Vaccinations

Bayleigh had her "well-baby" visit at Shelbyville Peds today. The "well-baby" term I believe is becoming an "annual check up" visit. This is sad because I know my baby is growing up. :( Bayleigh weighed 35.5 pounds and was 38.5 inches tall. She is remaining on her own curve, so Dr. Ariel Stilwell was not concerned. She noted in her account that Bayleigh is above average in development and was impressed with her smarts. :) Not gonna lie--makes momma proud.

This visit was a little bittersweet for me because Bayleigh also got her 4 shots of vaccinations for Kindergarten, (2 in each thigh). She has been SO excited to get them because Max, Colin, and Penelope has already had theirs. She swore she wouldn't cry and that she was going to be a big girl. Shot 1, OUCH. Shot 2, louder OUCH! Shot 3, Ouch with a broken voice. Shot 4--OUCH with full blown tears. :( I teared up too, no surprise. The RN that gave the shots said they hold that one for last because it does burn so much. It was the MMR. I was so sad for Bayleigh because she HONESTLY tried SO hard not to cry. It brings tears to my eyes just typing it here. I know she doesn't go to Kindergarten until next August, but they said she is old enough now to get them so we went on ahead and did them so that we have it out of the way.

No pictures with this post. It is late and I just wanted to get the information down so I didn't forget. Until next time, and thanks for reading!
Jenn

Give Thanks and Be Merry!

The holidays are upon us! This is a time of year where typical stresses tend to take the fun out of the holidays and really put a damper on things for me, but this year is different. I am not stressing. I'm not to an extent. Thanksgiving had a couple of rough spots prior to arriving, but turned out to be excellent. We always host Thanksgiving here and our families come together and we eat, and eat, and eat, and eat...well, you get the point. It was just nice. Papa Reynolds didn't come because it was very cold that day and he didn't want to get out and get sick. I understand that. It would have been nice for him to come, but instead we just went to him. Mom and Mimi fixed him a plate of food and he LOVED it! The two of them and Kenya and I took it up to him. He of course asked about Bayleigh who was sleeping back at the house.
Black Friday came and was SUPER this year. I was able to get some GREAT deals that day and get a lot of Christmas shopping done at those great prices, so that makes for a wonderful day. Poor Bayleigh, we woke at 1:30 am to head to Wal-Mart and once we got home. She fell asleep at 2:30 pm and slept until 7:30 the NEXT morning! LOL! She has been Black Friday shopping every year since she was 12 days old! :)
Yesterday, (Saturday), we put up our tree and hopped right into the Christmas spirit! I am excited this year. I am ready to go to Christmas at the Zoo on the 16th with Eric, Rachel, and Max. I am ready to go on our cabin trip the weekend of my birthday. I am just ready for the family time that is on the way! Bayleigh has been so excited about Christmas this year too! I can't wait for her to open her gifts! She is going to flip when she sees I found her an iCarly hoodie! I flipped when I found it and the best part--$3!!!! See?! I LOVE Black Friday!!!!
Ok, this time. Since the computer was down for a week or so, I am only going to post a picture of our tree. I have a couple of accounts on my computer and have to work out the best way to access my pictures from other accounts to post, so short and sweet this time. We went with a red and gold theme this year. I was afraid I wouldn't like it, but I REALLY do! There will be more to come once we get Bayleighs ornament personalized and I will take a picture of her hanging it and then zoo and cabin pictures too!
Until next time, have a wonderful day and check back soon!
Love,
Jenn

Officially 5!

