Merry Christmas!

Christmas time at our house is celebrating the birth of the Savior, putting up Christmas trees and lights, decorating our columns like candy canes, adding on to our Advent calendars, watching Elf, listening to Christmas mixes on Pandora, driving to see lights, shopping for good deals, giving gifts, receiving gifts, eating too many sweets, staying up late, and spending lots of time with friends and family!
Our church Christmas party was a few weeks ago, and it was Hazel's first time to see Santa. She was not a fan, so I had to sit on his lap to help her feel comfortable. Santa said it wasn't the first time. Aunt Natalie made her the adorable ribbon shirt.

This year James's brother Chris came to visit with his wife Christina and their 4 kids. We were so excited because we haven't seen them since Hazel was 1 month old! Here's the Palmer family that was here for the holidays. We're missing Tod, Amy, and Dave and their families.

Here are some of the grandkids with Grandpa Palmer. Hazel had to be the one sitting on Grandpa's lap because no one else is allowed to get his attention. She acts like an only grandchild, not the 17th.

This is a random shot of James and some of his friends playing Smash Brothers. It never gets old... to them. The wives made chocolate rolo cookies.

Christmas Eve dinner was just delicious. After we ate, we acted out the Nativity with stuffed animals for the kids and opened up some gifts. Hazel opened up her Christmas Eve jammies at home, and she immediately put them on her head. Cute. I didn't get a picture of her in her dress before church on Christmas day because we hardly got it on her before we left. We're lucky we got her tights on, and shoes were just too much. She was still as adorable as ever though.

A couple of days later we went to the Fort Worth Zoo. Hazel loved seeing all the animals, especially the birds. I was hesitant about going in the big enclosed bird cage because James said we'd get droppings on us, but as it turned out, we came out clean! And Hazel loved it.

My favorite was the white tiger. This picture is just a zoomed phone picture, so it's not that great. James's favorites were the giraffes... I won't say why. Hazel also liked the monkeys, and I think that's because she likes to dance around and eat bananas all day.

Here are the little monkeys at home - Cohlee and Hazel.

Merry late Christmas to everyone!

Paci Addict

Hazel loves her paci. I love it too actually. I just don't want her to have it in all day because she has a super cute baby language that I love to hear. Sometimes when she has it in, she just keeps it hanging out of the side of her mouth like a cig. When she couples that with her funny hunched over walking, it cracks me up.

Thanksgiving

Sometimes I just stop and think about how blessed I am. I'm sure I don't do it enough. I feel like I could go on forever giving thanks for my many blessings... from every member of my family down to my dear Kitchen Aid. Of course, I could never mention everything, but I feel like I have to list a few things that I couldn't do without - my Savior, my family, our health, and our freedoms. I worry that the day I don't give thanks for these things is the day they will disappear. And since I can't handle that, I'll continue to give thanks for them, even if it does sound redundant day after day.
A little miracle took place in our family this Thanksgiving. I feel like if I write down memories, it's a way of showing my gratitude. We recently found out that my nephew Miles (Angie's baby boy) has been suffering from heart failure... we don't know for how long. He's just 4 months old. It was a miracle it was caught when it was because who knows if he would've even survived a few more days. At his 4 month well visit, the pediatrician noticed his irregular heart beat and sent him directly to the hospital. Poor Angie and Dane had to watch Miles be poked and prodded tons of times to do all sorts of tests, and they weren't able to get any answers for a few days. His heart was enlarged, and he wasn't responding to the medication. The worst case scenario was for Miles to have a heart transplant. On top of that, he had to have a blood transfusion. Miles was given a blessing, and my family, as well as many others, held a fast for him. The day the family started the fast, there were 2 small periods of regular heart rhythms. They didn't last long, but it was enough to instill hope. As they moved Miles to Texas Children's Hospital, they started seeing a little improvement. He wasn't cured, but it was clear his heart was shrinking a bit. Now they're saying he may be able to go home in the next week or so on medication if things continue to go well. It truly is a miracle. I don't know why sometimes these miracles occur or why sometimes they don't, but in this case, I'm guessing our family needed it for some reason. We needed this to strengthen our faith and to bring us closer together. We're grateful and so happy for Angie and Dane to still have their sweet little Miles with them. I've given Hazel many an extra tight squeeze and kisses on her little head since this experience. I just want to savor each day with my little angel and my sweet husband. They're my favorites.
It was so nice to be with family this Thanksgiving. Plans were altered a bit because of Miles's situation, but we ended up being able to see everyone on my side. Because Angie, Dane, and Miles were in Houston, we all stopped there to see them on the way to Beaumont. It was so wonderful to see baby Miles without tubes and cords everywhere. I just watched him sleep soundly in his bed with his sweet parents watching over him, beaming. It was so sweet.

