My little boy is growing up!!! sniff...sniff...

Hampton is such a big boy now, that I had to post some pictures I've taken of him in the last couple of days. He loves his swing that Mamaw got him for Christmas. And check out the view he has when he swings! What's not to love?! I want to go back and find an infant picture of him in his crib so we can see a side-by-side comparison of how much he's grown. I remember, though. He used to be so tiny all swaddled up in a blanket. Now, he sprawls out and almost takes up the whole bed! We tried his little Bass Pro Shop folding chair again this week, and he can finally sit in it. It is still a bit big for him, so he slouches, but he had fun sitting in it, pushing it around the room, and folding and unfolding it over and over again.

He is SO MUCH FUN! I never dreamed I could love someone so deeply. I love my husband, my parents, my brother, my extended family and in-laws, and my friends; but the love you have for your child is just something special. It's a truly sacrificial kind of love, and it's taken me to a whole new level. He is amazing. His personality is becoming more evident. He is so sweet. He loves to give kisses and smile! He is walking everywhere now. His favorite thing to do is walk laps around the church after services. He is doing much better in the nursery too.

One quick funny story...we went out with some friends to Wendy's after church Sunday night, and their 5 year old son was asking me what words Hampton can say. So I told him his few-word vocabulary - mama, dada, uh-oh, no, hey, etc. I forget what happened to prompt this, but Hampton pitched a little fit about something, and I told him (as I VERY often do), "Hampton, watch your attitude." He responded very clearly with "aa-tude." The table erupted in laughter! I was amazed. Then he said it again! So, as you can see - either he's heard that so much that this is now part of his permanent vocabulary, or he was just mimicking me, which he really has started doing. It was TOO FUNNY! To repeat a phrase my parents always told me, he's "getting too big for his own britches"! HAHA!

Oh well. Enough narrative. Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed reminiscing! Parenthood...what a ride!

It's a girls night!!

My good friend Becky Evers is moving back to Georgia in about a week. I am SO sad about this because she and I are best buds! the Lord truly sent her to me. We are very close - like sisters. She and I joke that it takes both of us to make a whole person...definitely a whole brain! We are each other's sanity sometimes!! She is such a wonderful friend. I told her I absolutely refuse to accept the fact that she's leaving until she actually pulls away in her car. With this in mind, I had a girls' get-together last night. But is was NOT a going-away party! (Remember, I'm not acknowledging that she's leaving yet!) No really, we had a blast hanging out together. There were several of our girlfriends who couldn't come for one reason or another, but the list that was there was (in the group shot from left to right) Mayleen, Angela, Kelly (top), Jennifer, Lynda, Becky (top), Tami, Me & Hampton, Tara, and Natalie (not pictured as she had to leave before we decided to take a picture). Of course we had to do a silly picture too (after much sugar and caffeine).

Happy New Year! Another year for FIRSTS.

We have experienced a lot of FIRSTS lately.

1. We are so excited that Hampton has started walking now! He took his first "official" step back in November, but it took him a while to get the hang of doing it full time. He is a pro now. Well, you know...he still has the "mummy walk," but he gets around pretty well. In fact, Clint and I have seen him do a little run a couple of times this past weekend. So he's getting more confident. I posted a video so you can see him walking too.

2. Hampton got his first haircut last Saturday. His hair was really getting long, and it was looking a little messy, so we took him to Cartoon Cuts at the mall. We were bracing ourselves for a stressful experience, but it was great! He sat there like a perfect little gentleman and let them cut his hair. He had been really cranky that day too, so it was a real surprise. We gave him a lollipop afterwards, and he loved it. I mean he really LOVED it - a real passion for candy! Uh-oh. And boy, was he wound up afterwards! We've never seen him so hyper! We love his haircut. I was so nervous and didn't want him to be scalped. I was made even more nervous when the hairstylist spoke virtually no English. But it turned out to be a really cute hair cut. Check out the pictures below. He looks like a little man now. You may want to click on the second picture so you can see it enlarged...check out his facial expression! I love the crooked smile!

