The Hardy Party

Welcome New Blogger!

2009-09-18T22:47:00.003-05:00

I'd like you all to extend a warm welcome to one of my very good friends who has recently joined the blogging community!

Tarayn, can't wait for the world to get a glimpse into your sweet, quirky mind! I love you!

Click here to read Tarayn's blog. You won't regret it! ;-)

Season of Change

2009-09-17T22:24:00.001-05:00

For the past 4 1/2 years, I have loved my job. I loved the hundreds of people I befriended. I loved the company I worked for. I loved the energy, the busy-ness, and the passion. I felt like I was good at my job! The problem came when so much of my self-worth and my identity became wrapped up in my job. It was impossible to properly balance my life with my fast-paced job selling homes at Ross Bridge. I always found a way to justify it... the reward I felt was so great that it seemed to outweigh the harship of the journey. But the truth is, over the past few months, my heart has not been into it. I could feel the atmosphere at work changing in many ways, and I realized that the job I loved was becoming more of a burden than a blessing.

Thursday, my time as an agent at Ross Bridge came to an end. While I’m anxious to see where my next step in life will lead me, I KNOW this is the right thing for our family, and I have an unbelievable peace. God has our lives in his hands and I know that he has a plan! I know that God wants my identity wrapped up in HIM and not on the work I do to pass the time while I'm here on earth.

My prayer is for God’s guidance and wisdom. Pray that Justin and I hear God and that we LISTEN to the direction he wants to lead our lives.

30th Birthday and Kindermusik

2009-09-15T22:17:00.001-05:00

So, today was my 30th birthday! Yay! I worked today so I could tack on Friday to my week end off, and Justin and I are planning a trip to the beach. Birthday highlights - beautiful flowers, lunch with some of my favorite friends, birthday cake and Kindermusik... yes, that's right, Kindermusik.

Unfortunately, Justin's plans for my birthday were foiled by Hayes' first baby music class, which was fun. He got to play with little instruments that were just the right size, scarves, egg shakers, balls and books, but most of all, he liked to watch mommy and daddy sing silly songs and make silly faces. We all had a good time... even Justin (don't tell him I told you). :-)

I do sorta wish that Kindermusik hadn't started on my 30th b'day, but I didn't want to miss Hayes' first class. :-) Something tells me this won't be my last sacrifice for him on my b'day.

Sunday Interrupted

2009-09-13T17:00:00.002-05:00

So, I had a post scheduled to go out this afternoon. It was originally at the bottom of the 6 month post, but it was getting WAY too long, so I made it it's own separate post. It would have been quite appropriate had TODAY gone as normal - well as normal as Sunday could be. So, allow me to interrupt this post for a short, delightful story (can you sense my sarcasm?).

Justin left early this morning for Atlanta to attend a convention. He'll be back later this afternoon. So, I was pretty much getting Hayes ready for church by myself. I spent 20 minutes ironing all of our clothes and Hayes was unually fussy. I guess he was sleepy because it was nearing his naptime, but I was putting him off until we left so he would sleep at church. Hayes is spending the afternoon at his Emmy's so I had to load up lots of extra stuff (food, clothes, toys, diapers, etc.) for his afternoon of fun. After everything was loaded, I looked around for the carseat so I could strap in my most precious cargo. I looked all over for it, but it was nowhere to be found. Turns out it was in his daddy's car and Daddy was halfway to Atlanta for a conference. Awesome. Hayes was letting me know he was beyond ready for a nap, so I put him in his bed and went on the great search for a carseat to borrow. Luckily, I quickly found one from Amy next door, but it was obvious that Hayes and I were not going to make it to worship. Sad.

So, on to the post I had originally scheduled to post today!

Sundays are tough for us in the schedule department. At our church, Sunday school is at 9:00 and worship is at 10:00. Because that falls right in the middle of Hayes' nap time, he usually misses his nap and we end up feeding him in church because he's awake and fussy. We usually have lunch after church and get home around 1:00 because I have to be at work. By this point he is off schedule with eating AND napping and we never know what to do. Feed him, then put him down? Put him down, then feed him? He will get fed and he will take a nap, just not sure which order. I rush home around 5:30 and then we're off to our small group Bible study which starts at 6:00. I will feed him dinner while we're there. I've been brave recently and have fed him baby food, but I usually do a bottle because it's so much less messy. Sundays are one of those days when he might get an extra bottle in the evening, and he never gets the "bath, books, songs, prayers before bed" part of the routine because we're out too late. I usually just tell him how much God loves him and how much Mommy and Daddy love him as I'm putting him in his bed.

So, how do you other Moms handle Sundays? Are they just as weird as ours?

Grandparent's Day!

2009-09-13T13:55:00.003-05:00

I just found out it's Grandparent's Day!
(Seriously, someone should have told me about this sooner!)

So, to his grandparents Emmy & Pappa Rick, Grandma, Grandpa & Hope, and to his great-grandparents Mimi & Daddy Bill, Hayes says...

HAPPY GRANDPARENT'S DAY!!!

We love you!

1/2 Birthday CAKE - Good Intentions

2009-09-12T20:54:00.004-05:00

My college roommate, Hannah, always bakes 1/2 a birthday cake for her babies when they turn 6 months old, so I thought I would start that tradition with my babies!

Well, I hurried to the store after work today because we've had a busy week, and by the time I got home I was in a rush to bake and ice it before Hayes' bedtime! I was in such a rush that after it had been baking for about 10 minutes, I realized that I had forgotten to add the OIL!!! I was so sad thinking I had completely ruined the cake, and therefore the whole 1/2 birthday cake picture op, but I decided to let it keep baking and just try it. What's the oil for anyway? I was pleased that it actually came out of the pan without too much of a fight, so I decided to go for it. It was falling apart while I was icing it (lack of oil, I suppose), so I melted the icing a little and pretty much poured it on. My grandmother would be mortified! The cake was collapsing beneath the heavy icing, so I quickly lit the candles (1 for each month) and took a picture!
Yes, I did blow out the candles before placing my son beside his 1/2 birthday cake. Babies and fire do not mix! :-)

Hayes REALLY wanted to play with his cake! Sorry, Hayes, you'll have to wait until you turn 1 for that!

Hayes' 1/2 birthday!

2009-09-12T13:08:00.004-05:00

Today is Hayes' 1/2 birthday! He is 6 months old! I truly can't believe he is half of a year old. Time goes by so quickly when you have a child. There is just something so tangible to help you measure it. Before kids it was just Justin and me, and life pretty much looked the same from year to year! Now, each month that passes, our son gets bigger and bigger and does more and more facinating things. Now, we may be the only ones other than his grandparents who find them facinating, but that's beside the point. :-)

At 6 months, Hayes is sitting up on his own (after we put him in the position), eating all sorts of fruits & veggies (and loving them, finally), laughing, smiling. He is watching and studying everyone and everything. He loves singing, dancing, silliness, eating. His favorite songs are still "I'm in the Lords Army" and "Father Abraham." He laughs EVERY TIME we sing those songs. I made a prediction last week that he would be crawling by the time he's officially 6 months, and although I'm wrong, he DEFINITELY goes where ever he wants to go all on his own. He spends a lot of time on his blanket at home surrounded by toys and scooting around from toy to toy. He tucks both legs under his belly, gets up on his hands, rocks wildly back and forth and then lunges forward. Sometimes he elimiates the rocking and goes straight to the lunge, but that combination plus rolling always gets him to the right place. He kicks his legs all the time - in the tub, on the floor, in his carseat, on his changing table. Also, when he's on the changing table, he has started flipping over on his belly AFTER I take off his diaper. I need to practice either my retraint skills or my ability to secure a diaper on a baby on the go!

His daily routine looks a little like this:
6:30-7:00 - He wakes up (happy) and nurses. He plays in the Pack N Play or on my bedroom floor while I get ready for work.
8:30 - I drop him off at Mrs. Lynn's and he eats breakfast right away (oatmeal cereal and fruit). He plays until he's ready for his morning nap.
9:30ish - Goes down for a morning nap (He will nap for about one hour... sometimes longer).
11:00 - Lunch (8 oz. bottle and a veggie or fruit). He plays until he's ready for his afternooon nap.
1:00 - Goes down for an afternoon nap (usually about two hours).
3:00 - Snack (8 oz bottle). He plays until we pick him up.
4:00 - Pick-up by me, Justin or my mom.
6:00 - Dinner (one containter of veggies followed by one container of fruit).
7:30 - Bath, books, songs, prayers.
8:15 - He nurses again and goes to bed.

Sometimes I have to throw in another bottle in the evenings if he's REALLY hungry, or if I'm on the go, I will often substitute his dinner with a bottle... he doesn't seem to mind. He never EVER wakes up in the night any more... in fact, I can't even remember the last night he woke up in the night it was so long ago! We are SO blessed!

Looking forward to Monday when we take Hayes to the doctor to see how much he weighs and how long he is. According to the scales at home, he is right around 21 pounds... and holding (I hope). :-) Unfortunately for Hayes, he will have to get a few shots, but at least the vaccinations will ward off ugly diseases, so it's worth the momentary pain. That's what I keep telling him.

Other than that, we have a big week ahead! Tuesday is my 30th birthday, and we start Kindermusik classes that evening. On Wednesday morning we have an appointment for Hayes' pictures to be taken. So excited about all 3 big events! :-)

Happy 1/2 Birthday, Hayes! I love you!

More Hayes Cuteness and Another Tooth!

2009-09-10T10:43:00.006-05:00

Yesterday, my totally precious sweet boy cut another tooth! He will be 6 months old on Saturday. Can you even believe it! What a blessing he has been. My heart just swells with love when I hold him. Thank you, God, for giving me such a wonderful son! I don't know how you gave yours up! You really must love me A LOT!

P.S. The little outfit Hayes is wearing is a size 18 MONTHS!!! How can it possibly be? Is he really THAT big?

Are you naked?

2009-09-05T23:57:00.004-05:00

Hayes is!

And he likes it!

Naked Hayes = Kissable Hayes. Everyone seems to think so... even Millie!

This was what he did tonight when I was trying to change his diaper. I had a hard time keeping the little wiggle worm on his back! Luckily I was able to wrestle his diaper on before we encountered any "accidents."

College football started today for our favorite teams - Alabama and Auburn. Justin was able to get skybox tickets to the Auburn game and so he went down early this morning with some of our friends from church. I went over to Mom's to pick up Hayes and stayed to watch the Bama game. Roll Tide and War Eagle! Both teams won! Alabama beat Virginia Tech in a nailbiter, and Auburn beat Louisiana Tech in a blowout. We couldn't have asked for a better first gameday for Hayes! :-)

Over the hill and through the woods...

2009-09-05T16:10:00.003-05:00

...to grandmother's house we go!

Last night, Hayes spent the night at Emmy and Papa Rick's house. Justin left early this morning to go to the Auburn football game, and I ran the 8k race and then headed to work. Luckily, my mom was able to keep Hayes during the day and they were able to have some Hayes & Emmy time!

Here are a few pictures of Hayes showing you some of the fun things to do at Emmy and Papa Rick's!

Chewing on his teething ring in his exersaucer. P.S. Mom thinks he may have gotten his 2nd tooth today. I'll have to confirm when I pick him up. :-)

Playing ball with Maggie.

Trying his best to crawl! He's sooooo close. I predict he will be crawling by the time he's officially 6 months old. He rocks back and forth and lunges forward to reach for things. I've even seen him tuck one knee underneath his belly, but he hasn't put it all together yet.

Just hanging out on the floor sucking on his hands and looking cute!

I know my mom just had so much taking good care of this little squirt today! Thank you, Emmy!

My Morning Jog...

2009-09-05T10:55:00.005-05:00

So, this week, I decided to run the Ross Bridge 8K to benefit Alabama Teen Challenge. Yes, you heard me right. THIS WEEK, I decided to run an 8K. So, one night I walked about 2 miles. That was the extent of my training. This morning, I got up bright and early thanking the Lord that it wasn't too hot!

My good friend (and work partner), Tarayn and me before the race... a little puffy!

I was so thankful to catch up with my good friend Julie Kent and Anne Diggs just before the first mile was finished. You guys were great running buddies!
And here we are AFTER the race! We were both so proud to finish!

