Sleeping

I haven't posted about it yet, purely because I don't want to jinx it. That being said ( while I knock on wood) my sweet Hayesie has been sleeping through the night!  In his crib I might add! I am so excited! These last few nights have been the first times we've slept through the night since he was born, and let me tell you what, I enjoy sleeping all the way through the night! So go Hayes!

Teeth

It's true, he has some teeth! Two little ones on the bottom. They are razor sharp and he's decided eating is much better if he bites a few times. We're working on it. 

Suspenders

Being silly

6 month stats and another Hayesie update {October 22, 2013}

Hayes had his 6 month check up today 

He got his shots and they accidently hit a vein. He bled everywhere. 

The doctor says he looks really great. He is meeting all of his milestones and growing well. We talked about the spot on his leg, he said not to worry it was just a birth mark. We just don't want to see anymore. 

He weighs: 17.5 pounds

He is something like 26 inches tall ( almost half my height already)

His head is growing and looks great. 

I love good reports from the doctor. The one thing we talked about that is hard is letting him cry himself to sleep. Baby steps. 

Hayesie eating

Hayesie is turning into quite the eater. He is so interested in food and drinks. He has really enjoyed baby food this far. Right now he eats squash, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, and pears. Next up- peaches. Oh he has also tried real bananas and pinto beans.

Hayesie's Half Birthday {October 13, 2013}

I feel like everything we can celebrate, should be celebrated. So, because I love Alice in Wonderland, we celebrated Hayes's 1/2 birthday. He is now officially 6 months old. I feel like any excuse to have a cake is a good reason to have a cake.

I can't believe we have had our Hayesie boy for 6 months. What a crazy 6 months its been, and probably the best 6 months of our lives. We just love this kid. So, HAPPY 1/2 Birthday Hayes!! We will love to celebrate you for the rest of our lives! Love you sweetie pie!

6 Months {October 13, 2013}

This boy is quite the character. I love learning all the new things about him. Here are a few of the things I have learned lately:

- He thinks is SO funny when people sneeze. (But doesn't like it if you laugh when he does)
- He has yet to sleep in his crib through the night. I think its because he HATES being alone. He did however, take a nap there, and I have hope that its just the beginning.
- He loves to be around people and when people tell him he's cute.
- He loves when we lift him in the air and say "Super baby"- he laughs every time
- He liked rice cereal at first, but HATES it now. He even gags when we put the spoon to his mouth.
- He is almost sitting up.
- He rolls from his tummy to his back really well now.
- His red bird and the music box are his favorite toys.
- He really likes his bouncer now.
- He tolerates his swing.
- He says "Dadada" and "Mamamama" Sam and I are both so proud.
- He growing lots more hair, for a little while we thought it was red, but have decided its not red but pretty blonde and brown.
- He is seriously the whitest baby ever.
- He rides in his stroller without his car seat now, and he really likes it. He falls asleep almost every time we walk.
- He is the happiest baby ever 

Hayesie Waysie

My sweet Hayes is just so fun and full of life. He is babbling like crazy and just brings a smile to my face. He loves to laugh and giggle. I have so many fun videos of him laughing and talking. How did we get so lucky to have the happiest boy on earth??

Hayes loves this red bird
He loves when we sing him the ABC's
He loves being talked to
He loves music
He loves the park
He loves kids
He loves his grandmas
He loves his grandpas
He loves to look at himself

 

 

Hayes loves the cabin too, and his aunts, and his cousins!

But he loves his mama most of all :) 

Life Lately {October 8, 2013}

My dad celebrated his 57th birthday on Sunday. It was conference weekend, so we went and had dinner at the cabin and listened on the radio to conference. The cabin has been so nice lately. I have loved being up there. I know my dad is happiest at the cabin too. He is such a great person. I admire how hard he works, and how great he is. He is the rock of our family. He is such a jokester, but he also is probably the biggest spiritual giant I know. I am grateful for him in my life, and for the great grandpa he is to Hayes.

