Thayn Family

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

2011-12-31T23:02:00.000-08:00

2011 Christmas Card Ornanment

Christmas was wonderful this year! We went from having 3 people in our family to 6 (adding Jaime, Rashad and Lennox)!! It made such a difference having more loved ones to share the holidays with. What also made a difference is Madden's new found belief in Santa Claus. He is old enough to understand that if he is a good boy, Santa will come with his reindeer and bring him presents! He was so exited for Christmas eve and would ask every night before bed if Santa was coming. Madden loved the Christmas lights, music and movies (he loved the Polar Express and wanted to watch it just about every day) and that made Christmas all the more special. Having stairs to run down on Christmas morning also made things more exciting!! We were so blessed this year with a new job, new baby, new home that I couldn't ask Santa for anything more!Christmas morning was a blur of wrapping paper, boxes, toys and candy and I was sad when the chaos was over and there was nothing left under the tree. This year we had one hour of church which I loved! It was nice to take a break from what Christmas shouldn't be about and focus on what it is about was a blessing. By far one of my most favorite Christmas's ever!!

Decorating sugar cookies with friends

Lennox and Santa

Merry Christmas Eve!

OOOHHH Santa!!

Merry Christmas Rashad!

Hot cocoa in my big Christmas mug.

Madden turned into a transformer for the entire day.

Otimus Prime opening his presents.

Rock star and his drums!

Ready for Church

Our New Home

2011-12-31T22:23:00.000-08:00

A couple days before we left for Utah we moved into a new house! Although is was a nightmare packing, unpacking, packing for the trip, leaving for a week, coming home to unpack suitcases and everything else and cleaning, cleaning, cleaning... we are so happy to be in a bigger place! We feel so blessed to be able to spend the holidays in a new home!

Idaho/ Utah Trip- Part 3- Lennox's Blessing and Idaho

2011-12-31T21:19:00.001-08:00

We decided to wait and have Lennox blessed with all of our family during our trip to Utah. I am so happy that they were able to be a part of his special day. Damon blessed Lennox on Saturday the 27th of September at 8:30 in the morning. We held a private ceremony with just family before Sacrament meeting. Damon gave a Lennox a beautiful blessing and Lennox didn't make a peep throughout the entire prayer even though he was wide awake and old enough to make lots of different noises! Sweet Little Len.

Baby Lennox: 5 months old

My mom and sister were the only family members who could attend from my side of the family. So glad they came to support us.

Great Aunt Susan Bean

All who attended the blessing from Damon's side of the family.

Later that day we made the 6 hour drive to Damon's home town of Emmett, Id!!

Madden and Lincoln at Nana's.

Aunt Carli and Lennox

Madden, Lincoln and Hannah

Damon loves his nieces!- Chloe and Amelia

ME (yes, I did go on this trip too) and Chloe.

We love Nana so much!

Beautiful Idaho. Can't wait till our next visit!!

Idaho/ Utah Trip- Part 2- Tabor and Rachel's Wedding

2011-12-31T20:21:00.000-08:00

Let me start by saying that Damon has the most amazing family and I am so blessed to have amazing in-laws. I hear my friends grip about their in-laws and I can't help but feel incredibly lucky to have them in my life let alone members of my family. There is so much love between them all and they are all so close. There is never any drama or judgement, just acceptance and support. I love, love, love Damon's family. Each and every one of them!

Damon's amazing brother Tabor finally found the girl of his dreams and got married in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and of coarse, everyone came to show their support!

Madden loves his cousins!

Aunt Carli and baby Abria

Bride and Groom with nephews and nieces.

Madden and Lincoln

Madden and Amelia

Aunt Chelsea and Madden

Thayn Boys

Abuelo and Owen

Madden and Lincoln are buff boys!

Keeping Lennox warm.

Micah and Hannah

Love my baby!

Utah/ Idaho Trip 2011- Part 1- Thanksgiving

2011-12-31T19:22:00.000-08:00

This year, instead of going to visit family during the summer for our annual family camping trip, we decided to hold off until Thanksgiving so that we could attend Damon's brother Tabor's wedding. We landed in Utah the day before Thanksgiving and shared the holiday with all my brothers and sisters at my brother Shon's house in Sandy, Utah. It was so wonderful being with my family and having us all together! We have not all been in the same place for years so spending quality time with my siblings that I rarely get to see was super special for me. My mom is the most amazing chef and prepared the best Thanksgiving feast ever! Everyone got to meet Lennox for the first time and could not get over how grown up Madden was. Super special occasion and we cherished every minute!

Madden loved watching the planes take off! He was super excited to get on them too!

Lennox's first plane ride at 5 months

Getting ready to chow down!

Shon carving the ORGANIC turkey (mom is a health freak).

LOVE my sister Jocelyn. SO gorgeous.

My Brother is the best! We stayed at his beautiful new condo for a couple nights.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Shon and his girlfriend Krysta.

Lennox and Grandma

Madden LOVES his Uncle Shon!

Uncle Bentlee, Lennox and Madden.

Mommy, me, Jaime, Jocelyn, and Krysta.

Jaime, Jeneka (PREGGO!!) and Jocelyn.

Hey Ladies!

Damon and left overs.

Everyone stuffed and tired!

Goodbye Vintage Park Apartments

2011-12-31T19:02:00.000-08:00

About a month and a half ago (I have been a bad blogger lately), we moved out of our apartment that housed us for the past year. Although we were ready for more room in a house, we loved our little place that come complete with a gorgeous pool and gym. We will miss you!

Thankful for Best Friends

2011-11-13T15:33:00.000-08:00

A month and a half ago my little sister Jaime and her son Rashad came from California to live with us. Although the change has been a bit of an adjustment, it sure it nice having someone to always hang out with. Madden and Shaddy love each other to pieces and laugh and play all day long! Madden is teaching Shaddy lots of new words and games and he is very pertective over his little cousin. Jaime and I have been having a blast together too and I am thankful for the opportunity to become as close as we were growing up again!! Madden and I love our new besties!!!

Madden Thayn

2011-10-25T06:42:00.000-07:00

I have two amazing little boys, one of which has been getting a little more blogger attention than the other (Lennox gets monthly updates). Madden is so amazing, sweet, smart and handsome! I look at him at least once a day and think to myself, how in the world did you get so big?? Madden looks like a giant compared to his 4 month old little brother, and acts like a full blown kid rather than toddler. Don't bother him with nursery rhymes or cartoons, bring on the hard core rock and roll music and computers! Here are a few milestones and interests of this 3 and a half year old boy of mine:

* Can spell his first and last name- MADDENTHYN (he always forgets the A in thayn)

* We are working on the sounds letters make so that Madden can start reading soon. He is catching on very quick and can tell me what letter most words start with.

* Can count to 100 with mom's help

* He is a wiz on my phone. He watches YOUTUBE and searches for: sharks, robots, monster trucks, rock and roll, dinosaurs (to name a few). I do not help him at all!

* He likes to hang out with his buddies: Kyler and Camdyn, Trevor and Kayden.

* He is a great big brother- always willing to help me with whatever I need for baby Len.

* This year for Halloween, Madden wanted to be a rock star and constantly banged his pretend drums and rocked out to his pretend guitar. As soon as we get in the car he asks me to turn on rock and roll and to crank it up!!

*Madden goes through phases when it comes to his obsessions. First it was "yayas" (airplanes) and then advanced to super hornets and b2 bomber planes. Then came the monster trucks (which he has been collecting and has about 30 of them and knows all of their names) and while he was watching monster truck YOU TUBE videos that had rock and roll music in the backround, his obsession transfered to ACDC and anythings that has a quitar and drums for him to pretend play along to. DO not judge me, but Madden knows the entire ACDC song, "shook me all night long". He makes up his own jibberish words (thank goodness) and sings it all day long!

Madden's version: She was a fast machine and kept a moto clean. She was the best dang women that I ever seen. Sinca sin yo lies telling me no lies. Knocking me out with those american clause.

(and while he is singing, he is strumming his quitar and tapping the beat with his foot).

* Favorite foods: Mac and cheese and oatmeal. He also loves warm milk with Ovaltine in the morning while he is watching cartoons.

* He is super excited for our Utah/Idaho trip in a couple weeks and can't wait until his fourth birthday party (he always asks if I made his birthday cupcakes yet??) !!!

* Every morning Madden stumbles out of his bed with his blankie in hand and says, "Good morning mom," in the sweetest graugy voice and his eyes barely open yet. Melts my heart every time!!!

Madden took his first trip to the ER a couple weeks ago. He was playing on the couch, fell off and landed on the fireplace splitting his head open! He was bleeding all over the place! It was super scary for mom but Madden handled it like a champ. He had his head glued back together and was good as new.

Love you Madden Thayn! Is there anyone as adroably handsome, smart and sweet as you?? I don't think so!

Where ever we go, it's always ROCK AND ROLL!!! (Madden is playing the drums and making me sing ACDC)

Falling for Fall

2011-10-17T21:19:00.000-07:00

Love Fall! Especially after dealing with the unbearable Houston heat all summer long. October and November are the perfect months to be in Texas- 70-80 degree weather with the strong sun to keep you warm even on a semi chili day. I have been waiting for the weather to drop from the 100's for months now and am loving every day I step outside and am not dripping with sweat immediately!

Decorating for Halloween, making yummy fall dinners and desserts, and dressing up for Halloween parties is my favorite part of saying ba-bye to summer.

Being a decorator on a budget, I found the buckets, glitter words, and glitter tree from the dollar spot in Target!! The frames are from the dollar store which I scuffed up with black paint and added printable scary faces.

Adding ribbon to existing decor is a cheap way to spruce them up for a holiday.

Cob webs with spiders are an easy and cute way to add halloween flavor.

I bought this frame at the dollar store and printed off the phase and picture.

Glitter pumpkins from dollar spot- Target

Jars from the dollar store and I mod podged printed labels on them.

Damon and I as sailors for a friends Halloween party. I spent all day going around to Halloween stores trying to find a modest costume and did not find one! Why is it that every women's costume is a bathing suit? I finally found this adorable sailor dress at Target ( isn't Target the best??)while I was there buying face paint for another idea I was trying to make happen at last minute. It worked out perfect and it was so fun to dress up.

Fall crafts, pumpkin carving and caramel apple eating = FUN!

