Birthday Boy

On July 13, our little boy turned 1!! I can't believe it! I don't even know where the time went. He has grown into this amazing and happy little boy. He is truly a joy to be around and always keeps us laughing. He is VERY busy but so much fun! We love watching him explore new things and use objects in his own way. He is so special to Travis and I and we are cherishing every moment we have with him. I just wish time would slow down. This year for his birthday, we decided to have two parties, 1 in Louisiana and 1 in Texas so both sides of the family would be able to celebrate his big day! The one in Louisiana was held at my parents and it was a Mickey Mouse theme. The one in Texas was held at my aunt and uncle's ranch in Crawford, Texas and it was a John Deere party. Both of them were amazing parties and we can't thank my parents and my aunt and uncle for all the work that they did to help me make his parties successful. We are truly blessed and so very thankful.

Will,

1 year ago you came in our lives and and completely changed them forever. I will never forget the moment that the doctor placed you in my arms for the very first time. It was love at first sight. You have taught us so much about love and how strong a bond is between a parent and child. We look at you and can't believe you are ours. We are so glad that God chose us to be your parents. We love to hear your voice when we are having our own little conversation, we love the sound of your laugh, or the smile on your face. You truly light up a room. We love your silly expressions that you make to make us laugh. We love absolutely everything there is about you. You are so special to us and you will do wonderful things with your life. You have a great spirit and make everyone around you smile. We love you so much and are so thankful for everything that you have given us this past year. We love you buddy!

Ft. Walton 2011

This June, our family took our annual beach trip to Ft. Walton, Florida. It was a week filled of fun in the sun and quality time together. Travis and I didn't know how Will was going to react to the sand much less the ocean. He surprised the both of us by loving both the sand and the water. He wanted to be on his own in the water which was very hard to make him understand that we couldn't let go. Although, he did go under a few times on his own of his own doing and came up smiling. I may have a future swimmer on my hands! :) He loved to play and lay in the sand and put his face in it, which is much different than the way I used to be when I was his age. He was a trooper the whole week and just went with the flow. We all had a great time and we made a ton of memories. We are looking forward to going back again next year. Thank you mom and dad for a wonderful family trip!

Love,

Mary

The Final Hours

The time has come for Travis and I to meet our sweet baby boy that we have so anxiously waited and prepared for. I am headed to the hospital tomorrow night (Monday) and they will induce first thing Tuesday morning. As I sit here and type, I know I should be getting as much rest as possible but I can't get myself to go to sleep. I have so many emotions going through me right now...anxious, excited, nervous, scared, etc. As I laid in bed tonight, I couldn't help but think this is Travis and I's last night in our house where it will be just the two of us. I think of how in just a couple of days when we bring Will home, our house will be full of the wonderful sounds from our baby and the memories we are going to add to our lives.

As I have gotten closer to my due date, I often find myself wondering who is he going to look like, what color hair and eyes will he have, etc. It is such a miracle of life. I have enjoyed my pregnancy and feel really blessed to have had such a healthy one. I can honestly say, the one thing that I will miss most about being pregnant is feeling him move in my belly and watching Travis' expression on his face when he would feel Will and then talk to Will and tell him that he loved him. It melted my heart every time. He is going to be an amazing dad and Will is so fortunate to have him to look up to.

At the same time that we are enjoying this exciting time in our lives, there isn't a day that goes by that I haven't thought about my grandma. She would have given anything to be here to see her newest great-grandson. She wanted nothing more than for Travis and I to have a baby that she could watch grow up. I know she is looking down on us and will be there in spirit as we welcome Will into this world.

So as we celebrate two wonderful years of marriage tomorrow, please say a prayer for us as we head to the hospital tomorrow night to prepare for the arrival of our son. We can't wait to introduce him to our family and friends.

Here is one of my most recent pictures at 38 weeks going to water aerobics!

Updates

So much has taken place since I last posted a blog. Travis and I have been super busy and always on the go. In April, my sister-in-law hosted my first baby shower for Will in Kerrville. Everything was amazing and she did such a wonderful job. I was fortunate to have my parents drive up for the weekend and for my mom to come to the shower! Will received a lot of wonderful gifts! I came home that Sunday and started organizing.

