Birthday, Toddlerhood, and Tubes

Hayden had a wonderful birthday party last weekend. We decided to have it at Gran's house and enjoy a sunny day in the country with some grilling out, presents, cake, and of course, a swim in the pond. We kept his birthday small after learning some valuable lessons from Hayden's cousins, so it was Chris, Hayden, me, Gran, MaMaw, Tracie, Lindsey, Kristopher, Kris, Kelli, and Brianna.

True to the Twinkie incident, he thoroughly enjoyed his cake, and after some short observation, he dug right in. The cakes were made by DreamCakes MS in Flowood, MS...I thoroughly recommend them for making cute, cute cakes that taste yummy! Hayden thanks all of his guests for attending and said he had such a fun birthday and loves his gifts!

Well, we had an exciting event yesterday...July 30th will forever live in infamy as the day Hayden left infancy and entered toddlerhood. That's right. He took his first steps yesterday. Just a few steps from one object to another object, but he did it about 7 or 8 times last night. Who knows how long it will take him to begin walking, but we are on our way within the next couple of months, I guess. So exciting! I will no longer have to carry around a 26-pounder. :o) I'll try to catch it on video sometime soon and add it to the blog.

Hayden got so many wonderful presents for his birthday - a lion hand-made by Gran, some blocks, clothes, an ice cream bowl, bath toys, a dolphin, books, his first plate, a ride-on Radio Flyer turtle, and a Pottery barn chair. And today, he got another birthday gift - ear tubes! Hopefully, his tubes will help those nasty little ears stay clear. Hayden was such a big boy and never cried when they took him back and didn't cry at all in recovery. We were in and out in no time. He looked so cute in his hospital gown that I had to snap a quick picture.





On Sunday, we leave for the beach. Hayden has made one trip before when he was 6-weeks old, but he will be able to enjoy it much more this year. I am so excited about going to the beach and just relaxing.

Here he is during the observation stage.



As you will see in the pictures, he warmed up to the cake after a very short while.

Hayden's First Birthday

At 2:14 pm a year ago today, Hayden Kristofer Davidson came into our lives and has blessed us so much throughout the year. Chris and I have been privileged by the gift that he is in our lives and have enjoyed so much watching him grow up throughout the year.

I've had work training part of this week, but I did leave a little early this afternoon so I could spend some time with the birthday boy. Chris was able to help me out by working from home today, so I was so glad they got to spend some time together. A terrible diaper rash has made him extremely unhappy for the past couple of days, but we managed to have a little celebration anyway.

After eating some dinner, we gave Hayden a Twinkie. Since we are having his birthday party this weekend and didn't want to steal the show and give him any cake today, I decided to buy something that would be cakelike so he could at least have a little treat on his birthday. And, what is more cakelike or wonderful than a Twinkie.

If the Twinkie was any indication of how much he will enjoy his birthday cake on Saturday, we should be in for a good show. After a few moments of observing, he went right into the process of getting rid of the Twinkie. The whole process didn't take more than a couple of minutes, because he accomplished the goal by sticking most of it in his mouth at one time. Pretty funny stuff.

I'm including a slideshow of some pics from the year to show how much he has grown. It is amazing to look at old pictures now.

The funniest part is getting to see him engulf the Twinkie. Here are some pictures of that.

And, here he is in action.

A Fabulous Trip to New Orleans

Chris and I made a trip to New Orleans this past weekend to celebrate an early anniversary. Our actual anniversary is on July 24th, but since Hayden's birthday is on July 22nd, we thought we'd go ahead and celebrate our anniversary a little early. We had a wonderful trip and some much needed rest and relaxation.

We stayed at a beautiful bed and breakfast called Ashton's Bed and Breakfast. We stayed in the Creole Queen room, and our bathroom was almost as big as the bedroom...it was really nice. Breakfast was always wonderful, and I would definitely recommend this as a place to stay if you ever visit the area. It's not too far from the French Quarter, and you avoid the massive hotel tax you get if you stay at a regular hotel. We loved it!

We were worried that we would get rained on the entire weekend, but the only rain we got was on Friday on our way and for a little while when we got there. We ate on Friday night at a restaurant neither of us had ever been to before called Mulate's. The food was excellent, and they even have some live cajun music and dancing every night. They have two what-you-might-call good cajun dancers, but anyone and everyone can join them. After we watched for a little while, we ended up joining in, too...we looked like idiots, but we had fun doing it.

