25 Random Things About Me....

Wow! This tagging thing is catching on like crazy, but it's kind of fun. This tag came from Kimberly, and these were the instructions. I am supposed to write a list of 25 random things about me. Then, I am supposed to tag 25 people as well as the person who tagged me. So, here goes...

1. I love to swim. Although I have fallen behind the last couple of weeks, I usually swim 3 times a week. I started it after I had Hayden.
2. I absolutely LOVE ice cream and could eat it all the time. My favorite? Maggie Moos and Cold Stone...they mix whatever you want in your ice cream...what could be better than that?
3. I really enjoy cooking. My specialty? Cheesecakes and baking. I'm thinking about turning the cheesecake thing into a semi-business during the holidays.
4. I'm a huge math and science nerd, especially math. Almost everything I see, I relate to math in some way. I'm weird.
5. I can't stand eating semi-warm food. It has to be piping hot.
6. When I eat a hamburger that I cook myself, I have to tear the cheese off the corners (the cheese that hangs off the edge) and distribute it evenly on my burger.
7. Chris and I met on a blind date our freshman year. We were married 4 years later and were only engaged for 14 weeks. We were ready to get married, and my mom and I are quick planners. :o)
8. I am so glad I have a God who sent His Son to die for me. I am so glad that being a Christian and going to heaven is as easy as confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord and believing in your HEART that God raised him from the dead. (Romans 10:9)
9. I've broken both of my feet, in the matter of only a couple of months. Oh, and I should probably add that I broke them both falling down the SAME stairs. Clumsy, I know!
10. I enjoy playing tennis, but I haven't played since before I was pregnant.
11. I grew up in the big city of Pelahatchie, MS but went to school at Brandon. My parents were both educators in Brandon, so that's why I got to go to a different school.
12. My brother and I both raised pet cows (these were calves who had moms that died). My brother had Alex and D.C. (stood for da' cow), and I had Alexandra (one of Alex' calves).
13. We also (mostly my mom and I) raised a baby squirrel we named Timber. It fell out of its mother's nest. Timber died after we let it go.
14. I enjoy playing cards.
15. I was a member of Delta Gamma sorority at Mississippi State, and I love my Room 211 girls!
16. I wear a coat a lot of the time when I'm inside, and it drives my sweet husband crazy!
17. I love trout fishing, and my mom and I make a trip to Heber Springs, AR every year.
18. I love Burt's Bee balm...it's a great chapstick.
19. I had three hernia surgeries in one year in college, and all three were rare for me to have. I usually manage to defy medical odds. My brother says I should donate my body to science.
20. My full name is Melissa Doris Patrick Davidson, but since I've been married, I'm Melissa Patrick Davidson. Doris is my grandmother's name. I've been called Missy since I was born, though.
21. I love being a wife and a mom.
22. My mom drank castor oil to get me here. She must have been ready to not be pregnant anymore. She laughed (happily) when I was born and she found out I was girl. Probably because she was so tired of dealing with my dorky brother. Hehehe...
23. I am really perplexed why the Germ-X and Purell bottles (even Clorox cleaner) all say that they kill 99.9% of germs. Is anyone else wondering about the other 0.1% of germs, or is it just me?
24. I really hope my child doesn't like Barney and Baby Bop. I find them extremely annoying. I'm more of a Pooh girl.
25. I am not a decorator. Just come look at my house! I do hope to get it decorated a little along the way, though.

Okay, that's it! Whew, I thought I'd never finish. Now, I have to tag 25 different people. So, if you are reading this and you have a blog, that means you - especially Tracie, Robyn, Mary Lee, Lori, Dee Dee, Ginny, Tiffany, Jill, and Melissa! Don't pretend like you didn't read this and skip out on this fun activity. Do it, or else! Hehehe... Oh, and if you have a blog and I don't have your blog address, post a comment to give me your blog address.

