Tents AND Congrats!.......

First off, CONGRATS to Clay & Vanessa on the birth of Cooper Thomas today! He is a healthy baby boy.....8 lbs. 14 oz & 22 inches long! I've already got to love on him a bit. Such a sweet baby.....of course I forgot my camera when I went to see him.

If you are staying home for 3-4 days straight, you've got to build a fort or tent, right?! I loved making huge, extravagant tents when I was little so I thought Jaylen needed to experience her first tent. I was going to just do a blanket over a card table but I can't seem to find mine. So, if I have loaned it to you, will you let me know! I have no idea where it is! Her crib & some chairs did just fine though. She enjoyed the tent and of course, Paisley had to come see what the fun was all about as well!

Coming into check it out....

My mom made her this blanket for x-mas and also gave her along The Very Hungry Caterpillar book that matches it. She loves the butterflies on the blanket so we made it the floor of our tent.

Peeking in from the side....

Standing inside like a big girl (meaning not holding onto anything)....

Trying to touch the roof......

Showing Paisley how to get in.....

Loving on Paisley.......she LOVES this dog. Paisley is so good to let her lay on her, pull at her ears, and just mess with her. I think Paisley kind of likes all the attention she gets from Jay!

Read your bible......

I'm finally trying to get some videos uploaded to YouTube. Still trying to figure out how it all works....but I'm getting there. Not sure how to get the video to play on my blog instead of having to click the link to youtube.

Jaylen is almost 1 year old in this video. This is one of her favorite bible class songs. Too cute.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJCgzTv-Gbs

Just checking in....

I'm sort of out of the blogging habit lately. With our house for sale & getting quite a bit of activity plus us looking at houses for ourselves.....I've been a bit busy with lots of stuff on my mind. The other night I laid in bed for over an hour after we went to sleep with thoughts of all different kitchens, bathrooms, closets, etc running through my mind. They are all starting to run together and I feel like I could go through 20 & still not pick one. We really need to sit down, nail down location & price, and then go from there cause those are 2 biggies. We hate to move to north Edmond when Gavan is still going to be working at Chesapeake so I'm thinking we should focus on the available ones not so far up that way. Oh my....I know we'll pick one & ours is going to sell & this is actually a really fun time but it can be a bit stressful.


On another note, I'm SO glad we have power & I'm PRAYING we don't lose it this winter. Most of you know, during the ice storm last December, we got to live with the Lawrences for a week when our house was without power. Mind you, Jaylen was only 3 weeks old, their house is about 900 sq ft and there were 4 adults & 2 dogs total living there! It was fun to have a sleepover all week but not with a 3 week old preemie baby! We are forever grateful that they let us stay with them. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed till this stuff melts!


I've also been slacking at picture taking lately. Jaylen is growing like a weed & is so close to walking. She took her first steps a few days ago so she's just going to take off some day. She's such a sponge right now & loves to talk! She says LOTS of words & animal sounds which are funny to hear. She LOVES bible class & she likes to "sing" some of the words of the songs & likes to do the actions too. Here are just a couple of Jaylen from the last couple weeks.

she looks skinny to me in this pic.....

PJ day at Sonshine School.....she hangs out at the bottom of the slide when they are in the playroom.

I found her like this the other night before I went to bed. Spit out paci...check; blankie in hand....check; took wall hanging off wall before going to sleep (its behind her)....check; stuck foot outside of crib...check.

this is what a fish says!

Selling our house......

We have decided to sell our home so if you or anyone you know is interested, let me know! We absolutely love our home, location, neighbors, etc but it's time to move on! We are selling it for sale by owner so comment or shoot me an email at melodyjanebyrd@yahoo, if you want more info!

Baby Tagged.....by Amy

1. Were you married at the time? Yes, for 4 years.

2. What were your reactions when you found out you were pregnant? We had lost a baby about 5 months before this so we were VERY excited!

3. How old were you? I was 27 & Gavan was a month shy of 27.

4. How did you find out? We took a test at home together & it turned positive quickly!

5. Who did you tell first? Ummm......I think it was Doug & Dixie but they were sworn to secrecy!

6. Did you want to find out the sex? Yes we did. It was just Gavan & I at the ultrasound & then we told our separate families in fun ways.

