~happy easter~

We headed to our first Easter church service as a family.  Princess H did so well during the singing and part of the message but then she got a little antsy so D had to take her out.  Everyone oohed and aahed over her and some wanted to 'steal' her from us (not Christian like but we know they meant well! ;o)  Princess H got several Easter gifts: a duck and bunny from GG (Great Granny), a bunny from Great Great Grandma Bea, socks, a book, lotion, pants & headbands from G-ma and Papa and from mommy and daddy she got a book on 'What is Easter?' and a little bunny.  Already spoiled!  No colored eggs this year but next year will be a different story.  Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter Sunday!

~something new~

I have not been very good about keeping up on this blog but I have decided that I still want to keep updating everyone so I am vowing to stick to it!  I have a lot to say and one day is never like another staying at home with a growing baby.  So here we go and I hope that I can make it interesting!  Stay tuned....

Our little angle is growing so fast!

We got princess H's pictures taken last week. It was a big adventure for both her and her mommy! She did so well...she had two outfit changes and during her naked pics she wet on mommy's pants and the photographers backdrop. She knew that she had to make the day a memorable one!

She is changing everyday and we are loving the fact that she is smiling more often and starting to look directly at us instead of over our shoulder. I am starting to get the hang of this mommy thing but it is still harder than I ever imagined but very rewarding! ;o)

Update on our family: Most of you know that we have been making our home in Boise but since July D has been working in Lewiston. During the last three months of my pregnancy, D was only able to come home every four days which was hard on us and I required a caretaker when he was gone. After princess H was born I was able to go and spend 6 weeks with him and we were a family full time again. Last week princess H and I came back to Boise because I needed to go back to work but this is only temporary. We have decided to move permanently to Lewiston as D has found a full-time job. It was a tough decision because I will be leaving a profession that I have been apart of since 1995 but it is what is best for our family and hopefully I will be able to stay home a little longer with princess H. We are truly excited about the opportunities that God has created for us and are anxious to see what he has planned next!

Unbelievable

It is hard to believe that 4 weeks ago little princess H came into this world. I will say that it has been the most amazing and exhausting time of our lives. We look at her and feel blessed that we created such a beautiful baby. She changes so much everyday and our love for her grows every minute.

Princess H

Born: Dec. 12, 2009 at 6:11am

6lbs 7ozs and 18 3/4 inches long

Her 1st Christmas!
Impromtu photo shoot...she loves those fingers

4 weeks old...look at those big eyes and chubby cheeks!

Our 1st Family Photo!

Somedays, 'almost' just isn't enough

Today I am 33 weeks and 4 days pregnant! Yes, the end of this pregnancy is near and the introduction of our new little family addition will happen. However, I have been on 7 weeks of bed rest and although I have had few 'freak' out days than what I would expect, today is one of those. There is so much to be done before she comes and it is so hard to have my countless 'babysitters' to do the shopping and setting up the house in preparation of a baby. I want to be out shopping for baby items that we still need...can you believe that I haven't bought the baby one outfit yet?! Yes, there is the Internet but as most of you know it is so much more fun to actually shop for those precious little clothes, shoes and toys in person. We need more diapers, a diaper pail, a breast pump, I need to pack both my bag and the diaper bag for the hospital...the list is just never ending and I am stuck on this stupid couch starting to FREAK out about it all!

Enough of my ranting...here is an update:

• I will not go beyond 38 weeks so she will be here before Christmas
• My bp is going down but it is a week to week decision on whether she comes sooner
• I was put on another medication this week in hopes to bring it down a little more
• I am getting bigger by the week and it is becoming more and more uncomfortable
• She is still trying to be a gymnast in my belly but she is running out of room!
• She is growing great but we know that she will be a little one when it is time to meet her
• We still haven't decided on her name just yet but trying to narrow it down to 2 or 3 and may just make a final decision when we meet her.