6 Months Old!

I can hardly believe that Hayden is 6 months old today! I know that the one year mark for a baby is always super exciting, but I'm almost as super excited about him being 6 months old. The last half of a year has been so wonderful, and Hayden has definitely filled this house with so much joy and excitement. Chris and I love our "Little Man" so much!

Hayden in his high chair...That's sweet potatoes on his mouth!

Last Thursday, I had to take Hayden to the pediatrician because of a sinus infection, so they went ahead and did his 6-month checkup and shots then...since he wasn't running any fever. Hayden came in at a whopping 21 pounds and remains in the 95th-97th percentile for his height, weight, and head circumference. He was a really big boy when he got his shots and only cried for a few seconds, just long enough to make the pretty nurse feel sorry for him...he is such a ham and flirt! Oh, and he's feeling much better after getting some Amoxicillin...he loves that pink stuff!

Hayden has lots of new tricks he loves to do. Since a little before three months old, he has been rolling over, but last week, he moved from rolling over one way to rolling clear across the room. And, a 6 month old who is 21 pounds and as long/tall as he is can get across the room pretty quickly when he wants to. He's beginning to pull himself up to a sitting position when he's in my lap, but he can't quite get the balance right to sit up on the floor by himself.

One of the other things he is doing is something Chris and I call "kissing me." He loves to put his hands on both sides of my face, bring my face toward his, and put his entire mouth around my chin. I think it has something to do with teething, but it is super cute. He's done it to Chris a couple of times, but he does it to me ALL the time. One morning, Chris was holding Hayden, and Chris gave me a kiss goodbye. Right after that, Hayden grabbed my face, put my chin in his mouth, and then let go with a smile like, "There you go, Mommy. There's your kiss from me." Also, I'm pretty sure I won't end up with any hair after this whole hair pulling stage is over!

Even though he can't totally sit up by himself yet, we've started feeding him in his high chair and letting him ride in his stroller without his car seat. He especially loves riding in his stroller, because he loves people and being able to watch people. He just rides and smiles and flirts. What a ham!

Hayden in his stroller...ready to go!!!

Oh, and I'll give everyone an update on the pacie adventure. He did great when we took the pacie away, or I guess I should say that he did great after I broke his pacie. We had two nights of screaming when we put him to bed, and that was it! It was remarkably easy.

Happy 6 month old birthday, Little Man. We love you!

I've Been Tagged...Thanks, Tracie!

Thanks to my wonderful sister-in-law, Tracie, I've been tagged. So, here goes. These are the instructions: Go to my picture folder on my computer, go to the fourth folder and the fourth picture in that folder, post it, and explain it...no cheating.

Now, this really is funny, Tracie...and you can tell my brother that YOU were the one who put me up to this. First of all, I have two "My Pictures" Folders on my computer, so I figured I should go to the first "My Pictures" folder I ever created. So, I browsed, went to the fourth folder and the fourth picture, and this is what I found.



This picture is one I scanned into my computer from my wedding. This, of course, is my brother kissing me. And, now, he's really going to kill me. Oh dear! I didn't cheat, I promise.

Now, I'm suppoed to tag four other people. I tag Tiffany Brooks, Melissa Cook, Dee Dee Williams, and Kimberly Neyland. Follow the instructions to the "T."

A Sweet Baby's Journey

Magdalena Grace Roberts. I have never met her nor have I ever met her parents, and she was only 5 months, 1 week old today. To be so young and so little, her story has been one that has affected me and many other people. I first learned of Magdalena when she was in her mommy's belly. When Magdalena's mother, Julie, was 22 weeks pregnant, Julie and her husband, Noah, learned that they would be having a little girl, but the healthy, little girl they hoped for would be a little girl with a terminal chromosomal abnormality, Trisomy 18. Julie's sister is in my Sunday School class and Bunko group, and Julie's due date was 2 weeks after mine, so I quickly became engrossed in Magdalena's journey into the world.

