Hippity, Hoppity! Harlan's First Easter!

We had such a wonderful Easter with Harlan this year! Easter is mommy's favorite holiday, so we had to make sure and stick to/create a tradition for Harlan's first Easter. We got his picture taken with the Easter bunny, had an Easter egg hunt, went to Easter brunch, and of course went to Easter service at church. This was our first Sunday back to church since Harlan was born, and it was great to be back in worship. Harlan was a little angel throughout the service and we didn't have to visit the "cry room"... yet! Happy Easter and enjoy the pictures! "He is Risen!"

Harlan with the Easter Bunny at Delaney Vineyards

The Easter Bunny left Harlan lot's of goodies

Our version of an Easter egg hunt for a 10 week old, he just spotted the blue one! 

We were having fun taking pictures and sweet Betsey wanted in on the action

Harlan and Daddy, can't you see the resemblance!?!

 Mommy's perfect Easter gift!

Take me out to the ball game...

ALMOST!  We almost made it to Harlan's first Ranger game.  He and daddy got all dressed up in their Texas Ranger gear and we headed out to the game.  We knew the weather was questionable but it seemed to be holding up while we were on our way.  But as soon as we got there, the thick, gray clouds were definitely lurking.  We again had to make a decision regarding the very unpredictable Texas weather, and we decided not to chance it.  We didn't want to get caught in the rain with Harlan.  Our sweet friends that were going to the game with us, decided they wouldn't go either, so we all went and watched the game in the safe, dry indoors. 

You can see the disappointment on Harlan's face...

But getting to hang out with Megan and Justin makes it all better!





Harlan's face cracks me up every time I see this picture!



Amarillo by Morning or by plane or by car???

We headed to Amarillo with Harlan for the first time last weekend (April 8-10).  We were so excited to get to go see the family, many of which Harlan had not met yet.  He got to meet all of his cousins on his daddy's side - Jaden, Gus, Seth, Reid, and Vann - yes all boys!  We had so much fun hanging out with Nana, Papa, Aunt Dana, Uncle John, Aunt Angie and Uncle Daniel.  We had a cookout and watched the big boys play football.  I'm pretty sure Harlan was held the entire time we were there!  The "funny" part about this trip ended up being our methods of transportation.  Since Aunt Jenafer works for American Airlines, we were lucky enough to take a quick flight to Amarillo flying standby.  We got on the plane with no problems and Harlan did awesome on his first flight, he nursed and slept the entire time and did not cry at all.  So, the flight for the way home looked like it would be fine as well, we were able to get checked in and there were enough seats on the flight that we weren't worried about being on standby.  However, mother nature had a different plan.  There were 40 mile an hour constant winds with 60mph wind gusts, so they announced that our flight had been "grounded" due to high winds.  Well, looking at the weather forecast we figured there was no way this flight was taking off.  So we had to make a decision and figure out how we were going to get home.  We decided to rent a car and drive.  Nana and Papa brought us their car seat, we fed Harlan, got some food for us and were on the road an hour and a half later.  The winds were still out of control and we were happy with our decision to drive, since we just knew our flight would have been cancelled.  Then 45 minutes into the drive Jenafer texted us saying that the flight we were supposed to be on, just landed in Dallas!!!  We were so mad at ourselves!  We did make it home safely 7 1/2 hours later, making a couple of stops to feed our little trooper.  Harlan was a tough little guy and did great on the road for the first 6 1/2 hours, but by that last hour of the drive he had definitely had enough, poor little baby.  We will always remember this trip as Harlan's first plane ride and road trip all in one!

 

Our First 2 Weeks

Well, we made it through the first few weeks... and they have been wonderful!  Thanks to Granny and Nana for staying with us and making the first two weeks easier to just enjoy and get to know Harlan. It has been so fun learning all about our sweet baby.  Having Harlan in our life has truly shown us how great God is, Harlan is the best blessing we could have ever dreamed of.  We've experienced a lot of "first" and enjoyed many sweet moments the past couple of weeks and wanted to share them with everyone.

First Bath - He did pretty good for the first time, although there was some screaming.

First Tummy Time - Harlan is super strong, he did a complete 360 turn on the mat

First time to meet Great Grandfather - "Papa"

First Bedtime Story - this is one of Harlan and Daddy's favorite activities

First ride in the swing - it worked putting him to sleep! 

First walk and stroller ride - he was wide awake most of the time and seemed to really enjoy the ride

 

First time Harlan and Mommy were home alone - Harlan was so good and let Mommy take a shower while he slept close by

 Good friends made sure Betsey wasn't left out - they brought her special "big sister" treats

More Cute pics of Harlan in his first 2 weeks...

Harlan Ford Holtman has arrived!

Our sweet little boy made his debut on Thursday, February 10, 2011 at 8:27am.  He was a healthy 7lb 5oz and 20 in. long.  He has lot's of brown hair and is absolutely perfect!  We could not be more in love with him!  He has been such a joy in our home and we are excited about our new family.  We added a slideshow below that captures a few of the hundreds of pictures we took at the hospital.  We wanted to say thanks to all the friends and family that came to visit and for all of the well wishes.  We tried to get pictures of all the visitors but somehow missed a few... so you'll have to come back over and visit so we can get more pictures.  I'll add some more pictures soon, he has already changed so much! 

Love,
proud parents - Jena and Corey

Waiting for our little boy!

Corey and I are anxiously waiting to meet Little Harlan Ford!  We plan on using this blog spot to update our friends and family on his arrival and to watch him grow through the years.  He is scheduled to be here tomorrow, February 10, 2011 and I will try to post pictures ASAP.  We hope you enjoy the blog!