The next chapter...

Hunter's Birth Story

2012-01-15T19:43:00.000-08:00

We were scheduled for our induction for Dec 26th at 7:30pm. We would start the gel and the following morning we would start the pitocin drip. we decide to eat a good meal at Fatz (like we did before the birth of Hayden) and then we headed to Piedmont. We register, get in our room and have the best nurse! We get the gel about 8:30 or so and I am only about a cm at this point. Dr. Taylor was our doctor.
*Side Note* I truly enjoyed Dr. Taylor but he is family through a recent marriage so I purposely had not seen him at RH OBGYN so I thought it was pretty funny that he ended up being our delivery Dr... although he really has no idea who we are, or I don't think he remembered at least, but I sure did!
Okay so we have to wait an hour for the gel before getting up and once I was able to get back up I went to the bathroom and since the nurse had reassured us that the gel generally does not bring labor on any quicker and that we were looking at noon the 27th before birt, I get back in bed and take an ambien to get "a good nights sleep" Within 45 mins I am woken up by some heavy contractions. The nurse checks me and I am at 4 cm and decide I want the epidural (thinking if this is going to last until tomorrow and I'm in this much pain... so the anesthesiologist takes forever to get there and by the time he is I had dilated to 8 and I swore I was ready to push. I felt like I was about to have the baby any second but yet my water hadn't broken. I sat to the side of the bed to get the epi and my water broke. Felt like it went everywhere and that it was a lot but hubby said it was just a little puddle. I seriously could not hold my eyes open and was feeling loopy b/c of the ambien. RIGHT after my water broke I told them that I had to push NOW that the baby was coming. Sure enough, I pushed a few times and he came right out! I felt it all and it was a lot of pain but of course worth it all and I am so thankful that it happened "quickly". I am very excited to say that I had a "natural" birth but it was not something I was trying to achieve for any kind of goal ;) Hunter Cameron Timmons was born on 12/27/11 at 2:23am weighing 7.15lbs and 21in long. He came out with a perfect shaped head AND HAIR ;) , he nursed right away like a champ - WOHOO and he is less than 24 hours right now and has still nursed 8 + times with 4-6 BM and wet diapers! This amazes me at how well he is doing since dd was pretty opposite her first 24 hours! So here we are at the hospital with our new little boy and I am so excited to get him home and start all the "new adventures" we have ahead! Big sister is anxiously waiting for us to get home as well! She seems to be very excited for her baby brother!! Thank you for all the love and well wishes from friends and family! We are truly blessed and so thankful! Now off to get some rest! :)
**On a side cute note: I have a little snorter lol He snorts when he cries and sleeps. hehee

Justin had been by my side the whole time and such a good daddy :)

In the home stretch....

2011-11-29T12:03:00.000-08:00

With 4 more weeks until the induce date! I cannot believe that within a month I will be holding my little boy! That even sounds strange to write... I will have my daughter AND a son! How perfect! This little man turns flips all day long in my belly. He is so active, it scares me of how he will be once he gets here. Another Hayden? Oh my!!! ;) He gets hiccups daily (sometimes 2-3x a day) He now pushes his little feet all up through my ribs too. I mean if you think about it the update for 36 weeks say that he could be at 6lbs and 18 in long so that is a lot of baby for a mothers belly :) The picture below is when I was pregnant with Hayden at 30 weeks and then with Hunter at 30 weeks. I definately carried these two different. Although with this one I only gained 5lbs less than with Hayden. BUT I started out heavier with Hayden and had lost the weight plus 20lbs before pregnant with Hunter.

So much to write... so tired to write it all :/

2011-10-08T19:52:00.000-07:00

I will start by first saying "IT'S A BOY!" I can't believe I have not blogged since we found out! We are 28 weeks along now so only 12 more to go!!!!! WOW! Excitiong and scary that I will have 2 kids by the end of this year! So glad that I trust my loving God! ;) We are super excited to have a complete family of four! We will be done having children after this little one! Thankfully so b/c this pregnancy has really taken its toll on me. I feel like my body feels "older" It really is sad. It feels great when I walk and excersise so I do a lot of that but I constantly have to think about proping my legs up, sleeping on my left side 'only', drinking lots of water, stretching my back a lot.... I am just coming into my 3rd tirmester and I just feel like I only have a couple weeks left. I really love being pregnant, just this time around. my body doesn't so much! :( I am very nervous about the changes that will take place when baby Hunter gets here but I know we will be okay. Middle of winter, inside the house 99% of the first few months.... phew, that is going to be hard! But then again, maybe not as hard as actually going out... with 2!.... and to make it worse, going out ALONE! Oh my!!! ;) It will take some easing into, huh? And hey, Im not the first to have done it!

Okay so the other thing I came here to write about is our trip to the Disney on Ice show today.... we were able to take Hayden and see the princesses dance on the ice. It was so much fun to see her enjoying it so much! She was a very happy little girl! We rode the train and again, she called it "Thomas" lol! They did mini shows from Cinderella, Princess and the Frog and then Tangled with Rapunzel. It was about 2 hours and that was good timing.

My Pregnancy Excitement

2011-07-28T19:54:00.000-07:00

With Hayden, it was the first everything. I enjoyed it from seeing the positive pregnancy test all the way to the end of my pregnancy and beginning of our new life. Yes, the newborn stage was hard but I loved it and I love my 3 year old so much at this age too BUT I am so excited to have another baby again. I never thought I could enjoy the "second" experience, not the baby itself, I knew I would love my kids the same, but the experience I never thought I could enjoy the same because it wasn't the first. I was so wrong! It is like a whole new love for this pregnancy. I got to have an u/s at 12 weeks with this one and I did not get the the first time and it was beautiful. To see something that tiny, I mean smaller than an actual piece of jumbo shrimp, move its arms and legs and the heartbeat was amazing! The first movements and know that they are getting stronger bring such joy and smile to my face everytime I feel it. To know that I have done the birthing process before and that I am "better prepared" for it this time makes me so much more confident and relaxed which does make for a more enjoyable pregnancy. To know that I dealt and overcame ppd after having Hayden makes me feel assured that everything will be okay! She is such a good helper to me already that I feel like this will be a pretty easy transistion. I know it will be hard work but I am not afraid of anything to go terrible. I feel that we are doing well preparing her and she seems to be understanding! Makes me so glad that we made the choice for the 3 year age difference!
I am also preparing for the new changes in a different light, as I have grown as a mother I feel more confident with my motherly instincts and decisions. I plan to make longer goals to maintain a happy healthy baby. First choice: I plan to exceed the 9 months I breastfed dd#1. I loved the bonding and the good feeling it gave me to know that I gave her the best. I am so thankful that I have these desires and that it worked so well with the first so I now have a better understanding, and passion to do it again. I have also prepared better for the homemade baby food journey that I plan to take on again. That is another wonderful feeling and I LOVED doing it with Hayden which makes me so much more motivated! My third and biggest decision is to tackle cloth diapering again and stick with it... as I did not do with Hayden. I have learned a lot more about it now, bought a great stock and I actually have a husband willing to help with it this time! We, well I, tried with DD for a few weeks and I gave up. I wish I had taken the time to know more about it and I know it would have worked. It is hard to learn something when you have gotten to a certain stress level with it. I have the energy, motivation, and "knowledge" I feel I need to suceed this time around!
Thanks for reading! I wanted to share because when people ask me how I am doing I want to tell them everything, how wonderful I feel, and how excited I am but I just can't say all this at one time! :)
So as my journey continues, I pray everyday that I will maintain this positive look at life and continue to be so thankful for all my blessings! I am so happy to share my joy! (Pray, too, that it stays through the tough days, as I know there will be tough days) :)

Funny Things...