7. Due date? December 15, 2007......Gavan's birthday!

8. Did you deliver late or on time? 4 weeks early

9. Did you have morning sickness? During the first trimester, I was sick off & on throughout the day. As long as I kept something in my stomach all day, it never made me sick enough to throw up.

10. What did you crave? Sonic cheeseburgers, chips & salsa

11. Who/what irritated you the most? My "irritable uterus" (as the hospital kept telling me) irritated me the most as it would contract from the smallest thing & sent me into pre-term labor at 29 weeks! Luckily, they stopped it but it kept me in the hospital for 12 days on bedrest & then home on bedrest for another 5 weeks!

12. What was your first child's sex? A sweet baby girl!

13. How many pounds did you gain throughout pregnancy? 32 pounds

14. Did you have any complications during pregnancy? Well, as I said above......I was on bedrest for a total of 7 weeks; went into pre-term labor at 29 weeks; delivered at 36 weeks; cord was around her neck but she perked up after several minutes

15. Where did you give birth? Lakeside Womens Hospital

16. How many hours were you in labor? About 3

17. Who drove you to the hospital? Gavan

18. Who watched? Gavan

19. Was it natural or c-section? Vaginal birth with my lovely epidural!

20. Did you take medication to ease the pain? Yes

21. How much did your child weigh? 5 lbs, 10 oz

22. Did your child have any complications? She was a little jaundice when we left the hospital & it just got worse from there due to my milk NEVER coming in & baby Jay was not getting enough to eat so she wasn't pooping so she wasn't getting rid of the bilirubin so she wasn't getting rid of the jaundice! She was hospitalized at 5 days old for 2 nights with an IV & was under the lights. After that, she's been SO healthy & has still not had a round of antibiotics to this day (knock on wood).

23. What did you name her? Jaylen Jane Byrd

24. How old is your first born today? Will be 14 months on Monday!

Women....

I got this in an email from my mom & really liked it. Love you girls!

Time passes .

Life happens .

Distance separates .

Children grow up.

Jobs come and go .

Love waxes and wanes .

Men don't do what they're supposed to do.

Jobs come and go .

Hearts break .

Parents die .

Colleagues forget favors .

Careers end .

BUT . . . . . . . . .

Sisters are there, no matter how much time and how many miles are between you.

A girl friend is never farther away than needing her can reach .

When you have to walk that lonesome valley and you have to walk it by yourself,

the women in your life will be on the valley's rim, cheering you on.

Praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on your behalf,

and waiting with open arms at the valley's end .

Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk beside you . . .

Or come in and carry you out . Girlfriends, daughters, granddaughters,

daughters-in-law, sisters, sisters-in-law, mothers, grandmothers,

aunties, nieces, cousins and extended family, all bless our life!

The world wouldn't be the same without women, and neither would I .

When we began this adventure called womanhood,

we had no idea of the incredible joys or sorrows that lay ahead.

Nor did we know how much we would need each other .

Every day, we need each other still .

Thank you to all the women who make my life meaningful!

I know, I know.....

Christmas is over so I need a new background. I'll get to it soon! Too much going on.

I've been a single mom for 2 nights now since Gavan has been in Miami. Michael, Gavan, Doug & Stauder went out for the game & are getting to stay in Dixie's mom's condo on the beach. So hopefully today they can all enjoy themselves even though we lost last night. Gavan said the weather is beautiful there and they were headed to Key West earlier this morning to have lunch & then whatever. Lucky dogs.

I'm heading to the airport in about an hour or so to pick up Katie for our First Girl's Weekend! I'm very excited about it. Katie, Charity, Steph & I (college friends) decided to do a girl's getaway weekend once a year with no hubbies or babies. I'm the only one that has a baby right now but they are ALL 3 PREGNANT and due in May & June!!!!!! So yep, it's me & 3 pregos hitting Tulsa this weekend! So if you are adding things up, Gavan is in Miami & I'm having a girl's weekend with no babies! I'm meeting my mom & sis half way to Wichita this afternoon & they are watching Jaylen for us. First time away from me EVER. I think I'll be okay with it but I don't want to make it a habit quite yet! Jaylen will have a blast I'm sure!

The girls: Me, Steph, Charity, Katie.......this was taken a few years ago.
Well, I'm off for the weekend. Hope everyone has a great one!