a family affair, the wedding, and mother's day

My brother-in-law, Gavin got married a week and a half ago (May 9) to Deidre Hulvey. They were married at a place called Grandview on Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, TN. The place was beautiful. The weather had been rainy off and on all weekend. It was sprinkling shortly before the wedding. However, God gave them the perfect weather. Right before the ceremony was to start, the rain cleared, the sky was blue, and there was a rainbow. The wedding was set up outside on the patio/balcony. It was a wonderful ceremony performed by our preacher at church. Both of the fathers had a part in the wedding and Gavin had both of his brothers in the wedding. Afterwards, there was a bluegrass band and some dancing. It was a very fun wedding and a good family time. Both of my in-laws families came (brothers, sisters, and spouses) and my family came. It was like a smaller family reunion.

Mother's day was that Sunday. It was fun to be with Cameron and Hayden as well as my family and my in-laws. We all ate together at Cracker Barrel after having a family church service at the hotel. Some of my in-law's family members were still there too. They had church with us as well as lunch. My first official mother's day couldn't have been more perfect.

The setting

The bride and groom
Deidre and Gavin

The Smiths
Back-Pat Shipman, Dean Smith, Phillip Smith
Middle-Janie Shipman, Susan Smith
Front- Brooke Smith
(Mother-in-law's bros and sis
and niece)

My parents and sister


In-laws and Hayden



The Stewarts
all 6 brothers and 1 sister
( too many to name )

first steps!!!

I can't believe my boy is almost a year old. He took his first steps 2 weeks ago (May 5). It was so exciting. Cameron was home and we thought we would see if he would try to walk. Cameron faced him towards me and he took off. And of course by that I don't mean fast. He was wobbly but he took 5-6 steps before sitting down. These days he is standing up by himself and walking (wobbling) around. He does it mainly when he thinks we are not watching. This is funny to us because he loves being praised. This is the beginning of the end, so I have been told. It definitely made me feel like he wasn't a baby anymore. The final step is changing his car seat to the "big boy" car seat which will be happening very soon. What a little man I have. I am truly blessed.

Below is a video of him "walking". It was shot the day after his first steps.

a visit from gran

My grandmother (dad's mom), granny, moved to Nashville from Atlanta last summer. I am so excited that she is in town. For the first few years of my life we lived in Atlanta. My sister and I spent a lot of time with Granny and Gramps (my granddad). We always had a blast and it is special that my son gets to spend time with her too. She came to our house a couple of weekends ago and Hayden loved every minute. He especially loved playing ball with her (rolling a ball back and forth across the coffee table). It is fun watching him be able to play with her. I know that I, along with him, will cherish these moments for a long time.

Hayden playing ball

Granny playing footsie

Granny playing with Hayden

the cow says "moo"

This is a short blog, but I must brag on my little boy. Today we were playing with farm animals and I was playing with the cow and said "moo". Hayden looked at me and said "oo". I thought it was a fluke so I did it again and so did he. He did it a few more times and then he was done. Then I went to change his diaper and I always talk to him about what I am doing. So, I was talking about changing his diaper and he tried to say "diaper". Of course he didn't actually say "diaper" but he was close. It was so exciting!! I called Cameron at work to tell him about it. He was excited too. It is amazing at the things that can excite a parent.

How I wish that Dallas was in Tennessee (and Houston)

Mimi, me, Kendall (Braden's girlfriend), Deidre, Deidre's mom

Mimi and Hayden

G-Pa and Hayden

Uncle Braden (aka Bubba) and Hayden

Family photo

Braden and Kendall

The happy couple

Gavin and Deidre

My brother-in-law, Gavin, is getting married in May. I am super excited. Deidre is an amazing girl and will be a great sister-in-law. They live here in Nashville and go to church with us. They recently had some showers and my "in-laws" got to come up for them. My other brother-in-law, Braden, lives in Houston, TX and my parents-in-law, Wyman and Carol (a.k.a. G-Pa and Mimi) live in Lancaster (south of Dallas). We all attended a shower thrown by their small group at church and then a church shower the next day. It was a fun weekend and we look forward to the wedding. It is always a treat when they come in town.

double ear infections and a rash

I haven't been very good at blogging on a regular basis. This has been because my baby has been sick.

Tuesday night he came down with a fever of 102.5. I called the doctor but they said to give him tylenol and wait to see if the fever was gone by the morning. Well, it wasn't. It was 102 and I called back. Again they said to give him tylenol and to continue waiting. If the fever was still there on Thursday then I could bring him in. So the rest of the day, the fever went down to 101. Hayden was very fussy and only wanted to be held. If I put him down beside he cried and screamed. I have to admit that I enjoyed my cuddle time with him seeing that I don't get that very often since he is so active, however, I was sad that it came at the expense of him being sick.

