Chicago

Scott and I left for Chicago about 10:15 am Wednesday. We took Cheyenne out to my parents' and then left from there. It was hard to leave her but knew she was in good hands. We got to Chicago about 10:30 that night. The flow of traffic was 85 mph and people were still passing us! So we made pretty good time! We found a hotel in Bolingbrook, Illinois. Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, we got up early and headed down town to watch the parade. It was a nice parade, a little cold, but ok. The blown up characters look a lot bigger on tv than they did in person. Here are a few pictures of the parade.

This is the biggest rubberband ball in the world! The snow man and Christmas tree are made out of rubberband balls too.

The Nutcracker on horseback.

Miss Illinois in her pink Hummer.

After the parade we walked down on the Navy Pier but most things were closed. So we went back to the hotel and decided to go back on Friday. We did a lot on Friday so I will post that info. later.

Shopping

Saturday Cheyenne and I went shopping with my mom and sisters. We had a good time and I was able to get a few Christmas presents and some new jeans for our trip. We had fun shopping. Here are a few pictures of our day!

Aunt Brittany thought she needed to try on the slippers!

She loved the baby section! She is sitting in a bin of little girls panties I think. We got some Christmas gifts for her too! She won't be lacking presents under the tree!

New way to get around

When Cheyenne was at work with me I put her in the bouncy seat when I needed to take her in the other room to clean up and stuff. Well, one day she leaned over the side of it when she she dropped one of her toys. She didn't fall out but I figured that was enoughf of that one. Then I used the Bumbo thinking she woud sit in it and play. That didn't last long at all. The first day I had her in it she arched her back and about tipped her and the Bumbo over backwards. Now I wasn't sure what I was going to do. Staci K. suggested a stroller. So, here is our new way to entertain her.

It works pretty good. She sits in it while I clean and I can push her around when she gets fussy and can also push her and leave my hands free to carry other things.

Here are a few pictures of her at work with me the last couple days.

Someone paid for their membership and Cheyenne took the money. That-a-girl! Go for the big bucks!

She was excited about something!

Is she winking?

Nursing

We've decided to leave Cheyenne with my parents while we go on a little vacation over Thanksgiving. Since I am still nursing I was concerned how Cheyenne would do without being nursed. So yesterday I didn't nurse her at all. I gave her cereal and a bottle in the morning and then my mom fed her lunch. My mom said she was really good at her house. When I got to my mom's at 9:30 to pick her up, I gave her a bottle. She fell asleep on the way home and stayed asleep. She didn't get up until 8:15 this morning. Now if she can just do that for 4 or 5 days while we are gone.

Of course, the down side to this is that I have to pump more often. I think I pumped 3 times yesterday. It will be fun to try and fit in pumping while we are gone. The morning and night one won't be bad, the middle one will be the tough one. I can usually go about 9 hours or so. We'll see.

Don't get too excited with this picture! I got her to stand up sort of leaning against the bed so I could get a picture of her cowgirl shirt and boots!

She will stand up very briefly if you put her in that position holding on to something.

Teenagers

We had some excitement at our house about 8:40 Saturday night. We were watching tv and heard some kids talking outside. They were in the alley by our house. I didn't turn the porch light on to see who it was. Then all of a sudden they hit our front door. We jumped up, opened the door but no one was there. Scott went to the end of the porch and could see them running down the alley. So, reverting to the cop he used to be, he grabbed his shoes and chased after them. They had gone in different directions so he chased some of them down the alley going North. He caught one of them and made him come back to our house. Then one of them was riding a bike and rode back by our house. Scott told him "In my hard, NOW". He told them that they had woken Cheyenne up and they didn't need to be hanging around here and made them call their parents to come pick them up. I knew both of the boys through the rec. They said they didn't do it but didn't know who did. You can't tell me that they were all together and they didn't see who came up on our porch and hit our door. One of the boys' mom came and picked him up and Scott took the other one home. His parents weren't at home so he took him to his mom's work. He had the boy show him where the other kids lived and Scott went to talk to their parents. None of them were at home. Most of them were at the bar! That's why these kids are out causing trouble!

