It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas!

Even though we have been cooped up at home with a new baby, we are trying to enjoy and make the most of the Christmas season! We have been very blessed this year. Hayden is so excited for Santa to visit tonight.

Our Tree:

The Mantel:

Hayden's own tree in his room, decorated all by himself:

Hayden has been in charge of updating the Christmas countdown every day:

Felix the elf was back in full force this year:

Hayden's Christmas program at school:

Participating and going through the motions...

... aaaaand losing interest:

Hayden and Megan (apparently they are engaged):

Gingerbread House party at Hayden's school:

And Christmas came a little early this year, at least for a few "time sensitive gifts"

Curtis had to give me my gift early, since it had to be activated upon purchase!

LOVE IT!!!!!!:

and Hayden's gift from us would not survive in a box for very long:

"Turdy" the red footed tortoise

Time to catch up!

It's hard to believe that little Garrett is 5 weeks old today. We are relishing in his baby-ness, because we know it will all be over too soon!! Hayden just loves him... he told me a couple of weeks ago "Mom, I could just stare at the baby all day long." How sweet is that? Garrett loves staring at big brother too... he is always rubbernecking trying to find him when Hayden starts talking.

I have realized what a full time job feeding the baby can be. He is exclusively breastfed, and I feel like I am on the couch all. the. time. When he was about 1.5 weeks old, I decided to start watching "Desperate Housewives" when I was feeding. I started with episode 1, season 1 and as of last night, I was completely caught up to the current season (season 7.) Each season has over 20 episodes, lasting 45 minutes each. So, that is approximately 102 hours spent feeding on the couch over a period of 3. 5 weeks. INSANE!!

Now I am going to try to catch up with pictures!!

These are a few from the first week home:

These are some taken by Curtis! We did a little photo shoot at home when he was 1 week old:

Some more random ones from the past couple of weeks:

We had a photo shoot with the legendary Stephanie Fisher at 2 weeks of age... here are the "sneak peeks" we have gotten so far! AMAZING!:

Hayden on the left, Garrett on the right :)

I am horribly outnumbered in this house!

Can't forget about this guy! The best big bro around:

Happy Birthday Garrett!

We are a family of four!!

Garrett joined our family a little over 2 weeks ago. He was born 2 weeks early on November 19th. I want to write out his birth story before I forget some of the details. May be boring for you!

On Friday, November 19th, I woke up at 12:45 am having contractions. Curtis was still awake next to me watching TV. I had only been asleep for about an hour. When I first awoke, my contractions were coming very fast, about 2 minutes apart. I kept laying there hoping they would stop, but they did not. I finally got up and called the doctor and started packing up. After about an hour, they had slowed down to about 6-7 mins, but were still regular. I kept laying back down in hopes that they would stop, but we finally decided it was time to go to the hospital. I had just finished packing the hospital bag that day. We loaded Hayden in the car and my stepdad met us in front of the hospital to take Hayden back to their house. We arrived at the hospital sometime around 3:15 am.

After spending about 2 hours in triage, it was determined that I was indeed in labor (thankfully, because I was in entirely too much pain to be sent home!) I was 2 cm when I arrived, and the nurse said 4 cm when I was admitted. (Later, the doctor came to break my water, and he said I was only about 2 cm, so somebody was wrong! But it was too late!) I was admitted around 5:30 am, and I got my epidural around 8. The epi only numbed one half of my body, so I was in agony for quite some time. They finally came to give me a boost and that was much better. My legs were like tree trunks, I couldn't even move them.

The nurse checked me at 11:55 and I was 8 cm. The next 10 minutes was INTENSE. I told the nurse that I was feeling a ton of pressure, so she checked me again (12:05 PM) and I was 10 cm. By 12:15 I was pushing, and Garrett was born at 12:32!

He weighed in at 7 lbs 5 oz and was 19.5 inches long! And perfectly healthy! We were overjoyed!!

When Hayden came in to meet his baby brother for the first time, it was the sweetest moment of my life! He was so ecstatic. He jumped up into the bed with me and just gazed at Garrett. He kept saying "It's Garrett... he's so cute... I love him." He wanted to hold him right away. It was truly an amazing moment!

Our Family of four - so blessed!!

Life as we know it!

Hayden has had his heart set on a new game for his Wii for several weeks, called "Kirby Epic Yarn." It being a $50 game, we decided to make Hayden earn all of the money to buy the game himself. He earned money by doing little tasks around the house, and got rewarded for exceptionally good behavior. He even made a few ($15!!) from his Aunt Cookie for painting a picture for her. We kept track of his progress with a chart, and when he reached $50, he got his game! He reached the big $5-0 on Friday, and got his game. He (we!) have been having lots of fun with the new game.