Thursday rolled around and he still had a fever of 101.6. I called my pediatrician and he was booked for the day, but I could see another dr. so I went. After a long wait in the waiting room (25 minutes past my appointment),we finally got called back. The doctor checked him out and declared that he had double ear infections. Luckily we had caught it before it was at the painful stage. Hayden had not been pulling on his ears, but his fever and lethargic behavior let us know something was not right.

He put Hayden on amoxicillin and clavulanate potassium. He was to take it twice a day. Hayden was okay until the third dose. I gave it to him and put him down for a nap. When he woke up, he was broken out in a rash on his chest, back, face, and head. This was weird because he has had amoxicillin 2 other times and did not have a reaction. We contacted the pharmacist that night and the dr. the next day. Apparently it make take a few rounds on the antibiotic for an allergy to appear. He is now on a new antibiotic and is doing great. Thank goodness for a speedy recovery.

What's the deal with the basket and eggs??

So proud of his 2 eggs

Daddy and Hayden after egg hunt

Hayden's easter outfit from his Nana and Papa (my parents)

What a look!

Who cares about the toys when you have plastic eggs!!

This was Hayden's first Easter. It was fun getting to get him dressed up for church and pictures. We did our easter with him when we got home. He was confused about the easter basket. However, he loved tearing it and throwing everything on the floor. He also loved putting the plastic eggs in his mouth. There was an easter egg hunt with our church the day before, but we thought that he was too young to participate so we opted to skip it. Cameron and I work with the seniors in our youth group at church. We have small groups on Sunday night and we teach their Sunday school class. During class, they asked if we could have an easter egg hunt during TREK (small group). So, we did and Hayden was able to experience his first egg hunt. We took him out by himself before the teens went crazy. He was unsure what to do but enjoyed it just the same. As I mentioned, he loved to put the eggs in his mouth and we had to watch out because they had dirt all over them. But he didn't mind the dirt and had a good time anyways. Can't wait for next year when he can participate in the celebrations and hunt.

From baby to little man in just 30 minutes...

Hayden, Daddy, and Nana (my mom)

Hayden and daddy

Sitting in his bumbo getting his hair cut

I know it has been a while since I have blogged. Hayden has been sick with double ear infections (more on that later).

So, my baby boy had his first haircut...and now he looks like a little man. It makes me sad to see him grow up so fast, and the haircut made it seem that in 30 minutes he went from my little baby to a teenager graduating from high school. Now, I know that is an exaggeration, but he did appear to age in a hurry. I can't believe he was old enough to get his hair cut, but he desperately needed it. He was growing a mullet quickly and there were even suggestions by others that we let it grow a little longer and braid it. His daddy cut his hair because he doesn't believe in spending money on haircuts and he is experienced (he cuts his own hair). Luckily my parents and Granny were there to entertain him so that he would sit still.

the past 10 months...a summary

Now to catch you up on the last 10 months (the short version)...


Hayden was born on May 22, 2008 by c-section because of being breech. He weighed 6 pounds 14 ounces and was 19 1/4 inches long. Hayden had difficulty breathing after being delivered and had to receive oxygen for a very short time. He did not eat for 2 days and we left the hospital with him 10 ounces lighter and on formula. However, he quickly started nursing and gained his birth weight back in 2-3 weeks.


Since that time, Hayden has had very few setbacks. He did require some physical therapy around 5 months to help him with his neck control. However, he only attended 3 sessions. We transitioned back to formula after his 4 month check-up when he wasn't gaining weight properly. He was also introduced to baby food at that time. He has always been smaller and remains so now. He is only in the 10th percentile for weight and the 20th percentile for height.


Hayden has developed in leaps and bounds. He has 8 teeth and loves finger foods. He has a huge appetite (like his father) and eats like a champ. He is beginning to show more of his personality, especially when he is hungry. He loves to crawl and cruise around the furniture. He stands by himself and is walking with support. He claps his hands (sideways...so cute), blows kisses, waves bye bye, "plays" basketball, and so much more. He is truly a joy to us.

It is difficult for me to believe he will be 1 soon. Time has flown by. It is difficult for me to think about it although I am already trying to plan his birthday. More on that later.

new to the game

So, I finally decided to join the blogging world. My friends have been encouraging me to do it ever since Hayden was born. That was almost 11 months ago. So, I have a lot of catching up to do. I don't know what the hang up was except laziness and lack of creativity. I didn't have a name for the site and was too apathetic to try to think of one. However, this will be a good way to keep in touch with friends and family, especially since both our families live away. So, I will give it a try. Hopefully I will do better at keeping up with this than I do at facebook.