Storytime with Hayden

Jack 7 weeks

Here's a video of Jackson playing this morning!! He absolutely LOVES his Baby Einstein mat...just like his big brother!! Enjoy!

Jackson and Hayden Finally Meet...

Introducing Jackson to Snuggly Puppy...

Look at how proud my boys are!!!

Jason and I were both so excited for Jackson and Hayden to finally meet. After a VERY long 9 months of trying to explain that there was indeed a baby in my tummy and that he was going to come out and join our family "soon"...the day had arrived! Mom brought Hayden up to the hospital shortly after Jackson was born, and the first thing his proud big brother wanted to do was hold him. He was so gentle and sweet with him, and even introduced him to his Snuggly Puppy, which shocked Jason and I. NOBODY gets to snuggle Snuggly Puppy except Hayden. :) Hopefully that's a sign of what's to come...lots of sharing and brotherly love!!

Meeting Nana

We were so lucky that Nana was able to get away from her busy life in Iowa and come down here to help us out. She stayed with Hayden while we were in the hospital, not to mention that she surprised us and managed to come down a few days early just to help out...and even stayed an extra day after we were all home! We couldn't have done it without all of her help...and Hayden had a great time getting to spend some quality time with his Nana. Best of all though, she was able to be there and meet Jackson on the day he was born!!! I loved the fact that she was able to come to the hospital this time and that she was able to be one of the first people to get to meet him. Our boys are lucky to have such a great Nana...and I know they're both looking forward to spending some time with her this summer!! Love you Mom!

Welcome to the World Jackson Kinnick Jason Morehead!

Dr. Morris showing off Jackson...his very first photo!!!
He showed us what a strong set of lungs he has right from the start!!!

A tad unhappy...but SO stinkin perfect!!!

Taa-Daa...7 lbs 12 oz...our BIG baby boy!!!

2 very proud parents and our new baby angel!

Jackson Kinnick Jason was born on February 19th at 8:01 am. He weighed 7 lbs 12 oz and was 19 1/4 inches long. The c-section was MUCH less traumatic that I had imagined, and actually went off without much of a hitch. It took less than 10 minutes from when I recieved my spinal block until he was out...which absolutely amazed Jason and I and made it all seem so surreal. I fell in love with him the moment Dr. Morris stepped around the curtain and showed him to me (Jason was too chicken to look until he was cleaned up a bit)...and we were ALL suprised to see how much our big man weighed...almost 2 full pounds more than his big brother's birth weight! No wonder I was so stinkin' uncomfy!! Lucky Daddy was the first to hold him (again) and their bond was immediate! We were so happy and relieved that it was all over and that everyone was healthy...it was an amazing day for the Morehead family!

On Our Way to the Hospital...

This was it...the morning of THE BIG DAY!!! Jason and I had to be at the hospital at 6, so we were up at at 'em at 5. Needless to say we were both nervous wrecks, but at the same time, I think we were both starting to feel the excitement of getting to meet out son, and knew he would be here in a matter of hours! Now, 12 days later, I can't believe it's all over...but at the same time, it seems like Jackson has been here forever. He really does complete our little family, and we are all very much in love with him already...

Mr. Scrambles

Hayden with Mr. Scrambles
Nana and Hayden hiding their eyes while Daddy hides Mr. Scrambles

The cool spoon that is for the Spoon Race game...Hayden wants to use it for eating his dinner...hmmm...maybe he'd actually feed himself then!!

Daddy, Hayden and Nana playing a Mr. Scrambles game

Our friends Jamie, Chris, Devin and Gavin sent Hayden a "Big Brother" gift (how sweet, right!?!?), and boy do we have a blast with that thing! It's a game called Mr. Scrambles, and Hayden LOVES it!! Thanks so much for thinking of him guys!!! It was very sweet of you...love you all muches!

Our Sick Baby

Poor Hayden got THE WORST case of the flu again this year!!! Our poor baby was down with it for 6 LONG days...but after several days of not eating, a few visits to the doctor's office, many bottles of Gatorade, and countless bedding changes later, he's finally back to normal. It was SO hard to see him SO sick for SO long. Last year when he had this same flu, he really didn't act a whole lot different, but this time, he literally just laid in bed and slept for DAYS. We couldn't get him to keep anything down (thank goodness for anti-nausea meds), and any time we though we were in the clear...SURPRISE...not so much. We're so happy that he's back to his old self again...hopefully we won't have to deal with that for at least another year...

Meeting Daddy at the Park for a Picnic!!!

A few weeks ago we had some pretty awesome weather here in KC...and lucky for us, Daddy was able to meet us for a picnic and some play time at the park!! It was an fun way to spend some time with Daddy...can't wait to do it again!!!

