Christmas Letter 2012

Dear Friends and Family,

Since we did not get our pictures back before I could get Christmas cards back to everyone in Illinois, I thought I would send a few out with our Christmas letter and Reid’s birth announcement. (It takes a week to receive mail from Illinois)

Well, 2012 has been a pretty busy year for us, as I am sure it was for everyone back home. We started out with Allen getting a job offer from Halliburton, in North Dakota. He left us for 8 weeks to go work, and then come home to relocate us. In the middle of all of the chaos, on April Fool’s Day, we found out we were expecting baby #2. This was a complete surprise; after all of the trips to Evansville, and years it took to get Hayleigh. I said goodbye to UPS, after 5 years in April, and to this day, I still miss working there.

 In May, we made the move to Colorado, in the Grand Junction area. We fell in love with the area here, and plan trips around our area, enjoying the mountain views, and all of the wildlife. Soon after moving to Colorado, we found out we were expecting a boy, and started planning a trip back to Illinois for the fall to visit. We did have a scare while planning our trip- I was grounded and considered “high risk” at 22 weeks, until we could see the specialist at St. Mary’s hospital to do a follow up ultrasound check of Reid’s heart. He had been throwing in an extra heart beat in the doctor’s office, so after a month of waiting for me to reach 26 weeks along. We had the ultrasound performed, the doctor confirmed Reid’s heart beat was normal, and I was taken off of high risk, and was given the okay to travel.

In June, Hayleigh had her first swim lessons, and really loved going to our local community center for swimming during the week. They had both an indoor pool and outdoor pool for her to enjoy, so we found ourselves spending most of our summer days up at the pool. We also got to go to Hayleigh’s first circus, and she enjoyed her first pony ride. At the end of June, we celebrated Hayleigh’s 2^nd Birthday. I still don’t know how she is already 2 years old already!

We finished the summer up with a trip to the local Dinosaur museum here in Fruita, with Papa Jack and Mimi making a short visit. The area around us and the museum has many dig sites and fossils collected from it, and the museum has one of the largest Triceratops skulls ever found. 

In September, we had the opportunity to go see the hot air balloon festival in Snowmass Colorado- right next to Aspen. We got to stay with Aunt Teresa, Uncle Clay, and cousin Ruth, and have a nice visit with the girls getting to play quite a bit. During the end of September, Hayleigh and I got to travel back home to visit everyone. I don’t know who was more excited – Hayleigh to see everyone, or everyone excited to see Hayleigh. We had a great time visiting, going to the Fall Festival, and short trips around. The one thing I can say is that nothing had changed back home- it was kind of like a visit to the twilight zone. After a week and a half, Hayleigh and I returned back to Colorado, and started getting everything ready for Reid’s arrival.

October flew by with Allen elk hunting, and Hayleigh and I getting ready for Halloween, and visiting the doctor once a week. Trick or Treating went well in our neighborhood. Mom got her arrangements made to come out a few weeks later to be there for when Reid was to make his arrival. We got a little worried about Reid wanting to arrive before Mom could get here, and while Allen was up in North Dakota for his last week of work before his time off. So, before we could blink, Nana Rose made it out to help me out, and to be here for us for when Reid decided to make his debut. We welcomed Mom and Rose out here, with Allen returning earlier than expected due to me having contractions. Reid decided to hold off at my 37 ½ week doctor visit Friday afternoon, so we decided to make the best of it. We all went shopping- Mom and Rose making me walk like crazy and taking trips around seeing the sites. Over the weekend, we went to Moab, Utah- a new state to see for both Rose and Mom, the Monument- 2 miles to the South of our house, and had our first Colorado snow.