Lennox: 4 months

2011-10-15T20:42:00.000-07:00

Well, another month of my baby's life has flown by. He is now 4 months old, getting big,chubby and so so cute- I am head over heels in love with him! Lennox is such a wonderful little boy and a great addition to our family. A lot has changed this month! Lennox is very active and has the sweetest personality. He loves attention and can just sit on my lap, talking, giggling and smiling for hours. If he had a good night sleep or a long nap, he is fine playing on the floor by himself for a while, but for the most part he likes to be given lots of attention. Lennox is grabbing everything in sight! He likes colors and moving objects. He will reach and reach for whatever is in front of him and stick it straight in his mouth. I think he has two bottom teeth coming in already (I can see the little indents on his gums). He is sleeping very well through the night and is already adapting to a nice schedule. He will wake up around 7 or 8 and have a morning nap around 10-11, sleep for a few hours and go back down around 3 and sleep for another few hours and then goes to bed around 8-9. He is sleeping much better now but still likes to sleep in his swing during the day. He used to like being swaddled but now that he is getting bigger he usually squirms he way out and flies his hands and head every which way. As long as Lennox is full and well rested he is a very pleasant baby but if for some reason he woke up too soon... beware! Sweet little Len has a major attitude when he is tired and still is very sensitive when it comes to noise. He gets very upset if someone talks to loud or laughs suddenly and startles him.

Milestone: Lennox started to laugh this month! No big belly laughs yet but a little giggle here and there. I love it!!! Whenever I get him to laugh I do it over and over again hoping he will continue to squeal (he usually teases me and only laughs once or twice).

At his 4 month check up everything looked great. He is growing right on schedule and still hitting the 25th percentile mark for weight (13 lbs. 11 oz). The Doc told me that I can start introducing rice cereal to his diet but I am still planning on holding off for as long as possible.

Poor little man had to get 2 shots and had a fever that night. He also had to get the foreskin on his meemee (weener in our house) pulled back bc it healed to far up. That really hurt him and he was sensitive for a couple days afterward.

Mama is 26!

2011-10-15T20:29:00.000-07:00

Turning 26 is kinda sad. Being 25 still feels young and then 26 rolls around and it's like you are practically 30! My birthday was pretty mello this year: cake, candles, yummy dinner at Texas Road House (I am still waiting for the year Damon surprises me with a huge birthday party with all my family and friends. Guess we better move closer to our family and friends!) It was fun sharing my special day with my sister and my nephew who moved to Texas a couple weeks ago for a fresh start. Hubby did do a good job by getting me a snazzy Micheal Kors watch that I have been eyeing. Happy bday to me!

3 months... TEAR!

2011-09-15T10:51:00.000-07:00

Little Lennox at 3 months:

Personality: Len is a sweet baby who loves to be played with and talked to. Every time that I smile at him, he smiles back at me and I love it! He is a very pleasant baby and had pretty much out grown all of his newborn glitches and is practically perfection! Lennox still loves to be outside and even likes his car seat and going on little adventures. My baby is very sensitive. If you even look at him wrong or talk in the wrong tone, he will get this sad pouty look on his face and bust out in tears!

Sleeping Habits: Lennox is an amazing night sleeper. He usually falls asleep around 8 or 9 pm and stays asleep until 4 or 5. I nurse him and he goes right back to sleep until 8 or 9 am. I have to brag that I have never once been awake with him at night trying to get him back to sleep. On the other hand, Len doesn't sleep very well during the day. He will go down sporadically but only sleep for a half hour or so. Unless we are at the pool! In that case he will sleep for hours swinging in his swing. He loves the warm air and the sound of the water fall.

Eating: What a chunky monkey! Lennox is a great eater and is getting very big! At 3 months he weighs about 14 pounds which is about double his birth weight. He eats about every 4 hours and nurses on one side and then a half hour to an hour later will nurse on the other. It is nice to be able to go on outings and not have to worry about how I am going to feed the baby. When we are doing things he can last a pretty long time without a feeding. I am happy to report that Lennox will take a binky. Madden never did and it is so much easier to calm him down or get him to sleep without being attached to me. He doesn't like it all the time, only when he is falling asleep and will usually spit it out a couple times before sucking well. It has been nice for me!
At three months, some parents start on rice cereal. Lennox is sleeping well through the night and gaining weight steadily so I am going to try and hold off on solids as long as possible and strictly nurse.(Madden lasted until 7 months old!).

Milestones:
Lennox is maturing right on schedule and is able to do all the normal things a baby should do at his age. He can even bare weight on his legs and keep his head up by himself when pulled to a sitting position. He is grabbing objects in his sight and following the sound of my voice with his head. Big Boy!! Lennox hates tummy time! Every time I lay him on his belly he just gets frustrated and cries.

What Mommy Loves!:
**Spit and bubbles- I think he is getting a tooth is already! He had been drolling like crazy for the past couple weeks (Madden recieved his first bottom tooth at 3 months). He blows bubbles with his spit and always has lips covered in bubbles.

He chomps on his finger all the time!

**Superman- Just like his big brother, Lennox is in superman pose all the time (holding his right arm strait up in the air.

**Fuzzy hair: Len had the softest fuzziest hair on the back of his head that is getting pretty long. Long enough to stick strait up when he is getting up from a nap or nursing. I love rubbing my check through it. It is so soft!
** Sweaty boy- Lennox is the so sweaty. I find him drenched after everything he does that takes a bit of effort on his part: nursing, tummy time, pushing out a poo, or getting him out of his car seat.
** Naked!- Little Len likes to be nakey! He is very happy and content when his diaper is off. When I go to put another on after changing it, he wiggles and squirms and makes it very hard for me to change him.

Things to remember:
**I finally bought the expensive gas drops (little tummies) hoping to relieve Lennox's gas issues. I always though those silly gas drops were all the same and was getting the generic (CHEAPER-$3) brand figuring it would work just as well. It doesnt! Ever since I busted out the big bucks for Little Tummies- $10, Len has been a million times better. He is easily passing gas (he is the stinkiest little guy!) and going poo all on his own (I used to have to bicycle it out of him). So remember- expensive gas drops for next baby. I give him a dropper full every time I change his diaper.
**Also, Lennox likes to be swaddled when taking naps and nursing. He fusses for a second but falls asleep much faster and stays asleep much longer when his hands are not able to wake him up.
**When Madden was a baby, he had extremely sensitive skin and I would always use pampers diapers. I got a bunch of different brands at my diaper sprinkle and learned that I like Huggies better than pampers. They are about the same price but I find Huggies fits better and leaks less.

Clothes: 3-6 months
Diapers: size 2

5 years down, an eternity to go!

2011-09-09T08:38:00.001-07:00

Today, Damon and I celebrate our 5 year anniversary! Quite a milestone and accomplishment on my part ;)I thought, to commemorate the occasion, I would tell our romantic and perfect proposal story.

It was March 2006 and I was in California visiting my family for spring break from school in Rexburg, ID. Damon and I had been dating for about a year and things were getting sorta... SERIOUS! I always told him that I was not looking to get married and that I would understand if he wanted to break up considering he had just graduated college and was 7 years older than me (I think he knew I wouldn't be able to let him go). At this point in our relationship I was in love and after watching my best friend tie the not, I was feeling the wedding ich. Damon and I were currently in a long distance relationship and I was missing him! When we would talk on the phone I would jokingly ask, "When are you going to ask me to marry you!?!?" and he would always reply, "You know I love you but I am not ready quite yet." He claimed that he needed to work at his new job in Boise for a while and save up for a ring. We had this conversation the night before he flew into Sacramento and surprised me by showing up at my parents front door. I was so happy to see him and for my family to hang out and get to know him. He came for only a weekend and said that he had something special planned. Saturday morning we got in the car and made our way to San Francisco!!! On the way there we stopped at Quizno's to eat some lunch. Damon told me that he needed to use the restroom and I waited for him to come out for about 20 min! There was a line forming at the door of people waiting and when he finally came out he confessed that he had "bowel issues". I laughed so hard and felt bad for him (that will be further explained later!!).

We continued on our way to the city and I was super excited to see what Damon had planned for us. We finally made it to the bridge and needed money to pay the toll. Neither of us had any cash and there was no where to get off to get some. In California, they are very strict when it comes to not paying tolls and will send you a bill in the mail for like 50 bucks if you can't pay. So Damon and I were frantically trying to find extra change any where we could. Damon had his toiletry bag in the back seat so I grabbed it, checking every place possible. As I searched through it I noticed a little white ring box and my heart started beating a mile a minute. I looked at Damon and he knew exactly what I found but was trying to act like nothing just happened. I was waiting for a reaction from him but figured I should ignore the elephant if Damon was. We were arguing about the toll money before the discovery and after I decided to let it go and changed my attitude which Damon and I laugh about now. I was quiet and gitty for the rest of the drive (again, further explained later!!). We never found change and I think we ended up writing a check for a dollar fifty.

Damon told me that we were going shopping and that he would buy me a new outfit for what was planned later in the evening. Turns out he had a romantic dinner cruise planned that circled the San Francisco Parlor. I was so surprised and excited when Damon told me what we were doing and could not believe this was the night I was going to get engaged! Before we got out of the car to board the ship, Damon handed me the white box that I found earlier in the car. "Open it," he said as he handed me the box and disappointed I thought, this is how and where he is asking me to marry him!?!? I looked at him in disbelief and slowly opened my ring box anxious to see what was inside. Nothing. The box was empty!! Damon told me that he was joking and that he knew I saw the box earlier. He confessed that it was his brother's ring box who had proposed to his girlfriend a couple weeks prior. He wanted to bring it along and play a joke on me because I kept asking him when he was going to propose. He further explained that he would not be asking me any time soon because he wanted to save up for a ring but that he loved me and that the time would come. I was pissed! What a horrible joke! I got over it pretty quick because we had a romantic dinner on a beautiful boat, waiting for us to board.

We made our way on to the boat and sat down at our table over looking the harbor. Our dinner was delicious and after there was music and slow dancing. Damon decided that he wanted to go out side on the dock to be alone. I was challenging him on the gesture because it was windy and freezing outside! He insisted so I caved. I was shivering in the cold as we looked out at the city lights. It was a beautiful view but... I was freaking freezing and wanted to go back inside! Damon wrapped me in his jacket and put my hands in his pocket (something he always did when I was freezing in Rexburg). He pushed my hand down until it reached the very bottom and that is when I felt the ring with my fingertips. I was in shock as he pulled my hand out and took the ring and got down on one knee. It was so so perfect and I was so surprised! I am very gullible and completely bought that ridiculous story that he told me earlier and to this day Damon still can't believe that I bought it. I obviously said yes to his proposal and the rest is history! We spent the rest of the night dancing and the DJ even made an announcement that we had just gotten engaged! It was a perfectly romantic night.

5 years and two kiddos later and here we are! Can't believe our romantic dinner cruise was 5 years ago, time goes by so fast. Happy Anniversary Hubby! 5 years in quite the milestone.