When Scott got to one of the kid's house the other boy was there too. Scott said they were pretty scared. He told them he would be back Sunday evening to visit with their parents. When I found out who these kids were I knew them too from the rec. Scott asked them if they knew his wife. They didn't. He asked them if they've ever been to the rec and they said they had and Scott said that I was his wife. One of them was like "Oh, man!"

Scott found a couple cops sitting up town and talked to them about it. He told them that he had advised the boys of trespassing (he had a cop word for it). If they step foot on our property again they will go to Bob Johnson's (I didn't know what that was and neither did the boys). It is the boys' home.

I don't know if they were playing Ding-Dong Ditch or if they just thought it would me funny since they were standing there. My guess is they won't do it again though. I bet they never imagined someone would come chasing after them and show up at their house! Some of them may not come up to the rec for awhile either!

Cheyenne laughing

Cheyenne was helping me hang up clothes yesterday and thought it was petty funny!

Sleeping Comfortably?!

Yesterday Cheyenne was sitting on the living room floor playing while I was trying to pay some bills. She started to get fussy and I just talked to her and told her I was about done and we'd go bye-bye. (We had PAT playgroup at LRC) She got quiet so I thought she was just playing. I looked up and she was asleep! She was sitting on the floor and leaned down on her toys and went to sleep. Can you sleep like that? I had to pick her up because it didn't look comfortable at all. Who knows how long she would have slept like that!

Momma's Girl

Lately Cheyenne has been a little fussy. We think it is mainly because she is teething again but she has also shown us that she is a momma's girl. She is with me all the time, at home, at work, when we go anywhere. If she can see me and talk to me she is usually ok. I have to put her in her chair in the kitchen a lot when I am cooking so she can see me. It is very evident when someone else is holding her and she is crying and as soon as I take her she smiles. It is kind of funny but really isn't because now we are going to have to break her of just wanting momma.

Here is a picture of her wanting to be picked up.

Bumbo

A couple people have suggested putting Cheyenne in a Bumbo. We actually have one but she doesn't fit in it very well. Ever since we got it several months ago, she has been too chunky or something. Her thighs just don't fit right. It says it is for like 4 months to 14 months or something like that. We got it out and tried to put her in it again this weekend. As you can tell, he left leg just doesn't fit in it. We put it down in there but it was a little tight. She sat in it for awhile but not real long. She did have fun playing with her toes while sitting in it though!

Do you notice the teething ring she is chewing on? We had a rough weekend with her drooling a lot and being fussy. We were up once in the night Saturday and twice Sunday night. Orajel and baby motrin seemed to help some. She liked the cold teething ring too but it just doesn't stay cold very long.

I thought maybe I could take the Bumbo to work for her to sit in when she goes with me into another room to wipe down machines or something. Her ability to sit up has outgrown the bouncer. Maybe we just need to get a walker. Any suggestions?

Mess

Yesterday I fed Cheyenne baby food while she was at work with me. She was hungry and then got excited when I started feeding her. She kept talking and spitting the baby food. It was all over her! On her nose, forehead, in her hair and all over her clothes. It was kind of funny but it made a little bit of a mess!

Can you see it on her forehead? I tried to get a picture of it in her hair but there wasn't enough for it to show up.

This shows it on her clothes. You can't see it all on her white shirt...there's more!

One of my friends posted a video of her little one on her blog and I had recently uploaded all of the videos to a website off of my camera (hoping to get a video camera for Christmas) so I thought I would try to post a video on my blog. Here is one of her after a bath talking to the fan. She loves the fan in our bedroom.

Cheyenne talking to the fan

Cheyenne's first Halloween

Yesterday was Cheyenne's first Halloween. She was a rooster. We took her out to a few places to see family and friends. She didn't get any candy but did get some money. I think Scott was hoping he would get some candy! I think he had a couple pieces!