 On Monday morning, my midwife finally sent me over to St. Mary’s to get Reid on his way. After 15 hours of labor, and six pushes, we finally welcomed Reid into the world at 3:24 am. I was lucky enough to have both Mom and Rose there with me, along with Allen, and Hayleigh slept in the room the whole time on the couch. Allen and I didn’t realize that Reid had such a hard delivery. He ended up fracturing his collar bone after my midwife quickly delivered him. His cord had wrapped around his neck when I was pushing, and snapped when she went to loosen it from around his neck. He was given oxygen for a few minutes, and the NICU checked him out in my room. He was finally in the clear, and we got to enjoy him to ourselves. He ended up weighing 9lbs 8.2 oz. and was 21” long. While I spent my day in the hospital with Reid, Mom stayed home with Hayleigh, putting up our Christmas tree, and decorations, so we could welcome Reid home and not have to worry about getting our stuff put up.

 Allen and I spent that last week with Mom and Rose, celebrating our 9 year wedding anniversary by going out on our first dinner date alone since moving here, and then later celebrated Thanksgiving that fell on our anniversary with Rose, since Mom had already returned back to Illinois. We have been really busy since then, especially me here flying solo with both Hayleigh and Reid. We have good days, and some stressful days when Reid’s colic is horrible, but we are making it just fine. We just found out we will be moving soon- in January, since our house we are renting will be put on the market. We have already found a new house in Rifle- 40 minutes away we will be moving in on January 25^th.

 On the day Reid turned a month old, we got to have a private visit with Santa Claus, and had many pictures taken. Santa even got tuckered out holding Reid, while Hayleigh read them “The Night Before Christmas”. Hayleigh even got a letter from Santa in the mail, letting her know that Santa knew where we lived, and what she wanted for Christmas.  Reid started smiling 2 days before Christmas, and Santa visited us Christmas Eve, leaving lots of goodies for us all. The day after Christmas, we had a nice visit with Papa Jack, and Mimi for a few days, and had two Christmas dinners. We are now recovering from Christmas, and packing, while enjoying Allen’s 2 weeks off with us.

While this year has not been the easiest, it has been filled with the most changes and surprises for our family. What began as a move across the country has now turned into great opportunities for our family, and we were lucky enough to move to an area we really do love and enjoy. Allen enjoys his job with Halliburton, and has had the opportunity to move up with the company through a few promotions. He is now expected to make crew supervisor by summer now.

            We hope that 2012 has been a great year for you and your families, and that 2013 will bring many new beginnings, health, and prosperity. We love and miss everyone back home, and hope to see you in the spring. (Hayleigh is excited to show off her new little brother)

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

Love,

Allen, Ashley, Hayleigh, & Reid

Reid Smiling for 1st time

Sleepless in Colorado..

It is now 2 am, and I just cannot sleep... Why you ask?? Reid fussing and crying? Nope, Hayleigh sick with the flu? Nope- we are both over that one.. Up talking to Allen?? Nope. I've spent literally the past 4 hours looking at and editing pictures of my family. Today, I got to pick up our pictures from our session with Santa from a week ago. Our storyboard isn't in yet, so I still have 3 more pictures I have yet to see again, and I am soo excited! Here are the 2 so far...

How are these my kids??? I keep smiling, tearing up, and thinking the same thing over and over again...HOW did we get here? In a little less than 2 short months, I will be 30, we are done having kids- so I keep telling myself, and I have all of these pictures of our family that we had wanted so bad staring back at me. I am beyond grateful for them, each and every day, even more so after what happened a week ago. I guess when you want something soo bad, and it takes soo long to get it, when it is finally there, you are still in denial that it has happened.

What everyone older than me says about time going by faster and faster, the older you get, is very true from what I have learned from my 20's... It seems just like I was just 21 last year, took a nap, and I'm now 29, with 2 kids, living in Colorado... To be honest, that scares me to think how my 30's are going to go.

Even though life is hard, it is nice to take a break some days to really see what is most important to you in life, and what makes life worth living...all of those late nights when the baby wouldn't go to sleep, or they were up sick and just wanted for you to hold them tight, to the good nights with a hug, and a kiss, and Mommy, I Love you....