After a late sleep in on Saturday and some very good breakfast, we headed out to the Creole Creamery...a local ice cream shoppe with tons of yummy flavors. Because of a late breakfast, we ended up calling our ice cream lunch, and that is my kind of lunch. Both of our sundaes were good, and we even got a little entertainment. The Creole Creamery has what they call the Tchoupitoulas Challenge, which involves 8 scoops of ice cream, 8 toppings of our choice, and more whipped topping than you could want in a lifetime. It is a $22 concoction, and you have to finish the entire thing by yourself to get your name on a plaque. Two guys came in as we were finishing our ice cream, and they took on the challenge. I took some pictures of their bowls (mixing bowls) of ice cream. I have never seen something so huge in my life. Don't know if they were able to finish it, but I'm sure they went into diabetic shock after it.

We've been to the zoo and aquarium in New Orleans a couple of times, so we wanted to do something a little different on this trip. So, we went to the WWII museum. The WWII museum is in New Orleans to honor native Andrew Higgins, who invented the Higgins boats that were used to unload troops at Normandy. It was super interesting and something I would recommend. I took lots of pictures, but you couldn't use flash...so I only included a couple of pictures.

Saturday night, we enjoyed a super good anniversary dinner at Emeril's NOLA. This is about our 6th trip to an Emeril's, and it never ever disappoints. This was our first trip to Emeril's NOLA, and we sat at the chef's bar, because you can watch the chefs prepare the food. After that, we walked off our food at the Riverwalk (by the Mississipp River). Oh, and as if we had not had enough food already, we went to Cafe Du Monde for some beignets...you just gotta do it.

After breakfast on Sunday, we left the bed and breakfast and headed to the French Quarter to walk around some of the shops down there. People down there are selling anything and everything. It was very interesting just to walk around and watch people and look at all the stuff they make and try to sell. After a good walk, we headed to Court of Two Sisters Restaurant for our traditional Sunday brunch. I would definitely recommend this brunch if you are in the area....such a wonderful buffet, and I'm especially fond of the omelet station.

So, with full stomachs and rested and relaxed bodies, we left New Orleans and headed north to get our Little Man. It was a wonderful weekend.

Blessings from God

I sent my mom an email this morning, and at the end of it, I said, "Little boy will be a year old a week from today. Wow! I was on steroids at this point last year and praying for a miracle. God is so good." I feel compelled to tell you all that story and about just how good God is.

I've been thinking back to a year ago today, and I can remember it very well. I was totally off bedrest, 37 weeks pregnant, just starting steroids, and as I said in my email, praying for a miracle. And, I had a lot more people praying for a miracle for me, too. Apparently, some women's immune systems take a little beating when they get pregnant resulting in low platelets of pregnancy, and I was one of those women. Having low platelets during the pregnancy wasn't really ever all that big of a deal, because the platelets never got dangerously low so that there was a threat of me free-bleeding. It became more of a deal when it was closer to time for Hayden to be born.

Since the platelets were so low, there would be risks involved in having an epidural or spinal...so I was either going to have him naturally with no pain medication or be completely put to sleep by C-section. I was prepared to have him naturally if that is what had to happen, but there was always the chance that he would be hard-headed and wouldn't want to come. And, I didn't mind having a C-section, but I wouldn't be able to be awake to see him being born...and I really wanted to see him be born and see his first breaths outside of my belly.

So, my doctor put me on steroids at 37 weeks pregnant, because occasionally, the platelet levels will rise with steroids. The last woman my doctor put on steroids for the same condition came back in a week later, and her platelets levels actually got lower. I was nervous during that entire week but confident that I would be taken care of no matter what, and when I returned for my 38-week checkup, my platelets were high enough for me to have an epidural or spinal. I would return to the hospital the next day, July 22, 2008, to be induced and give birth to my son. Yay!

I was hooked to Pitocin early the next morning and was in labor for 7 hours with no pain medication and a very hard-headed son that didn't want to do anything at all other than stay in my belly. The decision was made to have a C-section, but because the platelets were high enough, I would be able to have a spinal and be AWAKE to see our son born. Hayden was born at 2:14 pm that afternoon with both Daddy and Mommy watching behind our little curtain. :o)

I cannot begin to tell you all how blessed I have been to see God working in my life. You see, I was praying for a miracle and hoping I would be awake when my son was born, and God allowed me to do just that. From a disappearing nodule in my lung to completely curing a stomach issue that nearly put me in the hospital with feeding tubes, I can't even begin to tell you story after story of the miracles God has performed in my life and the ways He has placed His protective hand over me.