It began pouring rain during my last 1/2 mile, but it felt so nice! I finished the race right at an hour. Not bad considering my training! So, now I'm wondering if I'm going to be able to walk tomorrow?! My joints are already a little sore! :-)

Congratulations to everyone who ran or walked! We did it!

Whitney Reads to Hayes

2009-09-04T16:40:00.000-05:00

A few nights ago I was reading a Peter Rabbit story to Hayes just before bed. He thought it was the funniest thing, so I read it again. Justin came running in with the camera, and I'm SO glad he did! He captured the precious moment just in time. I hope you enjoy watching this video. I have watched it over and over and over and over and over..... you get the picture. I just can't get enough of this sweet baby's laugh.

New Post

2009-09-04T16:31:00.002-05:00

I posted a picture today of Hayes, but since I like to post chronologically, it appeared at the bottom of the page. So, if you're like me and just can't keep your eyes off my precious pumpkin, click here.

Little Thumb Sucker

2009-09-02T16:38:00.001-05:00

I hope he's not doing this in kindergarten, but it's just too cute right now!
By the way, happy 84th birthday to my grandfather, Daddy Bill! We love you!

Fat Baby

2009-08-29T14:11:00.006-05:00

Last night, Hayes and I went to dinner with my mom and my sister-in-law. We were all playing with the baby and making him laugh when we overheard a man say to his family, "She is being so loud with that fat baby!"

Allow me to spell out how it really sounded (accent the capital words... and run together the sounds connected with the hyphen)...

"SHE ih-bee-in SO LAU wih-dat FAT baby."

I laugh every time I think about it!

Tooth Proof!

2009-08-28T11:26:00.003-05:00

Here is a picture of Hayes' tooth this morning. Sorry that it's nothing more than a tiny little point at this time... you can barely even see it in the picture! It looks like the other one is going to pop through soon, though! The little thooth bud is swollen!
By the way, take a look at that belly! Impressive!

First....... Tooth!

2009-08-27T21:40:00.005-05:00

Tonight we were eating dinner with our friends Maghan and Hal (who are expecting baby Addison in a month, yay!) and Hayes shoved my finger in his mouth. He's been chewing everything in sight for months, so this is nothing new... I am his favorite chew toy. He was chomping away when I suddenly felt something sharp. I rubbed my fingers across his gums, and sure enough, A TOOTH!!!

Mom picked him up from the babysitter this afternoon and noticed that his tooth was close to the surface, but it apparently broke through the skin sometime during dinner! I must admit that it took me a little by surprise! He has not been noticeably fussy, feverish, or restless. He's just been normal, happy Hayes! What a big boy I have!

I'll have to take a picture tomorrow... I took a few tonight, but they have mysteriously disappeared from my memory card... it's the strangest thing.

Below is a tooth chart I'm going to use to keep track of Hayes' teething.

Okay Moms, do I start brushing his teeth/tooth now? I've never had a cavity and I'm terrified of them! I want Hayes to have nice pearly whites, too!

Picnic on the Porch

2009-08-26T21:00:00.002-05:00

Hayes and I had dinner on the porch tonight because Daddy came home from work late. Hayes got sweet potatoes all over his outfit so I stripped him down to his diaper for his bottle. Here he is all relaxed enjoying the weather and sucking down his favorite thing ever - MILK!

Discovering Dad

2009-08-26T19:30:00.000-05:00

Daddy and Hayes got some good play time tonight when Justin came home from work!

My boys

Mommy is behind the camera saying, "Nose, Hayes, can you say nose?"

Sweet kisses and cuddles

My little munchkin. I love this kid!

Monkey-ing Around

2009-08-26T19:00:00.000-05:00

There was no special occasion to dress my son up as a sock monkey... just some spare time in the evening post dinner and bath, pre bed. No better time, in my opinion!

Isn't this just the cutest little monkey you ever did see!

A walk to ummm... NOT remember

2009-08-25T19:12:00.000-05:00

Well, I know at least one person who won't remember it!

Pretty Boy

2009-08-23T16:21:00.001-05:00

My mom made this little outfit for my brother 27 years ago when he was a baby. Now, Hayes gets to wear it, and doesn't he look so cute!
Ummm, do you think my dad is in love with his grandbaby or what?!

My tummy's in knots...

2009-08-18T20:21:00.002-05:00

Some of y'all know I’ve been in a bit of a weird place with work lately. Well, we found out today that all of the sales agents are going to be having 1 on 1’s with the owner of our company. He’s very nice, but VERY intimidating to me, and I feel like I NEVER answer questions the way he wants me to. I’ve spent most of the day today preparing for my meeting tomorrow at 1:00.

Would you mind asking God to guide me and give me wisdom to know what to say and how to handle the responses? And if you happen to think about me after lunch tomorrow, say another prayer then. I’m just really nervous.

Thanks, friends!

"Woof, Woof?!" Translation - "What about me?!"

2009-08-17T10:10:00.007-05:00

Lately, the blog has been all about our little #1 - Hayes Scott Hardy. So much so, that I've barely even mentioned our first children, Rez and Adler. Now you may take that to mean they have been in some way demoted to sleeping on the floor or banished to a permanent existence in the backyard, but no. They are still the little princesses of the Hardy home. Their ranking has slipped just a little with the birth of our prince, but they still hold high status in the royal family. Yes, folks, we still have an EXTRA 135 pounds sharing our bed at night (Rez is a petite 55 pounds and Adler, the heavyweight, weighs in around 80), sitting on our sofas, eating breakfast in our laundry room, going through our waste baskets, and checking out Hayes' toys. We are fortunate that they are such good dogs, though.

Justin and I were curious about how they would react to Hayes, and so far they have been relatively oblivious to his existence. They come up and sniff him on occasion, and every now and then they give him a little kiss on his cheek, or clean spit-up off the exersaucer. Other than that, it seems that we have successfully merged our dog-children and our human-child.

So this post is a tribute to the best two dogs on the planet -

Our first-born, Rez, a sweet, spunky Vizsla.

And our middle child, Adler, an exuberant, goofy German Shorthaired Pointer.

Love

2009-08-13T21:47:00.002-05:00

Tonight I rocked my sleeping baby and felt his sweet breath on my neck. I love this child.

5 months young

2009-08-12T11:41:00.007-05:00

Well, today is my little Hayes' 5 month birthday and I can barely remember life before my little stinker. This boy is B-I-G! He has some serious thunder thighs. So big, in fact, that we have a hard time getting him in and out of his Bumbo! My mom thinks we should invent the "Jumbo Bumbo" for plus-sized babies. ;-) Hayes already wears size 9 and 12 month clothes, and size 3 diapers, but I will be buying size 4's next... the size 3's are quickly becoming little bikinis on him.

Hayes loves his milk! I nurse him in the mornings and at night, but he is now mainly drinking formula during the day. You all have read about our unsuccessful attempts at rice and oatmeal cereal, and we will be introducing something other than applesauce this week!

Hayes has always been so strong since the day he was born, and at 5 months has almost mastered the art of sitting up. He can sit for a while until he either gets bored with being upright, or decides he wants to play with his toes and bends over too far to get back up.

His laugh is contageous and we're hearing more and more of it lately! He LOVES to hear me sing! His favorite songs are "Father Abraham" (with the motions), and "I'm in the Lord's Army" (with the motions). He pretty much loves me to sing ANYTHING as long as I look him in they eyes and bounce him around a bit.

Hayes still loves his bath! I've started taking a bath with him in the big tub in our bathroom where he has fun playing with the rubber duckies! He goes to sleep (still on his belly) around 8:30 each night, and wakes up around 6:30 or 7. He rarely wakes up in the middle of the night (thank you, Hayes!), and in the morning, he wakes up so happy! One of my favorite things is going into his room each morning and watching the giant grin appear on his sweet face when he sees me.

He can roll over in all directions, and is reaching for EVERYTHING! When on his belly, Hayes tucks his knees under his belly, but hasn't yet made any other progress toward actually crawling. He started his new babysitter this week (we were sad to see Erin go back to college), but Mrs. Lynn says he is doing great! She says he doesn't ever cry unless he's hungry. But when he's hungry, Hayes will certainly let you know! He can hold his own bottle after he drinks about half of it, but I hear he holds it better at the babysitter's than he does at home.

Between 4 and 5 months, Hayes lost almost all of his baby hair. He was born with a head full of dirty blonde hair, but his new hair is coming in almost white! He looks bald, but I promise he has fuzzy white hair all over his head! And if you look closely, you can see his white eyebrows and eyelashes. He didn't have much of a chance to be anything other than a tow head considering his mommy and daddy.

I love hearing Hayes talk. Justin says he likes to hear himself talk just like Mommy! ;-) This child has brightened our lives in so many ways and I thank God every day for my little blessing!

Just a swingin'

2009-08-07T21:33:00.001-05:00

Hayes went to the swings at our neighborhood park for the first time today! His surrogate aunt Tarayn joined us and Hayes had such a great time. He snuggled with his Lovie and started falling asleep toward the end. What a little stinker!

Okay, so I had a hard time picking one picture to post, so here are a few cute ones for you to see. :-)

Hayes & His Momma's Love

2009-08-07T10:43:00.005-05:00

Yesterday we met our friends Hal and Maghan at Momma Goldberg's - Inverness. Hal opened the restaurant about a month or two ago, and we've been so proud of how well they're doing!!! Hal ordered these baby onesies to sell at his restaurant, and Hayes was the first baby to get to wear one! For those of you who arent familiar with Momma Goldberg's (heaven forbid!), they are an Auburn trademark, and have recently opened 2 locations in Birmingham (Homewood and Inverness), and in a few other cities around Alabama. They offer a variety of sandwiches with names like Momma's Love, Big Momma, Big Daddy, etc. All very delicious!

See, Hayes thinks so, too! He really enjoyed his first Momma's Love sandwich - hold the meat, cheese and condiments.

Don't worry moms! VERY little, if any at all, was digested. My almost-5-month-old does NOT eat bread yet. Still working on the cereals, remember?
You can purchase your own Momma Goldberg's onesie at the Inverness location, and probably the Homewood location, too. If you're in the Inverness store, say hi to my friend Hal!

Applesauce Ain't Bad!

2009-08-04T20:18:00.000-05:00

Tonight, I fed Hayes applesauce, and it's the first thing he's tried that he didn't completely reject!!! Now, I'm not going to say it was a success, but at least he was interested! Mr. Independent wanted to feed himself as you can tell!

Are these smiles I see?

As many of you suggested, I added rice cereal to the applesauce at one point, but he could tell I had slipped that nasty stuff into his yummy applesauce and it was all over. It was nothing but bottle from that point on. Rotten boy!

Praaaaaaaaaay...

2009-08-04T16:37:00.003-05:00

I am not above asking God to help me sell a house (or two). And I am not above asking you to pray, too! There are two families who are very seriously looking right at the lofts I'm selling in Ross Bridge. Please ask God to guide the Heilmans and the Wells to buy here. I truly think it would be a good fit for each of their scenarios.

Thanks, friends!

Oatmeal Cereal is WORSE!

2009-07-31T23:50:00.006-05:00

Drama! You'd think that I was trying to make the baby eat brussel sprouts! Hayes actually pressed his lips together in prostest of the foreign goop I was trying to feed him. Awesome.

Hope this will not be the picture of every new food we try! He STILL won't eat the rice cereal, but we moved on to oatmeal tonight anyway. I'll try this for a week or so, and then try fruits and veggies.

This week, on vacation, I let Hayes suck on a slice of cantelope and he LOVED it! When I would pull the cantelope away from his mouth, he would grab my hand and pull the cantelope back into his mouth. He also tried one of Ava Claire's Mum Mums, a rice snack that dissolves in baby's mouth. He seemed to like those, too, although he was a little confused by them at first. Hopefully that's a sign that he will like more interesting foods in the weeks to come. Right now he seems perfectly content with his milk.

Tonight, we came home from a vacation to The Grand Hotel in Point Clear, AL with our friends Matt, Amy and Ava Claire Anderson. We had so much fun! Stay tuned for pictures and a full recap!

