What I'm Loving Wednesday

 

I'm linking up with Jamie for What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I haven't done this for awhile, life is good, so why not!?

I'm Loving Suave dry shampoo! Not because my hair is greasy, but because I LOVE the smell. Also it makes my hair curls so much easier, and I can kind of even achieve kind of big hair! Score. Of and it is only like 2 bucks.

I'm Loving My new jeans! I actually got two pair of jeans that are stylish! Go me! They are Angel brand which are normally $50 to $75 but I got them on clearance at Fred Meyer for $20.

I'm Loving That hubby and I are going on a mini vacation this weekend! Chris is going to Soap Lake to bid a job, and I get to tag along. 85 degrees and Eastern Washington, I think so! We are leaving Hayes with my parents, so this is my birthday and anniversary present all in one. I am counting down the hours

I'm also Loving My sweet boy and his daddy. Happy Wednesday.

Southern Mama's Blog Hop

This is my first time ever participating in a blog hop. I love meeting new people so I thought why not?

I am definitely not from the South but I always wished I was. I am from Western Washington, about a 100 miles North of Seattle. In fact I live closer to Vancouver, BC than Seattle. The summer after I graduated high school, I thought long and hard about moving to the South. Where? At the time I was thinking somewhere in one of the Carolina's on the coast. Anyway, obviously I didn't, so now I just live a vicariously Southern life through all the blogs I read.

Thanks for stopping by, and I look forward to getting to know you!

Show & Tell; Baby Talk

 

I'm a day late, but so goes my life. haha

 1. Tell us your favorite baby names? Aside from your own babies, if you have some :)

For a boy, I like the names Wyatt, Bryce, and Clint

For a girl, I like Adaline and Brayden

2. Show me your "dream" nursery {can be your baby's nursery or one that you love}

I love the western themed nurseries! Hayes doesn't have a decorated nursery, it just wasn't in the cards, this time around.

3. How many children would you like to have? How far apart?

Growing up, I always thought I wanted 3 kids, 2 boys and a girl. But now that I am 30 and have 1 child, I think I am done.  If you want to get technical though, I have 2 step children, a boy and a girl, so really I do have 3 kids, 2 boys and a girl. Perfect!

4. Tell us what you think the importance of parenting is?

I'm not exactly sure what that question is asking, so I will answer what I think is most important to teach your children.Respect, plan and simple. When you have respect for the world and people around you, you treat everyone fair and kindly. When you respect the earth, you are conscious of what you are doing and how you are treating your environment.   You can not truly love someone until you respect them. Respect is a challenge. It is hard to respect someone's views or way of life that is different from your own. I think that respect is the building block for a better tomorrow. Excuse me while I listen to a little Aretha!

5. Show us your favorite newborn photo {can be your children or random}

Well of course my favorite is from my baby boy Hayes

He looks a little crossed eyed, but I promise he is not

6.  Tell us some things you promise to never do as a parent {and if you are a parent, did you stick to it}

I promise to never kick my son out of the house! I had some friends in high school who their parents were always kicking them out when they got in a fit. I think that is horrible!

I promise to never embarrass Hayes. Haha yeah right! 

I promise never to judge the activities that Hayes chooses to pursue. (I'll try)

Other than that, I haven't really thought too far in advance about parenting. I am kind of a take it as it comes type person.

 

Cle Elum

Last weekend, we headed over the pass and went "camping" at my aunt and uncle's property in Cle Elum. I am not a huge fan of tent camping, especially with a very active 8 month old! So Friday after work, we hooked up our 35' 5th wheel, and waited. haha. My cousin, his girl friend and kids were planning on following us over, so Tyson wanted us to wait until they were ready. He is always late! Chris had the day off work and I was off by 10am so we were hoping to you know hit the road by noon or so. Haha no such luck!

Our little window licker!

So we waited and then about 3:30 Tyson called and said we are going to be a little while, why don't you guys just head out and we will catch up. Gee thanks! So we left within 10 minutes, and we were on our way. Then we hit traffic starting in Everett. Let's just say Friday night traffic with a 35' 5th wheel, not ideal. Oh and throw 2 kids into the mix, we were slightly on edge.