2011-07-13T20:35:00.000-07:00

I will probably update this often as this is a very funny age Hayden is at and she says and does funny things a lot! I want to remember some of them so I will try to jot them out here:
She has a stuffed puppy now and his name is Rooster "but it doesn't say cocka doodle do, it says ruff ruff"
She also had a couple of pennies in the car and randomly said "mommy, I want to make a wish" and never have taught her that I said "huh? like in a wishing well?" and she said "yes" I said "we don't have a wishing well" "Yes I do mommy, look." And she was tossing the pennies into her cup of water. I then remembered that mom had taken her to the manchester area where they have a fountain and now know that my mom taught her about that. So funny though that she remembers so well! It really amazes me! Nothing gets by her and I always have to remember to stick to my word or don't say it.

Hayden calls popsicles a "pocoloni" I have no idea why or where she got that from. I used to and still do have to correct a lot of 'S' words like s "pooky" etc and she will leave off the 's' so I tell her to say "s, snake" using the ss ss sound.... anyway, I was correcting her popsicle mistake the other day and she said "s, pocolicle" lol It really was hilarious!

Something else she says that makes me smile ... when we ask how much she loves us, she will say "BIG MUCH" She started saying that early on when we would say "thhiiissss much" and she started her own thing and still does it today! It is very special!

She says "are you serious mommy?" This she gets from me unfortunately. I say that good and bad, lol. She will say it to be more funny than truly asking... so she is indeed making ' fun of the way I do it' ;)

Lets see... she also learned to roll her eyes. Not out of rudeness but like a "so silly" eye roll that I guess I also do and didn't realize.

Children!

2011-06-17T12:45:00.000-07:00

Hayden will be 3 years old this summer!! I believe it now how time flys by after children! I am 12 weeks pregnant today and I think this second baby will grow even faster! Hayden did everything so quickly so I hope this one will stay a "baby" for longer but I definately don't want to "baby" this one forever like some people do when they know it will be their last baby. ;) So much changes once you become a parent. Im telling you what, there are so many things I said I would never do or let me kids do and yeah... "never say never" The kids in the resturant or in the grocery store yelling and pitching the fit - I would say, "I would have better control of my child" Now that the tables have turned I understand that it is not that the parent is not in control, but only that the child.... well, is a child! It is going to happen and the question now is, "How will I handle this" Every child and mother is different in every situation and I have learned that you may have to try a couple different "modifications" to disciplinary actions to find the one that will best work for your own childs personality. For Hayden I have to always ask her "Hayden, do you understand me?" and then I have to make her repeat what I ahve said or to acknowledge it by saying "yes ma'am" while looking at me in my eye. That youngin is a bullet! If I don't have her full attention, it is like I never said/did it! The other day, nana told me that Hayden said to her in a grumbly voice "Do you understand meee???" I laughed so hard! Hey, it may not have been right for her to use that with her nana and I am sure that in these cases we talk to her about it afterwards, but at least I know that she is listening and understands that this means... "Do you get what I said to you?" Hayden is learning how to swim this summer! Nana's wonderful pool allows us to get her out there and just go! She did great last year too, I mean she would slide the slide all by herself, but this year she forgot what all she did last year and she has gotten a little more fearful of a lot of the things she use to be so fearless about. That could definately be a good thing too b/c she needs to know the difference between the two when it comes to dangerous situations but I hope she will not fear the water, learn to swim and stick with it through to next year! We were able to go to the beach this past May which was nice! Hayden loved it! She would ask to go when we got home... and now we get to go again but as a family! I am so excited! We went last year but it was a fishing trip for Justin and Hayden and I just tagged along so it wasn't a family vacation (and it was in October). We are having some friends down with us one day/night and they have Connor, Hayden's age and then Jeannie and the boys will be heading down Sun-Wed! This is just wonderful! I am ready to pull out the sand toys and build a big castle with Hayden, swim in the ocean and maybe get a sun tan? lol! I am not going to be huge and pregnant this time around over the summer so I will enjoy it while I can. I am definately not sporting a bikini but I can still get a nice tan. I think I have a little baby bump forming but still in my regular clothes!! I am so happy about that! I bought my first pair of maternity pants when I was pregnant with Hayden at 12 weeks... they usually say you start showing earlier with the second so I fiigured I would be in maternity clothes by 10 weeks.... so yeah, I think this is great! It won't be long though, I'll tell ya! Also I lost more weight than my pre-pregnancy weight after Hayden too so that has a lot to do with it. I hope I can continue to go to the gym and stay in "shape" during this pregnancy. I just want a smooth delivery and I know that will help tremendously. My ideal labor would be to wait out as much as I could at home and soak in the bath and then head to the hospital and be dialated at like 8 or 9 and then start pushing and have a natural labor....... BUTTTT being that my dues date is Dec 30th I do not think that my dream will come true. Why? Because due to insurance reasons, I really need to have this baby in 2011, not 2012. I will then have the next deductible to meet which is $1500 and we will have already met it for 2011. Our OB GYN would be billing us again in 2012 is the way I understand it so I am thinking if this baby is not here by the 28th or the 29th I will try to induce labor.... inducing labor will then lead to an epidural, lol! But we shall see!! Wow! I ahve never ever ever dreamed of having a holiday baby, much less, a Christmas/New Years baby!! This is going to be one heck of a ride! Just no pictures of this mom on Christmas morning please!! lol I have had a really pleasant pregancy this far. I mean the difference between this and the last is not a whole lot. I loved my pregnancy with Hayden. No sickness, felt great, etc. This one is the same but even less nausousness, less tiredness, less irritability... but more eating :( Uh oh! I have cut back since the beginning... that was bad! I was craving awful foods and I have just tried to learn to control it and balance it out. I am ready to find out what this little peanut is! We had an ultrasound last week and this little thing was moving around and kicking! I loved it!! We will know in Aug if it is a boy or girl. I now have a "gut" feeling that I had not had at all before and I am saying BOY! Now, who really knows but God, but we will see soon enough! I think Hayden is going to be a great BIG SISTER! She already talks about the baby and says she is going to help! I think I am really going to love this age difference.
We are still trying to sell the house and move our growing family into a better home but no takers just yet. I have come to a peace if we do have to stay in this house longer than we wish but we are still praying diligently that things change and turn around for us! We are very thankful for what we have and we know we have a good thing!

The way we spent our last weekend in January 2011

2011-01-30T20:02:00.000-08:00

This past week has been super busy for us and I think we all were looking forward to a fun filled long weekend! Sad thing is that weekends always go by too fast! Having a 2 year old makes them go by even faster! So Saturday was an all day affair for me and my beautiful friend Emily - the bride! We had 3 appointments from 10am to 3pm for wedding dresses and bridesmaid dresses. Although I had to be out all day, it was good for Justin ... He was able to have a father/daughter day with Hayden -- scary huh? and Yes, he actually made it the whole day! (I think it was the first full day with her in 2 years... shhh lol) They went in to Rock Hill and bought 15 +/- books for $4.25 at a bargain book sale! She is in heaven with all these 'new' books. What a great deal too!! Books are too expensive now a days so a deal like this can't be passed up! They got to spend some good quality time together and when I returned home we went to eat fish at the fish fry at the York High School. We do this every year while Justin's cousin is in the Band (this is their fundraiser). We met Paige, Eric, Peyton, Nana and Paw Paw there and then were on our way back home where we played even more. Hayden dressed up and put on her heels and just danced! She is a wild one! Never slows down for sure but you tell her it is bedtime and she is OUT! I will have to share the video I took! This is great blackmail for when our daughter starts dating! :) I am going to love sharing this when she gets older!!! I know she will appreciate it!

