Grandi & Granddaddy's house to pick up some of our goodies that we brought back from TN. Then we headed to the outlets where we scored maybe the best deals ever seen at the Sperry outlet. We packed in as much as possible to our fun day....or as they say, we let the good times roll!

Taking out the new double stroller for the first time. It's amazing!

Just the 4 of us!

Hampton happily entertaining himself with Monkey Preschool Lunchbox on Tanner's phone

Hey, Mister!

Harrison, just chillaxin at the parade.

Hampton sporting just a small sampling of his many beads.

Want a way to make sure to get lots of stuffed animals at the parade? Bring an adorable baby decked out in his Mardi Gras finest!

Friday Photo

Valentine's Day recap

We like any reason to celebrate, so we definitely didn't pass on Valentine's Day! We did a little decorating and attempted heart-shaped cinnamon rolls, but they puffed up into a circle once we cooked them! Oh, well.......at least the pink icing was cute! We also made strawberry jello and brownies with heart sprinkles to carry out the v-day theme. As we were trying to decide among a few fun things to do that night, Hampton kept saying over and over "Grandi, Granddaddy, Josie, Sinclair". Well, we took the hint and decided to head over to Bob & Randi's to play outside and have dinner. It was a great way to end a great day!

Pool Party

Yes, we know it sounds crazy to have a pool party on the coldest day that we've had so far, but when the pool is indoors at the swankiest condo complex around, you go for it! Our supper club group had a family get-together on Sunday at the condo of one of our members. Since it's winter and there aren't many people down here right now, we had the pool to ourselves. We had a potluck lunch of hotdogs and sides, and lots of swim time for Hamp.

We were really worried that Hampton wouldn't like it because he wasn't big on the pool last year, but oh how times have changed! He kept saying "swim in the pool", and once he got in he didn't want to get out for lunch. He also managed a major meltdown when he finally had to get out, so we promised him that we'd swim again this coming weekend. Of course, that means we'll have one more thing to pack for our trip to TN!

our friend (and Tanner's Wednesday night co-teacher) Krystal

Hampton finally taking a lunch break

2 cute guys in the pool

we gladly handed over baby duties to our buddy Ellen

Happy Heart Day!

We hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's Day!

A closeup shot of our two loves!

Harrison's Party

Some of our good friends decided that Harrison needed a welcome party, and even though we tried to talk them out of it, they would hear none of it. They had it on Saturday, and since Harrison is obviously already here, they called it a "meet & greet". It was a girly thing, so Bo stayed home while Tanner & Harrison got to enjoy visiting with friends and eat yummy finger foods, including the best cheese ball we've ever had (Bo got to try it, too). Harrison got some cute new goodies and lots and lots of diapers...yay!!! It was really a special day, and we're so grateful to have such good friends!

Harrison's baby bib cake

Lisa entertaining Harrison and vice versa

Shannon, one of the hostesses

Friday Photo & Week in Review

Ok, this week has been a bit of a wild one. It started fine but busy on Monday with errands and seeing both sets of Grandparents.....ending with a rousing rendition of the SpongeBob SquarePants theme song over dinner with P&J. Trust us, 4 adults and a toddler singing all the words at the top of our lungs was quite a site!

On Tuesday morning at 4am, though, the week went downhill. Hampton woke up throwing up and running a fever. So that meant that Bo stayed home with Hamp while Tanner took Harrison to his 2-month checkup. Harrison is doing great, weighing 13.11 lbs, but he had to have a few shots. He didn't take well to them, so to make a long story short, we've had 2 sick littles for the past several days. We're still trying to get caught up on all the laundry, as many sheets and clothing have been dirtied this week!

Play Mat

Harrison loves his play mat as much as Hampton did. Harrison likes to pull on the animals and talk to them. He sometimes wiggles his way underneath the little monkey, though, and it rubs on his face. He doesn't quite know what to think of that! Of course, we say Hampton used to like it, but the truth is, he still does! We often find him sitting on it and playing with the animals that dangle from the bars. As a matter of fact, the giraffe is now MIA....wonder who took that to play with elsewhere, Harrison or Hampton?