While we were in Houston, we stopped by the zoo. Hazel LOVES animals, so it was so fun to watch her reactions. She surprisingly liked the 4D Dora movie (only 15 minutes), and she was thrilled about the petting zoo.





Once we got to Beaumont, we just got to spend time with family and eat a lot of food!

I even got to go to one of my friend's baby showers. Lacy is having a girl in February!

On the last day we took a few family photos. Here are all the grandkids (except Miles) with Grandma and Grandpa Hayes.

Happy Thanksgiving! On to the other most wonderful time of the year!

Bonk & Badonkadonk

We knew it was coming... Hazel's 1st goose egg. That darn toilet! I feel like I have to explain it when we're out in public so people don't think I'm an abusive mother, but then that probably seems even more suspicious. Poor thing. The bump came up immediately, and there was NO way she was going to let me hold it.

And here's her badonkadonk. She's checkin it out herself. It looks especially good in the tight leopard pants, don't you think?

Halloween

When the family was in town this weekend, I got my hands on one of Mom's costumes - an old school nurse outfit. Hazel was originally going to be Minnie Mouse, but I just had to put her in her baby doctor scrubs that said, "Nurse in Training" on the back. James had one of my dad's old doctor jackets, so we went with the medical theme. Since the doctor was busy and couldn't make it to the ward Trunk or Treat, Hazel and I went as a duo. She loved all the kids and especially the smarties she got from friends! That night, we only had about 6 groups of trick or treaters come to our door, but it was still fun to see them and to give out the cheese balls I bought. Random!

The next day, I had to put Hazel in her Minnie Mouse outfit. I think she looks like James in a dress. Little cutie.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Ms. ONE-derful!

