Category Archives: hayden

Oct 05 2011
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hayden, milestone, teeth

5 bucks

Hayden has been enjoying her last few days as a five year old and I’m stockpiling on kleenex boxes. I cannot believe I’m about to have a SIX YEAR OLD. I cannot even comprehend that.

On Sunday, right before bed Hayden came in and was complaining about her loose tooth. Its been “on the verge” for a while now and we had made a couple of lousy attempts at pulling it, but never could get that sucker to pop out. I always chickened out  She would always say it hurt and we’d say ok, we’ll try again when it gets a little more loose.

So, I felt the tooth and thought, wow, I really think this could actually come out. But  also wondered how we’d get it out without her freaking out and it hurting her. I knew we’d probably only have one shot at it.

The situation could go down one of two ways:
1. It fly out on the first shot and it be a great experience, pain free and happy!

2. I could pull it, it not come out and Hayden punch me in the face from pain and be terrified of losing tooth from now until forever.

Oh the pressure.

Thank goodness for technology. I had the bright idea to let her play a game on my phone to distract her from what was going on. So we got our supplies.  Washcloth, dental floss and the phone.  I was terrified. To purposefully, potentially inflict pain on your child by means of pulling out a tooth suddenly felt like some sick torture ritual. Ughhhhh.

I prepared. I tied the floss on while she logged on to her game and asked her to keep her mouth open so I could see it. I slowly moved the floss lower into the gum and kind of back and forth to see what progress we could make without her realizing. I had my washcloth ready. I held onto the floss with washcloth in hand and   closed my eyes and pulled as hard as I could. I heard Hayden gasp. I opened my eyes and saw the empty spot! I screamed. She screamed. I looked at the floss. The tooth was gone. (Uh oh.) I found it close by on the bed and then Hayden started crying. She had immediately tasted the blood and was freaking out. Then she saw the tooth and got so happy.

So she rinsed her mouth out with salt water and showed off her new smile!

She told us that tooth fairies bring you 5 bucks! WOW! What a high roller! I told her that was probably her initiation fee and the rest of the teeth might be less valuable.

So Hayden finally lost her first tooth. She was so happy and kept telling us all the tricks she was going to do with her gap. Drinking with a straw through it, keeping her mouth closed at the water fountain and slurping the water in through it..on and on.

Of course we cross another milestone right before her birthday…just kick me when I’m down why don’t ya 😉 Can this mama get an emotional break once in a while, please!

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Aug 02 2011
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baptism, graduation, hayden, milestone, preschool

Hayden gets baptized and Graduates preschool

The last weeks of May were quite the emotional rollercoaster for us because Hayden knocked two big life events out in the same week. Sheesh! I was so emotional and put my anxiety to good use by staying busy and whipping her up a graduation dress hours before the big event.
So the first event was the baptism. Hayden had been really interested in baptism at the beginning of the year when BJ and I did the Daniel Fast. One of the suggested childrens passages that we read with the kids was about Jesus being baptised. Of course she was very curious and asked lots of questions and then at the end said that she would like to be baptized. Of course our hearts swelled with joy and excitement, knowing what a big step in her faith this would be.

When the time finally came, Hayden was so thrilled. We had all our immediate relatives there with us as she followed in Jesus’ footsteps and was water baptized.
Here is Hayden with her two baptism buddies, Corie and Callie.

Then the very next day was her Pre-K graduation. Oh was I a mess!! I felt like I had a lump in my throat for a week. I cried saying thank you to her teacher at the end of the day. She started crying. She was probably so glad to be finished with the year, but I was so thankful for what an amazing teacher she had been for Hayden. How well she had understood her needs as a first-born, strong willed, genius child. I pray Kindergarten is the same way and her teacher just as amazing.

