It Takes a Village

We FINALLY live in our new house! It would not have been possible without the help of all of our parents - from watching Henry to pulling weeds to installing drawer liner - every second of help has meant the world to us! We still have some more unpacking and decorating to do, so we will wait to post pics until everything is complete.

In the meantime, and on top of all the moving drama, we've been super busy with life in general.  John rang in his 33rd birthday on July 13th. All celebrations were subdued due to all the time we were spending getting the house ready, so we will have to celebrate again once we are all settled.

A week ago, Henry was baptized at Trinity. Our friend (and Henry's godfather), Jim Manhart, flew in for the occasion. It was so great to spend some much-needed quality time with Jim, and we could not have been more honored to have him here.  It was a great weekend filled with family -- all four sets of our parents were together for the first time since our wedding -- and Steph came in especially for the event.  Henry was so good during the service and barely fussed at all!

After another super busy week as a still unlicensed attorney (will post on that later), we had another very packed weekend. Last Friday we went to my firm dinner at Southern Hills.  People usually dread those sorts of things, but we actually enjoyed ourselves.  You can't beat great food and free booze in a beautiful setting!

On Saturday, Henry went to his second-to-last swimming lesson -- he's getting so good! On Saturday night, my mom babysat while John, Alli, and I went to Wild Brew -- basically a huge beer party. There were tons of interesting beers there, and I even found a few I liked. We spent our Sunday running around as well, starting with brunch with friends visiting from NYC and ending with my niece's 3rd birthday party.

Alli and me in front of a scary eagle at Wild Brew

Henry and me enjoying the 100 degree temps at my niece's bday party

 Needless to say, we are exhausted from all of this, on top of trying to make our house liveable amongst our sea of stuff - we should definitely be on an episode of hoarders.  More on the house (and hopefully some relaxing) to come!

Henry is getting used to our new place!

7 Months

Dear Henry,


Today you turned seven months old.  Each month continues to be a month of "firsts."  This past month you learned to sit up on your own and shake your head 'no' (which we think is totally adorable now but probably won't feel the same about it in a few months), and you are just crazy about swimming.  


You are continuing to adjust to your new environment and have been incredibly resilient, even though we are still not settled in to our new home.  So far you have met every bump in the road with a big slobbery smile, and that's one of the things that I love best about you.  That, and the fact that you are the sweetest, cutest, most adorable little baby out there, but I might be a little biased. 



I know I say this every month, but I can't believe it's been seven months since you made your big debut! Your dad and I agree that these past seven months have been the most humbling, rewarding, and awesome months of our lives, and we are so blessed to have shared them with you.


Love, 
Mommy

Splashing at swimming lessons

So big!

Getting in my post-work squeezes!

Happy Birthday, America!

It was so great to be back in Oklahoma for the 4th and spend the holiday with family.  We went to Grand Lake on the 3rd to celebrate with John's family at his uncle's lake house.  The house has been in John's family for years, and he has such fond memories of spending summer weekends and holidays there as a child, that we are both thrilled that Henry will get to have the same Grand Lake experiences.  Henry met some of his cousins for the first time and was just in love with them - he's such a social little guy! We unfortunately were not able to stay for the fireworks - it gets dark too late for little Henry - but it was so great to spend time with friends and family.

We had a very low-key day for the actual 4th of July.  We lazed around the house for most of the day and headed to my parents' for dinner.  It was kind of a buzz kill that the holiday fell on a Wednesday -- no fun heading back to work today after a random day off in the middle of the week.  But it was nice to have a little respite in the middle of the week, especially with all the hours we've been putting in to getting our new house ready (more on that later).  Hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday!

Family pic on the dock

Mesmerized by his cousins

Sweet little firecracker!