The only thing constant in life is change!

 Well, then hold on because we are in for more change yet again at the Armstrong house.  It is safe to say that Joe and I are not like most in that we really do embrace change.  We live our lives with an open mind and are always looking for ways to improve ourselves, our marriage, our careers, and now our family.  We have both had various jobs since graduating from OSU and each one has only built upon the other and been a positive step towards our future.  Currently, we are both in our most challenging and rewarding careers yet and that is where the change is coming!

I have been with the same company for the last two years.  The first year I was a road warrior, last year I had the pleasure of staying local and my primary focus was being a mom, and now this year I will be somewhere in the middle of that road.  I am beyond excited about my professional opportunity this year but to say I am not a bit nervous about having to travel and spend a significant amount of time away from Hunter each week I would be lying.

The other big change comes in who is going to watch Hunter.  My mom was so gracious and wonderful and was the primary caretaker for Hunter when I had to work and Joe was out of town which definitely allowed me to breath easier.  We have a great potential nanny in mind but she has been out of the country for a while so we haven't had a chance to sit down to find out if it is really going to work out for everyone involved.  I know that if she is able to come on board and help out that Hunter will be in good hands but at the same time I know that I will wish it was me spending that time with him instead.

Even though I welcome change this one feels a bit different and I know it has everything to do with Hunter.  I never thought I would be a mommy, let alone love this new role more than anything in the world, so this is definitely foreign territory for me.  I know that I am not the type of person to stay home full time and in all honesty even though I will be traveling some I get to do most of my work from my home which is fantastic.  I know my nerves stem from my own obsession with being the best I can be at whatever it is I sign up to do and trying to figure out what that is going to look like during this upcoming school year!

11 Months!

This just absolutely does not seem possible!  How in the heck has it almost been a year since we welcomed Hunter into our lives?!?!?!

Hunter continues to amaze me on a daily basis and my love for him grows stronger each day! Someone recently asked me to describe him and I said he is just a sweet, loving little boy which seems to sum him up perfectly! He loves to give 'cuddles' and 'sugar' and unless he is teething, is tired or hungry the boy is just plain happy!


New this month:
Hunter has started to put his feet down more when he is standing and moving from table to couch and vice versa with more ease. He absolutely LOVES eating and is interested in trying everything we are eating. He definitely has a temper and has started letting us know when we take away something that he feels is rightfully his. He has started wringing his hands together when he is nervous or unsure about someone or something.  I am anxious to see if this is a trait that will stay with him or something he will eventually outgrow on his own.He started on whole milk for most of his bottle feedings so that way we can begin to ween him from nursing.  He has fully recognized that he can make us laugh and he LOVES doing all he can to make it happen.

I think we have said it every month but I'll say it again, we are so blessed to have Hunter in our lives!

A Mother's Love

This past week while we were down at the farm I had the pleasure of seeing a mother's love at its finest!  I am not talking about Mary Nelle's love for her son or even my love for Hunter for that matter but the love between a momma cow and her baby "Q-Tip" as we called him.

Now, I know that some people might not believe what I am about to write but I saw it with my own two eyes and can tell you that this momma cow knows love.

Q-Tip had to be born about the week before we arrived for our visit and his momma was a proud cow.  She made sure that she was never far from him and would always keep a watchful eye out for him around the other cows.

The first time I came across Momma she was standing at Mary Nelle's fence contemplating moving into  Elizabeth's pasture with the other cows.  Hunter hadn't yet laid eyes on the cows so I hopped into the ranger with him and we went to see her.  She stood there for a moment but quickly became nervous and ran off back towards the pond which she had just come from. At this point, I hadn't put two-n-two together that this was that cute little cow's momma because honestly I didn't know that a brown and white cow could have a black and white cow!  Stop shaking your head, city girl, I know!

A little while later I saw her coming back up to Elizabeth's pasture and this time she had little Q-Tip in tow.  Again, still not realizing this was momma and baby I thought she was a sweet cow for making sure that someone else's baby was safely back with the rest of the herd before nightfall.  It was cute to watch this clumsy little cow try to figure out how to maneuver between gates and make the momma cow come back and forth several times before he finally figured it out.

The next day as the cows made the usual trek across the farm I made the connection that this in fact was momma and her baby. (Ok, honestly I had asked Joe that night on the phone if brown cows could have black cows and he set me straight!) Q-Tip played for a while with some of the other babies but ended up laying down for a bit while momma happily chewed her way through the pasture with the other cows.  She was finally ready to move into the next pasture and began bellowing for Q-Tip to join her.  He didn't budge!  She kept moving on but would only go so far before turning around and bellowing again for him.  Finally, after back tracking for the third time she walked straight up to Q-Tip and nudged him.  This made him get up and follow her into the next pasture.  You know she was thinking, "You little brat!  It is hot out here and we are on a mission moving to the next pasture and you are making me come back for you. This is the last time Mister!"