We pulled into the property about 7 pm it is only 150 miles. Anyway so by the time we got the trailer set up and everything unpacked, it was pushing 9. So we headed into town to get something to eat. We drove around forever trying to find something everyone could agree on, and then we ended up at Taco Bell. While everyone else was eating, I ran next door, and did a little shopping at Safeway for the camping breakfast essentials(eggs, bacon, orange juice)

The next morning I got up and made breakfast for everyone. There wasn't a BBQ over there and I didn't want to be stuck inside the trailer, so I ended up cooking the bacon outside on the George Foreman, it kinda took a long time, but it ended up pretty good, and a lot less fatty!

Sorry it's so blurry, Chris took it haha

After breakfast Tyson and Chris went to float the Yakima river, and Sam and I took the kids to Lake Cle Elum. That was my first time being at a lake with a sandy beach, it was pretty cool. The wind was blowing pretty good though so we didn't stay too long.

That night we went out to dinner at a steak house, that was way over priced and way to slow from 3 kids under 6. I think we were there for about 2 1/2 hours! Oh well live and learn I guess. The next morning, Sam made everyone breakfast, and then Chris and I packed up our stuff so we could be ready to go later.

We decided to head back to the lake since it wasn't too windy. It was a blast! We all swam and played on floaties. I was sitting in a tube in the water, but not deep enough to be floating and Hayes kept walking around in circles and spinning me, it was so cute. Oh and the coolest part of the lake, you could drive down to it, and park on the sand. I felt like we were in Daytona Beach or somewhere exciting! haha.

So we headed back to the trailers and surprise, surprise Sam and Tyson hadn't even started packing up. They were staying in his parents trailer, which just stays on the property, so they had to pack and then clean and then dump the tanks, etc. Finally about 6 we were on the road, only to drive 15 minutes, and stop for dinner.

We stopped at Mountain High Burgers and they were so yummy! When we pulled in the parking lot though, Tyson noticed that one of the tires on our trailer was bulging. So Chris got out the air compressor, and filled it up, to see what it would do while we were eating. That place also had the most amazing, hard ice cream shakes. Usually I am not a huge ice cream fan, but this was delicious! Anyway we went back outside and the tire had gone low again, so Chris ended up changing the tire in the parking lot. Then we tried to find a place to dump our tanks before going back over the pass. Yeah that was a waste of about an hour and a half. We were only able to dump our gray water and we were back on the road, at 9pm! Grr. Chris and I both have to be to work at 7am. We made it to the rest stop in Arlington, and could finally dump our tank. By this time, Hayes was not having it! So I got in the back with him and tried to make him happy. I think we both fell asleep about 10 minutes from home. We were unloaded in bed by 1am!  haha so much for the supposedly 2 1/2 hour. Oh well we had a great time, maybe we will make it a yearly trip!

We are going "camping" again this weekend, but it is out at our river property which is only about a 1/2 hour from our house.

Ariana wrote this in the sand hehe it is all of our initials

What do ya think?

So thanks to Nicole I was inspired to tweak my blog a little. Hopefully this will make it a little easier to read. (Not sure if it was difficult to begin with) Anyway let me know if you can see everything ok. I hate it when backgrounds and stuff are in my way of reading someone's blog, so please let me know if mine is in the way at all. Thanks!

8 Months

Such a happy boy

Stats: I don't have any updates. He won't have another Dr. appointment for another month or two. He is such a wiggle worm now, I have no clue how they are even going to measure him when we go!

Hayes is in love with Chris's yellow hat

Milestones: Hayes is still very active and alert. I didn't really realize just how alert and perceptive he is until, I was around a couple of other babies this month. He is so dang nosy curious(which means he is into everything!) The other babies tend to just kind of stare of into space and grunt. haha Hayes gave up on army crawling and is just speed crawling. He is also pulling himself up on everything, and sometimes trying to stand up without any help.

Hayes loves playing under the sink

His legs are still wobbly and he has his mom's balance. He definitely has the ambition to walk though. Hayes also got 2 new teeth this month. Both on the bottom. He got his second bottom tooth about July 20th and then about 3 days later, his 3rd bottom tooth, which was right next to his 2nd tooth popped through. He really looks like a little bulldog now. haha.

First ear of corn

Feeding: Hayes still LOVES his food. Man that kid can eat. He has tried everything I have eaten this past month I think.In fact is you don't share with him, he tends to get very upset, even if he has just ate. Mayeb we should try to teach him not to beg like a dog? haha yeah right our dog's haven't even figured that one out.