Scott took her out to the salt plant in the afternoon and then brought her up to the rec.

This was after trick-or-treating. It was cold so she had a stocking hat on. It doesn't really go with the rooster thing but it kept her warm. Notice the socks on her hands!

Reading the Halloween card from Grandma and Grandpa Clark, Aunt Brittany and Aunt Staci.

State Volleyball

Ok...this is the third time I have tried to post this for those of you who were looking for how QH did this weekend. I would have had it on here yesterday but blogger wasn't connecting.

QH made it out of pool play on Friday. They lost to Centralia and then beat Little River and Brewster. It was awesome beating Little River since they beat us in Regionals. Us and Centralia came out of pool B and South Haven and Linn came out of pool A. Saturday we played South Haven and won! Then we played Centralia in the Championship match. Centralia won the first game of the match and then we came back and won the second won but unfortunately lost the third game. So we ended up with 2nd place. 2nd is nothing to hang their heads about. They beat the team that was ranked #1 in the state throughout the season (Greensburg) to go to state and beat Little River at state. It was a lot of fun watching them play this year, especially in post season. They had a wonderful season with a 36-4 record. Good luck to them next year!

This was Cheyenne ready to leave on Friday.

They announced all the players for all of the teams before the games started on Friday.

Cheyenne cheering for the T-Birds! GO BIG BLUE!

Quivira Height Thunderbirds

1A State Runner-up!

2006 Thunderbird Volleyball Team and their fans!

CONGRATULATIONS

QUIVIRA HEIGHTS THUNDERBIRDS!

RUNNER-UP AT STATE!

Visiting Family

We went to Hugoton this weekend after volleyball to see Scott's dad and his family. Scott's grandma hadn't seen Cheyenne yet. We met them in Liberal Saturday night at the bowling alley and then went to Hugoton when they were done. Sunday we spent the day visiting. We came home Monday morning. It was nice to get to see and spend time with his family.

Four generations: Craig Hayes, Betty Hayes, Scott Hayes and Cheyenne Hayes

This is Scott's little sister, Joslynn. Her and Cheyenne liked playing together.

Sub-State Champs!

QH won sub-state on Saturday! They beat Montezuma-South Gray in the first round and Greensburg (who were undefeated before then!) in the finals! So they are playing in the state tournament on Friday and hopefully Saturday! This is the first time QH has been to state since the mid '80's I think. I am going to watch them play Friday. It's been an exciting journey to watch and am looking forward to watching them finish out the season. Wish them luck at STATE!

Quivira Heights Thunderbirds!

Blowouts & Dilemma

Yesterday my boss, Jr., was talking about babies having blowouts. They had been talking about it on the radio. Well, Cheyenne had one this morning. She was sitting on the floor while I took a shower. Scott was in the living room with her and she got a little fussy so he picked her up. After I got dressed I went in the living room and could see a spot on the back of her pj's. That's why she was fussin'! Scott didn't want to change her so I did. It was all up her back. Since she had been sitting on the floor it had no where to go but up! I changed her and took her pj's off and it was all over her back. Since she has been eating baby food her poop is a little thicker so it was real nice to clean up. Scott was going to take a shower so I put her in there with him. As he was getting in I felt something wet on my shirt. I had ahold of Cheyenne as she was standing on the sink. I looked down and she was peeing! I quickly put her over the sink, but not before she got it all down the front of me! I handed her to Scott and started cleaning everything up. You can't help but laugh when they do these things! Scott especially thought it was pretty funny!

Blogger won't let me upload any pictures right now so I will add it later.