Hazel is ONE year old! I don't think I'm the first mom to say, "It's flown by!" Honestly, it did not fly by in the beginning. It was probably because Hazel and I hung out at home most of the day with feedings every few hours and days and nights all confused. Now that I look back at her monthly photos, I realize how quickly she's grown... and it makes me sad. Although each stage gets better it seems and it's so fun to watch her grow, I still always want her to stay my baby. I'd be happy if we could freeze time at this point. 1 year olds are the best. She just learned to walk a few weeks before her birthday (and she tests her balance by carrying balls or by drinking water on the go); she speaks the cutest baby jibberish, she says "ball" about 500 times a day, she loves "num, num" (food) - any kind, anytime, anywhere; she loves water, she loves her freedom and refuses to be forced to do anything (uh oh - I can't even get her to hold my hand), she has a pretty good dinosaur screech/squeal; she has always disliked her car seat (again, she can't stand to be restrained, but facing forward has helped); she's never been much of a sleeper (she sleeps 11 hours at night and one 2 hour nap on a good day); she loves her paci; she doesn't like real milk... yet; she has the best baby hair ever (she likes to play with her own and likes to yank mine); she has James's body type and his turned out feet (belly not included); she squeals every time she sees an opening for the stairs; she has 6 big, hilarious teeth; she has the best laugh, and she's ticklish everywhere; she still has the cutest rolls and little badonkadonk; she is fascinated with animals; she has the best sense of humor and gets my silliness; she'd still rather be held all day even though she can walk; she uses her crib as a baby trampoline; she's strong and smart; she knows exactly what she wants (which is weird since she came from 2 indecisive parents); she loves the library and books (as long as they're fast paced); she speed reads (she likes flipping pages back and forth, over and over); she always has an opinion when I give her choices for things; she loves music, but she does not like if I practice the piano; she charms everyone at the store; she points at everything (I must point a lot...); she loves other little munchkins like herself; and she loves Mommy and Daddy (the best thing ever)!
I feel so blessed to have Hazel as my daughter. That's an understatement. It's cliche, but it's true - she's the best thing that's ever happened to us. I couldn't ever imagine what it was going to be like to be a mom. It didn't seem real until we took her home from the hospital, and even then, I was skeptical. I felt and still feel so overwhelmed by the responsibility to raise this little angel. I just hope and pray everyday that I can be the mom she needs and deserves. The poor girl has to deal with James and me as new parents, trying everything for the first time. But hopefully she'll at least grow up knowing that we love her like crazy. I look at her several times a day and think, "Wow, she's my little girl." I love how Elder Jeffrey Holland refers to motherhood as "an eternal partnership with God." Thank goodness I'm not doing it on my own.
On Hazel's actual birthday, October 20th, I took her to her 12 month appointment, and it wasn't the best start of the day... note to self: never do that again. I don't know for whom is was more traumatizing though. After that, we went to the grocery store and got a birthday balloon! When she spotted the cage of balls, she about jumped out of the cart, so I let her pick out her favorite - a plain, lime green ball.

Later that day, we went to a park with no wood chips, but she was completely satisfied with the small rocks. Luckily she doesn't just eat anything she picks up anymore. What's funny is this girl would rather dig in the wood chips or rocks instead of swing.

After dinner, we put a candle in her banana yogurt (a favorite of hers) and sang her the birthday song!

We waited a week and a half for her birthday party because my side of the family was going to be in town for the BYU game at the Cowboys stadium. It was perfect weather for a party at the park! We took some pictures of our lil Hazel pumpkin a couple weeks before, so we went with a lil pumpkin theme for her party.

I can't decide which one's better... that one... or this one...

Poor little Hazel. Most of the pictures were like the latter. If only someone could've seen the jig I was doing behind the camera to try to get a smile. It also doesn't show the part where she got stuck the first time and we had to pry her out and cut bigger leg holes as well as the back of the pumpkin so she could slide in. Anyway, it was hard work but totally worth it!!

When I saw these glasses at the Party Store, I just had to get them for Hazel... especially since she kept them on her cute little face while shopping. Same thing at her party. Awesome. It's like she knew she was the star of the party and needed her rock star party glasses on.

I made a pumpkin flavored pumpkin cake for the big day. It could've looked less messy, but I left the icing of it until the last minute. It seems no one cared because there was no cake left over. As much as Hazel loves food, I expected her to devour her piece of cake. Apparently, she was more interested in the texture of it on her hands. She finally dug in after awhile.


We planned to decorate pumpkins, but the weather was so nice that we didn't get to it. The adults chit-chatted, the kids played on the playground, the guys played football, and everyone ate snacks here and there. We had apples and caramel dip, carrots, veggie chips, apple cinnamon sticks, and a fall chex mix for the party favors.

It was so great to have lots of family and friends there to celebrate Hazel's birthday. She's one loved little girl!

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY, SWEET HAZEL!

4 Year Anniversary!

Time really does fly! I take it as a good sign that our wedding seems as if it were yesterday. I love that quote that says, "If I had to choose again, I'd still choose you." I definitely feel that way about James. What a stud.

