Lunch with the Mills Family

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

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!

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

Any disputes?

My First Mother's Day

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!

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!

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!