So anyway, Today, Sunday the 30th, we went to Church and left straight after for the Circus! Barnum and Bailey & The Ringling Brothers! We won free tickets through Charlotte Parent! How perfect for our little toddler! The seats start at A on the bottom row (closest to the floor) we had row E! 5th row up!! Great seats! We were so blessed to get these! we rode the Lynx Tram up to the Arena and got there for the Pre Show! Hayden was scared of the clowns but loved the Elephant. Before we got there she was telling friends at Church "I go to the circus and and see the elephants and cows" lol "the elepants eat" and when we got on the tram she called it "Thomas" like Thomas the train lol!! So we watched the show, had popcorn and coke cola which was $4 and $5.75 for a reg size (not big at all) We wanted to get Hayden something to be a souviener but it was soooo expensive and since she doesn't know what she is missing (yet) when passed.... but they had light up necklaces for $7, small stuffed animals there were $16 and up and the swords that light up were like $20! Sheesh!! When she is 5, 6, or 7 I am sure we will not be able to pass up a toy but I can't imagine how much they will be then!! It was truly a blast for us to be together as a family!

Afterward we headed to Jeannie's for dinner and to see Justin! He is home from California for a few days and we all got together to celebrate! We are so happy he is home and can't wait until it can be permanent! I love my family and how close we are!! It is wonderful and I hope family values always stay important throughout our busy lives... even in our children's lives!!

New Year, New Beginnings

2010-12-28T11:52:00.000-08:00

I am very excited to head into he new year of 2011. Hayden will be starting in a Pre-K program 2 mornings a week - doesn't that sound fun?! She will have the interaction with other children her age, learn social skills, sharing, and the "schooling" aspect of it will help her attention span and listening skills. She will have to listen to someone other than mommy daddy or a family member and will have to follow the rules. I am nervous that she may be the "wild child" in the class but if we never do this, she will never learn, right? She is learning so much so fast it amazes me already! As the new year begins I am changing some things in my own schedule as well. I am studying to get my insurance license! I am also cutting back on cleaning houses so that I am not so overwhelmed. I love both jobs but it sure takes it toll on me. With Justin back at Bowater, this is allowing us to get our budget back into place and start looking up! I am also taking one day off of both jobs a week to spend with Hayden. Justin and I are hoping and praying for another new and healthy addition to our family by the end of 2011! I am excited for that as well (of course) Hayden would be 3 years old before the new arrival and I think that is a good age difference. I pray that God will work it all out in His timing. I know He will!

Christmas 2010 was awesome! It is so much fun being a mom to a 2yr old! I was just as excited this year as I was when I was a kid on Christmas morning. :) She has some really cool and fun toys and I get to play with her. lol. She got all kinds of play doh stuff, rain boots, the cutest monogramed bookbag, games, clothes.... A baby doll and puppy from Great Grandmama, a tent from Grammie, all kinds of stuff from Nana including a really big tinkerbell coloring book, a pillow pet, and cute outfits. All kinds of princess stuff from Aunt Paige, Grammie and others. Puzzles from Christina, A shopping cart and pretend food from Aunt Sara and Ricky, PJ's and a robe from Aunt NeNe, a Clemson shirt, huge cereal bowl and towel set from Daddy Pop, she got dvd's including Veggietales and Barney's Christmas Adventure from great Aunts. Great Grandma got her a Beginner's Bible and mommy thinks that is one of the coolest gifts! I know I loved mine when I was little so I am hoping and thinking she will too! Phew, she got a lot!

We played in the snow the day after Christmas and had a lot of fun but it was so cold and Hayden face planted a few times so we ended up going in the house shortly after. We stayed out for about an hour and a half though which is a long time really. We took the sled down a hill at a church down the road and tried to build a snowman in our yard. Hayden loved it. We put her in the bath when we got in not realizing that we should have waited for her body temp to rise ... so poor thing was so cold and then went into warm water and it made her wrist and ankles look like they were about to blister. Thankfully it went away quickly but that was scary and lesson learned!!

All in all I am so happy in my life and looking forward to what the new year and God's plan has in store for my family!

(Our house is STILL on the market -- I wish it would sell, other than that we are good as gold ;))

Carving Pumkpins

2010-10-17T18:57:00.000-07:00

We are always planning stuff to do now with these fun holidays and a little girl at a really fun age! It is fall - ah, I love fall - so we went to the Peach Orchard last weekend. Hayden got to hold cute little bunnies, and there was this huge 19lb rabbit too!! Grammie helped Hayden decorate a planter and they planted a pansie! We rode a horse carriage to the other side, went through a hay maze, and got ice cream! Hayden wanted to hold the cone but she would gladly share, just DON'T take the cone! ;) Today we planned to carve pumpkins. We were getting all the stuff out from the inside and asked Hayden to stick her hands in and help and she said "No mommy, hands dirty" lol As if she just did not want to get her hands dirty from the inside of the pumpkin. haha. We made her do it anyway b/c she really or usually doesn't mind getting dirty and she was fine! It was cute though!

She does so many cute things! She will call everyone "friend" She will pull the blinds up in the living room, look out and if someone is walking or outside across the street she will yell "Hey Friend" lol. She will see a baby or child in the grocery store and say "friend mommy, friend" Sounds more like "fiend" but I understand her! She looves other babies so much! She wants to get right in their face and "help" anyway that she can. She loves her cousin Peyton! She will try to "tickle" her and try to help feed her or give her the paci. It is precious! I think she will be a greta helper when she has a little brother or sister! She will be 3 by then I am sure so she will be even more of a help and she will be more independent herself which will be a help to mommy! ;) Justin and I are talking about our options now so hopefully we will have another baby in 2011 or sometime around then!! It is exciting to me to have a sibling for Hayden! I know having a big family means so much to me now and esp when I was a kid! I just think it will be tough going through the infant stage but time flies so we will be alright!

Justin is about to start 2nd shift (instead of 3rd) and I am really thinking that I am going to like it a lot! We will get our nights together back and he will be able to get a good amount of sleep and able to get up have family time or help with watching Hayden while I work and not be worn out all the time! I hope it will be as great as I am thinking! He sure is wonderful though! He is such a hard worker and I appreciate him so much! We have really been trying to work with each other and help each other out as much as we can lately and it feels so nice! Sometimes we forget to do these things and when we are reminded that we are not alone it is wonderful! I love the connection we have and the bond! He is my hero! .... okay so done with the cheesyness! haha!

On another note... I am sure ready for Christmas... not really Christmas to be here but for the shopping and wrapping! I am ready to get stuff together for everyone! We are cutting back a lot this year and I have already gotten a little done to space things out but I am still excited to give something! We are going to make some pretty cool gifts to be from Hayden too and I think it is going to turn out sooo great!