Every time that Carter's commercial comes I bawl.. It is the one about the little girl being born on a cold September day, and the first night home was a doozy,, but you got the hang of it, and together we grew and grew. Some days were fussy, but other days were all smiles. And even now, when you hold my hand, I hold it right back. Because the day I became yours, you became mine. All I see when I watch that commercial is Hayleigh, and now Reid... but, mainly Hayleigh. I think that is every new mom and dad in that commercial.

Anyway, I'm a total sap, and I know it, and I don't care... I cry about the little things in life that Allen just looks at me like I'm a hormonal hot mess... Even at midnight mass in church back home, I tear up. I can't explain why, I just do. So many times years before that I sat there praying for our family we now have.

I realize there are days when I'm ready to pull my hair out...especially this past night. Two fussy kids- with one screaming his head off from gas pains to be exact. But, it is all worth every sleepless night, or gray hair I end up getting over all of this. Seeing them both when they are total angels, makes every moment soo much sweeter~

Better Late than Never....Reid is 1 Month Old!!!

Reid,
You have been such a blessing to us, and you are the sweetest little boy- when you want to be, or not gassed up.  Your daddy and I think that you are very strong- you can hold your head up for periods of a time now, and can somewhat push and scoot around when you get good and mad... sorry you inherited my short temper, and your daddy's temper. You have mommy's eye color, and your daddy's eye shape, with a blend of both my hair and your daddy's- a dark red/brown. Colic has not been a good thing to you- you are constantly gassed up- and can break wind and run a grown man out of the room- just ask your daddy. You are also a blankie boy- you LOVE your fuzzy blankets. As far as eating goes- you have mastered nursing, and are quite the boob man.. you smile and get excited when it's time to eat. We have now switched your pacifiers, after I said over and over again, that I would not give you one, starting with the soothe kind, and upgrading to the nuk- your sister's old ones. You would be happy to know that I did find a yellow and green one, along with the pink and white one for you to use, so you don't have to look girly all of the time. You have been sleeping pretty good after 12:30 at night, but will not beat your sister on sleeping through the night- she did it at 5 wks. Baths are your favorite thing right now- you love relaxing in one with mommy, until I wash your head, then you get really mad. You are such a ham, but when you want something, and you don't get it as quick as you would like, you turn beat red, and throw a big fit- you're welcome... that's all mommy. Hayleigh adores you until you cry and scream, then she tells us to turn you off, but loves to be little mother to you, and keeps your swing playing music and the mobile moving for you. She will also give you your pacifier when you cry and help throw away diapers when she wants to. You are HER Broder, so she says. Christmas is coming soon, and we got to take you to see Santa for the first time. You did just fine with the big guy. My hopes for this next month: your colic slows down, and disappears, I catch your first smile and hopefully it's when your daddy is home, and I hope to continue nursing you without problems- I'm surprised we've made it this far. We love you so much Reid!
Love, Mommy & Daddy...ohh and Sister Hayleigh

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Last Thursday, Reid turned 4 wks old, and we got to go see Santa Claus. Both Allen and I were anticipating a crying fit from Hayleigh, not wanting to meet Santa, or having anything to do with him, and coming home with some okay pictures of her half bawling on his lap.  

We were wrong!

Hayleigh LOVED Santa- or "Ho Ho", as she calls him. We started with Reid's pictures with Santa, sleeping. He did alright- fought sleep of course. We took a break, for me to top Reid off, and Santa came in to meet Hayleigh. She played with legos with Santa, and Santa gave both Allen and I big hugs, and went on about how much we had grown. When it was time to start back up on pictures, Hayleigh held Santa's hand, and walked right back into the room to get pictures taken. She smiled, laughed, and yacked Santa's ear off. How was she my child? She was soo sweet, and precious- leaving her hair alone for once. She did what we asked her to do on posing, and was happy about it all. We went in planning on only getting a few pictures, but left with one of each kid that were just perfect, and 2 of both of them with Santa. We even got one of Hayleigh giving Santa a big hug. Picking out the pictures, and narrowing them down, was a lot more harder than I had anticipated.  The picture above is a preview of one of the pictures of both of the kids with Santa that we ordered. I get to pick them up this week, and I am beyond excited!! 