 

This past weekend was also the marathon. The marathon has always been such a spiritual event for me. There is something so amazing about not only that race, but the whole feeling around it. Its hard to explain. I thought I would be sadder to not be running this year, but honestly, I am no where near ready for it. I think having Hayesie, and knowing that I didn't run because I had him made things easier. I wouldn't trade one second of being pregnant or having him to run the marathon. I am however, excited and determined to run next year. I am hoping to run another marathon in between then and now as well. I like how I feel when I run. Ash and Kate ran though, and they both did AWESOME! Ash was super nervous for her run, but she was happy and positive the WHOLE time. I was so impressed with her. Kate did really well, and ran it about what she usually does. She is such a strong, consistent runner. I admire her consistency, and her ability to work so hard. They are both such amazing women, and runners. I ran a little portion with Kate, and we were talking about how amazing it would be to have me, Ash, Kate, Mom, and Al run one together. I think that would be such an amazing experience for us. I am hopeful that we can make it happen. I think Al would really like to run one, and I hope she sets a goal and does it.

Hayes is just as happy and fun as he always is. He hasn't been sleeping very well lately. I am hoping that after we go to the doctor we can start him on solid food, and hopefully the sleeping will get better. He is growing so big. I weighed him at my mom's office today and he weighed more than 18 pounds! I feel like he isn't too chunky, and not too thin either, just perfect.

 

 

I have been really trying to make some decisions and redecorate some of my house. I feel like right now it really isn't an accurate reflection of our family. I started thinking about all the things that Sam and I like, and we really don't show that very well in our home. I have decided I need to pain the kitchen, paint the master bed room, paint the guest room, and re-do the stripes in the front room. I took down almost all the decorations in the front living room, and I am going to only put back the things that looks like us. I also am trying to update things, I finally started getting some pictures of Hayes hung up. We are getting some family pictures done the end of the month, and I want to get those hung up in our room and the front room. I feel like I am finally starting to understand who I am and what I like, so I can finally start translating that into our home. Its interesting how hard it is to figure out who you really are and what you really like. I never realized how difficult that could be. I have come to realize that the little girl in my kindergarten picture, was probably one of the most accurate versions of myself. Curled hair, nautical wear, and colorful pictures all around. I wonder when I lost that little girl? Whenever it was, I am glad to final realize I want her back. It is true what they say, everything I needed to know, I learned in kindergarten.

I love my days off with Hayes. I love walking and running errands. I love spending time with him without having to worry about where we need to be. I love that time with him where everything revolves around the kind of day he's having. If he wants to sleep late, we sleep late (ya right). If he wants to play with his toys and go to the park, that's what we do. I love being able to walk. Its nice to get out and see our area. Walking with him and Gator is one of the happiest parts of my week. I am so grateful I get that time with him. I am excited to be home during the holidays and being able to bake, and make candy and decorate the house. I am excited to feel like I can finally enjoy the holidays. I can hardly wait to experience the holidays with Hayes.

So, Sam and I are trying to buy a boat. This is Sam's life long dream, to own a boat and spend time on it with the family. He wants to teach Hayes to wake board and to love the water. The other day he said to me "I wish my dad was here so him, Hayes and I could go to the lake together. I think he would have really liked that." He feels the closest to his dad on the lake. I love that. I am excited to raise our family with a boat and out enjoying the water. I think that time together will be so special and important. I hope that everything goes through so we can be out there next summer. I love that Sam has a vision of what he wants his life to be, and that we will be able to hopefully accomplish that. My vision is just to have quality time as a family, and to be active and outside. The boat fits perfectly into that. I am grateful that Sam and I both have the same vision for our family. I hope Hayes loves the water and being out there as much as we do. I am so proud of Sam and how hard he works to accomplish his goals. He is such a great provider, and is the best saver I have ever met. I am so grateful for that. He is a great example to Hayes, and I am so grateful for that as well. How luck I am!

Dear Hayes {October 1, 2013}

Dear Hayes:

Lately I have been feeling a little sad and disconnected. I have been having quite the pity party. When we go places I love that all the attention is on you, but I hate getting lost in everything. I think the straw that broke the camel's back, was when we were out seeing some people and we had been there for more than a half hour and someone said "Oh Kacee, I didn't even realize you were here. I guess I really didn't notice you. Well, that's what happens when you have a baby, you just aren't important any more." Um ouch.

I don't need a lot of attention, but I do still want to matter. So, I was pretty sad. As I sat in that room with all those people, feeling pretty crappy about myself, I noticed something. You never took your eyes off me. You never forgot I was there. I thought about it and your eyes were the only ones that mattered to me anyways. I think that our Heavenly Father set things up that way, a new mom gets lost to everyone else, but not to the most important person. How grateful I am for you and for you never forgetting me. You make me feel special and important and I owe you forever for that. Thank you for keeping your eyes on me. I promise I won't ever take my eyes off you. You will always be special and important to me. You are the only one that matters to me.

