Tooth Fairy

Does the tooth fairy bring teeth or just take them away? I'm not sure, but I do know that Haven got her first one (bottom left) on July 5th and her second on July 19th (bottom right).

I finally took Haven to the doctor on Monday, July 29th, for her relentlessly snotty nose to make sure it wasn't her ears before we got on another plane. Dr. Curtis assured me that it was not her ears and that she was healthy. Of course the day after I took her to the doctor (which was the day we left for Destin), her nose was dry and finally back to normal. While we were in Destin, we were talking about Haven's teeth (or lack thereof) on Thursday or Friday and Benton felt on her gums to reconfirm that there weren't any. Then I randomly did it again on Monday and sure enough, there was a baby tooth poking through. Could this have been a contributing factor to why her VBS snotty nose lasted for two weeks - who knows? I do know that Haven is one tough girl because she didn't show any real signs of discomfort while they were cutting. She did not like to show them off, but now they're tall enough that you can really see them when she smiles.

Stars and Stripes

We made our annual trip to Destin for the 4th of July, but this year was a little different. Benton and I usually go for a week, just the two of us, to hang out at the beach. Destin is typically pretty crowded for the 4th, so no one else ever had an interest in being there during that time. But, Grammy and Grandpa came with us this year so they could babysit and we could actually do things - like relax on the beach and go out sans Haven.

The weather was the worst it's ever been for us during this week, but we still enjoyed the beach. Haven continued to wake up in the 5-6am range (closer to 5), so there definitely wasn't a lot of sleeping this trip, but we did walk on the beach bright and early almost every morning! Since we were out there so early, we did see tarballs the very first morning. Tarballs sounds so dramatic for what they are - they look like little pebbles or pieces of bark. So discrete in fact, that we didn't even notice them until we saw a lady walking with a Ziploc baggy full of them and joked about how she was collecting tarballs. That prompted us to take a closer look, so Benton picked one up and squeezed it in between his fingers - it left an orange stain and smelled like gasoline. Then we realized that Dutch and I had been stepping all in them. Oops! My parent's building had a setup on the boardwalk where you step in baby oil-soaked carpet, then water with dish soap, and wipes as a last resort if you still had remnants. It wasn't so bad for Benton and I, but it was a real chore getting the tarballs out of Dutch's paws. We learned our lesson and avoided the few we saw the next day, but we really didn't see any after that.

We had some great friends that happen to be in Rosemary Beach for the weekend, so we were able to meet up with them a couple of times, had a couple of dates, Benton and my dad played golf, I did some shopping, and we all went out to dinner a few times. Thank you mom, for staying at the condo with Haven so much - we greatly appreciate it! :)

Here is a photo tour of our week:

On the plane; not looking very happy in this picture, but she did pretty good. She should be a pro by the end of the summer!

Grammy bought these storage ottoman's for the new toys that she bought Haven and they ended up being the best toy of all. She loved standing in them.

Mean girl - she's a biter and a hair-puller.

Grammy spoiled Haven and rocked her too sleep - sometimes without intention.

Sitting out on the balcony, feeling the breeze, and listening to the ocean is just too relaxing to stay awake.

On our way to dinner

Strongly encouraged by Grandpa, Benton gave Haven some ice cream :(

It doesn't look like it in this picture, but she thought it was great stuff! Like the mustache?

4th of July was kind of like Christmas; Haven had many festive outfits. She had to make her Aunt Nancy proud :)

Pulling Dutch's tail

This should have been a part of my last post. Dutch loves to chew the caps off of water bottles and Haven loves them too. She doesn't chew the caps off, but she likes to crinkle the bottles and play with the caps after Dutch gets them off.

We went to our Sunday night staple, Elmo's, for the 4th.

The one-man-band at Elmo's

We finally took Haven out into the ocean water. We had put her feet in the sand and walked on the beach in the Bjorn almost every morning, but we had not put her in the water yet.

How cute are those footprints?

She was good with it until a wave came and about swooped her away. It came much faster and bigger than we expected...

And then she was D-O-N-E!!

Washing off - she loves faucets

Hanging out in the hallway; wanting to follow me, but not loving to crawl.

The flight home was not the best. We had to sit on the ground too long in Ft. Walton, then there was bad weather in Dallas, so we had to circle there and Haven was out of patience. She was SO tired that she was screaming; my mom and I were doing everything we could to get her to calm down and the stinking flight attendant walks up to me and says, "Do you have a bottle or a pacifier?" Seriously??!! Don't you think if either of those things worked for my child, I would have already tried them? Ugh! I was ticked. Thankfully, we did not end up circling for an hour as the pilot initially announced, Haven did calm down, and we made it...then she screamed in the car most of the way home. At least the passengers in the car were used to it!

Thank you Grammy and Grandpa for a great trip! We always enjoy our time at the beach - rain or shine!

Two Peas in a Pod

Haven and Dutch tend to have an affection for similar things...

(some of these are pretty recent, but I guess that's the advantage to being 1.5 months behind on blogging)

Haven's Texas Tech blocks

Playing together, but Dutch did take the "H" and try to chew it to shreds. We are better about picking up after ourselves now, and so far that has been the only casualty.

Dutch's bones and Haven's pacimals

A little switcheroo; this completely grosses Benton out. Don't get me wrong, I'm not for it, but I think it's funny enough to grab the camera and take a picture before I take the bone from Haven.

Once again, Dutch's bone

At least this one was "vanilla" covered...or something like that.