Grateful for What We Have

I wanted to write about how I cannot believe Reid is already a month old. But, today I find myself writing about what I don't want to put in his baby book for current happenings among other things.

I am finding myself stumped at what to put in Reid's baby book for current events. I know that someday, both Hayleigh and Reid will learn about what happened last week. I'm hoping not for a long time. We all want our kids to have hope and wonder in this world, no matter how awful it really is.

Reid has been a very difficult baby. So difficult that in the middle of his screaming and crying for an hour straight, with Allen and I not being able to soothe him, I have said a few things about how hard Reid has been that I feel so guilty about. I know there have been a few swear words leave my mouth a time or two in moments of dispair...there's nothing like sleep deprivation and a crying, screaming baby to make you on edge a bit. Usually, once I get Reid to calm down, I feel awful for what I've said, or for feeling the way I did- pleading with Reid to stop crying, and telling him to stop, and asking him what does he want Mommy to do? I know getting aggravated does neither one of us any good, but sometimes you just cannot help it.

Once Reid has calmed down, I watch him sleep, thinking about those poor kids in Connecticut and how their parents must feel. That is what makes me feel like a big pile of crap. I know any one of them would trade me places in a heartbeat, and would be happy to have the screaming and crying of a very gassy baby.

Everyone in that tragedy was shot at least 3 times. THREE TIMES! All I can do when I'm not keeping busy with Hayleigh, Reid, and Allen, or any housework, is think about those poor kids trying to get away from that SOB, and seeing them huddle together, not knowing why it is all happening, and just wanting to go home to their families and have Christmas.  I really wish my mom would quit talking about it, but I join right in on it all. I don't think anyone can help it. We all are grateful it was not us, but are sick to death for the ones it did happen to. Last night, I was talking to my mom, she was watching the news... I REFUSE to watch it. She was telling me about how they now are saying the guy forced entry into the school, his mom did not work at the school, he had mental problems-obviously. She also was telling me about them telling the ambulances they could leave because they had to investigate the crime scene- so all of those babies laid there dead, for a few hours, while the parents at the fire house were being reunited with their kids, or sitting there in agony just wanting to hold their babies that were gone. Those families will not get to celebrate Christmas with their kids from now on. The presents they have all wrapped up under their trees that had great anticipation of being unwrapped Christmas morning to a little kid just beaming will never happen. Now those gifts just sit there- never to be enjoyed, but are now a burden. I see this happening to me- like I'm living it, wondering what would I be doing if I was them.

 I don't think any of us knows for sure what we would do. Being a parent makes things like this more real to you- you worry a lot more about your kids- as if you don't already enough. So, tonight, and every night after, when I feel like I'm about to pull my hair out with both kids screaming and crying, in the back of my mind I'll be grateful for what I have, no matter how stressful it may seem at the time.

Losing craziness, just to go looking for it....

I thought I had better get on here, since Allen will be heading home tomorrow night, and I've been growing ever so anxious for him to hurry up and get here.

The colic problem has been solved- no soda for me, and further more- no McD's either. I had a filet-o-fish meal yesterday and I have never smelled or heard farts so bad and rank come from something so small! Okay...maybe Missy dog, but still....OMG!!

We are doing really well now- the end of the week finally calmed down, and got less crazy- so I had to make it even more crazy... I took us all shopping yesterday. We spent 4 whole hours away from the house.. 4 hours!! We went to the lovely post office that I completely despise. Since I needed Christmas stamps for my cards, this was a must, because I refuse to pay shipping for stamps to be delivered to me- I think it's ridiculous- but I might do it next time, because I hate our local post office even more. Got 10 cards sent off, and waiting on my other order of cards to come on Monday now. We left there, gassed up the truck, and headed to town..err the other town- Grand Junction.

