Declan's First Birthday!

Our baby boy is growing up so fast! He just turned one and we had so much fun celebrating his big day.

He started the day by opening presents! A card from Grandma and Grandpa Hatton, a truck and pajamas from Aunt Jessica and Uncle Matt, and a toy from Mom and Dad! 

Declan loved balloons....until they started to pop.

The afternoon was full of friends that came to eat giraffe cupcakes!

At night we celebrated with a pizza party and more presents.  A Spiderman toy and blanket from the Fishers and a book, swimsuit, and flip flops from the Johnson's.  The best part was having such good friends to share in the celebration! Everyone in Taylor's study group came by to wish him a happy birthday.

He finished the night with his smash cake, even though it took him a while to smash it...

Later in the week Declan also got a card from his Aunt Elisa, Uncle Paul, cousin Emily, and cousin Zach.  His Aunt Amber, Uncle Philip and cousins Peyton, Ryder, and Cohen set him a toy that he loves playing with during his bubble baths. We had one year pictures taken by Photo Affect Photography.  Declan didn't give us too many smiles, but we looking forward to having some cute pictures of this one year old boy!

Five Months of Updates

I really don't know what happened to November, December, January, OR February.  I didn't think it had been that long since I sat down to update our blog!  We had a fun Halloween and Declan made a very cute miniature version of a veterinary student.  We lost Grandma Tuckett and spent time with family.  We miss her very much! November went by quickly and we had fun celebrating Thanksgiving with friends.  We even took Declan on his first fishing trip that weekend!  The end of the semester is always a busy time for Taylor and we had hoped to have time to recover in December during the Winter Break.  Those plans were shattered by Taylor's need for an emergency appendectomy in the middle of finals week.  We had a quiet Christmas at home recuperating from that adventure.  Family came to visit the following week and Declan had fun playing with his cousins and seeing his Grandparents again.  We returned to the tri-cities as Grandpa Tuckett both also passed away during this time frame.  I'm glad Declan got to visit him and they got to spend a whole day playing together.  January also meant the start of semester for Taylor and end of grading term for me. February finally felt more settled and now that it is March we are back into a routine and looking forward to Spring Breaks!! 


Family Updates:

Taylor: With an exciting end to Fall semester, Taylor has been enjoying a semester with fewer credit hours (he only has 17!) and more time to spend at home.  He has also gotten back into his favorite hobby of getting 72 hour kits put together.  We are definitely going to be able to survive three days during a disaster - but any longer than that might be iffy.  He has sewn another stuff sack and is working on learning how to braid para-cord.  He is quite the crafty guy and it is a good thing his mom used to drag him to stores like Jo-Ann when he was little.  He may have cried about it then, but now he is the one asking me if we can go!

Elise: Every day seems to go by too fast for me! I keep busy working when Declan naps and sleeps.  It is a big blessing to be able to keep flexible teaching hours.  I get to still enjoy teaching science and working with my students, while Declan still gets to demand my attention when he is awake.  The only problem is that I haven't quite figured out when to fit in housework...

Declan: Loves being busy.  His favorite new hobby is going outside.  He loves walking around picking up rocks, scooping gravel on the playground, and going down the slide. It is fun to see how active he is!  I'll definitely need to work on keeping up my energy to chase him around.  He loves his toys and being pushed around on his little walker/car.  He often stops to pick up toys as I push him around the apartment.  Declan is doing great with solids!  His favorite foods are currently scrambled eggs and ham sandwiches.  He smacks his lips when he sees something he wants to eat and he loves watching me cook! Every morning he watches his Dad go to school, but he won't always wave good-bye.  He loves when Taylor gets home for dinner and is closer to saying "dad" than any other word.  He has grown up so fast and is such a cute little man!

8 Months Old and Oh So Big!



At the hospital

8 months ago I woke Taylor up at 4:00 AM and we headed off to Logan Regional Hospital. We had no idea what we were doing.  Baby Declan wasn't supposed to arrive for another month!  With my water broken and nurses wishing us a happy baby day, we started to acknowledge it was really happening.  I emailed my students to cancel class; Taylor ate a sandwich and went back to sleep. We had a wonderful nurse that checked in every hour or so and Taylor helped me through each contraction. After 5 hours of labor and a passionate declaration of never going through this again, our family grew by one.  Declan was a tiny baby at just 17.5 inches long and weighing in at 5 lbs 14 oz, but he filled up our lives and changed them forever.


  

Such a big cutie!

He is now 8 months old and smack dab in the middle of the charts at about 20 inches long and 20 lbs.  He sits up on his own and crawls everywhere! He is a happy baby unless he is tired or sick.  When I take him out shopping I always get comments about his cute chubby legs and long blonde hair.  We sure love this kiddo and can't believe he is growing up so fast!










Family Updates:

Tired Sunday Nap

 Taylor: School is keeping Taylor busy and frustrated.  It has been a stressful semester as exams have been spread out instead of grouped together.  It may seem like a good thing, but it would be easier to have one stressful test week out of every three instead of a test every single week.  He is also putting together his schedule for next year and hoping for some opportunities for research during his 4th year rotations.   Hopefully some of his locations will be scheduled close to family so we can visit! 