Ahhh exhale

2010-10-03T19:16:00.000-07:00

My blogspot, oh how I have missed you so! Being without a computer has been tough! A good person let me borrow one for now and we will soon be in the market for our next one. However, this one I am using is a mini one so if I type all funky spelling words, please just excuse me haha! So I love to write updates on keeping up with Hayden and I haven"t been able to do that lately. She is so very .... what is a nice word for stubborn, or hard-headed or strong willed? LOL She is definately a 2 year old! She is wonderful though for sure but I can see the small changes in her wanting to make decisions for herself event o the little things like what she is going to eat. She has never been a picky eater but lately if it isn't what she wants, she isn't going to eat it. I have had to really work on being consistent with all that I say to her to try to teach her the correct way of doing things. It is really hard to do this. I would not have thought it to be hard just to stick to your guns and follow through with it but boy is it tough! We are changing out her door knob in her room and were missing a piece so for a couple nights we weren't able to shut the door all the way as usual and Hayden thought she could just get up and come out of her room at night after we put her down for bed. I would have to end up spanking her to get her to listen but you know she knows better! She would come to the door and peek out and you would hear 2 little feet running back to her bed. You'd go in there and she would be pretending to be asleep. Tell me that wouldn't be hard not to just laugh it off, and maybe even let her stay up and hang out with you or go to sleep with you.... if I did, though, it would make it so much worse in the long run! So here and now... this early on starts the buckling down, strong yet heart-breaking, and loving dicipline! She is a lot of fun now too! She is starting to hear you out and trying to understand "reasoning". We still like to walk and play at the park or with other friends and we go to the gym a couple times a week so she gets interaction there. She does so well in church sunday school and Wed night classes too! Listens well to the teachers instructions and really enjoys the crafts and lessons. It is so cute actually! We are still potty training! I wish I could say she was trained and I am not saying she isn't (or couldn't be at this point) but ike I said, she likes to make her own decisions and this is one of them. I stay on her and so does anyone she is with and she will go but she will not say that she needs to go before she just goes in panties. She most always stays dry during her naps and she stays in panties for them too. She just needs to learn to say "I need to tkae a break from whatever I am doing and sit on the potty" She has not ime for it. haha... too busy!

On another note: Our house is on the market (since June) and no interest yet! :( December will be 6 months and we will take it off with the realtor and do it by owner. Hopefully interest some investors and we will be able to lower or price a little. I am just ready to move on. We have been here 4 years and Justin even longer. 2 bedrooms doesn't give you enough room to expand a family either ;). Praying for the right things to happen and of course knowing that God has a plan always makes life easier to understand!

Good night all!!

One after another....

2010-08-06T12:01:00.000-07:00

I have so much to blog about and so little time. Our home computer is broke right now so I can't enjoy sitting up at night and blogging so I am trying to fit some time in here at work :/ Hayden will be 2 in 2 weeks!! I cannot believe how fast this is going by! She is so much fun and so smart... turning into my little toddler princess! I don't even call her a baby anymore. She has so much independence wanting to walk everywhere we go and wanting to do things on her own without mommy and daddy's help. She wants to stand in the kitchen chair and help me with dinner. She wants to push the stroller everywhere and will tell me things now like she is teaching me something new. It is precious!
POTTY TRAINING:
This has been one of new tasks that we are trying to tackle and it is going rather smoothly - as of now! (I hear that toddlers have a mind of their own and they choose when to and when not to potty on the big potty.) With the help of Nana Shay we are making really good progress! She does best when she runs around diaper free... it is like she makes the decision on her own to sit on the potty seat and go. It is so funny because the other day she was so excited that she had pooped on her own that she got up and ran to tell us but she wasn't quite finished and there were little drops on the floor. With panties on she will catch herself because she can feel when she is wet and she will grab the panties and say"potty!" and run to the bathroom. Now with diapers, she doesn't care - as much! Sometime she will say it and sometimes you will never know. It is all in the training though - getting her to know the sensation feeling from potty-ing and be able to know when to go. She will go potty every night before bed and nap and right when she wakes up from either! She has been waking up dry from her nap for a few days now and this morning was the first morning she woke up dry from bed, which is awesome!!! She went pee pee before we left the house this morning and lasted 2.5 hours dry and pee-pee'd on the potty at the Kohls Dept Store! I thought that was great too, of course! I would say we got started teaching her around 22 months if not earlier but we have really "buckled down" over these past 2-3 weeks! Nana bought her some really neat panties that are thick in the middle but they still feel when they wet themselves and you can also put a plastic panty over them so they don't wet their clothes. With it being summer time, it is easier though for her to run around in a dress for easy potty training! So all in all, potty training has not been to terrible of an experience for us here. We tried to reward pottying with m&ms but she really doesn't care for that... a simple, well a little over the top praising goes a long way for Miss Hayden! :)

Weekend of June 25-27th

2010-06-27T21:24:00.000-07:00

What a great weekend! I love good full on family weekends when hubby Hayden and I can all 3 just do fun things together and not have a care in the world! I sure do love being a mommy and a wife! We live on a pretty tight schedule and most ppl that know me know that when it is Hayden's bedtime... I ain't playing around. This weekend I decided (with a little help the influences around me chanting for me just to let her stay up and not to worry so much about it) to actually not live by a schedule for once. SO the weekend started Friday morning when Justin gt home from work and got us all pumped up to go swimming. We went to nana and paw paws swimming pool, just the 3 of us, and played. Hayden got to slide and eventually wanted to do it on her own... I know I know, we will no more let her climb the slide and go alone but I really wanted to get it on video and Justin needed to be at the bottom to catch her. Check it out on my facebook page! Saturday we headed over to Jen and Dave's for a cookout with some of the mommies on YCM and afterward we just hung around with them. Justin and Dave get along very well and that is a good thing b/c Jen and I are pretty good friends and Hayden and Connor are like best friends. ;) It is so fun to get them two together. You can just tell they enjoy each others company when they see the other walk in the room they just light up. They are more alike than any two kids I know and I think Jen and I are a lot alike as well. So those influeneces I was talking about, lol, convinced me to stay and hang out after 7:30 (H's bedtime) and Hayden did so good! She just played and played. A neighbor of theirs cam over as well and they have a 4yo daughter so Hayden had someone to play with since Connor had conked out a bit earlier. We decided to sleep without an alarm clock and once we woke up head out on the boat. We got up at 9am Sunday - packed a lunch AND dinner and off we went! Guess what? That meant I was knowingly going out and not coming back in for Hayden's nap! *gasp* Well, it worked out, she slept on the boat :). "See Lin, it is not so bad to let it go for something special" We met Jen Dave and Connor out at the sand bar and a couple other friends. We grilled our very yummy italian chicken right there on the boat and headed back around 7. Hayden was such a trooper and wasn't even whiny.... now tomorrow may be another story but she will get back on schedule and she will be fine! This weekend was so worth letting my hair down and taking in every bit of my wonderful family and my good friends! I love life!

