BIG GIRL BED

This weekend we checked a big "to do" off of our list. We got Lillian set up in her BIG GIRL bed! And thank goodness the transition from her toddler bed to her new big bed has not been as difficult as the transition from crib to toddler bed. She hasn't gotten out of it once, and really is so excited to be in her new bed. She was such a big helper and loved helping Shaun putting the bed rails together and helping get the plastic off the box springs and mattress. That is one of the things I love about Shaun. While it would have gone much faster if I had just taken Lillian to the other room, Shaun wants her to be involved in what he does and it is always a good way to teach her about little things in life.

We are still waiting on the matching night stand and the bed rails to come in before we can attach the foot board, but until then at least Lillian is getting use to sleeping in a big bed. It has been so nice to be able to lay in the bed with her and read books- I was getting a little big for the toddler bed. In July, when Shaun gets done with his June summer term, we are going to paint both the kids rooms and start getting things more in order.



Lillian putting the finishing touches to her bed...she loves this pillow.



our Memorial Day house guest, Bella, visited Lillian while she was sleeping her first night in her big girl bed.

*I was definitely caught off guard of how emotional I got over getting rid of Lillian's crib all together. It was the crib sheets that really made me cry...I realized that with a boy coming we wouldn't ever need her sweet butterfly, flowers, pink and purple sweet crib sheets ever again. I am just praying that Alli has a girl so I can at least see all of my little girl things again on another sweet baby.

Sunday Lunch

Today Shaun, Lillian and I went over to Shaun's parents house for lunch. We usually do this pretty much ever Sunday but I am so bad about getting pictures while I am over there. Often Shaun and I are the very last ones to make it because our church lets doesn't let out until later, but today we were the first family there! We played hookie from church and got to Tina and Steve's house around 10:30-a record almost for us. It was nice to get there and get to spend some time with Meme and Steve before everyone else. Although, when Ryan, Julia and Wyatt walked in the door Lillian bolted for Wyatt. We are working on respecting peoples personal space, so we constantly remind Lillian to "respect Wyatt's space". She isn't great at it, but it is a work in progress. Wyatt can't help that he is too cute for his cousin to resist.

Lillian and Meme making cupcakes





Lillian was playing peek-a-boo with Wyatt


Lillian, Papa and Wyatt (look at Wyatt holding his bottle like a big boy)

Meme and Wyatt

*these are just a few pictures that Lillian snapped while she played photographer today...can you see the talent?

Week 23...Definitely A Memorable Week

As most of you know week 23 of this pregnancy was a very exciting one for us. Not only was it our three year wedding anniversary but it was also the week that we found out we would be welcoming a little boy into our family. I couldn't be happier with our decision to go ahead and find out what we would be having, and how we did it could not have been any more perfect. It will definitely be a story that Shaun and I will love to tell our son one day. On an actual pregnancy note...I am definitely stacking on the pounds and have a huge sweet tooth pretty much all day long. To bad I am not one of those pregnant ladies that craves fruit, it would probably make the post baby weight loss much easier. The month of June is really going to fly by just because we will have so much going on. Shaun starts his mini term next Tuesday, so he will be in class four nights a week until 10:00 for the month of June. Lillian and I are starting our Mommy and Me dance class in a couple of weeks, and also are going to start a Mommy and Me swim class. I am really looking forward to spending a lot of time with her before our little boy makes his appearance in September.

To My Sweet Baby Boy Whitten,

Yes that's right, your Daddy and I found out that you are a little boy. I still cannot believe it, and I keep walking around the house telling your Daddy, "We're having a boy, I can't believe we are having a boy"! We are so overwhelmed by all of God's wonderful blessings in our life and giving us a little boy just seems to be the cheery on top of it all. How good it feels to call your name out in prayer. To no longer just call you Baby Hays, but actually have a name for you- Whitten. I cannot wait to meet you, to hold you, to nurse you, to see you with your big sister, just to know you will be a dream come true. All ready I fine myself day dreaming of the little boy you will be and of the man that I hope you one day become. But right now I am just trying to live in every moment of this pregnancy. To appreciate every kick and flip (and believe me there are a lot of them), to love every crazy craving and mood swing. To enjoy every sleepless night. Your Daddy is SO in love with you Whitten. Often I wake up in the middle of the night with his hand on my stomach, just trying to catch one of your little movements. He makes us a bowl of ice cream every evening after dinner, and always lets me have the last bite (or all the bites) of his own ice cream treat. He is proud to be having a son and will be an excellent role model for you growing up.

