I Guck

'I guck' is what Noah says for ' I'm stuck' and it very much applies to me today. I woke up in the middle of the night with the worse crick in my neck and couldn't sleep a wink afterwards. I am so stiff. It is really hard to keep a good eye on a very active and genius 2 year old when you can't turn your neck, not to mention how hard it is to not be able to look down at your 4 month old when she is eating.

I really hope I get un-guck soon.

P.S. If you haven't seen the post before this one please take a look. I need your help.

My Big Sis

Isn't she the cutest?!

I need your help!
I entered my big sis, Misty, into a Mother's Day Contest over at
Give Away Today.
I got an email a few days ago informing me that she was one of 3 finalist!!
Here is the email I sent them:

I would like to enter my sister, Misty Mayfield, in your
fabulous contest to win the "Mom Package". I am the mother of 2 small children and everything I have learned about how to be the best mom I can be, I got from
her. There isn't a week that goes by that I
don't call her and ask for advice. She is the kind
of women that just gets kids and they are drawn to
her.. She loves my kids almost as much as I do.
You see, my sister isn't a 'mother' in the
traditional sense of the word. She doesn't have
any children of her own...yet. That is her biggest
desire in life but until that blessing is given to her she spends her time
poring love and devotion on her 18 nieces and nephews and
being an in-demand nanny for the last 15 years. She is
with a family now that have one son and two daughters but
prior to them she was with a family with 2 sons for 12
years. Unfortunately, the boys did not have the most
loving of parents. My sister, Misty, was the ONLY
constant they could depend on. She showed them what
love was and I believe with all of my heart that she changed
the coarse of those boy's lives forever and for the
better.

Whenever another Mother's Day rolls in and my sister
still hasn't had the opportunity to become a mother, I
see a small piece of her die. It is really hard to
watch. I would love nothing more than to be able to
give her this special recognition and let her know what her
example has meant to me.

Thank you for your consideration.
Cari Hozian

On May 7th I need everyone to go on to Give Away Today and vote for my sis. She so deserves a little recognition for all the the children's lives she has touched. I will post the day before and the day of to remind everyone.
Thanks!!

Stalking Has It's Advantages

Those who know me best know of my blog stalking tendencies.
Sometimes I just can't help myself.
Well, I found out today that it can definitely have some advantages.

I don't remember how I found Maggie Blue Designs. I only remember that I found her on the exact day that she was offering a giveaway on her blog.
I totally flipped out when I saw her stuff and knew immediately that if I won the bag she was offering that it would be Noah's new church bag.
Well, guess what arrived in the mail today!!

Can you even believe how stinkin' adorable and fun this bag is?!

I started doing a little dance when Chris walked in from the mailbox and I saw the package. Noah was asleep and it took everything I had in me not to wake him up immediately so I could show him his new bag.
I LOVE IT!!!!!

You absolutely MUST follow this link to her Etsy shop and check out all of the insane goodness.
I am going to have her make me a personalized bag for Mother's Day.
I can't wait!
THANK YOU MAGGIE BLUE DESIGNS!!

Easter Outfits

Let me start by stating the obvious. I am not a photographer so these pictures do not do the cuteness justice. Luckily, I have begged my oh-so-talented SIL, Alisha, to bring her camera and skills to Garden Club tomorrow and take some respectable pictures of my kiddos.
That being said, here is the goodness.

Noah was not feeling up to a photo shoot.

I made everything you see from head to toe, including the baby! Oh, wait, I didn't make the diaper or bloomers.

Here is a close up of the accessories.

So, what do ya think?

Easter Buckets

I made the kids easter buckets this year using this tutorial.
This one is Eden's.


I didn't do much for her bucket, just a cloth block and rings using this tutorial.

This is Noah's.

He got some candy, a few toys, and some felt jellybeans I made using this tutorial.

