Deacon's first swim!

Yesterday we went to Scott's parents house for Stephanie's graduation party, and Deacon and Willow got to swim in the pool for the first time! It was a little bit rocky at first, to say the least, but eventually they both really enjoyed it! Deac even fell asleep for about 20 minutes floating around in the water with me- how sweet!

And once again, CONGRATULATIONS AUNT STEPPI! We love you so much and are SO proud of you!

Deacon is greased up and ready to go! He has quite the getup for taking a dip!


Mama, are we there yet? (I LOVE his sandals!)


Deac and his Daddy ready to go swimming for the first time.


What a face! He looks thrilled with his hat and lifejacket haha.


Ahhhh! Abort, abort!


The water was a little chilly at first, definitely a change from his nice warm bath water.


Deac decided it would be okay to sit on the side and watch everybody else swim for a little bit.


Maybe I'll just put my pigs in for a minute...


Hey, how did this water get all the way up here?


Mmm, tasty!


Okay now, maybe this isn't so bad after all.


Hey Aunt Steppi! This swimming thing is kinda fun!


Baby Deac playing with his Mama on the steps.


Lovin on my sweetness in the pool :)


Hensley family pool picture!

Ten For Tuesday.

10 major topics of conversation in the Hensley house this past week have been...

1. Well right now Scott and I randomly just started talking about Sex and the City and what a "doucher" Big is. HAHA! Not only was I completely unaware that my husband had ever watched the show, but apparently he watched it alone at 3 in the morning a couple of times! Oh my. He also remembers their names, what happened in the episodes, and now wants to watch the movie to see what all he's missed since those couple of episodes. This could be interesting! Hahahaa!



2. Scott has a big audit tomorrow and is under a lot of pressure at work. His job isn't usually very demanding, but when it comes to impressing those higher up in the company Scott gets incredibly anxious. Say a quick prayer for him tomorrow if you remember! :)

3. Today Joi and I were watching Animal Cops Pheonix during our girl time- all day anytime I would change the channel away from Animal Planet she would start crying, otherwise I wouldn't usually let her watch it. Of course I was almost in tears by the end of the show, I can't stand to see the way some people treat their animals. I know I'm at the other end of the spectrum and consider Willow my child, but come on people! This one guy didn't want to pay to have his cat declawed so he tied rubberbands around its front paws so that they would drop off. Really?! How can people be so cruel? Makes me SICK.



4. For the last couple of days Scott and I have been watching a lot of HGTV and it's making us even more anxious to finally be in a place where we are able to buy a house. It's all so exciting! Now we just have to be patient and wait for him to finish school so we can figure out exactly where we need to go from here... And it had better be somewhere other than where we're at now!

5. Deacon has the other bottom tooth popping through at the moment and it's making him one cranky baby! I'll be SO glad when it's finally through, he always goes through 2 or 3 terrible days when his teeth are poking through the skin... Come on little tooth, Mama needs a break!

6. This past Saturday we all went to Petco to the Legacy Boxer Rescue event where they showcased some of their boxers that are up for adoption. The sweet white puppy that I'm absolutely IN LOVE with was there, and she was even cuter in person! The day after I posted her picture last week I got an email from someone at LBR that said they wouldn't be able to give her to us because we already have a female dog and they have a strict policy against placing two females in the same home. At the event however, we were told that sometimes they will make an exception if the dogs are two different breeds so I'm really hoping we can be one of those cases! I can't even begin to describe how sweet this puppy is, I would LOVE to be her Mama :)



7. Speaking of our rescue operation... Why do I always seem to get myself into situations that require an insane amount of patience? I do this all the time and I can't figure out why, especially since I know that patience is NOT one of my virtues! I could very easily go on Craigs List, find a backyard breeder, pay a couple hundred dollars for a puppy, bring him home that night, and be done with the whole process. But nooooo, I've become hellbent on rescuing a puppy and it's a situation that I have absolutely no control of! We had to fill out an invasive application, they called our landlord and vet, and now we're waiting for a home visit. THEN we have to meet with an adoption counselor and then hopefully get matched with the perfect puppy for us. I'm trying so hard to be patient and wait for them to schedule our visit and help us find a brother or sister for Willow, but I want it to happen NOW! It's times like these that Psalm 46:10 makes me feel at ease, if only for a second... Be still and know that I am God. Patience Maggie, patience!



