be gentle!!

When James is wrestling/snuggling/kissing his daddy...

Most of the time I'm saying... "Be Gentle!!"

Love the smiles.  Love the kisses.  Not sure why he tries to break your nose though... :-)

4 month check up

Hayden's 4 Month Check-up

15 lbs 1 oz and 25.5 in long
(but I've decided they made an error. He's 26 in long if you ask me. :-)

Check out the toe grab!! :-)

Just for fun....
James was 15 lbs 12 oz at his 4 month check up
and 26 inches long...

flying baby!!

Thanksgiving in the Blue Mountains

So many memories of our Thanksgiving this year in the mountains.  Almost too many pictures to choose from...

special time with Mimi.

giggles and smiles with Grandpa.

playtime with my cuz Jack and my Auntie Tasha.

Beautiful view.

Teething already???

bath time buddies.

sweet baby boy.

shaving with Grandpa.

Watching George with cousin Jack.

Hangin' in the pick up truck with Uncle John.

riding in the 'wagon' with Jack.

snuggle bug.

what a view!

ooops. haha

Just found these pictures of our little pumpkins at Halloween.  Couldn't help but post these two.  Happy Fall ya'll.

Happy 4 months Hayden

Hayden, you are the cutest little fella.  Happy 4 months.  I can't wait to take you to the doctor tomorrow to see how big you are!!

You officially rolled over from belly to back over your first trip to Grammy & Papa's house- I believe it was Nov. 14th to be exact.

Your second big roll from belly to back happened over our Thanksgiving holiday with the Proses.  And... You have found your toes!!  I am still waiting to catch you on film, but many 'happy baby' poses will come soon!

You are the happiest little fella- when you are well fed and well rested. :-)  You just smile and laugh and coo.  Your little dimples are just the sweetest.  We love you sweet little man.

BUT we still haven't figured out what color hair you'll have... or what color your eyes will be!!  Plenty more to discover about you little boy.

Red??

we made it!!

Little Hayden & James & I made our first big trip down to Florida to see Grammy & Papa.  James loved getting some time to hang out with Papa, and of course Hayden loved getting some snuggle time with Gram.

Always time for some camo shopping.

Happy Birthday monkey. :-)

Papa and his grandsons.  What a good lookin' group. :-)

Gram, you gotta let me snap some more pics of you next time... Loved having a chance to visit.  Miss you guys!  Pretty sure that James and Hayden had a great time, albeit flat worn out by the end of it. :-)  Thanks for helping us work through our 'crazy' times. Love you!

you are too cute.

Hayden, You are too cute.

What a cute dimpled chub you have.

I could just eat you up. :-)

time to catch up...

My excuse for not blogging lately: my early birthday present from my awesome husband, an iPhone.

I have been hooked.  I don't know how I got along without it. ha.

I uploaded my photos for the last couple of weeks tonight, and I noticed I took more video of my little Hayden with my iPhone than I had without it- and for that I am grateful.

So, some fun playful images of my last few weeks with our little fellas and my birthday.

Lovin' capturing these little moments before they slip away.  What a gift- such an awesome birthday present.  More pictures of my sweet boys.

Thanks for the hat Aunt Dianne. :-)

So.beautiful.it.makes.me.cry.

First, I apologize for my brief hiatus from blogging.  My mother thoroughly scolded me (just kidding) and I am now returning.  In my defense, my amazing husband got me an iPhone for my birthday and I haven't been able to stop taking pictures of my kids.  I love the camera soo much!!  recap blog to come.

Most importantly: I have an OUTSTANDING correspondence to share with you.  My Dad's sister, Linda, has been so unbelievable amazing and sent me the most special gift for my sweet Hayden.  I am going to share the correspondence because it must be remembered as it occurred.  It is just that special- it deserves a place very special.

Aunt Linda- I hope you don't mind me sharing you with the world.  I just can't keep you to myself. :-)

Hi Brie,

Well, I finally got your package mailed, and on the drive home from the post office realized I had made a silly mistake.  I don't want to spoil the surprise, but need to tell you that along with the ____s I sent for Hayden, I also sent along one for a baby girl!  LOL!

What happened was that I had these stored in a cupboard where I put my sewing things, and these were stacked on top of one for a little girl.  So I picked them all up together and sent them!  On the ride home, it hit me....LACE!...why did I see LACE sticking out from the bottom of the pile?  Little boys don't wear lace!  LOL!

So, you can either go ahead and have a little girl and use this for her, or give it to a friend who has a little girl...either would be fine with me, but I doubt Hayden is going to like wearing lace.

It's a cold and wet day here in Illinois.  Beautiful though, and the air is fresh and crisp.  The sunsets have been outstanding, and tonight on the way home from town we drove down the Illinois river just to look at the view.  So pretty as the sun was setting, pink and purple clouds hovering low.   A few years ago in early Nov. Mom and I would be putting up pumpkins and peeling apples from Tanners.  I miss her so much, every day, and whenever I think about doing something fun like this I think of Mom.

Tonight I'll wrap myself in one of Mom's warm quilts, and snuggle down with a hot cup of tea to read my sewing books.  These chilly nights make it seem so cozy inside, and I always count myself blessed that God has taken such good care of me (now, if he would just do a little work on my brain!  LOL!).

Hope this finds you and your sweet little family happy and well tonight. 

Love and miss you Sweetheart,

Aunt Linda

To my surprise, THESE came in the mail.  With this beautiful hand-made card. Wow. Just Wow.

" P " on the underside of the bib... soo cool. wow.

Dear Brie & Matt,

     I'm sorry I didn't get these sent sooner, sure hope they still fit little Hayden!

~I love the Peter Rabbit characters.  These are done in shadow embroidery, and are 'drooling bibs'.  I like that you can tuck the under bib in if you life.  'Peter' is reading his mail on the bib (Peter is a very clever and studious fellow), & the other bib has 'Flopsy bunny' running accross the bottom. Flopsy is a bunny kid from one of the Tales of Peter Rabbit Stories.

I hope this finds you all well & enjoying a lovely fall season.  I thought these flowers looked like fall~ & believe it or not, Mom and I picked these native Careapois together, 10 years ago.

I love & miss you.  Please give James & Hayden a hug for me.

          Aunt Linda

ps. The buttons on these bibs are from baby gowns Dad wore.  Grandma Austin saved everything! So did Dad, & so do I. LOL!

I cannot express how much it means to me to have something so special.  It makes me tear up even thinking about it as I type these words.  I am so thankful for such a SPECIAL gift for myself and Hayden.  I cannot even believe it.  Thank you Aunt Linda- from the bottom of my heart.  You'll never know how much this means to me.  Hayden probably won't either! :-)