Weagle Weagle

2009-07-25T12:01:00.007-05:00

Last night, Justin went to the Auburn Alumni Fall Kick-Off Party with our good friend Hal Craig, owner of Momma Goldberg's-Inverness and corporate sponsor of the event. Hal got him a great VIP pass. Justin and Hal were the first people new Auburn head football coach, Gene Chizik spoke to when he entered the room!

Justin came home with this little jersey for Hayes. Look to the left of the #1 - it's a note to Hayes from Coach Chizik!

Coach Chizik is now the proud owner of a brand new Birmingham Home Theater t-shirt! Think he'll wear it on Game Day? Probably.

Now, let me clarify. I am still a devoted Alabama fan. Justin, as you may know, is an Auburn alumnus. I am of the opinion that Hayes can choose which team to cheer for when he is old enough to make the decision for himself. He cannot, however, choose which political party he will associate with. That has been pre-determined.

I'm hoping that Hayes will make a mascot association and pull for my team!

But I will be fair...

A Message for Papa Rick...

2009-07-25T11:01:00.000-05:00

And a message for Dad...

Happy Birthday, Dad! I'm sad that I won't be able to see you today, but Hayes and I will be thinking about you ALL DAY! I hope you have fun in Baltimore playing golf with your friend! You're the best dad a girl could ask for and I miss you being in Birmingham to spoil me! :-) Come back soon, PLEASE! I love you so much!

Nature Calls

2009-07-25T09:35:00.002-05:00

One of the forgotten joys of pregnancy and early motherhood is the absence of the monthly visit from Mother Nature. I nursed Hayes exclusively for the first 10 weeks of his life, but soon after I started back to work, I started supplementing one formula bottle a day so I didn't have so much pressure to keep up with his growing appetite (the boy started drinking 8 ounces per feeding at 9 weeks!). We are 4 1/2 months in, and I am so glad I've been able to maintain his "diet" so far. I've been wondering when Mother Nature would pay her next visit, and at my annual exam this week I asked Dr. P when I should expect to see her. She said every woman's body is different and it might not even appear as long as I'm nursing! Well, Mother Nature showed up this morning unannounced after a 13 month break. So much for natural child spacing!

Look-Alike Meter

2009-07-24T12:50:00.000-05:00

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celeb - Collage - Morph

This Look-Alike Meter says Hayes looks just a little more like Daddy than Mommy! I've always thought that Hayes looks like a mix between my dad and Justin. What do YOU think?

UPDATE: I re-did the pictures and tried the Look-Alike Meter again... 13% more like Daddy this time. Martina, that's a little more than 3%. Think we're any closer?

Roll On Over, Baby!

2009-07-23T15:12:00.002-05:00

Today, Hayes rolled from his back to his belly for the first time... and the second time... and the third... and fourth... and so on! When I went home this afternoon to pump and grab a bite to eat, Erin (the babysitter) told me he rolled six times before his nap! Before I left, he rolled over for me twice. He has regularly been flipping from his tummy to his back since he was a mere 7 weeks old, so I'm so excited that he's mastered the other direction now that he's almost 4 1/2 months old. Mommy is so proud of you, Hayes! :-)

Skype Hype & Uncle Matt

2009-07-22T21:31:00.007-05:00

I know I may be a few years behind on this, but tonight, I had my first experience with Skype.

My dad has been working in Baltimore sice Hayes was 10 weeks old, and we don't get to see him as much as we'd like. Papa Rick has always been one of Hayes' favorite people. In the beginning Papa Rick was the only person other than me that could get Hayes to be chill. He even kept Hayes at my house for the first 2 weeks I was back at work. During those two weeks, Dad spoiled ME rotten and took amazing care of his grandbaby, Hayes.

Dad called yesterday and asked if I had ever heard of Skype, which of course I had. Neither one of us knew how it worked, but tonight, we both downloaded it to our computers and had a phone/video conversation. I was pretty amazed at the quality and speed! If you have relatives out of town, I would highly recommend it... oh, and it's FREE!!!!

Tonight (prior to my Skype experience), Hayes and I went to visit my brother and sister-in-law at their new house in Homewood. They closed about a month ago and this was my first time to see it! It looks beautiful already!

Hayes loved spending time with Uncle Matt. He ran his chubby little fingers through Matt's beard, stared at him while Matthew made faces and talked in silly voices, and took a cat-nap on Uncle Matt's shoulder. How sweet! We need to get these two together more often!

A Message for Grandma...

2009-07-22T00:50:00.000-05:00

Rice Cereal - YUCK!

2009-07-21T09:55:00.000-05:00

At our 4-month doctor visit, Dr. Amy said that Hayes is ready to experiment with some foods other than milk. Here is our schedule:

1. For 2 weeks, feed him 2 tablespoons of rice cereal 2 times a day.
2. Then introduce oatmeal cereal. Feed him 2 tablespoons of oatmeal cereal in the morning, and 2 tablespoons of rice cereal in the evening.
3. After that, we can begin experimenting with some fruits and veggies.

I was off this week end, so I thought it would be a great time to start rice cereal. I prepared the cereal with a little formula, put Hayes in his Bumbo, and headed to the porch for our taste test.

Daddy fed him his first spoonful.

Hayes' first bite of rice cereal.

And the verdict is in... He HATES it!!!

He only tolerated a few spoonfuls before we gave up.

Since then, unless I shove the bottle of millk in his mouth as soon as the spoon comes out, he won't have anything to do with the cereal. I've been successful feeding him most of the 2 tablespoons of cereal since then, but certainly not without a fight.

Here is a picture of Hayes protesting his cereal last night. You can see his little nose wrinkled in disgust!

So, do any of you veteran mommies have any advice on how to get Hayes to eat (and like) rice cereal?

Hannah's Visit

2009-07-16T12:04:00.007-05:00

When my college friends, Andrea and Hannah came to visit Hayes and me back in April, we realized that her in-laws' home in Columbus, GA is really only about 3 hours from Birmingham. When her husband Michael was summoned for a week-long business trip in California, Hannah decided to load up the kiddos and come visit her her in-laws and me for the week from Florida.

They rolled in late Monday night, and I took Tuesday and Wednesday off work. We mainly played around the neighborhood. Here is a photo summary of our visit!

So it seemed like a fun idea at the time. We loaded up the kids in strollers and headed out for a long walk from my house to the historical Ross Bridge Park a little more than a mile and a half away. We packed juice, waters and PB&J sandwiches for a casual picnic at our destination.

Too cool for school! ;-)

The walk THERE wasn't too bad. Once we got to the park, Wesley and Anna Kate played on the wooden train while Hayes took a little nap in the stroller, and Hannah and I rested on a bench.

Wesley inside one of the train cars.

We headed down to the historical bridge and Wesley and Anna Kate went to play by the water......and Anna Kate fell in! She was so dirty that Hannah stripped her down to her diaper before putting her back in the stroller.
This is the Rogers family (minus Michael) before our arduous trek back to my house.

As I said, the hills didn't seem so bad on our way TO the park, but Hannah and I both thought we might pass out on the way BACK. I guess it was the deadly trifecta of hills, Alabama heat, and pushing babies in strollers that almost did us in, but we survived. I felt so sorry for Hannah who, being almost 13 weeks pregnant, was taking it especially tough! After cooling off at the house, we got ready and headed to the pool.

My cool baby and his cool mama surviving the summer heat at the pool.

Anna Kate had fun playing with a barbie (maybe The Little Mermaid) that a little girl had left behind. She felt right at home in the mecca of double names. She was in the company of little girls named Lilly Grace, Amelia Kate, Mary Rose and the like.

And Mr. Social Butterfly made quick friends with Ian Wallis. The two of them played Batman and Waterboy in the pool and splash pad most of the time we were there! Wesley talked about Ian for the rest of the trip and was sad he wasn't there when we went back the next day.
Here's the whole group! Hayes, me, Wesley, Hannah and Anna Kate. It was fun seeing Hannah and her kids. She is such a good mommy!

It was waaay past nap time for all the kids, so we loaded everything/one back up and went back to our house to get ready for dinner at Moe's Original Barbeque.

Day 2 went by so quickly. We were at the pool by 10, home by noon, and Hayes had a doctor's appointment that afternoon (read his 4 month post for an update). Hayes had a poopy catastrophe in the tub, so after 3 attempts to bathe him in his tub, we ended up in the big tub in my bathroom! Why does he always have a poopy disaster when Hannah comes to visit?! (If you haven't read about the last incident, you should... photos are about halfway down the post.) Hannah took her kids to lunch while Hayes had his check-up and then EVERYBODY took a nap (but me). All the kids were wiped out from all the playing, and the mommies were wiped out from all the kids! We loaded up one last time to take the entire crew to meet my mom at California Pizza Kitchen for dinner.

Hayes and Mommy

I have a great picture of Hannah and her kids and one of Hayes and my mom, but I'll have to add them later. They are still on my camera!

After dinner, I put Hayes to bed, and while Hannah put Anna Kate down, I read and sang silly songs to Wesley. This morning we all rushed around getting ready - I was headed to work and Hannah was packing up the kids and the car. Erin, our babysitter, came during the middle of the madness and I was happy to pass Hayes off to her while I finished getting ready.

Hannah, we had so much fun visiting with you and your kids! You are welcome back any time! :-)

New Post Alert! :-)

2009-07-15T23:29:00.000-05:00

I posted several new entries with lots of pictures today mostly from the month of July... beginning with July 4th. Check 'em out!

Hayes at 4 months!

2009-07-15T15:42:00.010-05:00

My little baby is 4 months old! I can't believe 1/3 of a year has already passed! Today, Hayes went for his 4-month check-up with Dr. Albert. This chunky little monkey already weighs 17 pounds and 12 ounces! He's in the 90th percentile for his weight! At 25 1/2 inches long, he's in the 75th percentile for length. He's also in the 75th percentile for head circumference. All in all, this kid is a big boy... and getting cuter by the minute.

At 4 months, Hayes is very alert! He follows us around, tries his best to sit up, stands for long periods of time while we hold his fingers, laughs, has "conversations" with us, tries to hold his own bottle, rolls from his back to his side (not all the way over yet... although he's been flipping from front to back since 7 weeks!), and Monday he reached for me as I held out my arms to hold him (and so melts my heart). Today, he did all his tricks for Dr. Albert. I was so proud of him!

He loves it when I sing to him, and his favorite songs are "I'm in the Lord's Army" with all the motions and "Polly Wolly Doodle." When I sing the latter, I sing some parts really slow and other parts really fast, and he just laughs and laughs. He is also ticklish when I squeeze his thighs. He's getting more and more fun every day! He still loves the pool and usually sleeps great either while we're there, or that night.

In general, Hayes is a great sleeper. Hayes is a tummy sleeper 100% of the time, and has recently woken himself up a few times because he accidentally flipped over to his back. Occasionally, I can just flip him back and he'll go back to sleep, but most of the time I have to nurse him back to sleep. Boo. Dr. Albert said it's about time he learns how to sleep on his back, and that he's big enough now that I can let him cry until he falls alseep... even if he is on his back. I may have to ease myself into that one!
He still loves his bath and anything that has to do with water. I included this picture just because he is the cutest thing ever! Don't you agree?! :-)

Little Swimmers

2009-07-11T22:26:00.001-05:00

Tonight, Hayes had a playdate with a few of his friends in the neighborhood. Since moving to Ross Bridge, we have been so blessed to meet such wonderful friends and we all had babies within 6 months of each other!

Jen and Bobby (born in May '09)

Ava Claire (the oldest baby and Hayes' girlfriend, born December '08)

Dana and Kayla (the youngest baby, born May '09)

Ginger and Harper (born in March... exactly one week before Hayes)

Me and Hayes (born March 12, 2009)

Here's the whole clan... Ginger and Harper, Amy and Ava Claire, Jen and Bobby, Me and Hayes, Dana and Kayla. These kids are going to have so much fun growing up together.

Here's the group again... plus Tarayn, the surrogate aunt! :-)

We can't wait for our next playdate! And in case you were wondering, our husbands were there, too. We all brought food and they sat around and talked while we played with the babies. They just aren't quite as into photo documentation!

