The importance of 5 point harness carseats

I found this video while researching carseats. This is SO VERY IMPORTANT to know for any parent or anyone who ever travels with a child. May God be with this family.

Click here

Hope everyone has a fun and memorable halloween!

"Goodnight Mom"

I found this in my Parenting magazine this month...it will only be funny to those of you that are familiar with the classic children's book "Goodnight Moon" (Melissa and Jess I know for sure!). I thought it was hilarious! Enjoy!

In the messy green
family room
There was a telemarketer
ringing the telephone
And a crying toddler
because his brother
just popped his
red balloon
And a picture of-

The cow jumping over the moon
(which someone colored on with permanent marker)
And there was a missing
teddy bear, and a girl with
gum in her hair

And one to be scolded
And laundry to be folded
And a very hungry spouse
And something stinky in the house
(that no one else seemed to smell)

And a comb and a brush and a colicky baby
who just wouldn't shush
And a frazzled mommy screaming #*%#@

Goodnight messy room
Goodnight scribbled on moon
Goodnight cow getting out while she can
Goodnight telemarketers and the popped balloon

Goodnight long gone teddy bear
Goodnight cereal bar smeared all
over the dining room chair

Goodnight spitup
And goodnight leaky sippy cup
Goodnight much-too-little-house and
Goodnight grumpy spouse
Goodnight comb and goodnight brush
And goodnight to a certain 4 year old
who just needs to hush right now I mean it

Goodnight Elmo
Goodnight toys we'll pick up tomorrow,
or the next day
Hello chardonnay and TiVo
"me" time finally
(by Sarah Jio)

Baby, it's cold outside!

Rockin' his new San Francisco hat from Grandma!
Hat hair!

Ayden's room...

Before being left to play alone in his room...

And after! Yes, he did this ALL by himself!

I found him sitting in his toybox tossing out toys onto the floor

Rotten!

Calling the Hogs!

Whoo, Pig, Sooie!

Up!

Chris taught Ayden a new word tonight, he was crying for Chris to pick him up and Chris told him to say "up" and he did! What a big boy!

Fun at the park

Yesterday Chris, Ayden, Andy, and I went to one of the local parks to enjoy the beautiful fall weather we are having! We took a walk down a gorgeous wooded walking trail and everyone we passed stopped and marveled at our cute baby and cute dog :) The leaves are turning and it's so beautiful. I got some great pics and Ayden and Andy had a blast running around!

Playing in the leaves...

Walking trailBeautiful leaves!
Ayden telling his daddy to C'mon!
Running wild!

Cute new PJ's!

Thanks Papaw and Memaw for the cute Halloween pajama's! They are very snuggly and warm for our already very cold nights and mornings here!

Let's not forget my reason for starting this blog...

AYDEN! Our little man has adapted very well to his new home. He is, as always, sweet as ever and rotten as ever all at once! Today he threw his first-ever public temper tantrum while we were out shopping, complete with screaming, laying on the floor, back arching, and kicking! (Mom and Dad, you can stop laughing anytime now! :) His favorite new word is "bubble" and his favorite activities at the time are "reading" or having someone read to him, climbing (we have all the furniture bolted to the wall!) imitating every sound we make and trying to imitate everything we do, (brushing hair, putting on shoes and socks), and his all-time favorite- tormenting Andy. He keeps us laughing 95% of the time, he is such a little cut-up! He is sleeping very well at night and we are starting to wean him from the bottle (wish us luck!) Can you believe he is already 14 months!?

Playing in his new room
Silly boy!
Peek-a-boo!
Enjoying a little light reading...
Reading to mommy
Thank goodness Cheerios don't stain!
Signing "more"
Thanks for the cute PJ's, Grandma!

Living in NWA!

Well we are officially residents of Benton County! We have had an extremely exhausting and busy week unpacking boxes, arranging furniture and getting settled into our new home. We really like our apartment, its not much smaller than our house so we don't feel cramped and we are so close to everything! We are eternally grateful to everyone who helped us move, we seriously could not have done it without you! Chris is very excited about starting his job on Monday! I have my general hospital orientation on Monday and then I will meet with my supervisor to arrange my weekend schedule. The reality of moving still hasn't completely sank in, but it is strangely already feeling like home! Here are some pics of our new home!

Ayden's room/toy sanctuary :)

His crib is now in our bedroom, although he is still only napping

in it during the day. The plan is to eventually get him to sleep there at night too!
Living room (the double doors lead to the guest room/office which is still
full of boxes so no pics yet!)
Dining area
Kitchen
Hallway to the stairs and our bedroom
Our room

Farewell Plumbark Bend...

This will be our last night at 1624 Plumbark Bend...and yep, you can count on me to be sentimental about it. They say a house is only a shell, it's the people inside that make it a home, and while that's true, I will still miss this house dearly. I'll never forget the day we moved in, one day after Chris' college graduation in May 2005. We were so proud to have bought our first house and were so excited to start a family in our new home. Our precious baby boy was conceived in this house (sorry if that"s too much info for some of you :) ) I saw the bright pink lines of the pregnancy test in our bathroom, and we brought our precious bundle home to this house 9 months later. We have priceless memories that we will keep with us forever of watching Andy and Jack playing together in the backyard and even seeing Jack jump the privacy fence a couple of times! We have experienced so much joy in this house and watched the first 14 months of Ayden's life here...first smiles, first words, first steps. I am so grateful for the continual blessings God has given us in our lives and am so excited to see what the future holds for us no matter where we may end up. So farewell, Plumbark Bend, thanks for the memories, the warmth, and the happiness. We are moving on and pursuing more dreams, but we will always remember our first home.

New Hat!

Ayden got a new addition to his collection of hats- a Chinese wisdom hat from Chinatown in San Francisco, CA! Thanks Grandma, he loves it!

He prefers to wear it backwards :)

A night with the girls!

Last night I went out with my friends from work for my going-away party and to celebrate several of our birthdays this month. We had so much fun...maybe even a little too much fun!!

The 3 birthday Senoritas! Me, Victoria, & Rachel
Me with some of the best L&D nurses you'll ever meet!
Tequila shots were on the house for our birthdays...
UGH!
Feeling a little giggly!

Look what Ayden has figured out...

Haircut!

Ayden had his first trip to the hair salon today for a much-needed haircut! This was his first "professional" cut and he was such a good boy! He held very still and didn't cry at all. He looks so much like a little boy...where did my baby go?!

What a big boy!
So handsome...
Looking all grown up...

Cute as a teddy bear!

While packing, Ayden and I found a giant teddy bear Chris got for me a couple years ago on Valentine's Day and Ayden immediately claimed it for himself!

So cute! Check out those pearly whites!
Precious little pose!

A visit from Great Grandma and Grandpa

My grandparents (my mom's parents) stopped by this afternoon to see Ayden and he spent the entire hour they were here showing out for them and soaking up all the extra attention!

Making sure they are watching...
Dancing to his favorite song...Sugarland "All I wanna do"
Driving his Tonka truck