Hunter has been making friends like it's going out of style. While most of his friends are girls, he is still a self professing momma's boy. He first met Aryanna when he was just a few months old, but they have grown to be best buds. They have met up at the park and at each other's houses to exchange information on how to drive their parents crazy :) Aryanna was born January 20th, 2009. Next, Hunter met Caitlyn which is my friend's daughter who just moved to VA from CT. Caitlyn was born on December 10th so she is an older woman lol Now that the babies are starting to get more mobile it is so much fun to watch them interact. Caitlyn and Hunter met at the library last Tuesday for a storytime date, but unfortunately Hunter was a grumpy pants because he hadn't had a nap. Hunter and Caitlyn are meeting up at the zoo on Tuesday. It's nice knowing other moms with babies Hunter's age. It helps to pass the time while Daniel is working and to help get Hunter socialized. The weekend of August 1st, Daniel and I are taking Hunter to Washington, DC to meet about 10+ babies that are all around the same age as him. I have been on the What to Expect When Your Expecting message boards since I first found out I was pregnant with Hunter. Those girls on December 08 are fabulous!!! I can't wait to meet them and their sweet babies. 
So, I remember when I used to think that Hunter was a daddy's boy and I would have a hard time making him smile and getting his attention. Well, now I have no complaints :) Hunter reaches for me all the time, constantly smiles at me, and makes me feel like I'm one of a kind. He always looks for me if I get out of his eyesight and has actually cried when I leave the room. I now know what people are talking about when they say, be careful what you wish for. I feel like I can't get anything done because he requires so much more attention and interaction nowadays. I savour every minute of naptime lol :) Now don't get me wrong, I love him with every inch of my heart and I do not take any day for granted with him. He is officially my lil boy sidekick :)
Daniel and I took Hunter to the beach for the first time on Monday. He loved the sand, but didn't really like the waves or the water. I think the waves scared him and the water was much colder then his bath water. We would sit him down in the sand and his toes would start wiggling deeper into the sand and as I watched him all I was wondering was what was going through his brain. It must be so neat to be a baby and discover things for the first time. Next thing I knew he was trying to take a nose dive in the sand to get as big a mouthful as he could. Luckily, I was able to catch him and sit him back up, but after that his hands were constantly going up to his mouth with handfuls of sand. I love being able to share these firsts with him. 
Daniel and I have our monthly date day planned for August 9th. I can't wait!!! We are going to Busch Gardens (an amusement park) for the whole day. Last year at this time when I got the free tickets from my job, I was pregnant so we didn't go because I didn't want to walk around in the heat and not be able to ride any rides, but this year I'm going all out!! I want to ride as many rides as I can as many times as I can and scarf down on some delicious amusement park food! MMM MMM MMM
Ya know I always have to end my blogs on a sappy note, haha!!!
Hunter has taught me so many things since I had him. He has taught me to stop and smell the roses (or to try and eat them) and to just enjoy each day. He has taught me patience and how to love completely unconditional. He has made me realize how selfish of a person I was before he came into my life. He has taught me how to laugh at myself. He makes me feel like a supermodel when he looks up at me with his big brown eyes and can't seem to look away. He has taught me how to love his daddy more then I ever thought possible. I stare in amazement at him some days because I never could have imagined a baby would have had such an impact on my life already. <3
Ya know I always have to end my blogs on a sappy note, haha!!!
Hunter has taught me so many things since I had him. He has taught me to stop and smell the roses (or to try and eat them) and to just enjoy each day. He has taught me patience and how to love completely unconditional. He has made me realize how selfish of a person I was before he came into my life. He has taught me how to laugh at myself. He makes me feel like a supermodel when he looks up at me with his big brown eyes and can't seem to look away. He has taught me how to love his daddy more then I ever thought possible. I stare in amazement at him some days because I never could have imagined a baby would have had such an impact on my life already. <3
Our honeymoon was pure bliss. It was our first vacation that we took together and it was so awesome to be a new twosome and be exploring a new place together. When Daniel and I came home from our honeymoon we moved in together and what an adventure that was! We learned a ton of stuff about each other and it was the most fun I had ever had. That October, Daniel became a sheriff's deputy and what a handsome man he is in his uniform. :)
Before our 1st wedding anniversary I found out I was pregnant and I soon came to realize that it would no longer be about just me and Daniel but that we would have another person to think about and be responsible for. I could have never imagined how Hunter could have changed my world. We bought a heart doppler and constantly circled my belly trying to find a heartbeat from about 8 weeks on. At about 13 weeks pregnant, we heard our baby's heartbeat for the first time. I cried and cried, not believing that I had a living being growing inside me. At 20 weeks, we found out we were having a boy and I could not have been more excited.
We bought our first house and went to town decorating Hunter's nursery. I knew the bedding/theme I wanted for his room the minute we found out he was a boy. The good news is that the room turned out gorgeous the bad news, atleast for Daniel, is that I wanted him to paint stripes on the wall in several different colors. Daniel had helped his mom paint some rooms at their house, but this was our first painting project that was for our house. I had never painted anything before and because I was pregnant, I didn't want to be exposed to the paint fumes too much so Daniel did a ton of the work. We had to tape the stripe outline for each individual color, paint the stripe, let it dry, remove the tape and then repeat all of those steps for each color...I think there were 4 or 5 colors total. It took forever, but when he was finished, it took my breath away and I couldn't believe our baby was going to be able to enjoy something we worked so hard on. 
We welcomed our son 2 days before Christmas during a scheduled induction because my doctor predicted him to be a big boy. My original due date was December 31st. As Daniel and I drove to the hospital early on December 23rd, I remember thinking this was the last time we would be a twosome. Forever from that moment on, we would be a mom and dad and nothing could ever change that. I think about that drive often, not because I miss our life before Hunter, but because before that day I only knew Daniel as my best friend and my husband, now he is the father of my child and because of our love we brought such a perfect little boy into this world. After 14 hours of labor we welcomed our son by c-section. I remember asking Daniel if he had heard Hunter cry and he said yes and then a moment later I saw this dark haired baby boy come around the sheet and he cried this unbelievable cry like he knew I was listening for him. Tears streamed down my face and it was like time stopped...I couldn't believe this beautiful baby was mine! 