What a great celebration we had!!! Bayleigh's 5th birthday party was Saturday, November 14th, 2009 @ the Waldron Baptist Church. We celebrated with cake, cupcakes, and an ice cream bar. I think it went great! I typically do food and go the whole nine yards, but this year things are tight--for everyone so I thought we would keep it simple. The turn out was great and I was once again reminded how amazing our family and friends are. It is rewarding to see that we are surrounded by the best of the best people. Thank you for all who came and made Bayleigh's 5th birthday such a great success! The following is a list of all who attended, (for my reference at a later date), and then it is on to the pictures!
Libby, Jayme, Jon, Hallie, Hadlie, and Gracie Ross (Hadlie won the stick the tail on the donkey game).
Candi, Colin, Cate, and Melanie--came later Crouch
Jessica Rose
Eric, Rachel, and Max Rutherford
Chuck Rutherford
Grammy
Papa Tony
Papa Reynolds
Mimi
Barbie and Macy Bulton--I used to babysit for Macy.
David, Kristen, and Brooklyn Hudnall
Jennifer, Chaille, Silas, and Avery Frye. (Bay has ridden to school with Kristen a couple of times who picks up Avery as well, and Jennifer told me that Avery says the 3 of them make a good team)That made me smile. Bayleigh asks about him EVERYDAY when we leave school.
Steve, Kim, and Kaitlynn Burris
Donnie, Theresa, Kaleb, and Elijah Gray
Makayla and Hannah (Bay went to pre-k with M last yr and H this yr)
Donna Scott and Trenton Case (T-Man!)
Naomi Heuer
Jodi, Craig, and Calleigh Alexander
Bridget, Annison, and Daton Bartlett
and
Danny Crouch
I am pretty sure I got everyone. PLEASE forgive me if I missed someone and let me know so I can add you. :) My day was CrAzY! And I always feel so bad that I don't get the chance to socialize with everyone as much as I would like to.

5 is turning out to be pretty awesome. Bayleigh has it in her head that she is now a big girl and wants to do EVERYTHING on her own. When rinsing her hair in the shower--no tears because she is a big girl. When brushing her hair after--no tears because she is a big girl. I am like YES! Bring on 5 if this is what comes with it! LOL! I'm not gonna lie, last night was rough. I ALWAYS get so emotional and I try not to, but I just think that my tears are more tears of joy, just sheer joy than anything. When I tell you that I am so proud of my daughter, the sentence doesn't even come close to being able to express my actual emotions. I LOVE this child more than life itself. She is in every breath I take and every beat of my heart.
Bayleigh stayed with her Uncle Eric, Aunt Rachel, and Cousin Max last night after her party. There was a late night call with tears from her, which surprised me, but I think that it was because she was beyond exhausted and once she spoke to me and was cuddled by aunt Rachel she watched a show on t.v. and was able to sleep all night. :)

Mommy and the 5 year old!

Larry's cousin Kim did a wonderful job on the cake yet again! I call them Kimmie Cakes and she has made Bayleigh's birthday cakes each year. We love them. I had this idea and just wanted her to draw this on a sheet cake and to my delight she somehow made this 3D ice cream cone and I thought it was great! Kudos to Kim for topping herself once again!

Daddy, Bayleigh, and Mommy!

Before Bayleigh blew out her candle she closed her eyes and made her wish. I SO missed it on camera. :( I hope she wished for the world and I hope she gets it! :)

I really like this picture.

This was one of her gifts from Larry and I. I bought this in Bloomington when I was alone and this dang cat meowed the WHOLE drive home. I thought--how will I ever hide this from her?! Luckily I did, but even funnier is the night before her birthday we were snuggled in our bed and the commercial came on for it. She BEGGED us again. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE mommy will you get this for me for my birthday. I said, Bayleigh--you have to stop asking for EVERYTHING you see on t.v. She replied, I know but I just really LOVE that kitty. :)

Naomi got her a Pony in a Box. I have no clue why, but for SEVERAL months now she has been begging for a jack in the box. This made her VERY happy. Wait til you see the next picture. LOL! She kept laughing like that--which is fine by me because her laughter is my most fav. sound in the world!

It cracked her up!

This was from Uncle Eric, Aunt Rachel, and Max. Bayleigh again, had been BEGGING for this doll since she first seen it on t.v. Rachel and I both agree that it is way too young for her, but she wanted it and Rachel saved the day. :) Thank you Rachel! :)

Thanks for reading. I am sure I'll be updating soon again.

Jenn

The day our lives changed FOREVER...and then some.