Hayes loves his Diesel doggie

Behavior: Hayes is active! He is into everything. Mom has cleared out under the kitchen sink because he loves crawling in there and playing. Hayes is a very happy boy and we get comments all the time about how content he is. No matter where we are, if he has had enough to eat, and there are people to watch, he is happy as can be. I think Hayes tends to get bored quite easily. As long as he is moving and exploring new things he is happy, but if he is stuck in one stop for too long, he gets restless.

Sleep: It's is still going great. Hayes still sleeping through the night every night. A couple of nights in a row, he did wake up at 5 am, and was ready for the day. But those days he went to bed before 7pm so he still got plenty of sleep. Now only if I could go to bed at 7 with him, I would get plenty of sleep too.

First time swimming

Hayes loves the water, just like his daddy

Clothes: Hasn't changed much from last month. 9mo-2T clothes and size 4 diapers. Actually hardly any 9 mo clothes fit him, but there are a few that he still wears for just around the house.

7 Months

Yep that's a mosquito on his face! We've had a wet summer.

Stats: Hayes didn't have a Dr appointment this month, so I tried measuring him at home. Haha that boy does not want to be held down, or stay still!

Milestones: Hayes is still doing an army crawl to get around, and man is he fast at it! He had a lot of firsts this month. He got his first tooth about June 24th. We call it his little fang. He should be getting another one anyday. He also started sitting up for long periods of time on his own around the 4th of July. He is so cute, you can sit him somewhere and give him some toys, and he will usually play for quite awhile. He also got his first cold on July 5th :( Luckily he is such a good boy, and he still slept through the night, even when he couldn't breath good. Thank goodness, because mama got the cold too! And the big one! That's right he now sleeps through the night EVERY night!

Feeding: That boy is a chow hound! He usually has 4 meals of solid foods a day. He also has a few bottles, and while he was sick we gave him some diluted apple juice to keep him hydrated. We have not found any food that he doesn't like. He had strawberries, raspberries, watermelon, pineapple, pork, chicken, tomato, Nilla wafers, Oreo(bad Papa haha) cottage cheese, and probably lots more that I can't remember right now.

Behavior: Hayes seemed to be more content for longer periods of time. He is getting into everything though. He loves anything with lights or a cord. He is very determined about what he wants. If he is playing with something he shouldn't, you can pick him up, put him the other room, and within a minute he is right back to the same spot.

Love, Love Love this picture!

Sleep: Oh glorious sleep! Since about 6 1/2 months Hayes has slept through the night every night. His naps seem to be getting more consistant too. Most of the time he takes two 1 1/2 hour - 2 hour naps. During the work week he is in bed between 7 and 7:30, and then sleeps until I get him up at 6. On the weekends, I try to get him to stay up till about 8:30 then he will sleep until 7:30 or 8!

Clothes: Hayes is still wearing anywhere from 9 months to a 2T. He is still in a size 4 diaper also.

Since I am a horrible blogger(really I shouldn't even be considered a blogger) I guess I should recap last month also.

Chris and his brothers Brian and Kevin and his nephew Tyler

Chris's brother Kevin came home for and visit and brought our little Hannah French fry hehehe. That same weekend 2 of our nephews had their graduation party. The actual graduation was 2 weeks before that. It was so good to get to spend time with Kevin and Hannah.

Ariana, Hannah, Grandma Mary and Hayes

For the 4th of July we just ended up staying home and having a BBQ. Hayes was jsut too little for the fireworks, so we didn't want to go anywhere that might scare him.

Hayes and Grandma Mary

Oh so the graduation party was June 30th which was also mine and Chris's 5 year anniversary. We had Ariana that weekend, and it was also my company picnic that day too, so we haven't celebrated our anniversary yet.

At my company picnic they had a raffle, and mine was the first number called! I won a Keurig!!! It is the Platinum one from Costco that is $150, haha happy anniversary to me!

I took some vacation time on July 5 and 6 so I thought I would have a nice long weekend. Summer weather had finally hit, and Hayes and I came down with horrible colds! So we never even left the house. Grrr

Oh one more quick story, we went strawberry picking, my mom, grandma, brother, Hayes and me. Hayes was in the stroller, and when we went to get the buckets, and the girl asked "does he want a little bucket?" I looked over at my brother thinking why would you want a small bucket, then it dawned on me she was talking about Hayes. I just laughed and told her he is only 6 months old. Her jaw dropped.

Anyway sorry this is so long.