Anyway, I wisked her home from her last day to get her changed and ready for graduation. This is when I decided making her a new dress was a must. Me and my crazy ways. It turned out pretty good, with a few snags along the way but nothing major. Then we headed back to see our little graduate. The program was so cute. Hayden sang her little guts out and did all her hand motions perfectly. I was so thrilled that tears welled up in my eyes. SHOCKER. I was just so proud of my little child. She has the worst stagefright and I was so panicked that she would run off the stage screaming as she had done in the past. But she didn’t. She did exactly what she had practiced. She was so proud of her little medal that she got to wear and getting her diploma as they announced that she had told them, that when she grew up, she wanted to be a cotton candy person. That’s my little girl! 🙂 I felt like my heart would explode with pride and love for her. 
She chose her celebration spot and asked immediatly for sushi. Mama did NOT complain on that decision! 🙂 So we went and celebrated and enjoyed the amazing little girl that God has blessed us with.  
 
Hayden we cannot wait to see the things waiting for you in Kindergarten!!! You are such an amazing child and so thankful that you have been placed in our family!
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Apr 13 2011
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hayden, tball

Hayden starts T-ball

This spring, I gave Hayden the option to play Tball or Soccer. She is 5 now so she doesn’t have to play Mighty Mites anymore, which is kind of like a skills and drills free-for-all league. They have a 30 min. practice and then their game is right after that practice. It was great in that aspect. I didn’t have to carve out another night of the week for a practice.

This year, is the big stuff. They have practices during the week, games that aren’t at the crack of dawn on Saturdays (instead we get the crack of HOT) Not sure which I’d rather. Anyway, the first practice was so funny. Hayden has never played tball before, so for Valentines day we got her a little T to start practicing on. She did awesome and we discovered that she naturally felt comfortable hitting left handed. She writes right-handed, but we have noticed several things during her life that she did left handed.

We bought her a glove a couple of years ago and it has pretty much just sat in her room and gone unused. So for the first practice we were all psyched. Especially me. I grew up playing softball and had so much fun. Definitely my favorite sport, along with track. So naturally, I had hoped that she would one day follow in my footsteps and want to play.

A couple of hours before the practice Hayden started getting antsy and wanted to go ahead and get dressed. So she put on a girly baseball tshirt that was a hand-me-down from cousin Chloe. She had also sent some high top cleats. I rummaged through my old socks and found a pair that must not have ever been used when I was playing because they were stark white. So she suited up and then paced around waiting and waiting.

Finally it was time to go. The practice went good. Several of the kiddos were lined up throwing back and forth when we arrived and Hayden found a little boy to throw with and they started throwing the ball and trying to catch it. Neither one of them were doing very well at aiming or catching but they sure looked like they were having fun. I began to notice that Hayden was throwing “like a girl”. This surprised me because when we had practiced throwing balls at home I had never realized this before. She always seemed to have a natural athletic throw. Hmmm …. so I kept watching and then started wondering…maybe she needs to throw with her left hand too?? When we bought her the glove, she had been coloring with her right hand so naturally I thought she was right handed. She had never used the glove really and so I started thinking, maybe when we throw at home, she has been using her left hand?!
I called BJ and asked him what he thought and we couldn’t decide for sure if we knew if she threw right-handed or left-handed. While I was on the phone, I look up and realize Hayden has taken her glove off her left hand, shoved it on her right hand upside down and is now throwing “non girly” with her left hand. Poor girl!  Parents don’t even know what hand she throws with.  She started throwing alot better after that and even caught a few.
Then on to batting. She was first up to bat and on her first swing hit the ball into right field. 😀 THAT’s MY GIRL!!!! She hit several times and did well each time. At the end of the practice they all huddled up to do a team cheer. We didn’t know what team she was on yet or what color they were. Usually they assign professional team names to the teams. So they broke the huddle and Hayden turns and runs as fast as she can, screaming all the way to me, “MOM!!!! I’m on the OREOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
(Baltimore Orioles, but Oreos sounds so much fun-ner 😉
First game was last weekend and she had SO much fun! She told me in the car after that this was the best sport she had ever played! (YAY!!!)
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Feb 10 2011
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crafty, hayden, Valentines

Valentines Day Upcycled Blowing Kisses Skirt

This Valentines I had made a commitment to myself that I would NOT buy my girls new clothes to wear for Valentines. But I did want Hayden to have something cute to wear for her school party. I found this idea a while back and made a mental note that it would be the perfect little outfit for her party. Not too fancy for school. Easy to move in (its made out of an old T-shirt) and super cute. Hayden loves wearing skirts so I thought NO problem.