This post today is a very emotional one for me. This is a long post with many pictures, but that is because I have all these memories that fill my heart and my head that I never want to forget.
I am new to the blogging world and I am thankful for such a world. I am going to take this moment to put down my memories so that one day, Bayleigh will be able to look back and enjoy the events leading to her life. :)

It was November 12th, 2004 and I had ANOTHER stress test that day at Dr. Stiller's office. I could tell, by him coming into the stress test room that something wasn't right, but me, being new to everything and just finding out a couple months prior that I was going to have a baby didn't know what to say or do. Dr. Stiller came in and informed me that he needed me to go home that night and lay in bed and count everytime I felt her move. Ok, Not a problem. By this point I had what I imagined as 600 arms and legs shoving into my ribs and bladder constantly, so easy task. Except it really wasn't. I did as I was told. Not much movement. Huh, that was weird. Next thing you know, Larry is bringing me the phone and it's about 7pm and tells me I needed to take the call. Boy did I ever! It was Dr. Stiller calling from his home. Yikes, this can't be good. He was very kind as usual and informed me that he had been thinking all evening about my stress test and asked that I meet him at the hospital at 7 am for another stress test and ultrasound, just to be sure everything was ok. NOW, I was scared. SCARED!

We woke at 6 am and went to eat at McDonald's for breakfast, I mean seriously, If I am out of bed that early on a Saturday--I NEED a bacon bisquit with cheese. :) We go to the hospital and I have my ultrasound first. Then I head over to OB for my stress test. Here comes Dr. Stiller, dun dun duuuuuuh! LOL! (That was me being dramatic right there). He informs us that he is going to go a head and induce my labor. I reply, ok, when do you want me to come back? He was like oh no, we are doing this now. I said, well, I have stuff to do. He said, like what? I said, I have to pay my truck payment, get my bags and camera, shave my legs, and it was the 13th and I was NOT having a baby on the 13th because she could have a Friday the 13th birthday.! LOL! He gently put his hand on my shoulder and looked me square in the eyes and informed me--someone else can make your truck payment, someone else can go get your bags and cameras, I don't care if your legs are shaved or not, and you better hope for a LONG labor then. LOL! Ok, he got me. He won.

We start the process. After 4 hours, all busted veins, and and my epidural lady coming in to get my I.V. started we were on it. Labor wasn't what I expected it to be. With me having Polycystic Ovaries this pain was very "tolerable". It just felt like menstral cramps really. I was a wreck though. I was just terrifed. I was ready for her. I wanted to see her and hold her and love her completely, but I was so scared of not knowing what to expect. Just as a note to people who have not gone through it. It is so exaggerated on movies and t.v. it's not even funny.

So, to shorten my story. I ask for more Nubain (sp?) to take the edge off the pain. The nurse comes back and tells me that Dr. Stiller wants me to go ahead and have my epidural because the Nubain had too much of an effect on Bayleigh. NOPE!!! Not happening. I'll deal with the pain. See, I went into this KNOWING I was NOT having an epidural because I was terrified of it too. Next thing you know, it's 3 am on November 14th, and Dr. Stiller is walking into the room. He explains that I must have the epidural because he needed to do a C-Section. NOW, remember KNOWING I wasn't having an epidural?? I also KNEW I was NOT having a C-Section. So much so, I refused to read both sections in my "What to Epect When You're Expecting" book. Yeah. TEARS AGAIN! More scared, let me tell you!

