Fall Happenings...

This fall has been a season of growing. Lainie is growing and changing so quickly! She rolled over for the first time today, is sleeping through the night, started reaching for objects, knows her sister's voice to a tee, and has successfully captured all of our hearts in only 12 short weeks. Faith continues to amaze us by her verbal ability. The things she chooses to put together in her mind are usually funny and surprising. For instance, this morning she woke up and excitedly told me, "Mommy, Jesus gave me a long nap!" Where does she get these things?! A couple days ago we were driving in the van and Lainie was crying in the background...which you could distinctly hear over the music. Faith began by "shushing" her. When that wasn't getting the job done she said, "Lainie! Stop crying! I'm singing and dancing to music!" Oh a glimpse of the fun times to come.

We were blessed to get to go back to IA for a quick weekend a few weekends back. Grandma and Grandpa did a GREAT job getting ready for Fall. The planted an awesome pumpkin patch that Faith loved. Grandpa also gave us all a tractor ride to the pumpkin patch. Then, we of course had to (I mean GOT TO :) ) take pictures in the matching outfits Grandma found. She did a great job coordinating this as well.

Great Grandma and Jim came for a visit that was fun and exciting! We spent the day in Rocheport walking around looking in antique and art shops which was wonderful. However, we got back to the van in the evening with a hungry toddler and a hungry newborn...to find that it wouldn't start. Thank God (litterally) for GGrandma's AAA. I think Nate and I may need to invest :) Thank you Grandma and Jim for making the special trip down here. We can't wait to see you over the holidays!

Grandpa Tim came for a visit as well. He came all by his lonesome and had some great quality time with his granddaughters. Faith got to pick out any movie she wanted from him, and she chose Tinkerbell. Needless to say, we have been on a "Tink" high around here every since :)

Gigi, Aunt Ally, Uncle Dan and Aunt DD also came down for Labor Day weekend. It was a wonderful time. They kept Faith entertained VERY well while I tended to the then almost newborn. Faith even got to have her first "sleep over" with Aunt Ally in Ally's hotel room. She was spoiled rotten! She got to eat popcorn all night, eat chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, shop and swim her little heart out. I was a little jealous :) In my post partum delirium I didn't get any pics from that visit! I'm depending on the fam for pics for the baby book :)

Dan and Der also came back a couple weekends ago so that Nate and Dan could claim their awesome Christmas present from Gigi and go to the Mizzou vs. OU game. Unfortunately for them, OU lost, but they had a great time with unbelievable seats!

Here are some pics of all these happenings...I'm sure I'm leaving something out....but it's a good attempt at least, right?

Special People.

David and Karen are special people to us. We are not related by blood, but they treat us as thier family. They opened their home to me for a semester in college when plans suddenly fell through, and I fell in love with them. God used them to show me what a marriage rooted in Him looks like. Nate and I were getting married in a few months, so Karen answered lots of strange questions from me :) She and David indulged me with endless wedding talk...wedding shopping, etc. And, they even helped Nate set up a Valentine's Day surprise for me. When that semester ended, in some ways I felt like I was leaving home to return home. I am blessed that God has provided so many "homes" for me throughout my life, and I am endlessly thankful for David and Karen. A few weeks ago they were in the Midwest for work and drove 2 hours one way to visit us for a few hours so they could meet our girls. It was a special evening to say the least. Thank you David and Karen!

Family Photos!

This past week we had professional photos taken of our family. We were referred through a good friend and SO happy with the result. Her photography business is called Natasha Leigh Photography. I know I'm a biased mother, but are they not ADORABLE?

 To view all the photos go to the following link: http://www.natashaleighphotography.com/Customergalleries/Hutchings-Family/Hutchings-Family/14068340_LAES6#1035938769_UsMXm

The gallery will be available for the next two weeks. After that you will need a password to access it. If you would like to order any pictures, click on the Prices and Ordering tab on the top of the web page. Hope you enjoy them as much as we do :) Here are a few more of our favorites!

Tea with the animals.

Faith has a very active imagination these days. It was a rainy day last week when I suggested maybe we should have a tea party. Well, our thoughtful toddler thought that the animals should come to the party too!So then, we set to work creating a tea party complete with a diverse guest list which included panda bear, little bear, giraffe, and one (of course) naked Cabbage Patch doll. Someday her friends will have names, I'm sure....but not today. In the meantime they get to enjoy tea parties with a wonderful hostess....

 And what was Lainie doing in the meantime? Just hanging out on Faith's bed. She's a happy camper...and I know she can't wait to have her first sip of tea :)

Smiley Sisters.

