Puffy Face

First of all...met up with some friends this week.  So terrific!  Un-terrific part...I was so wrapped up in conversation, I didn't take any pictures.  Next time.  I have missed being able to talk about any and everything with these gals.  One of the best parts of my week for sure.  The cherry on the top was the babies did so well on the long drive to the big city.  Oh the little things really do make a difference.

On to the puffy face.  On Wednesday I woke up around 5:30 to feed the munchkin and while doing so, I noticed my face felt weird.  Weird like, super tight weird.  Like I could barely see outta my already small eyes weird.  After the above mentioned feeding, I scampered into the bathroom to check out the damage.  Low and behold I looked like I had been hit in the face with a baseball bat, minus the bruising.  My eyes were little slits due to my eyelids blowing up like balloons.  Not pretty and I do not regret not getting a picture of it.  I switched my pillows assuming that was the problem (I wasn't really coherent) and went back to bed.  For some reason I was still surprised when I woke up at 8:00 and my face still looked like Joan Rivers.  After using some eye drops the swelling did decrease quite a bit.  I slipped on my glasses for a slight disguise and decided I wasn't going to miss out on the 24th of July parade.

Besides the puffy face, we had a superb 24th.  The parade (with no tears from Henster), North Logan carnival if you dare call it that, family BBQ, golfing with the parents, and fireworks in the driveway.  Couldn't have asked for more!

  

 ^^Side note: Henley finally sprouted a tooth.  Thus, hands in mouth at all times playing with it.^^

 ^^Grandma telling her the in's and out's of the NL parade.^^

 ^^Our loot^^

 ^^Grandpa is teeing off - - watching very carefully.^^

 ^^Holding on for dear life in the golf cart.^^

 ^^Quickly realizing how much fun golf carts can be.^^

 ^^10 lbs eyelids plus no hair combing is a scary combo for me.  Enuf said.^^

^^The bugs were out to play and so were my eyelids.  If Henley could speak "Seriously Mom, is this necessary?"^^

^^The only one in the family whose ball didn't dribble two feet in front of them after attempting to tee off.^^

Still don't have a clue what was up with my face.  Happy Pioneer Day!

Our Little Fish

Lovin’ this stage of motherhood.  Nine months old came and went like a tornado with a lot of developmental changes.  Henley is such a fun girl and I’m cherishing these moments.  It also helps that she is finally sleeping through the night and napping.  Not sure what helped her make this change.  My guess is a combination of things – crying it out, I no longer care about a schedule, and age.  Quite frankly, your guess is as good as mine.  Back to 10 mths.  She is so interactive and wants to be involved in everything.  We are currently taking “swim lessons”.  It involves a lot of singing, splashing and kicking.  We have had a blast!  If Henley has her way she would splash on the side of the pool or suck on her hands all day.  She thinks the kicking/laying on your back thing is over rated. 

 

^^Dreading the attack of the sunscreen.  Worst part about swim lessons.^^

 

 ^^Hi Grandma!^^

 ^^We still need to work on the jumping part, buuuuuttt she will lean into the pool for me to catch her^^

Our other source of entertainment has been following Grandpa around in the garage.  And doing a little exploring of course.  Surprised by her best friend, the shovel?  She always has to have her little hand wrapped around something. 

^^Oh hey there.^^

Happy Thursday!

Annual Hanks Family Reunion

Since the beginning of time, my dad's side of the family has had a big family reunion up at Bear Lake.  Cousins, aunts, uncles, cousins kids, grandparents...everybody.  Well, everybody's families have grown a bunch and my grandparents are getting older so for the past two years each family has done their own thing.  Park City was our vacation destination this year and we had a blast.  Real soccer game was the first event.  I was a little nervous to take Hen since it can be so loud and there were fireworks afterwards.  She was a champ though.  She did cry a couple of times when it got extremely loud, but despite the super hot circumstances and noise, she fared quite well.