ANYWAYS I go back to the surgery room and they get me on the table and all that and finally, at 5:45 am Dr. Stiller pulls the most wonderful, amazing, perfect little person out of my belly. Bayleigh LizMarie Rutherford weighed in at 6 pounds 14.9 ounces and was 19 inches long. At 6:30 am Dr. Stiller was done putting me back together and I finally got my hands on this beautiful child.
I was exhausted. Larry was exhausted. I felt so bad for him because WE told the nurses that we were to hold her first before anyone else and they saved that moment for me while I was being put back together. I got to hold her while they wheeled me in my bed back to my room. Larry went out to tell our families and then joined me in the room. Then, Dr. Stiller came in and shook our hands and they took her. WHAT?! Yeah! They took her, her body temperature had dropped and she needed to be warmed back up. SO, I sent everyone to the window and sent Larry to the nursery to take the pictures and I wait. For the record. I sat in my room alone for what felt like an eternity. I just wanted to see her and touch her and hold her and admire her, but I just waited. :)

I remember when I finally got her to myself without the hoopla of the newness, I just keep looking at Larry and saying, "We made a person. We created this human being." It was the proudest moment and most emotional moment of my life. I was so far in love with her I knew I was never coming back. :)
After my epidural wore off I was in SOME PAIN! I had Demorall (sp?) on a button to push as needed, but it KILLED my arm to do so, so I had asked for pills or something to ease the pain of the c-section. Of course they were like, push your button. I said, it doesn't help and it hurts. So EVENTUALLY, they bring me in shots for my hips that they informed me would be very painful. Not, I was dying and I felt like someone was holding a torch to my gut. So, then the nurse comes in and I just want to brush my teeth and go to the bathroom. Well, I explained that I was in SO much pain and she before thinking pushes my button. I start to tear up and my arm swells and burns AGAIN and she is finally there to see it and she says, Oh, that's not right. We need to get that out of there. NO CRAP. Needless to say, I think they thought I was looking for a high on pain killers, when in fact I had just had a c-section with at one point NO pain killers at all. NOT RECOMMENDED. So, then they get me on pain pills and I am better.

We didn't get to go home until Tuesday, November 16th. They got Bayleigh released from the hospital quickly that morning, but I didn't finally get released until 1ish that afternoon.

So, I am going to stop this blog at this point. Only because it is already so long and well, we all know the pictures are the best part anyways.

I just wanted to blog these memories for Bayleigh to read later. I hope that if and when she reads this, she knows how much her daddy and I love her. Bayleigh, you are the best gift God could ever give us and we LOVE you SO much!


November 14th, almost 4 hours after she was born.

Our first picture together.

Oh my goodness, I couldn't kiss her enough!

This was Monday, November 15th.

And this was November 16th while waiting for me to get released. We also did her hospital pictures this day too.

This is either the 18th or 19th I can't tell by the date on the picture. But Larry couldn't kiss her enough either. :)

She looks so small her in bouncy seat and slippers.

November 21st. I remember for a LONG time, Bayleigh couldn't fall asleep unless she had my pinkie finger in her hand. I LOVED that!

This was Thanksgiving Day, November 25th, 2004. This is one of my all time favorit pictures of her.

She is so tiny!

Her little piggies! I used to kiss her feet all the time. :)

November 29th. Her cord FINALLY fell off and she was able to get in the actual tub. She hated it at first!

But then was ok with it.

I love how she is looking at me here.

They talk. LOL!

He kisses!

And kisses some more!

This is December 11th, 2004. Bayleigh in her 1st Christmas dress. A gift from Amy Oliver.

It's funny because looking back I see so much of Larry in her and even has a tint of red to her hair, but now that she is going to be 5 years old tomorrow, I think she looks so much like me when I was younger. FIVE YEARS OLD! I can't believe I just said that! One thing is for sure. I fall more and more in love with this person, this human being that we created everyday. She is honestly my best friend and I am a very blessed woman to have her and Larry both in my life. I always tell her. Bayleigh, you know how I know God loves me? Because he gave me you! I must have done something right at some point. :) Thank you God!

Thanks for reading. Until next time!

Jennifer

Halloween Party

Well, you could say our First ever Halloween/Costume party was kind of a flop. We expected almost 40 people and didn't even have half that, but flop is such a terrible word because we had good food and more importantly great people there.

We gave out awards for costumes and the winners were as follwed.

