Mason Ryan Mehaffey

 

My first Mehaffey nephew is finally here!! Matthew and Heather are real parents! They welcomed Mason Ryan into the world on October 9, 2013 at 4:04 PM. He is first and foremost perfect. And wonderful. And also, he debuted at 18 inches long and 7 lbs, 9 oz. You guys, I LOVE him!!

 

Let me show off a few pictures of the excitement!

No Birth Day is complete without a cake!

The proud papa and his bundle of joy



Grandma & Grandpa, Aunt Mindy, and Uncle Brad



Brand new family of three!!

First-time grandparents

Three generations of Mehaffey men

Mason Ryan Mehaffey

Basically, he's awesome. The whole family is completely in love with him, and I'm so happy to be an aunt again! God is so good and gracious with his wonderful blessings!!

Welcome to the world, Hannah Faith!

Hannah is here!!!

Kris, Emily, and big sister Layla welcomed Hannah Faith into their family at 7:46 AM, June 13, 2012. Hannah weighs 7 lbs, 13 oz and is 19 inches long. Everybody is doing very well. And I just know that Layla is going to be such a great big sister!

With the addition of this sweet bundle of joy, that makes a whopping FOUR baby girls on Hill Ridge, ages two and under! And technically, Charlie just turned two last month, and Layla doesn't have her birthday until September, so that milestone hardly even counts! 

Please join us in prayers of joy and thanksgiving for a healthy baby and a successful delivery. Praise God for His many wonderful blessings, and especially for precious little girls! ♥

Learning Early

I just love Layla. Don't you?

You know who else does? Jesus. And Layla is learning that precious truth already. This is the sweetest version of "Jesus Loves Me" I have ever heard.

Oh my goodness, my heart just falls right out. I simply can not stop watching this.

I can't wait to teach my own baby about Jesus' love someday! What a wonderful blessing! (The love and the baby!) ♥

I'm trying

I'm trying to conceive.

Heck, I'm just trying to ovulate at all.

I'm trying to be patient.

I'm trying to trust God's plan and have faith in His timing.

I'm trying to be positive.

I'm trying to not be discouraged, disappointed, or sad.

I'm trying to look on the bright side.

I'm trying to focus on my blessings.

I'm trying to get into the Christmas spirit.

I'm trying to stay motivated.

I'm trying not to cry at work.

I'm trying to not be or appear weak, but still be true to myself.

I'm trying to not throw myself a pity party.

I'm trying to keep things in perspective.

I'm trying to not be jealous of pregnant women and mommies of sweet kids.

I'm trying to not be offended by people's casual questions of "when it's our turn" or well-meaning comments about "how great I'd look with a baby on my hip."

I'm trying to not offend or hurt anybody's feelings by saying all of these things.

I'm trying to not be apprehensive of letting my blog and my blog readers come "behind the scenes."

As I'm sure most of you know, Brad and I are very anxious to get pregnant. It's been featured on each bucket list that I've published this year. However, you probably don't know that we've been trying to conceive for a total of about two years, now. It's not really something we've been super open about in the past. We didn't want all of the questions or unsolicited advice or awkward pity or dealing with the pressure of other people in addition to our own that we thought would come along with revealing the struggle. But I'm over that now. It's too much a part of my life to keep hidden.

I have to admit, even though I absolutely loooove Christmastime, this one is turning out to be a rather difficult one for me. You see, I had big, vivid dreams of celebrating this year's holiday with family and finally getting the perfect opportunity to reveal the great news of our pregnancy with those we love the most through clever Christmas gifts, nonchalantly wrapped under the tree. I already envisioned their faces of shock and joy. I had visions of a tiny stocking on our mantle and a special ornament for our sweet little bun in my oven on our tree.

Maybe I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up so high for such a special Christmas. In fact, looking back, of course I shouldn't have. But when we first started deliberately addressing our fertility issues back in May, I felt like Christmas was so far away. And when I scheduled an appointment with the doctor in July, I thought I still had plenty of time. And when I was diagnosed with PCOS and started a medicinal treatment in September, I thought I had four more tries to make it. And when that medicine alone didn't work, and she prescribed me with a fertility drug in November, I thought I had a 50/50 chance.

It turns out the timing doesn't always fall according to (my) plan. I'm trying to come to terms with the fact that this Christmas, I may have a full stocking and a tree full of presents and a full house of family whom I love, but I'll still have an empty womb.

...I can't describe how that feels. Some of you may know for yourself. From past experience or from current struggles. (I'm praying for you.)

I'm trying to be positive. And I'm trying to be patient. And I'm trying to enjoy (hopefully our last) Christmas together as just Brad and me. I'm trying to concentrate on how lucky I am to have such a wonderful, loving, compassionate partner as a husband. I'm trying to put on a smile and see the glass as half full. I'm trying to not be over dramatic or make a big deal out of something that I'll (hopefully) look back on as just a small blip in our story. I'm trying to focus more on God's will, and trust completely in His timing and His plan for me. (Which I wholeheartedly do.)

But regardless of all my effort, there's still a hole smack dab in the middle of my heart. Because right now, my heart belongs to a little baby whom I haven't had the blessed privilege of meeting. Yet.

