Will Rhys Have a Little Brother or Sister?

Can you see what we see? :)

We praise the Lord for this new little addition, due mid-August!

Mommy's Little Helper

Doesn't every mommy need one of these?

As I was emptying the dishwasher this morning, this little monkey evidently decided to crawl in to help! My back was turned for about 10 seconds as I was putting the silverware away, and I was literally telling {convincing} myself, "Ignorance is bliss for this moment, Shireen. Surely, he's not into anything!" I turned and found this...and I do think it's SO cute, even though we won't make a habit of it!

I like to try to get into his little mind. He's probably thinking, "Now that I'm in here, what next? Hmmm..."Then, I call out his name, and he gives me the "I'm only trying to help, Mommy" look. :)See? I can pull the racks out!

Then, I took him out and said, "No. No, Rhys."

I kind of wonder if he's thinking, "Why in the world did she take pictures {even smiling!} but she's saying, 'No. No,' now?" :)

Rhys' First Easter Egg Hunt

Rhys got to experience his first Easter egg hunt and fun parade this year! One of our local churches really did a great job creating a great atmosphere for families to come and have a wonderful time on a beautiful day! Ashley and Dan were sweet to take pictures of us since my hands were very busy with this little guy!

Rhys would have held on to this one purple easter egg the entire time! :) And, of course, everything gets 'taste-tested'!

Rhys has no idea what an easter egg 'hunt' is yet, but come next year, he should be all about some eggs and candy! :)

I just love this cute face! I could just eat him up! Easter egg still in the mouth! :)

What a great parade! We got to paint cookies with fun colors of icing...

These cookies were massive, huh? Yeah, we brought about 3/4 of it home. I was NOT risking no nap from a sugar high! Ha! My sweet friend, Ashley, and her big boy, Nathan! Then, Rhys went on his first pony ride! Watch his face through the pictures...

He wasn't too sure about this! :) Still not really 'into' it.
I was dizzy after 4 trips AROUND with those ponies! I was glad they kept the rides so short! Whew! Maybe Rhys will enjoy the parade activities as he gets older. :) I'm sure he will. It was a fun time and a gorgeous day!

Thank you for all the fun pics, Ash!

Sweet Visit with Aunt Britney

Sweet Britney came to Birmingham last weekend and is always so good to work us into her busy social schedule! I know that she has lots of friends that she wants to see when comes to town, but she is such a sweetheart to make us a priority on her visits! We are thankful!

Britney is very much family, and she's known this little guy since he first came into this world! Remember Rhys' first photoshoot? Well, that was Britney's work!

Rhys is completely himself {all boy!!!} with Aunt Britney, and when she was getting ready to leave, he reached out and wanted her to hold him, which was so sweet! It's definitely Britney's sweet, calming demeanor, and I think it may help that she and I look alike! I snagged this shot of Rhys and Daddy because they're dressed alike. This was not planned, but Russell did pick out the outfit for Little Man and then, wouldn't ya know, he went and picked the same colors for himself for the day! :)We're having FUN with this little walker! He is ALL OVER the place, and I LOVE it!!!

I praise the Lord!

Play Date with Hayes

Sweet Hayes was born just two days after Rhys at the same hospital, and our families didn't even know each other! Hayes' mommy, Amy, and I met at a nursing group within a couple of weeks after having our babies, and I remember walking into the room, and Amy said something like, "Shireen, you don't know me, but I know you through Darby's blog!" We both laughed about it, and a year later, we're having play dates with our kiddos! Isn't life grand!?!

Rhys greeted Hayes with open arms on their second play date a couple of days ago...How cute are they together?!?!?!

...and incredibly SWEET!?!?! They would take turns and share toys, which was so good for me to watch because I'm not sure how Rhys does in nursery or Mother's Day Out. Hopefully, he's being just as much a gentleman there!
They definitely warmed up to each other and were all over the room and vocal in no time!

Amy is a wonderful, evidently God-fearing mother, and I really look forward to spending more time with her and letting our kiddos play together more! Another plus is the fact that Rhys slept for THREE hours after that play date, which is a LOOOOOONG nap time for our little guy!
Amy, Hayes, thank you for coming to play! Maybe we can make it to the park this coming week!

Gone Nostalgic :)

I pulled our miracle blanket out of storage a couple of days ago, and I got all nostalgic, ready for another baby, so I decided to personalize it with the first letter of our last name.

I like this applique because it's sweet and simple, yet classy.

Hunting Theme

I had FUN with this project! Karen, thank you for spurring me to try something new with the hunting theme!

One Tired Little Man

Rhys was beyond tired on our way home from meeting Hutson a couple of days ago! :) It had been a long day, and he was READY for his afternoon nap! We were trying to keep him awake in the car by feeding him graham crackers. He almost made it home without caving to the temptation to sleep! :)



That may have seemed cruel on our part to try to keep him awake, but he really has a hard time staying asleep through the transition from car to crib. In the end, Russell was able to transition him well so that Rhys just kept on sleeping once in his bed. Yay!