We had an ultrasound last week and we saw that she has hair which is a miracle because D & I both were completely bald when we were born.Well that is about it for now. I will post some more pics from my baby showers that I have neglected to share when I get the energy because we all know I have the time! ;o)

Quick Update

Sorry I have not been keeping up on my blog. It has been a rough couple of months...for those of you who do not already know I have been on bed rest since September 23rd with high blood pressure. It has been a long 5 weeks with several more to go but I know the end result will be worth it all. The baby is doing great and enjoying her time in there. She continues to grow at the rate she needs to but it looks like she might be coming early for the safety of her mama. I will update more later but thought that some of you might enjoy seeing how enormous I am and how scary I look! ;o)

My dad, me and baby Haynes

Weekend Round-up

Highlights:

• Ultrasound
• Family & Friends BBQ
• Major sickness & headache

We started the weekend with an ultrasound! It was great to see our baby again and watch all the movement. The Dr. commented that we must have interrupted gymnastics class because the baby was a movin' and a shakin'. So much that we were unable to get a great picture of it's 'private' area. If the Dr. would have to guess it is a girl but we will have another ultrasound on the 31st and maybe the baby will be more cooperative! We have to have another ultrasound because the baby's arm and leg bones seem to be measuring a week or two behind and the Dr. wants to make sure that it is continuing to grow. Now D & I don't have a lot of height in our families so it could just be that we have a wee little one on our hands, which is perfectly fine with me since I am the one delivering! After D & I saw the ultrasound we had our mother's come into the room and take a glance. It was a special moment and if you know my mom then you know that some tears were shed.

Saturday we had a Family & Friends BBQ and it was wonderful. D planned the whole thing and it was really nice to get everyone together. We had great food, good conversation and some fun games. The weather cooperated with us which made it even better!

Duffy/Haynes family...look at the size of that stomach!

Haynes Family...minus one

Saturday evening after the BBQ my little stomach friend came for a visit and so I was out of commission. I am not sure if I just over did it during the day but it wasn't pretty. The next morning the stomach was good but I had the worst headache thus far. That has been a new symptom of my pregnancy! I was able to make it to breakfast on Sunday but had to lay down the rest of the day while my mother and D worked on cleaning the inside and outside of the house.

Overall, it was a great weekend and even though I had a lot people in and out of my house I was thankful that I had the company. With D still working out of town it has been very lonely during the week. One last thing, want to give a huge shout out to my wonderful mother who helped me out so much this past weekend. I hope that I am at least half the mother to my child as she has been to me! Love ya Mom!!

Update

Our baby is the size of this pepper this week!

First, let apologize to my friends and family who read my blog. I have not posted forever and mostly due to the fact that I am still feeling like poop. The only thing on my mind these days is the sudden urge to visit the porcelain G*O*D or trying to talk myself out of it! I was hoping that I would work my way out of this stage but no suck luck. I am thankful that during some days I almost feel like my old self and so I try to enjoy those because I never know when that feeling will go away!

Secondly, let me catch you up on our lives:

D has been working away from home for a month now. He is enjoying the work and the guys he works with but being away from home is hard. Most weekends he drives home which has proven to be very hard on our little Mazada...it will reach the end of it's life a little sooner than we had hoped but until then D is trying to keep it running!

I was able to take a long weekend and drive myself and the two dogs to my mom and dad's a couple of weekends ago. I am happy to say that I made it without pulling over and emptying my stomach on the side of the road and believe it or not I felt the best I have ever felt that whole weekend. We had a good time floating the river, having dinner at the hotel where we were married and just spending some quality and relaxing time together.

Then my mom came down the next week to help me with some housework and attend the Kenny Chesney concert that D & I were suppose to go to but he couldn't make it because of work. It was a fun time and mom helped me out immensely with getting the house spic and span. We were also able to have lunch with our special friends Lisa & Cindy and Cindy came over to the house with her boys to do some more house and yard work.

This week I am 4 1/2 months pregnant...half way there. We have a doctor's appointment on Friday. We were able to get D a plane ticket so he will be flying home on Thursday night! I just hated him missing the last appointment because I was able to hear the heartbeat and couldn't. We are not sure if we will have an ultrasound this time. We haven't seen the doctor the last two times so it will be nice to catch up with her and see the progress.

Well, that is about it for now! Thanks for hanging in there with me and I promise to try and be better about keeping this blog updated.

Happy & Sad Days in the Haynes Household

The Happy: D was offered a job with work until at least September and maybe longer. He was ready to go back to work and unemployment was about to run out so the timing was perfect. He says "I'm excited to start working full time again and providing for me and our soon to come baby." Gotta love him!

The Sad: The job he took is with the same company that my father works for. This means that D will be living in northern Idaho with my parents during the week and home on the weekends. We both are very sad about this but know that it is the best thing right now for our family. He will be working 4 days a week and will be home on Friday afternoons.