 Elise: At this point in the year, each day seems blurred together.  I'm working on teaching every spare minute.  I contact students during the day and help them with assignments then I grade and prep once Declan is down for the night.  I also attempt to clean up our apartment from time to time and work on random projects.  My current project that must get done is Declan's Halloween costume.  He is going to dress up like Taylor and be a miniature vet student.  I have to get his scrubs sewn in time for the vet school party and my work costume photo competition. 




Playing

 Declan:  Every day Declan wakes up and plays with his toys, but lately he has been loving anything that isn't a toy.  He loves shoes, cords, paper, leaves, anything he can get his hands on before we take it away.  I try to give him enough attention throughout the day, but at most of the time he is happiest on his own just crawling around making mischief. 

Everyday Living

Our morning trail

Declan and I go jogging together in the morning on a little path next to our apartment.  Every morning we get up and walk past the bunny rabbits in our yard, watch the birds fly around chirping, jog through the rolling wheat fields, and just miss home!  Pullman is a great place to be, but we definitely miss having our family close by and the familiarity of living in Logan.  However, we are making fabulous friends here and I know it will be just as hard to leave when Taylor is done as it was to leave Utah.  With the school year well underway we've gotten into our routines and the days seem to fly by! 

Family Updates:

Taylor: I asked Taylor what he has been doing lately that deserved mentioning in this section and he replied, "absolutely nothing."  Basically, he has already been sucked into vet school and I've lost my husband for the next two years (he goes straight into 4th year without a break).  He has been working hard in school and successfully made it through his first two exams. He has also been looking into his schedule for what things he would like to do for his 4th year as they do a lot of clinical rounds and they actually get quite a bit of freedom when it comes to choosing the type and sometimes even the location of those opportunities.  He is still hoping to go into research and development, so hopefully he'll be able to do some of his 4th year exploring options in that area.

Elise: I've had a hard time keeping up with everything this month! When I sit down at the computer it is usually to try and squeeze some work time in so I've neglected giving everyone an update on our adventures.  The school year is going well and I'm definitely enjoying working with my students.  It is hard to get anything done when Declan decides he doesn't want to nap, but we are into a routine and things are going well. I've also been able to enjoy some time creating things for our little home now that Declan sleeps in his crib and has a more consistent bed time.  As a picture is worth a thousand words, you can see for yourself what I've been up to!


I painted a jar for my shelf, but haven't found anything else to put up there yet!
 I also finished the shelves for our guest bathroom and painted a letter for Declan's door to match his animal wall decals.

Declan: This little guy is growing up so fast!  He is starting solids, doing well with sleep training, moving around (rolling, getting up on all fours, spinning in circles), and even swimming during our parent/child swim lessons.  He still loves going outside and watching the cars drive by and he has also started enjoying the chance to play on the grass.  His hair is even getting so long that I worry we'll need to cut it! He's almost 7 months old and he definitely brightens up our life!

Where Did Summer Go?

Wow! The last three weeks have flown by.  I don't know how, but we managed to fill up our days and as of tomorrow our summer is officially over!  We've spent the last three weeks visiting friends, attending the LDS Temple in Spokane, getting ready for school and work, and who knows what else! At least we feel like our little family is planted and thriving in our new place.

 

Family Updates:
Taylor: A lot of time went to working on building a patio this month.  Taylor was able to work with some of his WSU professors at their home as they tried to finish their brick patio before the summer's end.  Taylor had fun working out in the sun all day and earning a little bit of money too!  He also found plenty of time to catch up with his shows and enjoy Netflix.  It will be a long time before he gets to do that again! 

Elise:  I turned 28!  I can't believe how old I am getting. It is odd to look in the mirror and see a mom staring back at me.  When did growing up happen?  I made myself a delicious ice cream cake to celebrate, culminating our summer of Tillamook flavors.  Favorites are still Cookie Dough and White Chocolate Raspberry.  I'm excited to start teaching this week.  It will be interesting to see how it goes, but I'm ready for the challenge and the routine that responsibilities will bring into our life.

Here's my little ball of towel!

Declan:  He is still a rolling fool, but still hasn't figured out that crawling doesn't require his face. I'm betting a few more rug burns on his nose before he realizes that it takes getting up on both arms and legs to do the job.  We also started letting him be in the big bath tub instead of his baby tub.  He loves laying in the warm water and splashing to his hearts content. I can't wait to take him swimming as I think he will love it!  We also started sleep training, so he has cried more than ever.  However, he is sleeping in his crib most of the night and for longer stretches of time.  In the end hopefully this means a happier baby (and a happier daddy). 

Wish us luck as the semester starts and work begins!

August Already?!

