TLG, PJ day, walking B and new finds!

Tonight we had Little Gym. Hadlea was a monkey as usual. It always seems she does something to completely embarrass us during the class. You just NEVER know about this girl. Tonight, during bubble time, she decided to lift her shirt and ask the teacher to "blow bubbles on my belly"! Crazy, crazy girl she is! LOVE HER!

On Friday, the daycare had pajama day! {love that place and their ideas!} I let Hadlea pick out her own pjs. Out of Halloween, Christmas and tons of other 'themey' pjs, she chooses some plain pink and gray Gap fleece pjs! I am sure the daycare thought I picked these out since they were so 'normal'! Ha!

Hadlea's daycare teacher sent me this picture of her trying to fit into her play kitchen at school! And see that baby... that is HER baby at school. And no, I did not take it. But every morning one of the kids already at the daycare bring it to her. Those kids are just the sweetest! I guess they have to be to deal with 'someones' bossiness! :-)

Do NOT judge this next picture! Ha! I really cannot believe I am showing you all this... but hey, it's real life around here, right?! Monday, I asked Hadlea and Berkley if they wanted to go for a walk. If you know one thing about my house, you know you do not say the word 'WALK' unless you are going to take Berkley on a walk... or he will whine all day long! As we went to the garage to get Berkley's leash, I noticed it was gone. I remembered it was in Justin's pickup and he was gone! So I had to improvise! I could NOT find a piece of rope so I grabbed the next best thing.... jumper cables! It worked. Again, don't judge! And no, I am not pure white trash... well, atleast now that I am no longer walking my dog on jumper cables! {I seriously just laughed hysterically while I wrote that paragraph!}

Hadlea received some super cute stuff in the mail this week! Gigi found a sale going on over at Hautelook (go HERE and signup for awesome deals) and found these dresses! I love dresses like this because they can last so many years... dresses into tops.

I ordered Hadlea a new valentine's outfit on Southern Tots. I loved the pants so much that I found a girl on Etsy (Darling Little Bow Shop) to make me two more matching shirts! LOVE!

Have you ever wanted something for a really long time and watch and wait for it to be available! That is me with this camera bag! I have waited for this bag to be available for over a year now. I hadn't checked on it in quite some time so today I happened to look and it was available! Meet my little friend THE IT, The Bossi Bag! Hoping and praying it comes in before our trip in a few weeks!

Tomorrow is mid-week! The weather is supposed to be close to 70, so I am hoping for a little playtime outside and a grocery run! ...and daddy making supper! ...definitely daddy making supper! :-)

weekend recap... friends and family

One of my high school friends is getting married next month. I missed her Bachelorette Party a couple of weeks ago, so I went home to her wedding shower.

Hadlea and I went down on Friday and met my parents at a basketball game for my high school. Of course, she had to wear her 'MHS' attire too! :-) Hopefully she will always bleed Cardinal red! Ha!

Hadlea LOVED the game (plus all of the candy and popcorn she got too!). She also loved the cheerleaders and thought she was so big sitting all by herself and clapping along!

Saturday morning, Hadlea went to spend the day with Gigi and Poppa. They headed to the farm to feed Poppa's cats...

and to feed the cows! Hadlea asks to feed cows about 100 times a week! Hopefully she got her fix for a while! :-)

Saturday evening, Poppa and Gigi took H to church and then out to dinner!

While H was being entertained by the grandparents, I went to the shower and spent the day with my high school girlfriends! It is always so great to catch up and reminisce about the past! Hilarious stories that NEVER get old! And here we are 5 years ago! Love ALL of them!

{Cat, Mikki, Alea and Lacy (the bride to be!)}

On Sunday, we got up, spent some time playing, went to visit Grandma and Grandpa Kilian then H and I headed home to meet daddy and bubba! This was the first time that Justin kept Berkley while H and I went to Medford. It was TOUGH to be away from Berkley! He IS my other child! He was no doubt ready to see him momma! :-)

Once we got home, H and I walked down to the neighborhood park. She was in an AWESOME mood! Love afternoons with her!

And this picture has nothing to do with the weekend, but my brothers went to an event last week where they had to wear tuxes. I just thought they looked SO handsome! I love these two guys so much! They make me so proud to be their sister... but more than anything, I am so proud to call them Hadlea's Uncles! She loves them so much too!