P.S. My very good friend, Jessa was also there, and since I stole most of these pictures from my friends, I don't have one of the two of us. Jessa, when you read this, e-mail me the one Michael took of us so I can post it! :-)

Sweet as Honey!

2009-07-11T15:14:00.006-05:00

My sweet hubby is taking care of Hayes today while I work, and he sent this picture to brighten my day. Doesn't this little booger just make you want to laugh?!

Bliss

2009-07-09T14:23:00.004-05:00

Hayes is staying at his Emmy's house today because his babysitter is out of town (hope you're having fun at the beach, Erin). She sent this picture to my phone today during my sales meeting and it put a smile on my face. :-)Apparently sucking his middle two fingers is his new "thing."

Baby Gang Signs

2009-07-07T21:31:00.005-05:00

Today, Hayes practiced throwing baby gang signs. He is the leader of the gang RBB. Ross Bridge Babies, that is.

I feel so loved by YOU!

2009-07-07T16:08:00.004-05:00

Thanks for the warm welcome you all have extended to me! And to think I was worried that you'd all be mad at me for not blogging in 7 whole months! Just for that, you have inspired me to begin working on Part 2 of Hayes' birth full of photos of his first visitors! Until then, I'll post some quick pictures from just a random day in our life. In order to keep everything chronological, scroll down!

Blog Makeover

2009-07-06T16:47:00.002-05:00

So, in order to get motivated, I gave my blog a makeover today. New fonts, new signature, new heading. I need to get Jamie Grizzle to help me with my heading, but for now, I'm liking the look! I struggled with the colors. I thought about going pink & blue, pink & orange, pink & green, etc. In the end, I decided on light blue and red. With Hayes around, these seem to be the colors I'm drawn to these days. So, here I am trying out my new signature. What do y'all think?

101st Post

2009-07-06T10:28:00.004-05:00

I know, I know... I have been quite possibly the WORST blogger in history!

BUT, I'm trying to get motivated to get back into it, so no better place to start than the present! I logged in today and realized that "He's a Mover and a Shaker" was my 100th post. I didn't intentionally stop at 100, but in retrospect, it seems a bit appropriate.

Now, my intentions are lofty. I hope to go back and post pictures since Hayes' birth and try to recap some highlights of his first 4 months. I know I won't be able to capture every detail, but it's a start!

So, I'm turning over a new leaf in the era of blogging, so you'll want to check back often. I hope I don't disappoint!

4th of July - 2009

2009-07-04T23:41:00.000-05:00

The 4th of July is always so much fun in Ross Bridge. We have been fortunate to have family come to US for the past few years. Our neighborhood has a great parade and we usually have tons and tons of participants!

Here is our little family in line for the parade!

Our sweet baby fussed a little during the parade, but soon zonked out for a little snooze in his stroller.

I left my camera at work, so I don't have pictures between the parade and the after-party. We had a lot of family and friends to our house for barbeque... compliments of dad and baked beans...compliments of me! Our cast of friends and family included my mom and dad, Sue (Justin's mom), Scott, Hilary, Meghan and Caitlin (Justin's brother's fam), Jean (Hilary's mom), Shawn & Marla (Hilary's bro and sis-in-law), Ms. Waters (friend of the Hardy family), and Justin, me and Hayes (of course).

Because we didn't really want to get into downtown traffic, we decided to hang out at our neighborhood block party instead of watching the Vulcan fireworks. We hung out with friends and got some great shots of the babies.

Kayla, Hayes and Ava all had matching outfits for the 4th of July. God Bless America!

One Year Ago Today...

2009-07-02T11:41:00.005-05:00

...we found out we were going to be parents.

What a joy the past year has been! Hayes, we are so glad that you are ours!

He Stands!

2009-06-27T18:37:00.003-05:00

Justin and I had so much fun taking this picture! At 3 1/2 months old, Hayes is so strong that he can balance for, well, only about 1 second, but he is REALLY strong, I promise! We were finally able to capture the shot after a couple of attemps. I think it's so funny - bed head and all!

Supermodel and Mr. Grump

2009-06-21T16:06:00.002-05:00

We love having Ava Claire right next door. Today at the pool, they posed together for a picture. I like to call it Supermodel and Mr. Grump. You'll see why!

Hayes had just woken up from a long nap in his stroller. ;-)

Pool Time for the 1st Time!

2009-06-03T17:39:00.005-05:00

Justin and I both wanted to be there when Hayes' took his first dip in the pool, so we packed up today and walked down the street to our beautiful pool in Ross Bridge. We had a neighbor snap a few shots.

The water completely relaxed him... so much so that he fell asleep. What a cute little water boy!

Lunch with the Mills Family

2009-05-28T17:15:00.002-05:00

Today Justin surprised me by taking me to Chili's for a lunch date with the Mills family! We became friends with Tim and Andrea when they first moved to Birmingham to be the ministers to the teens at our church just over 3 years ago! They have a little boy named Caleb and a little girl named Avery who was born in November. We don't get to hang out with them as much as we would like, so it was a nice treat when we turned the corner to find the Mills family sitting at a table with 2 extra chairs and a high chair for Hayes' carrier! Can't wait to do it again!

Caleb and Hayes (with his beloved Lovie)

Baby Love Birds

2009-05-25T16:21:00.003-05:00

Hayes and Ava Claire had another playdate today. ;-) Today they stared at Ava's ladybug mobile together in her crib. Hayes, this will be the last time you are in another girl's bed until you are married!!!

They are holding hands here. Do you think Ava needs to read the book He's Just Not That Into You? Ha! :-)

Take me out to the ball game!

2009-05-22T22:11:00.002-05:00

Hayes' first trip to the baseball park! We went to see Arkansas play Florida during the SEC tournament at Regions Park here in Birmingham. We got there early and were able to secure a spot behind the net in order to protect Hayes from foul balls! Hayes was so good! He stared at the ball players and barely cried at all! At the end of the game, the Florida team gave Hayes one of the game balls. I'm pretty sure he was the littlest fan there!

Justin and an unhappy Hayes getting the best seats in the stadium.

Sa-wing batter, batter!

Family Photo... what was Hayes staring at?The windup.
Hayes and Mommy!

The Cutest Thing Ever

2009-05-18T16:28:00.002-05:00

Any disputes?

My First Mother's Day

2009-05-10T21:10:00.000-05:00

I want a Mother's Day do-over!!!

We woke up in a hurry for church, and halfway through worship, Justin left to go to the restroom with an upset stomach. He texted and said that he was throwing up and asked if I could ride home with Dad (Mom was at home not feeling well either).

Justin was apparently down for the count, and I knew that Hayes and I would just be a bother to him if he was trying to recover, so we went to Mom and Dad's for lunch. On the way, we stopped at Wal-Mart to pick up a few things. While inside, it started raining. And I don't mean one of these sweet little rain showers... it POURED. By the time Dad and I checked out, there were inches of water in the parking lot. Dad rushed to the car in his suit while I stayed behind with baby Hayes.

We finally made it to my parents' soaking wet. Hung out for most of the day, then made it home just in time for dinner... Taco Bell. Not sure why Justin would request bean burritos after being sick, but he did.

So, his sickness trumped my first Mother's Day. I did, however, get beautiful flowers from Hot House Design Studio. When do I get my Mother's Day do-over!?

Saddest Day Ever, Hayes' 5 Favorite Things, and SLEEP!

2009-05-08T17:54:00.002-05:00

Well, yesterday was my first day back to work! Wednesday was tough knowing it was my last full day with Hayes before going back, but I survived (barely). Justin said he didn’t know that it was physically possible for someone to produce so many tears. I literally cried all day. Here's proof...

Now that you're sufficiently depressed, I'll continue. Yesterday morning, I cried getting ready and for 5 minutes when I walked into work, but I quickly made myself busy and ended up having a good day! :-) Hayes had a lot of fun with his Papa Rick, who watched him at our house yesterday. My family is chipping in to help watch him so he doesn’t have to go to day care for now.

Little Hayes is growing SO FAST!!! I weighed him on our scale last week and he weighed 12 ½ pounds!!! We will go to the doctor next week for his 2 month shots, and I can’t wait to get his official weight. My dad took this picture of my sweet, smiley boy yesterday when he took Hayes for a walk around the neighborhood.

Right now, Hayes has a few favorite things.

1. Outside. If he’s fussy, we can take him outside and it almost always soothes him. We have a big front porch with a swing, and he could cuddle with you there for hours.
2. Baby’s Bliss Gripe Water. It doesn’t work for a lot of babies, but one milliliter of that stuff can calm a very fussy Hayes instantly! Chase it with a paci, and we’re good to go!
3. Lovies. He has a monkey, puppy and a lamb. He pretty much clutches one of them all day long.
4. Baths. He was very indifferent about them in the beginning, but now his bath is something he looks forward to EVERY DAY. We are still trying to get him to like the lotion… we’re making progress… slowly.
5. Being held. Yes, he’s a little rotten. Luckily he sleeps well at night.

Speaking of sleeping well, Hayes slept through the night last night for the first time!!! I put him down around 10:00 and he didn’t wake up until 6:45 this morning! I woke up at 5:39, and frantically checked to make sure the monitor was on. Since he is sleeping in his crib in his room upstairs, I was afraid I had forgotten to turn on the monitor, and had slept through his night feeding. I checked the monitor and it was on. Whew! I opened it (we have a great video monitor), and he was indeed still in his crib, so I tiptoed upstairs to make sure he was still breathing. I opened the door to his room and he squeaked. I knew he had to be breathing if he was making his notorious squeaking noises to I quietly closed the door and went back downstairs. An hour later (after I made bottles, did the dishes AND took a shower), he woke up.

Yay Hayes!

Just wanted to give you guys a little update on our life! We’ve got our first Daddy Daycare this Saturday. Please pray it goes well!

Life's a Beach!

2009-05-02T15:23:00.004-05:00

On our trip to visit Grandma in Gulf Shores, we took Hayes to the beach for the first time! We lubed him up with sunblock from head to toe... and in between hia little toes, folds, fingers, ears, etc. The little squirt didn't have a CHANCE to get a sun tan! He loved sleeping in the Baby Bjorn while I walked. We can't wait to go back!

A couple stopped me while I was walking and told me how proud they were that I was getting Hayes out and about. They said he will LOVE the beach as a kid because we're exposing him to it so early. Hope they're right! Turns out they live just a few miles away from us in Birmingham. Neat!

Hayes' first beach trip fell on his Uncle Matt's birthday! Happy Birthday, Uncle Matt!

Taking a Ride on the Wild Side!

2009-04-29T18:30:00.001-05:00

Hayes LOVES his Papa Rick (my dad). Here he is taking a ride on his Papa Rick's shoulders while we were hanging out on the front porch! Some say Hayes even resembles his Papa Rick! What do you think?

It's a Love/Hate Relationship

2009-04-13T16:04:00.002-05:00

At 4 1/2 weeks, Hayes is a little indifferent about his baths! Some days he LOVES them, some days he HATES them! You never know which it will be?! Today happens to be one of those good days. :-)

Just a typical Friday!

2009-04-10T16:46:00.002-05:00

My little brother wore this sweet day gown the day he came home from the hospital in May of 1982. 27 years later, his nephew is wearing it again! Thank you, Mom, for taking such good care of our sweet baby clothes!

First Day at Church

2009-04-05T16:35:00.003-05:00

April 5th was Hayes' first Sunday at church! At 3 1/2 weeks old, that sweet boy slept right through the whole worship service! He never made a peep!

A Walk Around the Block

2009-03-22T15:00:00.001-05:00

We are so thankful to be enjoying the beautiful Spring weather! Today, all 5 of us went for a walk! One of my co-workers happened to drive by to document our first family walk.

P.S. Don't you just love the obnoxiously huge blue bow on our front door? I do! :-)

Bathing Hayes

2009-03-15T19:51:00.000-05:00

Bathing Hayes for the first time was hysterical! Justin and I were laughing hysterically, and Hayes was crying hysterically! Since we couldn't get him wet, we used baby soap and wet wash cloths. We decided to bathe him on the changing table in his nursery, but in hindsight, we should have just put him on the sponge in the baby tub in his bathroom.