You bring so much joy and happiness to my life. I love you forever.

Love, Mom

My talk {September 15, 2013}

I had to give a talk in church, and I was an absolute wreck. My bishopric asked me to talk about miracles. I really wanted to remember it- so here's my talk:

Miracles

I thought I would take a minute to introduce myself. Even though we have been members of this ward for more than 4 years, there are many of you that I don’t know.  I spend quite a bit of time in the hall ways with my sweet little baby, so I apologize many of you may not recognize me. My name is Kacee Weldin, I am married to Sam Weldin we have been married just over 5 years and we have a 5 month old little boy named Hayes. We teach 6-7 year olds in primary, and we feel very blessed to get to hang out with them for a couple of hours each week.

So, I feel like I need to begin my talk with a disclaimer, I am not a spiritual giant by a long shot, and I feel very inadequate speaking to all of you today. That being said, I am in constant amazement of how my Heavenly Father works, so even though I may not by very knowledgeable, I have been incredibly blessed to have experienced and witness many amazing miracles in my life. And, so I knew when Brother Van Lehn asked me to speak today about miracles that my Heavenly father would help me know what to say.  I found two talks in regards to miracles, one given by President Howard W. Hunter and the other by Sister Sydney S. Reynolds that I wish I could just read word for word to you, because they summed up everything I would want to say, but much more beautifully than I could ever do. But, my dad said the church frowns on plagiarism, so I will only share small parts, but encourage you to read or listen to them if you get the chance. 

I have been so incredibly blessed in my life to have experienced life changing miracles. The fact that I am standing here today, and have sweet healthy little baby boy are some of the most precious recent miracles in my life. The day that Hayes was born I refer to as my day of miracles. So, many miraculous things happened, that can only be explained as gifts from a loving, and aware Heavenly Father.   I will spare you many of the details but during my labor with Hayes I had some complications and ended being in labor for a significant amount of time and ended having to have an emergency c-section. Both Hayes and I had to have quite a bit of medical attention during the delivery, and after he was born. A nurse made a comment to my husband in the hospital that really hit home the gravity of the situation when she said “Sir, you are a lucky man. If it wasn’t for the miracle of modern medicine you would not have a wife and son today.” During the day of my delivery I received multiple blessing from Sam and my dad, not only to help me but to help our sweet baby, who was at the time struggling. Although I don’t remember exactly what was said in those blessings, I do remember Sam saying that we were both going to be ok.  I am eternally grateful for the miracle of modern medicine, the power of the priesthood, and a loving Heavenly Father that blessed me and my sweet baby that night.  To me, that day was just as significant at Moses parting the Red Sea. I was grateful that my Heavenly Father was willing to bless me and my family with such a life changing miracle. Part of me feels like I was asked to give this talk, purely so I could publicly thank my Heavenly Father for that miracle in my life, so I would feel very ungrateful if I did not expression my appreciation to him today.

In a talked given by Sydney S Reynolds in April of 2001 entitled “A God of Miracles” she shares a similar story about her daughter giving birth to twins, a boy and a girl,  3 and a half months early. After months of constant monitoring and care, the little boy is release home but the little girl continues to struggle. The doctor suggest that a surgery needs to be done to help open her air way and to open her stomach to help her breath and eat better. This was a particularly terrifying surgery, because the repercussion could be long lasting. Sister Reynolds family gathered together to fast and pray on December 3. On December 4^th , they received this letter :

Dearest Family, Wonderful news! Blessing from the Lord. Our heartfelt thanks for your prayers and fasting in behalf of our little girl. Yesterday morning she came off the ventilator and has been off for 24 hours at this writing. To us, it is a miracle. The medical staff are still guarded about predicting the future, but we are so grateful to the Lord and to you. WE are praying that this will mark the beginning of the end of her hospital stay. And we even dare to hope that she’ll be home for Christmas.

-She did make it home for Christmas, and both babies are doing just fine.

In their family they referred to this miraculous event as their “parting of the Red Sea experience”, I do the same with my experience with Hayes.  