Since it was already noon, we went through the drive thru at McD's and got us some lunch to eat in the parking lot- it was crazy in McD's and the mall was even worse. I ended up having to feed Reid while we were out there too- he's going through a growth spurt I found out from the not even 2 hour gap between feedings. I decided that it would be a better idea to go into Target to get the few things we needed, instead of Walmart... yeah, I don't think it would have made much of a difference now. I left that place after 2 hours, wanting to run people over with my cart. Seriously!! Everyone was in there shopping for toys. I noticed that Target had more toys than walmart this year to choose from. Well, I was stupid, and decided to take my big train of a cart down through the toy aisles...(I got the one with the special seating for Hayleigh, so we had room in the cart basket) Kids were running loose everywhere, adults were acting crazy, and I managed to find stuff to get. I picked up an easel for Hayleigh for her bigger gift from us, and my niece something I hadn't planned on- a complete baby doll accessory kit- high chair, pack n play, diaper bag, and car seat. I found it, and thought it would be perfect for her, since we got her a baby doll, just like one Hayleigh has named Sally. I think she's going to have a hoot when she gets it. We got Reid some more pants- mainly soft comfy ones to go with his creepers I made him. We also got a letter bath set for both Reid and Hayleigh, a new Mickey Mouse movie for Hayleigh- Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas too. We made it through the wrapping paper aisle, and managed to pick up 3 more rolls, then we headed over to the lights. I needed 2 strands of 50 to go on my tree toparies in the front of the house, and 200 to go on the tree in Reid's room. Well, I left with 400 twinkle lights- 2 sets for tree in Reid's room, 2 sets for our big tree for next year, 2 packs of 50 lights for the small trees. We hit the cards, but I will have to hit Hallmark this week as well too. We managed to make it out of Target, then headed to the City Market to get some of our grocery shopping done, while we were already out. I got plenty of stuff to fix for when Allen gets here. I managed to get a cart with the car under neath it, and Hayleigh was honking and greeting people everywhere we went. I still have to go back to City Market next week too- go figure! I have to get some gift cards, and with the purchase of gift cards there, we earn 4x the points on the money value towards our rewards account that we get a discount on gas with.

We made it home finally, both kids zonked out, so I went to work on getting Christmas lights up and gifts wrapped. We finished the evening off with watching Christmas movies, and eating left overs, with me completely worn out.

Santa's Message for Hayleigh

Santa Claus sent Hayleigh her yearly message tonight!! I think I was more excited about it than she was. To see it, follow this link
http://www.portablenorthpole.com/watch/g6MUdi6aRnakMCutaUJtMMA

Wordless Wednesday- Ready for Christmas

Our Christmas Card this year~

Mommy of 2, Colic and a 2 Year Old

Okay, I'm going to be really honest here. It is completely CRAZY in our house in the evening. I find myself cringing when 4pm hits. Around that time, Reid gets colicky, and Hayleigh starts demanding attention to combat with his crying. I know this will all be over sometime soon, and someday, I'll be wishing I was back here again- when both kids are grown and out of the house I imagine....

Anyway, I find myself raising my voice more than I would like, and yelling at Hayleigh a lot more than I would like for her acting out to Reid's crying from colic. I know she is 2 years old. I know she is just wanting more attention. I know that this is not only hard on me, but for her much more. I feel like a bad mom in the evening when it gets completely crazy. I try to commend Hayleigh as much as I can for everything she does that is good, and especially when she is helping me out. But, when she is trying to sit in his swing, stealing his pacifiers, laughing when he is crying, trying to do headstands on the couch, or is screaming when he is crying, I get really stretched thin. I have been getting myself a small drink at night to help calm my nerves- it helps a lot. We have tried everything to help Reid's colic. Some days it's not bad at all....but some days, it lasts the WHOLE ENTIRE DAY. I can handle him crying, and Hayleigh crying for periods of time. It's inevitable... sometimes they will both be crying, and I just have to take care of them one at a time.

