Welcome Garrett Xavier!

Birthdate: May 3, 2012
Time: 8:36pm
Weight: 7lbs 15oz
Length: 20 inches

We're all doing well and at home now. He's eating and sleeping well and getting completely spoiled by mommy, daddy and big sister! We are all three completely smitten!

Tanyard Creek Nature Trail

One of the reasons we were excited about the move to Bentonville was the fact we would be surrounded by beautiful nature trails, creeks and hiking paths literally minutes from the house.  This morning, we decided we'd go for a hike and check out Tanyard Creek Nature Trail, which has a small waterfall at the end of the trail and lots of places to enjoy the scenery.  Plus, its only a 2 mile trail and has little elevation change, which is good for me given that I'm almost 33 weeks pregnant and not up for any true hiking! 

So, after breakfast we loaded Brianna, Moab and a backpack of snacks up for the 10 minute drive north to Windsor Lake Dam and the Tanyard Creek.  It was beautiful and perfect weather for being outside!  Plus, it gave me lots of opportunities to play with my new toy, a Cannon EOS Rebel T3.  I'm most certainly an amateur photographer but Brianna was more than willing to let me get lots of practice!

Blowing dandelions

She's singing "Great Big Stomping Dinosaur Feet" from Dinosaur Train, just in case you were wondering what she's doing in the below picture.

We had a great morning and can't wait to find more places to enjoy the scenery!

Planting Strawberries

I remember growing up that my Grandpa Medlin always had a bed of strawberries in the backyard and if there's anything that says summer to me, its fresh picked strawberries eaten on a hot day.  I wanted Brianna to have the experience of growing something this year so when I found these potted strawberry kits at Sam's Club, I thought it would be the perfect project for her, with a little help from mom and dad!

Here's a few pictures of getting the baby plants all potted and ready to grow beautiful, yummy strawberries!

In the last one, she's asking if she can water the plants a tiny bit more.  Pouring the water on seemed to be her favorite part!  We checked them tonight and all the little plants were growing strong and spreading out already so here's to hoping we have an abundance of strawberries in the near future!

Lil Sous Chef

 Lately, we do a lot more cooking than we used to and every time we cook as a family, Brianna insists on having a job.  So, breakfast on weekends and dinners every night have become quite the family affair.  So far, we've decided she's an expert at beating up the eggs and mixing up just about anything else, from batter for Morning Glory Muffins on the weekends to the gremolata topping for a recent Cinnamon Beef Stew.

 

She's becoming quite the little helper and we love having her in the kitchen with us!  Having her help cook seems to help her be willing to try new things lately too because she's added several new recipes to her list of things she's been brave enough to try lately!

Brianna's Third Birthday Party

I think the pictures tell the story better than I could .... so here's several from Brianna's birthday party, belated as they may be.

Hello again

We opted to do the early genetic screening this time so yesterday was the sonogram and blood work. Thankfully, everything looks perfect with the baby's development so that put our minds at ease. Here's a few pictures from the sonogram. The funniest part of the whole thing happened about a minute into the viewing when Brianna turned to daddy and asked, "can we put something else on that TV daddy?"

Hello Little One

For those that haven't heard, Justin and I are expecting a second child on May 9. We had a sonogram two weeks ago and I'm finally getting around to posting one of the better pictures. You can see the arms and legs and even little fingers and toes! We're now twelve weeks along and I'm ready for this trimester to be over. Let's just say it's been very different than it was with Brianna. By this point with her I had started gaining weight and with this one, food and I do not get along so I'm actually losing a bit. Not that I'm too concerned about it but I would like it if someone could find my appetite and return it to me!