Mighty miracles such as these are evident throughout history and particularly so when Christ was on the earth. In a talk given by Howard W. Hunter entitled The God That Doest Wonders, he shared of many of the miracles Christ performed on earth. President Hunter made the following statement:   

It is the most remarkable to witness one who is deaf made to hear again. But surely that great blessing is no more startling than the wondrous combination of bones and skin and nerves that lets our ears receive the beautiful world of sound. Should we not stand in awe of the blessing of hearing and give glory to God for that miracle, even as we do when hearing is restored after it has been lost?

As I sat and thought about that question, I began to think about all the amazing things that I have been blessed with, that I take for granted. Like President Hunter mentions, hearing is such an amazing miracle that takes no effort on our part, but can be devastating if it is lost, and the restoration of it is quite miraculous.  As I thought about the many miracles that exist within my own body, and within my own home I began to think of the tender mercies our Heavenly Father gives and shows us on a daily basis. Seemingly insignificant things that to each of us can be monumental and can only come from an aware and loving Heavenly Father. Keys lost and found.  Work scheduled changed to fit the need of a new mother.  Marathons finished despite injury and difficulty. Paths not taken or doors not opened, that left room for something greater to take its place, all gifts from our Heavenly Father, and all miracles in their own right. 

Sister Reynolds in her talked entitled A God of Miracles shares a story of being in college and frantically trying to finish an assignment and prepare to leave for a trip. She was doing laundry in the dorms and was trying to switch her laundry from the washer to the dryer. Unfortunately, all the dryers were taken and had a number of minutes left on their cycles. She was upset and knew that she was not going to be able to complete all of her tasks before she needed to be on the road. She went back upstairs very discouraged. While she was upstairs she felt a prompting to go back down to the laundry room and check again. She questioned the feeling for a moment, but decided to check it out. When she went back down, she found two dryers open and was able to get her laundry completed in time to leave for her trip. She asks the question:

Could the Lord possibly be concerned about smoothing my way in such a small but, to me, important matter? She answers the question by saying “ I have learned since through many such experiences that the Lord will help us in every aspect of our lives when we are trying to serve Him and do His will.” She goes on to say “ I believe that all of us can bear witness to these small miracles. We know children who pray for help to find a lost item and find it. We know of young people who gather the courage to stand as a witness of God and feeling his sustaining hand. We know of friends who pay their tithing with the last of their money and then, through a miracle, find themselves able to pay their tuition or their rent or somehow obtain food for their family. We can share experiences of prayers answered and priesthood blessings that gave courage, brought comfort, or restored health. These daily miracles acquaint us with the hand of the Lord in our lives.”

I, like many of you, experience these private miracles, or tender mercies on a near daily basis. One time while traveling home from Las Vegas with my sisters, I blew a tire. After pulling off the side of the road, I soon realized that I didn’t have all the tools necessary to change the tire. We were at least an hour or so away from home, and it was starting to get late. After a quick prayer, my sisters and I were blessed to find a gentleman who was able to help us change the tire and get on our way home again. In this instant in my life, I asked the same question that sister Reynolds asked.. Could the Lord possibly be concerned about smoothing my way in such a small but, to me, important matter? My answer, much the same as hers, is yes. My Heavenly Father is aware of me, and my needs above even my own comprehension. Elder David Bednar gave a talk in General Conference entitled The Tender Mercies of the Lord in which he shares this story of his first experiencing speaking in General Conference:

 

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf had just finished speaking and had declared his powerful witness of the Savior. Then we all stood together to sing the intermediate hymn that had previously been announced by President Gordon B. Hinkley The intermediate hymn that morning was “Redeemer of Israel.” Now, the music for the various conference sessions had been determined many weeks before and obviously long before my new call to serve. If, however, I had been invited to suggest an intermediate hymn for that particular session of the conference – a hymn that would have been both edifying and spiritually soothing for me and for the congregation before my first address in this Conference Center I would have selected my favorite hymn, “Redeemer of Isreal.” Tears filled my eyes as I stood with you to sing that stirring hymn of the Restoration.

He goes on to say:

Near the conclusion of the singing, to my mind came this verse of the Book Of Mormon “ But behold, I, Nephi will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those who, he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance.”

The Lord uses miracles to show how aware he is of each of us, and to help increase our faith. I have noticed that after I recognize a miracle in my life, I have a better understanding of just how dependent I am on him in my daily life. I am also made more aware of how much I am talking to him in prayer. It is very humbling to be blessed by a miracle, and then to have to begin a prayer with an apology for being away for so long.