8. Willow has been a VERY good girl lately, I've been trying to teach her lots of new tricks and she's been doing SO well! The white puppy I'm so smitten with is deaf and can read lips and responds to sign language, so I've been working on attaching each command with a sign- I figured it would make things easier whether we end up with a deaf puppy or not! This week she has learned to wait, stay, roll over, and dance. What a good Wulluh-head! :)

9. Saturday night Scott and I went to our friends wedding, and it was gorgeous! I used to work with Ashlyn at Childrens, and Scott and her now husband Nick have become fast friends since he moved here a couple of months ago. Nick used to live very close to where Scott went to college his freshman year in Colorado... Small world! I remember when the two of them met, I can't believe they are married now. SO happy for the two of them, they're both such great people and they make an incredible couple! Can't wait to see what the future holds for the two of them, I've been told twins runs in both sides of the family ;)



10. "Da-da-da-da-daaaa-DA-dada-da" is Deacon's new thing, it's precious! I love watching his little mouth move and to hear the sweet sounds that come out of it, even if he isn't saying mama as much as he does dada. Sweet baby boy! Deac has become such a little man, I can hardly believe that he's six months old. Like I said he's got his third tooth coming in, he can sit up like a pro, he wants to crawl and move around so badly, and now his hair is growing in thicker than ever! I don't think I've given him anything to eat that he hasn't loved, and he still very much enjoys nursing (so do I!). I love watching my baby boy grow up, every day is a new and exciting adventure. Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings :)

Bluebonnets :)

Yesterday we went to see Miss Katie and order some pictures from our last photoshoot. They turned out SO good! I left the link a couple weeks ago so y'all could see our sneak peak, but yesterday she gave me a video slideshow for my phone that I thought I would share too. Pretty soon she will put our whole gallery up on her website so anyone who wants to order some for themselves feel free :) This video and all the incredible pictures she took brought me to tears yesterday, I could watch it over and over! Enjoy!

One very messy boy!

My BIG six month old boy!


Our first trip to Aldi was a lot of fun! Deac loved looking at everything and talking to all the people who told him how cute he was :)



For Deacon's six month birthday he got to eat a piece of eclair cake, but he definitely did more playing than eating. What a mess!






Deacon's new birthday friend, Scout!

Six Months!

I can hardly believe that my sweet Deacon will be six months old tomorrow. Time has absolutely FLOWN by! He's sitting up like a pro, wants to crawl and walk around so badly it hurts, and eats everything he can get his hands on! I even caught him trying to drink my coffee this morning- no caffeine yet bud! Deacon can say "Mama" and "Dada" and gives the best hugs and kisses around :) Scott took him to the doctor for his check-up and he weighs 16 lb 14 1/2 oz and is 27 in long- 50th percentile all the way around!

This is Deacon's way of saying "I want to crawl and run around with the other kids!" Poor thing looks like he's about to take flight!


Still not so sure about this grass business...


Deacon thinks he needs to grab at absolutely everything these days.


The new fascination is biting down on his pap, pulling it out of his mouth so he can hear the pop...


...Turn it around every which way...


...And pop it back in his mouth!


Deacon tries so hard to crawl, but can't quite get the hang of it. He can move his hands but then his feet slide out from under him. He can stand up on his toes and move his feet, but then face plants. Poor thing just rocks back and forth on all fours and cries from frustration. He'll get there soon!



Deacon and Willow playing sweetly together. They love each other so much!

10.4.T. Making lemonade.

So yesterday I had a bomb dropped on me as I was walking out of work. I was aware that my schedule would probably change this summer since LeRoy is a teacher and Amber said she was going to take some time off to go see her parents, but it wasn't until she spelled it all out for me that I really understood what was going on. Lately there has been a lot of drama there between the two of them and until last Friday I wasn't even sure if LeRoy would still be around this summer. But apparently now he wants to stay home with the kids while he's on break. Okay... So where does that leave me?! For eight weeks I'll be working part-time rather than 50 hours a week, and while it's a much needed break it's also a pay cut for a little while. Scott and I were expecting to get reimbursed for his school this past semester and to get grants from the government for our summer school, but we were also hoping to be able to save a good chunk of that for when we buy a house after the first of the year. Rather than fret about things and pout about a temporary change, we've decided to make lemonade from those lemons! Here are 10 things I'm looking forward to doing during my summer break.

1. Re-charge my batteries! It has been an exhausting past couple of weeks with Deacon teething and waking up at all hours of the night. It IS nice that he's not wanting to eat in the middle of the night anymore, but I don't even remember the last time he slept 4 hours in a row without waking up wanting his pap. It will be so nice to nap with my little man if I need it, I'll be a brand new woman haha!

2. Blow some serious bubbles. Willow and Deacon could watch and chase them for hours! This is probably my all-time favorite picture of Willow, watching her jump around and pop the bubbles with her nose is a whole new form of entertainment for me.


3. Take Deacon on playdates with his buddies! I've been trying to get together with Brooke and Lillie, Jaime and Jaidan, and Jasmine and Pearce for SO long, it's going to be so nice to actually plan a day to go to the park or get ice cream or meet at the mall with our friends. Mama needs to play with her friends too!