Watching out the balcony door

You can't really see Dutch in this picture because it was taken with my phone and he is outside barking at all the passers-by.

Chewing on the blinds

This is a trick that Dutch started as a puppy and thankfully has let go, but Haven picked up where he left off. Dutch ruined almost all of the blinds in our house...he's been a very expensive dog. He's extremely well potty trained and never had a thing for shoes, but just about anything else is free game...still at almost 4 years old.

Goldfish

Sharing a snack.

Unpacking a bag.

Each going for something they can chew on, I'm sure.

How much is that dog in the window?

They both love to be outside, and while we haven't experimented with Haven yet, I'm sure one day she will love to play in the mud as much as Dutch does.

Month Seven

Kentucky Derby or Little Bo Peep?

A Bonus Picture...

World's Greatest Dad

I realize everyone is the "worlds greatest dad" on Father's Day, but Benton truly is amazing. He went to every prenatal appointment I had, has been to every pediatrician appointment to date, changed hundreds of diapers (in fact, I might not have even changed one until we brought Haven home from the hospital), until about a month ago he gave Haven almost every bath, spent hours in the middle of the day or night swinging and rocking Haven to sleep, has been unbelievably supportive of me in every aspect possible and his baby girl LOVES her daddy! I cherish our time now, but I am looking forward to watching their relationship grow. There is nothing sweeter than a Daddy's Girl and I think we've got one!

I knew you would be a great dad, but Benton, you have surpassed all of my expectations.

Haven's VBS snotty nose lasted two full weeks and that included Father's Day weekend. Even though we got it from the church, we decided not to take it back. :) So, we went to Plano for the weekend instead and spent two days by the pool. If you haven't noticed already, Haven loves to swim and especially with her daddy...so what better way to spend Father's Day?

Benton is so not a gamer, gadget, or computer guy, but he's been talking about wanting an iPad since he first heard about them months ago, so I spoiled him with one for Father's Day. He definitely deserves it!

My dad spent Father's Day weekend with his two favorite hobbies - wine and golf. He first hit the wine country and then golfing at Bandon Dunes; they had a great time and he deserved that! My dad is one of the hardest working and honest men I know. I still go to him for advice and I trust and value his opinion more than he knows. We are a lot of alike (sometimes frighteningly so), but I love my dad and I really love seeing him enjoy being a Grandpa!

Wild West

After two cancelled trips, we finally made it out to New Mexico in early June. Haven got to meet lots of people and had several firsts that most 6.5 month old babies don't get!

Haven got a gross snotty nose as a parting gift from VBS that inconveniently (not that it's ever convenient) started on Saturday, the morning we left. She was not feeling her best and was super clingy to me, but actually slept and ate well despite all that. Poor baby was snoring and blowing snot bubbles - we felt so bad for her. I went out of town completely unprepared for any kind of sickness; I'll try not to make that mistake again. Thankfully, Candace had a bulb syringe that we boiled and used relentlessly, but we still couldn't keep it under control.

We left bright and early on Saturday morning and Haven did great on the plane. However, she wailed for a good portion of the trip from El Paso to the ranch and the several stops in between.

I think Grandmommy really enjoyed Haven. She went from zero to three great-grandchildren in a matter of six months!

performing for the camera...

In an effort to beat the heat, everyone headed outside pretty early on Sunday morning. The agenda for the day was branding, earmarking, castrating, and vaccinating calves. Of course this was one of Haven's "firsts," but was also a first for me! I don't know if it was her age or personality (I guess time will tell), but Haven was not super impressed with anything. It was like she sees cows and horses up close and personal everyday (which she definitely does not).

Checking out Bo, Benton's childhood horse, with Pop.

Sitting on Bo with Blakely - notice their matching pink John Deere boots :)

Checking out the cows with Daddy; once again, not impressed

Who is that behind me?

City family in the country

Faye with the vaccine, Seth and Benton pinning down the calf

Diesel, Raiser, and Morgan are big helps - so are Haven and I observing. :) That's as close as we got to the action!

Branding and vaccinating; it is a very quick multi-tasking process

My cowboy roping them in. I guess it's like riding a bike because he looked like a pro :)

Bridling Daisy

Benton, Haven, Blakely, and I went for a short ride around the ranch. Haven did good, but was over it by the time we got close to the barn.

Benton and Haven on Daisy, and Blakely on Bo

Ollie, Haven and I

Bill and Connie made the journey out to the ranch to see Haven (and me and Benton by default) on Sunday afternoon. Faye made some homemade ice cream and Haven entertained.

Blakely has a baby brother that is due in September. She will be a big helper if she likes him as much as she seemed to like Haven.

Our little oompa loompa

On Monday, we went to see Gam, Ryan, Leedrue and Sandy H at Gam's house. Haven LOVED Gam! She thought she was soo funny. I was very proud of Haven because we were able to get her to take a nap at Gam's on a pallet on the floor.

On our way back from Gam's house we met Kristen at Sandy and Gary's house so Haven could meet the three of them. She didn't really want to go to anyone, but she finally let Sandy hold her when she walked around and let her play the piano. I think Kristen is feeling the baby pressure :) She will definitely have gorgeous children when she and Jacob make the leap to parenthood. We so enjoyed visiting with them and wish we could have stayed longer, but our ticking time bomb was about to explode with hunger and sleepiness.

Haven did great on the way back to El Paso and after a little bit of a fight, she actually slept most of the flight. It was a good trip, but it's always great to be home!