It's Time...

Well, maybe not time for 'big-boy underwear' just yet but close  :)  It's definitely potty-training time at our house!  I never really thought I would be potty training my son at 19 months since you always hear how hard it is to train boys.  Well, a couple weeks ago, Hayden started telling us when he had to go "#2" (or poo-poo, as he calls it.)   So, when he tells us we put him on his little potty and he goes.  Sometimes he is like the boy who cried wolf and tells us when he doesn't really have to go (like when he is in time-out or we are on a 6 1/2 hr road trip and he is tired of being in his carseat.) 
Now...he is doing things a little backwards and is still peeing in his diaper so we have to work on that.  So far, he has only told us once that he had to pee but we haven't really been working on it either since we were out of town and with the holidays.  But, now that we are back home and in our routines, I am going to try to get going on the peeing in the potty too!  I think we are gonna do some naked days (shouldn't be too bad since we have wood floors and he already has the poop part down ;)  At least that is what I tell myself...I can't imagine it being fun letting my toddler run around naked and possibly peeing everywhere.  hmmmmm.
Anyway, when we were in Indiana, my mom got him a couple pairs of underwear

...and today we tried them on  :)

...along with his new hat that just happened to match the red & black pair...

He liked them  ;)

Although, I think they are a little big... 

And I think we will now be spending lots of time with this guy...

I was bribing Hayden with candy (organic gummy bears with vitamin c...is there such a thing as 'healthy candy?' probably not but at least its not as junky as the other stuff...)  haha!  Anyway, since I was bribing him with "tsdee tsdee" (as he calls it...very hard to spell it the way he pronounces it) I managed to capture some cute images of him in his little hat 

That face absolutely melts my heart (sigh)

Oh, and I didn't forget about a post to re-cap our Christmas, I just have to find the time.  It's going to be lengthy so I think I will have to wait till everyone is in bed to do that one!

A quick hello!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas with their families, I know I did!   We are up in Indiana visiting my family and will be here until Sunday.  My parents are still living in the dark ages and don't have high-speed internet so in order to post pictures, I have to make my way over to Starbucks and use their wi-fi.  I went once to post some pictures to facebook but my blogs tend to take a while to post, so I haven't found the time to do a Christmas recap yet.  I am missing my little blog while I am on vacation, but I am enjoying family time!  But don't worry, soon enough I will be back with a catch-up blog packed full with lots of photos  ;) 

Let the Festivities Begin!

Since we planned to leave for Indiana on Thursday, we celebrated Christmas here in Knoxville this week.  Tuesday, we celebrated with Jeff's family at his mom's house.  That's where Hayden got to open his first Christmas gift of the season! 
He got a pj's and a pillow pet from Mamaw.

Playing peek-a-boo with his hat (and wearing daddy's new tie)  :p

Jeff recieved a mysterious gift from his brother Ray...

First of all, let me just say that this little guy did not come home with us! 
Jeff's niece noticed a box moving under the tree and asked my mother in law about it but she didn't give it much thought.  We all had a big laugh about this interesting gift. 
Mamaw Judy got all the kids pj's and they all decided to change into them after they opened them.  I got a quick pic of all of them in their new pj's.

Look at my handsome little man in his monkey pj's  ;)

Wednesday we had Christmas at our house.  After dinner, we let Hayden open his gifts from us and Jeff and I opened ours to each other.  Hayden was very excited about all his new stuff!
First, he spotted his gift from "Santa." 

Side note:  You'll have to excuse the bad terrible quality of the pics, it was dark and we have really poor lighting in the living room thanks to the 'night light' in the ceiling fan I purchased for this room.  I refuse to use flash.  Ever.  And my little enrty-level DSLR just doesn't have the capability to handle such dimly lit coniditions (guess I need to upgrade;)   Wow, that was a long explanation.  I guess the fact is that I am just embarassed of the quality of these pics.  There, I said it. 

Anyhoo, back to what "Santa" brought Hayden...