Last week while I was sick, I was pulling all of my big tshirts out day after day to wear. When I pulled out my old great AmeriMcCAIN Hero tshirt, I thought, this is a perfect red for that skirt and I can do without one less giant shirt to sleep or be sick in. Then the days passed and we had church every night this week and the time just got away from me.

Well just like many of the wishful-thinking crafts in my to-do list, I figured this one would go to the “don’t have enough time for it” box. I hate when I find cute ideas, have a reason for them and then don’t have 39 hours in my day to get them done. So last night when we returned from church, we started gathering all the things we needed for the party.

Strike 1: Found a box of leftover valentines from last year  (once again,I  found a super-cute idea for v-day favors too late, We’ll be ready next year though!)
 Strike 2: realized that the roll of cookie dough in my freezer that I had written off buying a replacement for, was indeed gingerbread dough instead of cookie dough .So, I had to whip up a batch of homemade sugar cookies at 12:30am.

So apparently the way my brain works is when things go wrong, that’s when I need to make things harder on myself instead of just saying, “Eh, wear something red to school. ” That would have been strike 3, and striking out is not an option for this Mamma . It was after the last pan of cookies came out of the oven that I decided…”that skirt can’t be too hard!?” Plus, I’ve already got the t-shirt washed and ready. So up to the sewing machine I went. The tutorial said it would take about 30 minutes. AWESOME!

Well it didn’t take 30 minutes, BUT, I’m very pleased with the result and so glad that I stuck to my guns and didn’t buy anything “Valentines-y” and now my little Hayden gets to wear something special made by me on this day of celebrating Love. And to top it off, the white hearts that are reverse appliqued (sewed underneath the skirt) are from my PawPaw’s old tshirt. When my Granny died, I inherited her sewing machine and much of her sewing supplies. In her stash was a stack of tshirts that she had cut up from his track meets. I’m glad I finally found a purpose for one of them. I think she would be proud to see how I was able to make use of them.
Hayden was very excited to see her new skirt and get to wear it to her Valentines party. I finished a new design of a hairbow I had been working on. It went well with the colors for today.

XOXO,

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Jan 25 2011
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cleaning 11, crafty, hayden, sick day

rain on a green tin roof

Last night around 6pm is when it started. The first of 10-12 episodes of hurling. My poor Hayden. It hit her like a ton of bricks and wouldn’t let up until the wee hours of the morning. I slept on the couch so I could hear her when she needed me.

Let me tell ya, bolting awake to the sound of your child calling for you or already throwing up is not the number one way I prefer to be awoken…and not once but multiple times. My heart hurt for her as I watched her whole body turn red as the blood rushed through her pale skin. I held her hair and rubbed her and felt horrible. Every time she finished she would raise her head up and tears were just rolling down her bright red cheeks. My heart ached to take the pain from her.

So this morning, came and went and we slept in. The rain falling softly on our tin roof was just what the doctor ordered. I heard the twins wake up and start their gymnastics match in their room that quickly had to come to a halt. Those monkeys! They were starting to rearrange the furniture and had literally ever single toy they owned out and scattered all over the room.

I dragged myself off the couch and up to find out what awaited me. A limp little Hayden, still in her bed. Poor girl. That is a sign right there, because she is normally the first to wake up every day, rain or shine, school day or not.

So the toast was made, the juice started, Leapster to the rescue, along with magnet dolls and a couple of books. Sick day had begun. Once I had her settled for a bit, on to the disaster that awaited. At least it had bought me a few extra winks of much needed sleep!

I decided instead of just cleaning up, it would be a reorganizing and purging day. So we spent the greater part of the day sorting toys in to piles, finding missing pieces, rearranging, putting toys in the attic that were no longer age appropriate and boxing up others that were going to be given away.