There have been some rough times along the way, too. Chris and I have both been through some very difficult family situations, and we've had lots of heartache along the way. Through all of that still, God's invisible hand was guiding and turning the situations and taking care of us beyond belief. From the timing of it all to the people involved and so much more, all of the "coincidences" that have happened along the way have been 0% coincidence and 100% God. You have no idea.

I am so overwhelmed right now thinking about it all. It's not about the miracles God has performed in my life or the tough times He has allowed me to go through. It's not about seeing Hayden being born or having something really tough happen at just the right time. All of that is wonderful, but it is about God in his sovereignty weaving it all about to accomplish His good and perfect will. And, I am lucky enough to sit back and watch Him do it. There are so many times when I wonder why God allowed me to see so many miracles in such a short span of time and so many other times when I am wondering just what He is up to when I seem to be going through a huge mess. Sadly, I believe so many times it took something huge to knock me off my feet and put me on my knees. But, it is not up to me to understand God or his sovereignty. It is up to me to trust Him and to use each situation as an opportunity to glorify Him. So many times, I make a mess of the situation, but God doesn't give up on me and never will. I am so thankful for that.

So many people love the verse Romans 8:28, "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God..." You see, I love that verse, too...but I prefer to keep going. Pick up your Bible and continue reading through verse 31. That verse that so many people use applies only to those who are called or to the elect...in other words, it applies to those who have salvation by trusting in Jesus ALONE as their Savior and Lord. In each and every situation that you go through if you have trusted in Jesus ALONE, God is "working" it for your "good" or for your benefit.

So maybe you are seeing one of God's many miracles, or maybe you are going through some tough times. Rest assured that God is in control of the situation no matter how wonderful or how difficult it might be. He is using it to weave and mold you into the person he wants you to be. Trust in Him alone. Lean not on yourself. These are the sweet words He is whispering to you.

Do you know Him? I pray that you do. I may be a huge mess, but I am God's mess. And one day, I will trade this mess for a perfect body and will live in a world just the way God intended it to be - perfect! I can't wait. Hope to see you there!

A Great Summer So Far

We've had a wonderful summer so far...and it's not even over! :o) It didn't take long for Hayden and I to figure out our summer routine, and after I saw how much he loved the pool, the pool is in our routine almost every day. He is an absolute water bug. I started off with a ring float, but he didn't like it and spent most of his time trying to climb out of it. I bought him some floaties thinking that he wouldn't be ready for them, but he took to them after about 30 minutes. He isn't walking on land, but he can walk all around in the water like a pro. The YMCA in Clinton has a large kiddie area in the pool that is about 2 feet deep and just perfect for him to walk around by himself and play. He is blowing bubbles in the water now and can recover by himself when he accidentally goes under (and doesn't cry either). He is just now beginning to relax enough to float for a little while in the deep end. It really is amazing to watch him in the water. Here's a short video of him walking over to one of his pool friends, Courtney...she's there more than we are! :o)



I never would have believed he wouldn't be walking by now since he crawled and started pulling up so early, but he doesn't seem ready yet. He has just now started letting go of the furniture some, and there are times when we can stand him up in the middle of the floor and he will stand there by himself. He's also beginning to walk while holding on to our hands some, too. But, he definitely has a mind of his own and knows when he wants to do certain things, so I'm just going to let him figure it all out. He can get around well enough and fast enough by crawling. :o) He's also begun climbing things...climbing into drawers, climbing into cabinets, and trying to climb furniture.

Recently, I made a trip to Jellystone water park in Pelahatchie, MS with Hayden, my mom (Gran), Tracie, Lindsey, and Kristopher. We had a great time. Having a Ward's (I do love their breakfast so) was about as big as I thought the Hatchie would ever get, but they have their very own little water park. It was perfect. It has an area with shallow water (shallow enough for Hayden to crawl around in) with a couple of slides and water fountains. It also has a pool, but the kids were never too eager to get in the pool since the area with the slides was so much fun. It was really cute...no sightings of Yogi and BooBoo...but maybe next time. :o)

Hayden has a new friend, and his name is Eeyore. When Lindsey turned one year old, I gave her an Eeyore ride-on with the understanding that it would be kept so that my children could use it one day. Tracie passed it on to me recently, and I pulled it out this week. I didn't think Hayden would be ready for it, but he loves it. He rides it around the house. He's not too directionally smart yet, so he runs into a lot of walls and furniture, but he just looks at one of us to turn him around and keeps on going. We're getting him another little ride-on for his birthday since he loves this one so much.



