It's Going Fast. And Halloween (Yep!)

Hello! I am trying to come to terms with the fact that it is already the end of January. Wait. What.

Time flies after you have kids. If you want to stay young and have lots of time and energy, don't have kids. BUT if you want to have so much fun and be so exhausted and have no time but have SO much fun, then have kids. They are fun.

Alrighty….let's go right back to Halloween. If you make it through this post you are obviously a member of my family.

Parker is doing new things and being quite hilarious each and every day, but unfortunately I forget most of it. I do know though, that he is funny. He is SO TWO. Like, he is 100% two, and he tests us multiple times a day, in many ways. Sometimes he is adamant on being completely independent…actually most of the time he is adamant about that, but sometimes we still get to see the sweet little babe that he was. I love it all but am SO tired. But happy.

And this little mister…well he doesn't look like this anymore. Not in the slightest! Good grief, it makes me sad how fast they change.

Those wrinkles just kill me. Hayes has completely filled out and is quite the chunky monkey now. Still has a sweet temperament though. He is a terrible napper, but a good snuggler, and has just started laughing.

I'm trying to remember the details of Halloween but it seems like a century ago and I was extremely sleep deprived at the time so I'm not surprised that I've forgotten a lot. I do know that Parker was completely uninterested in carving pumpkins, with the exception of the minion pumpkin that I managed to freehand (He has a thing for minions--talks like them all the time…"dee doh dee doh", and all of that. I know that I am truly a mom since I think it's pretty hilarious.) We managed to venture out to school to watch his costume parade and to see that he was, quite literally, the ONLY kid (baby or big), to parade around with his paci and blankie in tow. I am quite proud to say that we nipped that thing in the bud this week though! We spent months hyping it up too much, I'm now sure. I was tired of that dang paci last week, so we just took it. No warnings, no "paci parties", or "paci fairies", or saying "we lost it"…we just stopped giving it to him. And it worked!

Now to potty train. We have tried. And tried. But he is not interested yet. One day! (Hopefully before he is 18 3.)

Let's see…we had a mishap with Hayes' costume, meaning that I had it shipped to our old address and didn't figure this out until the night before Halloween. So that was fun. Thankfully my good, good husband made two trips to our old neighborhood, thoroughly freaking out the new owner during the first trip, and then eventually talking to our old next door neighbor who was able to assure the little old lady that now lives there that Bryan was not a burglar, just a guy with a dingy wife who needed a Halloween costume.

Anyways, we got it, and Hayes was able to be the cutest little football there ever was :). Also, my hair looks really good there. I am sorry to say that postpartum hair loss has officially begun this week. I was hoping it wouldn't get me this time, but is definitely has. Bummer man! I like all that hair.

Hayes was also the only one who would pose with the pumpkins. (Two has not been the most photo-ready year for Parker…they have class pictures at school next week…Lord help them.)

Oh gosh, Parker also completely crashed right before we left for Trunk or Treat. We couldn't resist laying Mr. Hayes right next to him to get a few brother photos.

After that I believe we woke the poor child up, took him to the church where he refused to do any trunk-or-treating whatsoever, gave a few adults blank stares when they told him how cute he was, and cried while riding the Halloween train. He perked up though when we went out for pizza and gave him some diet coke. ;) I'll go ahead and consider it a success since it ended in smiles and since it was Hayes' first Halloween which made it a very sweet day in many ways. Did I mention my parents and Laura were there? So it was great. We had fun! Now on to Thanksgiving.

HELLO! Hayes is 3 Months (and 2 months also but that was last month)

Because I am an awesome blogger, here is Hayes' 2 MONTH stuff:

Weight: 13.5 pounds (91%)

Height: 24.5 inches (98%)

Milestones: Started smiling around 6 weeks! Sweet gummy smile with a little dimple by your lower lip. Also started cooing! Loves to imitate sounds. Your little eyes sparkle when you talk and smile. The best.

Sleeping: Started sleeping through the night at around 6 weeks (about 6 hours), and then you were at 7-8 hours when you were 7-8 weeks. Kind of randomly napping between feedings…I've been a horrible nap scheduler!

Eating: Still fast, eating every 3 hours. Hard to burp but you are not really a spitter which is absolutely awesome. Outgrown all newborn and are in some 3-6 month clothes.

Likes: Watching brother play, sleeping in mom and dad's bed, Christmas lights, Riding in the car, bath time. I will say you are a momma's boy, too :).

Dislikes: Being hungry. I don't know, you are truly laid back. I know, I'm lucky. Horrid case of cradle cap this month, too. You didn't like that. Oh and shots…that was traumatic.

Favorite Things About You: All the rolls! Sweet little pudgy fingers. How you always, without a doubt, sleep with your arms balled up in fists on either side of your head. 