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Ok...here is my dilemma: Scott and I are thinking about taking a little vacation in November. We are probably going to drive up north somewhere. He was thinking either Yellowstone or Niagra Falls. It is about a 20 hour drive either place I think. Niagra is a little farther. Do we take Cheyenne with us or leave her with family? In some ways I want to take her but in some I don't. Scott and I have never had a vacation like this by ourselves before but that is our fault. It would be a lot of time in the truck for her too. But it would be a nice first family vacation and she is young enough that she wouldn't complain too much. I don't know if I am ready to leave her for about 4 or 5 days yet. I've only spent one night without her since she was born and that wasn't even a real night. ( we got home at 3:15 am and I was at my mom's to pick her up at 7:45 am) I would have to pump a lot if she didn't go since I am still nursing. That may be a little inconvenient at times. Am I a bad mom for leaving my child at home? Will Scott and I enjoy ourselves or will we worry about how Cheyenne is doing? Will we enjoy ourselves if she goes and we can't do somethings because she is fussy or too young? I keep going back and forth with myself on what to do. If anyone has advice please feel free to give it.

Teeth

I finally have a good picture of Cheyenne's teeth. She has her 2 bottom ones in. We first noticed them on September 10th. We were eating at Sirloin Stockade in Hutch after attending the State Fair. It was like "Oh, you have teeth!" They are coming in more now. She has bitten me a few times. Only twice while nursing, thankgoodness. She has done it when we are just playing around and she bits down on my chin. She wasn't too fussy and didn't get sick when getting these teeth in. Hopefully they are all like that!

THEY WON!!

My sister just called me and they beat Claflin to go to Sub-state! They still have one more game tonight to determine regional champions but no matter what they will go to sub-state. Another Saturday full of exciting volleyball coming up this weekend!

GO THUNDERBIRDS!!!

First Loss

Saturday was the Central Prairie League volleyball tournament for QH at Claflin. Quivira Heights made it to the championship match but lost to St. John in 2 games. This was the 3rd time they have seen St. John this season and was their first loss. Today is Regionals at Claflin. I won't be able to attend the games but hope they make it to sub-state this weekend.

This is Brittany setting the ball. She got to play more in the first couple matches because we were ahead by several points. I like this picture of Katherine spiking the ball. It shows how high she gets.

Cheyenne sleeping in the bleachers. They are completely covered so she couldn't fall through. That was nice.

Here is her and Lane playing. He is exactly a month older than her. They go to our church and Cheyenne and Lane like talking and playing together.

I hope Quivira Heights can continue on through postseason play. They have a good chance of going to state. I'm looking forward to watching them finish out the season.

GOOD LUCK QH!

Big Girl!

Today Cheyenne had her 6 month check-up. Everything looked good. Her ear infection was getting better and her breathing sounded good. We were pleased to hear that. She weighed 20 lbs. and was 30 1/4 in. long. She has grown almost 10 inches since she was born. She is way over the charts for her height and a little over for her weight. I was looking at the chart and 30 inches would be in the 50th percentile for a 15 month old! Scott made the comment that she will be 3 foot tall before she starts walking! I think we are going to have a tall daughter. That's ok with us though.

She did very well with her shots today. She cried when she got them but when we were putting her pants back on her she was smiling. She fell asleep on the way home and then took a little nap when we got home and then she was all smiles and laughs. Mommy & Daddy were very proud of her.

This is a picture of her before we went to the doctor. All bundled up and ready to go.

Finally Pictures

Here are the pictures I tried to post with my last blog. You can see the many new clothes we got! Today we went and had 6 month pictures taken. She wore one of the new outfits. She was really cute in it. It was Levi jeans and t-shirt with a jean jacket. Although because they are size 12 months you can tell that they are made for kids who are walking or at least crawling. She looks like she should be doing those things in the outfit! Oh, well, I shouldn't get in a rush. She will be moving about all too soon.

She likes the clothes. When I was putting them away she would get excited when I was holding them and reach for them. I let her play with them for awhile. I think she might be a shopper! It'll be fun when she gets older!

This is a rarity! Her hair isn't in a ponytail. Notice how wild it is...and all on top! That's why she usually has one ponytail on the top of her head.

The pink and green outfit in the bottom right corner is Ralph Lauren, the maroon one by her right hand is Ecko, the jeans behind her are Lucky and most of the others are Children's Place or Old Navy. The outfit she has on is one of them too. I think were set!

New Clothes!