I joked with you Daddy last night, telling him that I wasn't sure if I was growing a baby in my tummy or a River Dancer. Whitten you are quite the mover and shaker, and I am a little scared because I know that your kicks and punches are just going to get stronger in the next few weeks! If I have said it once I have said it a million times...I just can't believe we are having a BOY!

We LOVE you so much!

Mommy

IT'S A BOY!

Tonight was a very big night for Shaun and I. Not only did we celebrate our three year wedding anniversary, but we also found out that we were going to be welcoming a baby BOY in September! Originally we were set on not finding out, but instead we decided to think of a way to find out in a special way. So last week I took our ultrasound pictures to Edgar's and ask them to look at the pictures and then make a cake for us with either pink or blue icing on the inside. Alli and Korey picked the cake up for us today and dropped it off at the restaurant for us (so they knew before we did because it was on the order form). Shaun and I were able to make through the entire dinner without really thinking or talking about the cake, but the second they brought it out to us we were suddenly very nervous. Shaun's hand was actually shaking when he was cutting the cake. I just knew that I was going to be seeing pink but.....we saw BLUE! I started crying, our waitress started crying, even the bartender was crying. Shaun thought boy the whole time, but I was shocked! We feel so blessed, and I just keep walking around telling Shaun, "We're having a boy"!.

Sweet Alli, Korey and Eli drove all the way out to our house to decorate with blue balloons before we got home. Eli loves balloons so I don't know how that were able to make it out of of our house without him going crazy. Thank you Alli and Korey for all that you do for Shaun and I. We love you!

before we left for dinner


"He has made everything beautiful in its time." Ecclesiastes 3:11

its a BOY!

Lillian was more excited to eat her cake then to find out she was going to have a baby brother.

the door to our sweet baby boy's nursery

Lillian freaked out over all the blue balloons

Our Baby Boy John Whitten Hays!

Happy Anniversary

Three years ago I walked down the aisle to the man of my dreams and married him! I can honestly say that I love, honor and respect Shaun more deeply today than the day I said, "I do"! We have had our fair share of ups and downs, bumps and bruises, highs and lows over the past few years. We have hurt each other, supported one another, had a child, lost a sibling, struggled with infertility, gotten pregnant with our second little blessing, changed jobs, gone back to graduate school, fought, forgiven and through it all we have first an foremost sought God's will for us and our family.

My older brother Johnny told me something years ago that forever changed the way I looked at relationships. He told me that one of God's greatest gifts, other than His perfect salvation, was the gift of another one of his children to share our lives with. Someone who you could grow with physically, emotionally and most importantly spiritually. I don't think that I ever really understood what Johnny was trying to share with me until I started dating Shaun. All the sudden here was this man in my life who filled a place in my heart that I didn't even know was empty. God made it very clear to me shortly after Shaun and I started dating that Shaun was the man He desired me to be with. Shaun pushes me to be a better person, to be a better wife and a better mother. But most importantly Shaun pushes me to grow deeper in my relationship with Christ and desperately wants to seek that relationship with me. I am forever grateful for the man that Shaun is and for the Father that he is to our beautiful daughter Lillian (and precious Baby Hays)!

Happy Anniversary Shaun! I love you more with every passing day and promise to always strive to love you in the way that God asks for me to. Thank you for everything that you do for our family, and for every sacrifice you make for us.

This was our one year anniversary. We were the exhausted parents of a ten day old baby!

Family Night Out

Tonight we had family night out with all the moms, all the dads, and ALL of the kids. Ten adults and five kids make for one very fun but hectic dinner. Trying to keep a toddler happy throughout dinner is stressful enough, but trying to keep five toddlers all happy and patient was nearly impossible. Overall I think that all the kids did great and it was only towards the end of dinner-when it was past their bed times- that they all started falling apart. On the way home I told Shaun that I am so thankful that God has put such wonderful women in my life. Every time I am with them I reminded of God's simple blessings-like good friends!






Shaun and Lillian reading before bed. She insisted on reading "Daddy Hugs" with Shaun and would not even let me in the room with them.

