Happy Birthday Baxter!

Today is Baxter's 8th birthday! It is so hard to believe that he is 8 years old. He has been with us through a lot! We got Baxter before we even had our first house and shared custody of him! During the week he would stay with me and on the weekend he would stay with Mike! It didn't last too long, we got him in July and moved into our house in August...a happy little family!

If you didn't know, we just love our puppies, so their birthdays are just as important as ours! Baxter is such an important member of our family and we look forward to many more birthdays to come!

Here are a few pictures of him over the years!

Baby Baxter

Lounging with baby sis Luca

Handsome Boy!

Welcoming home Lila!

8 years old today!

Happy Birthday Baxter, we love you!!!

A Beautiful Day!

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day! We had lots of sunshine and 80 degree temperatures! We got out of the house this afternoon to meet a good friend for lunch and we stopped by to see Daddy on our way home! We decided that once Dad got home we would spend some time outside. We went on a walk with the puppies and then spent some time sitting out back!

Here are a few pictures of Lila relaxing, enjoying the warmth! You will notice just like with everything else her hat is absolutely huge, but it was a necessity to keep the sun out of her face!

Lila is also enjoying some time each day on her play mat! We were able to get some good pictures of her this weekend. The puppies enjoy having her down on their level so they can get "close" to her as well!



Can you sense the amusement in Baxter's face! This picture makes us both giggle! One thing that is true, we find ourselves laughing all the time between the little things Lila does and the puppies, maybe it is just lack of sleep!

4 Weeks Old!!!

Today little Ms. Lila is 4 weeks old! I can't believe that it was 4 weeks ago that we welcomed her into this world, but at the same time I don't think either of us can really imagine life without her at this point!

She has been such a good baby, we really have a lot to be thankful for. We are still learning everything there is to know about each other, but even with a little less sleep we are enjoying every minute of it! Here are some pictures of the last few weeks!

Watching the game with Daddy!

Telling Grandma Eddins all about my day!

Enjoying some tummy time!

Relaxing in my bouncy seat!

We hired Studio U Photography to take Lila's first pictures! We met with Heidi and Troy last night to place our picture order! I thought I would post a picture on here for a sneak peek! They do such an amazing job! We look forward to documenting Lila's first year and beyond with them!

What a beautiful gift we received 4 weeks ago today! It is 11:40 am, the exact time she was born, as I sign off...Happy "Birth"day little one!

Happy Mother's Day

Today marks my very first Mother's Day! It started out with Mike and Lila letting me sleep in with the puppies, what a gift! Then we spent some of the morning hanging out, just us! I was then presented with a bouquet of flowers and a gift from Lila, Mike and the dogs, a beautiful Burberry watch!

We then headed out to have brunch at CRCC with my Dad, Laura, Carson, Cade and a few others. It was Lila's first time going to the country club, so I wanted to try and find a dress for her and I had absolutely no luck finding something small enough to fit her, I was bummed, but of course she still looked beautiful in her flower onesie and pink pants!

This evening found us at Jiamen having dinner with my Mom. It has been so nice to have her home and for me to be able to spend my first Mother's Day with my Mom. I told her as we walked out tonight how unbelieveable it is for me to hear people say "Happy Mother's Day" and have it directed at me, it really is a wonderful feeling!

I am overwhelmed today as I sit and count my blessings. I am so thankful for my husband, my beautiful daughter and my darling dogs. I think about all the people that are celebrating Mother's Day, those women who have influenced me over the years that will help shape the Mother that I am today...the Mother I hope to be. To all of you, Mom, Grandma, my sister (in-law), and all the others, you know who you are, thank you. Thank you for the advice, the love, the support and most of all the impression you have left on me.

Happy Mother's Day to all of the Mother's out there!

Cinco de Mayo!

It is hard to believe that today was Lila's due date! Wow! I look down at her today and am so thankful that we are where we are instead of just starting this journey! She is now 17 days old and things are really good. We are getting into a good groove, learning all sorts of things about each other and adjusting to the new baby in the house...she fits in perfectly!

We have been busy with feedings, diapers, etc. but we have still made time to get out and about here and there. I am not one to sit cooped up in the house, so we have made a few little trips, which has helped keep Mom's sanity! We spent some quality time with Jen, Celia, Ruby and Grammy last week hanging out just the girls! Those times are so special...we very rarely get to do that. We have made a few trips to restaurants and Lila has done a wonderful job, I swear the more noise the better she sleeps! This last weekend, Sunday was beautiful, so we ran to the mall quick and then joined my Dad, Laura and Carson at Metro Football Fields to watch Cade's football game. It was a lot of fun and beautiful weather to be outside and get some fresh air! Cade's team, the Hawkeyes won, way to go!

We have had a lot of visitors too which is nice! It helps Mom get some adult interaction during the day...even though I find myself talking to Lila like she is an adult. I can't believe she will be answering back to me before I know it!

Mike and I are both really enjoying this time, even though we are exhausted. She is so sweet and innocent and loves to snuggle! It truly is hard to put her down! I cherish it now because once she becomes mobile I have a feeling we won't have that quality time as often.

Here are a few pictures of our little one...she is growing big everyday. Finally starting to graduate out of her preemie clothing into her newborn stuff...thank goodness, she has a whole closet of great clothes just waiting to be tapped into!

Sleeping Beauty!

Bright Eyed!

Snuggling with Grammy & Luca!