(I tried to post this last night with pictures but it wouldn't let be add the pictures. I tried again today but with no luck so I will attempt to post the pictures later.)


Sunday my mom and I went to Hutch to get some clothes from a guy we met almost a year ago. OK, for those of you who haven't heard the story...here it is. My mom, sisters and I were registering for baby things at Wal-Mart last December when a guy came up to us and said, "This might be a weird question, but do you guys have a crib?" My mom and I looked at each other a little puzzled and mom said she still had the one that all 4 of us kids slept in. We didn't have a crib yet. He said he had just taken this one apart and wanted to get rid of it and wanted $30 for it. We figured it wouldn't hurt to go look at it. It was a white metal frame crib and we was selling the crib, mattress and bedding set for $30. We thought it was a good deal and would find someplace for the crib. He also had a bouncy seat, 2 activity centers, a sink bath tub, bath tub ring, and monitor he also wanted to sell. We got all of that stuff including the crib for $65. As we were walking out he threw in a diaper pail also. We didn't know what the gender of our baby would be at that time but he said if we have a girl, give him a call and he would have some clothes for us. Since we had a girl, we called him up and Scott and I went to see what he had for clothes. He had lots and we came home with 6 trash bags full of clothes, shoes and even a Halloween costume (which you will see in a couple weeks!). Most of the clothes were Old Navy, Baby Gap, Lucky, Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren and other brand names. When we got the clothes we also bought a jumparoo from him.

Since Cheyenne had outgrown all of the clothes we got the first time we decided to call him and see what he had in the 12 months size. (She basically skipped the 6-9 months) They weren't sure because their daughter was tiny and may still be able to wear some of this size clothing (she will be 2 in January). I was a little disappointed. Except I did get to go shoppig for some clothes for her. I called him again the other day and he said they had some clothes they were ready to get rid of. So, on Sunday mom and I came home with 2 trash bags full of clothes and 2 coats. Alot of these outfits were from the Children's Place and Old Navy. They also had Ecko, Lucky and Ralph Lauren. Cheyenne should be set for the winter. A lot of the outfits are three pieces with pants, a shirt and jacket. There were probably 8 outfits or so that still had tags on them!

I'm excited to put her in the outfits and dresses. I hope she stays at this size for a little while. At least through the winter! There are some really cute outfits! I spent $200 on these clothes but I shouldn't have to buy any for several months! And the brands are expensive brands. It was worth it.

Staci's Volleyball

Saturday Cheyenne was feeling better and Staci was playing volleyball in Chase so we decided to go watch her. I haven't seen her play this year yet so I was hoping I would get to go, especially since it was so close. We didn't make the first game because Cheyenne was still sleeping and we didn't want to wake her up. They didn't play their second game until 12:15 so we went then. QH only had 6 players so Staci had to set. This was her first time setting but she did a good job. QH ended up getting 4th place. It was close between them and Inman for 3rd/4th.

Here is Staci serving. I didn't get a very good picture of her setting. I get caught up in the game sometimes and miss it. I haven't got the hang of when to push the button with the slight delay of the digital camera.

ER

Last night we made our first trip to the ER with Cheyenne. It wasn't real serious but she had a temp and wouldn't stop crying. They took her blood, swabbed her nose and did chest x-rays. All the test came back negative except she has an ear infection. They gave us a prescription for that and then game her a shot in the leg for her congestion and bacterial things that were going on in her body. It was so hard to watch her have to go through all that but we were glad that she didn't have RSV or pneumonia. She just looked like she really didn't feel well. Her eyes were puffy and she wasn't moving a whole lot. We couldn't do anything to get her to smile. She came home and slept for about an hour and a half an then woke up and we gave her a bath. She ate and I gave her some medicine and tried to get her to eat again but she really didn't want to. About 10:30 she was feeling a little better and ready to play. She was reaching for things and smiling more. Then she started getting tired again and went to sleep. It is 8:00 am now and she is still asleep. She slept through the night. Hopefully the rest will help her too. We hope she is her happy self again soon.

