Vacation to Houston

Took a last minute trip to Houston back in June. I say last minute because we had been thinking of going for a while but didn't really solidify any plans until about 3 days before we left. I was pretty apprehensive about how my kids would do because neither of them had been sleeping very well at night... Either we just wore them out every day or they very much enjoyed the accommodations while being down there because both of them did great! Both were awesome travelers on the way down there AND both slept like rocks every night. Anyways, it really was a great vacation because we just took things easy and enjoyed pool/lake activities every day. We stayed the first half of the week at Dad Robinson's house in Conroe and the last half of the week at Jeff's house on the south side. We were able to visit with lots of family and friends all week long. Big thank you to Dad R. and Trish for letting us come visit! And to Jeff and Michelle for letting us crash your place once again. We really had a blast! And Ivy was talking about Texas and everyone she saw for weeks afterwards. Anywho, didn't really ever get my camera out so just had a bunch of fun phone pics...

Best way to travel! Oh and weaning Marshall just before we left made this drive go so much faster than back in December:

 View from our room at Dad's:

  

Morning boat ride:

Sam went to go work the cows at dad's ranch while I stayed back and played with my sister and Tiffany and kids at the house:

 

 

Tiffany was staying with her parents on the north side of Houston so we were able to meet up again the next day. It was so fun to hang out and let our girls play. It's been probably years since we've been able to spend longer than just an hour together. Doing a little shopping:

More boat fun (not pictured, Emily and kids and her sis Lydia and Dan came to hang out! Such a fun day!):

Charity had this rad mermaid tail and Ivy was totally fascinated. She kept saying "mom I wanna be a mermaid," lol! Finally when the older girls left it to go play something else, I let Ivy have a turn. She was in heaven, as you can see from her face! Haha.. It was the cutest thing:

 

 
Down in Pearland for the last half of the week (not pictured, Jessie graduated! Woo! and lots of cousin fun including a birthday dinner for Jacob at a vietnamese place):

 

Went up to hang out with Kelli, Mom, and best friend Lauren one morning:

Got to enjoy lots of Houston food, of course.. Kolaches and Vietnamese. Mmmm:

 

Lots of swimming at Jeff's:

 

This was the longest we've visited Houston during the summertime since Ivy was born (visited for a day or two here and there). We really enjoyed every minute of our trip. And the kids were great travelers on the way home as well! Made it a great ending to a great vacation. We love summer! 

Marshall is 6 months!

A couple weeks ago, Marshall turned 6 months old! We were in Houston around that time but I snapped these few at Kristin's house in Alabama on our way down. Marshall weighs 16 lbs 7 oz and is 25 1/2 inches long (shorty! hehe). They didn't have an exact number but he's somewhere between 40 and 50th percentile for both. 

This little boy is seriously the cutest thing on the planet. I can't get enough of his smiles and giggles and he is not stingy with them at all. Such a friendly kid. Just the other night, our lovely babysitter was watching him and he woke up while we were gone. She said she got him out of bed and she's never heard a baby giggle so loudly! Either he was just smitten with her, or he thought it was hilarious that she was there so late, haha..

Finally weaned! I started weaning him right before we left for Houston and he adjusted so easily, even with traveling and what not. Didn't seem to mind how he was fed as long as there was food of some sort. I think he was also going through a growth spurt at the same time and I don't think my milk supply could've kept up with his growing appetite. Those of you who know me well know I'm not totally in love with breastfeeding so I am verrry happy to be done! And he seems okay with it too, so double win! 

Has a pretty good schedule in the daytime and is a great napper, usually two longer naps a day. Bedtime is usually around 7pm and most nights will wake up around 4am to eat again (sometimes sooner for his binky). On occasion, he will go til 7am but not very consistently yet. To be honest every night is a guessing game. It's been a little difficult because no matter how consistent I am during the day, his nights are always different. I'm sure he will get there eventually; I'm just grateful he is so good natured during the day. Helps me to have more patience with him at night. I just don't think he sleeps very deeply yet. 

He is rolling all over the place and scoots a little too. Still working on sitting up by himself but he is SO close! Once he has that figured out, I'm sure he will become more mobile. For the most part, he still seems pretty content to lay on his back or tummy to play.  Oh and if you can't tell from the pictures, his favorite kind of toys are little soft stuffed animals and beanie babies. He likes rattles and teethers but he just seems so tickled when I give him little animals. Loves to cuddle and chew on them and swing them around. It's hilarious. 