We were running late for church that morning so I didn't get pics of their outfits before church. And, of course, by the time we got home Eden had spit up on herself about 4 times and Noah had managed to spill something all over himself in nursery. So, hopefully I will be able to get those washed and ironed and some pictures taken by tomorrow. I got TONS of compliments on them, especially Eden's, for which I am the most proud because I made her ENTIRE outfit.
Check back tomorrow to see the cuteness.

Can't Put It Off Any Longer

If you will remember, several months ago I posted about Noah movin' on up to a big boy bed. That lasted for about 3 weeks and then we couldn't get him to stay in the darn thing. I didn't have the energy to fight that battle so we have just been putting him back in his crib.
Wellll, the time for war has come.
I put him down for his nap today and after a while I started to hear sounds from his room. I listened closer and realized they were sounds from his toys that were nowhere near his crib. I walked to his room and noticed the light was on as well. Huh? I opened the door and there he was, sitting in the floor playing with his toys. I have no idea how he managed it because his crib doesn't have any moving parts. He had to have crawled over the side and dropped to the floor, definitely not the safest thing.
I put him in his big boy bed and so began the fight. I gave him 5 chances but he just kept coming to the door and trying to leave his room. (He can open doors now as well) Finally, I had to issue a dreaded swat. I so hate that. After the swat he stayed in his bed and screamed himself to sleep.
Urg!
So not fun.
So not looking forward to the weeks ahead.

Noah's surgery

Noah had surgery on March 25th to get the tubes put in his ears. We had to be at the hospital at 5:30am for a 7:30 surgery. Urg! Thankfully, we didn't have to wait in the lobby long before we were called back. A nurse took us to a room and had Noah change into a little hospital gown.

Have you ever seen anything more adorable in your life?
(Like the good mom I am, I forgot to bring a camera so this pic was taken on Misty's cellphone.)

The nurse commented on how early we were. I told her we were told we had to be there that early. She said that was more for old people who have a lot of medications they have to go over. Well, Thanks!

Noah did great while we waited. Chris had taken the day off work and Mom and Misty had come up to be with him so he had plenty of people to entertain him. He was content unless a stranger tried to come near him. It's like he knew what was coming. Luckily, the doctor was early so a male nurse came to get him at about 7:00. He took him and literally ran out of the room because the moment he got close, Noah started to freak. I almost lost it. I knew he would be fine but HE didn't know that.

They told us to go back out into the lobby to wait. I made a pit stop at the gift shop and got Noah the most adorable turtle ever made. I thought he would like something to snuggle when he was all done. By the time I was done buying the turtle a nurse was ready to take us back to be with Noah. Wow, that was fast! She took us to a room and told us to wait again. As we were waiting some doors across the hall from us opened and I could hear my baby screaming his head off. I shot out of my chair as fast as I could but the doors closed before I got to them. I stood there, just staring in the little windows for any sign of my boy. About a minute later his doctor came and said that I could go back. He had to lead me to Noah and it felt like he was going SO SLOW. Finally, we rounded a corner and I saw him, screaming his head off and fighting a poor nurse for all he was worth. I ran the last few steps to him, dropping his turtle, and scooped my precious baby up. He just crumpled against me and I almost lost it again. He was still kind of out of it. It was really hard to see him like that. He just cried and cried. After we were back there for about 5-10 minutes they let Chris come back. I could see the relief on Chris's face as he got to lay his eyes on Noah for himself.

He kept up the crying until they loaded us up in a wheelchair and we left the recovery room. He had pretty much stopped by the time we got to Mimi and Grannie in the lobby. We then loaded up in the car and headed home. He didn't last very long on the way home. We all crawled into bed together and took a long nap. I just held him, never wanting to let him go again. If he ever has to have anything serious done I am so going to be good for nothing.

He woke up from his nap just fine and hasn't had a lick of a problem since. He has his 2 week checkup this Thursday so we will see how that goes.

Eden

Let me tell ya, I LOVE MY GIRL!!!!!!!!
Now that we are finally getting past the complete exhaustion phase, it is getting easier for me to recognize the fabulousness that is Eden. I told myself I was gonna be better about recording 'the little things' with her than I was with Noah so, here goes.