In the midst of all of this, I'm wanting to get Hayleigh potty trained. My first nurse at the hospital told me about her daughter, who acted just like Hayleigh does- does not care about having a dirty diaper and loves sitting on the potty, but will not use it. She tried the 3 day potty training method. She said she got it from a book, and it worked! Basically, you have to follow the child around with them just in underwear with rubber pants over- or training pants with the rubber pants and not leave the house. There will be LOTS of messes- makes you feel like training a puppy or something- according to her. She said she wanted to give up that first day so many times- it was very stressful, but she kept up on her, and every time she did not potty on the potty- and did it in her pants, she went on how gross, icky, nasty it was. She would take her to the potty every time, and praise her on the potty. By the second day, it wasn't that bad at all- a few accidents. By day three and after, just accidents here and there. You can find the book here. If you read the reviews, they go into more detail about it all. I will be getting the book soon!

Anyway, things have been stressful. Christmas is right around the corner, I still haven't gotten my proofs back from our newborn shoot, I need to get our Christmas cards sent out, and Christmas shopping done...Just different things are driving me crazy because I'm more stressed. I just about cried to Allen on the phone last night in the middle of the chaos. He was listening to it all, and told me how great I was doing, and that I could make it through. Made me feel so much better having a cheerleader on the phone with me, when he couldn't be here to help! In all reality, we are making it. I know that when the colic is gone, and when Allen gets home, it will be better. I will have more time with Hayleigh- doing crafts or just keeping her busy. Right now, I have to hold and take care of Reid nonstop when his colic hits. I know Hayleigh does not understand waiting yet, or being patient, but she is learning. It is a big change and adjustment going from one 2 year old, to a 2 year old and a newborn...ALL BY YOURSELF.... That is the kicker.... ALL BY MYSELF part... If my husband was home every night, things would be different, but it is what it is, and we are doing what we can to survive these first weeks alone. So, for now, I am counting down the days until Allen will be back home- 4 1/4 days!!!!

Next week, we are going to visit with Santa, and get pictures taken in a private session, bake cookies, and do lots of Christmas crafts and baking. I was really going to do a lot this week with Hayleigh, but I don't want Allen to miss out on it all, and it would be handy to have someone here to help with Reid when I'm elbow deep in cookie icing in the midst of building a gingerbread village. SO, Christmas cheer and spirit are on the way! I promise!! I just have to get my nerves all back, one by one~

Wordful Wednesday... Kitty

Okay, there is no way I could do wordless today... see picture 

Meet Fluffer Nutter....the neighbor's cat

Okay, Hayleigh wants a kitty bad.... sigh....

All we hear is kitty this and kitty that.- not  puppy... that would be too easy!!!! 

What does this mean to us... a potential Christmas gift for Hayleigh, and pain in the ass for us. Allen is allergic to cats, we have Reid too- and cats around babies are not a good thing. Then you have the added litter box in the house- where in the heck am I supposed to put that in this already cramped house? Plus, I don't know if Hayleigh or Reid will share in the whole cat allergy deal like Allen either. Sigh...damn you Fluffer Nutter!!! Of course Allen has said if we did get a kitten, it would be this one specific breed- I have no clue of what kind it is. He thought it was cool- the people who rented our house before us had one. I really personally do not want a cat. I well remember the attacks from our cats we had in the house for 1 year at my mom's house. In the middle of the night, those stupids would be in full swing. Since living on my own, and having to clean a litter box myself, I have grown to where I like the idea of dogs much better. No stinky litter box, no cleaning litter box, and no cat puke- YUCK!! I don't hate cats. I promise! We had a whole cat farm when I was growing up. Just indoor cats are not my cup of tea I guess.

Anyway, I hope this stupid cat would stop showing up at our back door! I'm not feeding him, but rather sicking Missy on him to maybe teach him to stay in his own yard, so I don't have to explain where the kitty went five thousand times after he has been here.

Flying Solo...MAYDAY!!!

