Small Things. Great Love.: Summer fun

Here I am again...almost a month since my last post. Remember when I didn't have a baby and I could post almost every week??? :-) I love being busy with Liam and we've had another great month.

The first full week in June we spent at the beach in Galveston with my family. It was so much fun! We learned that it's tough to travel with a baby, though! We had the car LOADED with stuff that we needed and more stuff that we might need...strollers, pack-and-play, seats, clothes, humidifiers, diapers, wipes, etc. And a trip that Matthew and I could make in about 5 hours took us closer to 6.5. We had to stop and feed Liam at a rest stop and then we had to stop again to feed the adults! It really wasn't all that bad, but it certainly took all of us (Liam included....he hated being confined to the car seat for so long!) a day to recover...at least we could recover at the beach!! Liam enjoyed the water at the beach and at the pool. We didn't have him out for very long because of sun exposure, but he enjoyed being outside sitting with someone and feeling the breeze on the covered porch. We didn't do much during the week, but that's the way we like vacations...not a lot of doing, but a lot of relaxing. On the way back, we went to a wedding in Kerrville before we came back home.

Poor Matthew has been working himself to the bone before the trip and since we've been home. His project has a huge turn-over on July 15, so he's been up early and gone late and working weekends for the past month. I feel so bad for him because he's so tired! We're looking forward to the last part of July when he'll be a little less busy!

We had a great Father's Day even though Matthew had to work. On Saturday, we took him out to one of his favorite restaurants for chicken fried steak. Then on Sunday, he came home around 1pm and I made him lunch and then we relaxed a bit before I made him his Father's Day meal of filet mignon with a mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes, fried okra, and green beans.

In other news, Madeline is set to have her newest bundle any day now!! We're so excited to meet little Jonah and Madeline and Darryl have asked Matthew and me to be his godparents! We're so blessed and excited that they asked and we're ready for the challenge...be praying for all of us...that Jonah will arrive safely, that Madeline will have an uncomplicated delivery, and that Matthew and I will be prepared to be good godparents for Jonah.

In Liam news...he continues to be the light and the joy of our lives. I've turned over a new leaf with breastfeeding. I saw it as a real struggle for awhile...he wasn't meeting MY expectations for how long he should be nursing or how often, but once I let go of what I THOUGHT should be happening and let him decide when he was hungry and when he was full, it's been amazing how much better things have gone! He's happy, healthy, and gaining weight right on track! He can hold his head up when sitting up and when we are holding him and he can lift his head and shoulders off the ground when on his stomach. He has ALMOST rolled over a few times, but he's not quite there yet. He still loves the sound of his own voice and he's recently started to incorporate his tongue into the sounds he makes. He also belly laughs now. He did it for the first time at the beach and it's unpredictable what's going to make him do it, so we haven't really caught it on tape yet, but it's such a treat when he does it! He's such a little sleeper, too! He LOVES naps and hasn't given up a single one yet...we're still napping between every feeding. He's just doing great! I can't believe he's already 3 months old...he's growing up so fast!

Hope you enjoy our many pictures from the last month!

Lots of love,
Courtney