A Fall Start

 Why, hello again! I can't believe it's been nearly 2 months since my last post! Life happens, I suppose. The month of October has been quite eventful for us. I'll give a quick overview of a few of the happenings that stand out the most. First and foremost:

1.  WE MOVED ~ From Seattle to Coeur d'Alene, Id. We are happy to be back in a smaller town, close to family and friends. Chris is going to continue his freelance Audio Visual career and I will be working at a chain pharmacy just 5 minutes from where we are living. Goodbye 2 hour commute!

2. I TURNED 30! ~

Throughout most of my 20's I never actually felt like an adult (at least not untill I had Hayden). Coming into my 30's I REALLY feel like I've grown into myself (if that makes any sense). I finally feel like a "grown-up." I feel comfortable in my own skin. I KNOW what I want in my life and have certainly learned what I do NOT. I am excited to by a home, marry my true love and raise our daughter together. I don't think turning 30 was all that bad. In fact, I kinda like it. My dear friends got together and threw me a surprise party to celebrate.  I felt so loved! I am truly blessed to have so many amazing people in my life.

3. HAYDEN IS NOW 1& 1/2!! ~

We took her to her well visit on the 24th.  Her stats were as follows:
23lbs 6oz (45%)
31.5" (45%)
Head Circ. 47.5 (80%)

Her vocabulary has exploded in the last month or so! She is saying all kinds of words. And she surprises us with new ones nearly every day. We are becoming very aware that she repeats things (even stuff we would rather she didn't) after only hearing it a couple of times. This household is working on PG-ing itself!
She has been teething like crazy. Just since we've been here (a little over 3 weeks) She has cut 3 molars, 2 bottom teeth and just cut her first eye tooth. After these 6 she'll only have 8 more to go!
We know have a potty chair in the bathroom. Not for any serious potty training just yet. We just wanted to get her familiar with the concept. During the first week we had it I sat her on it and, more than likely coincidentally, she peed.  I couldn't help but feel a sense of pride at the accomplishment (even if it wasn't entirely intentional). I'm thinking we'll "real-deal" potty train sometime this winter.
She also got her first hair cut. We took her to Bombshell Salon in Cd'a and had an old time friend of ours, Toni, cut it for her. Now she has little bangs and looks even that much cuter in pig tails!

I just started working this week so we had a nice, long and well needed "vacation" for the last few weeks. In Seattle our lives were SO busy and scheduled with very little down time so it's been great to have so much quality time with Chris and Hayden. Now that we're in Cd'a, Chris and I have experienced the luxury of a few date nights. Movies, dinners, a few sleep in Saturdays and even a night out at Scarywood ! Living so close to Grammy and Pappa definitely has it's perks!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYBODY! A TRICK OR TREAT BLOG POST IS SOON TO FOLLOW!

A Little of This, A Little of That

Hayden FINALLY had her 15 month well visit! Only she was 16 months by the time we got her in for her appointment. Her stats were as follows:

Height:    50% (31 inches)
Weight:   50% (23 lbs)
Head:     90% (47.5cm)

It's hard to believe she'll be 1 year and 1/2 in just a couple of months!!

As for the last few weeks? Last weekend we found a little gem in Bellevue called Crossroads Park. They have a great splash area and playground. Hayden absolutely love it, and so did we!! If you have children and live in the Seattle area we highly recommend you check it out! 

Today we hung out at Golden Gardens in North Seattle. It was crazy crowded and we almost left because we couldn't find any parking (one of the reasons we are excited to move to a less populated area). But we happened across an empty space just as we were on our way out. And we're happy we did cause Hayden had a great time digging in the dirt and if we had let her, I'm pretty sure she would have ran all the way into the water, even though it was not all that warm.

Other big new in the life of us? After MUCH consideration we have decided to move back to Coeur d'Alene, Id. We are currently on the hunt for work and plan on relocating at the beginning of October. Coeur d'Alene has always been and always will be "home" to me. I think it will be the ideal place to buy a home and raise Hayden. The transition during the next couple of months will be very challenging for us but we're VERY excited to be closer to family and friends.  I am ball of nerves and excitement as we move into this new chapter in our lives. Change is always difficult but only when we're outside of our comfort zones and challenging ourselves do we learn and grow and evolve. On to our next adventure with the spice of the unknown.

Sheri Dee Meets Hayden Marie

For those of you that don't know Sheri Dee, she is a very near and dear old time friend of our family. When I was born we lived in Norwalk, Ca. My Mom lived right around the corner from Sheri. They had been friends for a while. Perhaps I should note that my Mom's a tad bit on the young side (I'm 29, she's 44. You can do the math). Sheri is a few years younger than her and Sheri would babysit me sometimes. Sheri LOVED Boy George (I'm pretty sure she STILL totally does) and her room was covered in music posters and porcelain masks (I later went on to collect porcelain masks when I was in middle school). She worked at McDonald's (I thought this was AWESOME!) We would watch videos on MTV together. I don't personally remember ALL of this cause it was quite some time ago but I've heard many a stories over the years. I'm constantly reminded by her of things like:

1. I referred to Billy Idol as "Mo, Mo, Mo"
2. I pronounced lipstick as "Lip-dick"
3. And in my world, Chicken McNuggets were "Chicana big nuggets"

How awesome is it to have somebody that you still keep in contact with that knows these types of things about you? Pretty friggin' awesome, if you ask me! Other fun facts about Miss Sheri Dee?

* She took me to my first big concert. Who was it, you ask? None other than Janet Jackson. Her Rhythm Nation tour, even.
* She let me be her Flower Girl (they are no longer married, but little girls feel pretty damn special when they get to be in a wedding)
* When I graduated from Highschool, she gave me her wedding ring from said wedding and told me to make myself a "graduation ring" with the diamonds from it. I STILL wear it to this day, every day. It's my right hand diamond.
*She took me to see Drop Dead Fred and it was my favorite movie for the longest time!  
* We spent many a fun time baking with Sheri when I was a kid. I remember going to the store and buying all the makings for fudge and cookies and cakes along with a bottle of Pepto-Bismol for the belly ache afterwards.

Sheri always took me to do the funnest things and the memories go on and on.

I was beyond excited when she contacted me to tell me she was gonna be in Seattle for work (she lives in CA). She stopped by last Saturday for a visit and met Hayden. It really was a bit of a full circle moment for both of us. We both got a little teary-eyed during the introduction. Sheri will ALWAYS hold a very special place in my heart and it was AMAZING to see her and little Hayden together. Thank you for stopping by, Sheri! I hope we get to see you again soon. WE LOVE YOU!!!