5 Years

This past Super Bowl Sunday marked the 5-year anniversary of our moving to Gulf Shores. We remember it like it was yesterday....packing up the U-Haul in the snow, not leaving until dark, driving way too many hours caravan-style, walking the dogs at the rest areas. We were excited but nervous, not knowing what this new life would hold for us. Oh, it's been bumpy for SURE, but it's also been amazing and filled with surprises.

Each anniversary, we go out for pancakes with Bob & Randi, just like we did on our first Super Bowl Sunday here. This year, though, we had another pancake-lover with us.....Hampton. He was so excited that he was getting pancakes, that he couldn't wait for them to arrive. The sweet waitress even brought his out early so he could get started on them!

We always get a little reflective on this anniversary, and this year especially. We were just talking about it last week, and we both agreed that we feel more content & fulfilled now than we ever have. We live where we'd always dreamed of living. We have a wonderful church family, close friends, and now 2 beautiful boys that are going to grow up with so many fun things to do! We are also so lucky to have 2 sets of Grandparents here, too, that get to enjoy these boys as much as we do. Our lives aren't perfect by any means, but we're perfectly content to see what else God has in store for us. Here's to many, many more years of great memories and more pancakes!

Happy 2-Month Birthday!

It's so hard to believe that Harrison is 2 months old today! My, how time flies! He's the sweetest boy and full of smiles. He's started "talking" to us now, and we love hearing those gurgles and coos. He's fascinated by lights, fans, and his fish mobile above his crib. He sleeps in his own room now, so no more waking up every other minute to make sure he's still breathing!

He's starting to grow out of his newborn clothes and move into 3-6 and some 6-9 month clothes. He's starting to fill out a little, but we're still hoping for lots more baby rolls. Hey, it's the only time in his life that lots of fat is cute!

He's a very laid-back baby, especially when it comes to listening to his wild big brother. Hamp has this ear-piercing squeal that he does frequently, and it doesn't bother Harrison at all. His laid-back ways have made him a very lazy eater....so much so that it's hard to get him to stay awake long enough to finish a bottle! And as long as he's swaddled, he'll sleep like, well, a baby!

He's very strong, though, and likes to kick out of his swaddle. We came in to find him wriggled completely out of his swaddle and his pjs down to his waist the other morning! He looked like a mermaid, and it was hilarious. He also holds his head up very well and has lots of leg strength. He'll "stand" with our hands under his arms and he looks like this little old man who's about to shuffle off. It's too cute!

Well, we'll quit going on and on about how adorable he is, but let's just say that we are so thrilled that he's here with us. We can't wait to see how much he changes in the next month, but we want to keep him just where he is, too!

Weekend Update

This weekend we..........

visited the Farmers' Market
ate lunch at Hamp's favorite spot
sent the monogramming machine to be serviced (ugh!)
reserved our spots for Thomas the Train
picked out cute new fabric
had an anniversary brunch
took pictures of 2 cute boys
played & read books during the Super Bowl

Friday Photo

Senior Bowl 2012

On Saturday, Bo & Hampton went with our friends Dane & Lucas to the Senior Bowl in Mobile. If you aren't familiar with the game, it's where the best seniors from colleges around the country come to play a game (north versus south) and meet NFL recruiters. There are scouts from pretty much every team, plus all the big college coaches (Nick Saban, etc), and the best players. They come for about a week to practice, meet fans and scouts, and they play on Saturday.

Since Bo & Dane were able to get free tickets, they decided to let the boys see what they thought about their first football game. Lucas, who is a year older than Hamp, LOVES football, and Hampton loves an adventure, so off they went.

Hampton was quite the entertainment at the game, dancing wildly while saying "I can't stop!" and "Go crazy!" Who would've thought other people would find that amusing?

Even though they didn't make it through the whole game, it was definitely worth taking the boys to, and most definitely an experience!

Work & Play

Well, today's the big day.......The Monogrammed Monkey is back in business! Tanner had been taking time off from orders for "maternity leave" (which is so funny to say since she stays at home all day), but now she's back open. She's been working hard coming up with new ideas and has lots of new things to offer over the next little bit, which is a good thing since she's already had several people contact her about orders! The most important thing to remember, though, is that monogramming is secondary at best. Job number one is these 2 adorable boys, so if that means we only have time to monogram once a day, or once a month, that's how it has to be! Because there's no way we're missing out on moments like these!

"...when in doubt, choose the kids. There will be plenty of time later to choose work..."
--Anna Quindlen