Most Original went to Kaitlynn Burris the Twister Board. So cute! I have a picture of her accepting her award, but her eyes are closed so I didn't post it. :(

Scariest went to Larry the German Barvarian Beer Guy. He wasn't really scary, but nobody else was scary so I guess that's why he won. :)

Funniest went hands down to David the Ostrich Rider. HILARIOUS! His entrance was just as funny. He stubbled through the door yelling WHOA! Funny!

Sexiest went to Jennifer, Goob, the Ostrich Farmer.

and the Best Costume was a tie between David the Ostrich Farmer and Bayleigh the Cowgirl!

Before we went Trick-or-Treating we stopped by the nursing home to see Papa. Everyone there seemed delighted to see Bayleigh and mom dressed up. Mom was Raddedy Ann, very cute! :)

Here are a few pictures of everyone dressed up. Thanks for Reading! Jenn

Papa and Bayleigh
Bayleigh and Mom taking Papa back down to the dining room. (Papa's wild ride)

Bayleigh and Mom

Cate the Witch, Colin as Harry Potter, and Bayleigh the Cowgirl.

David and Jennifer. Ostrich Rider and Farmer.

Bayleigh riding the Ostrich

Melanie the Witch, Jennifer the Ostrich Farmer, and Me the German Beer Wench.

Donna and Jeff Scott, the tired Grandparents, however I thought they looked great.

Me, the German Beer Wench and Larry the German Barvian Beer Guy.

Colin let Bayleigh play with his wand and Harry Potter glasses.

Jennifer trying on the Ostrich.

Larry showing Jennifer's bird some attention. LOL!

Yes, Larry is SOBER and put on my wig!

Pumpkin Carving 2009

On Saturday, October 31st we did our annual pumpkin carving. Larry and I carved pumpkins together even before we had Bayleigh. It's just fun to get your hands all messy and then create what you wish on the big orange ball! Here are a few pictures from Saturday morning.

You want me to put my hands in there?!
Then, she dove right in with BOTH hands at one time!

Here's the goods!

Larry enjoyed shoving them in her face. Ewwww!

Their finished pieces or work. Larry's on the left and Bayleigh's on the right!

Then we had 2 pumpkins left, so we decided to let Bayleigh paint them for us. Papa helped. Grammy did some too.

My Trees With Meaning...

I wanted to take a minute to show you these two trees on our property and explain the importance of them.

As most of you know, this home we bought was my Papa and Mamaw's. When papa decided to go to the nursing home he asked Larry and I to try to buy it and we were able. This house is not just a house--it's the home that I grew up in. I came home from the hospital to this home and so ultimately, we bought my first house, that was my first home.

One of the things papa talked about so many times was the Maple tree that he planted so many years ago. It really is a beautiful tree. The canopy is big and has the perfect shape and it's just a good looking tree. Papa has spent MANY hours sitting under it's shade, chewing tabacco and just taking in the sites of tiny Waldron. I mentioned this Maple in my last blog about how Bayleigh and I have been watching it turn to yellow everyday. Now, I am sharing it's beauty with you. :)

The second tree picture I included in this blog, which happens to be inserted first, is the--I'm THINKING it's a Locust tree, that reminds me so much of my Mamaw. She really loved owls, well, she really loved a lot of things, but owls were up there on her list. That is a fond memory I have of her knick knacks around the home as I was growing up here. Hence the owls on my blog page. :) I find myself more drawn to them now too, I do think that owls are fasinating, but the biggest joy is that EVERY time I see anything owl, I think of her. The tree is a tree that either Jessica or I planted very early in Elementary school. I THINK we brought it home in celebration of Arbor Day. The thing that I love though is that the knots in the trunk look like an owl face to me. Tell me what you think...

The ironic thing about both trees is that they are planted in the same tree line with only 1 other tree separating them. Which happens to be the other Locust tree that the other of Jess or I planted when "Mamaw's" tree was planted. I quote "Mamaw's" tree because that is what I call them when talking about them to others--"Papa" and "Mamaw's" trees. So, if you are in conversation with me or if they get brought back up again on my blog you will know what I am talking about and why. :)

Until next time!

Love,

Jenn

Both are cell phone pics so please excuse the quality.