Quick! Take the picture! (Insert baby screams)

Welcome to the World, Baby Hardy! - Part 1

2009-03-12T21:56:00.001-05:00

It was early morning of March 12, 2009. I hadn't slept all night awaiting the scheduled visit to the hospital for an induction. I had gained a total of about 23 pounds, and felt really good, but was so ready to meet our little boy! Our 38 and 39 week doctor appointments had passed, and then my 40 week. Was this little boy EVER going to come!

40 weeks and 3 days pregnant on March 12, 2009. 4:15 in the morning. Ready to meet Baby Hardy!

Our appointment was at 5:00am, and by 5:30, Dr. Christine (the doc on call) had broken my water. I was already dilated 4 centimeters, but completely pain free. I didn't feel the contractions until just before 7:00, and they came on STRONG. By 7:15, I asked Amy, our delivery nurse if she would think I was a wuss if I asked for the epidural already. And at 7:30, in walked both the anesthesiologist AND Dr. Przybysz! Within moments, the labor pains were gone, and in went the catheter. Thank you, God, for allowing humans the ability to come up with drug that works so well!

From this point on, the only reason I knew I was contracting was because of the monitor beside me. After a few periodic progress checks, at 10:30am, the nurse informed me that I was fully dilated, and she called in Dr. P. PUSHING TIME! I vowed to make each push count... and I pushed HARD.

After just 18 minutes of pushing, some encouragement from Justin, and a little help from Dr. P and Amy the delivery nurse, out popped our squirmy, slimy baby boy!

The proud daddy was oh-so-involved in the entire process. He even helped Dr. Przybysz "catch" the baby! We were all amazed at God's miracle of birth.

I remember awkwardly holding him while Justin cut the ambilical cord. He seemed so tiny, but NOT cuddly. He was stiff, and I couldn't hold him well because of the blood pressure cuff on my arm and all the IVs in my wrist. I must admit that I was a little relieved when they swept him away to the warming table to regulate his body temp and to clean him off a bit.
One thing I loved about Dr. Przybysz is that she seemed genuinely happy about the birth of OUR son... it didn't seem like just another day at the office for her. Here she is with our little bundle just before they swaddled him up for mommy. It was in the moments that followed that I fell in love. He was perfect. Before we called our family, we sat down with the baby on one leg and our list of names on the other. We agreed on the name Hayes because we both liked it, and the middle name Scott because it's a family name on both sides. Justin's brother's name is Scott and both my father's and brother's middle name is Scott.

Hayes Scott Hardy

March 12, 2009

10:47 am

8 pounds, 2 ounces

19 1/2 inches

And just like that, there were three! Our little family hasn't been the same since!

WIth great joy, we announce the arrival of...

2009-03-12T14:09:00.000-05:00

Birth Announcements by WiddlyTinks.com

He's a mover and a shaker!

2008-12-23T12:21:00.005-06:00

At 29 weeks, and with just 75 days left, baby Hardy is REALLY starting to make himself known! I think he gets the most enjoyment out of playing with my bladder. I have these sudden urges of "if-I-don't-get-to-the-restroom-right-this-very-moment-there's-going-to-be-trouble," but when I finally make it, only a dribble comes out. I think he's squeezing it from time to time just to torment me! Maybe this means he will have a sense of humor like his funny daddy! Other than that, the other other discomfort is when I sleep and wake up. In the morning, I can really feel him in my upper back and very briefly in my legs when I get up. I've started sleeping more restlessly, but the good news is that the discomfort quickly leaves once I'm up.

This morning, in the tub (yes, I'm a tub-girl, not a shower-girl), I felt him get the hiccups for the second time. If he's anything like his mom, this will be something of a regular occurance for the rest of his life. I get them more than any adult I know!!! I remember my math teacher in 6th grade made me stand in front of the class in an effort to "frighten" the hiccups away. It worked.

Here's a picture of me that Mom took this week end at my aunt and uncle's home in Chattanooga, TN... a day or so shy of 29 weeks.

See, I told you I hit a growth spurt!

Last year, the Henry/Leach Christmas was at my house. It was quite a production! This year, we went back to Chattanooga to my Aunt Linda and Uncle Jim's home. It is often there because of all of our family in Ringgold, GA not far away. Because so many of my cousins now live in Birmingham, I'm thinking next year it will probably be somewhere around here.

I can't believe tomorrow is Christmas Eve. I'm so thankful to have a few days off work, and we are looking forward to spending Christmas day with my family, then spending the Saturday afterwards with the Hardy family in Gulf Shores/Mobile.

In November, my sales team received a bonus for meeting our sales goals since the economy has been so unstable. We should get the actual check today and I am planning on buying a nice camera that we can use to document baby Hardy's first years. If we have time tonight after work, I might even go ahead and get it so I can play with it and learn how to use it over the Christmas holiday. If so, I will be able to post pictures of our Christmases. If not, I will have to depend on others' photos to tell my stories. ;-)

Hope you all have a very merry Christmas!

28 weeks! What! Where did the time go?!

2008-12-16T22:16:00.005-06:00

Life has been too busy to blog lately! My only blogging hours have fallen post-midnight or pre-dawn... neither a likelihood at this point with my busy work and holiday schedule.

Today we went for our 28 week appointment. Excuse me, 28 weeks?! We have tipped over into the third trimester already and I absolutely can't believe it. Over the past three weeks, my tummy has hit a bit of a growth spurt, but after a pretty good weight gain at my 26 week appointment, I found out today that I actually lost a pound from my last visit! I'm hovering around 13 total weight gain since the beginning, and I'm hoping not to exceed 20. All those experienced mommies, is this reasonable at this point with about 12 weeks left? Today I got my Rogan shot because of my Rh negative blood. It was probably one of the most painful shots I've had because of the sheer volume of medicine going inside. Luckily, it was inserted in my very well-padded bum. Today, we also scheduled a 4-D ultrasound for mid-January. We were back and forth about whether we wanted to have this. I was indifferent, but today Justin mentioned that he thought it would be cool, so we scheduled it for the 14th of Jan. I am excited to see what this little booger looks like now! We will be 32 weeks by that point!

A week or so ago, I ordered the crib set from a lady here in Birmingham who makes baby bedding. I hope it looks good when she completes it! I patterned it from this photo:

The colors are pretty much the same, but I wanted a gathered skirt instead. She is also making the skirt a little longer, and I didn't order a toy bag. The back of the bumber is going to have the letter "H" monogrammed... same with the pillow and blanket!

Why just the letter H? THE BABY HAS NO NAME! Although we have a short list, we haven't nailed down exactly what we're going to call this little guy yet. I'm ready to commit, but Justin is wanting to see what he looks like first. Maybe the 4-D ultrasound will help!

Well, by this point in my pregnancy, the baby should be around 14 inches long and a little over 2 pounds. He can blink, hear, suck his thumb, and do all sorts of other things I never would have thought a baby could do in utero.

In just a few short months, we'll be able to meet our little guy. I can't wait!

Yep, he's growing in there!

2008-11-07T22:26:00.005-06:00

22 weeks, 4 days and the belly has just started to cramp my style! ;-) I had my first clothes catastrophe this morning. I probably tried on 7 different shirts before I found one that sufficiently covered my belly. I took off the jacket I wore to work for the below photo, but I had to tug at this shirt all day to keep my belly covered!
Tonight, I went and bought some maternity shirts at GAP. I found some really, really good deals. Some so good that I bought two different sizes of some of the same shirts... the first ones I can wear now and not feel like I'm wearing a tent, the others I can wear when I get REALLY big! Looks like it will be pretty much maternity from here on out. I guess I'm pretty lucky to avoid it for this long!

Birthday, Boy, Bedding and Barack

2008-11-05T11:13:00.004-06:00

Oh what a busy day yesterday!

First of all, it was Justin's 31st Birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABE! I'm so glad that you're my husband. You are a wonderful partner, and I know you'll make a fantastic father! I got up early to go to the grocery store and make breakfast - hashbrowns, bacon and biscuits. A total gut-buster, but it was yummy. :-) We hurried off after that for our 22 week doctor visit.

I had gained another 4 pounds (7 total), and I attribute it solely to the Halloween candy which was more of a temptation this year than usual, and to my big hearty breakfast. Hopefully, I won't have gained another 4 by my next appointment, even though the e-mails I get say I should be gaining a pound a week. Maybe other expectant mothers are okay with that, but I am not. ;-) This was a quick visit with the doctor, but we spent a long time waiting. She checked Baby Hardy's heartrate - 144 bpm, right on track, and measured my belly. I measured a few weeks behind, but since I'm tall, she said I will more than likely measure small throughout my pregnancy. Good news about this is... well, besides the possiblity that I won't be the size of a walrus during my last month or two... that if I continue to measure small, it may be reason enough for the doctor to order another ultrasound later. This was Dr. P's suggestion, not mine. Insurance does not cover another ultrasound unless there is a medical reason - like measuring small... wink, wink! After the appointment, we asked Dr. P's nurse, Sabrina to give us the flu shot. I've never gotten the flu shot NOR the actual flu, so I'm hoping this shot doesn't make me sick. So far, so good. Just a sore arm.

After the appointment, we went to lunch at Newk's and did a little birthday shopping for Justin. We bought him a new pair of shoes (his first pair of Chaco's), and looked for a watch with GPS that he has been wanting. We later found the watch online - not sold in stores. On our way back, we passed by Bellini, a baby boutique in downtown Homewood that is moving... aka, going out of business. A friend told me she got some incredible deals there, so we thought it would be worth a shot. We ended up purchasing some crib bedding that was on sale for literally hundreds of dollars off the original (overpriced) asking price. We went ahead and bought it thinking if we don't like it for our nursery, Mom and Dad would want it for the bed they're setting up in their home. I'm still not sure if we'll keep it or not because it's just different from what I had in mind, but I do like it. We had fun "dressing up" the bed last night. It's so pretty. :-)

My last topic that I would like to BRIEFLY discuss, is that we did go and vote yesterday afternoon. Unfortunately, the candidate Justin and I feel like best deserved to be the next president of the United States did not win. We are considering this an opportunity to exercise faith in God as we spend the next 4-8 years with Barack Obama as our president. I couldn't even really watch the election results come in last night because it created a pit in my chest. But I know that the Lord is more powerful than any man on this earth, and that we will all be okay. :-) Maybe this guy will at least get the economy straightened out! God Bless America!

Golden Opportunity

2008-10-25T09:28:00.007-05:00

Yesterday, James went home with his new mom and dad, Scott and Brittany and his new cat-sister, Pixie!

Scott texted me after an e-mail I sent on Thursday to pretty much everyone I know within driving distance. He and Brittany came out yesterday afternoon, and James was on his best behavior... at first!

He was waiting on us at the door when they got here, and came right up to Brittany for some love when we opened the door. After playing with him for a little while, they decided he would be a good friend for their cat, Pixie.

After a brief goodbye, Scott and Brittany left with James, and I stepped out to the deck to empty his food and water (not wasting any time), and to call my partner, Tarayn with the news. As I was talking to Tarayn, I got a call from Scott, and saw Brittany walking toward the deck... without the cat. Just as they were about to get in the car, James escaped from Brittany's arms scratching her chest in the process. He bolted into the woods a little freaked out at why these strangers were about to take him. After trying to coerce him with food and leafy twigs, we came inside hoping the lack of attention would cause him to want attention. It worked. Not two minutes later, James hopped up on the deck. I was finally able to hold him and he started purring in my arms. We wrapped him up in Brittany's jacket, and Scott and Brittany headed to the car, while I gently carried him to their car. Any time he got tense, I stopped, talked to him and stroked his head and ears until he relaxed again. It took me a while to get out to the car, but he was so cozy in the fleece jacket that the handoff was pretty easy. :-)

I was a little sad to see him go and gave him a little kiss on the head before he made his trip to his new home where he will get to have a friend and live inside and have a family to love on him. Last night, Scott texted me that James is fitting right in and making himself at home. He told me James was rolling around in the living room floor playing with a Beanie Baby fox. I'm so glad he's fitting in and that Scott and Brittany like him! It makes me feel good about my little rescue cat! :-)

Thanks for the company over the last month or two, James! I know you'll have fun in your new home, but Tarayn, Kelli and I will miss you!

