Undercover Mama

Ok, this post may reveal just how crazy I am, but I think at this point, it's not really a secret anymore.

So, you all know Adler has been going to school, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9am - 1pm. His teachers gave us a schedule at the beginning of the school year which indicated that he went to the playground at 10am. The other day, I was running errands and was driving by his school around that time. I thought I would just swing by, and play spy in the parking lot and see if I could see Adler playing with his new school friends on the playground. I was also really eager to watch him walk in a line with the other kids. (could it really be MY child was doing this?)

I got the parking lot, and sure enough, watched Adler play with one other little boy. They were running around, picking up wood chips and piling them on a certain part of the playground. They seemed very busy and on a mission to cover the entire playground with wood chips. But before they could finish the job, their teacher called them to the picnic table. They all gathered around and listened to whatever she had to say, and then walked in a straight line back into the school. Adler and the other little boy he was playing with, were instructed to hold the teacher's hand on the way in. Hmmm....maybe they are the class trouble makers??

Anyways, I thought you would laugh at this picture I took of Adler, walking with his teacher, while I hid behind a mini-van.

happy bride

happy bride_with texture, originally uploaded by stephenhunton.com.

We had a blast in Destin and I had a great time shooting the wedding for Brandi and Nate. The beach location was awesome and we ended up with some great light to shoot the couple in. It was my first beach wedding experience, and although stressful, I ended up with some images I'm really happy about.

I'm getting ready for a couple weeks of shooting, so check out http://stevohunton.blogspot.com for more photo updates in the coming days.

Later!

5:30 am

@ around 5:30 am this morning, Adler decided it was time to get up. I laid in bed listening to him for a bit, hoping he would decide to fall back to sleep, but no such luck. When I went into his room and asked him what his problem was, he said something about "cars, Sally, trains and Thomas". (Sally from the movie Cars and Thomas the Train) He was wide awake and ready to play.
After getting his diaper changed, he picked out an outfit from the pile of clean clothes on the couch. I was pretty impressed as 1) the outfit actually matched and 2) he was so determined to get dressed so early. He asked to take his PJs off, so as I was doing this, he started saying, "Ready to go...okay!". Then, walking to the garage door, said something about "Caleb and Caleb's train" (Caleb has a Polar Express train that Adler calls "Train Wow"). So, by this time I had finally figured out that Adler had woken up this morning determined to go over to Caleb's house to play with his train set. Explaining to a 2 year old that Caleb was still asleep at 5:45 was pretty useless. After he figured out we weren't leaving, he wanted to take his outfit off. So, it's 6:39, I'm making blue berry muffins....and Adler is running around naked. It's already an exciting day at the Hunton house!

18 weeks and a 2 year old

We find out on September 25th what we are having!

Stephen gets an epidural shot

Adler spent the night out last night (at the Fountains) but instead of getting to sleep in, we were getting up at 5:30am to head to the doctor's office for Stephen's steroid epidural shot. They injected cortizone into the epidural space in his spine in hopes to reduce in the inflamation of a disc in his lower back. Here he is signing his life away...


We hope Stephen is feeling better soon!

Family in Texas

Thanks, everyone, for your prayers and concern for our friends and family in Texas. Everyone is safe, which is the most important thing. Everyone we know, from downtown Houston, to the northern suburb, The Woodlands, is without power, still... The Wells fam has gone to stay with friends and family in Austin. With a 2 year old and 1 week year old, who could blame her? My mother in law has traveled with her elderly mother to a lake house near Dallas to escape the heat of a house without air conditioning. My parents have a generator and are able to get some power that way. It has become more and more difficult to speak with our friends and family members as they are trying to conserve battery power on their cell phones, so I get short texts or conversations just to say they are doing OK. This is strange for me as I'm used to talking to these loved ones just whenever I feel like it.

In other sad news, it seems as if our beloved beach house is a complete loss. There is a video on www.khou.com with aerial views of Bolivar, which is where Hog Heaven (the Hunton's beach house) used to reside. At 21:02, on the video clock, you'll see a shot of the concrete slab where the house used to be. We are lucky this was just a beach house and not a home (as that area is for many other people), but we sad to see it go, as Stephen and I have many memories of Crystal Beach dating back to our high school days. But we know there are many others who have suffered much more of a loss and our prayers are for them!

