Love my Baby

A friend of mine from highschool makes jewlery and I LOVE her style so I ordered a "Mommy Necklace". It has Henry J's birthdate and nickname on charms. Check out her website, she does a great job and I got my necklace in 2 business days!

Car Seat Switch

If you follow my blog at all, you know I like to post pictures that show how far HJ as come along. This top picture was taken the first time he sat in his car seat in the hospital. I have forgotten how much I miss those cheeks of his.

This picture was taken today (don't mind the date on the picture) and he is almost 16 months old.

So Close!

Every day we get a little closer to full time walking. Henry is able to walk the distance of a room, but starts to scare himself, so he hurry and sits down. He also does this weird thing where he puts his head down on the ground and sticks his diaper butt in the air. It cracks me up.

Elder J!

After serving 2 years in the New Jersey, Morristown mission, Elder Jason "J" Shields FINALLY came home. Before he left we were always doing things together, so it's nice to have our "third amigo" back home. Also on a side note, he is who we named Henry after for those of you that were wondering where we got the "J" from.

Jason is technically Alan's nephew, but they are so close in age (2 years apart) that they grew up as brothers.


It was such an awesome experience to be at the airport and see him come down the escalators.





Sunday was his homecoming so we got all dressed up and headed to church to hear him speak. He did such an amazing job, and we feel blessed to have him as a part of our family.

Henry was looking sharp in his suit.

What a handsome little man.

Congrats on serving an honorable mission J, we are SOO happy to have you home.

Full'o'Emotions

Rachel was watching tv the other night, and saw this documentary so she decided to record it. I am so happy that she did because I LOVE watching real shows about families with babies in the NICU. I, of course, bawled through the majority of the show and it was for happy and sad reasons. I will always feel blessed that Henry J is in our lives, but the sadness that I felt almost every day while he was in the hospital is something that is hard to explain. It was almost weird watching the show, because there are things that Nicole Conn said that hit so close to home it gave me chills. There are also things that she said that I didn't agree with, or was able to relate to. Most of the nurses and people on this documentary say how families struggle with life and their relationship while they have a sick baby. Alan and I were among the very few who only grew closer through the experience. I see my little baby now and my heart swells with love as I see him turn into a healthy toddler.

I often get asked how I was able to manage life with him in the hospital for nearly 3 months, and I am reminded of a quote that goes something like: "You don't know how strong you can be, until being strong is the only choice you have".