This weekend, Chris and I are headed to New Orleans for an early 5-year anniversary celebration. I'm excited to get away and have some time for the two of us. And, in a little over a week now, Hayden turns 1 year old....and we are having a little family party for him that next weekend. So, I'll be posting pictures along the way.

Here are some pictures. There are some from a recent swimming trip...Dad got to come with us recently, so I could take some pictures. There are some from around the house, and there are some from Jellystone.

A Blogger Award

My sweet cousin, Ginny, from The Patterson 5 has given my blog a "Kreativ Blogger" award for my creative parenting. I have loved blogging since the day I started, and one of the blessings God has granted me through blogging is a wonderful way to keep up with such a sweet cousin who lives so far away and who I rarely get to see. The other blessing God has granted me is a way to communicate to the world what a blessing being a parent is and let you guys into just a little bit of our lives. I actually think all parents are creative...you can't raise a child if you don't have a little creativity or have a sense of humor. Thanks for my award, Ginny. I love you.

My instructions are now to nominate 7 other bloggers for this award, and they are to nominate 7 others. (Be sure to leave a comment on their blog about the award.) Those nominated must then write a list of 7 things their blog readers might not know about them.

So, here I go with my 7 things you might not know about me...which is hard to do since I already have done a post with 25 things you don't know about me...I'll try to come up with new ones:

1. When I sleep in long pants at night, I tuck my pants into my socks so that I don't have any air unevenly touching my legs and so my pants don't ride up my legs in the night. Be glad you've never seen a picture of this...it's a very lovely look.
2. I have never dyed or colored my hair, and the only makeup I wear is mascara, lipstick, and gloss. I like quick and easy.
3. I am a creature of habit about a lot of things, and my habits change over time. My current habit: Before every meal, I have a Lorna Doone shortbread cookie topped with peanut butter and two peanut M&Ms. It's really good...you should try it.
4. I sneeze when I take Benadryl or after I choke on something. I said this next statement in my 25 things post, but my brother says I should donate my body to science. Maybe he's right.
5. Chris and I love to eat out. We always joke that we are going to buy an RV when we get older and travel around the country eating good food. We want to find the best bbq and ice cream in the nation. We've often wondered how you get the job of being a food critic. You get to go out to eat for free....sounds like a job I could have.
6. I used a push mower by myself for the first time two weeks ago. Even though I grew up in the country, we always used riding mowers. I felt like I really accomplished something by cutting the grass while Chris was at work.
7. When I was younger, I used to think teachers never went to the bathroom. Even though my mom was a teacher and I knew she went to the bathroom, I never saw any of my lower elementary teachers go into the bathroom. This always baffled me. My mom laughed at this when I told her this years later.

Here are the blogs I'm going to award:

1. O Love that Will Not Let Me Go - Even though I don't personally know this couple, their blog has been such an inspiration to me over the past year. The Roberts family had a little girl (Magdalena) who was born around the time Hayden was born with a chromosomal abnormality. She was able to bless the world so much in the short time she was on the earth and made a huge impact in my life and in the lives of others. Their blog tells their story in such a creative way that can't help but draw you closer to your family and closer to God.
2. The Neyland's - Creative describes this blog perfectly. Just check out the creative buckets for her daughter's birthday party and her room decor ideas. She created a website for Chris and I when Hayden was born as a creative way to let family and friends know about his birth, see some pictures of the family, and post some notes to us.
3. Picky-Palate - This is one of my favorite recipe blogs. She makes such creative and wonderful things. I love the Cookies and Cream Rice Krispies, Cookies and Cream Cheese Brownies with a Peanut Butter Chocolate Ganache, Nutter Butter White Chocolate Chip Cookies, Oreo Chocolate Chip Cookies, and so many more. If I were going to have a cooking blog (and I've thought about it before), this is what I'd want mine to be like...and she takes wonderful pictures.
4. The Patrick Family - I know I may be a little biased and that she hasn't blogged in about a month now (hint, hint...hehehe), but I have to award this blog for its funny stories created by all the crazy things her creative little children do. They may be my neice and nephew, but they do some funny stuff.
5. As We Go - I love all the creative stories about scorpions and reading her Friday Fritters. She calls herself a "work in progress" on her profile, but I think she handles life with three little girls very well. She is a creative parent if I've ever seen one. :o)
6. Life on the Chicken Farm - Being a country girl myself, I just had to award this blog for her creative parenting...well, on a chicken farm. Her cute little girl is a girl after my own heart. She loves to look cute but then can be digging around in the dirt with her dog, Otis. I love it.
7. The Macs - I stumbled across this blog after hearing their story at a bible study. This family had a little girl named Cora...one day, her mommy was posting about ear infections, and the next day, there were posts about cancer. Cora is with Jesus now, but I love their story and how they have clung to God for strength. Cora's mom is very creative and has opened a store on Etsy called Cora's. She makes the most creative and cute clothes. There are things for little girls and little boys.

