I am ONE year old now!!

I am ONE year old!!

The day that I thought was SO FAR away the day she was born finally snuck up on us... and might I add came entirely to fast!! One year ago we were counting down the anxious hours until our beautiful heaven sent baby came along, and today, we were chasing her through the aquarium to see all the fish!! Wow, how things change so quickly. She has brought so much laughter to my life, does so many things that surprise me, makes me feel loved everyday, and never fails to smile at just the right times :) So many things have happened in this past year and too many to recap, but she is def. a little kiddo to keep up with now!

We started out the day with an egg and some turkey sausage for a big girl breakfast.. in our "birthday suit" haha. The first thing she wanted to do this morning was take off all her clothes :) lol Then we chased each other around the house and crawled on daddy in the bed! She got to opem up a present early :) I got her a tigger and pooh push/ride toy.. and she LOVED IT! It plays music and the little characters move to it.. needless to say she didnt want to get ready to go because she still wanted to play. We then headed to the aquarium for a full hour of fun! There was so much for her to take in, but she did a good job of soaking every single bit of it up. She loved the big viewing windows were she could walk up and be right next to the fish. She kept trying to step in :) She kept screaming at the fish, and even tho a bit embarrassing, we let her do her thing! She got to go swimming for just a little bit and play with one of her new toys from GG :)

After all this, you can imagine that she needed a nap... so 2 hours later and well rested, guest arrived! We had both of our families over to celebrate and also celebrate Chad's (dustins brother) bday! She acted like a mad woman from the time that everyone got there. She was, of course, all dolled up... and new how BEAUTIFUL taht she looked, and maybe even that it was her party ;) so she made the best of it! She was walking around at the top of her lungs saying "HAHAHAHA!!" it was pretty hilarious :)

We finally got to the good part, PRESENTS!! She LOVED the new princess rocking chair that we gave her, and she LOVED the swing/slide set that GG and Gdaddy gave her, and she LOVED the new wagon that she got that is all personalized for her and only her, and she LOVED the light up and singing toy that her uncle adam got for her to play with, and i LOVE the new pretty hand painted plate that she got from aunt erin and uncle chad!

We decided that Saturday was just too long to wait to dig in to a cake, and every little one needs a cake on their bday! Well hailey had hers and ate it too! haha. She was so precious and only stuck one little pointer finger in for a taste. She got more and more suspicous.. and then daddy stuck both her hands in and that was the end of the nice and neat baby :) She was also up for sharing with ANYONE. We all got some good tasting cake! ;) She did a great job digging in, so for those of you that are coming on Saturday, you will get to see a semi-pro ;)

Although full of birthday cake, our sweet little angel went right down to bed after a big day for a little girl who turned one :)

Sorry for the absence

I know that I have been terrible on keeping everyone up to date lately, and I do apologize for that. I have been super busy and the time that I usually do my blogs, at night, is now filled with trying to get HB's scrapbook done by the time that her bday gets here.... which is nearly impossible with how long I waited to start it. To give you a hint, about the time you saw me disappear from here ;) I have been doing pretty good with it and think that I will get most things in, but not done by her party :/ I have also been planning that, so needless to say I have been pretty busy, but can't wait to get back in the swing of things after her bday :)

We have all been doing great and HB is growing and changing everyday. She has learned a few new words and my favorite, can now shake her head no at you. While in the future I am sure this is going to prove to be quite the opposite, right now it is adorable and funny! She doesn't do it a whole lot, but if she is done eating...soon as you get the spoon near her mouth, there it is, the head shake! haha And the other time she does it that we probably shouldn't laugh but just can't help it is when she is escaping out of the living room and we say Hailey come back here... and the head shake no! :)

She has now also begun to stand up for the floor all by herself. She has all but perfected the walking, but has always used the furniture, walls, the dogs, or even your leg to get up ;) She has also dropped all of her bottles but the very first morning feeding and the bedtime bottle which we are going to keep around for just a little longer...and yes it is more for me than her! haha but she does need the milk, so THERE!

Memorial Day 2010

We headed to the lake for memorial day and she just had a blast. She got to do all kinds of new things including getting on the jetskit...even had her own little life jacket :) She didnt want to get out of the lake and pretty much cry to get back in. When it came around to nap times, she was out in 3 secs and slept for 2+ hours! (more pics to come from moms camera!)


I took a little mini photo shoot the other day, and you will see them at the end of the pics. She is such a happy girl and does so great for us! She makes me laugh all the time, and is just so full of love. I can't believe that as of today (thurs), we are on an official 5 day count down til the her first birthday!! YIKES!

11 months random

Tasty Thursday!

Ok, I know, so giving it a different name doesn't hide the fact that I missed Menu Monday AGAIN!! I am very sorry and actually have a semi good reason for it. Haileys first bday is coming up soon and I have been planning for it like crazy. One of my main goals is to finish her scrapbook for the party. Well lets just say I have my job cut out for me! So with that said, here is a delicious dish that we just had last night and loved!! I think that it can even be made into an apetizer if you take out the beef as a Spinach dip

Spinach Beef Dish
6-8 Servings Prep: 30 min. Bake: 20 min.

Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (4 ounces) mushroom stems and pieces, drained
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 packages (10 ounces each) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of celery soup, undiluted
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided

Directions
INa large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until the meat is no longer pink. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Drain. Stir in the mushrooms, salt, oregano and pepper. Add the spinach, soup and sour cream. Stir in half of the cheese.