Liebster Blog Award

No matter the situation or reason, we all LOVE being rewarded and appreciated! It is especially nice in the blog world because you never really know who reads... unless they comment, of course! I know I get alot of traffic on my blog, but not everyone comments. So to be rewarded for sometimes feeling like I talk to myself is pretty awesome! Ha!

I was nominated for the Liebster Blog Award by Rachae and Janelle from How To Fall in Love. Thank you girls so much! You two are hilarious!

If you haven't heard, the Liebster Blog Award is to recognize newer blogs, with less than 200 followers. This gives us all the opportunity to talk about the blogs we love while helping our own blogs grow too.

The rules for the award are: 1. Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog. 2. Link back to the blogger who awarded/nominated you. 3. Copy and paste the blog award to your blog. 4. Reveal your top 5 blog picks! 5. Drop by your top 5 picks and let them know you chose them by commenting on their blog! Here are my top 5 picks:

• The Averitt Fam - Jill has a sweet, sweet little girl that reminds me so much of H as she gets older! I also love to hear Jill's Christian parenting ways! I always feel peace after reading her blog!
• Wolf's on Safari - Great momma blog about her babies! I love momma blogs and seeing what other kids are up to!
• Our Happily Ever After - Another great momma blog! Jessica has two of the cutest babies, and I always want to ask for Ms A's clothes! Adorable!
• Journey with the Jenks - I have read this blog for a long time! Another great momma blog! Can you tell I love them?! :)
• The Schuler Family - I have followed Erin's blog about the longest of any blog. She is also an amazing photographer so I love to see her pictures!

And because this is my momma blog and I cannot get enough of this little girl, a quick video to show you our evenings.... poor baby bear!!

wilw / wssw

What I'm Loving Wednesday...

This sweet, sweet boy! My bed partner... or one of them! I just love him to pieces! {he needs a hair cut asap!}

I'm loving that daddy took Had to Little Gym last night while I went to a meeting. He said she was perfect! They even went out to a sit down dinner (which wasn't fast food) all by themselves! Daddy was BRAVE!

I'm loving my AWESOME husband! Remember how I was complaining about laundry yesterday?! Well... I didn't get home from my meeting until close to 9PM so daddy and H did FOUR loads of laundry! And two were put away! AND... daddy had given H a bath and they were eating a snack waiting on me to get home so I could kiss her face and put her to bed myself! I swear those two are the best thing EVER!

I'm loving H's daycare as they all send me random texts through the day with pictures of my silly girl! Hadlea LOVES Ms Kelsey! They are just so great about keeping me up to date and making me feel apart of Hadlea's day!

 

What She's Saying Wednesday...

I swear I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried! Ha!

• "I wanna go shopping" - music to a shoppin' lovin' momma's ears! Anytime we are about to leave the house, she asks to go shopping. I wasn't sure one morning if she 'KNEW' what shopping was, so I asked her what she wanted to go shopping for. Her response, "I wanna shop for one toy". She knew exactly! Hilarious! Justin and I think it is so funny because she hardly even asks for toys at the store. Ha!
• "It's okay baby, I be wight there!" -  Her response to her babies lately. Do I tell her to hold on often?! I guess so! Ha!
• She is on her way to become a world class singer! Ha! ...or so she thinks! These days she 'sings' anything she hears on the tv or radio. I am not sure of the words most of the time, but her bouncing head and body sure do give it away! :-)

bike ride, a walk and parenting

Days like yesterday make me want to be a SAHM momma SO bad! Although I choose to work, sometimes I feel so guilty about the choice I make. But in the long run (once H is in school), I know it will be the best decision. It is just so hard to convince myself of that after days like yesterday!

After daddy and H got home and I finished working, we all headed out on a bike ride! It was a nice day! H normally runs straight to the kitchen for a snack when she gets home, but after asking if she wanted to go on a bike ride, she was not about to chance asking for a snack! (although we did fix her one to take with us. we didn't let her starve! ha!)

After our ride, we headed out on a walk with Berkley! H is very into walking B on his leash. I am pretty sure Berkley would rather one of us do it as she is constantly telling him to STOP and GO! Poor guy! He listens so well and does exactly what she says, but by the end, I am pretty sure he doesn't know which way to turn! Thankfully, he is just so happy about being out on a walk!

H IS FLYING!

{yes. that is exactly what she is doing in this picture. not sure how you could be confused?! I mean, doesn't that look like a flying 2 year old?! Where do they come up with this stuff?? As we were walking, she leaned to one side and said, "take my picture of my flying". her exact works! i now have about 30 pictures of this on my phone. she insisted. and we had to stop and look at every single one!}

Once we got home and had dinner, we took baths. She asked for a snack while we read books. Her choice of snack.... a piece of bread?! Who is this kid and where did she come from!?

