A GUIDE TO SURVIVING THE SICK DAYS

You might not be able to tell by looking at this picture, but Hadley had a double ear infection and was running a fever that day. Kids should not be allowed to get sick, especially when they are too young to tell you what hurts. I feel helpless at times when trying to make her feel better because I don't always know what is hurting her. The best way I know how to comfort her is by either cuddling up on the couch or doing some sort of low-energy activity. Hadley was sick for two and half weeks with this infection so I was able to see what activities she liked best. I have made a list below of our top low-energy activities to get us through those dreaded sick days.

-Melissa & Doug Puzzles

Hadley especially loves the puzzles that make sound. I have provided the link below for our favorite one.
https://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-Animals-Sound-Puzzle/dp/B0029NFSMQ/ref=sr_1_13?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1506045035&sr=1-13&keywords=melissa+and+doug+puzzles

-Sunshine and Pine
This online shop has so many amazing toys/activities. They are all handmade and are custom made as well. The link below will take you to the shop and to our favorite item we have from there.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/554821901/handmade-natural-wood-bead-abacus-color?ref=shop_home_active_5

-Coloring
I recently found theses great non-toxic stackable crayons that are designed for toddlers. Hadley enjoys coloring but she always ends up just stacking her crayons. Link is below.
https://www.amazon.com/Toddler-Crayons-Stackable-Non-Toxic-Primary/dp/B01N7COQ3R/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1506045967&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=toddler+non+toxic+crayons&psc=1

-Reusable Sticker Book
These sticker books are awesome! Most of them are only $5.00 and come with a lot of stickers.
https://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-Reusable-Sticker-Pad/dp/1223080846/ref=sr_1_10?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1506046094&sr=1-10&keywords=reusable+sticker+book

-Movie Time
Hadley got a pop-up tent for her birthday that also has a tunnel and ball pit, super cute! One of her favorite things is to sit in it with her blanket and watch a movie, especially Moana. I linked a similar tent below. Ours folds up and we hide it behind the couch.
https://www.amazon.com/Tunnel-Pop-Playhouse-Adventure-Gamehouse-Toy-Zippered/dp/B01MY6DFZ7/ref=sr_1_36?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1506046506&sr=1-36&keywords=pop%2Bup%2Btent%2Bfor%2Bkids&th=1

-Reading
In my last blog post I listed a lot of our favorite books. Reading books has always been one of Hadley's favorite activities. I listed a classic sick day book below.
https://www.target.com/p/sherm-the-germ-hardcover-dr-john-hutton/-/A-16825382?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&CPNG=PLA_Entertainment+Shopping&adgroup=SC_Entertainment&LID=700000001170770pgs&network=g&device=c&location=9015013&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_IHmt9231gIVl7fACh0yzQR6EAkYByABEgIIXPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Please let me know if any of you have another sick day activity that has work for your child/children, I would love to have some more ideas!

B O O K S !

Reading books has been a favorite activity for Hadley since she was only five months old. Of course she wasn't the one "reading" them but even when I wasn't there to read, she would still flip through and look at all the pictures. Now that Hadley is old enough to walk up to the shelf, choose a book, and go sit down with it, our reading time has reached a whole new level. She now has favorite books that she chooses every time and instead of just flipping through the pages, she will point and make sounds, which I believe is her way of reading. 

I started reading books out loud to Hadley since she was first born. If I'm being honest, it was easier to read to her back then than it is now LOL. Now that she can turn the pages herself I can hardly make it through the first sentence on a page! Instead of trying to go back to that page and frustrate her I pick out the key words or phrases from each page. I also stick with those same words and phrases every time I read that book to her so that it becomes familiar to her. My husband even reads the books the same way as well. 

Story time is my go to activity. For example, anytime Hadley is getting upset or getting ready to through a fit, I tell her to go pick out a book and we read it. This is why I always keep a book in the car, diaper bag, grandma's house, etc. When I was sick a couple months ago, all we did was sit and read. She loved it and I loved that I could sit down and relax a little. Going to story time is also one of our favorite things to do, especially on a rainy day. Most libraries offer a story time where they have songs, open play and sometimes even bubbles! Another place we discovered that has an awesome story time is Barnes and Noble. They have their schedule posted on their website after you search by your location. It is usually quiet because not a lot of people know about it and they have an activity afterwards! We also love to go to story time at the Disney Store. We just call our local store and ask for the schedule for the week. 

The amount of children's books in my house is insane. As a result of teaching experiences I've collected a mass amount books over the years. I also kept a few of my young childhood favorites, some of which are now Hadley's favorites too. My sister-in-law came up with a great idea for my baby shower that helped build my collection. On the shower invite, she put to bring a favorite children's book instead of a card. This was a big hit and everyone loved the idea! I also collected quite a few books from a book subscription that delivers right to your door called Lilly Post Box. What I loved about Lilly Post was that they were geared towards your child's age and they sent ones that I hadn't heard of. 

