May 1, 2013

May already? How did that happen? Well, I didn't post last week, but I have a good reason. But before I get there, I've got a lot of catching up to do!

Thursday before last, William, my mother and I headed to Plano. We had a great trip (William was awesome!) and then we spent all day Friday preparing for the gender reveal party. I ordered the cake and it had cute bees on it and "What will Baby P Bee?" written on the top. It was adorable. Both sets of my grandparents came in town and all of us with my parents had dinner at Red Hot and Blue BBQ. Francis came into town late Friday night, but I didn't see him until the morning. Saturday, we continued to set up until the party at 2. Everyone was there including all my grandparents, my sisters, my parents and in-laws, 2 people I've known since elementary school, 2 people I went to high school with, someone I went to college with, and and some other extended family. Additionally, we streamed the gender reveal on the internet so that at least 20 other friends and family could attend the party from far and wide. It was so wonderful and I felt so loved. We revealed the gender through the cake. Helping William cut the cake, we revealed bright blue icing on the inside! We're having another boy! Everyone was excited. His name is Robert Christian Phillips and we are so blessed he has decided to join us this year. Thank you to everyone who is a part of this time in our lives!

Sunday morning, Francis and I left William for the first time to take a much needed vacation to....Maui, Hawaii! My mother and William walked me to the car and William waved and said "bye, bye" and blew kisses. I gave him a ton of hugs. As I drove away, I saw William picking up the newspaper and handing it to my mom. I broke down a bit, but it was for the best. I've left William overnight before and so has Francis, just never at the same time. My mother, father, and in-laws did an awesome job watching him. I had no doubt, but it hurt my heart a little to be so far. I checked in every day via FaceTime and William always looked so pleased to see me, but I could tell he was having a great time. He's such a sweet boy. I'm so blessed to have him!

After a long day on Sunday, Francis and I finally made it to our hotel and turned in. We woke up early Monday morning (around 4 am) and watched the sunrise from our hotel and took it easy. Mid morning, we headed up to Haleakala National Park in order to go to the top of the crater. It was a good half-day trip and Francis especially loved seeing the clouds move through and up the crater in a swirling mass. the view from top is like no other. It's like being on another planet. So amazing! The trip back down in the car was rough on me and all the curves took their toll. I made it down though and after a dinner overlooking the Ocean, we went and saw a cool show called Ulalena about Hawaii's history. We were so tired that I think some of it was lost on us, but it was very visually interesting.

Tuesday we made the trip to Hana...otherwise known as the "true test of marriage". The actual road is 56 miles long and has 54 one lane bridges (for two way traffic) and around 216 curves. We made it finally just in time for lunch to the Black Sands beach where we had a picnic. We then went on around to Hana and The "seven sacred pools" where we swam for over 2 hours. Francis even jumped off a waterfall. The views were totally worth all the trouble. We then made the decision to go around the backside of the island (as opposed taking the same way back) even though it said not to in our car rental agreement. It was totally worth it not to get carsick and it was an adventure that can only be described in legend. Dirt roads and mostly one lane, two way traffic made for an exciting ride. Tuesday night we had dinner at another nice restaurant on the ocean where we could watch the sunset. It was beautiful!

Wednesday we shopping in the morning and snorkeling in the afternoon. It was so cool!!! We went on a boat tour where we got to see whales (it's way late for them to be by Hawaii) and then went snorkeling in the reef. There were all kinds of fish and Sea Turtles. One sea turtle looked up at me from the bottom of the ocean where he was resting and decided to check me out. He came to the surface so close I could touch him and stared at me for a couple of minutes. Francis and I watched in awe. After a bit, others noticed he was there and scared him back to the bottom. It was beyond anything I can describe. We had a late lunch on the boat (hamburgers) and when they had some extra, we packed some up and took it to our hotel. Paired with some fruit, we ate a picnic on the beach and watched the sun set and stars come out. It was so romatic and possibly my favorite thing we did.

Thursday, we went to Napili beach. I like swimming, but I don't really like sand, lol. We had a great morning and then came back to the hotel to clean up and change for dinner at a Luau. The Luau was awesome. Francis even got to wear his Hawaiian shirt! Friday we went to the Ioa Needle and hike around the State park. We then went to the airport, hopped a plane to Honolulu and then went on to Dallas, arriving about 7am Saturday morning. My wonderful in-laws drove us to my parents' house where William was waiting outside with my mom. The smile on his face was priceless! He hugged and kissed us and we heard all the stories about his week (playgrounds, the zoo, malls, and many chick-fil-a trips). I missed him so much, and was so glad at how happy he looked!

After a nap and lunch with my parents and in-laws at In and Out Burger, my mother, mother-in-law and I went shopping for clothes and baby items for Robert. We got him some cute stuff and also some stuff for William. I now have two hats and a shirt and onesie that each say big brother and little brother respectively. They will be great for pictures!!! Thanks so much! We all had a steak dinner together and just got to enjoy our wonderful folks. We couldn't ask for better!!!

We drove home on Sunday and have spent this week adjusting back to life in the fast lane. William is getting back into the swing of things and I am almost done with laundry. William now knows how to bear walk and somersault independently and has picked up some interesting habits that make me smile. The hardest thing this week has been that William is missing his Nana and Sweetie. He's been asking for both of them. He is not used to not getting his way now. When I told him he couldn't do something on Monday, he got very upset. I said, "you are really missing Sweetie, aren't you?" He screamed back a resounding "Yes!" and then tried to call her on my phone. Fortunately it's been a relatively easy transition.William is also picking up a word or two per week now and his vocabulary is rapidly expanding. He is always surprising me!

I had a Dr. appointment on Monday with Dr. Brown. Everything looks great with Robert. His heart rate was 146 and he was even sucking his bottom lip on the sonogram. William was doing the same thing this morning and it made me smile. Robert is moving all the time. William and Francis have both gotten to feel him and it makes them smile. I'm so proud of my three men. They are the best!!!