2010-06-22T20:24:00.000-07:00

Hello Summer time!! We are in the Carolinas and it is HOTT!!! We have already started enjoying it as much as we can stand it! We go to the pool at Nana and Paw Paw's and swim and Hayden loves it! She wears a life jacket type swimsuit and then has a mini innertube around her and she just jumps right in, kicks her little feet to the ladder, gets out and does it again and again! She is fearless! We like to walk at the park with another mommy and her little girl but it is getting so hot we may have to walk earlier. We were going at 11am and then 10am and now we may have to move it again, lol. We get our walk in and then we let the girls play and they love it too! Today Hayden was so sweaty that she was wet when we got back home. I had even tried walking to the park but there is no way I can do that now unless I went before the sun got up. ha! I have also gotten into a routine of going to the gym for Zumba class. It is a latin hip hop dance class and I love it. I wish I had a membership so I could go whenever and actually work out but this is keeping me active and burning calories. I'd say we like to stay pretty busy! I don't know any other way. I am still cleaning houses and that also keeps me going. Shay is now keeping Hayden in the afternoon while I work at the Insurance Company. I know she loves it. She quit work and is a house wife and watching her grandbaby. :) We all love it. It is very helpful for Justin and I too! We had to go to the beach a couple weeks ago for a wedding that Justin was in, Chad and Angela's, and it was a whole weekend -- We left Hayden here with Shay and we had a good time but I missed her so much! I got some time to lay out and get some sun and we did the wedding stuff then headed home. I drove and Justin got some sleep since he had to be at work that night and I got turned around so many times it wasn't even funny! I was ready to get home to Hayden!!

There is a lot to catch up on but I have not been sleeping well lately and I need to get some rest... it is almost 12am! ugh!

I've got a big girl in the making...

2010-05-17T13:06:00.000-07:00

We made the transition to a toddler bed this past weekend! "Oh my!" is right! I had thought her crib was supposed to be a 4-in-1 and turn from a crib - daybed -toddler bed - then to a twin or full. BUT I could not get it and of course we no longer have the paperwork on it anymore SOO... we bought a toddler bed from a friend on YCM for $20!! Wohoo! After I sanded it, I had help from Danny painting it and then I put it together and took down the crib and changing table. I am really proud of myself for taking this on and doing it. Usually Justin and/or Danny feel like I throw projects on to them and I never mean to, they just take over ;)... (really, they enjoy it though. Don't let them fool you - haha) I guess I should not have taken it all down until I knew if it would work or not because the first night was rough. If the crib had still been up, she would have gone in it! Then again, I am glad I took it down b/c soon or later, she would have to transition! Anyhow, we are on day 2 and it is slowly getting better. The first night she thought it was the coolest thing to be able to run over to her bed and sit on it with her books and stuffed bear ... then came bedtime.... She would lay down but as soon as I would get ready to leave she would cry a scared cry. After sitting by her bed and then sitting by the door and making my way out of the room she went to sleep an hour and a half later. 5am I hear a loud noise and Hayden begins to cry -- yep, she fell out of the bed. Let me remind you that this DOES have side rails on it and one side is against the wall... she just sleeps all over the place! So in the bed with us she goes!! Sunday nap she falls asleep in the car so that went well. We just moved her to the bed and she slept a good 2 hour nap. Now that evening was better than the first, only took about an hour. I just layed there and explained that she needed to sleep in her big girl bed and mommy was going to sleep in her own bed and see her in the morning and she did good. Now at 1am she fell out again! I layed with her for a min and left the room again. Today, day 2, daddy put her down for her nap but when I got home with groceries I guess I was loud enough to wake her up so I hear her, go in there and she is sitting on the floor by the door. Not a great naptime but it will do... in her crib if she had heard me she would have layed back down and went to sleep but not now that she can get out of her bed herself. So here we go to a big girl in the making.

Day 5 Update:

It is getting a lot better. I knew it would just like training her to self soothe when she was a baby. However, I have had to start building a little wall with some stacked pillows so she can't fall out. Riht now the ratio is 4:5. That would be 4 nights, 5 falls. Monday night I walked in to check on her and build the wall and she had hers knees on the floor but her head was still trying to hang on the bed, like a praying postition. It was cute but poor thing!!! Naptimes have actually been a lot better than expected. I thought it would be hardest, that she would just rebel against sleeping and want to play but she is doing better at naptime then bedtime.

Lesson learned for myself here - Well, a lot of patience, as usual. But also I think that with the next one I will be sure that it is time to transistion over. Now I am not saying it wasn't time for her but I may have rushed it a little bit. She was able to climb in/out of her crib and she does looked cramped sleeping all over the place in there but now ... she can get in and out whenever she wants!! LOL! I know that after talking to so many other parents that everything is different for everyone/child. Some never had any problems and started at a year old with the toddler bed... some wait 3 years or longer.

Mother's Day 2010

2010-05-09T15:25:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day becomes more and more special to me. Hearing Hayden say "I love you" is the most amazing feeling ever! I know the day she says it and knows what she is saying it will mean even more. She loves to tell people "I love you, muah, bye bye" It is sweet! I couldn't imagine life any different. It is also has changed the way I look at Mother's Day regarding my own mother. Oh how I can appreciate the role of being a mom now more than ever! I could never say enough wonderful things about my mom to make up for even half of who she is. What she has taught me and made me the mother I am to Hayden today. I thank God for giving me such a wonderful mom who cared, loved, and never gave up ;). There was never a day that went by that my mom did not help me (and her other daughters), love me, hug me, or pray for me. I hope one day Hayden will be able to feel the same about her mom as I do about mine.

We Love You Mom!!

This weekend my mom took Hayden for the day on Saturday while Justin and I went on the lake. We took the boat out and got some sun! We rode up to TBones on the Lake and had lunch on the pier, then got back on the water to lay out! How nice! I truly enjoy the time Justin and I get to have just one on one. Sunday, after Church, we went to Granny's house for a family cookout. Hotdogs and hamburgers are always good with good family time! I would do it every week if it were possible! The kids playing was so good to see.... Hayden, Ava, and Ali, and Justin and Josh running around! I think Hayden could be friends with anyone if they would just give her the time of day.... that means all their attention! :) She would go around saying "hug" and hug whomever. And cousin Lee and Larah were able to make it with the new baby Jude! He is so very precious! I got ot hold him and get my baby fix... I am all good to go now. :D

That brings me to this question: Does everyone eventually stop asking "when are you going to have another baby?" It doesn't seem like it cause I get it all the time. I really have no idea if we will have another baby or not. I don't know why I am having a hard time with this decision. There are so many good things about having a sibling for Hayden nut I am not sure if I can handle it all or not. I wonder that same thing about Justin too. Does that sound selfish? It really is a battle going on inside my head on this. I wish I could skip through and have 2 kids about 6 years old and 8. No I don't really wish that at all actually! I enjoy all the milestones watching Hayden grow and learn, I just know it will be tough in the first stages with 2 children. But there are many many women who have done so I know I could, I think. LOL No I know I could.

Speaking of, Hayden was in the bath tonight (looooves the bath) and picked up a foam letter "A" and said "A"... Isn't that great?! She is really smart, I swear she is, not just because she is mine. I think I was always afraid I would not know how to teach her things so I just "review" and do games and cards and stuff like that all the time. I sing the alphabet all the time and she will sing the tune with me but not yet the letters. She will say all the colors but it is just the words, not like the actual color with a match. But you know, some children do not yet talk as well at this age so I know she will do just fine! I hope and pray that she continues to learn as quickly as she does now so that she does not have study problems when she is older. Oh but how I do not want to get into thinking about school yet... that is a discussion in itself and it is so early. I cannot believe that in a few years I will be deciding what is best for schooling! I am considering all options - Private/Chirstian, homeschooling, public? Just don't know which is best. I need to get out there and ask some people who may have some input.