Oh yeah! I forgot to explain the 20 min bathroom break at Quizno's! Turns out he was on a top secret phone call with my father who was vacationing in the Caribbean. Damon wanted to ask his permission in person but didn't know my parents weren't back from their cruise yet. My dad of coarse gave him a hard time and the phone call lasted a while. He explained the bathroom stint on the way home and I laughed so hard. So did my dad when I told him his excuse and the line of people waiting at the door for him to get off the phone! HA!

I got these pics from a scrap book because they are so old they are not in my computer!

We celebrated our anniversary night by attending a friends 10 years anniversary party. It was kinda perfect because there was dancing, dinner and cake! We planned to celebrate our way the day after.

The day after, we went to dinner at a fancy restaurant. After we ordered our 40 dollar steak dinners, Lennox decided to have a melt down and would not stop screaming (notice the verb is screaming not crying). I tried everything and he would not calm down. The management ended up setting up a table for us outside. Damon and I wondered if they were trying to be nice, or wanted to get us the heck out of there. Luckily it was a perfect night and kind of romantic eating alone in the candle light. It was however, awkward watching people enter and leave the restaurant while they wonder what in the world we are doing outside. Silly LENNOX!

Happy Birthday Old Man!

2011-08-21T16:50:00.000-07:00

Although my hubby and I look and ACT the same age, he is a whopping 7 years older than me! That's right, Damon turned 33 on August 16th and I love giving him a hard time on being such an old man. For the most part I feel like I have 3 kids instead of two, but I have to admit it is nice never feeling too old when your significant other is... older :)

Damon has had a great year! He started a new job as a Freight Broker and is loving it. He is excelling in his new line of work and pretty much gets to goof off with his buddies all day long (that is me teasing him some more). Looks like we will be staying in Texas for a little while longer considering Damon has found a career that he really enjoys. During his 32nd year, Damon also welcomed another amazing son, Lennox DAMON Thayn on June 13th. D is such an awesome daddy and can't get enough of his two little boys and they can't get enough of him! Although Damon is getting older, he is still in amazing shape. He works out just about every day and continues his love for sports by participating in basketball, football, and soccer leagues throughout the year (don't give him too much credit, he can still eat an entire pizza by himself and not gain a pound).

This year we wanted to show our papa how much we love and appreciate him, so Madden and I spent our afternoon baking him a yummy chocolate Oreo cake (his fav). We took him out for a yummy Mexican feast and Damon also got a snazzy new watch!

Happy Birthday Daddy! We love you so much!! Love, Mommy, Madden, and Lennox!!!

OWOW!!! Check out my old man hubby!!! Looks like a young 23 year old!!

Lennox: 2 months old

2011-08-19T11:02:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that another month of my newborn's life has passed by. I am loving his new developments but I can't help but be a little bit sad knowing my little Lennox is now officially moved on from newborn to baby. He had a very exciting second month of life and is becoming more and more aware of the big world around him.
This month has been a bit hard on mommy. Although Lennox is a dream come true, he still has his good days and then his bad ones. He is very particular about his surroundings and hates to be anywhere but at home. He hates his car seat and usually screams in the back seat whenever we go anywhere. Madden LOVED his car seat (we used to take him for a ride when he was fussy or wouldn't go to sleep)! So I am very anxious whenever I try and venture out of the house. Having one baby is one thing, but with two, I don't know how to handle it! So, unfortunately for Madden, we have been camping out in our p.j's quite a bit. He has been getting better as his 2 month continues on. His warming up to his car seat and ventures outside in the world now that he is more aware of his surroundings. Lennox is still having trouble passing gas but things are getting better in that department as well. We took Lennox to the ocean this month (Destin, FL) and something about the trip through him off completely! He didn't have a poo for 3 days and was feeling miserable. He would squirm, wiggle, and push push push, but nothing until we were advised to give him a suppository. It worked like a charm and I think jump started his bowels for good. He has been regular and comfortable ever since. Sometimes he cries and pushes, but for the most part he goes every morning after he wakes up and is a happy boy for the rest of the day. A couple of days after we returned home from Destin, Lennox started to COO and smile at me! It was so amazing the first time I saw his little face light up and smile back at me. I called Damon over right away and we were both loving him loving us back! He would only react to me at first but now talks and smiles for Madden and Dad as well. He LOVES when we talk and play with him. He also loves taking walks outside, nice warm baths and of coarse, swinging in his swing!

Milestones:

* Cooing and Oooing

* Talking back to Mom and Dad

* Holding head up on his own

* Holding his head up during tummy time

Events:

* Meeting Nana and Auntie Ashley

* Trip to Destin Florida

He received three shots at his 2 check up this month and it was the saddest thing ever. I couldnt help but cry as I rocked him in my arms trying to calm him down. Allowing your child to experience pain is the worst feeling ever. He recovered fast and slept great for the rest of the day. Lennox is growing perfectly and the doctor even said he is one of the cutest babies he has ever seen (for real he said it and meant it!!). Here were his stats:
Height: 23" (51%)
Weight: 10lbs 15.3 oz (30%)
HC: 15" (36%)

This was Lennox after I told him he would be getting a couple shots!

Belly/Baby Pics

2011-08-19T08:56:00.001-07:00

** I have to add how incredibly hard it was to take a photo of little Lennox. Notice how many pics there are of him inside my belly and how little there are of him outside? That is because he hated being cold, naked, and forced into poses. He cried his entire first session and we had to reschedule for another day. The second try was just as successful as the first. He would not sleep and just cried and cried for his warm blanket and mommy's arms.
Funny story: We finally had Lennox in my arms and not fussing. Jen was ready to take a pic of a position that we have been trying to get for 20 min. As soon as she snapped the camera Lennox busted out a huge fart and pooped all over me! Jen showed me the pic she snapped and my face was priceless! I'll have to ask her for the shot! This was the position he was in before he blew it up!!

Thanks Timeless Photography for the amazing memories!

Destined for Destin

2011-08-05T09:23:00.000-07:00

So we have great news! We have family closer to us! Well, not super close but closer than Idaho and the perfect place to meet halfway... Destin Florida! Damon's brother Derrick and his awesome family moved to Nashville Tennessee which makes them the closest family for us here in Texas. They were supposed to move to San Antonio and at last minute decided to change their plans and choose Nashville instead. I was devastated when I learned they would no longer be living 4 hours away but got over it pretty quick when Damon suggested that we meet them half way on the white sand beaches of Florida.It was a spur of the moment decision to pack up and make the 9 hour drive to see our family with a newborn in tow, but it was a blast! We rented a condo next to the beach and spent our days playing in the sun and sad, together. Madden enjoyed his cousins but wasn't too fond of the ocean. The waves were pretty big and scared him when the would rumble on shore. Unfortunately he spent most of the time lounging in a sun chair sipping on a juice box. By the 3rd day, with a new monster truck bribe from dad, he warmed up a little and got his feet wet- silly boy! Everyone else on the other hand, couldn't get enough of the big waves and boogie boarded our bums off. We decided to make our trip a yearly tradition (woo hoo) and I cannot wait to till our next mini vaca!

OUR CONDO

OUR BEACH

PLAYING IN THE WAVES

SEARCHING FOR SEA SHELLS (bought from walmart, hidden by mamas)

Nana's Visit

2011-08-02T06:39:00.000-07:00

We were so blessed to have NANA come visit us all the way from Emmett, Idaho to meet and help out with baby Lennox. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful and knowledgeable mother in law (it has been 3 1/2 years since my last newborn) to help me out with Madden and teach me great soothing techniques. Thanks Nana for all your help! We miss you and can't wait to come to Idaho and see you and for Lennox to meet the entire family.

Look Who's One! .... (month that is)

2011-07-27T06:37:00.000-07:00

Life at the Thayn household is good! Adjusting to our newest family member has been, well, an adjustment but we are all loving the smell of new baby! Lennox is the sweetest little guy and although he dropped down to 6lbs 8oz (his weight at his "discharge early" check up, 3 days old), he has been eating non stop and packing on the pounds! I weighed him in my arms on our scale at home and he is coming in at 10 lbs and I love the little rolls forming on his thighs (as his get bigger, mine get smaller :). Lennox is a very good baby, doing what most newborns do: eat, poop, sleep. He has been having a hard time with bubbles in his belly and bum and it can sometimes take him a couple hours to work out the gas and let out a big burp or blow out. But the older he gets the easier it gets to help things along. Lennox has his good days and his bad days (way more good than bad). Some days he will sleep all day long and wake up around 5pm when Dad gets home. He stays awake until 9pm and sleeps until 4am! It is wonderful! But there has been a few instances where the poor little man will be grunting and groaning ALL day long with absolutely NO naps. He will fall asleep and wake up after 10 minutes screaming in pain. His gas bubbles really bother him and I can hear them rumbling around in is poor little belly. I am proud to report that for the most part he is a great sleeper and a sweet, happy, pleasant little baby who melts my heart every time I look at those pretty BLUE eyes! That's right! The unstoppable Thayn gene was surpassed by my baby blues. Len is a spitting image of his Daddy but my blue eyes are perfect on him.

Lennox loves to be rocked and I would die with out our baby swing (he lives in that thing). He hates being swaddles and therefore hates his car seat. When he is buckled in he just fusses and squirms until he is free. Makes traveling a tad bit stressful. The cry of a screaming baby in the back seat breaks my heart. He smells so good and has the cutest, softest hair growing on the sides and back of his head. Every time we give him a bath his hair line reseeds further and further back, but he does have hair! I'm sure it will all fall out eventually and he will sport his brother's bald head for a few years, but for now I love how his hair is all messy and sticks up in the back when I wake him up from his nap (PRECIOUS!). Lennox also loves to be outside! We can go to the pool and swim for hours and he just chills in his car seat looking up at the trees. He hates to be cold and like our first born, is a Texas baby to the core (Madden cries for a sweater in the freezer section at the grocery store)!

Lennox is a little piglet and is nursing very well. His pediatrician noticed that he was a bit tongue tide and he was having trouble latching so his feedings were lasting forever(that is also why he was swallowing so much air and having trouble with gas). So we decided to get his tongue clipped and I am so happy that we did. He can use his tongue now and nursing is a breeze! Most of Damon's side of the family had to get the procedure done and turns out Madden needed it too! I wish I would have known, nursing him was a nightmare! Most likely, as in Madden's case, there are no side effects if it is not clipped, but just the fact that it takes Lennox 5 min to feed on one side rather than 20, it is worth is to me! It was a scary thing to watch my newborn go through (he was swaddled and put on a table under a bright light while the nurse held his mouth open and the doc clipped away) but only lasted 30 sec or so and healed immediately! He nursed right after and was perfectly fine. Little Len makes the cutest faces and noises when he is milk drunk. He will just lay there with milk on his cheeks and smile while his eyes roll back. He tries so hard to stay awake!