TRANSFER to a greased 2-qt. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 15 minutes.

SPRINKLE with the remaining cheese; bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (1-1/2 cups) equals 269 calories, 16 g fat (9 g saturated fat), 66 mg cholesterol, 835 mg sodium, 9 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 20 g protein.


ENJOY!!

~**~Nicole~**~

Vote for Hailey

She is far back in the votings, but every vote helps :) If you have the chance! thanks and hope to put up a new post soon (sorry I have been so far behind) :/

http://photos.parents.com/category/vote/photo/288784

My FIRST Mothers Day

What a special day I had on Sunday!!! It was my first Mother's Day! Dustin actually started me off early with an early gift and dinner on Sat. night. Before going to eat at Sonic (and yes I picked!!) he gave me a new external flash for my camera!! It is very cool and I was so excited for the addition to my camera! It makes the pictures look so much better :)

He wanted to do breakfast in bed for me, but as childern can do, Hailey reminded me what being a mom was all about with a 630 am wake up call! I brought her back to bed with me (i know, i know!) and we laid there another 30 minutes or so. I got up and fed her and spent some mommy and me time.. and then had the most wonderful breakfast prepared by my awesome hubby!!! We headed to church and had a great service. Got a book from the church on the 12 incredible women of the bible :) We then went to lunch at Hill Top Grill in Athens and met mom and dad there. We had a great lunch and exchanged gifts :) She loved the "generations" photo frame that I got her from Hailey and def. LOVED that I got her a day at the spa at the Ritz Carlton :) She gave me a Willow Tree figurine of a Mother holding her baby. It was very specail to get on my first one and I have started collecting these :) When we got home, I finally got to open up my present from Hailey. Dustin also got me a Willow Tree figurine of Mother and Daughter to remember my first one by. It was so sweet and had the most precious card with it. It was the perfect words from a "baby who cant say it yet" but you are already the best mom :) The card is always my favorite part! Dustin also got me a very thoughtful card that was written very well :) That night we went to Dustin's mom and got to hang out and have a nice dinner! She really enjoyed the plant I gave her and the recorded photo from Hailey that said " happy mothers day 2010 love happy hailey" (what she always calls her)! We finally got home and once hailey crashed I worked on her baby book for 2 hours to finish off the night! I hope that all the moms enjoyed their Mother's Day as much as I did and got all the love and appreciation that you deserved!

Mothers day 2010

(more pics to follow once I can get them from mom.. family pics)

11 Months

I have been pretty busy lately (with mothers day) and just now have had the time to upload the few pics I got of Hailey for her 11 Month photo shoot. I hope to get more sometime this week, but this is the few that I did get! As you will see, she isn't really easy to take pictures of anymore!!

11 Months

She is an absolute ham now. She is walking EVERYWHERE and is getting so good at it! I still can not believe my eyes when I see her just walking around the house. She cuts corners, is trying to bend down and grab toys, and even carries things around with her!! It is a site to see :) She "talks" to us all the time and has full out conversations! It is so fun ad sweet to listen to her :) She can say a couple of different words: mama, dada, dog, juice (sometimes,) hey there, out, and THAT is her favorite word. She points at something and says "that". haha! It is hilarious! Everything in sight has now become that. We can't believe that her birthday is now less than a month away! I have got the invitations done and you should be receiving yours soon ;) Hope to get more pics up soon!

Becoming more than just a woman

On June 8, 2009, I found out what it was like to feel like more than just a woman. I became a mother. From the moment that I saw my beautiful baby girl, I teared up with the most fulfilling love and joy I have ever felt. It is true what they say, that you can love someone, but until you love your own child, you won't really know what love is. Being a mother is such a miracle and blessing all at the same time. Being able to watch her grow and the amazing things that God allows them to do at such an early age. Everyday that Hailey does something different, I just sit back and think... WoW! how cool is that. She has brought smiles and laughter into my life. I can be having the worst day, and no matter how small or how big my stress level may be, that small little girl can bring happiness to my world with one little flash of a smile. She makes you feel like you are the only person in the world when you are holding her. She has full trust in you as her parent, and that is something that I find both scary and proud of all at the same time. She is dependent on me to get the job done for her, no matter what that may be. 5 years ago, I never thought the topic of my discussion would be, when was the last time the baby pooped, or it's time for her to eat, or we can't go there cause HB has to nap, or even in a million years thought that I would sit in the back of a car (or drive for that matter) with all of my friends and "pump" while going down the road ;) My o my how things have changed! But there is nothing in this world I would trade one second of my time with her for. She is my world now and Dustin and I together fill so much more complete with our little blessing and what she means to us. Each and every day I thank God that he wanted to bless me with such a sweet, happy, and loving little girl. This Mother's Day is going to be so special for me because it is my first, and I will now get to know what it feels like to to celebrate being a mother and the love that you have for your child and the love that you get in return. This Mother's Day I want to say "Good Job" to all you mother's out there. I had respect for you before, but now it is much deeper and on the same playing field. Here is to every mother who sacrifices, reschedules, eats cold dinners, cooks with one arm, watches Yo Gabba gabba, traded in Aerosmith for "if your happy and you know it", passes up a day at the shopping mall for a day at the park, and has gray hairs from the stress of being a mom. You are truly a blessing to someone who loves you so much and could never live without you!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY :)~ hope everyone has a great day

~~**Nicole~**~