Last Day of School...Bittersweet!!!

Max's last day of MDO was yesterday. I can't believe that this "school year" is already over! MDO has been such a blessing to us. We have thoroughly enjoyed the program, Max's teachers, my alone time (Until Hadley arrived. Ha!), Max's friends (especially Ethan!!!), and all the wonderful times Max has had at MDO.

Can you believe that Max was barely walking when he started MDO last August?!

Look how different he looks!!!

He doesn't look like a baby any more :(



Such a BIG boy!!! He is definitely a full-blown toddler now!

So bittersweet!!!

 I LOVE the little boy that he has become,

but at the same time I miss my little baby! 

Max has changed so much over these past 9 months! I am amazed each & every day by this little guy!!! He is so much fun, even in the defiant times!

Max has become such a confident, curious, silly, mischievous, loving, giggly, caring, sharing, engaging, independent, menacing, sweet, and charming little boy.

(Just to name a few of his qualities that I find endearing!)

I could go on & on about my love for this little guy!

If I loved him anymore, my heart would explode!!!  

This is his best buddy Ethan. So sweet!

This is his very first little friend.

Max's teachers always comment on how much fun they have together just giggling and playing!

LOVE it!

 This is Max with Ms. Cindy & Ms. Serenity.

I will be forever grateful for these two for loving on my baby boy each day that he was in their care. I know wholeheartedly that he was in the best hands! Thank you is never enough!!!

We are so sad that Max does not get to go back to Little Life Academy next year because of our move, but we know that God has a plan and He will provide another school that we love just as much!

Hadley is 4 Months!!!

Hadley turned 4 months old on Wednesday, May 4th!!!

I know that I have not posted for Hadley's 1st, 2nd, OR 3rd months yet, but I wanted to go ahead and post this one while everything was fresh on my mind. The first 3 months are forthcoming though!

I am going to do the "Watch Me Grow" chronicle with Hadley, just as I did with Max. For Hadley's "Watch Me Grow," I am using this oh-so-adorable cupcake bear that I just LOVE!!! It is not just any bear though...it has a super-special name. Any guesses??? It is a Boyd's Bear!!! Neat, huh?! (In case you are not following: this is special because Hadley's middle name is Boyd. And, Boyd is Daniel's Mom's maiden name. See...special!) 

{Side Note:We chose Max's monkey for his chronicle because his sweet cousin Eliza called him "Max the Monkey" before he was born.}

All Things Hadley at 4 Months:

• Dr.'s Appointment: We went for your 4-month check-up on Thursday (yesterday) and you weighed a little over 10 lbs. (2%); you measured 24.25 inches in length (51%); and your head circumference was 15 inches (1%). You are super-low on the percentile for weight, but Max was even lower at his 4-month, so I think you guys are just small in the beginning and then level out as you get older. Dr. T was not worried, so long as you continue to stay on your curve.
• Eating: You are still nursing exclusively. Probably around 8-12 times a day. Every 2-3.5 hours. You have had a handful of bottles and you do just fine. Dr. T said that we could start you on cereal, but I am going to hold off until closer to 6 months. (That's the plan anyway!) Dr. T also suggested that we try to draw out the time between your feedings, which is fine by this Mama!
• Sleeping: Needs Improvement! You were only waking once or twice for a couple of weeks, but for the past couple of weeks, you are waking every.two.hours like clock-work. What is going on?! Mama needs some zzzz's! I think you are in a growth spurt, so I am hoping this will pass soon. We have been putting you down between 6:30-7:30 and you usually get up for good around 8-8:30. You usually take two longer naps 1-2.5 hours each--one in the morning and one in the afternoon. You typically fall to sleep pretty easily and sleep really good once you are asleep.
• Activity: You rolled over from you back to your tummy when you were about 15 weeks! You did it once in the Einstein Tunnel (one of my very fave toys for infants!) and you also rolled over a couple of nights ago when we tried to put you down for the night unswaddled. Um, we decided to wait on weaning from the swaddling for a bit! You have been talking/cooing/babbling/whooing for the longest time! You love, love, love to talk!!! (Uh-oh...we may be in trouble!) You can hold your head really high when doing tummy time and even hold your chest up off the ground for a bit. You love to be in the standing position. (And, boy, do you have some loooong legs...lucky girl!)
• Misc.: Everyone comments on your sweet smile and your kind eyes. You look just like your daddy! I can already tell that you are such a sweet soul. You are the most laid-back baby ever! You really are super-easy. You are just the sweetest thing!!! You love to be held and loved on. I can't kiss your sweet little face enough!  

We are all just smitten with this little doll face! She is in one of her many Easter/Bunny/Spring outfits here. It has a fuzzy bunny on it, and of course a tutu!

Such a sweet little thing!!!

This one and the one below were taken on 5/4. She is really starting to look more and more like her Daddy! Yay!  

 

Bath time is one of Hadley's fave times of the day :) We give her a bath each night as part of the bedtime routine.

We love you more than words can describe Hadley Boyd!!! You make our days so much brighter with your sweet, sweet smile!!!

Easter Day

We have had a wonderful weekend celebrating our Savior!
Today, we celebrated Easter with just our little family. We went to church this morning & were blessed by a wonderful sermon! After church, we went and ate lunch--just the four of us. When we got back home we took a few pics to remember our day by (and, Hadley's very FIRST Easter!!!).
 
My sweet family!!!

Max loves his little sister :)

Happy 1st Easter Hadley!!!

Happy 2nd Easter Max!!!


The Easter Bunny also visited and left Max & Hadley some goodies!
Max & Hadley's Grandma (my Mom) and Grandmum (Daniel's Mom) got them some Easter goodies too!!! Thanks Grandma & Grandmum!