{Sorry for being a Debbie Downer. Especially on a Friday. Especially during Christmastime. My heart was oozing all of that, and I had to let it out. And since this blog is my outlet, it was the only way I knew how. I hope you will forgive me. ♥ }

Liv's Official Birth Announcement

Are you kidding me?? Look at that sweet girl! I am head over heels in love with Liv. After you watch this sentimental video birth announcement, you will be, too. Seriously. You've been warned.

Oh! I just can't get enough of her! Those toes. That tiny, puggy nose. Her sweet yawn! Big sister Charlie is precious with her; giving her lots of kisses and then holding her baby sister, but only for a minute before she gets bored and wants to go play. (Ha!) Oh, and that's Emily's song and singing in the video. Awesome, right? I absolutely love this wonderful family. God's blessings are boundless!!

Another Big Sister

You take one Emily off of your pregnant prayer list just to add another one to it, right away! Kris and Emily are expecting their second blessing in June, 2012!  Hip, hip, HURRAY!!!

[Are you kidding!? Just look at this sweet girl!]

Unlike last time, when Emily and Emily shared the majority of their pregnancies, this time, their pregnancies only overlapped by a couple months. Either way, Liv and Jordan #2 will still be close, seeing as how they'll only be seven months apart. (Charlie and Layla are a mere four months apart, and they are absolutely best friends.)

Actually, all four of the babies will be super close in age. Charlie will have turned two-years-old only a month before Layla's little brother or sister is born. Four kids (at least three of them girls) aged two and under for a whole year! Hill Ridge is gunna be hoppin'!

Imagine what it'll be like if we can toss a baby Mehaffey into the mix, too. Here's hopin' prayin'!! ♥

Liv Joelle

I have a brand new BBF! Today, Emily had baby girl #2. Liv Joelle weighs 7 lbs, 8oz and is 19" long. She.is.perfect.

Praise God for a healthy, beautiful, perfect baby!!

Congratulations Charles, Emily and big sister Charlie!

Honeysuckle Hill Ridge

Hill Ridge finally took our first group field trip! (And we also took our first real group picture!) With Fall officially here, we simply couldn't resist the temptation to go to the pumpkin patch. Brad and I had visited Honeysuckle Hill Farm with a different trio of friends, three years ago, but it was such a different experience this time with the babies in our party!

We had such a great time playing on the toys, checking out the animals at the petting zoo, cheering on our favorite piglets in the pig race, picking pumpkins, and posing the girls all over the place for sweet photo ops! Between the three cameras, we got a ton of pictures. And since I'm not good (at all) at narrowing down my favorite images, let's just have a picture post! Shall we? (Just click on any of the collages to enlarge them.)

 

 

Seriously, I love our friends. And their babies. The end.

Happy Birthday, Layla Grace!

I can't believe it! Today, my other BBF (Best Baby Friend) becomes a great big one-year-old! It feels like only yesterday when we were visiting her in the hospital and starting to fall completely in love. Now, she's waddling walking all over the place, jabbering constantly, and blowing kisses to her favorite "aunt" and "uncle." Oh my goodness, this little girl makes my heart fall apart!

{Photos from Layla's 1 year photo session by Shannon Payne Photography}

Happy Birthday, Layla Grace! Aunt Mindy loves you very much!!

Layla at the Zoo

A few weekends ago, Brad and I joined the Jordans on a field trip to the zoo. Look at my sweet Layla Grace checking out the Timones prairie dogs!

While Layla was checking out all the zoo animals, all of us were watching her. We're pretty much all obsessed with her. And PS, isn't Bradley going to be the best daddy ever? Someday!

The zoo hosted this show of people exhibiting particular animals, and Layla absolutely loved it. She's only 9 months old, but she totally knows what's going on. Already, she really likes all kinds of animals.

BTW, I found a petite lap giraffe that fits into the palm of my hand! Well, this is the closest I'll ever get to one anyway, seeing as how they aren't even real. (Still sad about that one.)

Summer is officially here. Have you made your trip the zoo, yet?! Hope you have a great weekend!

Giggling Bubbles

I'm a firm believer in starting the weekend off on a high note, and I just truly think there's no better way to celebrate the end of a week than by enjoying the sweet sounds baby laughter! So here's this week's edition. It even features a funny dog as a bonus! Enjoy!

Hope you have a great weekend! Got any awesome plans? I'll be gaining a new sister! (Beat that!)

Laughing Layla

I didn't think there was anything I liked more than random laughing babies, but when that laughing baby is my own best friends' daughter, the video is exponentially better! Believe me. 

Told ya. ♥

Happy Birthday, Charlie Joy!

My BBF (Best Baby Friend) turns 1 today! I can't believe it's already been a whole year since she was born! I absolutely love her and just can't ever get enough of my baby girl. They celebrated her birthday with a party this past weekend. Here are a few highlights:

Emmy made her whole outfit. Incredible.

Priceless.

They just grow up so fast! Look at her chillin' in her car. Love it!

Happy Birthday, Charlie Joy. I love you so much!!