My little kitten...

2008-10-24T09:57:00.004-05:00

Well, I am officially smitten with a kitten. THIS kitten.

This is James, and I am half-heartedly looking for a new home for this little guy who has recently taken up residence at the model home where I work. Obviously, I can’t keep him because Rez and Adler would have him for an afternoon snack, so I am looking for a loving family for my new little buddy. He wandered up to our model home in James Hill a little over a month ago. He was very skittish at first, and would run off as soon as he heard anyone or made eye contact, but over time he has become very friendly with me and my partners at work.

Since we have been feeding him, he has grown SO MUCH! Every morning when I get to work, I go outside and call his name, and he walks out from the crawl space with bed hair and sleepy eyes, stretches his arms out in front of him, and jumps up to the deck to say hey. His purrs have gotten so loud and he loves to be loved.

We will certainly miss seeing him around our model home, which is why I’m only halfheartedly trying to find him a new home, BUT I know he needs a family who will love on him… especially now that the weather is getting colder. I know he’s wearing a fur coat, but I can’t help but think he’s getting cold out there! :-) We have named him James because of the community in Ross Bridge where he “lives”, and he pretty much will answer to his name… or maybe he just answers to the sound of the cat food bag. :-) Either way, he's sweet.

If you, or someone you know is able to provide a LOVING home for our little friend, please let me know!

P.S. I am not a cat person, as many of you know. So, for me to fall for this kitten is a bit out of character! He's just so darn cute!

Hump Day

2008-10-20T21:04:00.002-05:00

No, today is not Wednesday. Actually, it's Monday - but today marks the beginning of our 20th week. We are halfway there if Baby Hardy comes on time!

Today, I bought some sample paint for the nursery and washed my first load of baby clothes. ;-)

He's got moves!

2008-10-16T14:32:00.004-05:00

Yesterday, I was sitting in the porch swing waiting on Justin to follow me outside to leave for lunch, and I sneezed. It was such a loud sneeze that I could hear it echoing back from the homes across from me. Immediately afterwards, I felt baby boy Hardy kick for the first time!!!

Realizing he was probably jolted awake by my voilent sneeze, I shouted out loud hoping to startle him again. It worked! I felt another tiny little thump from the inside. He only performed for me twice, but it was exciting to feel him moving inside. I can't wait to feel him again!

Just for my records, I was 19 weeks and 2 days when I felt him for the first time.

Oh, and I can officially tell I'm pregnant now (in my tummy, that is), although when I went to my sales meeting this morning, my co-workers asked me if I was actually pregnant, so maybe it's just me. I should take a picture to share with you. Maybe next post! :-)

Oh BOY!

2008-10-09T20:00:00.005-05:00

Well, folks! Baby Hardy is indeed a boy!

We went for our appointment yesterday at 9:45 at 18 weeks. Before my appointment, I drank an entire can of Mountain Dew hoping the caffine would make Baby Hardy more cooperative. As they rubbed the sensor over my belly, we were SHOCKED to see our little one sleeping like a log! The caffine didn't affect him at all! After measuring him and taking a look at all his organs, they made the confirmation that he is a BOY! Fortunately he was sleeping with his legs wide open, so we got a good shot!

Over the past few days, I've really been getting the boy vibe, but Justin was completely convinced that our baby was a girl. He was so sure that he asked the ultrasound tech several times just to make sure. Each time she would mover over to look between the legs. Yep, still a boy! He later said he would have bet someone $1000 that we were having a girl. Good thing he didn't! :-)

This is sweet Baby BOY Hardy's profile shot. You also get a glimpse of his round belly and one of his hands. Can you see it?

This is our undeniable evidence that he is a boy. I mean, is there any doubt??? This shot is from underneath him with his legs spread. The third thing in the middle is, well, you guessed it, his "man parts." Justin is extremely proud. I think he has Justin's legs!

After an emotional moment of the reality that we will be bringing a baby boy into the world, we started getting excited. We went to Jack and Jill in Homewood and bought him a precious baby blue gown. I'll try to take a photo and add it tomorrow.

So, he has no name yet, and we're having a tough time coming to an agreement, but we have already started mentally preparing his nursery. That's what I'm doing tonight. Fun!

I am just so glad to KNOW! We both feel like it's so much more REAL now. Especially since I'm not really showing. I have gained 3 pounds, and Baby Boy Hardy weighs about half a pound. Dr. Przybysz says he looks great! We can't wait to meet him!

New(er) Baby Poll

2008-10-01T13:40:00.002-05:00

The response was overwhelming! It looks like we are going to find out Baby Hardy's gender on October 8th! Yay!

There's a new poll to the right. Will baby Hardy be a girl or a boy??? Hurry and vote! The doctor's appointment is only one week away!

Rh Factor

2008-10-01T12:49:00.007-05:00

There are few things I've been meaning to write about recently, but I just haven't made the time. I will soon post about my birthday and my fun trip to the beach to see my college friend, Hannah, but first, I wanted to post about one thing we discovered at our last appoitment at the doctor.

In a nutshell, my blood type is O-, meaning my Rh factor is negative. My blood does not contain a certain protein on my red blood cells indicated by the + or - behind the blood type. About 85% of people HAVE this protien. Justin is O+. When a woman who is Rh negative has a child with a blood type that is Rh positive (about 50% chance if the father is positive), then there is a chance that the mothers body could treat the baby as a poison, and produce toxins to fight it off.

Dr. Przybysz told me it usually doesn't have a negative impact on a first pregnancy because it's so rare that the baby's blood and the mother's blood will mix prior to delivery. However, the mother's body remembers and recognizes the protien in subsequent pregnancies and will make it's best effort to fight it off.

Fortunately, medical advances are such that this is no longer a big deal. There are two shots that I will have to get in order to prevent any potential negative reaction to a Rh+ baby. One will be at 28 weeks and one will be within 72 hours of delivery. I will have to have the shots with any other future pregnancies.

If you would like to read more info on this, click here.

So, that's what I've been wanting to talk about! Anyone else have experience with this?

New Baby Poll

2008-09-10T14:55:00.001-05:00

Thanks to Katherine Kruger's suggestion, I have added a poll to the righthand column.

Should we find out Baby's Hardy's gender? It's your turn to participate by voting today! :-)

14 weeks and counting...

2008-09-10T10:24:00.002-05:00

We are happy to report that we had a clean bill of health at our 14 week appointment on Monday. It was a very short visit. No drawing blood or anything, just weight check (still under pre-pregnancy weight), blood pressure check (she said it was perfect), and then a short visit with Dr. Przybysz. We heard the heartbeat for the first time using the doppler. Up until this visit, we had an ultrasound each time, but we knew our next one would be at 18 weeks. I must admit that hearing it on the doppler was NOT quite as exciting as hearing it AND seeing it move on the monitor, but we were so relieved to know that Baby Hardy is still kickin' in there! At 10 weeks, the baby's heartbeat was a quick 165 beats per minnute. According to the old wives tale about heartbeats, this could indicate a girl. However, this time, the heartrate was 155 bpm. Dr. Przybysz even made a comment about how this was on the slower side for 14 weeks, and could indicate a boy! So, now my mom has completely switched gears with the wind and is totally thinking boy. Haha. I'm trying not to get too committed to one gender or the other until we know. Another thing Dr. P mentioned was that Baby Hardy is very active. We could hear it swishing around inside, but I can't feel a thing. They say that I'll be able to feel it in a few weeks.

According to babycenter.com, Baby Hardy is about the size of a lemon from head to bottom (somewhere around 3.5 inches), and weighs only about an ounce and a half. The baby can suck its thumb, make facial expressions, and can even pee! We are excited to finally be out of the first trimester - a third of the way there!

Our 18 week appointment is on October 8th. This will be the big one where they do all the baby's measurements and are able to tell if it is a boy or a girl. Justin and I still haven't come to an agreement about finding out. I'm going to try being civil for a while, but if it doesn't work, I may have to pull the "I'm the one carrying our child and bearing all of this throwing up" card. :-)

Speaking of that, week 14 has NOT been a good week for me in the feeling-good-department. Today is Wednesday, and the 4th morning in a row that I've thrown up. Monday I felt completely lousy, but I seem to be back to my usual self now. Just can't kick the morning sickness! They say that Baby Hardy doesn't feel a thing, but I am ready to lose that not-so-loving feeling that I get every single morning.

Keep the baby and me in your prayers! I'll keep you all posted on the progress!

Hardy Party of THREE!

2008-08-27T16:38:00.004-05:00

So, it looks like Rez and Adler won't be our only children anymore! Justin and I are expecting the arrival of Baby Hardy on March 9, 2009!
This picture was taken just moments after the positive pregnancy test on July 2nd. :-)

We went to see Dr. Przybysz at Birmingham OB/GYN about 2 weeks later... on July 15th... and confirmed that there is, in fact, a little tiny human forming inside of me! I was so excited that they did an ultrasound to determine my due date and we were able to see the little fuzz (it didn't look like much of anything at the time) and hear it's heartbeat!!! We were confirmed to be about 6 weeks and 1 day.

We told our parents around 7 weeks with a framed ultrasound picture. My parents were SHOCKED (not sure why, I mean we've been married for over 3 years and I'm 28 and Justin's 30... it's about that time. :-) )!!! Justin's parents were so excited, too. All grandparents are anxiously awaiting Baby Hardy's arrival.

After our second doctor's appointment on August 11th, we felt more comfortable trickling our news. By this time, Baby Hardy was starting to look much more like a real baby. When we first saw the baby this time, it waved to us, and later it punched its little fists back and forth like it was boxing... or dancing. At 10 weeks, the doctor told us there is less than a 5% chance of miscarriage, so one by one, we began the phone calls to friends and relatives.

We are now just over 12 weeks, and are excited to make our announcement to "the world!" Keep Baby Hardy and me (and Justin, too) in your prayers! I've felt pretty good for the most part, but I have been EXTREMELY nauseous in the mornings (as in I actually throw up at least 10 times 3-4 mornings a week), but after about 10 minutes, I'm back to normal. The rest of the day I feel fine except for the occasional gag. Bathroom smells repulse me, so gagging has become something I do pretty much every time I go into/near a restroom. It's so weird. The only thing that has been grossing me out food-wise is a piece of meat. I usually like grilled chicken and steak, pretty much everything! But these days, I have to have my meat in something like a casserole, or burrito, or on a salad. It's weird.

Stay tuned for more updates on Baby Hardy. Our next appointment is September 8th. :-)

All-American Holiday

2008-07-09T10:59:00.021-05:00

FINALLY, the moment you've ALL been waiting for.... (drum roll, please)

Whitney's BACK from her period of blog neglect for another exciting post!

I sincerely apologize to all my fans who have been eagerly checking this blog for an update other than my no cavity update. I certainly didn't plan to leave that post at the top for over a month, but things just kept coming up and then feeling overwhelmed by how backed up I am, the task just seemed daunting. So I'll just pick up here... on Independence Day.

The celebration of my country's birth began Thursday, July 3rd with one of America's favorite past times... baseball. Justin was working late, so I went with my mom and dad to watch the Birmingham Barons play the Mobile Bay Bears. There was a great turnout to watch this minor league show-down, and the atmosphere was great! We walked up to the line for the ticket booth and a man approached me and asked if we needed tickets. Yes, 3. He showed me 3 tickets and after verifying they were in the reserved seats with backs and arms, we said we'd take them. I asked him how much, and he said not to worry about it. Turns out, these seats were on the first base line just past the dugout. We were on the 3rd row, but because of the dugout, I could prop by legs right up on top... very comfy. We had some of the best seats in the house.

Look closely at the photo above... right at the center, you will see a dog... Jake, the Diamond Dog. This dog is minor league baseball's version of a bat boy! He retrieves the bats after each hit and carries them back to where the bats are kept. When the innings change, this dog takes a basket full of water bottles to each of the umpires so they can get a little refreshment on the warm summer nights. He also entertains with amazing frisbee catching and personality. Click on Jake's name and you can watch a short promotional video about him!
I took this photo of Mom and me during the game (serious skills). We were super happy because the Barons were winning... and because Dad was going to get us some ice cream! :-)
Mom, me and Dad after the game. See how close our seats were?! Barons ended up winning 3-2... a clean sweep against the Bay Bears.