The following day, Larry's dad (the man that runs the cattle on the farm), came out with the feed truck.  If you have never seen this happen, it is amazing to watch.  I honestly never knew that cows could run as fast as they do until I saw the feed truck pull into the farm.  Momma and Q-Tip lagged a bit behind the others, I believe because she knew that he would be trampled if he got in the mix of things, but were quickly up eating with the rest of the herd.  One of the other momma cows pushed Q-Tip out of her way at one point which knocked him down.  Momma came over quickly, nudged Q-Tip as if to say "you are okay and need to get up quickly" and then she put herself between him and the herd and moved him out into another pasture under a big shade tree for the rest of the afternoon.  Absolutely priceless to watch!

I could keep going with the things this momma did for her little baby but I think you all get my point...A mother's love is instinctual, unconditional and forever....no matter the species!

San Antonio or Bust!!

Every summer Joe has a big, week long conference in either San Antonio or Austin.  It is a huge family event and people have taken their children and spouses to it for several years.  The first year Joe was with the company, I joined him for the last few days of the conference and we had a wonderful time enjoying the Hyatt Hill Country.  Last year I was about 6 weeks from having Hunter and super busy with work so I didn't join him in Austin.  So, this year we decided to join the rest of the attendees and make it a big family vacation for us.  A big part of Joe's work is the entertaining and with a little one we knew that this wasn't going to be possible unless we enlisted the help of a grandma!  Mama Nelle to the rescue!!!

The weekend before the conference we headed down to spend some time on the farm and to cut the drive in half for Hunter.  Joe went on to the conference on Monday and Mama Nelle, Hunter and I joined him on Thursday.  We had a great time and Joe and I even got in some time for ourselves because Mama Nelle took on the bulk of caring for Hunter! 

Professional Pictures

We have not been the typical parents of our first baby and taking him every three months for professional pictures.  But, if you really know Joe and I we have never been good at pictures so it probably doesn't really come as a surprise.  We went to Studio 121 at Stonebriar Mall for his newborn pictures when he was five and seven days old!  (Hunter was cranky on day five so we had to reschedule for day seven!)

Then in November, we had one of our friends, Rayna Canedy (Canedy Photography), take pictures of us, Hunter and the three grand kids for what we planned to use as Christmas cards but never got around to actually doing....my bad! 

So finally in May, I decided it was time for us to get pictures of our little man and some new family portraits done using a local photographer for this shoot, Jilly Bean Photography.  It was just an absolutely perfect day!  Beautiful outside, Hunter was HAPPY, and I had found the perfect outfits for each of us with little to no planning!

This one just makes me laugh!

Look at those beautiful blue eyes!

Happy Family!

Looks like he is thinking, "You people better not leave me!"

LOVE!

Nap Time

We are guilty as charged! I have to admit that up until a couple of weeks ago Hunter had only taken a handful of his naps in his crib. Nana loved to hold him when she had him while I worked, Daddy longed for those naps on his chest when he returned from a week away, and I just loved the cuddle time, so none of us ever laid him down in his own bed. I realize that we could just keep doing naps in this manner but now that he is becoming more mobile, I would love to have those couple of hours a day to get some other stuff done.

I wish I could say that he has taken to this new idea right away but just like the sleep training for night time he has protested loudly and clearly at every single nap for the past few weeks. It has gotten better though! The first few days he would cry for the entire 45 minutes to an hour that we kept him in his room but now he usually goes down after about seven minutes. It hasn't been fun but I know in the end it will be worth it for all of us!

Adults Only Please

Last night Joe and I had our first overnight together without our little man. My best friend, Liz, agreed to watch Hunter for the night so that way we could get away for some rest and relaxation.

I am proud to say that I only shed a couple of tears and I was able to actually stay away for a full 24 hours! If you had told me that I would struggle with leaving my baby before he came into the world I would have literally laughed in your face. I do think it was time and a good thing for all involved.

We left the house about 11:30 on Saturday morning and headed down to the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine. We lounged by the pool all day and then enjoyed a nice steak dinner. Afterwards, we went to the Glass Cactus for a bit but quickly returned to the room for a good nights sleep.

We woke up around 8:30 and enjoyed a nice breakfast at the hotel and some pool time before heading back home. Liz reported that everything went well on the home front and that Hunter never really fussed for Mommy and Daddy which was great to hear.

I feel very blessed to have such an amazing friend that is willing to give up a Saturday night to come and care for the most important person in our lives. I cannot think of another person I would have wanted to take care of him for this first overnight stay. I was completely at ease and was able to truly relax because I knew my baby boy was in very capable, loving hands!