Memories: First Thanksgiving, first trip to Colorado. First time to see Santa. Big brother says, "It's okay, honey" when you cry. He also directs me to put your paci in when you cry, too. ;) I have more written in the baby book so that will do it for the blog!

Good grief he grew last month!! Here is all the 3 month stuff:

Weight: 15.5-16 pounds

Height: 26 inches

Milestones: Don't know about too many new ones…you have definitely gotten stronger and are pretty steady holding your head up most of the time. Starting using the bumbo which you like a lot. You do giggle a bit which is adorable and always get the hiccups when you are trying to "talk".

Sleeping: Usually sleeps about 6-8 hours (11pm-6 or 7am) a night but the day you turned 3 months you slept 9.5! That was awesome! Trying to get you to nap 1.5-2 hours between feedings but you are hit and miss with long naps.

Eating: Stretching to 3-3.5 hours. Still very quick, although we have had more spit up this month!

Likes: Watching tv--you could stare at a football game for an hour. Your head whips around when big brother is in the room trying to keep up with him. Still like baths and napping with mom when we should not be sleeping :).

Dislikes: Struggling with eczema more this month. Our entire family has sensitive skin…and you are no exception. :( You are starting to not like having the car seat cover over your face for a long time.

Favorite Things About You: You are so very mellow it's a bit unreal. You kind of just sleep or sit and stare, or the best--sit and smile. You are along for the ride and so happy. You also have rolls everywhere and I am basically obsessed with them and your receding hair line.

Memories: You had your first Christmas this month and got toys from Santa (which you didn't care about obviously). I feel like G.G. held you all week which was sweet. You stayed up till midnight on New Year's and I gave you a little kiss. :) You also made a second trip to CO and flew on a plane for the first time. You were a rockstar--slept the whole time or just stared at me as I dragged us through the airport and had several emotional breakdowns. You went to a sweet friend's wedding where many wedding guests about gobbled you up. 

Whew. Done for a few more weeks!

Actually. I'm going to blog something else soon. It will happen. IT WILL.

Snapshots.

Hello and Happy Thanksgiving!! I am currently sitting in my PJ's, not watching football. My three boys are seated around me, sleeping and/or screaming. We are at my parents house, and Parker has certainly gotten a kick out of Thanksgiving festivities already with the help of the Macy's parade and an unlimited supply of marshmallows and chocolate pie filling (courtesy of his Nonnie). Here is a hint: He (for obvious reasons) is the one doing most of the screaming. ;)

I'm not going to attempt to catch up on too much of our lives, mostly just show pictures for the sake of my family's need of them. You are welcome, Nanny! These have been sitting in a draft post for the last month….

My mom's side of the family came to meet Hayes when he was a week and a half old. We had so much fun sitting in the backyard, eating at Rosa's, and monitoring Papaw's volume level on the tv. ;) 

Nanny got in some good snuggles with a very tiny and wrinkly Hayes. So squishy and little! I cannot think about how much he has already changed. 

Hayes was also given his first Rangers baseball cap courtesy of Aunt Cindy. I have yet to get a photo of him in it, mostly because it still swallows his head, but we are excited about it! I always remember thinking that my Aunt Cindy was SO cool when I was kid because she always wanted to play with us and it was evident that Parker feels the same way--he became a bit obsessive about her and Aunt Kathy (who I've also referred to as Mom #2). My boys were also blessed with some beautiful quilts from Nanny, one with trains on it which Parker seriously freaked out about. (Trains are our thing.) I love my family and am so happy to see them love my kids. 

That weekend we headed to the Corn Maize which Parker thoroughly enjoyed, although the rest of us could have done without the flies. It was such a cute place though! We looked at the animals, ran in the mini hay maize, went on a hay ride to pick a pumpkin (which P was thoroughly uninterested in), and ate WAY too much kettle corn. But it was good. Too good. And Hayes slept the whole time.

We also got in our fill of Halloween activites. We made our second trip to the LCU trick or treat in the girls dorms, which Parker, for the second time, was overwhelmed by. Maybe next year. And Hayes slept the whole time. ;)

Here is a not great picture of one of the halls. In my day (because I'm so old) we just decorated our doors but now they do whole themes and you can't see more than 10 feet in front of you. It's fun! Parker (and Bryan) also didn't care when I told them this as we walked past my old room.

And there's the face he gives when asked to smile. 

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Alright. It is now Sunday. This is why I never blog--I run out of time! We have had a great time in CO this weekend and are about to head back to LBK. Bryan is looking at me like I need to get off the computer so I will. I do have a ton of pictures from Halloween, the month of November, and now Thanksgiving break (including a picture of Hayes and Santa!), but that will have to wait. Parker wanted nothing to do with Santa, just FYI. He walked up, looked at him, said, "Nope.", and walked away. ;) So fun.