 ^^Bus ride to the soccer arena.  Also, chopped my hair. Going for the juilianna Hough look.  Still don't know how to do it and decided I was hoping the haircut would make me look like her. :)  In my dreams.^^

^^Sista, sista and Mom.  All sweating to death.  Henley's face says it all.  (Really missed Niccole this year.  Internships in DisneyWorld take precedence though.)^^

^^Busy body.  The man she was staring at never even looked at her.  Kind of a grump if you ask me.^^

^^Drinking a bottle, dying of heat, and getting her ears covered during the fireworks.^^

We stayed at the Canyons resort, which was impeccable.  So much to do.  Swimming pools, mini golf, restaurants, shopping, hiking, and tennis.  Next time we will take our bikes up to do a little off roading. 

 ^^Shopping with the girls.  Praise my sisters are so willing to help with the baby.^^

^^No shirt, no shoes, no problems^^

We went out to Squatters to celebrate my Mom and Melinda's birthdays that were in June.  There was a 40 minute wait so we took some pictures at the Olympic medal stands to kill the time.

^^Opening up gifts after dinner.^^

We played tennis a couple of times which was the best thing ever.  So much fun.  One day we had an amazing match going which was rudely interrupted by the rain.  Wish I would have gotten some pictures of our drenched bodies.  It was worth it though.

 ^^Enjoying a little tennis on the sidelines.^^

 ^^My cute 8 month pregnant sister.  Can you even tell she is pregnant?!  I think not.  She is tiny!!^^

 ^^Bringing his A game.^^

We also hit up the farmers market.  Definitely a lot of hippy dippy peeps there which made for some good people watching.  Lots of music, kiosks, and yummy food.  Melinda and I shared a baguette the size of our leg and a asiago cheese pastry the size of our head.  Everything is the size of a body part. 

 ^^Henley and I rockin' out to some tunes.^^

It was incredible spending so much uninterrupted time with my sisters, their hubbies, and my parents.  As always, wish Rich could have been there.  Maybe next year...we always say that hoping it might come true some day.

Water Baby & On the Move

Well, we are here in Utah.  It wasn't sure what to expect.  I haven't lived with my parents since I was 19 so I think it is safe to say, I am used to my own space and things.  Great news is, the adjustment has been fantastic!  My parents are awesome to live with and Henley loves having more people around.  Staring at my face all day just gets boring.  Can't blame the girl.  The hard part is going to be leaving.  I didn't expect that at all.  The easiest part is going to be with Richard again.  Gosh we miss him. 

Henley is still obsessed with water.  Splash pads, puddles, sprinklers, pools, bath tubs...you name it, she loves it.  It has kind of become a difficult going outside because she wants to stop and touch every sprinkler we pass or wet spot on the cement.  

 

 

^^Very focused on splashing.  Excuse the immodesty.  She wanted to get in right away, thus no swimsuit.^^

 ^^She made the transition to the big bath tub beautifully.  She can't get enough of her reflection in that little metal circle.^^

 ^^Getting our feet wet in the backyard.^^

She has officially started crawling a few weeks ago!!  I felt like every other kid younger than her had already picked it up and people would comment on it.  I honestly wasn't worried about it and knew that she would pick it up on her own time as most kids do.  She is all over the place now.  Pulling herself up, climbing, emptying out drawers and cupboards.  Very, very independent already which is a little intimidating.

 ^^Pike.  Her famous move when looking through a book^^

Her current fixation is sticks/poles.  I'm not really sure what to call it.  The girl adores anything that is cylindrical.  Below is a robotic dog that has a leash/stick.  She likes the dog - - LOVES the leash.  Other items we will see her frequently carrying around - - a brush (she loves the handle), pool stick (no lie), toothbrush, broom, etc.  The list goes on.  Maybe she will be a baton twirler.  Heaven help me.  Below she did not want me taking her picture.  Actions say it all. 

 ^^Hanging out in the laundry room with the swiffer.^^

The other great thing about living at home, is my parents love (or say they do) to babysit and take her around.  Such a nice break.  I posted this picture on Instagram last week, however it is too classic to not re-post.  And NO, this was not set up as many people have asked.  Real life here.  My dad keeps saying "If anything were to happen I was ready.  I swear I had one hand on her." Too funny.