I hoped that Julie and Noah would be able to spend at least one day with Magdalena, and they did. I hoped that they would be able to spend Christmas with her, and they did. I hoped Magdalena would beat all the odds and be one of the less than 5% of Trisomy 18 babies who make it to their first birthday, but Magdalena did not. This morning, Magdalena went to be with Jesus. Her short life was one that brought many people, including me, into a greater faith in Jesus Christ, and her parents were so gracious to share her sweet story with so many people. I've had their blog link on the side of my blog for a while now, and I imagine some of you have been following her story at http://noahandjulieroberts.blogspot.com/. If you haven't read Magdalena's story, you need to right now! Beginat May 2008.

My heart breaks for Magdalena's family, and I have been brought to tears several times today thinking about how much her family must be grieving right now. I can't imagine losing a child. But, right now, Magdalena is with Jesus and has a perfect body that isn't plagued by a bad heart, a heart monitor, and a feeding tube. Please pray for the Roberts family.

No More Pacie

Chris and I have declared war on the pacie, and we will win! While Hayden was in the hospital after his birth, the nurses, of course, asked if we wanted to use a pacie, and our answer was a definite, "YES!" Hayden has always loved them...and so have we. They were great "plugs," as we sometimes called them and helped us get some much needed rest at times. However, the pacie has lately been declaring war on us. In the past month, Hayden has become dependent on his pacie...especially at night. His waking has become more frequent, and everytime he wakes, he thinks he needs the pacie to go back to sleep.

I was reading about it online, and apparently, around 4-5 months of age, babies begin developing associations. One of the big associations they develop are sleep associations. In other words, I need this pacie to be able to go back to sleep. Sometimes, these associations can be good things, but sometimes (like in our case), they can become a problem. On New Year's night, I was up with him every 30-45 minutes during the night, meaning that I was able to sleep for about 15 minutes before he woke up crying and wanting his pacie. And, as all of you parents know, sleep is a very important thing to have to get through the next day.

Chris usually takes night duty two nights during the weekend, and he declared war this morning. He wants Hayden to quit this pacie thing cold turkey and is prepared for two entire nights of screaming if that's what it takes. I thought I might find another idea that might help break Hayden of his pacie addiction, and I think I've found a great idea! An idea that almost seems cruel and inhumane. Break the pacie! Apparently, you can put a hole in the end of the pacie, and the pacie loses its suction....hence, the pacie is broken. Cruel, probably, I know....but I'll be a better parent if I can get some sleep.

When I tried it the first time, I was kind of doubtful that it would work. I gave Hayden the pacie with the hole in it, and within 1 second, he spit it out. He looked at it with a kind of puzzled look, put it in his mouth, and spit it back out. We continued this over and over until he resorted to talking to his pacie. I know we'll probably still have some crying fits, but at least I can give him his pacie...which is what he wants. The pacie is broken, but he gets mad at the pacie instead of being mad at me for not giving it to him.

Hopefully, Hayden will soon get better with finding his thumb, and he can be soothed by that. In the meantime, I introduced a new "pacie" to him...a bear blanket Chris and I bought him before he was born. My niece, Lindsey, had a "green" (a green blanket) that she still sleeps with, and a blanket is much easier to find than a pacie. After about 10 minutes (which seemed like much longer) of screaming at the top of his lungs, Hayden is actually taking a little nap in his crib with his bear blanket. Here's a picture of him napping. The lights are off, but the flash on the camera was on. I think I might safety pin the blanket to his sleep positioner so he can't get it quite that close to his mouth, but I think we are starting to see some success already.

I wrote most of this earlier in the day, but I was trying to load some videos with not much luck. I'll try again tomorrow and add them to the post then. Just a quick update...so far, pretty good. He took a two hour nap this afternoon, and I had to wake him up. It took 30 minutes of violent screaming for him to go to sleep tonight, but he's asleep now. Hopefully, he won't make tonight too difficult. We'll see. :o)