Lennox was a champ at his 2 week check up and all his blood work came back normal. He weighed in at only 7lbs 8 oz and was in the 17th percentile! Such a little guy! I am so used to his big brother's 95th percentile stats that this through me off. The Doc said that at such a young age the percentile doesn't mean anything. We will see how he does at this 2 month check up and that will be a better indicator in how he will rank. I have a feeling he will be a beast like Madden!

Here are his 2 week stats:
Height: 1' 8.5'' / 44.13%
Weight: 7lbs 8oz / 17.76%
HC: 13.78'' / 14.15%

We Love Lennox Damon Thayn!

Little Lennox

2011-07-02T19:16:00.001-07:00

It is official. Now that I am a mother of 2 I have no more time for blogging! Lennox is 1 month old already and I am just now getting around to writing about the day he was born. And what a wonderful day it was...

BIRTHING STORY:

On the morning of Monday, June 13th, Damon and I woke up at 5:00 am and headed to the hospital for my scheduled induction. Madden had his first sleepover at a friends and so he was planning on meeting up with us after his little brother was born. We arrived at the hospital at 5:30, ready to meet the newest member of our family. After settled in a labor and delivery room, I was ready for my IV of PIT to get the ball rollin. I wasn't experiencing any harsh contractions yet and was bracing myself for the pain. Needless to say, the contraction pain should have been the least of my worries because apparently I have rolling veins that don't like needles (or a incompetent nurse who can't get an IV in). After a few, and by a few I mean 5, failed attempts by 3 different nurses and 2 blown out veins later, I finally had the PIT flowing and had experienced the worst pain of my baby laboring (those needles are huge and hurt so bad when they rip them out!). By the time I was in my bed with my successful IV, it was around 8:30. My Doctor came in around 9 and broke my water which got things moving immediately. My contractions became stronger and stronger and my dilation progressed. At 10:30 I was given an epidural and it was easy peasy from that point on. I warned my nurse that I would dilate super fast once my water was broken and to check my progress often so that the baby wasn't waiting on me. At 11:30 I was 5 centimeters and Damon decided to run home really fast to walk the dog and grab a sweater (that might seem crazy but we live 5 min from the hospital and it took 2 hours to go from a 3 to 5). The nurse came at 11:40 and noticed mine and the baby's heart beat was rising and that my contractions were strong and close. She checked again surprised me by saying, "You're a 10 and ready to push! I will call your doctor!" I could not believe it and called Damon immediately! Of coarse he didn't answer the first couple times that I called and when he finally picked up thought that I was joking! He sped back and arrived just in time, all sweaty from running up to the room. Dr. Barcio arrived right after and it was show time! I had two contractions and pushed a couple times with each one. Little Lennox Damon Thayn arrived at 12:09 pm and weighed 7lbs 4oz and was 20 inches long. He was so beautiful and the sound of his cry melted my heart. When they placed him on my chest the tears started to well up as I gazed upon the little person that had been sleeping in me for the past 9 months.

Damon went to get Madden shortly after Lennox arrived and tears welled up once again as I watched my two boys meet one another. Madden stared at his baby brother for the longest time and commented how little and cute he was. I know that they will always have a special little bond.

I was given another bag of PIT after Lennox was born to keep my uterus contracting and prevent bleeding. I was having contractions all through the night and it was horrible! Not only was I in pain, but packed out about 15 lbs in water weight. I was so puffy and swollen that my ring wouldn't even fit. Unlike mommy, Lennox slept great that first night and nursing him was so much easier than nursing Madden (nursing is like riding a bike, you can't forget how to do it!). He latched on right away and fed all through the night. It was great not having the stress of unsuccessful feedings.

After only 24 hours at the hospital I was giving the option to go home and recover. I was debating on weather or not I should leave the expertise of the hospital nurses but decided I could handle it and got off my booty and packed up my things. I am so happy that I finished recovering at home- I actually got some sleep without the nurses coming in every couple hours to make me nurse or give me motrin or prick me for a blood sample or check my blood pressure/temperature. Being home with my new baby was wonderful and from here I slowly make progress returning back to normal.

Sad that my pregnancy is over and ecstatic that my baby Lennox is finally in my arms and kissable, our lives begin as a family of 4! Welcome Baby Lennox!

39 weeks- night before my scheduled induction.

IV in finally!

Sweet baby all swollen and pink!

Perfect moment!

We are now a family of 4... CRAZY!

Lets get out of here!

Diaper Sprinkle

2011-06-09T20:50:00.000-07:00

To celebrate the arrival of baby Thayn #2, my sweet friends Brenden and Julie, threw me the cutest diaper sprinkle ever! I received tons of much needed diapers and wipes from my friends and had such a great time. Thanks so much Brenden and Julie and all my girls who came to sprinkle me and baby boy with lots of love :)

DECORATING BURP CLOTHES AND ONESIES

HOSTESS, BRENDEN

ASHLEY NEWMAN AND ASHLEY BUCHANNAN

HEATHER HOCKETT AND HALLE FIGGINS

MAKANA HANSEN AND TIA FARLEY

MELISSA AVILA, BABY MARY ALICE NEWTON AND HOSTESS JULIE NEWTON

ME AND ASH

WHOA BABY!

Someone is Swimming!

2011-06-03T21:52:00.003-07:00

My shy, sweet, timid little three year old, who usually sits in the shallow end while his buddies play with out him, finally swam by himself in the deep end! Now that the water is warming up, he is warming up to the water. So far this summer, he has spent most of his time chilling in the hot tub but we have been noticing him venturing out of his comfort zone recently: holding his breath underwater and playing with dad in the deep end. He was doing so great with Damon today that we made his put on his life jacket (kicking and screaming) and threw him in to fend for himself. He screamed for about 5 minutes and finally realized he was swimming all on his own after chasing after Daddy's open arms. I am so proud of him and excited for him to finally be able to swim with the rest of his buds! Go Madden!

Here are some pics of him playing with dad and the struggle to get his life jacket on!

That's me! Cheering from the sidelines!

13 DAYS TO GO!!!

2011-05-31T20:19:00.000-07:00

Big News! I was finally given my induction date at my 38th week appointment this afternoon. The baby is measuring big and therefore the green light was given to schedule my baby's birthday! I can't believe 6 days was slashed from the countdown and now I only have 13 days to go. Although I cannot wait to be back to my normal self (not carrying around a 7lb baby in my belly) I still get a bit sad when I feel him squirm and kick and I want to treasure these past couple weeks being pregnant and a mother of one. Even though, we all can't wait for little baby brother to arrive, I know that it will be a big adjustment for our little family of three and an especially big adjustment for Madden. Finding out our lives will forever change sooner than we thought has brought upon anxious nerves... HE IS ALMOST HERE!!

Baby will share a birthday with my little sister Jaime! Here is some insight into his Gemini personality which I must say, is a lot like his auntie's :)

Geminis born June 13 love adventure and prefer living life on the edge. These individuals have a kinetic kind of charm that easily draws others to them. They can even seem a little self-involved, but that is usually due to the fact that they are accustomed to causing a stir wherever they go.

You should embrace: Self-expression, sentimentality, fame

You should avoid: Doubts, rage, guilty feelings
Friends and Lovers

June 13 individuals prefer making friends with people who enjoy conversation as much as they do. In love, they are attracted to people who are much like themselves.

Children and Family :Either June 13 natives are the proverbial "black sheep" of the family or the one to whom all others come to in times of trouble or worry. They are not particularly comfortable in the role of parent figure, since it conflicts with their own rebel image.

Career and Finances: Because they are talented and intelligent, there are few careers that are beyond the capabilities of June 13 natives. They are not particularly effective at handling money, even though they are likely to make a great deal of it. They have little interest in the practical aspects of life and prefer to leave details to a professional.

Dreams and Goals: June 13 people do not usually follow their goals in a linear fashion. Instead, they enjoy the progress toward their goal as much as the eventual destination. They enjoy putting obstacles in their own path, since it makes their eventual success considerably more fulfilling.

Week 38

2011-05-31T08:38:00.000-07:00

Here is a sneak peak into my awesomely adorable maternity shoot. Also this is my belly a couple days shy of my little guys 38 weeks anniversary of belly lounging. Can't believe he is almost here!!

Full Term BABY!

2011-05-24T20:43:00.001-07:00

Yes, I am proud to report that I made it to week 37! That is considered full term and baby can be born any time and be perfectly healthy. The doc can't believe I have made it this far and always says she is shocked to see me still pregnant when I arrive at my weekly appointments. I have a feeling this little guy isn't quite fat enough for his liking and is going to wiggle and squirm in my belly for a few more weeks. As of last week (36) I am dilated to a three but my cervix is still thick. 26 days until due date and the count down in on!! I am so excited for my little man to arrive!

37 week stats:
Belly: 37 inches
Weight: 133 lbs.
Mom & Baby heart beat: normal

I have been nesting like crazy getting ready for the big event. Cleaning, laundry, shopping, blah blah. I am now technically off bed rest so there! I have the bags packed- hospital bag and Madden's over night bag, ordered a new car seat and bassinet, and as soon as my online orders arrive, I will feel ready and can calm down... hopefully.

My diaper sprinkle was amazingly cute and I received lots of diapers and wipes from all my buddies. Thanks so much to Jewelzee and Brenden for hosting the party and for all your hard work! I appreciate it so much (pics to come)!

I made this cute diaper/wipe case with my friend Heather (I need sewing machine supervision). We have lots more projects planned :)

My Big Boy

2011-05-24T19:58:00.000-07:00

Finally, the day has arrived. No, I am not talking about the arrival of little brother. I am talking about big brother's new big boy bed! I have been searching for the perfect bed for Madden and finally found it. Because the boys will be sharing a room for a while, there is limited space for new furniture. Madden's "captain bed" worked out perfect (drawers underneath the bed) and he loves it! He has been sleeping in it for a couple weeks now and I am proud to report, no screams in the middle of the night from a little boy on the floor. With the crib all set up and changing table to match, we are getting ready for baby to join the fam!