3. He used a fork for the first time. I know...big deal...but this is my blog and my baby, so I can write about it if I want. HAHA! I'm proud of him!! I tried to catch him on video using it but to no avail.

Well, I hope you enjoy catching up on the "Hampton Happenings" for the week. Maybe I should've given the blog this name because it is all about our sweet little guy lately. We're boring, but he is the life of the party! Check out the video of him laughing...it is too funny!

Christmas 2008

Christmas this year was so much fun! Mom and Dad drove down to visit us for the week. We were SO glad that they were able to come. The time went by much too quickly, but we savored every day together. Hampton loved playing with his MawMaw and PawPaw and enjoyed getting lots of attention (and sympathy, when needed) from them. We went on an outing to Fort Lauderdale to get some pictures of banyan trees, which are native to this area and are quite unique. Mom did some painting by the water, just off Las Olas Boulevard. It is so pretty down there!

Christmas morning was so much fun. Hampton tired of opening gifts once he found a favorite toy or two to play with. We shared our day with our friends the Evers family - Richard, Becky, Hannah, and Aubrey. They opened their presents here, and we all enjoyed a HUGE (did I say "huge"?) steak dinner together. After everyone snoozed a little, we settled in for a lazy afternoon. As you can see, the presents were plentiful, but most of all - the blessings of being surrounded by family and friends outweighed all of the gifts. We are looking forward to a great new year!

P.S. Hampton is walking now!!! I'm going to try to post a video soon of his walking. Even though he took his first steps on Nov. 19, he is walking all alone and everywhere now! YEA!

"My Play Date" by Hampton

I have a friend named Isabella that lives next door to me. Her mommy came to our house this week to hang out with my mommy, so we played together. She is only a few months younger than I am, and I think she's so sweet...even if she did poke me in the eye! Mommy says she didn't mean to. Mommy took these pictures of us while we were playing with the sit-n-spin. We had fun!

Early December in Dallas

I'm a bit behind on my blog posts, but I want to post some pictures from our visit to Dallas the first week of this month. Clint had to go to Dallas on a business trip, so Hampton and I tagged along. We had to get creative with what to do with our days since Clint was working all day. Our biggest and BEST outing was to the Dallas Arboretum & Botanical Gardens. It was SO beautiful. The weather was a bit chilly that day due to the wind, so Hampton is bundled up in most of the pictures. We would stroll a while then stop and let him explore the natural surroundings. We both loved it! If you ever find yourself in Dallas, you must visit this place! Also, Hampton had fun playing in the curtains of the hotel suite we stayed in. He loved looking out the window to see if Daddy was coming home! The last night we were there, we joined Clint at The Grille on the Alley for a very nice dinner with his co-workers. I was a bit nervous taking Hampton to such a nice restaurant, but for the most part, he was a perfect little gentleman! The last pictures were taken in the mall (and outside). The decorations were breathtaking!

Thanksgiving in DeFuniak Springs, FL

It's finally time to post another blog from our travels a couple of weeks ago. This has been a busy week, so I apologize for the delay. After spending a week in Alabama, we all packed up and drove to North Florida the day before Thanksgiving. This was a new thing for us because in past years, everyone has always come to our house for Thanksgiving. But we are no longer centrally-located, for sure! Clint made the long drive north, so we were glad to see Daddy when we got there!

Hampton had fun exploring the new environments and seeing all of this cousins, his Aunt Jennifer and Uncle Wes, his grandparents Nana and PawPaw, and Mamaw - his great grandmother. We saw a lot of extended family as well on Thanksgiving Day at the big dinner at the community center. We celebrated Clint's birthday while were there too.

One of our biggest projects, as you can see above, was getting Hampton's handprints and footprints for some picture frames I am giving as Christmas presents. It was interesting to say the least!! It was supposed to be "mess-free," but Hampton's hands and feet were already bigger than the mess-free ink pads! So we had to put the ink on his hands and feet. As you can see, apparently his face started itching while he had ink on his hands! It went from bad to worse, so we had to take pictures of him! We had lots of fun!

I'll post more pictures later from our week in Dallas.

Adrienne