Get-away weekend

Stephen has a beach wedding this weekend in Destin, FL, so we have decided to make it a get-away weekend. We had originally planned to take Adler, (booked a 2 bed-room beach condo) but our good friends, the Presleys, practically begged us to keep him. So, seeing as we have another baby on the way and the chances that another couple will "beg" to keep our child/children again are pretty slim, we decided to take them up on it. Adler will have a blast at their house. He loves (almost) 6 year old Caleb, and has a melt down after school when he has to say good-bye to his favorite buddy. Adler will have a fun weekend of trains, cars, and transformers!

I on the other hand, will have a great weekend of quiet, beach, sun, rest, conversations that have an ending, and of course good food. Stephen will be busy Saturday night, so I'll just have the place to myself! We are praying for safety for our friends and family in Houston. And also for the Hunton's beach house on Crystal Beach, which is pretty much in the direct path of Hurricane Ike. :(

I'm sure we'll be posting pics of our trip as Stephen got some new bells and whistles for his camera he is looking forward to using! (I think this below pic is what I would look like with a toupee)

Who's hunting who?

Who's hunting who?, originally uploaded by stephenhunton.com.

Adler made a buddy while we were in Fort Smith, AR visiting Jean & Wally. Cheeto was super sweet, but loved playing "The Hunter" with Adler...who's hunting who?

Saw Varsity's Horns Off

Sorry, Tex, but had to do it. I was surprised at how sharp the horns were on Adler's latest Cars collection, "Tex". (who is the owner of the oil company, Dinaco, in the movie "Cars" if you are interested) So, Varsity's horns are sawed off, short, A, whoop! Gig 'em Aggies!

Breckenridge

Here are just two pics from my phone, but I got back late last night/early this morning from a wonderful weekend in Breckenridge with girlfriends! Thanks, Megan for inviting me! We had such a great time, ate lots (which is always important), and walked around the beautiful town of Breckenridge for some shopping. I have some other pics on my camera to upload, but wanted to share these today.

You know you're in trouble when.....

There are sleeping patients at your OBGYN's office. Looks like it's going to be a long wait....

Adler's first recruiter....

So, there I was at Adler's pre-school, minding my own business....walking hand-in-hand with Adler to the playground. We slowly and casually walked past a tall Daddy who I had noticed at the school before because his son was in Adler's summer class and I think he is the only Daddy who takes/drops his kids off at the school. I noticed he was carefully eyeing me and Adler. I thought, "well, maybe he has a thing for pregnant moms...". As we walked to the playground, I noticed he quickly ended his cell phone conversation to speak with me.

"H-h-how old is your son, there?" he asked.

(pick up line?) "Oh, he turns 2 in October." I answered, wondering where this was going.

"Um, well, this might sound a little strange, but..." (I'm sure it's going to) "....well, you see, I'm a football coach...."

Me: Uh-huh

"And well, I'm putting together this football program for kids." He went on for a couple minutes about his program and his goals for scholarships for kids. "And see, I'm always looking for new players. We start them out at age 6."

Me: Well, I guess we have a couple years then....(in disbelief)

"Well, you can tell he's going to be a football player. You can always spot an athlete."

Me: Oh, you just made my husbands day! Well, I guess we'll check back with you in four years.

"Oh yea, you do that!"

Hmmmmmm....not even two, and already being recruited by coaches to play football. I'm worried :) Stephen couldn't be prouder.

Leaving on a jet plane....

I'm headed to Brecknridge, CO today! I'm so pumped! I'm meeting four other sweet girls from college there for a much needed girls weekend! Stephen and Adler are excited for their boys weekend. I heard a trip to the Georgia Train Museum was planned, but I guess we'll see. Hope everyone has a great weekend!
xoxo

Luke 2:19

Being a mom is hard work. It takes lots of patience, seeing the "big picture" in a moments or stages that seem never ending, and lots and lots of prayer! However, I have never experienced anything more rewarding or joyful. I love being Adler's mom and I can't wait to be this new baby's mom. There are so many special moments with Adler. Most of the time, they pass too quickly to grab a camera. So, I store these treasured moments in my heart. I can't believe I get a lifetime of these moments. Sometimes, just one can fill my heart so much that my eyes overflow with tears. I was inspired by a post by the Larsens in which Lauren quoted Luke 2:19 "But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." Awe, I know exactly how that feels. Here are just a few moments I was able to grab with my phone:

One of my favorite times with Adler, when we have a picnic a the zoo together:

Watching him sleep peacefully:

Discovering something new:

Playing with daddy:

A quite moment in the morning where he just looks so sweet and cuddly:

Update

Okay, so I know it's been a while. It's been a revolving door (all who we have welcomed) at the Hunton house.