We were so lucky to have James home most of this week! We planned several dates that we wouldn't usually do, and enjoyed all our time together. It's so nice to have James's parents close so Hazel can hang out with them while we go out and play. Aside from a few house projects, we went to a fancy eat-in movie theater with recliner seats, blankets, and pillows; we went to the Dallas temple; we ate out a LOT (it was a good time for our oven to stop working, although it shorted just before I was about to bake James's favorite cookies); we spent time at the park; we got massages (ahh); and we had a fun night in as well. I picked up some spaghetti and recreated the dinner scene from Lady and the Tramp since that was James's favorite Disney movie when he was little. "Oh, thiiis is the niight...!" {singing} Hazel even got to enjoy some spaghetti and the movie a little bit before bedtime. I'm surprised James allowed her to eat spaghetti while he was in the same room. Messy, messy!

Here we are at the temple. It was bright, and no one was around to take the photo for us.

This was our night in...

...with Hazel and her 5 o'clock (red) shadow.

Here's to a billion more years! Lucky James.

Football Season

I've been ready for the fall for awhile now. Dallas set a record for the number of consecutive days that were over 100 degrees. Ugh. Today we went on a little walk though, and it was COOL! I could've put socks on my baby! With the fall comes football, which is so fun (as long as BYU and the Cowboys are winning). So far we've had some devastating losses, but we have hope for the next games! Hazel actually likes to watch football sometimes. This isn't the first time she has sported her BYU cheerleading uniform, but it actually fits her now. Aunt Natalie made her 2 cute BYU bows that will be used as pigtail bows ASAP! Her hair is growing quickly!

Jones and Hazel are so cute together. I think they look like brother and sister, but their mommas don't look a bit alike!

We also went to our nephew Austin's high school football game. He's a senior at Centennial, which is crazy because I feel like I was just a senior in high school! It was perfect weather for the game and we had a great time! Hazel especially loved the half time show. She even did a little dance for us.

Here she is with Grandma Palmer and Aunt Tami.

Waco Family Reunion

The whole Hayes clan gathered in Waco to celebrate all the August and September birthdays in our family. Hannah and Isaac already had a joint birthday party planned at the Waco water park, so we all partied there! Hazel loved the lazy river and being in her float.

Sometimes her legs get stuck in the float...

How cute are these two?

Here's sweet Miles!

Other than the issue of Hazel loudly resisting naptime, the weekend was lots of fun and relaxing. There were so many new things to look at and cousins to play with that Hazel hardly required entertainment from me.

Here's Cerra with Faith and Hazel. She's always willing to pick them up and help out!

Isaac is a total rough tough boy, so I think it's cute how sweet he is with Hazel.

We went to the children's museum while we were there and saw the Egyptian exhibit, which was great. I loved it because it reminded me of teaching 6th grade. Plus, Ancient Egypt has always intrigued me. We thought it'd be pretty cool if we could all fit on the camel for a picture... Success!


Our family also decided to do a little different activity this time. Each family member was supposed to choose a topic that we're passionate about and to share it with the rest of the family. We got the idea from our cousins' family reunion. It was fun to have a designated time for each of us to really get into something we love or think a lot about. We may have talked about these topics casually over the weekend, but we wouldn't have had a designated time to go in depth about it. I chose something related to cooking, of course! I demonstrated how to bake a delicious chocolate chip cookie. I think my topic was pretty popular because I had samples. =) Nat told us how to play Bunco, and we played that for our game night; Matt and Kylene joined together on theirs and related a little botany to spiritual life lessons; Angie educated us about sugar and how it's pretty much poison (that was hard to listen to after mine!), Dane talked to us about emergency preparedness, Mom talked about food storage and gave us all wheat grinders (awesome!), Jeff shared his thoughts on family, Dad shared a video and story about a family friend's miracle, and James talked about Dave Ramsey's book, Total Money Makeover. The kids participated by sharing one of their talents or interests. It was awesome! I bet this isn't the last time we'll do this as a family. Thanks, Nat and Jeff, for letting us trash your house all weekend! We had a blast! Next get-together - October 28th for the BYU vs. TCU game at the Cowboys' Stadium!