Santa's Elf

Grandpa's hunting beanie is a little large, but he'll grow into it.

Thumb sucker

Someone has found her little thumb as of a few weeks ago. We don't mind though. We're willing to pay a few grand in braces just for a few hours of peace and quite during the day. Funny how that works...

New outfit.

Smiley.

She looked like the Easter Bunny in this outfit.

Caught in the Act

Apparently, I'm not the only fan of the MacBook...

Right down the list...

I apologize in advance to Travis, Tim, and Brett. In no way did Hunter intend to butcher your name...it just happened that way.

Andrea's family is up next...stay tuned.

Anyone else feel a draft in here?

Sorry, I had to post this one.

Hunter experiences the car wash

A few weeks ago, I took Hunter through the car wash. He was unusually quiet, but he made it through. (I think the music in the background helped.)

We read a quote worth sharing today. It's from Russell M. Ballard, a leader in our church:


"Find some time for yourself to cultivate your gifts and interests. Pick one or two things that you would like to learn or do that will enrich your life, and make time for them. Water cannot be drawn from an empty well, and if you are not setting aside a little time for what replenishes you, you will have less and less to give to others, even to your children. Avoid any kind of substance abuse, mistakenly thinking that it will help you accomplish more. And don’t allow yourself to be caught up in the time-wasting, mind-numbing things like television soap operas or surfing the Internet. Turn to the Lord in faith, and you will know what to do and how to do it."

Don't forget to find time to recharge your battery! You will have much more to give, and it will make life more enjoyable.

6-Week Recap with Hailey

Since we gave a 6-month recap with Hunter, we thought we also needed to give a 6-week recap on Hailey.

Here we go...

This is what Andrea looks like right before she's about to go into labor. She could have run a 10K.

And just like that, we have a cute, happy baby.

Every once in a while, she'll sleep with Daddy.

Grandpa and Nana visited from Baltimore to help with the kids. They were amazing. Without them, we probably would have lived off a steady diet of large pepperoni pizzas from Little Caesars (or P Murph).

"Mewanthoneycomb!!!" She inherited this hairdo from Daddy. This is what happens after every bath.

Andrea's Mia-maids came over to see the baby. Within seconds of opening the front door, there was a stampede as they ran over to see Hailey.

Hailey wasn't a huge fan of bath time at first. But now, she loves it.

She doesn't know it yet, but she really does love Daddy. Her shirt even says so...

Wide awake.

Sitting up, all on her own (with a little back support).

 Christmas 2011 pictures.

Credit, Tim Richardson, DDS

New Year 2012 pictures. A little cross-eyed, but she'll grow out of it :)

Credit, Katie Richardson (you gotta give the family credit!)

6-Month Recap with Hunter

The last post we had on the blog, Hunter had just turned 1. He's now 19 months and lots has happened with him, so here are a few highlights of the little guy.

In September, we made a trip back east to visit Andrea's family. Hunter did great for the first 5 hours of flights, but the sixth was brutal. We made it though.

Part of the trip included a 3-day visit to Rehoboth Beach in Delaware. Hunt loved the sand.

Of course, he loved spending time with Grandpa and Nana.

Grandpa loves the Yanks, so we figured we'd get him started young.

While I'm at work, Andrea spent a good portion of the day outside chasing Hunter on the deck. He loved it out there.

Pose #1

Pose #2

Pose #3 (my favorite). Does he think he's a model or something???

Looking older. 

He loves his Curious George books.

During the Summer/Fall, Hunter was my little lawn-mowing buddy. Every time I'd say, "Outside!" he'd  run to get his ear protectors and jump into the backpack.

This is harder than it looks...

For Halloween, Hunter was a bear--probably one of the scariest bears I've ever seen. (And that gash above his eye...no idea what it was from. He's got a new gash every week, so it's kinda hard to keep track.)

This picture is a little disturbing, but I decided to include it anyway.

On one of our many treks this year.

This is him pointing to the "fire hydrant". He made sure I knew where it was, reminding me for about 5 minutes.

One word he has down pat is "please" -- with his own little flair.

And a little bit more...

He's now 19 months old, has a vocabulary of about 40 words, and loves protein shakes. He's a loving, big brother. When he wakes up in the morning, one of the first things he says is "Lee, Lee!" (that's how he says Hailey) and wants to go see where she is.

He's growing up super fast -- sometimes too fast. If you have any tips on how to slow down the time, we're all ears.

Next post, Hailey Noel...

She's here!

Hailey Noel was born on Nov. 20 at 2:50 pm. She weighed 7 lbs. 5 oz.


Both Hailey and Mom are doing great!