I told Jeff I don't really think it's fair that Santa gets credit for stuff unless he sends me some money :p

Opening some more presents

Love this little Crayola toy, but I hope he doesn't now think that he can color on all his toys...

Hayden with all of his gifts from mommy & daddy (and Santa.)

He was so excited I think he could have played with his toys all night.  When he finally did go to bed, he wanted to bring his pillow pet & sock monkey

Oh, and look what Santa brought me!

You know you're an adult (or someone that takes a bazillion pictures) when you ask for stuff like this for Christmas... ha!

A Christmas Treat

Made these up for Jeff to give out to his co-workers as Christmas gifts.  (Of course I tried a couple myself...)
I guess they could be called "white candy covered Oreos."  I had wanted to make white chocolate ones, but to make a long story short, I sent the hubby to get the chocolate & got the 'candy coating.'  It still tasted good, so I hope the recipients don't mind the faux chocolate  ;)
Santa would probably like these better than the ol' sugar cookies we're planning to leave out for him...  ;)

Ugh, I took these photos after dark, hence the really poor lighting  :-/

Christmas Lights and a Baby

I saw an idea on a photography forum that everyone was doing so I thought I would try it with my little guy.  I am always looking for a photo op!  ;) 
Anyway, they didn't turn out exactly as I had hoped but Hayden was giving me some pretty cute expressions!  I put together a little collage...

The many faces of Hayden:

I also loved the way these looked in b&w so I converted a couple few several...

one of my faves even though his face is not completely in focus, kinda what happens when you shoot wide-open with a busy toddler (probably not the smartest decision on my part!)

Maybe Santa will bring mommy some external memory for all these photos I take...they are beginning to eat up some serious memory in my computer!  :-/

Feeling Sentimental

Yesterday I came accross a very sad story.  Someone on Twitter had linked to a blog of a mother who had just lost her 22 month old son in a tragic accident.  I read the blog post where the mother told the story of what happened to her baby and it was one of the saddest things I have ever read.  It hit close to home since the baby was just 3 months older than Hayden.  I cannot imagine her pain and all I could do was pray that the Lord would give her a peace that only He can give.  Today, she posted a slideshow with pictures of his little life.  I just sat and cried as I looked at photos of this beautiful little boy who's life had been cut way too short.  I felt my heart breaking as I wondered how a mother could handle so much pain and anguish.  Today, she had to bury her precious, beautiful son but praise God that one day she will see him again (from what I gather from her blog, she is a Christian.)  What a wonderful day that will be for this mother! 
I try to learn from stories like this.  I try to get something out of it other than a broken heart.  I want to remember that we have no guarantees in this life.  I could lose my baby tomorrow, so I will make the most of today.  I will savour every precious moment I have with him, even if he is whining and crying.  I will be that crazy, overprotective mommy that everyone rolls their eyes at.  No, I can't protect him from everything but as his mommy, it's my job to protect him the best I can.  And I will thank God for every day that He gives me with my precious baby and be grateful that I am able to be home with him every day. 
Lately, I have come to realize just how true the title of this little blog really is.  I really am blessed beyond measure.  But may I, like this mother who just lost her son, be able to praise Him in the bad times as well which is when our faith is really tested. 

{I was camera-stalking my baby during his lunch today  ;)  Another thing I tell myself is that you can never have too many photos because they are precious memories.}

Mommies: hug, kiss and squueze your babies every chance you get!  They are such a wonderful gift!

I'm Getting Featured!

Hello, readers!  Just thought I would let you all know some exciting news!  Cassity at Polly Want a Crafter (an AWESOME crafting blog for all you fellow craft lovers) is featuring my DIY Christmas wreath tomorrow!!!  I'm pretty excited and I hope that you all will stop by Polly Want a Crafter tomorrow and check it out!  The post will go live at 7 am for you early birds  ;) 
Hope everyone is getting ready for Christmas, it's just over a week away (yikes!) 
(link)