And while we were reading books, I guess I "bit two of her fangas (pronounced fang-as. aka fingers). Yep, I got set in time out for biting two of Hadlea's fingers. Thankfully after about 5 minutes, I was able to get up! Atleast she let me keep my phone! Ha! {and excuse my hair of a mess... we had been outside, remember! :) }

Her sweet imagination grows more and more everyday! She was SO much fun last night... which makes me want to spend every waking moment with her! Now... the tantrum evenings, I like to hand her over to daddy! Ha! JK!

Hadlea is hell on wheels. She never slows down. She keeps us on our toes. She is not a kid to sit and play with anything for too long. Which totally blows my mind as I thought that's how all first borns were. I WAS WRONG. Oh the things we think we 'KNOW' before having a real human of our own to parent!! But no matter how many times I have stuck my foot in my mouth or how many times I KNOW I will be proven wrong over the next several years, I am so thankful to get the chance to make these memories with her. I can only do what I think is best for her... even if that means doing things I said I would NEVER do! Everything is worth watching a 2 year old fly... even if she has to tell me what she is doing... and proving me wrong because I thought she was just leaning over! Ha! :-)

And to keep it real... I thought I would always be 'that' mom to have it all together, to remember everything (I used to get so mad at my mom when she wouldn't remember something. sorry momma!), to never get frustrated and raise my voice, to never take something out on my husband and to ALWAYS stay on top of my laundry...

I am again WRONG! In a big way this time! There is a laundry basket under there somewhere. And this is less than a weeks work of laundry. And this is only Justin and I's laundry. H has her own basket! Oh there is not a sad enough face to put on the end of this paragraph! Ha!

Parenting is tough. I honestly never knew. I sometimes want to write REALLY long posts on my thoughts on it, but I never do. We all have our own ways. I see some ways that people parent that I want to copy. I see some ways people parent that make me never want to discipline H again because I feel so sorry for those poor kids that get screamed at over and over again.

I know I can only do what works for our family. And works for my larger than life attitude of a 2 year old! Ha! I sometimes feel like I am a great parent. Other times, I think I do an awful job, which makes me feel guilty and then tell my husband that I do not think we are worthy of trying to raise another human. I know this is SO not true. I know deep down in my heart that I am a great mother. I have some awesome examples out there to learn from. I am sure we all go through this. Or I hope! :)

We talk about having baby #2. I still don't think we are ready. I always wanted to have one by the time H turned 3. That would mean I need to get prego SOON. It is NOT happening! Which again... makes me feel SO guilty! Everyone around us is having babies. Many of my friends that have babies around H's age or even younger already have #2 or are pregnant. It is a constant battle in my mind as to what we should do. I can definitely tell you when I think too much about it, I feel guilty. Guilty because I do not want to deprive Hadlea of a close brother or sister. Guilty that I am NOT ready. I would have to say this is my number one thing to pray about right now. I am just so divided. And I think mostly because I feel guilty over my own decision.

I am really not sure how we went from bike riding, to walking a dog to the guiltiness I sometimes feel over my parenting abilities. But I did...

Not sure how many are still reading... Ha! This was completely random. But thanks for listening! :-)

weekend

This past weekend my cousin from Kansas and her family came down to spend the weekend. This trip has been in the making for 3 years now! Our husbands have been planning a wild hog hunt and every year something came up that we couldn't get together! This past October we set a date and we are all DETERMINED to make it work this year! ....and I am SO glad we did!

I took a total of FOUR pictures all weekend! All we did was play in our pj's and made a Chili's run for lunch! Other than that, we just caught up and played with the kiddos!

 Hadlea and her Anna Gwace (Anna Grace)

Anna, Harvey and Zac gave their complete and undivided attention to Hadlea. She was in heaven! She loved every minute of having them here!

Michele,

I can honestly not think you all enough for making the drive! It meant so much to have our families together! We cannot wait to see you all again VERY soon!

After they all left, we heard "Where Anna Gwace go?", "Where Harvey and Zac go?" no less than 100 times. We then decided to take a drive and find dinner... hoping that would make H stop asking where everyone went! Obviously she wasn't feeling special enough! Ha! 