Lillian's Baggage

This morning we couldn't leave for church without taking Blue Dog, Love Bear and two giraffes. And of course the second she we got in the car she needed her sunglasses because it was SO bright outside.

My Silly Goose

22 Weeks!

I know that it is probably silly that I make these weekly post, but I didn't have a blog when I was pregnant with Lillian and wish that I had done a better job keeping little notes on my pregnancy with her. I am trying to do a better job remembering the little things about this pregnancy with Baby Hays. Shaun has really been feeling him or her bounce around these days. It took a long time with Lillian for Shaun to feel her the way he is feeling this little one. Also, I am much rounder this time around. When I was preggers with Lillian my stomach was long and not round at all. I remember being so jealous of Alli because she looked like she had just shoved a basketball up her shirt; it was too cute! But Baby Hays has done a good job rounding out my belly for me this time around.

Sweet Baby Hays,

Next week is your Daddy's and mine third wedding anniversary, and we will be finding out whether or not you are a little boy or a little girl. You are kicking me right now as I type this post...I love you so much already. It is amazing the love that God gives you for your child. You and Lillian are the best things that your Daddy and I have ever done, and I am forever grateful that He specifically created you to be our child. Our prayers for your little life are simple- we pray first and foremost that you find God's perfect salvation. We pray that you constantly and actively seek His will for your life, and that you grow to become a healthy and happy child. Oh, sweet baby how much you are loved...how grateful I am to be feeling you grow and bounce around all over the place. You are most active at night time right before I go to bed, which is completely opposite from your big sister . Lillian only moved in the mornings and sometimes when I was driving. She was not the mover and shaker that you obviously are. Keep on growing in there...soon I will be calling you by a name other than Baby Hays!

I love you more everyday!

Mommy

Mommy & Me And Chuck E Cheese

Yup, it is just another Tuesday for me and Lillian. After a fun a morning of coloring and painting together we headed out the door for some fun and fellowship at Mommy & Me. Afterwards we picked up my Grandmother Bev and met Alli and Eli at Chuck E Cheese. We had a great time and I was so excited that Lillian got to experience that with her Beve. My Grandmother always loved taking me, my brothers and sister to Chuck E Cheese, better known as Showbiz back in the day. My little girl had so much fun, and of course being the little piggy she is she ate THREE pieces of pizza!

watching Daddy mow the grass

This Is What Happens When....

you tell your toddler to go and get dressed. I know how much Lillian likes to put her own clothes on, so this morning in an act of desperation to get the kitchen cleaned before we had to leave for Mommy & Me I told her to please go get dressed. When I finished up and went to check on her this is what I found....

Lillian's Two Year Check Up

Yesterday, Lillian and I went to visit Dr. Walley for her BIG girl two year check up. I was very proud of her- she used the bathroom in a cup for her little pee-pee sample instead of having to have the little bag taped to her. She pretty much spent the whole time climbing on and off the exam table and using all of Dr. Walley's hand sanitizer. He joked that she was already a little OCD, and believe me she is about some things. Everything looked GREAT, and Dr. Walley was impressed with her ability to communicate using basic sentences. At one point during the exam while Dr. Walley and I were talking, she opened the door, waved to us and said, " I be right back Momma...I potty". Her vocabulary really has exploded just in the past few months and you can piratically have a full coherent conversation with her now. And believe me, she has NO problem telling you what she needs or wants. Oh, when Dr. Walley was looking at her teeth she told him, "see Baby's teeth...Mommy's tummy" and then pulled up my shirt. Lillian is obviously very concerned about Baby Hays dental hygiene. The great thing about a two year check up is that there are no shots! Lillian did have to get her finger pricked, but she didn't cry or even flinch when they stuck her or squeezed the blood out. However, she freak out and had a total break down over the band aide the nice lady put on her finger. I shouldn't have been surprised; Lillian hates band aids for some reason.

Here Are The Two Year Stats:

*Weight: 23.6 (20 %)

*Height: 36 (95%)

A Few Pictures From The Park

I am pretty sure that Lillian and I spend the majority of our time outside. Of course one of her favorite outside activities is going to the park with friends and running all over the place. She climbs on everything the playground has to offer. And I sometimes I leave the park with knots in my stomach, because I have spent the whole time trying to keep her from killing herself on the playground equipment.






Alli snapped a quick belly pic...our Baby is REALLY growing!