Really?

This is what my dog did to our new fence...

mmmhmmmm.

And when Jeff was fixing it, he was nailing it in crooked so he asked me to kick it back out. Well, I pulled a muscle in my buttocks doing this! Errrrr. It's fixed now. I think that dog just likes to make trouble...

On a side note: Hayden is walking great! He now just takes off across the room. It's too cute!

A picture is worth a thousand words...

Need I say more???

Fun in the Sun

Today, me & Hayden went to go visit our friends Taryn & Bryce in Loudon for some fun in the sun! It was a great day for sure! We swam, played & ate Mexican for dinner! Here are some pics from our fun-filled afternoon!

Buddies :)

Isn't Bryce the cutest?

Call me Old Fashioned...

A lot of you may scoff at this declaration and maybe even think I am strange. But I have put a retractable clothesline in my backyard (which, as I mentioned before and you can tell in the pic, is enclosed by a privacy fence.) My main reason for doing so is so that I can dry the cloth diapers on it. It seems I am forever running my dryer between regular laundry and cloth diapers for two (I am cloth diapering for the 16 month old that I watch, also.) So...since it is SO hot and sunny lately, I figured I would take full advantage of it and get some energy-free drying in :) Now, I know that some people think that clotheslines are tacky and an eyesore. This may be true if I were hanging, say...a giant 42 DD bra from it or some thong underwear but I am hanging cloth diapers on it for crying out loud (and maybe the occasional bed sheet.) And even if I were hanging underwear on it, no one should know because of my fence. ;)

Now, does this look tacky to you? ;) I think it looks rather charming!

Well, I will get off my soapbox now. Hope all of you are having a great hump-day!

Jibber Jabber

Hayden just says the funniest things! He is learning more & more words and it is so cute! His favorite new thing to do is ask for a snack by saying 'mum-mum?' That is the name of a rice cracker that I give him and he calls all of his snacks mum-mums. But now, when he decides he wants a snack, he just starts saying, "mum-mum? mum-mum?" in the cutest little voice. I say, 'no, no' and he gets mad & goes "uhhhh!" Every time! It's so funny.

And he gets so excited when daddy comes home. He says "dada!" when he comes in the door. He also loves to say 'bye, bye.' Sometimes he even says it when people come in the door (we haven't mastered 'hi' yet...)

His favorite toys are balls and he loves to say 'baw' when he sees them. He gets so excited about the big red balls outside of Target & yells 'baw!' and then he wants to slap them and grins from ear to ear.

His fave word by far is 'uh, oh' which was one of his first words. He says it all the time when he drops something or throws something, or for any other reason that he can find to say it. :)

Then of course, there is my favorite word...'mama.' I love when I go to get him up from a nap and he is standing up saying 'mama, mama!'

I am still trying to get him to say 'thank you' since he has tried a few times to say it, but he hasn't quite got it down yet.

And this is a picture of my little man mid-yell. He likes to do that too :p

Daddy Day :)

I didn't get to see my dad today, watch him open a card & gift from us or take him out to lunch. Sadly, I miss out on some things living 6 hours from home. But I did call him and I sent him his gift (of course, I sent it late so he won't be getting it till tomorrow...)

Anyhoo, Jeff celebrated his 2nd Father's Day today! We went to his favorite Japanese restaurant and spent the rest of the afternoon at home until evening church.

I forgot to get a picture till it was dark, so I was forced to use my flash :-/ But I just had to take a pic, not only to commemorate the day but also so I could compare it with last years Father's Day pic! Hayden has grown from this squirmy little infant into a little boy (Jeff has changed, too...well, his hair at least...) :) Oh, how we love this little one!

This is last years Fathers Day (as you can tell...)

And this was this year...

Extra Virgin

I love Olive Oil. It is perfect for cooking, dipping and tossing in salads. But I have discovered a new use for my beloved olive oil. For those who may not know, it makes a perfect polish for stainless steel! If you have the ultra popular stainless on your kitchen appliances as I do, you know that it is very hard to keep shiny and smudge free (especially with small children!) So, today I polished mine up with some e.v.o.o. (as Rachael Ray would say) and they look shiny and new! Even if it is just for an hour until Hayden puts his hands all over my fridge... ;)

Happy Saturday!

Happy Friday :)

Well, it's Friday and I hope it's been a good one for ya! Looking forward to some family time this weekend! We rented Alice in Wonderland for tonight!

