Texas Sized Birthday Wishes

We wanted to wish Uncle Todd & Cousin Avery a very Happy Birthday all the way from Georgia. Avery was born a little early on Todd's birthday 2 years ago today. We think Todd convinced her to come early to take away some of the spotlight from his ever increasing age :) We wish we could be there to celebrateand we can't wait to hear all about the

"Berry Sweet" Birthday Party!

Palmer Says...

"I'm Hip-"

"All the way down to my camo socks!"

Bed Buddy

Palmer has a new bed buddy, Sammy the Seahorse. He often gets called Gloworm by me or Seaworm by Mike- we get confused easily these days. Palmer doesn't care what we call it, he just likes it! He usually looks over at it when we lay him in his crib. Of course when I get my camera out to take a picture, he looks at me, not Sammy. I even tried to be sneaky and squat low and look through the crib slats. It didnt' work- guess he loves me too:)

Look Who's Getting Big & Strong

"Who you callin' shorty now, Mr. Monkey?!?"

Hmmm...

...what should I do today?

Dan & Pap

The night before Palmer was born, Dan & Pap made the trek over to Savannah and they got here in plenty of time to welcome Palmer into the world. Palmer is named after his Pap too- more big shoes to fill! We already have the perfect Master's outfit and he can't wait to hit the links with his Pap. When Gramps & GoGo left town, Dan came back to stay with us a while. I don't think I have ever been so glad to see my mom as I was that day! We had a wonderful visit and Palmer loves his Dan & Pap!

Palmer getting some sweet love from Dan & Pap.

I thought I may need to clarify the name Dan for my mom. Her first grandson, Roper, couldn't say his 'G's', so my mom's name came out Dan instead of Gran and it stuck!

Palmer & Pap- future golf partners.

Gramps & GoGo

On the day Palmer was born, his Gramps & GoGo started driving over to Georgia from Mississippi. Palmer's middle name, Kimbrough, comes from his Gramps. He sure has big shoes to fill! We had a wonderful visit and were super sad they had to leave. GoGo cooked her little heart out and left a freezer FULL of food for us, which has been such a blessing. We can't wait to see them again real soon!

Gramps and his first grandson

GoGo loving on Palmer

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

As you'll see, a lot of Palmer's favorite things have to do with motion, which goes with my prediction that he would be a mover and a shaker. He was super active while I was pregnant and acted like a kung fu fighter on my ribs!

Bouncy Seat- aka Palmer's Office Chair

This is where he'll hang out so I can get some computer work done.

Surprisingly Palmer has LOVED every bath! I prepared Mike for the screaming and it never came- at least not during bath time.

He loves to go side-to-side in his swing. This was taken when he was one week old and now he takes up twice as much room!

We weren't too sure if we would introduce a paci to Palmer (we've always heard you can live and die by the paci) but our pediatrician popped it in during a check-up, he loved it, & now we do too:) Special shout out to Aunt Emily for these paci's, GumDrops. They are the same as Soothies, but they don't have the huge face on them. We're big fans!

His stroller- aka The Cadillac

Palmer LOVES to go on walks & usually ends-up falling asleep... as long as we keep moving.

Mike started doing 'exercises' with Palmer from the start and he loves the stimulation and special time with Daddy to walk, run, & jump.

Probably a favorite spot, Palmer would hang out on his changing table for hours if we would let him. The changing table is by a window and he loves to be the neighborhood sleuth and check things out.

We have some good awake time on the play mat and Jake & Lucy love to sneak in special licks while Palmer explores his jungle friends.

The Moby- aka Mommy's third hand

This is our newest addition to the family, thanks to Aunt Heather, and we all love it!

Welcome Home Palmer!

Our sweet neighbors, Laura & Sherrod, decorated our mailbox to welcome Palmer home. Laura & Sherrod also help take care of Jake & Lucy when we leave town and they took extra special care of our four-legged babies while we were at the hospital. So, we had to have a little photo shoot when we got home.

Palmer was thrilled to receive some kisses from Lucy, can't you tell? Jake really wasn't that in to the newest memeber of the family yet, but he's come around.

Prisoners of the Hospital

Our time at the hospital now seems like such a blur. I don't even remember most of these pictures being taken. It seemed so surreal that he was finally here and healthy. The first time I saw this picture of Mike & Palmer I cried- I love how proud he looks to be holding his son.

We were more than ready to go home from the hospital, but it didn't seem like the hospital was in any hurry to get rid of us! We were ready to take our baby and run. It was not a fun waiting experience but we did take a few pictures before we left while we waited, and waited, and waited...

By the time we finally made it to our car, Mike & I were done. It was 4 o'clock, neither of us had eaten lunch, and it was blazing hot. Our carseat had been ready for the past month because 'he was coming early' and we had the double insert installed because 'he was going to be tiny.' We were praying that he would weigh at least 6 pounds. That obviously wasn't a problem. We quickly took out the inner insert and left the outer and he didn't even need that, but we were ready to be home (have I said that already?). The car ride home was the first and last time we used it- his cheeks do the job just fine!

It's a miracle...

...to go from this at 13 weeks...

...to this at 39 weeks, 6 days...

(I still can't believe I carried an 8 pound baby!)

...to this at birth!!!

We love you Palmer, our little miracle!