Who Knew Sneezing Could be So Funny!

Like Grammy Like Grandson

Hayden had yet another weekend at Grammy and Pee Paw's house. Jeff and I had three Christmas parties to attend and our babysitter canceled last minute so Grammy was to the rescue. He had a great time like he always does. He posed in the small chair in front of Grammy's tree. He has not bothered the tree or decorations which I was surprised. Nana Dede bought him the Christmas out fit he wore to the Carrico Christmas. He stopped by to visit Grandma Hamilton first then met us at Sue's house. It's funny because I can totally tell he has been around Grammy.
While Jeff and I were eating dinner tonight we would take a drink and Hayden would say "ahhhhhh". This is what mom always says after drinking her milk. He has started imitating everything in the past few weeks. I was glad to pick him up on Sunday and he looked so much bigger like he had actually grown in just the two days he was gone. I checked and his second top tooth has almost broke through. It looks like any day.
He has gotten much braver with his walking. He now will keep his hand resting on the wall and cruise around. I don't think it will be long before my baby is a toddler!

Our Weekend

Wow! We had a busy weekend. Saturday we went to church and this made the third unsuccessful attempt at taking Hayden to Sunday school. The first weekend he lasted about thirty minutes, last weekend about twenty minutes and this weekend not even twenty minutes. As we are participating in worship, anxiously watching the monitor for our child's number, wondering how long it will be this time before we are summoned to pick him up. Z6C pops up on the monitor and off I go to collect my child. I can hear his wails before I even enter the nursery. I then see his red, swollen, tear streaked face. His shirt is soaked with tears. The nice lady says, "We tried everything but we just couldn't get him to stop crying. Try again next weekend." She hands me my child and his belongings. I then take him to the cry room where we try to receive God's message on a TV screen with Hayden happily drinking milk and eating goldfish. I wonder if we will get past this or if every Saturday night we will be watching the service from a TV with our son sitting on our lap contently snacking away.
After church we went to Cracker Barrel where we enjoyed the good food and watching Hayden devour biscuits. We learned next time he eats the green beans and chicken before we even let him see the biscuits. As soon as he saw the biscuits he started squealing and clapping his hands. He refused to eat anything except the biscuit. Sunday we celebrated Grammy's 58th birthday! I made mini brownie bites that were yummy. We even put a candle in the mini treat and all sang Happy Birthday! We had everyone over for dinner and presents. We got her a canvas picture from our professional pictures on the beach this summer. She seemed to really like it. Before we celebrated her birthday we went to Hayden's cousin, Kayla's, first birthday party. He had fun but is starting to have separation anxiety so as long as Jeff, myself, Nana Dede or Grandpa was sitting nearby he was okay. Walk too many feet away and he was all tears. We rushed home from her party to cook for my family. It was an enjoyable day celebrating birthdays with both families.

(I'll be sure to post some photos from Kayla's party when I get them. I left my camera home and so I'm waiting for some to be emailed to me.)

Move Over Emeril Lagasse

While I was trying to prepare chicken enchilada's for dinner Hayden kept pulling on my pant leg saying "bup, bup" over and over. We are trying to teach him patience and keep saying "in just a minute". Well apparently he thought he waited long enough so I picked him up and sat him on the counter to help make dinner. e did a good job mixing the ingredients.

A side note in the way of new things he surprises us with. He has learned to give kisses and even says "mmmm" while planting his puckered lips on you. He continues to amaze me. Tonight he was into playing hide and go seek during his bath. He would cover his face with a book until I asked where's Hayden. He has taken a few steps all by himself but still has a ways to go before walking solo. I am not ready for my baby to be a toddler!

Wings Already?

No Hayden hasn't grown wings and left the nest already but he has developed a taste for chicken wings. Tonight while Jeff was eating wings he keep pointing and grunting at Jeff's food. Jeff started feeding him some of the hot wings and he loved them. He ate 3 wings and would have eaten more except Jeff had already finished them off. At least we have found him some meat that he likes!

