It’s always so exciting but nerve wrecking to tell your parents you are having a baby. You hope that they will be overwhelmed with so much joy that they forget how you got that way. Eeeww. I’m pretty sure that when we told my dad we were pregnant with Hill he said something like he thought if he waited any longer he’d have to get diagrams to show us how to do it. I come from a from a family that is just like me…a tad random and a bit perverse and a lot of telling it how it is.
Anyway, I’d come up with this PRECIOUS idea that since it was Easter I’d get these larger plastic eggs to put a sonogram picture in and have Hill give them the egg. It was priceless…We arrived to my dads’ house and I was able to hide my heart monitor wires under my t-shirt and give “distant” hugs where my wires didn’t pose an issue of question when we hugged hello. We got settled in and went out to the patio. I could tell Chip was antsy to tell them so I went inside and got the egg for Hill to give my dad. My dad opened it and then shut it quickly and looked over at my step mom, Pam like….OHHH! So then he quietly handed it to Pam and she said "awe…" she didn’t really look at first she just thought it was a picture of Hill but then once she really looked she busted out crying she was so happy! It was really sweet. My niece Hannah got to be a part of it and everyone was so excited.
Hill and Hannah played all night and we all just crashed from the long day of travel and excitement. Saturday morning we had Easter since we would be on the road early Sunday morning. My mom came to my dad’s house and we were sitting in the living room and I had Hill bring her an egg but he opened it. So I snatched it back hoping she didn’t see it and had her open it. She was so excited!! She had a ton of questions and we explained the heart monitor and how Dr. North is being extra cautious. It was so good to finally have my family know. And it was so fun to get their reactions in person instead of over the phone. Hill and Baby #2 are the luckiest little kiddos I know to have such wonderful grandparents.
After the big announcement we went to eat brunch. You see, that’s what we do…eat. We plan most every move we make around food. So we had a wonderful brunch at La Madeline and then headed to the place to get Hill’s boat. It was located at my dad’s friend David’s house. David bought his house from my dad a long time ago so it’s always so weird to go back. It’s also so strange because it’s a few houses down from my grandmother’s house. I sure have lots and lots of memories there. I would literally call that road memory lane for me. Anyway, so we went to get Hill’s boat. It was more beautiful and more awesome than I imagined. We had talked so much about the boat that Hill immediately knew that it was his. He was like a mini Forest Gump, “That’s my boat” he’d say. So stinking funny!
Once we got back to the house Pam hid Easter eggs and Hannah, Hill and Mama Lou went out to find them. It was hilarious because Hill had his basket and Hannah had hers. Hannah’s had Easter grass in it and I personally don’t like to jack with all that stringy crap (it’s like glitter and sand – it's everywhere and doesn’t go away) so Hill didn’t have any. Hannah said, “Look, I’ve got grass in my basket.” Hill looked at her basket, then looked at his that didn’t have any then reached down on the ground and grabbed a wad of grass out of the ground and threw it in his basket and looked at Hannah and said, “I got grass too!” I may have rather cleaned up Easter grass than the muddy grassy mess he threw into his basket. It was priceless though and he sure as heck had grass in his basket not to be outdone by Hannah!
After the egg hunt Chip and my dad went to do boy things. I swear when they get together they are like long lost BFF’s. They crack me up and are inseparable. My mom left to go back home and Hill and I were going to visit my BFF Meredith and her little boy Asher. Asher’s 8 months old and he and Hill had never met so I was super excited. Mere already knew I was pregnant - - she was like the first to know. I think she may have even known before I did because she called me at like the beginning of March letting me know that she had a dream that I was having a girl and her name was Hadley and was all decked out in a tutu and I was having to get onto her about something. Hadley is a great name, but ironically enough there is a little girl a few days younger than Hill that is named Hadley, and even has our same last name. So either I was talking to that Hadley or I was having a little girl, but not named Hadley because two Hadley Hawkins’ in one little town would be too weird.