Wow! I can't believe how fast time has gone.  Only three weeks of summer vacation left!  Taylor starts school on August 25th which is the same day UCA starts classes. (I'll actually start training and lesson prep this week, but students won't be back until then.)  The best part of this week was having Taylor's parents up to visit!  It is so nice to have extra hands around to help with Declan, so if anyone else wants to visit please do!  I had fun shopping craft stores and doing Jamberry nails with my mother-in-law Debbie and we all went out to dinner together Friday night.  We also went to the WSU creamery and tried the ice cream.  I still don't know that anything can fill the void of flavors like True Aggie and Aggie Blue Mint, but it was definitely a close second.

Two handsome guys ready for church!

Family Updates:
Taylor:  We thought it couldn't be any worse than "Sharknado", but Taylor managed to find another cheesy shark video that at the very least ties if not defeats it.  "Megaladon vs Mechaladon" was Taylor's movie of choice this week. An extinct Megaladon shark is released from an iceberg so of course the government chooses to take it out by building their own giant mechanical shark.  Which works well until it goes rouge, transforms into tank mode, and starts terrorizing Australia.  I don't know how Taylor will survive the semester without watching such classy films.  He hasn't had any new projects to work on, but he did finally hang his USU poster straight so I wouldn't be driven crazy by its crookedness! 

Elise:  I went to JoAnn's and Michael's this weekend and ended up with a whole slew of new crafting projects.  They had wooden crates on sale for $9.99 and with my coupon I got another $2.50 off! I'll be using those to make some shelving for our guest bathroom.  Wood crafts were 80% off at Michael's so I have a bunch of small frames for a collage I want to put up on our wall.  I hope that the reality ends up being as good as I have it pictured!  I still am working on a lot of sewing projects as well.   I should have lot to keep me busy this month! I'll post finished projects as I get them done.

Declan:  He can roll onto his tummy without thinking about it at all now! The only problem is that he then tries to crawl using just his legs and his face.  He hasn't realized that arms need to be involved in the process.  He gets frustrated and I have to pick him up after a while because I'm worried he'll get a rug burn on his nose!  He has also had a cold this past week.  We thought it was getting a little better, but last night his cough started to sound a little like the croup so we're keeping a close eye on him.  Hopefully he gets well soon!

We're finally starting to feel that there is a routine to our days and we are enjoying Pullman, even though we mostly sit inside enjoying the air conditioner.  Hopefully we can fit in more fun summer memories before we're back to the daily grind that school brings!

Our Pullman Place

This week I wanted to show off our new place! The blog update is a little late because I had to get pictures while the rooms where relatively clean, which was harder to do than I would've liked! We were very excited to upgrade from our studio/1 bedroomish apartment to this bigger place-we have so many doors!



Our Living Room! Taylor still needs to straighten his USU poster and I want to do some type of world map by the shelves above the couch.

The Kitchen! I love my curtains and this room is pretty bright and cheery.  Dishwasher and disposal are the best things ever! I still need things to go on my shelf.

The top pictures are the Master Bathroom and the bottom pictures are the Guest Bathroom.  I still need shelving in the guest bath.

Master Bedroom. I still need curtains and some décor to fill in the blank spots on the walls, but when it is clean it looks very nice!

Declan's room is coming along. I can't decide if I should raise the decals up higher on the wall or leave them as it.  I also want to put his name up by the picture frame.

We also have a guest bedroom, but it is also my sewing room and is currently more of a disaster than I could tackle.  I do have to have it clean by the time Grandma and Grandpa Hatton get here this weekend, so I'll update with pictures of that room when I can!

Family Updates:
Taylor: Taylor is thoroughly enjoying his free trial of Amazon Prime streaming.  He even watched Sharknado which has to be one of the worst movies of all time.  He is getting ready for school to start at the end of August and is getting all of his necessary items.  His biggest complaint is that the electronic versions of things cost exactly the same as getting the print versions, but luckily he only needs the notes printed by the university and possibly one book. 

Elise: I'm still trying to keep the apartment in order, which is hard during lazy summer days.  I'm feeling about ready for school to start just for the structure that it will bring to our schedule. I am excited to be preparing for teaching, which was a pleasant surprise from this past week.  I'll be taking on the Earth Science course at UCA (where I taught full-time last year).  It should be very flexible. Just enough to keep me busy, but still be able to have Declan be my number one priority.  Plus, it also means needing less student loan dollars which is definitely a good thing!  I was feeling nostalgic with all the signs for back to school and teacher discounts, so this is the perfect solution.

Declan: He is a rolling fool!  Declan can now successfully go from his back to his tummy and from his tummy to his back.  I'm starting to feel up to doing some serious sleep training, so I'm tracking his sleep and feeding this week so we can jump into that the first week of August.  He still hates his rice cereal, so we're not trying any additional solids yet.  He loves sitting and looking around, especially outside and loves more physical play (like being tossed gently in the air).  If he gets overtired, he becomes a bit punch drunk and you can get him giggling like mad at just about anything.  He also made friends this past week with our neighbor's cat Oreo and our friend's dog Davis.  He got licked in the face a lot and didn't seem to mind.  He may be a mini-vet in the making!