Well, Lainie is quite the smiley girl! And big sister Faith is still a smiley girl :) We have just been surprised at how smiley Lainie is considering her age (5 and a half weeks). My hearted melted yesterday afternoon in particular. The girls and I were listening to music and Lainie was awake and alert sitting up in her bouncy seat. Faith, as usual, was dancing to the music...I think it was Taylor Swift. So, in perfect big sister style, she decides to include her little "sissy" so she goes over to Lainie and starts singing and dancing for her. Lainie responded with a huge grin meant only for Faith. This just encouraged Faith to keep entertaining. I wish I would have gotten it on video, but I'll just have to keep it fresh in my mommy mind. It was a sweet moment, and gave me a glimpse of the sister moments to come.

Ok...so maybe Lainie isn't smiling in this one...but Faith is!

Introducing Miss Lainie Marie (and a new look for the blog!)

Lainie Marie was born August 13 weighing 7 lbs 13 oz and measuring 20.5 in. long. She was born with a head of blonde hair just like Faith...hence our new blog title :) We are lucky that Daddy has a sense of humor!

Lainie's birth was truly a great experience. I really did not want to be induced with Lainie as I had been with Faith. I just felt it would be a better thing to let my body "go" when it was ready. Thankfully this was able to happen. Lainie was born 5 days after her due date, but I went into labor naturally thanks to lots of walking with my VERY supportive husband. Poor guy. Papaw and Gigi were in town so Nate and I were able to do lots of walking with Faith and on our own. I had him walking me around the mall, around Sam's club, around the neighborhood at 5 am to beat the heat...and eventually walking around the hospital with me because I really wasn't sure if we should check in or not...but our bags were in the van "just in case." Thankfully God gave me the nudge to get things checked out again and I was SIX cm dialated! We checked in and within an hour I was at 8 cm and my water still had not broken so the doctor broke it for me. Needless to say this speeded things along quickly (and more painfully). I pushed through about 4 contractions, and Lainie was born. God blessed the time in so many ways. Most of our immediate family made it for the birth and got to meet Lainie within minutes of her birth. Also, our doctor was great and really supportive of me doing it naturally. Lainie was alert and suprisingly I was much less exhausted than when I had an epidural with Faith.

So, that was about 5 weeks ago! My how time flies (well, in some ways...). Lainie has a sweet and mostly calm disposition. She sleeps well, eats well and seems to love her big sister. She's already giving us smiles which we, of course, love. Big sister Faith is QUITE the helper. Maybe a little too much at times :) But, for an inquisitive two year old who has had her world shaken a little, she is adjusting very well.

Thanks to everyone who kept our family in your prayers throughout the pregnancy and birth...and who are still keeping us in your prayers as we adjust. The past two nights Lainie has slept about 7 hours which has been such a blessing. Before that it was about every 4 hours. We'll see if it lasts, but even a few days of more sleep can last me awhile.

Well, enough chit-chat. Here are some pics of the birth and since...

Progress!

Well, for whatever reason, I can't get pictures uploaded right now.....so I thought I'd just write a quick blog to let you (assuming people read this :) ) know our progress with Lainie. I had an appointment this morning and I am dialated 2 cm and 50% effaced. So, this is progress! We have been told August 7, 8 and 9 for her due date at various times throughout the pregnancy, but today my doctor said he's going with the August 9. So, Monday it is! If she hasn't come by then, we will have a bio physical exam/ultrasound on Wednesday to make sure everything is healthy. We are praying we won't need to be induced and that she won't be too late. Besides the obvious discomforts that come with pregnancy, I feel good and everything is very healthy--blood pressure, weight, amniotic fluid levels, etc. We are so thankful for a healthy pregnancy so far and pray the delivery is good too.

Her room is set up (and cute!) and our bags are packed :) We'll keep you updated (and hopefully get some recent pics on here soon!)!

There's no use crying over picked tomatoes.

So, you may wonder about the title of this post. Well, Nate and I had high hopes of having a garden in our backyard this year. However, it didn't work out like we'd hoped for lots of reasons....so we settled for two tomato plants in a big pot on our back porch. We LOVE tomatoes and it has been a family effort growing them this season. Faith has done her part to help plant and water them throughout the Spring/Summer.


This being said...maybe you can understand our excitement when one of our "big ones" started FINALLY getting ripe. Nate and I watched it slowly ripen with great anticipation for at least a week and a half telling each other at least once/day how great it would be to actually eat our very first tomato.