3 weekends ago, Grammi came to town for some much appreciated "back to school" shopping. Of course Adler is the only one going to "school", but we don't tell Grammi that. Adler got a bunch of cool kid shirts and a couple that he really loves from H&M that have Lightning McQueen on them. Unfortunately, it was such a busy weekend, we didn't get any pics with Grammi.

2 weekends ago, my sisters were in town. Shelley and her fiance, Brandon, drove from Texas. Rylie was in town for work, so we all got to go out to celebrate Rylie's 25th birthday. We went to a fun Greek restaurant called La Taverna Plaka (complete with belly dancers). Here is Adler at the zoo with his Aunt Sha Sha and Uncle Brandon.

Last weekend, we traveled (what seemed) back in time to Fayetteville, Arkansas. This is where we spent the first year of our marriage, while Stephen finished school/skipping class and playing in his band, B-Side. We drove about an hour south to Ft. Smith to spend the Labor Day weekend with Stephen's grandparents. Friday night was a bit of a whirlwind. We flew into Fayetteville at 7pm. Got to Ft. Smith around 8:30. Visited with the grandparents, let Adler work out some cooped up energy, got him to bed, then left the house at 10:30pm (really, 11:30pm ATL time) back to Fayetteville. (insert pregnant girl that just flew with a 2 year old was exhausted, but trying very hard to be spontaneous, fun, and exciting pregnant girl) Stephen's old band, now an 80's cover band with some of their own music was playing at one of the old bars, Grubs. (insert pregnant girl trying to look cute amongst drunk 20 year olds with fake IDs and avoid "you have a baby...in a bar" stares) Okay, so once we got there, it was a blast and I forgot about all that other stuff. Boom Kinetic (as they are called) were awesome and super fun. I only wish I could have danced in the middle more...it was getting a bit rowdy and I think Stephen was worried I'd get knocked over by drunk jumping 6 foot boy. They played all the best 80s songs and their original music was awesome too. They were SO happy to see Stephen and surprised (we didn't tell them we were coming). I'm sure Stephen will write more about it on his blog, so I'll leave the rest to him, but it was a super fun night. We even got Taco Bell afterwards - which is a must after a late night. So, we got back to Ft. Smith at 3am (4am ATL time, HELLO!) and at 5am, Adler was ready to play cars with his super tired parents. Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep that night or the rest of the weekend for that matter. Here's a pic of Zach:



And here's a pic you probably don't want me to spend too much time explaining. Let's just say this guy got on stage and proceeded to disrespect the pole:



We had a great time visiting with Stephen's dad and grandparents. Adler enjoyed being the center of attention and lead entertainer for the weekend. I guess this is where I should mention we did end up at the emergency room because Adler had a fever that reached 105, but everything checked out fine and turned out to be just a 24 hour nasty virus. Luckily, Stephen's uncle used to be the Chief of Staff at the hospital, so our experience was superb! I only wish Adler would have had more "himself" time with his great-grandparents and Tom Tom (Tommy as Adler calls him). He was a bit cranky and just wanted to be held by mommy all day Sunday. Here is Adler playing with the new kitty, Cheeto:



In other news, I really started feeling the baby kick over the weekend. I had thought I had felt it before, but this weekend, I knew for sure. Now, I'm feeling him/her all the time and it's awesome. I can't wait for Stephen to get to feel it too! We have been trying to explain to Adler what is going on. So far, he knows there are "babies" inside of mommy's tummy. He is convinced there is more than one. The dogs are back on my good list today. (Much to Stephen's distress, I've been pretty much trying to find someone to pay to take them for the past month) We took them to Pets Smart where Sadie got a shave and tooth brushing (which amazingly really helps) and Tristan got this special bath for dogs that shed a lot that helps loosen their under coat. He feels like a different dog and I know it's going to help me with house cleaning around here. So, I guess they can stay.

The Walk

The Walk, originally uploaded by stephenhunton.com.

I'm currently editing through a bunch of new pictures and just wanted to share one of my favorites from the e-session I did with my sister-in-law Shelley and her fiance, Brandon. As part of a wedding/engagement present I figured I'd shoot some fun shots for them. We had a blast and did 4 locations in literally half an hour. It was super fast, but we had some fun stuff come out pretty cool. More later!