Testing the Baby Gear

It's hard to believe that this used to be Hayden's carseat...we really don't realize how much he's grown until we see things like this!

Scrub-a-Dub-Dub!

I do realize that Hayden might be getting a tad too big for tub pictures, but I just can't seem to help myself...he just looks so darn cute in there!! Plus, what 16 year old doesn't love an album full of nudie bath pictures of himself, right?!?!?

Our Gymnast

First Place!!!
Check out his Form!

Doubles!

One of the Mom's Groups that we belong to scheduled a morning at one of the local gyms to let the kids run and play. We typically do our "open gym" at a different place, but this was fun for something different!! Hayden always enjoys it...so much so, that I'm usually tempted to get him signed up for some type of class...I think he's a natural!

Progress!!!

Today was a BIG day in the Morehead house!!! Hayden has pooped on the potty...not once, not twice, but THREE TIMES...TODAY!!! And to top off the excitement, he came and told me that he had to go...and didn't even throw a fit first. He just sat down...and went! YAY Hayden!! Of course, he was rewarded with prizes, but honestly, by the third time, I was out...bad Mommy. Guess a run to Target is in the cards for us tomorrow for more Pooping Prizes.

Ahhh...the excitement never ends around here!!!

From the Mouths of Babes

Hayden and I went out for a shopping trip this afternoon and stopped and had a lunch date at Subway. While we were there, we were discussing what we were going to do tonight. I explained to him (for the 300th time) that Daddy wasn't coming home tonight...that he was on a work trip, but we'd see him tomorrow. Sooo...since it's just going to be the two of us tonight, I thought we'd rent a fun movie and just snuggle. He agreed and sounded really excited about it. I then took it a step further and suggested that we watch the movie in Mommy's bed while we snuggled and he could just sleep with Mommy tonight...I remember doing that on occassion with my own mother and how much fun I thought that was. His reply: "Mommy, we can watch the movie in your room and snuggle, but I have to sleep in my bed because your belly gets in the way and there isn't enough room for me." Wow.

A Baby Update

I can't believe it...on Thursday I will be 36 weeks...and while the majority of this pregnancy has FLOWN by, these past few weeks have stalled a bit, and I'm very, very ready to NOT be pregnant...EVER again!!!
I have been going to see my ob (Dr. Morris) every two weeks now for the past month, and things have been going really well. Heartbeat has been strong, my weight gain has slowed down to a normal pace (thank you very much), and my blood pressure has been normal...(despite my cankles and swollen face). We've also been having our monthly ultrasounds, which are always very exciting for all 3 of us. Hayden loves getting to see his brother on the tv, and of course, Jason and I can't wait to see our little boy's face and are amazed by how much he changes each month. The last time we went (about 3 weeks ago), our little stinker had flipped and gone in to the "head down" position, which made things a bit more difficult on Mommy...just as his brother had done. Stinkers! However, everything looked really good as far as development and size...he was measuring right were he should be...another miracle!
The doctor who preformed the u/s did mention that there was a small pouch of fluid around Baby's kidney, but that it's fairly normal in boys, and it could correct itself after birth. Hopefully he's right, and Baby doesn't have to have anything additional done to correct it. When I asked my ob/pediatrician about it at our last visit, she didn't sound overly concerned either, and basically just told me that we'd wait to see what happens after he's here. Please say a prayer or two for our little guy that everything works itself out.
The biggest news that I have to share is...yesterday we got the phone call we'd been waiting on...my c-section is officially "on the books"...it is scheduled for Thursday, February 19th at 7:30 am. Whew...I can't believe how close that is...it'll be here before we know it!!!

Potty Training Update!

So this potty training thing has been a challenge to say the least...but we knew that it would be and were both pretty prepared for everything that it entailed. Hayden is a very "strong-willed" kiddo, so, while we had given it a shot a few different times, Jason and I could both tell that he just wasn't quite ready and the battle would have outweighed the success. In retrospect, we're both really glad that we followed our gut instead of taking the advice of...well...everyone. :)

We have been at this for 3 weeks now and Hayden is doing great!!! He VERY rarely has an accident, and when he does, he immediately tells us...which is awesome as we know he understands...score! Even better...for the past 4 days or so, he's woken up dry...from both naptime and bedtime. We're still putting him in his pull-up when he goes to bed, as I'm just not confident enough to let him attempt it in his underpants, but if he keeps this up (and I sure hope he does), this will be our last pack of pull-ups!! :) He HAS figured out how to play the system a bit, and gets up at least 3 times after we put him to bed at night at once or twice after he's down for his nap to tell us that he has to go potty...but so far, he goes each time, so we can't ignore it and send him back to bed. While it's a bit of a pain, he's waking up dry, so the positives are outweighing the negatives at this point.