So to end a wonderful Mother's Day,

Happy Mother's Day to all of your wonderful moms out there!

Good Night!

Family Time

2010-05-06T20:26:00.000-07:00

Lately we have been able to really spend some family time together. Justin was layed off at Bowater and we took advantage of that time. We went on the lake in the boat, all three of us. Hayden loved it. She just wanted to drive! We rode around for a couple hours on Lake Wylie and just enjoyed the fresh air.

We also packed up and headed to the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia. The drive took about an hour and a half but Hayden did surprisinly well. This was such a fun age to take her because she knew the animals and the sounds they made so she was very interested in seeing them alive and in action. We brought our own lunch and sat at the tables for a break then headed back for more. We did bring her backpack "leash" and found it useful. I would never walk around the store with her wearing one but somewhere like the zoo, I thought it was perfect. She felt independent and could squeeze through tight areas and yet I had her the whole time. She was so funny, she would mock the monkeys, saying "eh eh eh mon-key" She did this with a lot of the animals.

We got to feed the giraffes too! That was pretty neat. I think Hayden was a little scared but definately comforted being in daddy's arms. After one long, but wonderful day, Hayden was knocked out all the way home making it a good car ride home. I think I even napped a little ways while Justin drove. :)

And to clear things up, Justin does now have a job. He was hired on at Domtar 2 weeks after Bowater. Straight 3rd isn't exactly what I was thinking but it seems to be working out pretty well. We still get time together and it actually helps me out when I have to work over or have a house to clean in the morning or something but it is still 3rd shift and I know he doesn't get good sleep having to sleep during the day. I have to say I am proud of him!

New Discoveries

2009-12-29T11:31:00.000-08:00

At 16 months Hayden Ann can say her ABC's and 123's! Haha. I am just kidding but she sure is close! ;) She said A B C D E for the babysitter and she says 2 and 3. She can brush her teeth - with mommy going back over them of course. She can rock the baby and give the baby a paci or bottle. She can say many words: "bi-bu" Bible, "ight" - light, no, "um" - yum, hey, hel-lo, bye bye, "ni ni" - night night, "bat" -bath, dog, apple - plain as day, momma and dada, nana and paw paw, "sa-ra", shoe, "suice" - juice, all done, baby, ball, "sack" - snack, eat, amen, "peas" - please, "tank u" - thank you, "cuse u" - excuse you, "bess u"- bless you.
She can make the sound for dog, cow, duck, lizard, monkey, tiger. Working on train and many others. She has many gestures, many! She can do fishy kiss, blow a kiss, clap, shake head yes/no, signs please, thank you and all done. She can name almost all body parts from head to toe. Not quite go knees and elbows ;) She climbs on everything and is not afraid of a thing! She dances on command - anytime anywhere!

Oh let me keep thinking and adding to the list as we go. ;)

Oh Boy!

2009-12-28T08:19:00.000-08:00

Was this Christmas wonderful or what? We had so much fun with our little toddler princess! We stayed at moms Christmas eve (after an eventful night at 3 different family gatherings) and Jeannie stayed too -- so my mom had all her girls home for Christmas morning. Justin and I got to play Santa and set up a few of Hayden's toys. We left a couple bigger gifts at home for later. Sara Jeannie and I satisfied mom and threw reindeer food out on the lawn and mom got some pictures. We then played Twister and Justin was in charge of directions. What a fantasy. *eye roll* We woke up Christmas morning and all walked down the stairs together (even Miss Hayden Bug) She ran to her toys just like she knew what this was all about. Sara was a little jealous that there was a baby taking her morning glory but she got over it quick! Mommy and Daddy did Christmas with Hayden and Santa even came to visit. Hayden is getting used to the fat man with a big beard b/c she didn't get nearly as scared as she had a few weeks ago seeing santa for the first time... and around 7:20 daddy set off to work. We had breakfast dinner with family and friends and played all morning. We enjoyed nap time and then set out for more Christmas with family. We headed to The Timmons Christmas that evening at 6pm. We ate dinner and exchanged gifts where Hayden got yet another baby doll. That is what she is totally into right now and I am sure that she will be for a long while. It is okay that she got 4 for Christmas because she plays with everyone of them. Now we can toss the other 2 that have made their monies worth. :) We were able to video tape Hayden's Christmas with our new camcorder! We will have these memories forever!

The day after Christmas I was blessed to be able to go shopping and hit the great bargin deals stores had. I have really needed some clothes since having a baby and losing weight. I was able to really put a dent in my closet - Thank God! My best deal was at Belks where I spent a total of $111 and saved $259! I thought that was pretty good!! I also got to get a few things for Christmas next year on the half off sales. Like my cheesy Christmas Villages that I totally wanted and Justin makes fun of me for it. They were originally $70 and I got a couple for $13! Hey! Can't beat that! It was so hard not to go buy Hayden something, just one thing (although she doesn't need ANYTHING) so I bought a couple books! You can never have too many of those! They make for such great gifts and kids love them - well, Hayden does right now at least and I will continue to encourage it. I got home yesterday and a wonderful lady I clean for had given me a Shark steam mop for Christmas! I was stoked. Never expected that at all but how wonderful! This is definately a good incentive for my business, along with my wonderful basket full of supplies from my in-laws. Is that silly I get so excited over cleaning products. Haha. I am so glad that I love to do it though. I get it from the best - my lovely clean mother ;).

Now we head into a new year... with lots of reminders of how important family and friends are to us. How blessed we truly are and how important every moment is. I am so excited to start off a new year with new goals and aspirations! Personally I would like to improve and learn so much more as in true appreciation and patience, learn to just say no and to turn the other cheek. I want to work on my relationship with my God and my husband to make them stronger. I am not going to let the small things get the best of me -- "and in the end they are all small things". Psyically I would like to help my family to be healthier. I will try harder to exercise. I am going to work on better management of our money and paying bills. All this comes down to ME, changing myself!! But I am motivated and excited about seeing these changes happen!

Deuteronomy 31:6 Amen!

Life is wonderful

2009-11-30T13:38:00.000-08:00

and all the glory goes to God! Christmas is right around the corner and I am all in the holiday spirit this year! Thanksgiving was wonderful, as food and family is always a wonderful thing! I cannot wait to share the joy and peace of the holidays with my little Hayden. We have done really good this year with shopping and all. Almost done actually. Hayden is going to have a great Christmas! I can't wait to watch her eyes light up on Christmas morning. She may not quite understand yet but I know she will still feel the excitement. Justin has to work 1st shift on Christmas day so we are thinking that we may get her up before he goes to work so that he can be apart of her morning. He hates that he will not be able to watch her play all day but soon enough he will be on top of the ladder at work and he will not have to work Holidays like this. Soon enough! Hayden is really an amazing little girl. I need to put up pictures and give you her status... I will work on that shortly!

Catching Up

2009-09-20T19:55:00.000-07:00

Catching up...

