Summertime Fun

We have been so blessed with great friends here in South Florida! I have lots of "mommy" friends, so Hampton has lots of friends to play with. Just today, all that was on my agenda was grocery shopping, and the Lord blessed me with the chance to meet my friend Shannon for breakfast and we shopped together! We've been able to do several fun outings recently. On Wednesday, we went to Hollywood Beach and played in a splash park before going to the beach. Afterwards, we came home and swam in the pool with lots of friends. Yesterday, we went to a place called Monkey Joe's. It's a huge place with lots of inflatable jump rooms. The funny thing about this place was that they had 2 jump rooms for kids under 3, but Hampton was afraid to go in them. BUT, he was not afraid to go down the slides that were probably 10-15 feet high!! He was a little daredevil! He zipped down the slides so quickly that it was hard to get a picture of him. Katelynn Tucker was my life-saver and helped me keep him entertained since they wouldn't let adults on the slides. Since he picked the "big kid" slides, he had to do it himself. Thankfully, she was there to help him out. Anyway, here are are some pictures of our eventful week...

Katelynn, Kristen, Nathan & Hampton playing in the splash park

Katelynn and Hampton

So much fun!!

Shannon and me on the beach

Katelynn and Hampton

Hampton checking things out

Hampton exploring our backyard

Kristen and Lily

Nathan and Dylan

Katelynn helping Hampton climb the ladder for the slide at Monkey Joes.

Zipping down the slide!!

Mommies just hanging out (trying to stay sane - it was LOUD!)

Hampton and his buddy Katelynn

Katelynn and Hampton in the tall jump house

Formal vs. Casual

As you can see from these pictures, Hampton has experienced the extremes this week - he looks so sharp in his new navy three-piece suit, but he also knows how to kick back and relax! We've been doing a lot of swimming lately. He always looks so cute after a swim all wrapped up in a towel! In the picture of him sitting with Clint, he and Daddy were doing their Sunday morning routine of having a breakfast bar on the patio together. I love this picture because they look so much alike!

We are flying to Birmingham tomorrow for cousin Erin's wedding. It will be a quick trip because we'll be back on Monday. Hopefully I'll get some good pictures and have a new post next week. Bye for now!

What's new? Not much.

There are not a lot of new and exciting things going on in the Usher House. But since I haven't updated in a while, I thought I'd post. Hampton is talking a LOT now! He picks up new words everyday. He is learning people's names too. That is so cool! This morning, he was looking out the window at our pool guy calling "Abel!" So cute.

This weekend, we had fun playing in Hampton's "new-to-us" tent. Lexie even got inside!! The pictures are a little blurry, but you'll get the idea.

I have accepted the role of Nursery Supervisor at our church. It has been demanding but lots of fun. We rearranged the nursery and implemented the use of several forms and policies. So far, everything has been well-received and seems to be working well.

Hampton has been having sleeping and bedtime issues lately. For a while, he was screaming when we'd put him to bed. When I say screaming, I mean SCREAMING (it's a wonder the neighbors didn't call the police for abuse)! He got over that, and now for the last couple of nights, he has awakened in the night crying. Last night, I brought him to our bed, and wow! I don't want to do that again! He stayed awake for an hour after coming in the room, and then he flails and flops around like a wild horse! Neither Clint nor I slept well last night. And he woke up SO early this morning. Tonight will be a battle, but I must be strong and break this cycle. UGH.

At the end of this month, we'll be flying to Birmingham for Erin and Caleb's wedding. We can't wait to see everyone. Lots of people in Clint's family haven't seen us in a long time - long before we moved. So it'll be good to catch up. Mom and Dad will get to come too to see us before we have to fly home. It'll be a short trip, but we're looking forward to it.

I think when we get back, it'll be time to revisit the "potty training" topic. We'll see...

So maybe we DO have a lot of NEW going on! I guess with an almost-two-year-old, there's always something new!

Haircut time!!

I've been letting Hampton's hair grow, wondering what to do with it. His hair got really long, and since he has both Clint's and my hair genes (straight as a board with lots of cowlicks!), it was starting to look really rough! He was working on a pretty nice mullet, so we had to intervene! :-) My friend Tami came over and cut it for him, so this was his first haircut at home. He was so still and relaxed! Here are pictures in progress...

BEFORE

He's hypnotized by the clippers!

Bye Bye Mullet! Now, on to the bangs...

THE FINISHED PRODUCT!! I love it! What a difference from the "before" picture!

Doesn't he look like a little man (other than the drool on his chin)?

Catching Up AGAIN-June 2009

The last time I posted, I was behind and posted a lot of things...well, here I am again!!! I'll be posting several entries today, so check them out. I will try to get better about posting more regularly so I can stay up-to-date. Hampton is growing by leaps and bounds, and we are dealing with all the "growing pains" that come with that. We are trying to learn to deal with his new little attitudes and figuring out how to understand his stretch for independence. Welcome to parenthood, right? Clint and I have determined that we need to just hold on tight because, as he put it, we're only about 10% of the way through our parenting responsibilities, so the road is going to be a long one! Hampton is such a sweetie, though. We have lots of fun watching him and interacting with him as we're on the "road" together!

I missed my DADDY!

When Clint got home, Hampton could not keep his hands off him! He missed him so much. It was great to see him so excited to see his Daddy!

AL Vacation II - Hanging with the Fam

This is my cousin Griffin. I loved reading books with him!

"Whussup?" I was wearing Griffin's Bama hat. I'm not so sure I like it...

Mommy calls this my GQ look. I'm not sure what that means.

I think this is my GQ look! I can't wait to swim in these goggles...

Me and Unka Jerl. He's my buddy!