The night ended with a magnificent display of fireworks. I took a million pictures, but I think these do the show as much justice as my measly little camera can show!

This was the perfect kickoff to a great week end!

Friday morning, the 4th of July, was just as patriotic and truly "American" as the baseball game the night before. Our community, Ross Bridge, is known for it's celebration of every holiday. This holiday was no different.

Just before 10:00 young and old alike gathered at a designated street corner to kick of the 4th with a parade.

Meghan (age 10) and Caitlin (age 4), our nieces from Mobile, were visiting and joined in the parade fun!
Led by drummers and a trumpet (or was it a flugelhorn) player, the parade of well over 100 people marched down the street decked out in red, white and blue. We passed friendly neighbors who chose to watch the parade from their porch! Hi Sparacio family!

And everyone was excited to see the Pattersons take their vintage car out for a holiday spin.

We ended up in the park where popsicles, bouncy fun things and a firetruck were waiting.

It was great to see so many of our neighborhood friends there!

Once the heat got to us, we decided it was time to take a swim. While we waited on our sister-in-law to get Meghan and Caitlin's bathing suits (she left them at her brother's house not far from ours), the girls and I made haystacks... well, I mixed everything up and let the girls do their thing.
What a mess!Aunt Whitney even let them lick their fingers clean!
When the bathing suits finally arrived, we washed up and headed to the pool for hours of fun.

Justin was the main attraction at the pool. He tossed every little girl and boy into the air for hours while I sad on the steps and in the baby pool with Caitlin, who is a little apprehensive about the big pool. Around 3:00, we headed back to the house.

Justin and I went to Mom and Dad's for a 4th of July dinner... ribs, baked beans (my fave), apple pie and more! It was fun to hang out with Mimi and Daddy Bill, Matt and Amanda, and Mom and Dad. It was just our family, but it was wonderful. I should also mentioned that between the last photo and now, my camera battery died, so I have no photo documentation of the rest of the day.

After dinner, Justin and I headed to our friends house. Keith and Kim Tidwell have been friends with Justin for-EVER! Justin and Keith lived across from each other in Gulf Shores from 2nd grade on, and when Justin and I first started dating, they lived together here in Birmingham. They recently bought a home in Homewood (where I grew up), and had a get-together. We hung out for a while before the big fireworks show began over Vulcan, atop Red Mountain. If the trees weren't so big, we would have had a perfect spot, but it seems like we just caught the very high ones because we were so close. Oh well, we'll know next year. We shot our own fireworks in the parking lot of a church before heading home.

We were exhausted after a busy day of play, but couldn't go to bed without reflecting on how thankful we are to live in a free country! God Bless America!

Photobucket src="http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m296/shaunacallaghan/whitsig.jpg" border=0>

Pearly Whites

2008-05-13T14:39:00.004-05:00

I went to the dentist today...

No cavities! Yeah! I've actually never had a cavity... never ever. I'm scared of cavities. Something you may not have known about me! ;-)

Farewell Mayhews!

2008-05-12T16:38:00.006-05:00

Before Justin and I were married, we made our first "couple-friends" in the dog park in Justin's neighborhood. At one time, we were all very close - Lexy and Steven, Conrad and Kara, Paul and Jennifer, Marc and Jill, and Justin and me. The other couples were already married, but we all got along very well. Not only did we meet practically every afternoon with our dogs in the park, but we got together for the Super Bowl and annual Christmas parties as well. Slowly, couples began to move away from our little neighborhood in West Homewood. First it was Conrad and Kara, then Paul and Jennifer, then Justin and me. Before long, it was just the Mayhews and the Petrys left! Everybody welcomed children into their lives (except Justin and me, and I think Paul and Jennifer). And with the business of life, the get togethers became less frequent, and we all but lost touch with Conrad and Kara and Paul and Jennifer. Jill, Lexy and I played Bunko together for about 2 years, but around the beginning this year, even our Bunko group got too busy to get together. We hold precious memories with these couples of our first few years of marriage.

Last night, we bid farewell to Marc and Jill Mayhew, their little boy Will, and their boxer Rosco.

Marc took a job at a hospital in Kingsport, Tennessee, and the fam is moving this week. Although we will miss them, they'll be closer to their families in their home state of West Virginia, and they have PROMISED to keep in touch and visit us on occasion. Lauren hosted a farewell cook-out at her house, and several of our friends were able to attend.

Annette (Marc's cousin), me, Carrie, Jill, Marie Jo and Lauren - once the truest of Bunko queens. Now just good friends!

We wish Marc the best with his new job, and hope they meet lots of new friends in their new home in Tennessee. Take good care of Will and Rosco, and we can't wait to see pictures of baby "Miss Priss" in a few months!

We'll miss you!

Bahama Mama - How I Won the Trip

2008-05-05T18:00:00.000-05:00

At the beginning of the year, the builder I work for announced a contest for all the sales people in Birmingham. The top 4 sales people competed for chance to "host" around 45 Birmingham-area agents and their spouses at the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas. There was a point system - 2 points for selling a home already under construction, and 1 point for every pre-sale. The contest ran for the months of February and March. I was an early front-runner having a very good February, but my home sales in March slowed week to week. It didn't help that I was in Michigan for Lynnette's wedding the last week end of the month. Up until that week end, I was pretty sure I was going to be one of the winners, but just before I left for the wedding, one of my February contracts decided not to buy any more. -1 for Whitney. And while I was gone, my partner Kate wrote something like 5 contracts!!! I was fairly confident that kicked me out of the running. The last day of March was a Monday, and I was back from the wedding. The purchaser who decided not to buy called me and told me they wanted back in on the deal. Yay!!! So with this family back in the mix, I tied for third with 2 other people (including my partner Kate). They decided to take all five of us (1st, 2nd, and the three that tied for 3rd) AND our spouses - we were all very grateful! So just less than a month from when we found out, the day arrived when we set off for the Bahamas!

Birmingham Home Theater

2008-04-27T20:19:00.002-05:00

Justin's home theater business has really taken off this year. We launched his website a few months ago, and earlier this month, he hired an assistant full time! Please keep his business in your prayers. Pray that God will lead him and give him wisdom.

Happy 3rd Anniversary, Justin!

2008-04-23T19:23:00.002-05:00

How could 3 years have possibly gone by so quickly??? Then again, what was life even like before I was married???
April 23, 2005 I married my best friend, Justin Hardy. We were 25 and 27 years old, and quite in love. We have gone through as many challenges as any couple I know, but three years later, our relationship is stronger and better than ever!

The more time I spend with Justin, the more I love him - his mischevious smile, his crazy curls, his gregarious personality, his passion for life, and every thing he does - small and big. I'm looking forward to spending the rest of my life with him and growing our family!

Happy Anniversary, Justin!

Help! I need somebody!

2008-04-08T20:12:00.000-05:00

Work is busy, busy, busy right now. Sometimes we think about complaining, but we quickly reconsider knowing that there are so many people in the Real Estate business right now who are just trying to make ends meet. Nevertheless, we needed help. We were backed up on the administrative part of our job, and were bogged down with so many of the things that take up time that we could be spending following up with prospects and creating raving fans of Signature Homes and our community.

We hired a 4th agent back in October, but it just wasn't a good fit for her, so she left us back in February. This time, we took a different approach. We wanted to start with an assistant or apprentice who could help us get caught up, but still be there to help us with sales when we need her. After talking with a few others, we interviewed Tarayn Comer last week, and she started today!

We are so thankful to have her. We all think she will be a good fit for our "family" at Ross Bridge.

Lynnette's Wedding and the Motor City (part 3)

2008-04-07T19:44:00.001-05:00

The long awaited 3rd and final part of this post!

So, after the wedding we went back to Beth and Matt's cute little house in Grosse Pointe Woods. Beth was a college friend of mine, and a life-long friend of Lynnette. We appreciated having a place to change clothes before the after-wedding festivities, and had a good time visiting with old friends.

This is Beth and her husband Matt Rainbolt at the Westin.

We didn't have time to stay long before we all headed to the Westin Hotel at the airport. Because Dan and Lynnette rarely get to see their out-of-town friends, and because the wedding was over so early, they invited several people back to hang out at their hotel for a few hours that evening.

Here's a picture of the group hanging out in a private area of the Westin lobby. We ordered plenty of appetizers to share, and were grateful for the time to spend with the bride and groom before they headed off to St. Lucia.

One last picture before saying goodbye!

Our friends Paul and Donna Vilela were planning on staying only for a short time. They live about an hour away, and Paul's band was playing in a show later that night. So Donna could stay longer, Justin and I decided to pack up early and stay the night at Paul and Donna's in Toledo.

We made it to Paul and Donna's house late... around 1am, I think! Paul was just getting home from his gig.

Paul and Donna have two great dog-kids, too. Opal and Trixie were gracious hosts - even sharing their toys with Rez and Ader.

Have you ever seen four better behaved dogs? Of course, there were treats involved.

Thanks for letting us stay at your home, Paul and Donna. Your house is precious and it was SO good to see you again. Next time you're down south, please let us know!

Justin and I hit the road early the next morning before Paul and Donna got up. We (and by "we," I mean "Justin") drove straight through and made it back to Birmingham in time for dinner! We had such a wonderful week end. Now, back to work!!!

Lynnette's Wedding and the Motor City (part 2)

2008-04-02T21:21:00.001-05:00

Apparently, the morning of the wedding was a whirlwind, because I seem to have not taken a single picture until post-ceremony. Between hair and makeup, dresses and shoes, we all managed to get ready just in time for professional pictures by Yakov, the Russian photographer.
The ceremony was absolutely beautiful. It was held in an atrium of sorts - a conservatory of glass with a garden-like setting. It couldn't have been a more beautiful day. Although cold outside, the sun was shining brightly, and inside the conservatory, it felt like Spring. During the exchanging of vows, Dan said "I do," but the minister didn't hear Lynnette's "I do." After an awkward pause, Lynnette turned with a smile, and said it again. Lynnette's brothers did what brothers do and gave Dan a hard time... even during the ceremony. When the minister asked for the rings, Lynnette's brother Lincoln pulled out handcuffs for all the wedding guests to see. Fortunately, we were in the company of people who found this funny. Not sure it would have gone over so well at my wedding. ;-)
Mr. and Mrs. Dan Noble pause for a kiss while walking down the isle as newlyweds! This picture is compliments of my friend from college, Donna Coker Vilela. She and her husband Paul found Justin in the lobby so he would have "friends" to sit with... even though they had never met!

The reception was fun! Lynnette hired a barista to serve delectible coffee treats, and had an old fashioned photo booth. In this photo Donna, Christina and I are waiting for our turn in the booth. Everyone took photos and pasted them in a scrapbook with a note to Dan and Lynnette. If I had a scanner, I would insert the cute pictures that Justin and I took in the booth. And the ones that I took with Cutie Pie alumns Lynnette, Beth, Amy, and Donna.
Amy, Donna and I (college friends and fellow Ju Go Ju Cutie Pies) waited in line for the barista. We rekindled friendships instantly, and for a moment it was almost like we were still back at Harding... Only older... and married.

It was wonderful to see college friends like Stacy... who only lives an hour and a half from me, but we never see each other. Good thing she has a blog so I can watch her precious kids grow up!
Everyone got to dance! The bride and groom. The father-of-the-bride and the bride. The mother-of-the-groom and the groom...
...even the bridesmaids! Only ours was much more like a sway than an actual dance. ;-)
Lynnette and I have a special friendship. On her wedding program, she listed me as a collge friend and "kindred spirit." We met our freshman year at Harding in the dorms, and over time developed a close connection. We stayed up late (I mean, LATE) many nights planning things for our social club (or sorority, for those of you who are unfamiliar with this term). She and I were together when we first heard the news of the 9-11 attacks on the Twin Towers, and we cried together. We sang Lee Greenwood's "I'm Proud to be an American" at the very tip top of our lungs. We shared a year's worth of free pizza our last year of college... and the pizza guys never knew that we weren't the same person. And despite being two girls who love their very different home states of Alabama and Michigan, often were asked if we were sisters! It was so special to be able to spend this special day with her.