Sweet Moment With Adler

I had the sweetest moment with Adler tonight. Each night we pray for God to bless our family members, friends, and any special circumstances. Tonight, we were praying for Daddy while he is on his business trip. I asked Adler if there was anyone else he wanted to pray for and he said "Mama". (insert heart melting here) It was then that I realized we rarely pray for Mommy together. I thought it was so sweet of him to point that out to me. He is such a special little boy!

HELP!!

Any suggestions for a hungry mama? I'm having this major problem of suddenly becoming ravenously hungry.....then eating the first thing I can grab....which is usually a carb or sugar/fruit.....and then I feel crappy. I need something I can eat right away, that's high in protein, and I'm really tired of cheese. Nuts sound gross. I can only eat so much yogurt. Eggs stink. Edamame is getting old. I had tuna at 9:30 am this morning and don't think I can do that again. I'm seriously hungry like the wolf.....HELP!

And while we are on the topic, here's what would make my life really great right now:
A personal dietitian
A personal chef
A house cleaner
A personal laundry folder and putter awayer
A dog groomer
A dog obedience trainer
A toddler obedience trainer
A masseuse
A dog poop scooper
A silent, continuous robotic vacuum cleaner and hard wood floor cleaner
A robotic magnetic invisible mini crane-toy-picker-upper
A dust fairy
The Dust Fairy's sister, Dog Hair Fairy
Lightning McQeen in the backyard for Adler
And heck, while we're in the back yard...a money tree!!

Did I miss anything?

First Day of School Thoughts

I'll have to say, on Monday morning, I was so glad have Adler at home with me and not having to get him ready for school. I really am cherishing this short time with him....I know before long, he will be headed off to school FOR-EV-ER (sandlot style). Do you remember your first day of school? I actually do remember my first day of kindergarten. I went to Hewitt Elementary. My teacher was Mrs. MacMan. I remember walking into the room and seeing some girls (Morgan McKibben and Heather Whatshername) hanging out by the big plastic puzzle cube. (Do you remember that thing? It was kind of like a playground, each side was a different color and the corners fit together to make this big cube thing?) Anyways, I remember them asking my name. I don't really remember being nervous. I've always loved trying new things, meeting new people, being out of my element.

I had a parent/teacher meeting last week for Adler's Mother's Morning Out. He will start the week after Labor Day weekend. He will go Tuesday and Thursdays from 9am - 1pm. I had to try really hard to keep it together. When I walked into Adler's class room, he had his name on the door. Then, I noticed he had his assigned chair, cubby, and name on his birthday month on the craft board. The teacher was introducing herself, going over some class rules, and things the kids were going to learn in the month of September (The letters A,B,&C, the color 'yellow', the shape 'rectangle', and a Bible verse)....Oh man, I was really fighting back the tears now. Please don't cry....please don't cry.....

Each child has an assigned "animal". Adler's is a turtle. His name is on his turtle where his assigned seat is. They also are going to have the kids learn how to line up, so these animals are also on the floor to teach the kids to stand in a line on their animal. As she was explaining this...I was biting my lip to keep it from shaking....but I also thought it was a bit funny...Adler, a turtle? Adler, stand in a line?? I'm sure he'll do it, it's just hard to imagine!

These past couple of days, I've been trying to get something together for him...he needed a backpack, Size 8 WW (that's Double Wide) close toed shoes (they don't recommend Crocs because of wood chips on the play ground), and I'm looking for a cute outfit for his fall class picture....will probably have to go to Janie and Jack since other stores sell 3T clothes that look like your son is about to join a fraternity. (Stephen would argue that Adler is cool enough to wear these clothes, while I agree, I still like to sometimes dress him like the little baby he is still to me)

I know this is just Mother's Morning Out and I can't imagine the wreck I will be when he starts kindergarten. They asked for a Room Mom Volunteer and guess who couldn't help herself even with a baby on the way......so I'll be in charge organizing the class parties...the Fall Festival, Christmas, Valentines Day, and Easter parties. Grandparents, if you can get away, you are welcome to come/help to any of these! :)

Any first day of school stories to share?

John Mark McMillian's "How He Loves"

I thought this was appropriate especially in lieu of the 2008 Olympics


He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realise just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

Pre-Chorus:
And oh, how He loves us all,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all

Chorus 1:
Yeah, He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.

Verse 2:
We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
So Heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss,
And the heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don’t have time to maintain this regrets,
When I think about, the way…

Chorus 2:
He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.