Wish us luck on our looooong trip back. Adios!

One Month for Hayes!

I cannot believe I'm attempting these again but I am! I would regret it if I didn't :).

Baby Hayes we have made it to one month!

Weight: 10 pounds

Height: 23.5 inches

Milestones: Rolled over tummy to back at 3 weeks 6 days, can track people and sounds, focusing on faces a lot, lifts head and pushes off during tummy time and when burping

Sleeping: Loves to sleep and is good at sleeping through brother's constant noise. Naps 1-2 hours between feedings, and sleeps about 2-3 hours at night.

Eating: Very fast nurser, much faster than brother. Eats about every 3 hours. We are trying to stretch nights but you don't seem to want to do that yet :). 

Likes: Listening to brother, tummy time, lying flat on back, riding in the car, sleeping with mommy, snuggling with just about anyone, being rocked, listening to Christmas music, sitting outside.

Dislikes: Being gassy, being hungry, baths (although you managed not to cry through it today!), losing your paci

Favorite Things About You: Cupie doll lips, receding hair line, and your laid-back personality. And your ever-growing leg rolls! Ah, I could eat you. 

Memories: Meeting ALL of your relatives including all great-grandparents, going on first road trip (you slept the whole time), seeing brother holding your hand in the backseat of the car during that road trip, your sweet sneezes and grunts, big brother imitating your cries (hilarious), and your first Halloween--you were a football, slept through all of it, went to trunk or treat and out for pizza. Mommy thought she lost your costume when she had it shipped to our old address, but Dad rescued it from new owners (and freaked out little old lady that now lives there). We felt like we were on a vacation all month with dad being home. We constantly held you, stayed up late watching movies, and ate a lot of good food! It has been a sweet time. Big brother is very concerned for "baby bruder" and constantly notifies us when, "baby crynin", or "baby eadin", or "baby seepin". You are very laid-back and are along for the ride in our life, much like your brother was. You have been to the corn maize, on a hay ride, to the grocery store twice, out shopping quite a bit, to lots of restaurants, to church twice, and probably a lot of other places I cannot remember at the moment. 

I am super proud of myself right now! And I typed this with above baby in my arms. Must eat dinner and fold laundry now. Having a super-mom moment apparently…although still in pajamas. Adios!

Some Family Pictures

We didn't get a chance to do family/brother photos at our newborn session so I took some last week before Hayes got too big to pass for an itty bitty newborn. He is ONE month old now. What? What a sweet month it has been.

Okay, there are a lot of photos, but I couldn't pick and these are really just a few of my favorites (I have a ton more that I didn't post). Sorry in advance. I know my grandma will appreciate these though and that's really all that counts. :)

We tried to be really casual with these….in our house, not dressed up, etc….still no luck with the eldest child, although he was super sweet to his brother, super crazy, but sweet. Wouldn't look at the camera, but sweet.

Ah! Tiny fingers. Why do they have to get bigger? WHY?

Bryan and I can argue with the best of them, and he drives me crazy on a near daily basis, but he is a good dad. Like a good one. Which is really the best thing he can be.

Little chubs! He has fattened up so much this month it's ridiculous.

He is a good big brother. 

…but not interested in photos at all. I can't blame him since he's two. Very two. I still love these photos though. :)

Don't you just want to eat him? I want to eat him. I'll just have a baby every year so we can snuggle and smell them. I'm kidding. Kind of. ;)

See? I've always been annoyed when people say "my people" but I'll say it…my people are so cute. We rewarded ourselves with a trip to IHOP because we super classy like that. (I love IHOP. And their white chocolate raspberry pancakes--limited time! Go now!)

On another note…well, I'm not sure I even want to share this, because I really hate to share bad things about my life, but since this is my blog and I'm trying to be better about that I think I will. I am bad with feelings. And my family is pretty hush hush with them too. My family has had a crappy year. Hayes was definitely the bright side to it all. I won't elaborate too much other than to say that there have been a lot of health problems for several people and my dad especially has been through the ringer….He has been going through chemo for cancer which thank the Lord he is now in remission for (that's a whole other story), but this past Thursday, my grandaddy, his dad, passed away. We are heading to the funeral on Sunday. He had Alzheimer's, so we haven't been able to "know" him for a really long time. I was trying to remember the last time I had a conversation with him where he was fully himself…able to speak normally, eat, take care of himself completely…it must have been 8 or 9 years ago….Anyways, he is healed now, and that is all that matters. I've been really removed from it all for so long, probably more than I should have been, but I am of course still sad.

So, really I guess I'm saying this because I feel like some transparency is needed on here. It's been a hard year for my family--and I truly suck at handling it/comforting people/knowing what to say, etc.

Anyways…I guess I'm asking for prayers for my dad, grand mommy, aunt…just everyone. 

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Okay. I'm done!