Sunday, May 22, 2011

So much to say...

So little time to actually say it!  Wow... Time is flying faster than the qualifying at Indy.  Hayden is already almost 14 weeks old- and growing like a weed doesn't begin to cover it.

At his 2 month checkup he was just under 12 lbs and 22" long.  Last Monday at his 3 month checkup he was 14.25 lbs and 25" long!  My little man has become a big chunk o' baby!  He's really discovered his voice, too.  If you've called my house or gotten to hang out with us lately, you can attest to the fact that my son likes to talk just about as much as I do.  He's discovered the use of his hands, and loves to hang on to his onesies when I change his diapers.  I think it's cute and almost helpful at this point, I'm sure it'll get annoying the bigger he gets!  He's also starting to teethe a little!  He doesn't actually have teeth coming in just yet, but they're definitely "on the move" and his poor little gums are itching him something fierce- so he's chewing on Sophie the Giraffe quite a bit, as well as trying to fit his entire fists in his mouth.  That's funny to watch, and hear, when he tries to talk through his hand! 

Hayden has also discovered that he vastly prefers sitting up to lying down.  It's about time for us to find a Bumbo for him so he can practice keeping his balance.  As it is, he enjoys spending his late mornings (after his second breakfast) sitting in his daddy's lap and playing Xbox.  He's shown us that he loves to watch sports on TV.  So much so that he even gets upset when commercials come on!  I don't think it has anything to do with the bright, flashing colors on the screen (tee hee).  And we're both thankful that Michael's "busy season" has come to a close!  I'll admit, it has been very difficult to be a mommy without having Daddy around...  But I think that it's going to be a fun summer for all three of us! 

Thanks for keeping up with my blog, I know I don't post nearly enough- but honestly there's so much going on, it's hard to find a free minute to compose much! 

Monday, May 2, 2011

Oh wow... it's been a little bit

So it's been awhile since I updated this blog!  Life tends to get in the way, especially with a darling little bundle of distraction.

As a last-minute decision, Hubs decided it'd be a good idea for me to take Little Man to Louisville for Easter weekend.  It took a lot of doing, but I got us both packed up and we hit the road Thursday.  Very convenient for me, my dearest buddy from my days at Alabama lives just off the interstate in Nashville and she let me stop at her place as a middle-of-the-trip pit stop.  I was able to feed Hayden, let him get out of his car seat for a little bit and stretch and regroup myself before we headed on North. 

I'd done my research like a good traveler should:  I checked the weather and it said temps in the mid-60s and 70s all weekend with rain chances every day.  I didn't expect what happened:  record rainfall and river flooding.  It was bad.  I took lots of pictures of the flooding in Mom & Daddy's neighborhood but they've disappeared off the camera...  If I find them, I'll post them.

Hayden and his cousin Maggie on Easter
All that aside, Easter was magical.  It stopped raining and the sun came out just in time for the Easter egg hunt at St. Luke's.  Maggie was SO excited- she won a chocolate cross as a prize for finding a special egg.  Something about that just screams sacril-icious.  Hayden was able to wear his adorable white bubble-type outfit and not only did he look like an angel, he played the part by sleeping through church.  He didn't make a peep!  I took him to the communion rail with me and he was blessed by Father Joe, who will be christening him this summer.  (Father Joe also performed the marriage ceremony for Hubs and I almost six years ago, and he blessed my belly when we found out I was pregnant!) 

And I'm sure you've heard me rave about how mellow my little man is... Well he really proved it on our trip- he was passed around to no fewer than 50 friends and relatives on Saturday and Easter Sunday and he was just grinning or sleeping the whole time!  He slept well those nights, too, but he was really amazing. 

I was really glad to get home before July, as we'd originally been planning.  I know so many of my friends and family were just chomping at the bit to meet Hayden.  We had some friends come over on Saturday before Easter to meet him, and he was just a sweet and smiling little angel the whole time!  I guess that's a good thing, too, because we're slightly social folks (tee hee) and we go out all the time.  I was also able to leave him with his first two babysitters!  Mom and Ginny took care of him while I went to get my hair done on Wednesday, and Thursday my friend Julie's husband Damon kept him for a little while so Julie and I could go have some girl time.   He was an angel both times :)  I'm so lucky!

We got some interesting news on Easter.  Most of you know that my parents have a nice houseboat, The Last Resort, on the Ohio River.  We've owned the boat, well, yacht technically, since 1993 and we've had many many good times on it.  Daddy was holding Hayden while he slept when he fielded the phone call from one of their neighbors at the marina.  "Bob, your boat sank!"  Um, WHAT?  Apparently, at 11:30am Easter Sunday, the boat was fine, by 2:30pm, 80% of the boat was under water with only the prow sticking up.  After raising the boat from the marina and some ongoing investigation, it looks like the hull was struck by something and a hole opened up.  The bilge pump probably shorted out and couldn't get the water out.  Luckily no one was on the boat at the time, so they're just going to take their losses and go from there.  RIP Last Resort, you will be missed.  

Time came to start planning our return trip to Alabama when I got to looking at my Twitter feed and Facebook feeds.  I follow two of my favorite weathermen from NBC 13 here in Birmingham and they were warning of the potential for a super-evil severe weather event on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Well, our plan was to leave on Tuesday, but then I got to researching the weather and, after consulting with Hubs, we decided it would be best to stay put till the following weekend.  (He was going to be out of town working, so why not extend the trip till he got home..?)  It's a good thing that we did stay put, because we all know what happened on Wednesday. 

We were very lucky here in Calera.  Tornadoes split the path to our north and south, but steered clear of us.  We didn't even lose power.  Our friends and family were marginally affected, losing power, downed trees, etc... but we all know someone who knows someone who has it much worse.  I organized a bunch of ladies on some pregnancy and post-pregnancy websites to send their unwanted baby formula and other infant-care supplies to Tuscaloosa and I also took a big bag of diapers, wipes, formula, and other baby-care stuff to be donated to the families affected.  If you are so inclined to make donations, please let me know and I'll send you the information.  These areas were hard-hit and any and all help is desperately needed.

OK- that's enough for now...