Below I have listed the books along with their authors that are our favorites. Hope you all enjoy them!

OUR FAVORITE BOOKS

MY FIRST BOOK OF COLORS - ALAIN GREE

MY FIRST BOOK OF ANIMALS - ALAIN GREE

FIVE LITTLE DUCKS - LITTLE BEE BOOKS

MY VERY FIRST BOOK OF COLORS - ERIC CARLE

MY VERY FIRST BOOK OF NUMBERS - ERIC CARLE

TEN LITTLE LADYBUGS - MELANIE GERTH

UP DOWN ACROSS - CORINA FLETCHER

BROWN BEAR, BROWN BEAR, WHAT DO YOU SEE? - BILL MARTIN JR/ERIC CARLE

SHAPES ALL AROUND (DISNEY BABY) - SARA MILLER

ALPHA PRINTS BOX SET - PRIDDY BOOKS

BABY LOVES SUMMER! - KAREN KATZ

(This series is great and there is one for every season!)

DADA - JIMMY FALLON

THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR - ERIC CARLE

THE PERFECT HUG - JOANNA WALSH & JUDI ABBOT

A BOOK OF SLEEP - II SUNG NA

GUESS HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU - SAM MCBRATNEY

GOODNIGHT MOON - MARGARET WISE BROWN

INDESTRUCTIBLES - AUTHOR VARIES

(This is another book series that is for babies. They are chew proof, tear proof and non-toxic! I always found them on Amazon for $5.00 or under!)

Please feel free to email or comment with your favorite children's books!

Hadley's One Year Old Photos

I am still editing pictures but I wanted to go ahead and post some because I am so in love with all of these photos! I hope you all enjoy! Hadley is officially a one year old!

To our Baby Girl on your First Birthday

How do I even begin to sum up this past year? The amount of laughter and tears that has filled our home this year could fill the whole ocean. We've cried tears of joy, love and sometimes stress because yes having a baby can be hard at times but it is worth it all. The first seven and half months of my pregnancy I was sick, it was miserable but I was so excited just to make it to July. I can remember being so scared at times when it came to thinking about the delivery part of it all. I am terrified of needles, hospitals and basically anything that can cause pain LOL. The closer I got to due date the more anxious I became. However, I ended up going almost two weeks past my due date with still no baby. The doctor suggested I be induced on July 18th and I of course agreed because I was so ready at that point. I went in that morning to be induced at 8:00 am. The staff was all so amazing and put me at ease about everything. I wasn't sure who would be delivering Hadley but I didn't care who because all of the doctors were super nice and lets face it...when your baby is finally ready to come out you don't care who is there to help! I had one main nurse who took care of me for the first 12 hours until her shift was over. We really bonded and she told me that she predicted I would have Hadley later that evening or early morning. She said as soon as she comes in on her next shift which was at 7:00 AM on the 19th she would come see me so she could meet Hadley. Well, instead she came in for her shift just in time to help me finally deliver! Hadley made her big debut at 7:21 AM on July 19th, 2016. Wow was that a huge moment! I was so thankful to finally have her with us! I wouldn't have been able to bring her into this world without my husband. He stayed awake and stood by my side through it all. Even when I was allowed to sleep for bit he stayed awake and rubbed my back and would try to comfort me in anyway possible. I fell in love with him even more in those moments together. Then to see him with our baby girl...my heart just continued to melt. He is the sweetest husband ever and I am so blessed to have him by my side. He cared for both Hadley and myself in the hospital and when we got home as well. I am just so in love with our little family. Someday I hope we have another child but for now we are enjoying every minute with our sweet girl. This age is my favorite because they are learning so many new things and yet they still depend on you and typically like to cuddle. However, I still cry every time I think about the day we brought her home or when we celebrated our first Christmas all together. There have been so many amazing memories and I know there are more to come. When I say that we are blessed it seems like such an understatement. Who knew a little girl who weighs about twenty-three and half pounds could bring so much joy into our lives. I thank God everyday for giving us such an amazing daughter and I pray that we always lead her in the way the Lord wants us to. Thank you to everyone who has already made such a positive impact on our daughter's life. We are so grateful. Happy 1st Birthday sweet girl, I hope you always know how much we all love you and that you always find joy in everything you do. We love you so much!

Happy Independence Day!