The girls were on board with the concept. Most of the time. Ella kept asking me why we were giving some toys away. I told her they had too many and couldn’t even play with all of them. Some little girls would love to have some of their toys that they no longer played with. So she replied in a worried voice, “But how do you know we are giving us toys away???” It totally caught me by surprise and made me laugh and reply, ” Well, because I’m the one giving them away.”

I have also been wanting to shorten their curtains for months now. Our windows in this house are a strange size and nearly impossible to find curtains that fit. I didn’t want to buy new ones, since they had only been used for the year we were at our past home. Instead they have just been hanging, not looking “right” but just serving their purpose to darken the room. So today seemed like a good day to get that type of project done, since it had been a declared sick day and I didn’t have any pressing work to get done. (I had done all that in between Hayden’s episodes last night, before I finally crashed around 2am, thinking the worst was behind us.)

So, my rainy day/sick day project is now complete! The room is reorganized, lighter on the toy-front, cleaned and vacuumed.

Before

After

I put together my own recipe for spaghetti sauce and it was delish (recipe to come later), served it with a fabulous salad, loaded with veggies, homemade dressing (also to come later)and wheat pasta. Kids are bathed and tucked in their beds and now the sick day is officially over.
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Oct 07 2010
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5, birthday, hayden

5 year olds can swing themselves!

I still cannot believe I have a 5 year old child. I remember being pregnant with her and thinking, Wow, I cannot imagine what it is going to be like to have a tiny little baby. I would also think what will it be like to have a 5 year old, a teenager, a woman!? SHEESH!  

Jelly 5 a la Dad
The time has gone too quickly because here we are 5 years later and we have a 5 year old. She constantly amazes us by her knowledge of things around her and her vocabulary is astounding. This year she started Pre-K and has been moving towards reading every day.
Two days ago, we pulled up to the post office and Hayden shouts out, “Hey Mom, look that door says P-u-l-l, that says Pull!” I was in the midst of organizing to go inside so I acknowledged her with a “uh huh” and went on with what I was doing.
She calls out, “Mom, the other door says P-u-s-h, Push! ”

It was then that I put two and two together and realized for the first time Hayden had read a word all by herself. I whipped around with a huge smile on my face, screaming, Hayden! You just READ! You did it!! See how you did that!?!? She was BEAMING! I was so stinking excited for her. What an exciting moment to share with her.

Another think Hayden has been working on is learning the concept of swinging herself on a swingset. We always walk out and push her and tell her how to do it herself but she just hasn’t figured it out yet.

Hayden at her Owl Skating Party

Hayden and Ella & Preslyn getting ready to skate it up!

Getting ready to go to school on her birthday

So the night after her birthday we went to her grandparents house and she ran out to the swingset ahead of everyone else. She got one starting push and as I walked out the door I hear excited squeels coming from the playset, “MOM, DAD, FIVE YEAR OLDS CAN SWING THEMSELVES!!!” She was pumping her legs back and forth and swinging all by herself.

What a cute little milestone that kicked in right as she turned five! Perfect timing since BJ and I had acquired a hand me down swingset for her, for her birthday, to be given to her the following day.

Hayden Jadie-Elisabeth…oh how you rocked our world at 3:44am, 5 years ago! You are a genius & make the world better. I love everything about you and who you are.You are so full of energy & zest for life. When I grow up I want to be just like you 😉 Have the BEST day ever little boo-boo. We love you for ever, we’ll like you for always, as long as we’re living, our baby you’ll be.

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Sep 10 2009
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Ella, hayden, Preslyn, recipes

What’s Cookin’

I’ve been owing several of you many recipes and no time to blog them.