Oh, today Hayden decided to make a drawer in our t.v. stand his toybox. It was cute ;)

Baby Steps

Hayden took his first steps yesterday! My friend Kyla was over and we were so excited that we started screaming/squealing with glee! It probably scared the crap out of him. Today he has been taking a couple steps here and there when he feels like it. It's baby steps towards walking for my little man! He is growing up so fast!

28.

Today, my hubby turned 28. He was 21 when I met him on the campus of Tennessee Temple University in the fall of '03. Oh, how our lives have changed since then!

His mom cooked him a birthday dinner and I made him a Big Top cupcake-cake (which you will notice I am not a skilled cake decorator, nor do I claim to be!)

Hayden & Daddy at mamaw Judy's for Jeff's b-day dinner

The silly cake I made :p

A bag from Hayden's birthday party made an excellent recycle for Jeff's gift :)

My hubby at 28 years young :)

I think he had a great birthday! :)

Not quite...

Well today its about, oh I don't know...A MILLION DEGREES OUT! So I thought,

"you know? I bet it is hot enough to fry an egg on my back porch!"

Well, not quite. As you can see, it didn't really cook but let me assure you that it certainly would have if I were to say, get up on the roof or crack one open on the street in front of my house! The light colored concrete just wasn't dark enough to soak up the light.

By the way, is it bad that I let my dog clean it up? I mean, not only did I waste a perfectly good egg here, I probably will now have a dog with diarrhea for 3 days! :-/

Weekend Wrap-up

Not the most fun of posts, but I think I'll just do a little recap of our busy weekend. Didn't get to do everything I wanted around the house, like plant a couple things and put up that (retractable) clothesline that's prohibited by my HOA *wink* (good think I have a privacy fence and no one will see it unless they are, well...peeping in my backyard!).

Anyhooooooo, Saturday we were invited to a get-together at Big Ridge State Park and had a great time! Ate good food & got in the water. Hayden loved splashing and playing in it!

Then that evening I had my monthly mommy night out with my besties and we went to The Melting Pot. He had such a blast and stayed for 3 1/2 hours! When we get together, there is never a dull moment and we could chat and share stories all night! It was such a great time and Jeff even did the dishes while I was out! :)

And today, we had church and then my neice's 3rd birthday party so we spent much of the afternoon at my MIL & SIL's house. Hayden had fun playing with his cousins & Ella's new toys.

Here are some pics from our weekend...

Hayden & Daddy at Big Ridge

Splashin, splashin!

Hayden loved Ella's 'pillow pet'

It was a good weekend and went by fast as usual! Hope everyone had a great one as well!

Family Friday :)

That's what we call Fridays. Family Day. After Jeff gets home from work, we try to do something as a family and usually it's just something simple like going out shopping and getting something to eat. Tonight was really no exception to the usual :) We ordered in and ate at home (Jeff didn't want the hamburger helper I was going to make.) hehe Then later we went out to the mall and Target and got a movie on the way home (Avatar.) I'll let you know if I like it or not...I was not really interested in watching it, but Jeff wanted to and I gave in...

Here is a pic of Hayden that I took tonight in his little drummer pj's. I got a great deal on them at my fave lil place Gymboree ;) This pic was taken with my cell phone, hence the terrible quality...

Just Dreaming...

This is the bed I am pining after for Hayden's big boy room (which I am not doing until he is 2 so I am a little ahead of myself!) I just know that I am doing a nautical (I don't like 'themes' so I am not gonna say 'theme') inspired room. It's fun to daydream about it even though its about, oh...11 months off! :)

Oh...and did I mention that it's a mere $1,500? Guess I better start saving now!!!

Black Thumb?

