Growing Up

Hayden has been so funny here the past few weeks. He is wanting to be much more independent and is talking alot more. He is now pairing up the words with his signs such as please and thank you. I finally heard "Mommy". I have been patiently waiting for him to call me something and he finally did. Music to my ears. He has been saying dad for a while and now has started saying "paw" and "dede". He even said "grammy" over the weekend. I am so glad that Hayden is able to see his grandparents on a regular basis. It's important that he grow up having a strong connection with them. He got a lawn mower from grammy this weekend and when I told him what it was he signed "more" for "mower" I guess they do sound alot alike. He has been a big helper throwing away diapers and helping put his plate in the dishwasher. He spilt some milk on the floor and got a rag and cleaned it up all by himself. The other night Hayden asked for a bath and so Jeff gave him one. He then told Hayden it was time for bed in five minutes and Hayden smiled and walked to his room, grabbed his blankie that Grammy made for him and went to his bed and said "bup" (meaning up). Wow how easy he is and such a delight to care for. Well most of the time anyway. We went to dinner last Tuesday at Red Robin or should I say attempted dinner. Hayden had a long day of grocery shopping and closing on our house that we refinanced and then we went to dinner. (All without his normal nap) The meltdown started during the closing but continued at the restaurant. We ordered waters knowing that this attempt at dinner probably wouldn't work out and it didn't. He did get a balloon at the restaurant which he has been carrying around since (even though the helium has lost its effect) and saying bawoon. He is repeating most words now or at least attempting to.

Baby Dedication

Hayden was one of over one hundred babies that was dedicated at South East this past weekend. He did very well considering we were at church for over two hours and I knew that when we took him to the nursery after dedication he wouldn't last long. Just as Jeff and I had crawled our way over a row of people to available seats it wasn't five minutes and our child id popped up on the screen. We continually try every weekend and with the exception of one week he hasn't made it through. It does make it more difficult to get the most out of church but it is the process of going as a family and trying to instill glimpses of Christ into his life that makes it so worth the effort. I look forward to the day when he chooses to be baptised and yet I am in no hurry for him to grow that fast. In the meantime, it is through our daily life of ordinary tasks that we strive to teach Hayden what it means to be Christ like and to teach him the message of Jesus and what God offers to us and for us. Jeff and I joined the church on Valentines and were baptised that night as well. Although we were baptized as babies I do think it was reaffirming to show each other and our God that we do Believe and seek to be more like Jesus.

One Year Pictures Finally

Well we finally finished with Hayden's One Year pictures although he was actually fourteen months by the time our schedules aligned with the photographer. He had a great time eating an ENTIRE small round cake. I have tried to limit what sweets he eats but for the sake of some memorable first birthday pictures I decided to indulge him with the sweetness of cake. He had cake all over including between his cute little toes! His toes are so funny I think he inherited messed up feet from me. His second toe is higher than the other toes because it rests on top of the big toe and middle toe on both feet... doesn't seem to impair his mobility. He is walking all over the place and keeping us on our toes!

All in A Days Work

Hayden has been having fun helping Paw Paw remodel his family room. Paw Paw was so nice to build Hayden a house of his very own with a real light switch to flip on and off. Hayden had fun today opening and closing the windows and sticking his hand out saying "Hi". We truly are blessed to have Nana Dede and Paw paw watch him during the week.

Totally Tuesday

Last Tuesday Hayden went for his 15 month check up and is weighing in at 22.5 pounds (25%) and 31 inches (50%)long with a HUGE head in the 90th percentile. He warmed up to his new doctor who I really liked and got 2 shots then we were out the door headed to Stride Rite for a new pair of shoes. This is the first pair of new shoes he has had since the others have all been hand me downs. Poor boy I have been stuffing his size 5 feet into size 4 shoes. This was Hayden's first trip to the mall since he was 5 months old and he is in love with the escalators. We rode them at least 8 times up and down and back up and down again. Every time we got to the top or bottom he would sign "more" and "please" and how could I not continue to ride up and down looking like a fool. We then went to the Disney store just to look around. I was on a mission to only buy one pair of shoes and nothing else. I ventured into a few more stores including Gymboree but I did NOT purchase a single other item. Now don't get me wrong, I am not a huge spender or even one who likes to shop but get me around a bunch of cute baby clothes and I usually will buy more than I set out too (especially if it's on sale).
We then headed to Grammy's work for a quick visit and she had to show him off to her coworkers (what grandmother can resist) and then we headed home for a nap. We got a lot accomplished and in the future I'll remember the escalators and hope that's all it takes to satisfy Hayden. What you want a Wii, a trip to Disney, the latest must have toy? Why don't we just go ride the escalators instead. Yeah I don't think that will work. Do you?

Kid Cuts

Well our normal hair sylist, Grammy, was having electrical problems due to the ice storm and Hayden was starting to look like a girl so we opted for a hair cut at the former Cookie Cutters.

Although a bit overpriced at $16.99, including tip, we accomplished our mission and now our son looks like a little boy. Clingy fingers stuck to my jacket with a few unsure whines but once elmo came on the TV, Hayden sat perfectly still and had his first haircut at a salon.
He did very well and was excited when he got a green balloon. We then headed over to cousins Connor and Carson's house to show off the new cut and play while Mas and Kellie went to Wicked.