I have a sister who is an amazing journal keeper and is always noting her thoughts and feelings. She keeps a detailed record and history of her life and events around her.  As she looks back, she is able to see many additional miracles that she hadn’t noticed while in the moment. As I prepared for this talk, I began to notice more tender mercies in my life. I was inspired to accept a challenge to journal my daily miracles, and to make an effort to watch for the additional miracles in my life that may otherwise go unnoticed.  I encourage you to challenge yourself to not only notice the private miracles or tender mercies that our Heavenly Father gives us, but to write them down and share them with your loved ones. Making an effort to notice, and identify private miracles in my life has made me more aware of just how personally my Heavenly Father knows me, and how much I actually rely on him to make it through each day.  I feel grateful to my Heavenly Father for showing me how loved I am and for his great power in my life.

 I share Sister Reynold’s sentiments when she stated: God did part the Red Sea, and He did give us the Book of Mormon. He can heal us from our sins. And He can and will bless us, His children in our daily lives. I know that he lives and loves us and is today a God of Miracles. I am prepared to testify that there is today, as there was yesterday and will forever, be a “God of Miracles” who loves his children and desires to bless them.

 I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

Life Lately {September 30, 3013}

Sometimes life just gets going so fast that I cant hardly believe it. It seems like Hayes is just growing up before my eyes and there's not a lot I can do to stop it. I love seeing how grow up and learning new things. Every time he meets a milestone, strangely, I feel a sense of relief. Almost like I am so worried he won't meet them, then when he does, I feel overly proud and excited. I hope I can relax a little bit, or he is going to think he is the extraordinary human being because we throw a party every time he does any little new thing.

Some things I love about Hayes are:
- He is always happy. He loves when people talk to him. This actually proves to be quite a problem sometimes though, because then everyone thinks its an invitation to touch him and get way too close. We were in Vegas last week visiting Sam's sister, and in the mall every person that talked to him- he gave a big smile. So, they all thought it would be ok to touch him. I absolutely hated it. I don't mind if people we know touch him, but I HATE when strangers do, and especially when they touch his face. I feel like I need to sanitize him after. You just never know if people wash their hands or where they have been or who they have been in contact with. Yuck.

- He LOVES to watch football. I is seriously mesmerized by it. I am not sure what it is he is drawn to, but he loves it.

- He is VERY interested in food. When we were out to dinner the other night at Paula's, he would open his mouth every time someone took a bite. Sam and I both felt terrible eating in front of him. I just feel too nervous to start introducing foods to him too quickly. I really want to talk to his doctor before I start feeding him anything from the table. I know its a little extreme- but I would feel terrible if he had a bad reaction to something or if I really screwed up his eating later on. Better be safe than sorry.

He was loving rice cereal for a little while there, but now he gags when we try to feed it to him. I put some rice cereal in his bottle on the days he goes to Grandma Sydney's and he seems to do just fine. Other than that, he doesn't take a bottle so I can't really add anything other than that.

- He is pretty silly. It seems like he loves to laugh and tease us. He has such a fun, outgoing personality.

- He babbles and talks ALL THE TIME! He loves to do these high pitched screams too. Sam always asks him to "use his inside voice" hahaha

- He loves Gator and thinks he is so funny.

Having Hayes in our lives has been one of the greatest blessings. He is a joy and so fun. I literally thank my Heavenly Father every day for sending me such a sweet boy.

5 Months {September 13, 2013}

Our sweet Hayesie is just growing like a weed. He is so much fun and I know I always say this, but I just love being this little guy's mama. He is a lot of work, but I can't imagine anyone more worth it than him. He is getting so big and more grown up everyday. He likes to be able to see whats going on and LOVES when we just sit and talk to him. He literally could talk to us all day long. He likes his toys, but not as much as he likes people talking and playing with him. He is still teething like crazy and sucks on his lips. He rolls over a little bit, but doesn't really seem to want to very bad. I'm not too worried about it, because I know he can do it. He is a pretty good sleeper at night, but is a terrible napper. He is wearing anywhere from 3-6 mth clothes to 9-12. No more 0-3 months- they are all put away now.

He definitely loves his mama the most, but I keep telling Sam that when he gets older he will probably love him more and cry when he has to stay with me. We love our sweet like Hayesie baby!