Okay, so maybe it hasn't been that bad, but it has been a BIG adjustment. I agree with everyone now that said going from 1 to 2 kids was harder than going from 0 to 1, or 2-3, 3-4.... Yeah, a definite adjustment not only for me, but for Hayleigh. She is still adjusting, but is getting used to a routine I'm trying to make- nurse Reid, get out of bed, make beds, change Hayleigh & Reid and put on day clothes, start laundry, get Hayleigh sippy cup and breakfast with Mickey on the tube, get Reid settled into the swing for all of that, Hayleigh turns the tree lights on, I let Missy out, and get me breakfast. That is pretty much our first hour in the morning. Throughout the afternoon, we have the tv going, I'm usually nursing Reid, changing him, then Hayleigh- (we are working on potty training again next week), getting laundry done, cleaning up toys, and keeping the floors and rooms clean. I would hate to get behind, and just even attempt to get the house back into shape without someone else here to help keep an eye on Hayleigh and Reid for me.

Anyway, I'll break down our first week for you...Sunday. Sunday was a BUSY day. Allen left the house at 5:20 am. The thought did cross my mind to go lay down in the drive way where he could not leave- but I knew we would survive, so I didn't. After Allen left, I ended up going back to bed and putting Reid down. We slept in until 8:30, and started on the house. I managed to get 3 loads of laundry done up, dishes done, vacuumed the whole house, found more Christmas decor and put it up, moved toys around, cleaned out both Hayleigh and Reid's closets, and moved Hayleigh's clothes out of the dresser, and Reid's into it. Hayleigh's clothes from her dresser went into a plastic dresser thing that went into her closet- this is just temporary until Reid is done using her furniture, then I imagine he will get a bunk bed set or something else. The power was out for an hour, while I took a break, and Hayleigh took a nap.The rest of the evening was spent eating left overs and relaxing. We actually went to bed early that night.

Reid's closet after the overhaul I did on it.
The blue tub drawer tower has his sleepers that are 0-3 month in it,
sleep sacks in it for now. The rest of them are in his dresser.
The box to the right of the tub has clothes in it my mom bought both kids for next year....
now you can see why storage is a big issue for us! 

Hayleigh's room after moving toys in there- it is crowded I know-
 but toys are not everywhere around the house right now at least. 

Her closet was the toughest... She has lots of stuff-
 and a really small closet compared to Reid to put it all in. 

Monday, we took it easy. I did do a couple loads of laundry- bed linens. If I would have kept cleaning, I would not have anything to do for the rest of the week. So, I got in our garage, and dug out our Christmas movies, and finished up a few of our Thank You cards. We also made our first trip out solo- to Walmart. I had to get some packing stuff to ship out a box for my mom, and Allen's mom. We got the stuff, and got out of there! We relaxed the rest of the night, I turned Hayleigh loose in the bathtub with her bath crayons, while I put clothes up right next to the bathroom, walking by constantly to check on her, while Reid slept in his swing. I even managed to get a nice hot long bath in without a single interruption that night! Pure Bliss!!

Tuesday, we managed to sleep in until 9am. I hurried and got our trash out to the curb- I bet our trash guys loved us, for it was the last of the extra trash we have had. Usually we only just fill up our trash can, for the past 3 weeks, we had enough out there to fill up 3 cans- boxes and sacks all around our 1 can. My mom tried to get us another can while she was here, and I had to tell her no, I don't know how many times, because we would have 1 can sitting empty taking up space in the garage. That morning, we also had a Dr. appointment for Reid- his 2 wk check up. We managed to make it out of the house in one piece, and to the doctor's office clear across town early! Reid did great- weighed 9lbs 7.2 oz, and was 21 1/8" long. So he has grown! Proof that he is actually getting enough to eat from me. We do have to go back for a weigh in on Monday- just to make sure he is gaining enough weight. I don't think this will be an issue... We finished the appointment with his 2nd newborn blood screening, and left. I honestly cannot remember what we did the rest of the afternoon and evening.