*I think one of my very most favorite things about her is that she plays with her hair when she eats. Most of the time she will fall asleep with one hand wrapped in hair and the other hand in her mouth. Can you say ADORABLE?!
*Daddy got her to laugh just a few days ago. I think it was the cutest thing I have ever heard.
*She loves bath time, especially splashing. She splashes so much I have had to start putting her bathtub in the big tub already.
*She doesn't just smile, she lights up.
*She has started to coo and babble on a more regular basis. Noah finds it especially fascinating.
*She has started to grab onto toys and will bring them to her mouth occasionally.
*If she is laying on her back she tries to sit up.
*Just like her big bro, she despises floor time. It has become torture for the 2 of us.
*She has started to drool up a storm (notice her shirt in the pic above). I have noticed that her gums on the bottom are getting really white. Teeth already?!

At least a million times a day I am overcome with so much love for this girl.
I am so thankful for every second.

22 Tidbits About My 2 Year Old

Yesterday was Noah's 2nd birthday (still can't believe it!).

The fam got together to celebrate out at Dawn's place because our house can't contain the whole Mayfield clan. Noah spent the hours before his party pestering...er...I mean, feeding the chickens and trying his best to get his birthday outfit and white shoes as dirty as possible. (I know, white shoes? What was I thinking?!)

The theme was construction. I made the cake again this year.

This was his birthday hat. He wore it for the birthday song and then refused to let it touch his head again. Typical.

We had a great turn out (thanks, guys!) and he got a great haul of presents. He got a basketball goal, t-ball set, train set, and books from his Grandma Conchi. He got Bolt, coloring books and crayons, finger paints, a tool bench, 2 Book of Mormon board books, and a nylon crawling tunnel from Mom and Dad. And, he got a playdoh playset and a book from Chris's brother and fam.

In honor of my baby turning 2 I am going to let you in on 22 little factoids about my boy.

1.He HATES commercials and yells for me to "fix it" every time they dare interrupt his cartoon watching. When I tell him to be patient he then turns his wrath on the TV and yells at it.
2.He loves to talk on the phone, especially to his Papa, whether Papa is really on the other line or not.
3.His favorite toy of the moment is a ball in any form.
4.He loves to chase birds but gets quite upset when they escape him by jumping over the fence.
5.His favorite food is green beans.
6.Calls dogs "ra-ruffs" and cats "kit-kittys"
7.He can say his own prayers, although Heavenly Father is the only one that can understand them.
8.He is absolutely convinced that shopping carts and strollers are actually parade floats because he can't ride in one without waving and yelling "Hi!" to passersby.
9.His favorite place to roam is Aunt Dawn's farm.
10.I don't think he actually knows how to walk. He runs everywhere he goes.
11.He is an expert hopper. Several people have commented on his mad hopping skills.
12.He gets complimented most on his gorgeous blue eyes.
13.He insists on listening to the Veggie Tales cd his Aunt Mimi gave him whenever we get in the car. It is really quite hilarious to hear him sing along. I so need to record that someday.
14.He likes to "help" carry the groceries in from the car.
15.He loves to wear his daddy's shoes.
16.He loves to play video games with Daddy. How much longer do you think it will take before he realizes his controller isn't plugged in?
17.He really enjoys trying to give his Grandma Conchi a heart attack by jumping on the couch.
18.He could teach the music director at church a thing or 2. I think more people watch him, chubby finger pointed...arm waving, then the actual music director.
19.His favorite primary song is Popcorn Popping.
20.He is currently going through a feel-the-need-to-throw-everything phase.
21.His favorite cartoon is Tigger and Pooh and his favorite movie is Bolt (or "ra-ruff")
22.He despises nap time but will actually ASK for "nigh-night" at bedtime. Weird.

I could go on and on. I simply adore this kid.

Happy B-day Nutter!