2 weeks later, we headed down to Louisiana for Mother's Day weekend where we had another shower and our family's annual crawfish boil. It was a jam packed weekend. I ate so much crawfish but it was so good. My baby shower was amazing. We had so many people come to the shower and it was so good to see everyone and visit with them. Will received even more wonderful gifts! One special gift that I did receive was from my gram and paw. It was Will's bassinet. It was so hard to hold back the tears when I opened the gift. I know that if my gram were here she would have been front and center as I opened gifts and anxiously awaiting the arrival of Will. It was so hard not to have her there. I know she was with me in my heart but I missed her so much that day. As each day gets closer to Will's arrival, I'm constantly reminded that my gram won't be here to meet him and that is a hard concept for me to swallow.

Here are some pictures of our Mother's Day Weekend in Louisiana...

Can you tell my grandpa is proud?!?!!?

The weekend after Mother's Day, my parents drove up here to deliver the gifts since we were unable to bring them on the plane. My mom and I spent Friday afternoon, unpacking all of his gifts and organizing them in his room. It was so nice to have her here to help me get everything in place. On Saturday, her and I went shopping for some things to finish up his room. We had so much fun spending time together. It was good to have some mother/daughter time. While we were out spending money, Travis and my dad put together Will's bassinet and swing and then found some other projects to do around the house! Here are some pictures of Will's room. We still are missing a few minor things but for the most part it is complete. Thanks mom and dad for all of your help!

On Sunday, my friends Meagan, Tracy, and Natalie hosted another shower for me. They did such a wonderful job and I had a great time. Everything was perfect! It was great seeing my friends since I haven't seen them in a while and catching up with them. It made me realize how lucky Travis and I are to have such a great group of friends around us since we don't have our family near us. I appreciate each and every one of them and cherish our friendships!

32 weeks and counting...

Pictures of Will

Here are some pictures of our sweet baby boy Will after our 21 week checkup last week. He is doing great and growing fast! Travis and I are amazed every time we have a sonogram at how big he has gotten and all the new things that you can see. I'm feeling him more and more each day and absolutely love it. Travis has felt him a few times and is anxious for the day when he can feel all of his kicks like I can. He talks to Will every day and it is the cutest thing. He's so proud of his little boy and we are both anxious to meet him. We love him so much!

21 weeks after a nice walk

Definitely a boy!

Sweet baby Will

It's a.....BOY!!!!

Travis and I are going to have a baby boy!!!! We are so excited!!!!

After finally getting on our flight Saturday morning, we made it to Louisiana for our sonogram appointment that we had at Sound Diagnostics. It was a chance for my mom and dad as well as my grandpa to get a sneak peak of our little miracle. I enjoyed watching how excited they were when our baby popped up on the screen. It was all so new to them. The doctor pointed out its little fingers and toes as well as different parts of his body. When our baby first came on the screen, he had his two hands on his head and then threw his legs up to touch his head. He's quite acrobatic! The sex of the baby was the last thing that was shown to us. I was so anxious to hear what we were having even though deep down I knew it was a boy and Travis was still convinced it was a girl. When it was time, the doctor showed us where I needed to be looking and at that point, he didn't even have to tell me it was a boy! I was able to tell VERY clearly! We were so excited especially Travis! (He still hasn't wiped the grin off of his face :) ) We were able to watch our baby for a little longer hoping to get a good profile picture of him but he was too busy moving all around but towards the end of the sonogram, he waved his tiny little hand and then closed it and gave a thumbs up! It was so cute! Everything became so much more real.

After the sonogram, they captured a few pictures of our special day and the family we shared it with. It will be something Travis and I will always remember.

I will post pictures soon of our little guy!

Love,
Mary

SNOW!

Who would have thought that living in Texas we would have gotten this much snow?!?!!? I enjoyed it yesterday but then when it started tinkering with our travel plans for today (Friday), I was bummed. We were supposed to leave for New Orleans this morning for Mardi Gras and to find out the sex of our baby. Unfortunately, our flight was canceled. We did get on another flight tomorrow morning. I called the imaging office where the sonogram is being done and they fit me in tomorrow for an appointment. We are very fortunate and are anxious to find out what we're having. So, it looks like I have to patiently wait one more day. Let's keep fingers crossed that everything is back on track for tomorrow.

Cooper loves the snow!

The front of our house