She is just so funny and happy these days! So very thankful today for my sweet little family along with relationships that seem to just pick up where they left off! I may not get to talk to Michele daily or weekly, but our relationship is always there... such an amazing feeling!

joining the church choir

In my 30 years of existing, I have NEVER joined a fan club. Even back in those days of NKOTB and N'Sync.... even though I probably had 100+ of their posters in my room at some point, I never joined their fan clubs! But this year, I joined my very first fan club.... which is ever so cleverly called The Church Choir! I literally think my husband thought I was going crazy when I told him! Ha! But, they were offering meet and greets at the concert we were going to, and I was SO getting my chance at meeting Eric Church!

Eric's music has been around for quite some time, but it wasn't until I went to my first concert where he was opening that I fell in love! He is an amazing performer! He is so engaging and personable. I knew once he became his own headliner that the concerts would be more of a production... and I was SO right!

 Everything he did had meaning... it was a great show!

 And I guess having great friends to experience it with was pretty great too! :)

Me w/ Alissa / Taran / Stephanie / G and Justin

If you have never listened to Eric's music, I would definitely recommend going HERE and checking some out! I promise, you will NOT be disappointed no matter what you listen to!

My all time favorite song "Springsteen", you can find HERE!

TLG, Celebrating & EC

Tuesday night we had Little Gym! H is a MONSTER at the gym! She doesn't want to pay attention or follow in line... she just wants to run as fast as possible and hit every single station! Thankfully for their class, the teachers tell the parents it is fine for them to run free and do what they want. Once they move up, it will become more structured. However, H is usually 1 of maybe 2 or 3 others that don't follow in line. She is just one WILD and BUSY child!

But really... this DOES NOT get old to watch! That girl is STRONG!

walking the balance beam and taking a rest on the balance beam! :-)

Wednesday, I took off early to take H to the doctor. She just hasn't been herself, and I was convinced her allergies were out of control! The dr thinks she has a sinus infection. It is possible, but I am not sold on it. I am trying some different allergy medicine.... guess we will see!

Once we got home, Riley, Hannah and Aunt Leslie came over! The birthday boy wanted CFA for dinner! Who am I to tell him NO?! Ha! Love me some CFA!

After CFA, it was yogurt time at Cherry Berry!

Once we got home, we updated their new iPhones and then listened to some music. Hannah, Had and I danced around! LOVE those two girls!

Hannah wanted a lemon to eat, so guess who wanted one too?! We got lots of laughs out of their faces!

Today, Nana is coming to stay and daddy and I and 4 friends are headed to Fort Smith AR to see Eric Church! If you have never listened to his music, you are missing out! If you have never seen him in concert, you are missing out!

This will be our 3rd time to see him in less than 2 years, and we will see him again next month! He never really gets old! I just LOVE, LOVE him!

More on him tomorrow... after the concert! :-)

Happy Birthday, Riley!

Today, my very first baby nephew turns 10 years old! It seems like yesterday that we got up bright and early and headed to the hospital for my SIL to be induced. She wasn't even my SIL at the time, and I think Justin and I had only been together about 4 months, but I knew after those 4 months, I wasn't going anywhere. And I guess my SIL did too, as she invited me to be in the room when Riley was born.

This was my first experience with a live birth. I ABOUT DIED... there is just not enough warning for that stuff... and everyone still likes to make jokes about it to this day! Ha!

I remember that day like it was yesterday, and it is a memory that will thankfully never go away! My heart just about exploded when I seen his sweet face for the first time which was right after I counted all of his fingers and toes to make sure they were intact!! He has always been my best little friend! He makes me more proud than he will ever know! He gave me the nickname 'Hova' since he couldn't say Heather, and it has always stuck! He just makes me feel so darn special!

I LOVE to give Riley a hard time. He is so much fun and is so good at taking jokes! I always bug him about his little girlfriends. I always threaten to come find them! I tell him I want to be his first date when he turns 16. I tell him to never be embarrassed by the crazy aunt that shows up at his functions. I tell him he can always move in with me if he can convince his momma to let him! Ha! I constantly tell him how much I love him and to never outgrow me! One thing I can never tell him enough is how much he means to me! He was the first piece of my heart to get up and walk on two legs. He may not by MY baby, but words can just not express how much I love him!

To see Riley interact with Hadlea is THE MOST precious thing ever! He loves her and the feelings are VERY mutual. Most 10 year old boys are all about their friends, but he never hesitates to give her attention and talk to her in the sweetest little voice ever! I have no doubt that they will be always be the best of friends!

