Happy 2nd birthday, Hayden Reece!

Little Hot Sauce, you have officially entered the world of two! What a bundle of joy you are to our family. I can't imagine life without you... you brighten each day with your zest and energy and passion. I am so thankful we didn't stop with two. You are precious, sweet girl.

A few of my favorite things about you right now:

• When asked if your name is Hayden, you reply in a low, husky, Eastwood-esque voice, "No.... name's Hot Toss."
• When I try to sing along with you in the car, you holler, "Mommy, leh me ting!"
• You have my hyper side... it usually comes out when you hug one of us. Teeth clenched, shaking, squealing, the whole bit. It's so awesome.
• Your gallop. More often than not, you go from room to room with the cutest little horsey gallop.
• You adore your brother and sister. And you can argue/fight with them so well already. 

Your big day was capped off with a little party at Mazzio's with our family/godfamily.

* Her stitches came out on Saturday! The scar looks really good... I'm gonna start her on Mederma this week and see if we can't make it look even better.

Cavetime.org

These two videos are from Cavetime, the ministry of our pastor Jeff Voth. We have been so blessed to be able to help support this ministry and watch first-hand how it has changed so many men's lives. Do yourself a favor and watch them. Then have your husband watch them. Check out the website, Cavetime.org, and buy the book. Have Jeff come speak to the men of your church. I can vouch for him. He's awesome. And that's his voice on the videos.





Here's the 2nd Video


Speaking of manly things... my poor husband is snowed in in the city of Green Bay tonight. He's been gone since Sunday afternoon, and he was supposed to get back late tonight, but the 8 inches that fell today put a stop to all departing flights. He's been going stir-crazy in his hotel room, and the kids and I are missing him terribly. He had incredible client meetings the last few days, so that's the silver lining.

Hayden's forehead is healing nicely. I've been keeping that thing bandaged and slathered with Neosporin. I read an article recently that looked at wounds that were allowed to 'air out' versus wounds that were kept covered and moist. They found that there was less scarring with the covered wounds. So there you have it, folks. Compelling scientific data reported to you live from Dr. V.V., She Who is Currently Obsessed with Neosporin. Hot Sauce is hilarious when I put the band-aid on. She'll say, "Touch Eye, Touch Head, No Touch Here" while pointing to her owie. That child just needs to know her boundaries at all times. Stitches come out on Saturday!

I have one last day with her before she turns 2. Insane! I truly can't believe it's been two years since I gave birth to her. The whirlwind that has been our life during these past two years has often reminded me to slow down and enjoy each day because it flies by so stinkin' quickly.

Update on Emerson... she was accepted to the private school we applied to, but there is a possibility she could be wait-listed. So we have to just hang out and wait for a month or so until they let us know. Ugh.

Yet another trip to Urgent Care

This time it was for Hot Sauce. Right after lunch today, I was cleaning the mirror in the powder bath while the kids were playing in the living room and Jason was in the office. I heard a scream, ran out of the bathroom, and saw Hayden had tipped over a chair she was standing up in. I rushed over and saw blood just gushing out of her forehead. Her entire face was instantly bloody. I'm guessing she hit the corner of the wall near the window when she went down.

I yelled for Daddy, and we brought her to the sink and applied pressure to get the bleeding to stop. Thank the Lord that the in-laws were home and were able to drive right over to watch Em and Jax so both of us could take her to Urgent Care. And let me just say that if you live in South Tulsa/Jenks, the ERgent care at 96th & Riverside is the bomb. We never have a long wait, and the staff there are wonderful.

She was happy as a clam until she had to wear the numbing medication around her head. We found a Lazy Town episode on YouTube via Daddy's phone to help take her mind off things. When it came time for her stitches, she freaked out when the needle went in. I just hate shots. I also hate holding down a screaming almost-2-yr-old when all they want is to escape what's happening to them. It's so tough on a Momma's heart not to hold and comfort.

Six stitches later, our little Hot Sauce is back home, taking the afternoon nap she so desperately needed, and all is well again. I'm wondering how in the world we're gonna get the blood out of the zebra print chair...

You can see in the first picture how deep and wide that nasty gash was.

Older

I celebrated my 34th last week. Just typing that seems so strange. Maybe it's just me, but as each birthday hits, I find myself realizing more and more that age really is just a number. Inside I feel like I'm about 23. :)

The fun began two Saturdays ago with my husband securing overnight childcare with Pa-Pa and Grandma. Can I get an AMEN from all the mommas of little ones? Seriously, he could've planned nothing else, we could've sat and stared at each other on the couch, and just having the quiet house to ourselves would've been enough. After we dropped them off, we drove to Utica Square, and he instructed me to go wherever I wanted and shop for whatever I wanted. I was in the market for a coat, but after a few stops with little to no coats, I decided to head to White House Black Market, one of my favorite stores of all time. 

I dearly love having Jason shop with me. We rarely do it, and I'm always fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants when I shop, but there's something so fun about taking my time and walking out of a dressing room to see his reaction. He's got great taste and is also wonderfully spot-on about what fits me best.

We left WHBM and ate at Flying Fish for some fantastic sushi. If you haven't eaten there, do yourself a favor and order the Super Dave and Caterpillar rolls. Your taste buds will thank you. J said we needed to be home by 7:45, and I guessed what that meant. We were gonna watch Miss America! Together!!! Can you hear the testosterone being sucked out of the room as I type? Hahahaha. My dear husband is a trooper, people. Now, I must say that having to watch the swimsuit portion of the evening probably wasn't the worst part of his day. 

I love to watch Miss America. Because I competed in Miss OK, I have fond memories of the backstage chaos, the nervousness, the dread that you'll forget your words/notes/name. I was rooting so hard for Miss OK this year. That girl could TAP. And those turns? Ridiculous. 

On Saturday the in-laws threw a birthday party for me. It's always so fun getting all the cousins together. Look at this brood!

I love these girls.

The boys playing some baseball. 

Oh Delilah... how I just wanna pinch your lil' cheeks. You are so snuggly.

This week our downstairs powder bath will be finished! Yahoo! I'll post pics soon.

My Lil' Photographer

Grandma and Pa-Pa bought Emerson a Vtech Kidizoom camera for Christmas. That child took over 200 pictures in her first hour. She filled up the memory quickly, then I realized I could choose a smaller size for the images. This morning I went through her pictures because she filled the memory again.

I love the things that capture a 5-yr-old's attention:

ABCs in the Dark

How is it that she'll be two in less than a month? Singing with her in the dark before bed is one of our favorite things to do. I ran and grabbed my camcorder recently... I just wanted to capture this precious little voice. In the dark. And hold on to it as long as I can.

"That's the real trouble with the world. Too many people grow up." -Walt Disney