Welcome New Blogger!

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

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

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

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!

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

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!

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!

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?

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...

...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...

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!