One Year Ago Today...

...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!

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

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!

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

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!

Taking a Ride on the Wild Side!

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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!