He's as country as cornbread...

My little Hayes bug is a straight-up country boy! Nothing makes this child happier than a little dirt, a tractor and a few farm animals thrown in the mix. Since I grew up on a farm on good 'ole Sand Mountain and miss it dearly, I can totally relate to his obsession. So, visiting our family in Fort Payne is always a treat for Hayes and I both (David not so much). We always go to my Dad's farm to ride tractors, play with the cows, etc., but when we went home last weekend we got an extra special treat. Let's just say it was a little bit of Heaven on Earth for Hayes!

My cousins, Scott and Donna Rooks, live and work at Camp Cross in Macedonia, AL, and told us they were having a horseback riding/trail challenge event there on Saturday. Of course, we jumped at the chance to see "hawwwsies", as Hayes calls them.

And of course, my little cowboy had to saddle up as soon as we got there. It amazes me that he has no fear of horses!

Then, his sweet cousin, Josh, showed him around Camp Cross....

Next up....PONY RIDE. Woop woop!!

Then, the little kids (with the addition of big kid MiMi) shelled some corn for the horses to eat, and it just don't get much more country than that folks.

Then MiMi decides to let the goats, Luverne and Shirley, out to have some fun with Hayes. Those poor, poor goats will never be the same after meeting Hayes Gardner.

Leave it to MiMi to come up with the bright idea that Hayes should try riding the goat.

Oh, how he LOVED Luverne and Shirley!

But, my personal favorite was the goats trying to reach some leaves off of a tree to nibble on and Hayes trying to give them a little boost. Always helping others, that sweet boy of mine.

Here are some pics of the little country boy himself...

And after a hard day of horseback riding, corn shelling and goat chasing, a boy can really work up a thirst.

Then came the horrendous news. Naptime was upon us and all good times must come to an end. Simply devastating, and even tough country boys shed a few tears now and then.

But do not fret, my child, because the Pisgah Junior High football team is selling donuts at the crossroads, and of course Mommy makes a hard right. Ahhhh and just like his mommy, once the Krispy Kreme hits the mouth all is right again in his little world.

The long-awaited DeKalb County Fair

We went to Fort Payne this weekend to take Hayes to the DeKalb County Fair and it was just too much fun! We have the Autauga County Fair and the Alabama National Fair here in the next couple of weeks, but in my mind it just doesn't get any better than the good 'ole DeKalb County one. When I was little I absolutely loved the fair and it just melted my heart this weekend to see Hayes' little blue eyes light up when he saw all the animals, lights and rides!

Of course, being the animal lover that he is, Hayes' went crazy over the petting zoo and we had to pay the animals at least four visits before we left.

Hayes also loved the tractors, and how cool is the two-seater?!? Hayes and I had a ball pretending we were racing :)

Of course, he loved all the fun rides too (and so did Daddy!) I really think that Hayes thought that every person watching their children on the rides were there to solely watch him, and he tried his darndest to wave at every single one of them!

And we even ran into the Davis family and Hayes was so excited to see his friend, Lindsay!

Of course we couldn't leave the fair without cotton candy!! YUM!

Some more pics....

So, the title of this post is "The long-awaited DeKalb County Fair" and to be quite honest, the better title would be "The long-awaited candy apple." I had visions of that little red apple for weeks, so I had to take mine home, sit down and enjoy it. It was everything I had dreamed of and more.

And after all the candy apples and cotton candy, bedtime was nowhere in sight and sweet Hayes was suffering from a serious sugar high. So, we just jumped up and down and enjoyed it!

PINK! PINK! PINK!

As most of you already know, WE ARE HAVING A GIRL!! There are simply no words to describe the excitement I am feeling right now and David is simply beside himself. I have made no secret of the fact that I oh so desperately wanted a girl and I truly feel like our family is complete now. Smocked dresses and pink bows and ruffles...oh my!!

Oh what a day this has been! I really feel like I am still in shock. I just can't believe it and I feel so incredibly blessed. David's family is all boys and my gut instinct had told me that this would definately be another boy. The only thing that was causing me to hold out a little hope was the fact that this pregnancy is completely different than my pregnancy with Hayes. I mean these two pregnancies have been like night and day in every way, so I was thinking maybe, just maybe...

And YES!! Woohoo! Ok, I will stop rambling about the unexplainable joy I am feeling and tell the story of how we found out.....

So, being the impatient person that I am, I have been simply dying to know the sex of this baby! I found out that Hayes was a boy at 13 weeks because I had a nuchal scan done, so I was expecting to find out that early with this baby. Needless to say, I was livid when I found out the only place in Alabama that does the nuchal scan does not accept our new insurance and I made it my mission in life to find out the sex of this baby before 20 weeks! After making an appointment with Images of Life in Montgomery and them going out of business two days after I made the appointment (ggrrrr!), I finally heard about Baby Waves in Columbus, Georgia. So, David and I made the two-hour drive this morning and it was the best experience ever!!

This place is so amazing! I thought they would do an ultrasound and say "it's a boy" or "it's a girl", but it was way more special than that! First of all, you watch the ultrasound on a big-screen t.v. in front of you, which is way cool! The lady who owns the place and does the ultrasounds has had 25 years experience and is seriously the sweetest thing in the whole world. Such a wonderful place!

Anyway, for some reason I was so nervous about the ultrasound and have no idea why. I guess it was just excitement, but I was seriously shaking. As soon as she started the scan I saw this little "thing" (which turned out later to be part of the umbilical cord) and I said "Oh I just saw that, it's a boy!" She just laughed and said that she wouldn't confirm anything until the end, but she kept making me think it was indeed a boy. So, she measured everything and literally showed me every little body part and counted every tiny finger and toe, which I loved! The entire scan took almost an hour and it was so fabulous to just lay there, not be rushed and get to enjoy every little detail of the scan. Well, after all that, she asked if we wanted to know the sex and this sweet little girl went spread eagle on cue (thank goodness!), but she didn't let us see anything at that point. Then, "Butterfly Kisses" started playing in the room, which David and I didn't even realize until she told us later that she played this song because we were having a girl. Awesome! Then, sweet Miriam reached in the drawer and pulled out a Mounds and an Almond Joy candy bar and said "Sometimes you feel like a nut and sometimes you don't" :) Then, the sweetest little piece of candy dropped in David's hand.....

Yaaayyy!! We were absolutely going crazy, I was balling my eyes out and right on cue Miriam handed me a little pink tissue...total pefection. What an awesome moment! So, then she showed us the baby's "tu tu" as Miriam called it and she is definately a girl!! I will post the ultrasound pics tomorrow, because I have to scan them. Anyway, life is oh so good and now I am just waiting on Hayes to get home from his grandmother's so I can tell him the big news. He is going to have a little sister....music to my ears!! :)

15 Weeks and Counting....

Playdate Mondays

We are so excited about our weekly playdate that we recently began and today was the MOST gorgeous day for a picnic in the park! Hayes absolutely had a blast with his buddies Pollard, Chappell and Oliver!!