Welcoming the Newest deVilleneuve!!

Welcome to the world, Hutson Luke!!

We got to meet precious Hutson Luke yesterday, just after he came into the world to meet his mommy, daddy and brothers! I got to hold him, and he was SO light!!! Oh, I want to hold him right now! We're so excited for Ryan & Jenn and the boys with their newest family member!

Russell got his turn to hold little Hutson.Look how great Jenn looks after a morning of labor and delivery! She makes pregnancy and labor and delivery look so easy each time! :)

We praise the Lord for this new blessing in your lives, and I'm ready to hold him again! Now! :)

Love you guys!

Walking

Rhys has been walking for a few weeks, now, and I'm finally posting the proof! :) He's getting better and better every day! This video was taken last week at the end of a day, and he was so tired, but he doesn't seem to slow down! :)

He's also just said his first word, which I'm hoping to capture on video for you soon!

Catching up...

Honestly, I don't know where to begin with this post. It's been too long since I posted on our lives. I apologize. We've been busy...for starters, we're only in the month of March, and I've been to the ER twice this year! Once because my right eyeball was inflamed, due to arthritis, and the second time because I lacerated my hand, cutting into a nerve {lovely, huh? :)} while trying to de-seed an avocado {while exhausted at the end of the day}. For the eye, steroid drops and lots of prayer have allowed for healing. For the hand, a stitch, some meds, time and yet again lots of prayer have allowed for the start of the healing process. I still don't have full feeling in part of a finger, but it may come back, and I praise the Lord that I've not lost any functionality of that finger! Then, two weeks ago, I get that darn stomach bug that's been going around, and I thought to myself, after vomiting at 9:30pm all that I'd eaten since lunch time, "Am I gonna have to go to the ER again?" Russell assurred me that I'd be fine, and, sure enough, {again, praise to the Lord!} I was fine. Whew! So, that's my personal update. :)

I should definitely add a note here that Russell has won the husband of the year award SEVERAL SEVERAL SEVERAL times already this, so far short, 2010! Taking me to the ER at 2:30am for my eye {with sweet, sleepy Rhys in tote...in 20 degree weather!!}, then at 6pm another night for my hand {without getting to eat my homemade chili, so he settled for a coke and jalapeno cheese curls (yuck!) from the hospital vending machine}, then cleaning my puke {sorry for that visual!} off of our bedspread, both sheets, the carpet, etc, and still loving me through all of that! Man, he's had his hands FULL! I am blessed! He truly is in this for better or for worse! :) I appreciate my husband with all of my heart!

And look what he brought home to me last week! Isn't he too good to be true?

Sorry for no pictures of the inflamed, bloodshot eyeball, the lacerated, bloody hand, or, well, you know...all the gross stuff from my last couple of months. :) I'll spare you. All in all, however, I want to share that the Lord has more than carried me and us through these hard times, and I am thankful for His grace and mercies! I do praise Him...and for all that I'm learning about Him and myself in Him!

On to less stomach-curdling updates! :)

Rhys! He has done so much in the last 6 weeks, since he made a year!

He's experienced SNOW!

Sweet Daddy trying to give him a taste of COLD snow because, of course, Daddy wouldn't want him to miss out on that!! ;)

He's gone from cruising and holding our hands when walking to walking on his own! Yay, Rhys!!!

Look at this proud little man! :) Notice the little hunting shoes. :) Thank you, Aunt Kristie!! We're trying to get some good use out of them before they won't fit anymore! :)

Rummaging through kitchen cabinets! We've designated the tupperware cabinet as Rhys'. :)

He just crawls/walks right into the cabinet and plays with anything he can get his hands {or MOUTH} on!

And going from this hairstyle :)

To this hairCUT! I got home from a baby shower, and my baby now looked like a big BOY! Daddy cut his hair, and I actually LOVE it!!!!! :)

Rhys is trying new foods these days...messy peanut butter graham crackers are a new favorite...

And sticking to some of the old faves...the boy still LOVES his BATH TIME! He gets two a day most days!! :) On these cold days, it makes for a great, WARM play time! :)

This guy doesn't slow down for ANYthing! He DISlikes, to put it mildly :), diaper changes, so I've gotten really GOOD at changing diapers while he's standing, UNLESS it's a poopy diaper!! :) He still has to lay down long enough just for me to clean up #2. Then, he wiggles out of my grasp, screaming, crawls away, and I run after him with a fresh diaper, placing it on his little bottom while he's standing and playing with something in his hands! :)

By Rhys' nap time, I'm ready for nap time! :)

That's a pretty good summary of 2010, so far! :)

Monograms

I wish I could claim having handmade these beautiful things, but I can't. A friend of mine HANDmade their family stockings AND this precious Easter romper for her son! Thank you for letting me monogram them, Katie! I think they turned out looking GREAT!

His :)

Hers :)