Well, that is what I call it anyway. The opposite of a green thumb (I guess some would call it a 'brown tumb'.) Whatever one it is, that is what I have. I never have much luck growing anything (or keeping the Orchids alive that my hubby insists on buying me all the time.) But this time I have managed to keep my Hydrangea alive for two years! We bought it the summer that we moved in and it was a baby plant but it had beautiful blooms on it. Well, the next year it only had a few leaves and these giant brown sticks growing up around it. We thought it was dead and that we just didn't take care of it properly. I wasn't at all surprised either. But we didn't dig it up just yet. And a few months ago we were at WalMart (of all places) buying some Petunias & hanging baskets for out front. I mentioned to the lady ringing us up that my Hydrangea didn't bloom last year. And guess what? She told me that Hydrangeas will not bloom the year after you plant them. But the next year, they will! I was super excited to hear this and we went home & trimmed back the ugly stick things and let it grow. And this year, it is bigger than ever and has several blooms on it!!! This makes me happy considering I kill almost anything we plant. However, we have managed to keep our Japanese Maple alive that we bought that same year. That thing is getting huge & doing great as well! I guess another reason I am so shocked that the things we have planted out front are doing well is that there is so much clay, rocks & gravel in the soil from the construction (we live in a newer subdivision) and the builders didn't bother with top soil.

And here they are! =)

While we are on the subject...I always say every year that I am going to start a vegetable and herb garden. But I never do, which is mostly out of pure laziness! Last year, I was recovering from childbirth and that was my excuse ;) But this year, we have a privacy fence & everything. I just haven't figured out a way to keep my idiot dog out of it if I did plant one... Of course I could plant raised beds or something but we are not that motivated. If my parents lived here I would definitely enlist them as helpers since they are good at that stuff.

I always have all these great intentions and never follow through. :( Like, I was also supposed to install (or have Jeff install) a clothesline outside since we now have the fence and no one would be able to see it. But, alas. No clothesline yet... :p Does anyone have some motivation I can borrow???

Here are our little pencil Holly trees flanking our front door. I wanted topiaries but they were crazy expensive, so I settled for these. Apparently I need to trim the one on the right!

Hump Day Blues...

Today was kinda 'one of those days.' A day where you are just ready for it to be over. It started out as a dreary, rainy day. I went to get Hayden out of his crib when he woke up and noticed a big red bump on the side of his face. Looked like either a mosquito or spider bite. Well, I guess it was a spider bite because I found one crawling on his crib (which I promptly killed)!!!! Eeeeek! The thought of something crawling on my baby & biting him in his sleep is NOT the way that I want to start the day! :(

This is the bite...

Then me & my friend Kyla were worried sick about her little girl (the one that I babysit) and convinced ourselves that she had the croup. Poor girl had a terrible cough & a runny nose. Her daddy picked her up early & they took her to the doc & I am happy to report that she doesn't have croup! Just a bad case of allergies & an ear infection. Poor baby was so pitiful.

Hayden was kinda whiny & fussy all day which is uncharacteristic of him. Not sure if he is trying to cut more teeth or what but mommy doesn't have much patience for whining babies!!! So, because of his constant need for attention from mommy, I didn't get much done around the house & I now have a sink full of dishes that I need to do among other things (and I am blogging...). Ugh.

SO, that was our Wednesday. Here's to hoping that tomorrow is a better day! :)

Cloth diapering...a hobby?!?!

For those of you who don't know, I am a cloth diapering mama! Can I just say that I actually enjoy it? I have been using cloth diapers since Hayden was about 2 months old. Originally, I started doing it to save money (which I am all about) along with breastfeeding for 11 months and making my own baby food. But I found other, more fulfilling reasons for doing all 3 of those things somewhere along the way. But I won't get into all that right now! My point is that I actually enjoy using cloth diapers. I'm not sure if its the satisfaction that I am saving money and generating less waste or if it is just a little (dare I say) hobby for me! I am still using disposables at night to avoid leaks & so that my little man stays comfortable overnight. I also use them occasionally if a particular outfit simply doesn't fit over the somewhat bulky cloth diaper. Other than that, its all cloth for us!

Here are my favorite cloth diapers but they are a bit pricey at about $20 each, so we only have 4 and use them when we go out. They work so great! I wish my whole stash (as we call it in the cloth diapering world) were these!

So for at home, I just started using the old fashioned prefolds. It takes a little patience to use these, but I think I am getting the hang of it :)

You don't even have to use safety pins anymore thanks to this little thing called a Snappi! :)

And hopefully I will have this little rugrat potty trained before he gets a little brother or sister so that I won't have to cloth diaper for two which would probably be a bit more challenging! ;)

Big Boy Stuff...