35 Weeks and Still Preggo... Phew!

2011-05-10T17:03:00.001-07:00

Well, I made it another week! At my 35th week appointment, I was thrilled to learn that my dilation has not progressed. The doc actually said that the baby has moved up and I am now a 1 rather than a 2. WOOHOO. I have been stressed day and night thinking labor was going to creep up on me. I have had a couple crazy labor dreams and so has Damon! In one of the scarier dreams, my baby was 14 lbs (a month early) and had a full set of teeth! EEKK! Everything seems to be going well and although I am still contracting like crazy day and night, I have a feeling little baby isn't going to make his debut for another couple of weeks, which hopefully be in the safe, big and healthy zone. The doc did point out that because I have gotten the steroid shots, if the baby was born now he should be perfectly healthy and just smaller than normal. In any case, I feel much better knowing that despite my ongoing contractions all week, I am no further dilated.

My baby shower is this weekend and I am so excited! Because I didn't have a "REAL" shower with Madden, I decided a little diaper sprinkle wouldn't be too inappropriate considering I am having another boy. Damon and I moved to Austin a couple months before Madden was born and I had a surprise shower thrown by the Relief Society which was so sweet and nice considering I knew none of the 20 women showering me with gifts. I still wanted to celebrate this little guy with all the great friends I have made here in Houston and figured I could always use diapers! Here is the super cute invite! Just imagine how cute the party is going to be :)

34 weeks

2011-05-03T00:28:00.000-07:00

Like I mentioned in week 32, I have been having a TON of Braxton Hicks these past few weeks. I would say I am contracting a couple times an hour throughout the day, and when I am laying down at night things go crazy. I once counted 9 contractions in one hour! I called the nurse and she said if you are having more than 5 you should head to the hospital. I listened to my instincts and didn't get too dramatic, but was antsy and looking forward to my check up to see it I was dilating at all. Turns out... I was! Braxton Hicks are normal as long as your uterus is not being effected and mine was by 2 centimeters! Knowing I am dilated to a 2 alarmed the doc and freaked me out! She told me that I was on strict bed rest for these last remaining 6 weeks and made me get a steroid shot (one of two) in the bum to speed up the baby's lung development in case the baby comes early, which the doc insisted was going to happen. She also put me on two different prescriptions to help calm my uterus down and stop the contractions. Walking out of the doc office this morning, I had a sore bum and teary eyes. "This can't be right," I thought "my last pregnancy went so smoothly and none of my mom's 7 kids ever came early, they were all right on time or a week late!" I called my mom right away to see if this was normal for her when pregnant and she confirmed that it exactly was. She would start having Hicks months before delivery and was always dialed to a 2 of 3 with weeks left. They were painful and annoying (like mine) but always prepped her for a super fast delivery (some only a half hour)and none of her babies were ever early. After she told me this I immediately calmed down and called my doctor to share this family history. It made her feel better too and she modified my strict bed rest to making sure I get plenty of rest throughout the day. I am also going to hold off on the medication until my next check up a week from now. If I reach a 3, she will have me fill it.

My belly is continuing to grow measuring 33 inches and baby's blood pressure is normal. Everything looks great besides the fact I am dilated already. I am getting sick with the contractins and am having a hard time sleeping at night. I will fall asleep early (around 9) and wake up around 3 with restless leg syndrome and want to get up and walk around. I end up not being able to got back to sleep and stay up all night (not every night). Things are getting more and more uncomfortable but totally worth it knowing baby boy will be here soon!!!

Hair day, My Way

2011-05-02T23:16:00.000-07:00

** mini tutorial : I tried something new with my hair and got a ton of compliments. I figured I would share. If you have any Q's please ask!

A few months ago I colored my hair brown for a bit of a change. It is always weird for me to switch sides and although I like it, I secretly miss my blonde locks. Although I don't feel completely me, I am comforted knowing the brown will soon fade and back to blonde I will be. Because my hair is naturally light, it does not hold color well at all and soon fades into light brown/blonde and that is when I can have fun bringing it back to life! I have been loving the dark roots with light tips look and decided to try it. It turned out exactly how I wanted it to look and although I am a hair stylist, any one can do it. You don't need to pay hundreds of dollars to spruce up your doo, (at least I won't) especially if you have a good base to work with. Just pick up some bleach from sally's and brighten things up :)

Mr. Madden

2011-04-30T08:43:00.000-07:00

Madden woke up from one of his nap in a feisty mood. After taking 30 min to wake up, he immediately told me he was hungry and wanted "noodles", AKA Ramen. Now, I am not a fan of feeding my child pure salt with no nutritional value, but I am a lazy pregnant lady and heating up some soup sounded pretty good to the salt craver as well. Here are some pics of him waiting for his dinner. Waiting = Pissed. Eating = Very Happy 3 year old. He cracks me up!

Easter Bunny goes HOP HOP

2011-04-27T06:27:00.000-07:00

LOVE Easter! Probably because of the great memories of this special Sunday morning from when I was a little bunny myself and for what is symbolizes and represents: the resurecction of our savior, Jesus Christ, His amazing example and His atoning sacrifice. Growing up, my daddy would always get us big baskets full of candy and fun gifts and would hide our baskets all over the house in the HARDEST places and make us search for EVER trying to find them. Actually, now that I think about it, he would always hide mine in the dyer. EVERY year!

This little fam adapted some of my childhood traditions and created some of our own. Easter morning came and Madden was anxious about seeing what the Mr. Bunny had left for him and immediately asked where his basket was. We made him search and search until he found it, in the DRYER! We made our way to church and after our spiritual fill, came home to fill our bellies on a traditional Easter supper. After, Madden had a blast decorating sugar cookies with mom and dad. And once again, although we were alone this Easter and missing our family, we had a great time just us three. I mean 4 :)

Helping mom make sugar cookies!

Madden loves to lick the beaters!

Looking for his Easter basket

He loved this part: rolling out the dough and making shapes.

Decorating time! In his undies of coarse!

Mommy's

Madden and Daddy's

I caught Madden sneaking cookies all day long!!

32 Weeks

2011-04-23T19:24:00.000-07:00

Wow... 8 more weeks to go until little Thayn #2 is nice and plump and ready for action! I cannot believe how fast this pregnancy has gone by. I remember like it was yesterday: October 13th, taking a random pregnancy test and seeing those two blue lines appear and thinking- 9 months of being pregnant ahead a me and no baby until June- so far away! Well guess what, June is almost here and so is my baby! Doing this for the second time around is such a different experience than the first. I didn't know what to expect or how I was going to feel and to be completely honest, I was nervous and scared to death! Now I know what is coming and what to expect. I know how I am going to feel when they put that baby in my arms and every second afterward, a love that is so unbelievable amazing. I am however, having a hard time imagining how I am going to go from loving and nurturing one son to loving and nurturing TWO! Contemplating the fact that I will soon be a mother of two is a little hard to swallow and I am a tad bit nervous about the transition. But something tells me things will work out just perfectly, and I can barely wait to see how it goes!

In month 8 of the 9 months of baby making (WOOHOO), I am feeling great. A bit large and tad uncomfortable but nothing to complain about. I am now seeing the doc every two weeks and during my last appointment found out some good news! I was talking to Dr. Barcio about mine and my mother's extremely fast labors and expressed my fear of having the baby in the back seat of the car on the way to the hospital. More realistically, I am concerned that I will not have time for an epidural if my water breaks on it's own. Doc wants to schedule an induction if I make it to week 39 which eases a lot of my anxiety when it comes to the delivery. So that means 7 more weeks till baby is here! My belly was measuring 31 inches and blood pressure for both me and baby was normal. I have been experiencing braxton hicks which kinda freaks me out. I never had "practice contractions" with Madden and I barely felt them when the real thing happened- right after the doc broke my water she gave me my epidural so I never really had to endure the pain of a contraction. Even when the monitor said I was contracting I was completely oblivious even before my epidural so when they came with this one I thought I was in labor! I was in bed watching my TVO for the day and all the sudden I started cramping and my tummy tightened into this little ball. I could practically see the outline of baby! It lasted for about a day, having hicks on off. I called the doc and she said that what I was experiencing was normal considering how far along I am and said as long as I am not having "show stopping pain" that my body was just prepping for delivery.

My new craving has been Madden's gold fish crackers. I don't know what they did to those little fishies recently (the box says they are new and improved) but I can't get enough- I think they added extra salt!! I have also been loving popcorn: kettle corn, lite butter, and the BEST, lime and salt. I have been loosing my appetite a tad, bigger baby = less room in tummy and have been suffering with serious heart burn at night so I try not to eat anything heavy past 7 otherwise I am sleeping sitting up. The baby has been moving around a TON and I feel like he is going to kick one of his little feet right through my belly skin. When I was pregnant with big brother Madden, I had to get his movement monitored a few times because I felt like days would pass with little or no kicking or squirming. Not with this little monster! He is tearing me up. I have a video that I will upload of my belly contorting and bulging like crazy. The other night I had the remote resting on my belly an he kicked it off and it practically flew across the room. He doesn't like it when things are resting on my belly and I notice him kicking when my arms are resting on my bump or whatever else is invading his space. He is a feisty little guy already. I can't wait to see how is personality is once he gets out!

After mentioning the big brother a few times, thought I would share how BIG and cute he is! It is crazy to try and imagine what little brother is going to look like.

Gramma and Grampa

2011-04-18T13:39:00.000-07:00

For months, we have been anticipating the arrival of grandma and grandpa! Because we live way way way down in Houston TX, we don't have family visitors very often. It was exciting to show grandma and grandpa where we live and what our life is like so far away from them. Their last trip to Texas was for the birth of their first grandchild and I was bed ridden in the hospital for their entire stay. Five grandsons and three years later, they finally made another trip right before I was in the same situation as before. It was so great to all be able to do things together and Madden LOVED his time with his grandparents that he only gets to see once, maybe twice, a year.

They arrived Friday afternoon and we went to the famous Rudy's for some Texas BBQ. Saturday, we drove to the ocean boardwalk, Kemah Tx, and rode rides, ate lunch and just enjoyed each other's company and the breeze of the ocean. That night we headed to the Woodland's for some delish PF Chang's and rest of their stay was spent at the pool in the sun. We were sad when Monday morning rolled around and they had to hop on a plane back to Cali. Madden was pretty upset that he wasn't going on the plane as well!

Madden had so much fun with his gramma and grampa. When I told him that they were coming he asked me everyday for a week when they would get here. As soon as his grandpa walked through the door he ran to his room and brought him his plane bucket and showed him each and every plane that he owned- a routine that continued every time gramps walked through the door. He would sit on the couch and soon have a lap full of planes. When they would leave to stay at their hotel, he would ask me when they were coming back over and over. I explained to Madden that grandpa was my dad just like Damon was his dad. For the rest of the trip and even after they went home, Madden would ask me, "where is your dad, mom?". It was SO cute!

Thanks so much for coming to see us Grandma and Grandpa! We love you and can't wait till our next visit!

