Terms of Endearment

When Maddox was born, Graham and I were completely taken with her. She was our Pumpkin, Sweetheart, and Sugar Bear. Baby Girl, Love Love, and Little Lamb. Since Harper and Henry have come along, my terms of endearment have remained consistent. However, nobody told me that Graham had an arsenal of his own nicknames saved up for his son, just waiting to be unleashed. In the last three months Henry has been called Brisket, Brosef, Brusket, Skillet, Sirloin, T-bone, and Knucklehead just to name a few. Most make me laugh. A few I've had to put my foot down for Henry's sake. All are said out of love and that makes me very happy!

What terms of endearment do you have for the little ones in your life?




Our sweet Henry, or should I say "Brisket".





Daddy and Henry. Quite a pair!

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Where Have All the Good Boys Gone?

I have to say that it has all been just a vicious rumor until now. For years, I have heard that cute clothes for little boys just didn't exist, but what did I care, I only had Miss Maddy to dress up. And boy, have I had fun doing that! All the sweet little embellishments, the lace, the buttons, the ruffles. What a treat! Of course, I'm having fun passing down Maddy's baby clothes to Harper now and enjoying them the second time around.

But boys clothes are another story. Thankfully, at this point the majority of Henry's wardrobe is supplied by my sis-in-law who has two cute and very cool little guys of her own. But, when the time comes to do some shopping for Henry, I am at a loss on who has the market for the best things!

Furthermore, what is up with my son's future career being chosen for him by the objects on his clothes? I'm pretty sure young Henry won't grow up to be "mommy's little slugger" or a NBA star. I'm sure he'll be interested in construction vehicles (as most children are) but must there be every digger, dump truck, and plow imaginable drawn on my son's chest? Some designer or company out there must be getting more creative...

So come on all you moms of cute little guys, share your secrets! Who makes it and where can I buy it at reasonable prices?

Here's a few things I found just bummin' around today.




Love the look of this old turntable. Very cool. Found at Nordstrom.





Tea is one of my favorite companies. Sizes 0-8. This layered one piece has a nice geometric pattern.




Cute little outfit from Gymboree. This store always has the whole outfit put together for you. Great for those of us pinched for time, but can get pricey.





This argyle may be about as preppy as I am going to get with little Henry, but if you know of more traditional companies with great boys' attire (smocking, monogram, john johns), I am willing to take a look and keep an open mind, although my husband might kill me.


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Our Life in Pictures

Six years ago today I married the "one whom my soul loves". We were wed on New Year's night in the library at Georgetown College surrounded by family and friends. It was a wonderful beginning, but the years that followed have been even better. Our marriage is not always easy, not perfect, but strong and growing with each passing year. What better way to remember the last six years than in pictures?


Our first moments together on our wedding day, January 1st, 2005.



We look so young! Correction. We were so young!




Always the jokester, Graham surprises me with this little stunt.




Sharing a laugh after the breath spray incident.




Red velvet cake. My favorite! We saved the the top tier for our one year anniversary, but it was terrible a year later! Yuck!




First dance with my husband.





We spent our first year of marriage in California. Graham was in the Army learing Korean at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey. We didn't get to travel as much as we'd like (because we were broke!), but we managed to make it to Big Sur and San Fransisco (as seen in the pics above).




In 2006, we moved to Washington state, and just before our second wedding anniversary, we welcomed Maddox Olivia into our lives. She was born in Ft. Lewis, WA.





We spent three years in Washington about an hour south of Seattle. What a beautiful state as you can see from the pictures taken at Puget Sound and Olympic National Park. Graham deployed twice while we lived here, once for six months and once for close to a year. Maddox and I lived in Kentucky during the second deployment in 2008.




In 2009, Graham ended his service in the Army and we bought our first house in Virginia. We love it here!



Family pic on the lawn at the University of Virginia.





One of our trips to DC.



I love to travel with my husband. We went to Italy in 2007 and took this picture in Positano. It was the honeymoon we never had (because Graham was in school at the time!).





We cruised to the southern Carribean in 2009 after Graham came home from a deployment. Took this picture in Barbados.





Family vacation to Edisto Island, SC in 2009.




We took Maddox to Disney World this spring just before Graham left for Afghanistan for five months.




While in Afghanistan on a government contract, my dear husband got the phone call that changed his life. We were expecting twins!



On October 14, 2010, we welcomed Henry and Harper to the mix.




Graham once naively said that he'd like to have his family completed by the time he was 30. Henry and Harper arrived just 3 days before his 31st birthday. Ha!



So, what do the next six years hold for us? Graham is hoping to go back to school to attain a master's degree in foreign policy in the next few years. We'd love to spend a year in Europe while our children are pre-schoolers/early grade schoolers and have seen job opportunites for Graham in Germany, Italy, and the UK. I'd also love to go back to non-profit work when Henry and Harper start school. And someday, we would both like to adopt a child. Will it all happen? Who knows! But if the next six years are anything like the first, they will be full of adventure and surprises!

Happy New Year!