Well, Faith and I were home one afternoon and I decided to fill up her baby pool on the back porch for some summer fun. To do this I have to go around the house, turn on the hose and wait on the other side of our porch as there is not an opening. Faith usually helps by holding the hose in the pool. So, we did the routine on this day.... and as Faith was obediently holding the hose for Mommy, I saw her eyes drift to our ONE ripe tomato. Anticipating her toddler thought process, I calmly said, "Faith do not touch the tomatoes." As I repeated this phrase with growing alarm and volume, Faith slowly moved toward the tomato. I thought about trying to jump the porch, then quickly decided against it in my current (very pregnant) state. I thought about running around the house really "quickly" (nothing is real quick these days either), but knew it would be picked by then. So....I simply watched as our very first tomato was picked early by our beautiful, ornery little girl who then proceded to take a bite out of it and spit it out.

This may seem overly dramatic (and maybe it is a tad bit...) but as the pictures show, my husband completely shared in my grief when he got home. One of the many reasons I love him.

On a happier note, we had our first attempt at fried green tomatoes for dinner....even though the tomato wasn't exactly green either....and they were delicious! We'll let you know when we enjoy our first truly ripe tomato of the season :)

Just a Few Reasons We Love Summer:

1. We get to see family a little more frequently:

Aunt Ally bravely letting Faith paint her fingernails (or fingers to be more specific :) )

Aunt Kiki stopped by on her way home from the Ozarks!2. We get to see family AND go to the zoo!!! The Henry Doorley Zoo that is....not just your average run of the mill zoo...it's amazing! Faith loved it.
Daddy and Uncle Bubba keeping a close eye on Faith through the "tunnels"

The zoo would not have been nearly as fun without Aunt DD! She was able to help Mommy keep a close eye on Faithers.3. We get to see friends new and old :) The newest of which is baby Whigham set to arrive right around the time Lainie does. Faith thought Bunny needed to give him a kiss too.

Danielle and Ehren stopped by Der and Dan's when we were visiting...Faith enjoyed the extra attention :)

Hamilton is a good friend of Faith's. We will also be watching him starting in October while his Mommy and Daddy work. He's such a sweetie...and cute too!
Faith's friend Kendra got to hang out with us for a few days before she went to visit her dad for the summer. Faith loved having a play mate, and Kendra is a very patient 9 yr. old.

Art work by Kendra!

4. We get to lots of fun things with Daddy...like swimming at the lake...

...and learning how to fish. He's pretty much the coolest dad ever.

In other words, we are loving summer around here. Soaking it in while we can!

Lately...

It's been so long since the last "real" post, that I decided to do a quick picture "re-cap" of what's been going on lately in the Hutchings family. So....here we go!!!!


I graduated with my Masters in Social Work on Faith's second birthday!!! I have such a supportive husband that I am so thankful for. The majority of both sides of the family were able to be here for the weekend as we celebrated graduation and Faith's birthday...Faith in her Strawberry hat as she had a "Berry" special birthday this year :)
Here she is eating her beautiful Strawberry Shortcake cake. I think she likes it?

The next weekend we went to Iowa to celebrate Levi's FIRST birthday and Reagan's THIRD! Here's our sweet Levi...
And our spunky Reagan. I think she likes her cake too...must run in the family? :) Grandma and Grandpa with all the grandkids!
A few weeks later we were back in IA as Faith stayed at Grandma and Grandpa's house with Daddy while I went to a wedding in Minnesota for a dear friend, Stephanie. It was a PERFECT wedding, but unfortunately I didn't get any pics on my camera! We also had the chance to see family, but Daddy had to leave early to get back to teach summer school....he's a hard worker!

Here's 4 generations!

Faith with her Great Grandma and Grandpa

Giving out kisses to Great-Grandpa. Right after she saw him, she turned and informed me, "I like him, Mommy." :)

Grandma spoiling Faith (of course) with chocolate and high heels. Oh, boy.

Swinging at the park back home...

Just a fun bathtime picture (love our new camera....a graduation gift from Mom that the whole family gets to enjoy)

Fishing with Daddy...pondering life.... :)

Oh, and lately we've also been painting alot of toe nails!
There's the quick recap! Maybe now I won't be overwhelmed with pictures and events...and might actually update more regularly.....

Well, that is until Miss Lainie arrives, then there are no promises :) She is doing great these days. We just had an appointment with my OB. Lainie's heart rate continues to be b/w 140 and 150. My blood pressure is low, weight gain on target. We're so thankful for a healthy pregnancy so far. Only about 6 and a half weeks to go! But who's counting?