Having a Conversation All his Own

Puke Puke and more Puke Yet We Are Thankful

This morning Hayden woke at 6 am crying softly. I waited a few minutes to see if he was going to go back to sleep and when he didn't I went in and saw he was laying still in his crib whimpering. I picked him up and rocked my little boy for a few minutes and layed him back to bed which he slept until 9:30. I went in and started to unzip his pj's when I saw and smelled poop everywhere. Took him in the bathroom and he cried during his bath which was unusual. I got him cleaned up and dressed in his nice clothes since we were going to Nana Dede and grandpa's today to celebrate Thanksgiving. Then Hayden had a HUGE breakfast! He drank 8+ ounces of milk, yogurt, oatmeal, pureed fruit and chunks of pears. He hadn't eaten well for the past 2 days so I though he was just making up for it. He was very clingy this morning and just looked lethargic. I thought he was teething as he upper right gum is swollen and I can see a tooth about to break through the gum line. I am holding him in the family room when all of a sudden he throws up ALL over me. I then hand him off to Jeff so I can go change clothes and he throws up ALL over Jeff who then hands him back to me so he can change. Then Hayden pukes ALL over the floor in the family room and poor Linus happens to be walking by and gets puked on too. ALL over his back. Jeff proceeds to take Linus outside, cleans up the vomit all over the floor then gives Linus a bath while I take Hayden into the bathroom where he throws up all over the floor. I get him cleaned up and give him a few sips of water. He wasn't running a fever and although he has been fussy all day he hasn't had any more episodes of vomiting since. He has been sipping Pedialyte and eating crackers all day. When he gets Tylenol he acts just fine and plays with his toys but when the medicine wears off he is fussy. I don't know if the vomiting was from over eating, teething or a virus. I would have thought it was a virus except he only had the morning episode and he wasn't running a fever. This is his first episode of vomiting since his reflux days. Everyone got puked on today in our house and yet we managed to have a good day. We learned a valuable lesson and that's if your child is puking don't keep passing him back and forth and just stay put so there's less to clean up! I hope he feels better tomorrow. I hate it when he doesn't feel good. I wish I could take it away but I can't.

Yesterday was Thanksgiving and we were blessed to spend it with our Family. God has blessed us with so much. We are thankful for our friends, family and Jesus. We should give praise and thanks everyday and just not on thanksgiving. We are thankful for our health and our home. We are thankful for time. The time to spend with family. The time to laugh and love. We hope that everyone was able to spend time with friends and/or family this Thanksgiving and that we will all be able to share a meal with those that we love next year as well.

Bedtime Routines and Prayers

Hayden at 3-4 months reading about an alligator known as chicken

Winding down with a nice relaxing warm bath at 2 months

Starting out reading bedtime stories and not even a month old yet.


This past weekend Hayden stayed with Grammy and Peepaw from Friday evening to Monday afternoon. It is so nice to have some adult time without him every once in a while. We have been fortunate to get this time about every 4-6 weeks. Jeff and I went to the UK vs VMI game at Rupp Arena on Friday night then went to Indy for 2 days. We took in a Colts game and enjoyed our time alone. Hayden went to the "country" to celebrate Thanksgiving with the Carrico's which we hated to miss but had already booked the trip.

Because I didn't have any pictures to post from this weekend I was trying to think of what I would post for this week. As I put him to bed tonight I reflected on the precious routine of bedtime. When he was first born it was the same every night and really has only changed very little. He would always get fed, then take a bath then have a bedtime story then prayers, a kiss and off to sleep. Now it's the same routine minus the bedtime story. I loved reading to him every night but the routine became so lengthy that he never made it through the entire process. Now he gets a story at some other time during the day and they have to be interactive books (he lifts a flap, turns the pages etc) or it doesn't hold his attention. I love the last few minutes of the day walking around his room with his head on my shoulders as we thank God for our blessings and pray. I cherish these moments as I know they go by so fast and do not come with guarantees that there will be another. I try to live in the moment and not take these times for granted.

May God bless my baby as he sleeps so soundly tongiht. May He bless those that have touched our life today. We pray for those that are ill; that they may feel God's comfort and peace. We pray for those that do not know Jesus; that he may touch them through those that walk the earth. We thank Him for these everyday moments, our good health and for sacrificing his only Son so that we may have eternal life.

Ohhhh C-A-T-S Cats Cats Cats

Hayden went to his first UK sporting event. We went to see UK play Georgia and although they lost it was still a good game to watch. Hayden had fun and even took a 30 minute nap during the third quarter.