I am 36 weeks along with Garrett now (seriously?!) and guess what? The contract on our house fell through! The house we built in Springville is ready, but I have yet to go out and see it because our contract on that one expires at the end of this month, and the way things are going, it looks like we wont be getting that house. We are disappointed, but have been focusing on this scripture: Proverbs 19:21 - "Many are the plans in the heart of man, but it is the Lord's purpose that will prevail." Can't argue with that! We are keeping our faith in God and his plans for us, and we will be patient in HIM! In the mean time, we have rearranged a few things in our house and are making room for Garrett. We are just really not stressing about the fact that things did not go as we had hoped and planned. Everything will work out the way it is meant to happen!

I am SO big and uncomfortable. Definitely to that point in the pregnancy. I feel like I'm disabled. I huff and puff going up stairs, my feet, legs and back are constantly hurting, and it is getting close to impossible to find clothes to fit this shape. I am also getting a little weary of hearing "Oh you are about to pop!" When I reply "No, actually I have __ weeks left." (this has been happening for the past 2-3 weeks) people's eyes pop out of their skulls. Yes - I'm huge. I get it! (Sorry to complain so much there!)

Halloween

This was the first year that Hayden actually wanted to dress up, and he is also passed the age where I can choose his costume for him. He originally wanted to be "Pikachu" from Pokemon, but he spotted this little number at Wal-Mart and changed his mind. I will say though, we definitely got our money's worth out it, as he has worn it for most of the month.

Halloween was on a Sunday this year, and we went to Crystal's house on Saturday night to have dinner and carve pumpkins. Hayden spotted the leaf covered backyard, and immediately asked for a leaf pile to play in. He has been so into the "leaves" and the "leaves changing colors" this season. He asked me a couple of weeks ago "Why are the leaves not falling into piles for me to jump into?" We don't have enough leaves at our house to make a pile, but Crystal did!

Sunday night we went to a carnival here by our house, then came home and went Trick or Treating. Hayden had a blast Trick or Treating, but he was also so enthusiastic about giving candy out to "guests" that rang the doorbell. In full costume, of course!

Old Baker Farm

One of our favorite Fall activities is the annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch. In years past, we have always visited "The Great Pumpkin Patch" in Hayden, but last year, after our family trip, a friend and I took the kids to "Old Baker Farm" in Harpersville, and I immediately decided that would be the 'patch' of choice from now on! It has such an authentic feel compared to the inflatable bounce houses and store bought pumpkins at The Great Pumpkin Patch. Old Baker Farm has a corn maze, mule driven hay rides through the woods and they ACTUALLY grow pumpkins in their patch. You get to pick them right off of the vine! This year we went with our neighbor's The Meacham's, and we also brought Alli and Nikki along with us. We started the day with breakfast at Cracker Barrel, and then we headed to the Farm. Unfortunately we lost Bobby, Cathy and Hannah early on, but we enjoyed the day doing all they had to offer at the farm. We had a really great day!

October Beach Trip

Ok, I'll be honest. When the Donaldson's invited us to come to the beach in October, I was thrilled to have the chance to get out of town, but I wasn't expecting a true beach experience this late in the year. WRONG. If there had not been a calendar, I would have sworn it was late May, early June. The weather was PERFECT. It was sunny and warm and breezy. Even the ocean was warm enough to swim in! The pool was a little too cold for the adults, but the kids didn't seem to mind. We had SO. MUCH. FUN. It was so relaxing, and our families mesh so well. I was SO thankful to have one last trip to the coast before Garrett arrives... babies and the beach just don't mix well! We're still trying to decide if we are going to invite him to come along on our beach trips his first couple of years of life. :)

Curtis took Hayden down to the beach at sunset one day and had a totally impromptu photo shoot... he got some cute shots!

And a belly shot: 32 weeks!

October already?

It is definitely October, but I am posting this update from the coast of Alabama, and it feels like June out here. We are having a great mini-vacation, but everyone is inside watching football, so I am seizing the opportunity to update the blog.

We haven't been up to too much lately. Last weekend Curtis' sister got married, and we were thrilled to get to see Curtis' brother Josh who just returned from Afghanistan. Later that day, we met up with Elizabeth Ann from eakphotography for a family photo session. So far we just have a few sneak peeks from our session, but we know she got some great shots that day and we can't wait to see the rest!

Curtis was sick in the bed all week with a terrible virus, but he bounced back just in time for our trip to the beach with the Donaldsons (we are here now... I will blog about the trip after it is over!) I have been so busy with work at Neverland's Cove, I have literally been working until the wee hours of the morning to stay caught up. It is definitely overwhelming, but it is very satisfying running a successful business from home. God has blessed me so much! I recently bought a second embroidery machine, and it is fun to see my little business growing! I will be closing for maternity leave at the end of November, so I forsee a pretty busy 6 weeks preparing for the close, as well as the arrival of the newest member of our family! Now 32 weeks along and things are progressing wonderfully! We don't 'technically' have the house ready for Garrett yet, seeing that we are still kind of in tandem between 2 houses, so we are just taking it a day at a time and I am not stressing as much with the preparation as I did with our first. We have everything we need and I know everything will fall into place just the way it should.

