Addicted!

Ok, so I must confess my new addiction! I am absolutely addicted to the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer. My friend has been trying to get me to read the books. They are abut vampires and high schoolers. I told her I wasn't interested because I had no interest in reading about vampires, or high school drama. Then she reminded me that I enjoyed Harry Potter, but wasn't interested in reading about magic.
I am glad she was persistent. I am loving theses books. Let's just say I am on the 4th and last book, 700 plus pages, and have finished reading 1,000 plus pages in 6 days.
So, if you are looking for a great series to dip into, I highly recommend it.
Back to my reading!!!!!!!

Thursday already!

This week seemed to fly by. We have had a great and busy week. Monday Hayden had another great day at PDO. He is loving playing with everyone and talks about Marci and Jody his teachers all of the time.
Today we watched a boy for 3 hours. Then we met Bev for lunch. Hayden did awesome, he usually does not enjoy eating out. We enjoyed the salad bar at Hy-Vee. Then Hayden went with grandma to pick out a balloon, while I picked up a few groceries. They met me at the door with a balloon for Hayden and a few roses for me.
Our old neighbors came over to play, watch the homecomming parade at the corner, and eat dinner. Hayden had a great time playing with his old friends. We sure do miss having them next door.
Tomorrow Hayden has PDO and we will be leaving to Minnesota to spend some time with the Bellows family. We are excited to hang out with them and visit!

Amen

Last night I was laying in bed reading a book, and Hayden was laying in his bed winding down. I could hear him singing to himself. All of the sudden I heard him say, "God bless mommy, God bless daddy, and God bless Hayden. AAAAMMMMEEENNNNNN". I love moments like these, when he is just being himself in his room before bed.

Just number one gazillionfafilionmajillion and one why I love him.

Back in the Swing of Things

Hayden had his first day of PDO last Thursday. He could barely wait to get down and start playing. He had a great day and no tears. Dramatic difference from last year. Today he was a little hesitant, but didn't cry when I left.

He had his final NICU evaluation last week. He meets with a NICU physician, physical therapist, and speech therapist. He was in the NICU for 2 days because his glucose was low and he needed a boost. He was the largest and "healthiest" in the NICU. They had Hayden put together a puzzle, copy lines the Dr. drew with crayons, identify pictures, sounds, body parts, and movements. He accomplished all tasks with flying colors. The Dr. said Hayden is above his age level and they didn't need to see him anymore. Then the Dr. told me they were watching him because children with low glucose levels can develop slower mentally or have issues growing up. I was surprised to hear that and so happy I missed that point, because I would of been soooo worried these past 2 years!

We spent Saturday in DeWitt for Noah's birthday party. We had a fun time. Hayden ran around all day and loved it! The party was pirate themed and a blast! Hayden loved riding thte tractor, and the horse and looking at the bugs. Joey got some fishing in, and I went on a trail ride with Faith and Jen. The weather was absolutely beautiful.

Joey leaves for Atlanta today. He will be gone all week. Hayden and I are hoping that the rain stops soon so we can spend most of the time outside. Today it is 53 and rainy, Tomorrow it is supposed to be 65 and sunny tomorrow and stay nice until Thursday. Then it may rain again.

Well, I better get cleaning, since I have the house to myself!!

Dirty Boy

Kari and the boys came over for supper the other night. The boys had a blast playing all evening. At the end of the evening Hayden was sooooooo dirty!
Tomorrow is Hayden's first day of PDO.
The weather is soooo awesome today. It is 64 degrees now. A big difference from the 88 degrees yesterday. This week is supposed to be cool. I am welcoming the fall weather in with open arms!

Me Time

Joey and Hayden headed up to visit Grandma and Grandpa Paricka today. I am excited to have some me time! I am going to scrapbook, watch a movie, start decorating for fall (even though I just turned on the air conditioner), eat candy corn in peace, clean, do laundry, and relax. Joey told me not to do anything but relax, but if I do the laundry will pile up and the house will stay messy. We will see how much relaxing time I will get.
I heard Hayden is busy swimming, golfing, and playing. I am sure he is having a blast with daddy. He has become quite the daddy's boy lately.

Last night I ate dinner at the neighbors. Nancy had some friends over and we had a girls night. We ate grilled chicken Cesar salads, and watched Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
I am not sure what we will be doing the rest of the weekend.

Thursday we went to PDO to meet Hayden's teachers and check out his classroom. He had a blast and played for an hour, we had to drag him out kicking and screaming. Hopefully there will be less tears this year. His teachers seem nice, and I am excited for him to get back in the program. I am still contemplating MOPS. We will have to see. In May I didn't know what I would do to keep us busy this summer, but the summer flew by. Now I am finding it hard to commit to more than one thing for the year. I am sure that will change once we get into the swing of things!

Hayden's 2 Favorite Places to Be

We have been taking a lot of evening walks lately taking advantage of the awesome weather, and the fact that Joey actually has 1 week off between classes. That never happens, so we are trying to spend as much time together in the evenings as we can.

Hayden has discovered my old radio flyer wagon and LOVES wagon rides.
His favorite place to be is still on Daddy's shoulders.

Just Because I'm a Mom, Does That Mean I Have To Share Everything?

This is the question I asked myself last week as I was hiding in the bathroom eating a handful of candy corn. Seriously, it is impossible to eat a treat anymore without little eyes, or nose, or super human toddler powers detecting a treat being consumed and running right up next to me, busting me in the act, and demanding for me to share.
As Hayden was pounding on the door trying to get in, I felt as if I sunk to a new level. Then I realized that no I didn't sink to a new level, I am entitled to alone time and to enjoy a treat in peace, even if it means locking yourself in the bathroom for a minute to scarf down some candy corn!