Shoes = Tantrum and Tears

Okay so Hayden is now 12 months and he has never worn shoes. no it's not because we live in Kentucky it's because the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that baby's shouldn't wear shoes until they are walking independently and even then shoes really only need to be worn outside. Apparently toddlers learn to walk better by feeling the ground with their bare feet. So being a first time mom I am trying to follow everything by the book (breast milk exclusively until 6 months, vaccinations on schedule, on the back to sleep, no bumper in the the bed ... you get the picture) So even though Hayden is not walking independently he is cruising and using a walker. We went to the UK football game on Saturday and I thought since it was cold and we would be outside he would benefit from having on shoes and his Nana Dede has been strongly suggesting shoes for months now. Well as usual we were running late so no time to try to figure out what size shoe he needed and which pair to pull out of the closet. So Sunday comes and I am determined to at least try some shoes on his feet. No problem, right? WRONG! He threw a fit with the biggest tears rolling down his face for the entire 20 minutes I had the shoes on him. They were a 1/2 size too big so I know they were not pinching his toes. He acted like they were glued to the floor. He just stood there and would not move his feet. So then I put him on his hands and knees so he could crawl. Nothing he just stayed on all 4's with tears pouring down his face. I then took the shoes off. He immediately stopped crying and started playing. So I picked him back up and put the shoes on him again. Same story .. waterworks. I left them on about 5 more minutes and then surrendered. So now on Monday Nana Dede comes over and I tell her the shoe story and tell her to knock herself out trying to get him to wear shoes. She is insistent that he needs shoes. All her boys wore shoes early on and poor Hayden should have been in shoes for months now. I tell her all the reasons that I don't think he needs shoes but if she really thinks he should wear them then she can put them on him and see how he cries. So I leave for work and then I came home at 5 to find my blonde haired little boy playing happily in his play room WEARING SHOES! Yep that's right he has on shoes and is smiling. Deanna said he fussed just for a minute and then was fine. I guess sometimes Nana's and Grammy's just do things better or at least less traumatic!

Surprise Visitors

As I put Hayden in his car seat this morning and got Linus' leash we were heading out to the car for Linus' vet appointment for shots when the doorbell rang. I figured it was probably a solicitor and thought about ignoring it but decided to see who was at the door. Boy was I surprised to see Aunt Rose who had Uncle Jerry and Grandma Hamilton in the car. Grandma had come to get her new shoes at the doctors and they happened to drive by. I called the vet and canceled Linus' appointment and we visited for about an hour then went to Cracker Barrel. Hayden enjoyed eating Uncle Jerry's pinto beans, Grandma's hash browns and my lemon. He was such a good boy. We really enjoyed the time and Linus was glad to get out of his shots.

Thanks Uncle Jerry and Aunt Rose for treating Hayden and me to lunch!

Walking for a Great Cause

On November 1 we went on our third walk for suicide prevention in honor of Jeff's cousin Bradley who passed away four years ago. The weather was great and there was a large turn out in support of Brad and his family.

Trick or Treat

Keeping with our yearly tradition we went to Mason and Kellie's to trick or treat with Connor and Carson. Although Hayden didn't collect any candy he had fun hanging out with his older cousins dressed as star wars characters.

Friends that are Our Family

While I was off on vacation last week with Hayden we had cousin Kayla and Danielle over to play on Halloween morning. It was so cute when Hayden went to his high chair and pulled out all the plastic bibs to find the only cloth bib. He had then crawled over to Kayla and wiped the drool from her face. They both seemed to enjoy themselves as did Danielle and myself.

Doctor Visit and Kids Meals

Hayden went to his 12 month check up last week and was upset from the time the nurse called us back and he had to get undressed. The poor thing didn't stop crying until after we got in the car and headed to the mall. He is developmentally meeting his milestones although he is still small being 21 pounds and 29 1/4 inches long. He falls in the 25%-30% range for height and weight but 90% for head circumference.... lots of room to grow his brains. He got his MMR, varicella and flu shots. His anemia has improved but still needs to continue his MVI. After a traumatic visit we headed to the mall to meet Grammy for lunch. Hayden had his second visit to the mall in his lifetime and got a Chick-fil-a kids meal with a toy(Barney book). He nibble on some chicken and fruit and seemed to have forgotten about his shots.