Hayden is loving school, and we were SO proud when he came home with this 2 weeks ago:

And I am going to finish this post with a "Fall Survey" my friend Jamie tagged me to do!

1. do you like starbucks? and are you a fan of their seasonal coffees?
Pumpkin Spice Lattes make me happier than a beverage should make a person.

2. how do you decorate and prepare for fall?
We don't do much inside, but outside we usually do some haystacks with pumpkins and mums. "Harvest" is the word that comes to mind... I like to do something that can last until Thanksgiving (not just -straight- Halloween decorations! I think those can get kind of tacky anyways...)

3. will you participate in your college's homecoming activites?
Homecoming usually means football, and I hate football, so NO. Sorry Blazers, I'm not a very good Alumni.

4. what is your fav fall clothing item or accessory?
I am definitely a sweater/jeans/boots kind of gal, but this year I will wear anything that will fit on my body. I have 8 weeks or less left in the pregnancy, so if I grow out of what I already have, it looks like my favorite accessory will be garbage bags, because I am not spending any more money on maternity clothes! :)

5. what was your fav halloween costume as a kid?
A hippie. I think I dressed as a hippie 2 or 3 years straight, because my dad had an awesome pair of bell bottom jeans that he had covered in patches back in the 70's. I seized any opportunity I could to wear them out of the house.

6. do you like halloween/horror movies? do you have a fav?
I'm gonna say no, but secretly yes! I always make Curtis watch scary movies with me, even though I know I will hide my head under the covers and force him to let me sleep with the lights on for weeks.

7. what is your fav fall activity?
Definitely love the yearly trip to the Pumpkin Patch, and trick-or-treating!!

8. what is your favorite fall recipe?

Pumpkin PIE! Yum, I think I want some right now.

Quick "Housing" Update

Just a quick update on where we stand with our housing situation! We have been on the market about 5 weeks now, and we have a potential buyer. The airport is buying her house in October, and our property is her pick for a new place. Our agent and everyone involved is confident enough that everything will work out, that she convinced us to put a contingency on a house ourselves. We went back and forth on the area we want to move. I 'really' wanted to end up in Trussville, and for a short time we actually looked at houses there and started thinking seriously about it. But after MUCH consideration, we quickly tuned back into St. Clair county, either Springville or Moody. There are countless benefits to living over the county line, and we feel it is a more responsible decision on our part. I am a stay at home (work at home) mom, and Curtis' job is in Irondale, so we have no need to be in the middle of the city.

I liked a lot about Springville better, except for the distance. We were shocked however when we sat down with mapping software and learned that the amount of time it would take to get to Springville was 5 minutes or less of a difference from the amount of time it takes to get to our house now. The distance is a little greater, but the difference is that now, we are about 15 minutes off of the interstate. Stop and go traffic, red lights, etc. The neighborhood in Springville we like is only 1 minute off of the interstate. We actually did several trial runs over the weekend and were stunned to find that it really is the same amount of time.

Sooooo, low and behold, we put a contingent offer on a new construction... it is everything we want. It is the same floor plan I was eyeing in a neighborhood in Moody, only it sits on a larger lot with a perfect sized back yard. The back yard butts up to an open field that will never be developed with houses... if anything there will be neighborhood amenities put there (a soccer field or tennis court.) The neighborhood playground and pool and adjacent to the property as well. We know that one small change could throw the whole thing off course, and that is ok! We are staying obedient and faithful to God's plan, but as of now, if everything continued to roll on the path it is now, we would be calling "Legacy Springs" home before the end of the year.

Looks kind of small from the outside, but it is actually almost 2500 square feet! The interior layout and features are what we want and need to a "T"

September Birthdays

Curtis and I both have birthdays in September, and this has just been a really great month!

My birthday is on the 7th, and this year Curtis and Hayden took a day trip to Atlanta with Chris and Will to see a NASCAR race. So I started my birthday weekend with a day completely to myself. I got a prenatal massage, picked up a Pumpkin Spice Latte on my way out and snuck it into the dollar movie to see Eclipse. All by myself. It was glorious! It's been a long time since I had a day like that, and it was much needed!

The next night we had a small get together on the patio at Cocina Superior. Great times! Great Birthday!

27 Weeks Celebrating my 27th Birthday

Ella showing off her twirly dress

Hayden and Brannon (One of my dearest friends from College who now lives and teaches in Arkansas - we miss him dearly!)

We also made it to a Labor Day Festival that weekend. It was hot, but we had fun! Curtis even won a cake at the cake walk!

Hayden was not a fan of the "Jazzercize" Demonstration

And Curtis' birthday was this past weekend on the 17th! We celebrated with a family cookout at Crystal's house on Friday, and then he had a guy's night on Saturday night. He had a lot to celebrate this year. His career is going phenomenal, family life is great, and everything just seems to be following a really great path these days. We feel very overwhelmingly blessed and thankful!