Dentist

2011-04-12T20:49:00.000-07:00

Now that Madden is three and all, I decided he better tag along Damon and I for our scheduled cleaning. I was nervous about how he would handle another doctor's office (his last pediatric appointment was a tad dramatic) and tried to prepare him the best I could. I think he sensed my anxiety because he was NOT looking forward to the visit. I was called first and Damon brought him back to see me at the absolute WORST time (while I had a cleaning drill thingy and a sucker merboober shoved in my mouth) and it freaked him out. We tried to get him to do X rays and have a cleaning but he was not having it. The Doc ended up just looking around his wide open mouth and feeling his teeth with his finger. He said that was enough at this point and also said that Madden's teeth looked great- no stains or cavities that he could see. Madden received a ballon, stickers, cars toothbrush and a cookie and was very happy and excited. I think it left a good taste in his mouth (no pun intended) and he is actually kinda excited to go back.

4D Ultrasound

2011-04-04T12:26:00.000-07:00

Today, baby and I had another ultrasound scheduled. I was contemplating taking advantage of the 4D pictures but Damon and I decided that we could put 75 dollars to better use elsewhere. During my ultrasound, my tech tried to talk me into doing the 4D ultrasound, commenting that this was the perfect time to get it done. I told her we decided not to do it and after the screening she noticed that we had a 40 dollar credit on our account (the insurance over paid) and so we decided to get the 4D done after all. I had to schedule another appointment for later on in the day, but I am SO happy that we did it. The pictures were amazing and it was unbelievable to see such a realistic image of what was happening inside his little home. We were given a 20 min video along with 96 4D pictures of baby Thayn #2! Half way through the screening the tech realized she wasn't recording and offered to do it again next week for free! That means another video and 4D pictures at week 31. We were extra lucky today :) And even more lucky to find out our baby is big, beautiful and healthy, weighing 3 lbs 3 oz at week 30 (a bit big). He is SO adorable and looks just like Madden did when he was a baby. I am so anxious to meet him, hold him, and kiss those adorable little cheeks.

29 weeks and 83 days to go!

2011-03-28T14:03:00.001-07:00

Hello Summer Sun

2011-03-28T13:36:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend we ventured out to try our new apartment pool. The weather was perfect and the water felt great! Our pool is awesome and I have a feeling we will be spending the majority of our summer getting tan and trying to get Madden out of the shallow end.

28 weeks

2011-03-24T20:10:00.001-07:00

I can't believe that I am already in my 7th month of pregnancy! Time is flying by and it is hard to believe I will be meeting my sweet baby boy in only 2 short months. I have been very blessed with an easy and care free pregnancy with no major symptoms to report- with the exception of a new found craving. A fabulous frozen yogurt shoppe just opened down the street called "Menchies" and for those of you who live close, check it out!!! Picking from a ton of flavors and stacking on the toppings myself is the best! I justify the bio-weekly trips by topping with just fruit but it is definitely my new guilty preggo pleasure!

The baby and I are getting bigger and bigger with each passing day (I'm sure the 13 oz of frozen perfection at .47 cents/oz isn't helping). I use to just feel little kicks in my lower abdomen and now feel a kick by my hip bone and a second later another by my rib. He is taking up more and more space in my ever growing belly and I feel him squirming all day, every day (he is wiggling as I type). He is even guilty of waking me up in the middle of the night with a few big punches. This week at my doctors appointment everything went well- me and baby are right on schedule. I took a glucose test a few weeks back (my arm is still black and blue from my blood work botch job) and the results were normal... phew! I have an ultrasound coming up next week where we have the option to see the little guy in 3D. Now for those of you who read this and have an opinion on my upcoming question please comment: Is it worth the 75 bucks to get a couple 3D images? I personally would rather buy my little man lots of cute clothes but they are really amazing to see and I might regret not taking advantage. Let me know what you think (thanks in advance)!

Lions, Tigers and Airplanes... Oh My?

2011-03-16T09:35:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend, our new friends and our family decided to take advantage of this gorgeous weather (75 and sunny) and venture to the Houston Zoo. It was a super fun day and Madden and his buddy Kayden had a great time. Me on the other hand, lots of walking and big belly... not so much (I get a bit depressed seeing all those beautiful African animals walking in circles in their cages). There was an airport close by the zoo and a ton of airplanes were flying above us preparing to land. Every time Madden would hear one we would all have to stop and watch it fly by. On the way home I asked him what his favorite part about the zoo was and he responded, "the airpwanes!".

This little otter was doing flips and turns and Madden LOVED it! His favorite animal at the zoo!

Madden's new buddy Kayden! Madden has been throwing gang signs lately in all his pics. Not sure were it came from but it is hilarious!

Cute Baby and Mama Giraffe

Sleepy Lion

Little Black Bear

Lots of walking!

Loved the Elephants!

Not the best picture of me, but it was the ONLY picture of me, so it will have to do :)

Deceptively Delicious

2011-03-09T20:30:00.000-08:00

I can't get Madden to eat veggies. No veggies. EVER! And trust me when I say... HE NEEDS THE FIBER!!! So I decided it is time to be sneaky. I love this zucchini muffin recipe and made lots and lots of deliciousness for my little guy. He loved them and so will you... Give them a try!!!

I just bought "Deciptively Delicious" by Jessica Seinfeld and am anxious to give all her recipes a try as well.

Funny story: The morning after I baked them, I went to the kitchen anxious for a yummy miffing for breakfast only to discover they were missing! There was only one culprit I could pin-point (the only other person in the house that can reach them) and called my sweet husband right away. "Where are my muffins?", I demanded! He answered that he took them all to work because he was in a hurry and wanted to share them with his office. I was PISSED (excuse my language)and I was tempted to make him turn right around and bring them home. Luckily I had some extra zucchini and decided to just make more. Damon text me 10 min later and said everyone LOVED my muffins and I replied by telling him I put a ton of Benefiber in them to help Madden and I (sorry if too much info but me and my boy have problems in that department) which I meant to do but forgot. He said most the office was nervous! HA! About an hour later I told him I was kidding. That's what he gets for stealing my muffins!

I snagged some great finds at a dollar store near by. Speaking of "Deceptively Delicious", these picture frames were a steal! I needed something to host my family pictures this year, and these cheap frames were perfect! GO ME!!

These lamps were $3 bucks! Perfect for reading.

BTW... I'm a brunette now! I needed a change and I can't bare to cut it all off!I love it!!!

Pregnancy Progress

2011-03-01T11:48:00.000-08:00

Well, here I am. 25 weeks along, 6 months into the baby making process, and 110 days to go till the BIG due day!!! I am feeling a bit BIG these days and am jealous of all these other cute pregnant women I am seeing in their final preggo stretch looking about the same way that I am. All of the sudden I feel as though a baby is about to pop out at any minute! All of the sudden my jeans are barely buttoning and feeling tighter and tighter in other areas rather than my protruding belly. All of the sudden I am starting to panic, thinking of all the things I need to do before the arrival of our little precious boy. Like for instance, pick out something to call him! Damon and I have agreed on one named so far and I am thinking it might be the only one we will EVER agree on. We decided that we are going to keep the name a secret (from everyone) until the little guy makes his big debut!!! My doctor's appointment was very ruetine this month which consisted of the usual pee in cup and measurement of the growing belly. I was unfortunaly ordered to get my final blood work done (which I am dreading) and was surprised to find out that I only have ONE more visit before I start getting checked every TWO weeks! And then, ONE month of Bi-monthly visits before I start going every week! And then the baby will be here!! It is all going by so fast and I am getting so excited to meet the little man kicking and squirming in my belly!

BABY DEVELOPMENT: At nine inches and more than a pound and a half in weight, your baby is taller than two juice boxes stacked one on top of the other, and almost as heavy as four of those little boxes (an analogy you'll find particularly apropos in a few years, when those juice boxes start taking over your refrigerator, your pantry, your car.…).

Don't look now (as if you could), but your baby's skin is turning pinker. No, not because he or she's getting overheated (in fact, the amniotic fluid is perfectly climate controlled, keeping your baby at an always comfortable temperature), but because small blood vessels, called capillaries, are forming under the skin and filling with blood. Later this week, blood vessels will also develop in your baby's lungs, bringing them one step closer to full maturity — and one step closer to taking that first breath of fresh air. But at 25 weeks pregnant, those lungs are still very much works in progress. Though they are already beginning to develop surfactant, a substance that will help the lungs expand after the baby is born, the lungs are still too undeveloped to sufficiently send oxygen to the bloodstream and release carbon dioxide when he or she exhales.
*** Thank you WHAT TO EXPECT

I am feeling great, a bit tired and lazy but that has been my only symptom the entire pregnancy so I can't complain. I am beginning to feel stretch pains on my sides when I walk around a lot and there are strange things going on above my belly and below my neck if you know what I mean. I can't get enough of Claussen Pickels (has to be claussen!!!) and anything salty usually makes me happy.
I finally tried out my new Nike work out shoes I got for my bday in September for my very first work out of my pregnancy! I plan on working out for the last 3 months but who knows...it's just a plan. My nesting insticts are starting to haunt my days which I end up spending deep cleaning the fridge and scrubbing the floors on my hands and knees. The baby is VERY active, kicking and squirming all day long. I love just looking down and my belly and watching it move and jump with baby movements. I am looking forward to our 28 week ultra sound where we will get a 10 min DVD of the little guy in his compfy home. Madden is starting to wonder what in the world is going on with mommy's new body and might be beginning to grasp the concept that I am making a baby brother for him. We are all getting so excited for the big event that awaits us!

Love Day and Bad Day

2011-02-18T10:00:00.001-08:00

How awesome is Valentine's day? It's so fun when you are a mommy and can celebrate LOVE with your child (and hubby) in special ways. We had just gotten over a big birthday weekend so V DAY this year was pretty mellow, which is actually how I like it- special touches are what matter! Heart shaped pancakes with whip cream and strawberries for breakfast, heart pizzas with home-made dough for dinner and strawberry sundaes for desert! Oh, and an hour prenatal massage for mama!

The day after love day came a day full of screams and tears. Madden's 3 year check up was scheduled and I was actually excited to see how big Madden has gotten over the past year, thinking that there were no 3 year shots because he is on schedule with his immunizations. Unfortunately, the State of Texas recently added a 4th dose of the PCV13 Vaccine and Doctor Taylor recommended a flu vaccine. So two shots were in order and Madden didn't take them well. It definitely gets harder the older they get. Holing him down while knowing he knows exactly what you (his Mother) is allowing to happen is heartbreaking. After the shots, all he wanted was his Daddy ( he was a little mad at me). Doctor Taylor also recommended a thyroid test which I thought was a simple finger prick for a blood sample. I was wrong! He had to get an IV of blood drawn and I thought my son was going to pass out from all the blood that was taken combined with his screaming and squirming! Madden was freaking out and it was the most dramatic experience that he has ever gone through. Poor litte guy. He was traumatized for the rest of the day to say the least, crying for hours afterward and even turned down ice cream! After waking up from a 6 hour nap, he seemed better and was even showing off his "ooowwies" to everyone. Luckily, no more shots for another year which I am sure will come much to quickly.

