Behind Enemy Lines

I grew up in St. Louis.  Needless to say, I am a Cardinals fan.  I guess you could say I never really had an option...

And I suppose Denver doesn't have an option either :)

St. Louis is often referred to as the best baseball city in America.  I grew up going to Busch Stadium with my family and watching Ozzie Smith do backflips while everyone cheered. 

Now I live in Ft. Worth.... home of the Texas Rangers. 

Cards vs. Rangers 

World Series 2011

See my problem?

I am surrounded by family and friends that are SO excited about the prospect of the Rangers winning the World Series. Every store, every house, every street corner has big GO RANGERS signs hanging up.  Everyone is wearing Nelson Cruz jerseys instead of Albert Pujols jerseys. Eeeeek!!!!

And I wish that the Rangers were a bunch of jerks. I wish that they were rude and arrogant and unlikeable....but they're not.  It's sort of fun to watch them. It's fun to live in a city where everyone is exited about baseball. It reminds me of childhood.

So how do I stay true to my team without being an obnoxious in-your-face type fan? Do I hang our Cardinals flag outside the house? I don't really want to get egged or have my car keyed.  Do I wear my cardinals t-shirt in public? Or dress Denver in his adorable Yadi tee?

Also, one of the most fun parts about the Cardinals being the World Series is cheering for them with other Cardinals fans.  My friends here that care about the World Series are bound to be cheering for the Rangers. Can't you picture that bar? Or living room? When David Freese hits a grand slam, and I stand up yelling and screaming and cheering and everyone else is sad and angry and glaring at me?  Ick.

So don't worry mom and dad. You brought me up right. I won't be betraying my team. I will cheer for the Cardinals no matter who they're playing against. I'm just not sure how zealous to be. Ya dig?

Any thoughts? Suggestions? Ideas?

Denver's First Birthday Fiesta

On September 7th, 2011, Denver Patrick Hines had his first birthday. We celebrated a few days later with some family and friends. Here are a few highlights...

Playing outside

Dudes chillin' on the back porch

Denver's friend Jason playing every toddler's favorite game... croquet.

I forgot to get a good picture of the cake or the food table. This is the best picture I have of both.

Ricky has his own muppet, "Marty." Ricky and Marty were great entertainment. Yes, our friends are the kinds of people with their own muppets.

Double Stuffed Oreos stuffed chocolate chip cookies :)

Of course the most important moment of a first birthday party... the eating of the cake. And it was a success!

Denver playing with his present from his KK and Papa (Austin's parents)

Balloons! :)

Family pic! I think Denver would rather be playing with his new toys than taking this picture.

Breastmilk Counts

Did you know that it's World Breastfeeding Week? That's right. A week dedicated to education, encouragement, and awareness for breastfeeding. I guess that makes it pretty good timing to tell y'all what we did on Wednesday of this week.

Austin, Denver, and I traveled down to Austin, TX so that I could give an interview for Breastmilk Counts, a website devoted to educating women about nursing their children.

It was such a neat experience. I actually got paid to do it (yay!), they also gave us per diem for gas, food, etc., (double yay!), and put our family in a really nice hotel right on the river in the middle of Austin (triple yay!).

I spoke to them about my experiences breastfeeding my son. I told them about the trials and joys that breastfeeding brings. I shared that the first month was very challenging, but it was absolutely worth it. And now, eleven months later, I am so glad that I persevered. Nursing Denver is some of the sweetest time that I have with him, and I'm so grateful that God created my body to nourish my son in that way.

My husband was gracious to take some pictures during the filming. Here are some of my favorites...

getting my makeup professionally done. legit.

this is the viewing monitor while we were filming.. of course Denver stole the show :)

After the shoot, Denver was a great little helper. He carried my scarf and water for me! :)

The ultimate goal in all of this was to encourage and educate young women to breastfeed their babies. I pray that my story will help to do that. When they put my vignette online, I will let everyone know.

A Weekend at the Lake

Every year for the 4th of July, my family gets together at Tablerock Lake near Branson, Missouri. This was Denver's inaugural visit (not counting his trip last year in-utero).

Lots of fun had by all.

with my cousin Megan

a picture is worth a thousand words... and i can't come up with any words for this one. it speaks for itself

current favorite fruit... peaches

I think Denver ate his body weight in peas during this trip

his new favorite sport... "cooler-diving," where he digs in coolers for ice until his hands and face are freezing cold... then he goes back for more.

wiped out

Family

Denver is blessed to have two families that love him very very much.

His Dad's side of the family (picture taken when Denver was about two weeks old)...

And his Mom's side of the family (picture taken on Thanksgiving, Denver is about 2.5 months)...

We love you all!

Autumn in Kirkwood

While I officially now claim Texas as my home, I am still a Midwest girl at heart. Here are a few pictures of why I love my hometown of Kirkwood, MO during Fall.

wearing gold for Mizzou...GO TIGERS

beautiful Fall leaves...

spending time with Aunt Colleen

spending time with Uncle Fes

pumpkins at the Farmers' Market

6 Weeks

I have been neglecting the blog. I apologize.

Denver is growing and changing so much. He's about 12 lbs. (I'll have a more accurate weight when he goes in for a check-up next week). He's also a very tall boy... some people have described him as lanky.

He is losing his hair, but only in the front, so he now has a receding hairline. I fondly refer to him as my Benjamin Button baby.

Here are the most recent pictures... enjoy!

laughing with his Great Grandma

Denver can smile!

taking a bath in the sink

action shot... spitting up on Granddad

me with my sweet boy

Denver's First Weeks

Austin has been faithful to update pictures of Denver to my facebook page. However, I realize that not everyone has facebook. I know I know, it's hard to believe. Yet my husband, my mom, and my dad all do not have facebook, so I know these people exist.

So for all of you that haven't seen many photos yet, here is our handsome little man. Enjoy!!