So! Here they are. Try them. Hope you love them like we did!
(the one pictured didn’t have any peaches)
Bacon Cheddar Mashed Potatos

2 1/2 lbs. cubed peeled baking potato
1 cup (4oz) shredded extrasharp Cheddar cheese
1 cup 2% reduced fat milk
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 tablespoons reduced fat sour cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled

Place potato in a saucepan, and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 15 minutes or until tender. Drain and return potato to pan. add cheese and milk; mash to desired consistency. Cook 2 min. or until thoroughly heated, stirring constantly. Stir in onions and remaining ingredients. (makes 8 servings) (Cooking Light Cookbook)

Grilled Sirloin Skewers with Peaches & Peppers
Kebabs:
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 1/2 tablespoons cracked black pepper
2 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
2 lbs. boneless sirloin steak, cut into 48 (1 in.) pieces
4 peaches, each cut into 8 wedges
2 small red onions, each cut into 8 wedges
2 large red bell peppers, each cut into 8 (1 in.) pieces
cooking spray

Sauce:
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced

Parsley Spings (optional)

Prepare grill. To prepare kebabs, combine first 7 ingredients, and toss well. Thread 3 steak pieces, 2 peach wedges, 1 onion wedge, and 1 bell pepper piece alternately onto each of 16 (12 in.) skewers. Place on grill rack coated with cooking spray, and grill 6 minutes or until tender, turning occassionally. Place on a platter, and cover loosely with foil. Let stand 5 minutes. To prepare sauce, combine chopped parsley and next 5 ingredients, stirring with a whisk. Spoon over kebabs. Garnish with parsley sprigs, if desired. (Cooking Light Cookbook)

New Saturday Morning Fave!!

Leek, potato & Gruyere frittata

3 Tbs. unsalted butter

6 oz. small red potatoes, sliced 1/8″ thick

salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 leeks, white and lightly green portions, rinsed well and thinly sliced

5 eggs

3 Tbs. heavy cream
2 oz. Gruyere cheese, shredded

1 Tbs. finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

In deep half of small frittata pan over med-high heat (i just used a small skillet), melt 1 Tbs. butter. Add potatoes, salt & pepper. Cover with shallow pan; cook flipping potatos occassionally about 8 min. Transfer to bowl.

In deep half of small frittata pan over med.-high heat, metl 1 Tbs. butter. Add leeks, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occassionally, 6-8 min. Transfer to separate bowl.

In another bowl, whisk eggs and cream. Stir in cheese, parsley, potatoes, salt, pepper and all but 2 Tbs. leeks. Set deep half of small frittata pan over medium heat; melt 1/2 Tbs. butter. Add egg mixture; cook until just beginning to set, about 4 min.; using rubber spatula to lift cooked edges and allow uncooked eggs to flow underneath.

In shallow half of small frittata pan over medium heat, melt 1/2 Tbs. butter. Place shallow pan upside down on top of deep pan; flip frittata into shallow pan. Cook, covered, 4 minutes. Remove deep pan; cook until eggs are set, 2-3 minutes. Skake pan to loosen frittata; slide onto plate. Garnish with reserved leeks.  Serves 4-6. (william sonoma kitchen)

Preslyn’s 1st sink bath. She had salad dressing coated in her hair.
Hummus Sammy
3Tbs. low fat mayonnaise
2 tsp. chopped kalamata olives
2 tsp. finely chopped scallions (green onions)
5 Tbs. hummus
4 slices pita bread
6 cucumber slices
2 tomato slices
2 Tbs. Shredded carrots
2 pieces romaine lettuce

Pitted olives, cherry tomatoes, cucumber for garnish

Mix together the mayonnaise, olives, scallions, and a pinch of black pepper in a small bowl and set aside. Spread hummus on two slices of pita bread and the mayonnaise mixture on the other two. Layer the cucumber, tomatoes, carrots, and lettuce on top of the hummus. Top each hummus slice with a mayonnaise one. Cut in half. Skewer together the olives, tomatoes and cucumber with a toothpick and serve on the side. makes 2 sandwhiches ( I doubled the recipe to make enough for all of us.) Perfect Sunday lunch!