Madden's stats are still pretty impressive although he is no longer in the 95th percentile! Along with his thyroid test (which he took for constipation issues)he also gave a urine sample, which all came back normal. He is a very healthy big boy!

61% of growth percentile based on weight-for-age
15% of growtn percentile based on BMI-for-age
82% of growth percentile based on stature-for-age

Fly Guy and his Airplane Party

2011-02-12T17:26:00.000-08:00

The day Madden has been waiting for finally arrived! He was able to celebrate being three with all his buddies and lots of plane stuff! He had SO much fun and we want to thank all our friends who helped us celebrate the birth of our beautiful little boy! Although Madden gave us a little scare by testing postive for strep earlier in the week (has been on antibiotics for about 4 days and was fine for the party), we appreciate you trusting us and supporting Madden's big day! Madden had so much fun playing with his friends and eating a bunch of junk party food. We are so thankful for to everyone who made HIS day extra special.

**Special shout out to my Jewelzee (Julie Newton) who helped me create all the special touches :)

"I'm a Free Years Old!!!"

2011-02-07T19:44:00.000-08:00

One year ago, I was celebrating my son's 2nd birthday. Wow, has a year flown by! I cannot believe that my two year old is now three!!! Luckily I have a baby on the way or I might be a bit depressed.
Unfortunately, an ice storm decided to sweep across Houston the day before Captain Madden's Big Airplane Birthday Party at the park and the sudden 40 degree climate drop gave me a horrible sinus throat infection that left me voiceless for about a week, which forced me to move the party to next weekend. I must admit, it is nice to have an extra week to plan and prepare. So when his birthday came and no party happened I had to pull together a little last minute somethin somethin...

Happy Birthday my big boy! Mommy and Daddy love you so much!! We are so proud of what a good, sweet, smart, funny boy you are. This 3rd year is going to be a blast together!

Madden's Milestones:
** He can count to 20 (and on the 30 with mommy's help).
** Thanks to DORA he can also count to 6 in spanish!!!
** Went from calling his toy airplane, "yaya" to calling it, "F18 Super Hornet" and "B2 Bomber"
** He loves watching you tube on our phones and can even navigate through the different channels all on is own.
** Madden loves mommy reading him books and looking through them on his own.
** He is potty trained and even goes the whole night without peeing his pants!
** Very polite. Always says, "thank you" and "your welcome".
** His favorite foods are EMOO (oatmeal), mac and cheese, PB&J, chicken nuggets, and chocolate milk!
** Loves his puppy Harrison and is excited to be a big brother to his little brother.
** Always has to sleep and cuddle with his bwankie (blanket). He sniffs it and says, "Mmmmm... smells good and is so soft! Mommy, did you wash it?"
** Loves Team OOmeeZoomie, Fresh Beat Band, and Dino Dan on Nick Jr.
** Has about 40 airplanes and has a name for every one.
** Favorite movies: Finding Nemo and Cars
** Favorite songs: The Club Can't Handle Me (Flo Rida), Airplanes (BOB), Tonights Gonna be a Good Night (Black Eyed Peas)
** He is constantly singing the ABC song and Twinkle Twinkle. He has a really good voice!
** Loves spending time with his Mommy and Daddy!

Still the Queen of My Castle

2011-01-30T19:32:00.000-08:00

We recently found out that we are adding a fourth male to the Thayn Family (that number includes our doggie Harrison)! My 20 week ultrasound finally arrived and I swear, the night before I could barely sleep. As we entered the ultrasound room, my stomach began to flutter with butterflies and I could not believe the moment was finally here! The Tech asked all of us what we thought the sex of the baby was going to be and Damon and I answered, "girl" and Madden answered, "BOY". I was shocked because lately he has been on the girl train and at the last minute decided to change his mind. After a little searching the Tech said, "Well ONE of you guessed right." And then I saw the proof on the screen and news of another boy sunk in. Our baby boy looked great and measured a couple of ounces more than normal- the tech commented he was going to be a big baby, weighing 11oz when the normal measurement is 8oz. Damon and I are so excited to give our Big Boy Madden a little brother to play with and I must admit, it's good to be Queen!

Hello New Year!

2011-01-07T14:25:00.001-08:00

I can't believe 2010 is over and another new year is starting. We had such a great year with the most exciting event being the news of another BABY! We are anxious for what the 2011 has in store for our growing family but I have a feeling that it is going to be the best year yet!
This New Year's we once again celebrated with our wonderful friends Ashley and Ryan Johnson. We ventured to Dallas to visit them one last time before they move back home to Utah. The four of us went to college together and I was thrilled to learn that they were moving to Dallas shortly after we moved to Austin. Having my best friend so close has been such a blessing and I am going to miss our bi-monthly shopping sprees, mani-pedis, and girls night out! We are so happy that we got to spend one last weekend with them celebrating the New Year and playing Rock Band all night long!!!!

Santa Has Come and Gone

2010-12-29T07:34:00.000-08:00

After months of planning, shopping, and saving, Christmas is over and life is slowly going back to normal. All that hard work, gone in an hour. Was it all worth it? Definitely! Although, it was once again just us three all alone here in Houston, we had a great Christmas spending time with one another. Now that Madden is almost three, he had fun this Christmas expecting Santa and his reindeer and telling mommy he has been a good boy. Hopefully next year, we will be able to spend the holidays with our wonderful family.

***I would also like to wish my blog a Happy Birthday! It has been a year since I started posting our family memories and I am so happy that I followed my friend's example. A special shout out to Ashley Jo for bugging me for years to start a blog (even though it has been a year since her last post) and to Brenden for helping me get started. Love you girls :)

Favorite Family Pictures 2010

2010-12-16T22:41:00.001-08:00

Taken by Timeless Photography:

13 Weeks and 4 Days

2010-12-15T15:31:00.000-08:00

Today we were excited to see Baby Thayn once more at our ultra-screening. The appointment was set up to make sure that baby is growing normally and measuring correctly. My boys (Damon and Madden) accompanied me to the appointment so that the whole family could meet the newest Thayn. Everything looked great and the technician said that rarely does the due date calculate exactly on the day when measuring, but ours did! The screen generated June 19th, the due date given to me over the phone while making my first appointment. Although the baby is developing normally, once again a vaginal ultrasound had to be done to see the baby. The technician could not find it using the probe on my belly and said that has never happened in the 11 years she has been doing ultrasounds (not being able to find the baby at my point of pregnancy). Apparently, my uterus is behind my pelvic bone. Weird!!!

Here is our precious baby all snug behind my pelvic bone!

Strong heart beat

Nice brain baby! You're gonna be smart like your mama :)

Sweet profile

There is the belly! It popped this week!

And my pricked finger. Ouch that hurt!!!

Madden and the Sizzors

2010-12-13T09:07:00.000-08:00

Madden, Madden, Madden... How you hurt your mother so....

Damon insists that he can do a better job cutting the dog's hair than the groomer, so rather than spending 30 bucks he takes out my crafting shears and goes to town... for a couple hours... on poor Harrison.

Well, Madden must have been jealous of the puppy's new do and wanted one of his own because while daddy wasn't looking (I was not home, this is all Damon's fault) Madden took matters into his own little hands. When Damon broke the news to me, he explained that while he was getting Madden ready to go, he combed his hair and big chunks of hair fell to the floor. He was confused and then realized that his angel son chopped his locks to the scalp!
When I saw what happpened my jaw dropped to the floor! NOOOOO!!!!! I love his hair so much, so so much. When he saw my face and the tears well up in my eyes, he said "Be happy Mommy." The little guy made me realize that it is just hair and that it will eventually grow back. Plus, he does look adorable no matter what!

Damon actually does a great job!

AHHHH!!!

BA BYE beautiful blond hair

Almost gone... BOO HOO

Still my handsome, sweet, perfect little man.

Damon thinks I'm crazy for saving all his hair and putting it in a zip lock bag.

Rockets Game

2010-12-01T19:45:00.000-08:00

We had a great time going to see the Houston Rockets play at the Toyota Center. Damon loved the fact that this was his little future basketball star's second time going to an NBA game. The first was in Mommy's tummy so it was fun having Madden there in person this time around and the Rockets WON!

Thanks & Giving

2010-11-29T08:56:00.001-08:00

The Thayn Family has so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Although we weren't able to spend the holidays with our family this year, sometimes friends are just as good! Our great friends Ashley and Ryan Johnson came to spend thanksgiving weekend with us and we all had a great time. Ashley and I were so excited about preparing our Thanksgiving feast and spent the entire day in the kitchen. Everything turned out amazing and we were quite proud of our accomplishment! On the menu: slow roasted turkey, garlic and butter mashed potatoes, homemade gravy, green bean casserole, walnut corn bread stuffing, home made rolls, cranberry candied walnut apple salad and for dessert, deep dish pumpkin cheesecake! Delicious!

Ashley and Ryan stayed the entire weekend and we even got to celebrate Ashley's birthday while they were here. We were sad to see them go considering they are moving back to Utah in January. It has been so nice having my best friend from BYU-I so close and I am SO sad this was her last visit. Hopefully we will be following them home soon. Thanks for coming guys!

Week 10 Doctor's Visit

2010-11-24T06:27:00.000-08:00

I went to the see my Doctor yesterday for a 10 week check up. I was excited to be able to hear the baby's heart beat and was hoping for maybe another ultrasound. Well, I got my ultrasound but only to have a scare to go with it!

The nurse came in and put the cold jelly on my belly and then listened for the heart beat. She had trouble finding it and it and after 3 min of pure torture, she suggested that she go get the doctor, commenting that I may not be as far along as we thought! As I waited for the doctor to come in, tears started to well up in my eyes. Why was there no heart beat!?! Dr. Barcio came in and she reassured me that everything is fine and attempted to find the heart beat again. Another couple minutes of torture. NOTHING! She then proceeded to get the ultrasound machine to see how the baby was visually. She placed more cold jelly on my belly and turned the screen towards me. She moved her probe around and around and still no baby! At this point I was very worried and could not control my tears despite my doctor's reassurance. "I can hear a lot of movement. There is defiantly something going on in there," she said. Finally, she decided to do a vaginal ultrasound (sorry, a little graphic, but that's what it's called!) PHEW, my beautiful baby appeared immediately on the screen! I saw the little arms and legs move and the baby was very active, jumping up and down, at only 10 weeks! Dr. Barcio explained that my uterus is just farther back than normal and I will most likely carry further in my back (same with Madden). I was so relieved but shoken up to say the least! But am grateful that everything is perfectly fine and I even got another picture of little baby Thayn!!!