What a crazy couple of weeks we have had here in the Rodman household. Between finalizing plans for Hadley's party, teething, sickness, the holiday week/weekend and Ross finishing up his second crop of beans we have been on the go for awhile now! We had so much fun celebrating the 4th of July and of course I took a ton of pictures. More pictures than anyone on Instagram would probably want to see haha. I had several questions come in on where Hadley's outfits and bows were from. I tried to answer most of them but I thought I would list them below with pictures. This being Hadley's first Independence Day we of course had to have more than one outfit! Between the cookouts and gatherings she was able to wear them all and I couldn't tell you my favorite, too many cute styles. So here they are listed below...feel free to email me if you have any questions! Thank you for tuning in and I hope you all had a great time celebrating this wonderful country of ours!

 ***My shorts and tee shirt are from American Eagle, 

kimono is from Pink Blush and shoes are Birkenstocks***

***Bloomers are Vivie & Dash, shirt is June & January and bow is Zozubaby***

***Skirt, shirt and shoes are from Gap---bow is from Minted Tulip***

***Bow is from Zozubaby, dress and bloomers are from June and January, mat is from Gather***

***Shirt, bloomers and shoes are from Gap---bow is again from Zozubaby***

***Those ruffles get me overtime!***

***Jean skirt is from Gap***

***Hadley's sweater is from Gap***

Happy Father's Day

My dad is one of the most amazing men I know, along with my husband. From the time I turned four, my dad would talk with me at night before bed and pray for my husband. As a young child, that made a huge impact on me and the way I viewed dating and marriage. My dad always said, only date someone you would consider marrying someday, as well as consider being the father to your children. I've always kept those words near to me and they were the reason I knew Ross was the one after the first week I started talking with him. Ross came into my life after a period of time when I was broken and left with a lot of insecurities. God knew this was the man I needed in my life at that time and for the rest of my life. Immediately I felt comfortable with him and it was like I had known him for years, which is ironic considering I knew of him and his family. We grew up in the same community and he even worked for my dad's company at one point. However, I didn't know him, but my dad did. I remember my dad told me that he was one of the nicest young men he had ever met and one of the strongest. After dating for a few years Ross proposed outside of the house we would be living in if I said yes. Of course I did, and know were here, living on the farm with our beautiful baby girl. 

There are many reasons why I fell in love with Ross, but the main reason was his kindheartedness. I had never met a guy who was as patient and understanding as him. In a lot of ways he reminded me of my dad and I think that is why I felt so comfortable with him. I knew in my heart he would be an amazing father to our kids and he has already exceeded my expectations with our daughter. I can remember when we found out we were pregnant, we both just stood there and cried with tears of joy because this was something we had looked forward to and knew that God was giving us such an amazing gift. One of the most dearest moments Ive had with Ross, (besides our wedding), was when I was giving birth to Hadley. I was the most scared I had ever been in my life and was in the most amount of pain I had ever been in. Ross being himself, stayed calm and collected. He stood by my side throughout the 23 hours of labor, even while I slept. There were a couple of times when the nurse finally convinced him to lay down and get something to eat but other than that he stood there, comforting me in anyway he could. I could not have done it without him. He was the man I always dreamt of and the man God knew I needed. He does so much for us and works so hard. He has overcome so much struggle with farming and getting where he is now. These are the qualities that I admire so much about him, his patience, persistence to push through any circumstance, his kindness towards others, tenderness, strong, smart, his sense of humor and his yearning to follow Christ. I know that Hadley is going to marry an amazing man someday because her father will guide and pray for her just as mine did. Thank you Ross, for everything you do and everything you are. Hadley and I are truly blessed to have you guide our family the way God wants us to go. 

I hope that everyone has a great Father's Day tomorrow. Thank you for tuning in!

South Haven, MI

We took our first vacation with Hadley last week. Originally, we had planned on going to Chicago and spending a day at the Shedd Aquarium and then sight seeing for the rest of the time. However, after thinking about how far away it was and other reasons we decided it would be best to stay somewhere closer. We wanted to stay near a beach but only wanted to travel about 4-5 hours. Thats when we stumbled upon South Haven, Michigan. Some of our friends have stayed there and raved about how beautiful the beach was. Biking is very popular in the area and they even have a beautiful bike path that goes for 33.5 miles from South Haven beach to Kalamazoo. We did not do the whole trail haha. But we did bike in both cities on the path. I could not get over how clear the water was at the beach. You could walk out waist deep and still see your feet perfectly! It was the perfect first beach for Hadley to play at because the sand and water was clean, they had baby swings on the beach and even had a small restaurant on the beach that served hot dogs, ice cream and other beach friendly food. Hadley ended up loving the water and sand. This will be the first of many trips we will take there. I took too many photos so I only shared some of my favorites. Thank you for tuning in, happy Monday!