4. We have yet to put Deacon in the real pool, but once the blazing Texas sun heats up the water he'll be a swimming fool. And I'm not going to lie, he'll be one cute little fishy with his floaties on :)

5. Willow needs a buddy... BAD! Her jealousy has gotten to a point where I don't even know what to do with her anymore. I take her to work with me and spend an incredible amount of time with her, much more than I was even before Deacon. Her little "I don't want you to talk to the baby so I'm going to get between you two and put my chin over your mouth" act is getting old, and reprimanding her is making it worse. Now when I leave her at home at all she destroys things, whether it's chewing up a book, one of Deacon's toys, or Scott's tie. Yikes. Scott and I think she will be a much happier Willow if she has a puppy brother or sister to keep her company and they can give each other the undivided attention she demands from us. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my Willow and how snuggly and playful she is, but her behavior is getting out of control. Hopefully we can find a puppy soon, and the eight weeks of added free time will be a perfect opportunity to potty train and add another "baby" to the Hensley family. I'm absolutely in love with THIS puppy, I've got my heart set on adopting her and I won't lie, if we aren't approved for her adoption I'm going to be devastated. Isn't she PRECIOUS?! Scott and I decided to get a Boxer, and I want to name her Violet :) Pray that God sends us the perfect puppy for our family, whether or not it's this one we will find out soon enough. Wish us luck!


6. Deacon hasn't been too impressed with the grass thus far, so I'm really excited to take him on a couple picnics and get him more used to it. He's almost crawling now, so let's see how grass-stained we can get those knees of his!


7. Cooking more home-made meals! By the time I get home from work, make Deacon's fruit/veggie for the day, and clean things up it's already so late and I don't have enough time to make a well thought out meal. I LOVE looking through recipes and making a grocery list, so hopefully we'll be eating very well this summer :) I'll post it if I find something good!

8. I desperately need to get my tan on. Until I got pregnant I religiously went to the tanning bed and was regularly mistaken for being hispanic. Not so much anymore!

9. Even though we'll have to be smarter about our money, especially if we end up getting another puppy, I really need to go home and see my parents. Deacon is only little like this once and I want them to be able to experience at least bits and pieces of him being a baby. Plus I'm already homesick haha!

10. Last but not least, Deacon is going to get some SERIOUS lovins :) I'm looking forward to just focusing on him and spending some much neede Mama and baby time with him.

Bring on the break, I'm ready! :)

What's today?!

Holy moly, where has this week gone?! This morning I woke up thinking it was Wednesday so my whole day has been thrown off. This afternoon when I sat down to think about where I got off track I realized that I had completely skipped Tuesday in my head and missed my 10.4.T! That's two weeks in a row, yikes.

HAHAHA! Deacon has started giving me the pout lip and saying "Mamamaaa!" Smart baby, it works every time.


First off, go to www.honeygrovephotography.com/blog to check out our latest photoshoot, I can't wait to go to our ordering session next week and see the entire bunch! I am absolutely obsessed with pictures. I have HUNDREDS since Deacon has been born, one for each day actually :) I'm so glad that I did that, I'll be able to look back at his first year and see what he looked like every single day, I'm already amazed at how much he has changed.



Deacon's two bottom teeth are incredibly close to coming all the way up, there is maybe one more layer left before they surface. Phew! Honesty I only get to look at them when he's crying because it hurts him so much for me to touch them that I've given up trying. He randomly starts screaming throughout the day too and grabs his head, I'm sure it is extremely painful. My poor sweetness :( I will be SO happy when they finally arrive, Deacon has had his cranky pants on all week and I don't know how much more I can handle. Just like with his last tooth Deac has gone from sleeping all night long to waking up every hour after about 1am- I am one tired Mama! He's not awake, just crying for his pap because his teeth hurt him, and for some reason Tylenol hasn't been helping. Teething tablets, however, have been like gold and thankfully he's been responding really well to them. The boy already eats everything he can get his hands on, I don't know what I'm going to do with him once he has teeth and can actually chew. This afternoon I had to chop up macaroni and cheese for him to eat because he threw such a screaming raging fit that the other kids were eating and he wasn't. The downside to the teeth though is that I will become a chew toy and I'm not sure I'm ready for that pain. I remember how excruciating it was when I first started breastfeeding and I'm not looking forward to being raw and scabby again. Let's just hope it doesn't last too long, with how hard he bites my chin and shoulders I could be in for it!




Deacon is SO much happier now that he can sit up and play with toys like the big boys do. Willow, however, isn't quite sure what to think now that her little brother is eye level with her! Jaxon and Jayden like that he can sit up and play with them now too, but they enjoy taunting him with a toy just out of his reach more than anything. Deacon is still bigger than them and I imagine will continue to be, so they had better watch out, one of these days he's going to get them back!



Today we had a photoshoot before lunch. It was so much fun! I love my kids :)