Look at how much the baby as grown in just 4 weeks!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2010-11-21T21:31:00.000-08:00

Growing up, one of our many holiday traditions was setting up the Christmas decorations after our Thanksgiving feast. Every year after our tummies settled, we would anxiously wait for dad to put the tree up and let us decorate it. I LOVE tradition and want to adopt all the great ones from my family growing up, to my very own. Such as, decorating Santa's cookies on Christmas eve day, eating clam chowder as our Christmas eve feast, opening one present before bed which are always Christmas jammies, watching- How the Grinch Stole Christmas- in our new jammies before Santa and his reindeer come, eating cinnamon roles and drinking hot chocolate on Christmas morning after we dug threw our stockings and before opening presents. Wow. That's a lot of great traditions! They just kept coming to me and I haven't even gotten to Christmas day yet.
Well, this year, I broke tradition. The tree and other decor are up! I couldn't help myself! I LOVE having my tree up and one month is just not long enough. Plus, we are having our good friends Ashley and Ryan join us for Thanksgiving from Dallas this year and I wanted things to be done before they come. Our home feels so warm and cozy now! I love Christmas!

My Little Artist

2010-11-18T07:18:00.000-08:00

We recently moved and a while ago I noticed a kids art shop down the street and have been wanting to take Madden. Madden painted and painted for over an hour until his "M" was black from all the colors blending. That's ok though... it matches his room perfectly :) He loved it!

Picking out what his plaster to paint.

I used my "mommy skills" to convince him to choose an "M"

Every time he would get paint on hands (face, hair) he would stop production and beg me to get it off. He is such a NEAT FREAK!

Washing up while his creation dries.

TADA!!!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-10T20:48:00.000-08:00

Although the move, baby news, babysitting a friends family for a week, and the fact that Halloween fell on the Sabbath, hindered my Halloween vision for this year, we ended up having a great time anyway!

We spent a beautiful Saturday at the pumpkin patch and Madden had a blast at the ward Halloween party. He was a scary skeleton this year and looked so cute!

3 + 1 = New Thayn Baby!

2010-11-09T07:03:00.000-08:00

Big news in the Thayn Family! About a month ago we discovered that mama Jax has a bun in the oven! I was shocked! I casually took the pregnancy test, thinking there is no way it will be positive, only to gradually see those two pink lines become more and more distinct. It was crazy! Damon had NO idea and I was determined to tell him in a really fun way (considering Madden's creation news took the form of a bawling phone call). It was hard, but I kept the news quiet for the DAY after deciding my plan of attack!

I wrapped this frame up for Damon and when he got home from work told him it was a late Bday present. He was annoyed that I spent any money on him and I assured him to was just a little something. It was so fun watching him open it and his face was priceless! He was so shocked and just sat there with his mouth wide open asking repeatedly if I was joking. It was really special and we are all THREE so excited! I also taught Madden to say, "I'm gonna be a big brother" when first seeing Daddy.

I am currently 8 weeks along and due June 19th, which I just discovered is Father's Day! How awesome is that! I will be working hard the next 7 months making his perfect gift! I have been to the doctor and got a chance to see our little baby during the first ultrasound!

We are so excited to share the good news with all of our friends and family. I am slightly hoping for a sweet little girl (Damon has 5 brothers!) and will find out the sex around Christmas. Exciting!!

Madden Mathias Gordon Thayn two and a half years old

2010-11-03T06:47:00.000-07:00

Good Bye 11743 Northpoint #1425

2010-10-13T12:18:00.000-07:00

The Thayn Family is moving this weekend! Before I start stripping down the apartment, I wanted to take a few pictures of our home over the past year. We will miss Tomball and are greaful for all the memories and friends we made while living here. And although we are just moving up the road, it kind of feels like we are moving to a differnt city. After all, we are now in an entirely differernt stake :) Bon voyage Tomball, bonjour North Houston!

I have enjoed serving as a Tomball Maiamaid advisor and will miss all those beautiful faces that touched my life in so many ways. Love you girls and leaders!

Baby Shower and Birthday

2010-10-11T23:29:00.000-07:00

My amazing friend Julie is having her baby girl soon! She is due October 22nd and I am anticipating the arrival of beautiful Mary Alice. Julie was thrown an adorable baby girl shower and I had so much buying LOTS of girlie stuff for my Jewelzee's baby bump, soon to be baby!!!

Julie and I have a little joke that I am a part of Mary's paternal family. I was, after all, there when Julie took her pregnancy test. So when Jimmy wasn't around when we were snapping maternity shots I had to step in for him :)

My 25th Birthday passed recently and I officially feel old. A quarter of a century old! I mean, 25 is a milestone!My friends and family made me feel extra special on my special day.

I went to Julie's house to get her expert assistance on Halloween decor crafting and she surprised me with a mini party! The cupcakes were SOOO good and it was SOOO sweet of her to think of me when she has so much going on right now. Thanks Jewelzee. Love ya

Damon also made a great effort (this year haha) and took me to an amazing Texas Road House feast. I also got a new pair of Nike work out shoes that I love! Thanks babe.

My sweet Brenden also took me to lunch and presented me with a personal cake and new book. She is the best. Thanks Bren so much!

Family Vacation: Final Chapter

2010-10-03T13:31:00.000-07:00

It was important to me to document our trip in detail. After all, we are making precious memories with family that we rarely ever spend time with. I was doing great, blogging as our adventure progressed. But I dropped the ball half way through and am now am in deep trouble. I accumulated 749 pictures over the 7 weeks we were traveling and I'm sure I erased over a 1,000. Which means, ALL the pictures are great. A perfect memory. A wonderful story. But I have to finish blogging about this trip TONIGHT, so that my life can finally move on with out this weight of unfinished business on my shoulders! Ok, I am being dramatic. Sparing EVERY little detail, I'm going to focus on the people that we made out memories with.

Salt Lake City, Utah

Fishing with Uncle Tabor, Aunt Chelsea and Uncle Phil

Visiting Temple Square

This little quail was lost and wondering around. We couldn't find his mommy :(

Madden and Uncle Shon!

Grandma made the BEST mac and cheese

My little brother Bentlee

Big brother Shon

My mommy

AWWW... Uncle Shon is the best

Sacramento, California

Off to Sacramento!

Ice cream with grandma and grandpa and aunt Mandy

Grandpa and Grandma, we love em!

Cousin Stryker

Cousin baby Ammon... So CUTE

Flying grandpa's plane! Madden loved it!

Madden and cousin Pigrilla (Rashad), BFF

Madden and gramps!

Family Camping Trip 2010

Grandma and Stryker

Auntie Jeneka

Madden spent the entire trip with Uncle Shon! He was a Daddy for the week and kinda liked it ;)
" Grandpa's fast boat"

Uncle Shon and Shaddy

Cousins: Madden, Abe and Rashad

My sister Jaime!!!

Jaimes and Shaddy

Back to Houston!!!

Daddy, we are coming home to you!!!!

We had such a great trip and it feels good to be home. The suitcases are put away and we are back to our normal life and routine. But now that we are home, the more I feel that we are not. Home was where we were. Home is with our family. Home is where our memories are. Hopefully we will be back there soon, not to visit, but back for good. So that these amazing family moments are not occasional, but often. As for now, we will love, miss and love them from good old Texas!!!

Family Trip 2010: Part 3

2010-08-17T11:02:00.000-07:00

*** I wrote this post a while ago and forgot to post it. I was SO happy because I felt overwhelmed with everthing I needed to blog about our trip and didn't want to skip the details.

I am so happy that I have been dividing this trip up into different posts. We have been doing and seeing so much that I would be afraid to miss something. After Damon left we spent a little more time relaxing at Nana and Abuelo's. After a couple days, we headed to Twin Falls where we stayed with my Grandma and Grandpa Collis and visited some other relatives. Going to the town were both of my parents grew up and where we would excitedly travel every year as a family is always fun. Twin Falls is such a beautiful town to begin with and every time I pass that canyon, old memories flutter into my mind. I reflect on my dad driving all 5 kids in our red mini van across the country, finally reaching that deep canyon and knowing we were almost to Grandma and Grandpa Kelsie Sue's and her surprise box was waiting for us to rip through! Visiting Grandpa and Grandma Pepper in their beautiful victorian house complete with motor home and hot tub! And then there were the COUSINS and there western accents and trampoline. We would have so much fun together going swimming in the canyon river and jumping of the rock cliffs was the hightlight of our cross country travels! Taking Madden there and seeing him exerience all my childhood memories and adopt them to his own was amazing! He loved all of his Great Grandparents and second cousins! He had a blast at Dierkies (canyon river) and was excited to see the canyon from the freeway bridge. How blessed we are to have such a wonderful family and memories.

It was awesome to spend lots of quality time with my little brother Bentlee.

The bridge that you cross to enter Twin Falls.

The gorgeous canyon!

Madden followed Great Grandpa Johnny everywhere!

We saw these buck on the way down the canyon to swim in the river!

Madden ate lots of cherries and cookies. Grandma Judy always packs the best picnics!

Madden sat on that chair with gramps for an HOUR! It was the longest I have ever seen him sit still when there was so much to do around him. Darling!

My cousin Brooklyn and Carrissa and baby Madison

Madden LOVED G. G. and all her fun toys!

We had a great time in Twin Falls! Now we are off the Salt Lake to stay with Grandma Kerrin and spend time with more friends and family.

Family Trip 2010: Part 2

2010-08-12T11:02:00.000-07:00

Spending lots of time with family in Idaho has been amazing. Damon went home Sunday night and it is just me and Madden from here on out. Before he went we had a couple more adventures and had a chance to visit some of my family that lives in the Boise area.

We went to the Fair and saw lots of farm animals and ate yummy fair food!

Cousins Kyra and Colton

Cousin Kyra

Cousin Ryan

Ryan's fiance

Cousin Conrad

The last day before Damon flew home, we all spent time together and even celebrated his birthday a little early so he could enjoy it with family. Happy 25th Bday babe ;)

Hannah

Chloe

Amelia

Next stop is Twin falls where we will see Madden's great grandparents and more of my cousins!
This part of the trip has been nice and relaxing. Rather than being on the GOGOGO we are simply being lazy and enjoying our family time and loving every moment of it!