Anyway, so Hill and I loaded up to go to Mere’s and Hill said, “I take my boat?” I laughed by secretly inside knew where this whole boat obsession was headed. We didn’t take the boat… but I picked up lunch and we went to visit Mere and Asher. I had a ton of clothes to pass down for Asher so it was great that we drove and I could haul all that down to her. We have a great little rotation. I pass Hill’s clothes to Asher then Meredith passes them to Beth, my other life-long friend, that has a baby a few months younger than Asher then I will get them back for this kiddo. Mere gave me swings and things that she has that Asher doesn’t use anymore so it was a pretty productive baby exchange trip and I got to love on my little Asher and hang out with my Mere. That pretty much sums up a perfect afternoon if I’ve ever known of one!
I had to leave at around 5 but just in time for Gavino to get home and me to see him before I left. Gavino is Meredith’s husband and he has a large responsibility to not only provide and be there for my Mere, but he has the responsibility to take care of my people. Mere has always been “my person” and now what Asher is here that makes Mere and Asher my people. He has to take care of them for me since I live so far away. It’s a big job, but I love G and he does a good job!
I had to rush back to my dad’s house to pick up Chip so that we could go to his uncle John and aunt Kathy’s house for dinner. We love us some Houston Hawkins. They are tons of fun and we never miss a beat. Cousins Brooks and Graeme were there and are awesome. This is Hill’s second time to go to their house. He fit right in and did his thing. They went and picked up Mexican food for dinner and we had a big feast, as usual. We planned a trip to Africa, played trucks, went and dumped dead bodies in the dumpster and watched their Smart tv. Before I talk about the dead bodies I have to talk about the TV which I’m sure is all the rage and everyone knows about but remember we live in Mississippi, we barely have electricity and I don’t keep up with technology. A smart tv is where the pixels have the color yellow in them. This makes the picture look different because average tv’s don’t have but red blue and green. So with this yellow pixel it makes everything come to life. It almost looks like you are watching these people performing live on a stage. It would take some getting used to but I for sure think it is super cool. Ok so now that I’ve dumbed myself down because I wasn’t privy to smart tv….whatever.
The dead bodies…the night before the Hawkins “allegedly” had a crawfish boil and had a bunch of garbage sacks to be dumped. I told Kathy I’d help her take them to the dumpster. So we loaded up the truck and headed to the dumpster. She took me in this back alley and I’m pretty sure my finger prints are all over the garbage sack that I unloaded which housed a dead body. Crawfish trash does not weigh that much. I guess since I dumped the body Kathy was able to let me in on the secret that I was officially part of the family business now. Great, I’m in the mob. I always thought I was some big shot high roller in Vegas in my previous life, but I didn’t know I was a body dumping mobster. Oh well. The body now swims with the fishes - - or crawfish tails in the dumpster.
We had a great time, as always, with the Hawkins. John and Kathy are some of my most favorite people and Brooks and Graeme follow suit. I hope that we raise our kiddos to be as adventurous as this family is and see the world together as they have.
We arrived back at my dad’s house and went to bed only to wake up early and travel back home to Mississippi. Hill did great to and from on the trip. Thank you dvd entertainment center! Easter Sunday was my and Chip’s 6th year anniversary. We are the couple that totally forgot until that Friday on the way to Texas that it was our anniversary. Chip said, Oh yeah, our anniversary is Sunday. I said, Oh yeah…I didn’t get you anything. I love us.
I love Texas. I think my heart will always be in Texas even though I left there when I was 17 and I’ve been in Mississippi now for 14 years. I’m always going to be a Texan.
Pictures below are:
*Asher and Hill being silly with huge eggs on their heads
*Hannah and Hill by Hill's new vessel
*Hill's boat (yes that is a YETI cooler and I agree a 2 year old doesn't need a $260 cooler in his own personal boat) but none the less I am grateful.
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