I served it with
5 Cup Salad
1 11oz. can mandarine oranges, drained
1 8 1/2 oz. can pineapple chunks, drained

1 cup coconut

1 cup tiny marshmellows
1 cup sour cream
Combine, cover and chill several hours or overnight. Add marashino cherries and/or pecans if desired.
Going to get our free chick fil a meals. Team logo was required. Aren’t they the cutest little fans you’ve ever seen!?! Hayden, Preslyn & Ella
Are you guys able to see the differences between the twins yet???
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Aug 01 2008
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hayden, summer craft

Girly summer craft

So today I asked Hayden if she wanted to go swimming…she said, “No mom, I’m already in my clothes. Let’s make a craft!” So, this is what we did.

Purple is her most favorite color!

Jun 24 2008
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crawling, hayden, milestone, preslyn and ella 7 months, teething

Ok ok ok

So since my last post we have done tons of stuff. Too much for just one post and too long for me to sit down and blog it. So I’ll give a bit of a recap:

We had fathers day. BJ is such an amazing dad. This last year he had to really step up and do things that he wasn’t used to and been the mom and dad alot of the time. He has totally amazed me and pretty much everyone around us at what a wonderful husband and father he really is. I am so thankful to have him as my partner.

We got the babies dedicated. They were so so cute and did amazingly. I on the other hand, wept during the whole time they were reading our life verse and praying over us. The verse that we chose for them was this:

~Romans 12:2, 6-8 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. ~

It was so wonderful to stand up there and show our whole church what a miracle these babies are. I just couldn’t contain my sheer gratitude to God for allowing us to be standing there with both of them. Totally healthy and happy and more beautiful than ever. The miracle of it all just really hit home in that moment.

We also had a surprise birthday party for my BFF and we actually pulled it off. It was really hard but we did it somehow. One thing about Deb is that she is a super-sleuth, so we were all thrilled that we actually surprised her!

My babies turned 7 months old! Ella got another tooth, so that is two bottom fronts for both babies and they are both working on the side ones now on the bottom. Hayden cut her top 2 year molar so we only have one more for her and we will be rejoicing when that sucker comes in!

Ella also started crawling about a week and a half ago!!! I have video of this, but I forgot my camera at my parents house so I’ll have to post when I get it back. Pres just started today as well!!! They are really starting to cover some ground, especially Ella.

We took the babies swimming for the first time! I feel like I have posted this already but maybe not, anyway I have pics of this too.

What else….Oh yes, My friend Holly had her baby boy Ethan, on his due date, Thursday. He is adorable!

And one last thing, my husband surprised me with a wonderful anniversary band. It is gorgeous! It is an eternity band and I absolutely love it!

So we’ve been busy…we’re here 🙂 We are sorry for the lack of posting! I’ve been reading up on all of you bloggers, just haven’t had a chance to post yet.

Hayden is doing incredible on her potty training. She only has an accident ever so often and I am still so nervous when we go out with panties on, but she is doing well. I’m so proud of her!

So hopefully it won’t be so long until my next post 🙂 These girls are keeping me on my toes so I’m sure we will have lots of funny adventures to post about from time to time!

Until the next one………….Goodnight

Jan 17 2008
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hayden, NiCU week10, Preslyn

Hey fans!

I’m sorry for the lack of posting, I’ve been getting calls requesting an update so here I am 🙂 We have had no internet since Saturday so I have been really behind on everything, plus we have all been under the weather a bit, except for Preslyn. She is as healthy as ever. I took her for her second round of synagis yesterday (that’s the shot to hopefully prevent RSV) and her weight check and she is 7lb. 7oz! Her big sister Ella is 8lbs.4oz. and progressing beautifully. Today she is up to 47cc’s per feed so she’s nearly3/4 of the way to full feeds. She needs to be at about 75 or so and tolerating them good in order to come home,which may be very close to the time she needs her second surgery.

I’m sorry I have no pictures right now but check back later today and I’ll try to get some up. I’m on a different computer and don’t have pictures on it to post.

Hayden started back to school for this month and then we are pulling her out for the rest of the semester. She loves it, but we just can’t risk her bringing home those nasty germs. So she will start back in the fall. She is such a little mommy to Preslyn and is constantly trying to help. They are doing well together and we are so glad we have had no problems with jealousy.

I promise to get pictures up soon! We’ve been busy little bees around here. Hope you all are doing well!

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