We will make it through all this but it is a little harder right now because I haven't been feeling very well and D will miss a Dr.'s appointment this week. This appointment will be the one where we will finally get to hear the baby's heartbeat. I hope to be able to accommodate his schedule with our other appointments but this will be a difficult one to go through without him! :o(

All in all, I know that my parents will take really good care of him during the week and I will make sure that we spend every minute together when he is home on the weekends. Also, maybe it will make me a stronger women when it comes to having the extra responsibilities during the week.

Givin' a shout out to my mom!

Glad that you are coming and seeing us on your birthday!

some news to report

{the proof}

• Well, if you haven't heard the news which I believe has traveled via cell phone, text messaging, facebook and now blogger...We are having a baby!
  
• I know that most people wait a little while to tell everyone for 'just in case' reasons but we aren't those people. For those of you who know me, I am not very good at keeping a secret! Especially one of this magnitude!
  
• If my calculations are right...this baby should be making it's arrival shortly before Christmas which is 4 months after our 1st anniversary! D & I just don't seem to be able to do things slow in our lives! We must somehow, deep down love change and chaos because that is how we started and it seems to be our 'thing'. All in all, we are extremely happy and will be anxiously awaiting our new family member!

{the dog's reaction to the news...I think that they have mixed feelings}

a glimpse into my life this past month

• endless amount of work that includes, but is not limited too: grant writing, planning for a fundraiser, babysitting 'grown-ups' and trying to keep the money rollin' in

• visit from my mother-in-law which is always a good time

• conducting my first scentsy party

• raising a puppy who seems to think that the corner of my couch is a chew toy

• taking a three day weekend to visit my parents (always relaxing and enjoyable)

• preparing for my annual yard sale which is always way too much work for a little amount of $ but it sure gets the crap out of my house/garage

• Still learning to be married to the most wonderful man on the earth!

Some of the reasons that I have been such a bad blogger this past month. I will try harder to make it a priority to keep everyone updated!

Happy Birthday Miss Olivia Grace!

On her 1st Birthday!

Dancing her way to her 2nd Birthday!

Oh Miss Olivia...you are turning 2 today!

You have grown up so fast!

We hope you have a GREAT day!

Love and miss you,

Auntie Sunny and Uncle Darrin (brody and molly too!)

day of fun

We had several snowmobiles, a 4 wheeler and some sleds. There was plenty of fun for all 14 of us. We spent most of the day taking turns on the snowmobiles only stopping to eat and drink some hot chocolate.

Tyler and Colby

Nieces: Aubrey, Shalyssa and Madelyn riding in the sled behind the 4 wheeler

The sled was for the 'kids' to ride in behind the snowmobile

(brother Tyler and niece Aubrey)

Remember, I said this was for the 'kids'

Jason, Madelyn, Shalyssa and Kris

Driving to Sun Valley

Saturday D & I headed to Sun Valley for a day of Snowmobiling with the Haynes family.

What a beautiful drive we had. The pics say it all!

ok, so this isn't my hubby's best face!

another beautiful view

trying to keep up with D's brother so we know where to go!

Christmas comes to an end

Game night with the fam

me, my cousin larry, mom and cousin tami

dad, great grandma bea, d, me and brody

brody being lazy

d, dad, judy, dan and me after a huge Christmas dinner

got this shirt for Christmas...only my a-town friends will understand how great and funny this is!

Christmas morning

lots of snow and wind during our visit

grandpa, cousin michael and grandma looking out the window at deer

me, brody and my aunt traci

one of my many Christmas gifts...i was spoiled rotten

my daddy and me!

Christmas in Northern Idaho

Last Tuesday we headed up to northern Idaho to spend Christmas with my parents. We had a great time and were very lazy...which was definitely needed.

my parent's Christmas tree with lots of presents!

d being enjoying his time reading

brody waiting to go outside (again)

lots of turkeys came out everyday

The Haynes' Family Christmas

This past weekend we headed to Paul, Idaho for the Haynes' Family Christmas. We had a great time with D's brothers and their families. I can hardly believe that Christmas is just a couple of days away!

In Paul, Santa comes by all the houses on the fire truck and throws candy!

After dinner, presents and fun we headed to Rock Creek. This one house located out in the middle of nowhere, places thousands of lights and displays all over the house and surrounding property. You can get out and walk down the driveway and around. They usually have a live Camel but he was out sick. This is the view from the road.

The Grinch is in the palm of my hand!

Melanie and me enjoyed this little Santas that bounce up and down to music! As you can tell it was extremely cold but we brought hot chocolate with us so we stayed warm.

D, nephew Colby, Santa and me

Santa was there handing out candy canes and welcoming everyone! What a great display and tons of F*U*N!