Not sure when this happened, but my baby has turned into a big boy. :( Although he is not walking on his own yet (which I am totally fine with and even kind-of like), I still feel like he is so grown up. He is learning new words, imitating us, giving kisses on command, giving hugs (mostly to Victoria a.k.a. his girlfriend) getting more teeth (slowly but surely) and even getting a little attitude to test mommy and daddy with every now and then. A new word that he is currently working on is 'thank you' which I think is hilarious! He likes to pick things up & give them to us lately so I started saying 'thank you' whenever he did. And when he took it back (Indian giver) I would say 'thank you' for him. Well, while my parents were here this past weekend, he started saying something that sounded a lot like 'thank you' whenever we would say it to him. It is so funny & usually just sounds like 'gikyoo' or 'ditu' but still so cute! I also get kisses now when I ask for them (of course they are wide open-mouth kisses, but kisses nonetheless.) He also loves to imitate especially if we make sound effects. He will make (or try to) the same sound that we make. He thinks it is so funny. :) Even though I am sad to see my 'baby' slowly fading away, Hayden is turning into the sweetest little boy that it's hard to be sad about that! He is so loving and affectionate, not to mention just plain silly that I can't get enough of this kid! Every month that goes by, I say he is at 'my favorite age.' Can't wait to see what cuteness he will be up to next!

Half of a decade...

Wow... I can't believe it has been 5 years since I married my best friend, Jeff! We have experienced many changes in these 5 years (grad school {for Jeff}, a move, job changes, parenthood, etc...) but I wouldn't have wanted to experience all that with anyone else.

Since this anniversary was somewhat of a milestone, we wanted to do something a little special. We decided to spend a night (yes, just one--I can't leave my baby for too long!) at a bed & breakfast. I found the perfect one in Newport, TN called Christopher Place. It was better than I imagined it would be and we had the time of our lives! We had great food and enjoyed the amenities of the resort such as tennis courts, the game/billiards room and outdoor pool. We also had a romantic candlelit four course dinner at which Jeff gave me a beautiful anniversary band (that I already had to ship off to get sized) *sniff*

I am so thankful to have been blessed with these five wonderful years. I look forward to many, many more! I am posting a few pics from out little getaway. Enjoy! :)

Kristen

Brand new blog!

Well, this is my very first blog and I must say that it is well overdue! I wish I would have started it long ago but better late than never, right? The past couple years of our (now 5 year) marriage have been very exciting and have brought a lot of change into our lives including Jeff earning his Masters degree and us purchasing our first home in '08 as well as welcoming our first child, Hayden Jeffrey, on May 6th 2009. I never could have prepared myself for the great love I would have for him or the amount of pure joy that he has brought to our lives!!! I cannot express how much I love being his mommy and how thankful I am for him. I could literally sit here all day and gush about my precious baby boy, but I must move on...

Just as a quick update on our lives for those who may not know what we are up to lately. Jeff is now working as a marriage and family therapist for a community mental health center here in Knoxville. He also sees clients at a private practice after hours. He is such a hard worker and I am so grateful for that! I have been staying home with Hayden the past year and love every second of it!!! Being his mommy is the best job that I have ever had! It is also a challenging job but so worth it! We are members of a great church here where Jeff is able to play the drums as a part of the praise team ministry. We absolutely love our church and are so blessed to be a part of it!

As a stay-at-home mommy, it can get lonely at times, but I have been SOOOOO fortunate to find a group of mommy friends that I get together with as much as I can either for playdates with the kiddos or 'mommy night out' or MNO as we call it :) Our hubbies graciously watch the babies while us moms get together for some much needed girl talk, relaxation, food and fun! I don't know what I would do without these girls and I am so blessed to have them in my life!

I also (as of April) have started watching my friend's little girl who is 3 months older than Hayden. They are truly 'besties' and I'm happy that Hayden has a friend to spend time with during the week! She is such a good girl so it makes it a lot easier having the two of them during the day. We have no temper tantrums or meltdowns (believe it or not). Just days filled with playing together, naps (for all 3 of us) and eating, of course! (Now, Hayden on the other hand will have the occasional meltdown but that is usually at night if he is just beyond tired but its pretty rare.)

I could probably 'update' forever but I am trying to keep it brief so I think that sums it up pretty good for now :)

p.s. Me and Jeff just celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary this past weekend, so I think I will post a few pics from that along with a little tid-bit about our little 'trip' as Jeff kept calling it. I'll save that for another post, though.

Well, here's to a new blog and hoping (praying) that I can keep up with it on top of my various babysitter/mommy/wife duties around the house. :)

Kristen