High Chair

Today we ate lunch at the Ranch House and Cheyenne sat in a wooden high chair by herself. Usually we have to put blankets around her or sit there and hold her with one hand and try to eat with the other. Scott and I both were able to eat our meals and give her a bite here and there. She is getting stronger and able to do things on her own now.

Sitting in the high chair at the Ranch House! She's a big girl!

On a not so exciting note...she isn't feeling well. She woke up feeling kind of crummy but got to feeling better throughout the morning. When I left for work she was a little fussy and Scott brought her up to the rec an hour and a half later because she hadn't stopped crying since I left. She was kind of ok at the rec but she started crying again. She felt hot so I took her home and took her temperature and it was 99.2. We gave her some more tylenol cold medicine and I fed her and she acted like she was feeling better. The things that we usually do to make her laugh didn't even bring a smile to her face. Scott put her in the stroller and took her for a walk when I went back to work. I hope that she took a nap. It could be a long weekend.

Helpless

Before bed last night Cheyenne went into a coughing fit. We gave her a drink of juice and then I nursed her and she was fine. She coughed several times through the night. At 6:15 or so this morning I put her in bed with me because she was coughing. She would cough and then let out a short cry. She had these spells every so often. I got up about 7:45 and figured she wouldn't be far behind. To my surprise she slept until 9:30. She hasn't slept that late for several weeks so I know she wasn't feeling well. She has still been coughing a bit today. Of course her dr. is out of the office and I had to have someone else call me back. They said it was probably due to drainage which I could tell because of the sound of her cough. We can give her some children's robitusin but the best thing to do is us a saline solution to clean out her nose. So tonight we will do the "joyous" job of spraying that in her nose and suctioning it out.

She has taken several naps while with me at work today so hopefully that will help her. She sleeps and then wakes up with a cry (which she usually doesn't do, she usually wakes up with a smile :) ). She has been a little fussy but that's understandble. I just wish I could do more to help her feel better. You just wish that they could tell you what hurts or what they want. Even though she hasn't felt well today she still has her cute smile, just not as often. I just hope she gets over this soon and is back to her normal happy self again.

This is the happy baby I want to see!

Looks

Everyone always asks "Who does she look like?" I have heard several different things lately. Some say Cheyenne looks like Scott others say she looks like the Clarks. Someone saw her for the first time at the volleyball tournament this weekend and said, "You look like your daddy!" While someone else in the gym this morning said, "You look just like the Clarks!" Someone else said she looks like my brother. I see both of us in her. I think she has Scott's mouth and the Clark eyes. I also think it depends on who you know. Those that know Scott think she looks like him. Those that don't know Scott but know me an my family think she looks like the Clarks. What do you think?

Does she look like daddy?

Or does she look like mommy?

Or does she look like herself?

Another Win!!

Saturday QH played volleyball in the Burrton Tournament. They won all of their games and won the tournament. They are undefeated so far this season. They are ranked 4th in the state in 1A schools. It is fun to watch them play. Watching them brings back memories of when I played in high school. I miss it. I'm hoping to get to play in our women's league at the rec. I am happy for QH and my sisters. I will try to support them when I can. The weekend tournaments are lots of fun to watch. Staci will finally get to play in a JV tournament this weekend. I am looking forward to watching her play for the first time.

Cheyenne was ready to go to Burrton. She is all dressed in her Thunderbird blue and Thunderbird t-shirt. Scott's mom machine embroidered her name and a Thunderbird with QH and Hayes on the jacket. She loves watching volleyball. Hopefully she will play someday.

Brittany (#25) getting ready for the ball to come on their side.

Brittany setting the ball for Molly to hit.

TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS!!!

The boys are very supportive of them. They go to all the games and tournaments and chant and cheer throughout the whole thing. Many of them have hoarse voices afterwards. They have signs and painted t-shirts and everything. It's nice to have that kind of school spirit and support.

GO QUIVIRA HEIGHTS THUNDERBIRDS!!!