{Below are the lyrics to one of my all-time favorite songs.
I thought it was an appropriate one to share on Easter! Enjoy!}

"Christ Has Risen" by Matt Maher
Let no one caught in sin remain
Inside the lie of inward shame
But fix our eyes upon the cross
And run to Him who showed great love
And bled for us
Freely You've bled for us

Christ is risen from the dead
Trampling over death by death
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave
Christ is risen from the dead
We are one with Him again
Come awake, come awake
Come and rise up from the grave

Beneath the weight of all our sin
You bowed to none but heaven's will
No scheme of hell, no scoffer's crown
No burden great can hold You down
In strength You reign
Forever let Your church proclaim

O death, where is your sting?
O hell, where is your victory?
O church, come stand in the light
The glory of God has defeated the night

O death, where is your sting?
O hell, where is your victory?
O church, come stand in the light
Our God is not dead
He's alive! He's alive!

Hadley's 3-month Sneak Peek

Lindsey came on Saturday to do Hadley's 3-month pictures.

She got some reeeeaaaally cute ones ;)

I am so glad we purchased the One-Year Plan package she offers! It is a built-in reminder to take pictures of my kiddos!!!

Enjoy!

Hadley's Birth Story & Announcement

Hadley Boyd Goodwin was born on January 4, 2011 at 8:28 a.m. at St. Vincent's in Little Rock, AR

This is her Birth Story.

It was a typical Monday evening at our house. It was going on 8 p.m. and Daniel & I were getting Max bathed and ready for bed. I felt great the whole day, but when we were giving Max a bath, I started feeling a little different. I was not in pain, nor did I feel sick. It was just different. I told Daniel I wasn't sure what was going on...maybe the beginnings of labor?! Once we got Max bathed, I started feeling a lot of pressure in my lower abdomen and tightening of my stomach. I told Daniel what I was feeling and we both just blew it off as if I was experiencing Braxton-Hicks. So, 10 p.m. rolled around and I was feeling the same as I had been the last 1 1/2 hours. We just went to bed as normal. Around 1:30 a.m. I woke up and felt more pressure and stronger contractions. I was still not in any pain, so I tried to rest. I slept off and on until about 3:30 a.m. and then I decided to go downstairs and rest on the couch so that I wouldn't disturb Daniel. At that point I figured that I was probably in the early stages of labor, but that I probably had a ton of time until the baby would come being that I labored for 29 hours with Max. So I decided that I would just rest/sleep as much as possible. Around 4/4:30 a.m. my contractions were getting stronger and more frequent, so I decided that I should wake Daniel & tell him that we should probably head to the hospital. I am not sure what happened at this point, but it was as if the baby knew that we were headed to the hospital because the contractions really kicked in at this point! 

I got Daniel up and he, of course, asked if he had time to take a shower. Um, sure, I will just hang out down here and labor a little more while you shower. Ha! Lucky for him, my Mom had to come and stay with Max, so he had time for his shower. I called my Mom and she said she would be right over. She only lives about 15 minutes from our house, so I was super relieved that she would be there shortly. I am quite certain that Daniel's shower was an eternity, as well as, the time it took my Mom to get to our house! Ha! Because I was no longer in denial that I was in labor at that point! (Only kidding...I have the best husband and Mom a girl could ask for!!!)The contractions were the knock-you-to-the-ground kind and they were coming hard and fast. As soon as Daniel got out of the shower, I politely asked him to call my Mom again to see where she was. She said she was almost to our house. Thank you Jesus! 

Daniel and I arrived at the hospital around 5:30 a.m. and I was in a lot of pain and felt really nauseated. We entered the hospital through the ER and thankfully there was no one in the waiting area. I found the nearest trash bin and propped myself up against it while Daniel talked to the check-in lady. She finally called someone down to help us get up to Labor & Delivery. The nice man pushed my as slow as humanly possible. It was obvious that neither the man escorting us upstairs, nor the check-in lady had ever experienced birth, because they were taking their sweet time! I was feeling the worst pain I had ever felt and I felt so, so nauseated all at the same time. Not a good combination! When we got upstairs to L & D, I saw a familiar face...it was the SAME nurse that helped me deliver Max! Nurse Linda was fabulous during my delivery with Max. She stayed with me the whole time and even stayed after her shift to see us through. At this point I was not very friendly and did not feel like reliving my first birth with Nurse Linda, so I just told her that she helped with my first birth. This time, though, Nurse Linda was taking care of one or two other patients, so she could not give me her full attention. I immediately asked for an epidural this time. It felt like an eternity before they checked to see how much I was dilated and effaced. When Nurse Linda finally checked me I was 100% effaced and 8 c.m. dilated. Whoa! No wonder I was in such pain!!! She hurried things up to get me an epidural at this point. The anesthesiologist came and all was good after that! (I still had some feeling on my left side, but Nurse Linda said that was so I could feel to push.) 

Around 7 a.m. or so my OB, Dr. Garner, came to visit with me. I was so super glad that he was going to be there to deliver Hadley, just as he had delivered Max. Although I couldn't fully feel the contractions at this point, I could feel them enough to know when they were beginning and ending. They were coming faster and stronger. Nurse Linda decided that we would do a few test pushes. I pushed once and she called Dr. Garner in. He got all his gear in order (very casually and slowly, I might add) and prepared for the delivery. I did not have to push very long at all and Dr. Garner said that Hadley's head had crowned. I could really feel this part. A whole lot of pressure! After a couple of more pushes, our sweet baby Hadley was born!!! She was perfect. They laid her on my chest and I fell in love right then and there!      

Here is the front and back of Hadley's Birth Announcement

(Lindsey with Lindsey Faith Photography designed the Announcement)

Can you believe that I sent these out just last week?!

Of course you can...I am just now posting about Hadley's birth story and she is already over 3 months old :)