We celebrated Hayden's 1st birthday on Aug 29th 2009. She had many friends and family over. We had a slip n slide and baby pools. She had a blast and her friends did too! We had cake and Hayden dug into hers and made a beautiful mess. I have been waiting for that moment. :) And yes, she got a lot of toys which is now over-powering the living room! She barely plays with them... so then, "what does she do?" She walks from room to room over and over agian. Heehee. She just loves to walk. She is so funny and really building her own little personality. She is so smart too. She knows where her head is. She can squat when you say "down" and stand when you say "up". She can find her paci and milk. She tries to put the lids on all the tupperware when I am putting dishes away. She just cracks me up. I have been working a lot lately with my part time job and now the cleaning jobs have really picked up. It is very good but I hate it as well. I just don't like leaving before she is up, coming home just to get ready to leav for work again. Not all days are like that and it really makes me appreciate EVERY moment I am with her but those days that it does happen are no fun. I love what I do too so that makes it easier. Here is my vent: I really like my part time job and my boss has been asking me to get my license to sell Life Ins but I just don't think I am too motivated for that. I mean I want to if it is just to get it behind me to do it later but I don't know if I can devote myself to that right now. In a couple years I want to have another baby and be home for a while. I don't want to do this and it change my plans. I just don't know. I don't know that it is what I really wnat to do either. I would LOVE to be a lactation consultant. I would LOVE it! But you see that I have not done anything about that either. See, no motavation! But I have been motivated to do something... and that is to walk. I love walking and wish I could do it everyday. We try to get out and walk in the morning or if I am working we have been going that evening. It is wonderful and something I think Hayden enjoys too. I would really like to get back to the gym but hasn't happened yet. There is always an excuse.

My little sisters birthday is in an hour! WOW! I cannot believe she will be 20! Look out! I love my baby sister. She is my best friend. We are very different but so much alike. We always have a good time together and can always count on the other. I know that she would do anything for me and likewise. It is so good to have that best friend that you can go to for anything whether it is for a favor, a vent, or a good laugh. That is Sara. True friends are hard to find and should be treasured if found. I hope she knows that I treasure her friendship. I love all of my friends and I feel very blessed to have such great ones.

Life as we once knew it....

2009-07-28T17:42:00.001-07:00

will never be the same again, no; it will only be better and better. As I sit and reminence over the past year I have come to realize that the small things in life are what mean the most. I look at things so differently, with a new approach. I cannot begin to describe what my life and the people in it mean to me. My family, friends, Church family... it is just so amazing. I am so glad that I am seeing these things now and not a few years down the road and regret not doing the little things. I love that I will look Hayden in the eyes and we will just admire each other. I love going in there after she has fallen asleep and picking her up just to cuddle for another minute. I love stopping everything around me and just focusing on a great hug from my husband, or the favorite toy Hayden is into, or having dinner with the family. Yeah, I may be exhausted, I may have my plate a little full and at times I may get frustrated but tomorrow is never guarenteed and yesterday has gone... today is a gift, which gives the name the present!

We are planning Hayden's first birthday party and I am getting so excited! We are having it here at the house with a little blow up pool and pizza and it will be a ladybug theme. The stuff is so cute. I can't believe she is almost 1 year old! Ya'll, if you don't already know, this little girl holds my heart. Her smile will light up any room. Even her cries are cute ;) She babbles all the time now and she eats everything, boy can she eat. lol. She loves playing with other kids. And she doesn't have seperation anxiety! I am so thankful for that! For the other people who watch her more so than for me... it is probably because we have been so okay with leaving her with others from the beginning. I am taking in every moment and milestone with her and not rushing to have another one anytime soon... one day, 3 years is good. Then she can be more self sufficient and "help" mommy out and I can put her in a 3 half day daycare so that I will have one on one time with the new baby. I think that is very important. I am kinda scared to have 2. I guess it would come to me just as it did with one, huh? One day, one day!

It is amazing

2009-06-28T21:13:00.000-07:00

how quick this little girl is growing! All in the past week she has clapped her hands, finally, she has taken her first step (only one) and she puts her hand to her mouth and says "ah ah ah ah" heehee... I just love it! I enjoy everyday, every moment, every milestone! I can't get enough. She is such a great baby and such a joy. I went in her room the other night just to get her out and snuggle up with her for a little bit. I could talk for hours about my little ladybug!

First day of summer at the pool

2009-05-30T20:19:00.000-07:00

We had a great day at the pool. Hayden enjoyed her blow up pool and toys that her Nanna got for her and eventually got in the big pool with mommy. She splashed and laughed and wore herself out! I will upload the pictures soon, they are too cute! It is so nice to have the in-laws and a pool right up the road from us! I am looking forward to this summer. Justin is working a lot so he missed out today, BUMMER! I am already getting excited about planning Hayden's 1st birthday! I cannot get over the fact that it is 3 months away! She just does not seem to be close to a year! I surely am taking in each and every day! We played together this evening and I would laugh and get her laughing so hard that she would snort. It was so cute, it would make me laugh harder which meant she would laugh even harder. I can't say it enough, I just love her so much! I just want to go get her out of her crib and cuddle. I don't do that a lot though because it is taking chances of her not going back to sleep AND the fact that I just do not sleep well with her beside me. Her schedule is so wonderful -- I think I am really getting the hang of this! (and that does NOT mean I am ready for another one, not yet!) I want to enjoy my Hayden time and then we will talk of another baby. Ideally, I would like them to be 3 years apart. I figure that Hayden would be a little more self sufficient, she would be out of diapers, understand that mommy is pregnant, and she would maybe be going to a pre-K of some sort so I would get 1 on 1 time with baby #2. That would be very important to me. Oh and I would like for the economy to be a little better off. Of course! Well just wanted to share our dayh of Fun in the Sun.... I will add the pictures later! Good Night!

Bittersweet Ending

2009-05-25T07:49:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share that today was the first day of the end of breastfeeding. It is such a bittersweet ending. We have made it 9 months and I could not be happier or more proud of myself for doing such a good job with it. It was a rough start and we made it through it. We have been slowly weaning for a month now and was down to 1 morning feeding. Well, Hayden stayed with my mom last night so I knew that I wouldn't bf her today which meant I was done. (we had been down to 1 morning feeding for a while and I just had not stopped yet, so it was time) I do not know why I am so emotional about it because I am excited to have my body back and a baby not being attached to my breasts but at the same time it almost feels like she "doesn't need me anymore." Not like that because I know she needs me but it is like I am not her source of survival for food anymore. I know that there will be another one in the future to breastfeed so I will be okay but I just wanted to share and say thank you to all who have supported me through this. I know that I did the best thing for my daughter (and for me) that I could have ever done!

2009-05-06T12:45:00.000-07:00

My love bug is getting into everything now... She can pull up to standing just about anywhere and she crawls like a bear all over the place. We are weaning her now from breastfeeding and it is going well, slowly but surely. She is eating more finger foods, like bite size fruits and veggies. It is a good thing too because I do not have to spoon feed her every bite. We can eat at the same time and enjoy it. I just love this ball of joy! I realize now after all the playdates with babies of the same age that Hayden is VERY high strug... "noooo, you don't say!" haha Ryland and Will are both so layed back and easy going and Hayden is here and there and annoyed and bored... and it keeps on going. So yeah, I have to say my job with her is 24/7 and just because I am home, don't expect my house to look remotely clean! Speaking of a job, I am getting on... I need money - don't we all :P I am wanting something part time so that I am not always away from Hayden but something close by so it will be worth the money I would be making. It will all work out - I trust my God!