Pooping is still a bit of an issue. The poor kid held it for 4 days the last time, and when he finally went he was hysterical...saying he was scared. I felt terrible for him, BUT...he did eventually go...and ON THE POTTY!!! I'm trying to load him up on pooh-friendly foods this week so that he's not able to hold it for so long and we can continue to have success so that he can see, as he says when he's finished, "it's not so bad". He's still getting his prizes for pooing, and they really do seem to work. He's now also wanting to give prizes to Daddy for going on the potty as well...very thoughtful!

Anyway, again, lots of bathroom info here...but we're just so proud of our little potty-going guy...
Great Job Hayden...Mama and Daddy are very proud of you!!!

Mid-60's in January...A Perfect Day!!!

All week I had been waiting for the predicted mid-60's day, and it finally came!! Hayden and I couldn't wait to get out there and enjoy it, so that's exactly what we did!!! After lunch I stuck him in his coat (which I ended up replacing quickly with a sweatshirt) and out we went. It felt wonderful to get to play and run and yell...and just enjoy the fresh air!!! I could take another dozen of these days or so...but it's not in the cards...the forecast is calling for 30's and snow within the next few days...back to reality we go! Let's at least hope that the groundhog DOESN'T see his shadow this year!!!

34 Weeks...Only 5 to Go!!!

I have been SO bad at documenting this pregnancy...unlike with Hayden...but here are a few pictures of me at 34 1/2 weeks. I can't believe I still have 4 1/2 weeks left...but at the same time...this pregnancy has FLOWN!!! I have been so lucky, and we are so thankful that it's been a healthy pregnancy and I've been able to be as active as I have been. We are all so anxious to meet our new little guy...and can't wait to have him be a part of our family.

Lookin' Cute!

Hayden and Mommy
My two boys...SO handsome!!!

How Precious is THIS???

He LOVES to pose by the fireplace...such a little ham!!!

Getting ready to head out for dinner the other night, Hayden looked so stinkin' cute that we just couldn't resist snapping a few pictures before we headed out the door!! Such a handsome boy!!!

Hayden's 1st Slumber Party!!!

FINALLY cashed out...they were both EXHAUSTED, but were refusing to give in...SO cute!!!
Jason tucking them in...

Our little bookworms...some things never change!!!

Our friends John, Jeannie (also pregnant...) and Michael were in town one night last weekend, and I know that Jeannie rarely gets a break, so I offered to take Michael off their hands for the evening so that they could get some time alone. When they dropped Michael off, the plan was for him to just stay and play for a few hours...but when I walked in to Hayden's room and saw them sitting on his bed reading stories to each other, I immediately called and suggested that Michael be allowed to spend the night. They agreed, and the boys had their very first slumber party!!! They even slept in the same bed, and although it literally took them over an hour to fall asleep with all of the talking and giggling they were doing, it was well worth it getting to listen to them and even getting to snap a few pictures!!! Michael is such a sweet kid, and I love that Hayden loves him so much...they truely are best buddies!!!

Mom's Club Winter Party

Making Mommy a beautiful Fruit Loop bracelet...that is...until Miss Sarah gave him the idea to EAT the Fruit Loops!!! lol!!
CONCENTRATING...

The Bubble Wrap Dance Party!!!

Hayden and I are members of the Mom's Club here in Liberty, and attempt to make it to as many events as possible. We always have a great time, and are so thankful for having this great group of people in our lives!!!

Big Boy Underpants...Potty Training Has Begun!!!

As most of you are painfully aware, we have (finally) begun the potty training journey...and so far it's been going...well??? I really have absolutely NO idea what I'm doing, but I'm just going with my gut with it, and hoping I'm doing everything correctly. Hayden actually does really, really well with peeing on the potty...in fact, on the his first day he only had 1 accident and it was 1 full week late before he had another. Pooping, however, has proven to be a different story. We've had SOME success, but for the most part, he's still going in his pull-up during naptime...and once even in his underpants. (ick) We reward him for going pee by putting stickers on a "chart" each time he goes (along with LOADS of praise), and with the pooing, I've taken it a step further and actually gone to the dollar section of Target and loaded up on some "prizes". This concept seems to work...to a degree...and he's well aware that when he DOES make it to the potty he gets a prize...but apparently, sometimes the incentive just isn't enough. Jay and I are really proud of the progress he's made so far, but are SO anxious to have this phase done and over with!!! 1 in diapers at a time please...and we're quickly running out of time!!! ...oh...and it turns out...patience IS a virtue!