Happy First Birthday Hayden

With a crowd of about 40 people Hayden was wished a Happy First birthday. The birthday boy was sang to and then with the help of his cousins Connor and Carson his cake adorned with a single candle was blown out. It seemed as if everyone had a great time. The day started with a great lunch that Grammy and I prepared. Then all the kids were lead outside to pick a pumpkin off the front porch to decorate. The kids seemed to really enjoy this and we may have to make this a tradition. Then the presents were opened and finally the part that Hayden enjoyed the most..... the first meeting of cake and Hayden. It took him just a few seconds to put his fingers in the icing and then from there it was love at first taste. Red icing was everywhere. I am glad Hayden enjoyed his cake as it was not what I had envisioned nor ordered. After much stress and negotiating with the bakery only then having Grammy remake the caboose, add Oreo wheels, scrape off the black icing that was all over a big blue blob that was suppose to be a coal car and add some whoppers we had a cake that was passable. The original cake that we brought home from the bakery was an embarrassment even to a one year old. The day was not about a cake that went wrong or the pumpkins that were decorated, the food that was eaten or the presents that were unwrapped; the day was about celebrating the first year of life of a beautiful boy that is already growing up and continues to bring joy to our lives. Thanks to all our friends and family that helped us celebrate Hayden's first year of life.

One Year Ago This Day October 27, 2007

It's hard to believe that it has been a year since Hayden was born. On Monday, October 27th, I kept looking at the clock reflecting on what we were doing at this time last year. At just a few minutes before 10am on a Saturday morning I got up to empty my bladder which I had been doing a lot of and thought that I was leaking. I was scheduled for induction in 2 days but found that Hayden wasn't going to wait for the doctors. I called Jeff and said "I get to say it, I get to say it!" His response, since he was at work, was "what are you talking about?" I said I thought my water had broken and he should come home. I was so excited because I thought that since I was going to be induced I wouldn't get to say "Honey, my water broke". Twenty minutes later Jeff comes running through the door and looks at me as I had just gotten out of the shower and was straightening my hair and applying makeup. "We don't have time for that! We need to go now! I was driving 90mph to get here!" was his response. I told him we had plenty of time as first babies are so sloooow to get here and I didn't want to spend hours in the hospital bed not able to eat or drink. I then started barking orders to go make the bed and fold the clothes so that everything would be tidy when we returned home. Never to argue with a pregnant woman, he rushed off to accomplish the tasks then took a quick shower himself. Around 11 we were packing up Linus to take to my brother and sister in law's house. On the way I was pleading for Jeff to please stop and get me a diet coke but he refused saying we really needed to get to the hospital. I think he secretly feared that something would happen and he would be stuck with his wife in labor and no doctor to deliver his son and he would be left on the side of the road delivering a baby. Well by the time we got to Mason and Kellie's I was starting to have contractions and was in mild discomfort. I told him to skip the coke and lets go to the hospital. As we pulled into a parking spot I hopped out of the truck to have my water really break and gush down my capri's. I started to laugh and cry and told Jeff I certainly could not walk into a hospital looking like I peed my pants. He assured me that people would realize my water had broken as I did look the very pregnant part. It was a few minutes after 12 when we got to labor and delivery and by the time I changed into a gown I was in quite a deal of pain. I requested my epidural only to be told it would be some time as labs needed to be drawn and and IV started. I had never experienced pain like this before and couldn't imagine delivering this baby without drugs. At 1:13 (yes, I remember it to the minute) the anesthesiologist told me I needed to get control of myself or he would not be able to place the epidural. That's all it took for me to calm down and lay still as a long catheter was placed in my back and delivered the best medication I could have ever asked for. Just a few hours later Hayden was painlessly brought into this world at 4:36 pm. He weighed 6 lbs 14 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. You can be assured with the next baby I will be at the hospital at the first sign of labor.

VROOM, VROOM says the favorite toy

Favorite Time of Day.... Morning

Favorite Book.....Any that have flaps

Favorite Food..... Real Fruit )not pureed

Favorite Snack.... Cheerio's
Favorite Activity ...... Bath time
Favorite Toy..... Trucks, Cars, Trains (anything that can be pushed)

No cars trucks or wheeled objects on hand ..... no problem. Remotes, flashlights, shoes, socks etc. can all be turned into imaginary vehicles and pushed around the house.

Here's some Hay, There's some Hay, Everywhere there's Hay

So after picking up our pumpkins and hay we set up our Halloween display only to realize our small front porch really isn't large enough to accommodate this much hay. Jeff has really gotten into the Halloween spirit. He wants to decorate our house inside and out for Hayden . . . who really could care less at this point in his life if we have pumpkins and ghosts and spiders weaving webs through out the house. So I decided it's great that he has so much enthusiasm for this holiday so why not go along with it and that's exactly what I did and I do think the pictures look great. Next year we might be able to do with a little less hay or straw or what ever that stuff it.