The post-wedding events were just as fun, but you'll have to stay tuned for yet one more post of Lynnette's Wedding and the Motor City - soon to follow.

Lynnette's Wedding and the Motor City (part 1)

2008-03-31T19:57:00.002-05:00

This week end, I was able to spend wonderful time with old college friends and witness one of my best friend's weddings. Justin and I opted to drive from Birmingham to Detroit, Michigan so we could bring our children (Rez and Adler... the pups). Justin was born in the Detroit area, and moved in the 2nd grade but still has a lot of family there. His Aunt Patty and Uncle Bob have a good friend who lives and works in China, but keeps his home in Michigan, and he was so gracious to allow us to stay there. We started our trip on Wednesday evening after work, and had planned to stay in Elizabethtown, KY, but all the hotels were booked for a truck show, so we only made it to Nashville before calling it quits for the night. We got up EARLY the next morning (4:30 to be exact), and were on the road quickly. We made it to Michigan in time to shower and meet our cousin Melodie for dinner.
Melodie took us to a great restaurant called the Box Bar & Grill in the quaint downtown area of Plymouth, MI. We met early because I had to be in Grosse Pointe for shower for Lynnette later that evening. As we were eating, it began to snow outside.
By the time we left, the snow was already sticking. The weather experts were predicting between 4 and 10 inches, so we were excited to see what the night held in store!

It took us much longer than we thought to make the trip from Plymouth to Grosse Pointe. In fact, we did a lot more driving than we ever thought we would. We were staying near Canton or maybe it was Westland. The wedding festivities were in Grosse Pointe and Rochester. Distance from Canton to Rochester? 47 miles. Had we known this prior to our trip, we probably would have made other lodging arrangements, but the house was so nice, it was tough to even think of staying elsewhere.

Some of Lynnette's friends in Michigan hosted a Spa Party at a precious spa in Grosse Pointe. There were lots of girls there, and we all had the best time. I was late to the party (see above paragraph), but was there in plenty of time to enjoy paraffin wax, chocolate covered strawberries, and the opening of gifts.
Lynnette opened a variety of great gifts from comfy, fun stuff to wear during their St. Lucia honeymoon...
...to a sentimental charm bracelet from her mother.
And then there was this gift. If I told you what was just beyond the wrapping paper, I'd have to kill you, so I will let that remain nameless. But let's just say the lady who bought it hoped she didn't run into one of the elders of her church while she was walking through the mall. THIS gift, however, was a hit. We all secretly wished we had received one at our own lingerie showers. ;-)

At this point, it wouldn't be right to continue without a huge thanks to my husband. As I mentioned before, we were staying surprisingly far away from most of the wedding festivities. Justin dropped me off at the Spa around 8:00. As far as we knew, there were no guys getting together while the girls were at the spa, so he decided to go back and come pick me up when the party was over. When I called him around 9:30 to tell him to be there by 10:00, he had been "home" for 7 minutes. The weather had gotten so bad that he was driving around 45mph on the interstates! So, thank you, Justin, for being my personal driver throughout the whole week end. He picked me up around 10:15 and we headed "home." The driving conditions were still trecherous because the salt trucks hadn't quite made it to streets. The cars on the interstates kept the roads fairly clear, but once we got off the interstate, we were driving on snow.

So much snow, in fact, that we paused to take a picture. This was our (Justin's) first real experience driving on snow-covered roads. It was pretty crazy. We stopped by a park on the way back to let the dogs run around, and then crashed at the house.
This is what we woke up to the following morning! God blanketed the ground with about 5 inches of snow! Unfortunately, Justin nor I really brought good clothes to play in the snow, nor did we really have time to take it all in because we were meeting Justin's cousin Sharon and her daughter Zoe for lunch. Unfortunately, Sharon's twins Izzy and Alli couldn't join us because they were in pre-school. Zoe was out of school on Spring Break, so it was fun to get to visit with her! We forgot to take pictures of Sharon and Zoe, but our lunch was great.
We stopped at a church on the way to the Rehearsal, and Justin made this little snowman. The mouth fell off and wouldn't stay, so the snowman is now smoking a cigar. :-) The hotel in Rochester where the wedding was held was magnificent. It was just off the main street, and was bordered on one side by a bubbling creek.
Lynnette was a wonderful bride lining us all up according to well, I think it was approximately the length of time she had known us... or something like that.
Dan's parents hosted a wonderfully patriotic rehearsal dinner for us at Kruse and Muer complete with Bill Clinton memoribilia and Arkansas barbecue sauce! Dan's mom used to be the mayor of their town, and she and Bill Clinton were close... no, not in that way. Hehe! For the record, she told me herself that she would not be voting for Hilary during the '08 election. I think I actually let out a sigh of relief!

After the dinner, the girls headed back to the hotel to hang out with Lynnette on the eve of her wedding day! Three of us stayed with her, and we stayed up talking until almost 2am. It was so much fun to be with old friends, and meet new ones!

The actual wedding day photos are forthcoming in Part 2 of "Lynnette's Wedding and The Motor City."

The Redeemer and The Rabbit

2008-03-23T22:00:00.000-05:00

...the history and meaning of Easter.

The tradition of Easter began when the earliest missionaries began sharing Jesus with the Teutonic tribes of Europe. During the Spring equinox every year, the pagans would worship the pagan Saxon goddess Eostre, the goddess of Spring - the same time of year early Christians celebrated the burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Attempting to convert the Teutonic (or Germanic) tribes, the missionaries adopted the celebration as their own. The new converts could keep many of their traditions, but the meaning and purpose of the celebration was changed.

What Easter would be complete without the Bunny and the eggs? These traditions are derived from our "pagan friends." Our Easter Bunny was inspired by the goddess Eostre, whose symbol is a rabbit or hare. Exchanging eggs was a Teutonic tradition symbolizing rebirth and renewal.

To Christians, Easter is worth more than bunnies, baskets and eggs. To Christians, Easter is the celebration and recognition of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the promise of eternal life for all who believe in Him and obey his Word.

Deadly Blow

2008-03-22T12:41:00.006-05:00

Every now and then, I'll hear a bizarre news story that gets my attention so much that I feel the urge to share. Such is the case with the recent death of a woman who was boating in the Florida Keys. How did she die, you ask?

Would you believe me if I told you that while a family (two adult sisters and their father) was riding on their boat on the Atlantic side of one of the Florida Keys, a 75-lb sting ray leaped out of the water, smacked one of the women in the face, and killed her? Well, my friends, it's sad but TRUE!

Here is a photo of the deadly beast (notice the woman's visor on top).

In all fairness to the stingray, they are not usually aggressive creatures. They jump out of the water only to shake off parasites, give birth, or to ward off a predator. It was the impact that killed both woman and stingray in this incident, not a sting by the ray's barb which is only used as a self-defense mechanism. What an unfortunate fluke accident.

Anyway, just felt like sharing. Click here if you would like to read the complete story.

Family Blogging

2008-03-17T10:51:00.003-05:00

My mom started a blog! She enjoys reading all my friends' blogs, and now she has a place on the web of her own! Please stop by and welcome her to the blogging world! :-)

Blog Makeover

2008-03-16T13:18:00.002-05:00

A huge thanks to Shauna Callaghan, to whom I can wholeheartedly attribute my beautiful blog makeover. She worked hard trying to please a very difficult client, but I think the end result turned out great. We all know my blog was in desparate need of some personality! :-) Click on her name to see other work that she has done, and maybe you can commission her to pimp your blog, too!

St. Patrick's Day Block Party

2008-03-15T13:29:00.001-05:00

I know I've sort of gone on and on about how energetic my neighborhood is. Saturday afternoon, the O'Hare's, who live around the corner from us, hosted a big St. Patrick's Day Block Party. Growing up, St. Patrick's Day was really just another day. I mean, really, I didn't even own anything green to wear (green just isn't my best color), and I didn't (and still don't) understand the meaning of the holiday. I suppose it goes without saying that the O'Hare's are Irish... and apparently very proud of their Irish roots. This party was WAY more "authentic" than anything Justin and I had ever attended. There were 2 sets of Irish dancers (I missed the first group because I got there a little late... work), a bagpiper and a fiddle player. There was always some kind of entertainment going on. There was face painting for the kids and food and drinks for the adults. Unfortunately, we have no pictures because I couldn't find my camera, and didn't want to spend time looking for it because I was already over an hour late for the party. We stayed until about 7:00 when things were just beginning to wrap up, and came back to our house and watched a movie with Matt and Amy. I love our neighborhood!

P is for Pottery

2008-02-19T18:29:00.003-06:00

Every month, all the girls in our Small Group get together and do something fun. Not that studying God's word isn't fun, but we all long for special "Girl time." Almost everyone was able to be there. Lanie had to miss because she tore her ACL playing basketball (double whammy), but Laura, Maghan, Martha, Martina, Jamie, Bethany, Ashley, me, Rachel and Jessa (back row, then front row, left to right in the picture below) had a blast. I painted 4 coasters. One was leopard print, one was zebra print, one had a big red flower on it, and the other was green with different colored circles. I had fun being creative. Y'all know I love anything crafty! Here's a picture of the girls once it was all said and done.

Mardi Gras/Casino Night

2008-02-16T21:28:00.010-06:00

First of all, let me say that our neighborhood is AWESOME! I am truly spoiled. There is always something to do... so much so, that my social calendar stays full between church and community obligations... oh, and work, too. I'm so blessed to work AND live in such a great place. Most of the events are very family oriented - bring on the kids and pets! But once a year, we have an 18-and-up event. This year we had a Casino Night at the resort with a Mardi Gras theme.

Here's how it all went down. Each person pays $25 to cover your food. Reasonable. When you arrive at the Ross Bridge "Casino" {sidebar: gambling is illegal in Alabama, so this is how we do it down here}, you are greeted with Mardi Gras beads, a fancy mask, and $500 of "play money." That's $500 each - or $1000 per couple. There were all kinds of games you would find in a Casino - Roulette, Black Jack, Craps, Slots and I'm sure more... but I probably don't know what they're called considering my serious lack-of-casino-experience. You trade your money in for chips and play the night away. There was a great band as a backdrop and and wonderful buffet.

Justin and the guys parked at a Black Jack table and stayed there for the ENTIRE night. The girls wasted our coins on the slots. It was fun to win, but even funner knowing it wasn't real money! At the end, you exchange your coins and chips for tickets. At the front of the ballroom were prizes ranging from golf bags to George Forman grills, and martini glasses to iPod docking stations. You place as many tickets as you have in a basket in front of one or each of the prizes. At the end of the night, they draw tickets to see who wins. Justin and I didn't win a ton of tickets, but we chose to put all our eggs in one basket. We ended up winning a small piece of red luggage.

We enjoyed the night with all our wonderful neighbors, but had a pre-party party at Matt and Amy Anderson's house next door with Dana and Daniel Pittman and John and Emily Haygood. We attended an after-party party at David and Shah Hines' home. They live behind us. We stayed there until after 1:00 am. Whew! Sunday school came awfully early the next day! Below are pictures to document the night. I took so many more, but I felt like these give a good reflection of our fun evening.

Justin and me sporting our Mardi Gras masks. Aren't they great?!
Dana, me, Emily and Amy

That's me on the left and Amy on the right. Amy and her husband Matt live next door and have become good friends. You may recognize them from the snow pictures from January.

We played the slot machines all night. I must have had a lucky streak because it seemed like I was the only one winning. It sort of became a joke that when I sat down to play, I would always win SOMETHING. Dana, Emily, Amy and I took turns at this machine most of the night.

This is my work partner, Kate and her husband, John.

A great picture of our good friends Dana and Daniel Pittman.

A picture of Justin and me sans masks... only Justin's is on the back of his head - hense the ribbon on his forehead.

Jeff Fitzmorris and John Giffin (Kate's husband) had to have won the most tickets! To put this into perspective... TOGETHER, Justin and I won 7 tickets... 7. They must have tripled that EACH.

The little pre-party group ready to head back home after a little dancing. Dana and Daniel, Emily and John, Matt and Amy, me and Justin.

What a fun night! I'm already looking forward to next year!