Rejuvinated

2009-04-05T18:45:00.000-07:00

7 months and I am getting the hang of things. We decided to stick with CIO (crying it out) to teach and train Hayden to self soothe herself to sleep and sleep throught the night. It is going great. It is definately not for everyone, as we tried it a while back and I could not stick with it, but it is worth giving it several tries. And you know... a couple nights of crying and 10-20 mins checking on her, knowing it is leading to the future nights of a full sleep is definately worth it! You just have to prepare yourself for it mentally and stick with it. Giving in will only confuse the baby and it will be worse! I am so glad that I have learned these things and that I have had people supporting me. Justin's help has been so helpful as well. It is nice to have someone walking right beside you and you can both encourage each other. Justin and I just sat in the back vanity area and tried not to listen to the cries! Check the clock and peek in on her... give her a pacifier and pat her belly and walk back out. Re-assure her it is okay and eventually the dry, fed, tired baby will learn to get herself to sleep.

I was not against co-sleeping and did it for the first few months occasionally but it is a bad habit to break if you do not plan to do it for years or at least have your mind set to it. It was actually helpful and easier to co-sleep to an extent in the beginning when she woke to nurse 2-4 times at night but now she is able to sleep throught the night yet she was still waking 2 times, then three and I was not going to let it get to anymore... and it was not to eat but just for the boob! Sorry, I am not a pacifier and it was only draining me. I would not feel like myself all day and if I didn't get a nap... phew! My day was gone! Now, though, I have more confidence and I am having a better nights rest and happier throughout the day. So is Hayden. She is also learning self confidence and independence as well. If you question this method please read about it... www.babycenter.com/0_the-ferber-method-demystified_7755.bc

So... other news, she is eating solids 3x a day. She LOVES yogurt the most. I make her babyfood, just not the rice cereal or yogurt. I like knowing it is all natural and it saves money. It is so easy at that. Just steam or bake, puree, and freeze in an ice cube tray. Put the cubes in labeled baggies and take out how ever many they will eat. So simple and the most natural! Don't get me wrong I am not an organic person myself but her nutrition this early on is very important to me... and why not? - I am a stay at home mom- she is my number one priority and this is my job. How about she is getting on her hands and knees and rocking... she will be crawling before I know it - then walking! OOOhhhh! She can even hold on to something and stand for periods of time! I just love her. I am so excited to see her grow and mature but it is going so fast! It will be time for another one before we know it! lol but lets wait on that thought another year or two. Okay so time to add a few pictures, wish I knew how to get them all over the page but I don't. We took her to the park the other day and she loved it! She got in the baby swing and just smiled and laughed! :)

2009 SNOW!

2009-03-02T08:36:00.000-08:00

March 1 2009 We got SNOW! Justin and I played in it, threw snowballs and built our snow family. We had so much fun! Today I got Hayden out in it and took some pictures. She was just wondering why she was out in such cold and what were these cold white snowballs beside her? haha. She is just so precious and just to think next year she will be running around playing in it! How exciting! We made snow cream and of course it was sooo good. Snow is nice every once in a while but now that we got it I am ready for the beautiful WARM Spring! I hope we stay clear from the flu and we all stay healthy!... Next week is Spring forward so turn your clocks!! Can you believe it? Hayden is babbling, sitting up momentarily and rolling everywhere! We are enjoying EVERY milestone! She has cut 2 teeth now on the bottom and getting back to her good sleep habits - THANKFULLY!

We've been parents for half a year! ;)

2009-02-24T08:30:00.001-08:00

And Hayden has cut her first tooth! OH MY! She has been fighting sleep, cranky, and refusing to eat lately and now we know why! I tried to take a picture... maybe you can see it! She is growing so quickly! Not quite crawling yet, who knows, she may never crawl. She is trying to sit up on her own but she hasn't figured it out. We are trying cloth diapers on her little tush! They are a little aggrivating because I am new at it... but hey I am not giving up yet! I love how eco friendly they are... how much better they are for their bottom, and in the long run they save tons of money! Justin was not too for it at first but he has been somewhat supportive lately. I just wish everyone was more supportive towards them. They are not "too much work" and I will do what is best for my family! :) I am also trying to get in better shape and that is tough right now. P90X is kicking my butt! But I can't wait to look "good" again! I'm sticking to it! BRING IT!

Our Valentines

2009-02-13T13:03:00.000-08:00

So our Valentines has already been truly special! We celebrated it early because Justin will be working on the actual day. Now, Justin usually does not like holidays but he went far beyond what I could have asked for... not only did I get some beautiful Tulips and the sweetest card ever but he even got Hayden a First Valeantines card, 2 books, and a baby doll... THEN took us on a picnic in Glencairen Gardens.

We had such a good time and the weather was perfect. We layed out a blanket and had sub sandwiches, took pictures, and just enjoyed our special family time. I could not have asked for a better time! He is such a sweet husband and such a wonderful daddy to Hayden. I love my family! Of course, I have to share the pictures, well, some!

Another month goes by...

2009-02-11T18:53:00.000-08:00

My Hayden is growing so fast! I am waiting for the day she gets up and starts walking and getting into everything! I love being able to stay at home with her and watch every milestone! I also, however, enjoy working on Tuesday evenings to keep my head straight! I love what I do and that they have a nursery there if I need to bring Hayden. She is doing great with her solid foods and getting her tummy time. So far she loves sweet potatoes!

She loves baths, that is for sure - it is her fun time! We will put her on her tummy in the tub with a rolled up towel and she will just kick and play with toys! It is so cute!
She usually sleeps great through the night, sometimes getting up around 4am, but that is still a good schedule to me - it isn't every 2 hours thankfully! She is still nursing which I do enjoy and plan to keep it up for a while longer! I would like to continue to 9 mos unless she disagrees of course. Luckily she has yet to be sick! I really don't know what I will do when she does. I guess just be there and comfort her :/

Oh, so I think I am going to take her to the Library on Monday mornings. A fellow mommy on YCM told me that they have a time where they read and blow bubbles and etc. so I think she would have fun and it would be getting her out, around other people, and it is free! I also want to take her to the theatre in downtown York. I think that she would do great in there and they have a balcony, I can feed her... we will see I guess. So, FYI-yourk county mommies (YCM) is an online network for mommies in the area and they have great support forums and great advice. I have also been to several playdates and met some good friends... We took this pic earlier today - sooo cute.

Bowater is currently doing shut downs/lay offs so Justin has been home more - well until now that he is back working 16hr days!!!! That is tough but I am so thankful that we are blessed with that job still. And for me to have the ability to stay home and raise our little girl and know and trust we will be okay with Justin supporting us is absolutely reassuring and rewarding! Over all, we sure put our trust in God! Oh btw, today is his b-day -BIG 25! LOWER INS. BABY!

Once apon a time...

2009-02-06T14:04:00.000-08:00

...there was a young girl who met a young boy and they fell in love. That is how our story begins.
So a little background, Justin and I met in 2005 at a rodeo through my best friend of 8+ years and now is my sister in law who married Eric, Justin's brother. (cute, huh?) Justin and I dated, went seperate ways, and after some time tried it again. 3 months later we were engaged and head over heels for each other. July 29, 2006, 7 months following, we were introduced as Mr and Mrs Justin Timmons as we had made our commitment to each other for the rest of our lives. Who knew it would be this good! December 07 we were estatic to find out we had a little one on the way. Aug 29th 2008 5:53am, Our beautiful daughter Hayden Ann was born - 7 lbs 14 oz PERFECT!