Well, there you go. My first blogger award. I hope to be posting some pictures soon of Hayden's swimming abilities. I am amazed at how well he does in the water. Until next time....

Into Everything

Wow...I have let my blogging go lately, haven't I? I've been trying to get adjusted to being home everyday with Hayden (no more Mother's Day Out this summer) and trying to get us into a good summer routine....not to mention trying to keep up with him. Hehehe... I think we're figuring out our routine now. In his best babble 10 month old talk, Hayden clearly told me recently that he wanted to go to the pool regularly to make up for putting me on bedrest all last summer. I, being such a sacrificial mother, am willing to leave my fun housework duties at home and oblige, so we've gone everyday for the past couple of days. I really want him to get used to the water, since I love swimming so much. He does great and especially loves to smile at all the pretty little girls at the pool...he seems to have a preference for the blonde ones. I'm going to have my hands full. Actually, I already have my hands full. Hehehe....

We've definitely reached the "getting into everything" stage. Even though he's been crawling for about 3 months now, he's now become a pro at it and is almost as fast as me. He sees a door open that he's not supposed to go into, and those little legs book it to try to get in before I get there. He's been pulling up for about 2 months now, but now, he can pull up on a flat surface like a door or cabinet...so he's discovered the kitchen cabinets. The locks we bought for the kitchen cabinets didn't work, so I put some picture hanging wire around all of them the other day. It is a temporary fix but is making my life easier not to have to chase him everywhere he goes.

The improved mobility also means I have a little shadow now. He follows me throughout the house, and pulls up on my legs. If I'm sitting on the floor, he pulls up on me, and hugs me. If I'm sitting on the furniture, he's pulling up and trying to get to me. Everyone told me when I found out I was having a boy that, "Little boys love their mommies." That is definitely true. He loves his daddy, too, and Chris is a wonderful dad.

He's getting to be a pretty good eater. Like most kids, there are times when he just doesn't want to eat...and I don't press the matter, because he'll eat if he's hungry. Then, there are other times when I have to limit his food so he doesn't fill himself up so much that he spits up. When he first started eating finger foods, he was super picky, and I was resigned to the fact that he would only eat bread and puffs. But, he's gotten to where he likes more things. He won't eat bananas. That is a definite fact....I think it's a texture thing. He loves sandwiches, gerber cereal bars, puffs, turkey sandwich meat, chicken nuggets, waffles, and he's just now gotten to where he'll eat that fruit that comes in the snack packages.

Some new things he can do: says "Gu" for Gus and "Du" for duck, gets the ball when I ask him, gets his duck when I ask him, plays peek-a-boo (this is especially cute), tries to clap, turns the lights on and off, turns the faucets on and off, does this funny thing with his lips that we taught him (I'll video it), and says "Mama" and "Dada" on request (this is in the last day, but I still don't think he really connects us with our names yet). He's pulling up and sitting back down real smoothly and cruising well along furniture. I don't know when the walking will happen, but I think he'll run before he walks. :o) Oh, and he has 7 teeth now.

Here are some recent pictures. As you can see, that hair is getting so thick and is almost ready for his second haircut (it's traveling over the ears). He definitely has his daddy's hair. :o) I'll try to get some swimming pictures soon. Oh, and the picture of him swinging was at Gran's house. He laughed and laughed and totally loved it. My brother and sister-in-law are living out there right now in between selling their house in Clinton and building a new house in Brandon, and their swing set went with them out there.