Marshall is a big fan of solid food and will eat just about any "step 1" flavor, except peas... No sign of any teeth yet! I keep wondering if his crankiness is due to teething every now and again but never any swollen or sensitive gums. That's ok with me though, I'm not quite ready for his gummy smile to be gone. It's just the cutest!

Just had to get a few cute shots with his adorable cousin Lucy. She is two months younger than Marshall but you wouldn't be able to tell very well from these pictures, hehe.. The last of five kids, she is such a good natured baby. We just love her to pieces and are gonna miss her and the whole Hinson clan when they head back west! Glad we snapped these before we parted ways:

And finally, quick video of his laugh.. He seriously cracks up at just about anything. I think he has my sense of humor. When I was younger, I was known for laughing at every little thing:

In case you wanted to see how similar my kids looked at this age, here is Ivy at 6 months. :)

Memorial Day hike

On Memorial Day we went on a nice hike with our good friends Ashley and Ryan. We decided to do the pinnacle since we had never done it before, about 4 miles round trip. I think we made pretty good time considering me and Sam were carrying kids and Ashley is pregnant! My Bjorn isn't quite as comfortable as my wrap but I think Marshall liked that he can look around a little better when we go on these hikes. And Ivy had a blast, especially because she had two other people to talk to besides mom and dad, haha.. Anyways, we had so much fun! And the weather was just perfect that morning. Not too warm, and the entire hike was shady until we got to the lookout. It was so satisfying to be up there after hiking from the bottom: 

Marshall finally passed out on the way back down. Such a sweetheart:

Knoxville Zoo!!

Towards the end of May, a few friends and I took a trip to the zoo with all our kids. It has been over a year since we've been and we had so much fun (first trip here. Ivy was just a baby before!). The Knoxville zoo is one of the best I've been to. All of the animals are always out and within good view and they have lots of little play areas for kids- sand box, playgrounds, petting zoo, splash pad... We didn't bring our swimsuits that day but there was plenty to do otherwise! Ivy had the time of her life, although I think that was mostly due to being with all her friends rather than seeing the animals. And Marshall was a champ, of course. He got pretty heavy after a while and my good friend Cara had an extra seat in her double stroller that he fit in perfectly. He was so happy to just be along for the ride. Thanks Cara for letting him tag along with Cal! :) Anyways, it was such a fun day spent with good friends! Hopefully we will be able to take another trip there sometime. 

Firsts for Marshall

These both happened about a month ago but just wanted to include some fun pics of Marshall's first time eating rice cereal and his first haircut. He wasn't too sure about the cereal at first but ended up eating the entire bowl! Even today, he still makes funny faces whenever I feed him food but always opens his mouth for more, haha.. Either he doesn't like it but doesn't care, or he's just still getting used to the texture of solids.  Hopefully these are good signs that he won't be a picky eater hehe:

And finally, some fun pictures of his first haircut. Between his hair falling out and his head getting bigger, it was looking rather spotty so we just decided to do a little trim to make it look more even:

You can see how long it was starting to get in some places:

My handsome boy! So glad we did it. And no, I do not have his first locks tucked away in an envelope somewhere, lol! Thought these pictures were a better memory of the event. ;)

Mema and Grandpa's visit

My parent's came to visit for a few days over Ivy's birthday weekend and it was such a fun weekend! Ivy was in absolute heaven, always having someone to play with her and give her undivided attention, lol.. While they were here we tried to show them all we've come to know and love about the area we live in. The day of Ivy's birthday, after showing them around town and a great lunch in Cumberland Gap (see previous post), we ended up at Heavy's BBQ for dinner. This place is a local favorite and with good reason. Their pork ribs are probably the best I've ever had. It is about 6 miles or so into the Tennessee hills, away from all the town life. Secluded and quiet, this place gives you a great glimpse into the simple way of life around these parts, hehe.. View from the deck of the restaurant:

(Yes those are dollar bills stapled to the wall. I always think to myself, "There's always money in the banana stand." haha)

On Saturday, we decided to drive down for a day trip in the Smoky's and Gatlinburg. Enjoyed some gorgeous views and some Gatlinburg favorites, including some maple walnut fudge that my dad picked up. It was amazing! I never would've picked out that flavor on my own but now it's definitely a favorite.

 

Just a few Sunday pics:

  

That afternoon we took a little walk through Sugar Run and drove up to see the Pinnacle. Thanks again Mom and Dad for coming to visit! We had so much fun! And thanks for all your help with the kids as well!!