Wednesday, Same usual routine in the morning...then we worked on cleaning again... We cleaned the house all over again- mainly cleaning out toy baskets- matching toys together- that kind of thing. I cooked lunch, and Hayleigh took a nap on her own- such a big girl!! Duck Dynasty was on later that night, so we made sure we got it on the DVR for Allen for when he gets back home. UPS managed to deliver all of my diapers and wipes I ordered from my amazonmom account- so Hayleigh and I divided and conquered- split the diapers for Reid all up, got the codes put in on our pampers rewards account, and put them all up. Hayleigh ended up going to bed all on her own that night.

Thursday, umm..We watched the Polar Express. That is honestly all I remember from that day besides Reid sleeping really well through the night.

Friday, I deep cleaned Hayleigh's bathroom, Reid had his first diaper big blowout- gassy boy I swear! Hayleigh got a boston creme roll everywhere, and fed Missy so many times she looks like a fat butterball turkey now. I spent the whole morning stain treating clothes, and doing a load of laundry. Hayleigh went down for a nap again all by herself, I snuggled with Reid, and then it was on for the rest of the night... Hayleigh was cranky, I fixed spaghetti, and Reid was colicky until early morning.

Even though the days are running together, and I can't honestly tell you what we did, I wouldn't change any of it for anything in the world. I know that this will not last long- soon both Hayleigh and Reid will be running around, and not want to have anything to do with me. So, for now, the moments of insanity... I'm enjoying it all. Someday, I'll wish I was back to here- Hayleigh has to help me, or do stuff for me like a little mother hen. When Reid cries, she tells him I'm coming baby broder, it's okay! Makes me smile every time. She helps me by giving him his pacifier when he needs it, and fetches me wipes and diapers to help me change him. She asks to hold him every now and then- I know that won't last too long either- soon they will be fighting. For now, all it seems like we do is clean, eat, feed Reid, battle colic, and watch Christmas specials, waiting for Daddy to come back home to us.

Catch up..Our first Thanksgiving here,and 9 year anniversary

Okay, now that we have gotten in a somewhat routine around here, I'm back on! So, still playing catch up...
We had a nice Thanksgiving, and celebrated our 9 year wedding anniversary all on the same day- just how Thanksgiving fell this year- right smack on our anniversary. I think that having Thanksgiving fall on our anniversary this year, just made everything so much more special~ Reid's first Thanksgiving, our first Thanksgiving in Colorado, and as a family of four, and our first Thanksgiving without our families- except we were lucky to have Allen's mom here to share it with. Lots of firsts!

Hayleigh was a sweetie all day. We started out making beds, and getting cleaned up. Hayleigh decided she wanted to hold her "broder". The rest of the day we watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade- a tradition for us, and we took lots and lots of pictures, besides cooking a smaller Thanksgiving dinner.

Reid's 1st Thanksgiving

So, we had a great dinner, and Allen's mom packed her stuff to leave out the next day. Allen ended up taking her up to the airport so we wouldn't have to get everyone out. 

The next night, we ended up going to Best Buy and Murdochs for sale items. Allen got his Christmas from me and the kids early...imagine that. We got him an Ipad. He absolutely loves it, and has the photos I take automatically shared to it. He says it is a lot more convenient to take with him to work- lot less bulky than a laptop, and doesn't even want a laptop now- so he says. I ended up feeding Reid in the parking lot at Best Buy- I think it was the 2nd time I've fed him in the excursion in a parking lot now. We got home later, and decided to rest for the night. 

Saturday, we went back to Murdochs to exchange jeans from the night before, and had McD's for lunch. We ended up going back to Best Buy again- Allen had to try to get the receipt that we found was missing when we got home from the night before- the system was down, so I had to call it in later on. We made it back home to cook supper, and to move bedroom suites around. Reid was getting Hayleigh's dresser, and we had to finish decorating it. We moved the dresser in like 1 minute, and I let Allen go with the decorating.

We spent the rest of our night cuddling, and Allen played one of his games. We ended up going to bed early, since Allen had to leave out early the next morning for work.  I'll save Sunday on for the next post- me flying solo with a newborn and 2 year old....God Help Me~