You can find some of my favorite pictures from over the years HERE on last year's post.

Riley Biley,

I love you so much sweet boy! I am so proud of the young man you have become. Thank you so much for letting me be a part of your life. I am so glad you love to come stay with me... even if these days it is to come see Haddie Mae! :-) I cannot wait to watch you grow up. You have so much potential, and I know you will do great things! I still want that first date when you turn 16... that is NOT a joke! And yes, you have to buy! Ha! I hope you have your greatest birthday yet! 

Love always,

Aunt Hova

His birthday party was very cute! Skulls. Definitely right up my alley! :-) There were 16 kids. Oh.My.Goodness those kids were adorable! And hilarious! I LOVED seeing him interact with his friends!

It was such a beautiful day so the kids were able to play outside! H was all about that!

Happy Birthday, Riley!

We cannot wait to see you tonight and celebrate on your actual birthday!

weekend and talkative tuesday

We had a fun filled weekend... what else is new?!

Uncle Alan and Aunt Amanda picked up H from daycare Friday afternoon and took her to Chuck E. Cheese. She LOVED it! ...obviously by that sweet hilarious face!

Once Justin and I got off of work, we picked up dinner and headed to their house to eat. We spent the evening just chatting and playing with H. Uncle Jake was there too so I got in some good brother time!

Saturday morning, we got up and headed to my nephew's 10th birthday part! To get to their house, we have to drive through the town where Justin and I first lived as a married couple. We always drive by our very first home! ...sad to see that it has kind of gone down hill, but I LOVED this house! We always talk about how we wish we could have picked it up, moved it to the country and fixed it up! Such great newlywed memories!

Riley had an awesome 10th birthday party! More on that tomorrow on his actual birthday...

Saturday evening we decided to go to the hockey game with some friends! Hadlea and Trevin thought it was the greatest thing ever!

 

 They ate enough popcorn for 5 people and couldn't stop watching the game! They also danced to the music... definitely entertainment to the people around us!

Sunday morning, we got up and headed to church! I swear... she is like my own personal dress-up doll! Eeeekkkk!

Then it was to lunch and daddy headed out to meet some guys to fish. H and I went home for nap time and then once daddy got home, we had friends over for dinner. Since Uncle Jake was in town he also stopped by! We cooked out steaks and played with H!

Talkative Tuesday

In the past, I did 'What She's Saying Wednesday', but I have another post for tomorrow {since it's some little boy's birthday} so I decided to post a few things Hadlea is saying... so here is your Talkative Tuesday! Ha!

• Oh Ma Gawsh - And yes, you need to say it  VERY southern! This is what she is saying to her babies. "Oh Ma Gawsh, baby. It's o-tay. Oh Ma Gawsh." hilarious!
• When I thought H was down for a nap last week, Justin and I were watching tv and hear "oh yucky. me poop my pants. oh yucky. daddy says dats awesome." We listened and laughed for a good 5 mins! Not sure what daddy teaches her when I'm not around!? :-)
• Enough! - Hadlea's answer to everything when she wants you to stop. This is awesome to parent! :-) Example: Justin was chasing Berkley around the house one afternoon. Berkley was barking. She tells Justin, "Daddy. Enough. Don't scare Berkley anymore!".

a day with my baby girl

MLK Day = a day off for most unless your customer isn't off! :-( However, I only had to work a few hours to do some reporting. Other than that, I had an awesome day! ...an awesome day on LITTLE sleep! Hadlea has been having terrible allergies. Just before bed her eyes started matting and continued to do so all night. I think I finally went to sleep after 4AM, after getting up many times to clean her eyes. She was so good during all of it. I just felt AWFUL for her!

After we got up around 8, I gave her some allergy medicine and waited to see how she was feeling. She was in a great mood so I took her to daycare and headed to my massage, which I had previously planned! Yeah! It was AWESOME and much needed!

After my massage, I picked her up and we headed to the park. This is her new 'cheese' face. Expect to see it ALOT going forward! Ha! Berkley got to go with us too... which she LOVED!

20 minutes at the park = not a good idea with allergy issues... her poor eyes! Obviously not the smartest momma moment. *sigh* Can I blame it on little sleep?! :-)

She was NOT happy we had to leave the park so we played in the driveway in her car! She LOVED giving her baby a ride!

We then came in for popsicles... and because momma wouldn't let baby have a popsicle, she got an apple juice!

I love days like this. Even on little sleep, she was PERFECT... and it was a perfect day for momma!