Monkeys, Goats and a Van

What do all these have in common? Go on think about it for a few minutes before you scroll down. No the monkeys and Goats aren't riding in a van. Give up?








These were Hayden's favorite things on his first trip to the Zoo. He loved the monkeys and some other animal that looked like a monkey but isn't. I can't remember what the sign said they were but they resembled small monkeys and moved around like them so Hayden didn't seem to notice that we were calling them by the wrong name. He has been using the sign for monkeys and playing with a stuffed animal monkey since our trip to the zoo. He loves horses and likes to watch the horse racing network on tv so persistently was asking to see the horses.
The zoo doesn't have a horse but zebras seemed to be the closest thing but didn't keep his interest. Next was a Safari Van that he got to "drive" and I think if we would have allowed he would have been content to play in this all day and forget about the animals. He played the role of the driver saying "beep, Beep" as he steered the wheel. Then he moved to the back and was the happy little passenger as other kids had their turn as the driver. After a crying fit when we pulled him from the van we went to the petting zoo full of Goats.
It was interesting as they allow you to go into a gated area and goats are sitting and walking around. Hayden just walked right up to the goats and petted them on their backs. He had to walk around to almost all of them and touch each one.
We spent about 3 hours at the zoo and had a great time. That is the nice thing about having our membership being able to come and go at your own leisure. We checked out the splash park and De de is going to take him during the week to play at the water park. We went on Memorial Day and Jeff and I took Deanna with us. It was the perfect day of overcast skies and not much of a crowd.

Second Annual Kentucky Derby Party

Despite my vomitting and lack of feeling well, we decided to throw our second annual Derby party. It turned out to be a success despite the less than perfect weather. Obviously the Derby was a while ago but I am still trying to get caught up on the posts. We had a houseful of kids and adults. We hope to see how many years we can keep this going. It was fun seeing how the kids have changed. This time last year we were posing them all sitting on the dining room table and this year they were all pushing each other on the lightning mcqueen car. Wow what a differnce a year makes

Derby Now and Then

All about Play Time

Hayden had been to All about Kids with Dede but this was the first time I took him. We went on a rainy Tuesday and met Aunt Andrea and Addison there to spend a few hours. After playing with the plastic toys and inflatables the kids had a lunch then headed to open gym. It was a pretty cool place and handed liked the uneven bars and the trampoline as well as the beam. This was a fantastic value for only $5 and the best part was the 3+ hour long nap that he took once we got home. Andrea and Addison we'll have to do this again. Next destinations on are list is the zoo and science center. We were going to try Holiday World but think we'll give that a try next year.

Cousins Connor and Carson

Hauden is hanging out with his cousins Connor (left) and Carson (right) watching TV in Pee paw's room. He gets very little TV here so it's a special treat for him when he gets to watch it at Grammie and Pee paw's.

My Hands are Dirty

A couple weekends ago it was a beautiful warm Saturday. Hayden loves the outdoors much like most kids his age. I was to play with Hayden while Jeff worked on the landscaping. Thinking dirt would entertain him we went outside with a shovel, bucket, some Easter eggs and cars.
This did the trick for about a half hour then it was on to climbing the front steps up and down and up and down. I tired to persuade him to come in for a minute but a tantrum ensued and he was screaming at the front door, pointing and saying "side, side, side" over and over. A first sip of lemonade and then back outside to "help" daddy
He studied Jeff carefully and then imitated with precision. First he used the level, then the hammer to pound the paver in place and lastly he swept the brick clear of sand and dirt. Now if only I can get him to fold the clothes and clean the dishes and scrub the toilets. Surely these jobs are easier than building a brick retaining wall.

After all this hard work it was time or the boys to take a break and throw some football. It really was an amazing day as Hayden becomes more of a little boy and less of a baby. Oh how I miss those days at times but love all the new adventures. Just to think of what a year has brought.

See if You Can Spot the DIfference

Hoppy Easter Everybunny

Hayden was excited to see that when he woke up on Easter Sunday a few new goodies magically appeared. He got a black wooden cracker barrel rocker, musical instruments, tape measure, hammer kit and a book as well as new hat. It appears the Easter bunny found some good deals as this was alot more than Santa bought. He climbed right on the chair and really liked the hammer set and the maracas where a hit too. The tape measure was no good as it was a little tykes toddler version and Hayden only has eyes for "real" tools. Paw paw lets him play with real hammers and tape measures so the kiddie ones are not exciting at all. After a quick once over of all the new toys it was on to Aunt Kateri's and Uncle Eddie's for Hamilton Easter. After filling up on yummy food it was the much anticipated Easter egg hunt. You see Aunt Peggy had been over a few weeks earlier and advised that maybe we should be practicing hunting with Hayden so when the day arrived he would be skilled at searching for the pastel colored eggs in the grass.
It did pay off as Hayden had extensive practicing with his De de. He took off after the eggs and because we forgot his basket Uncle Eddie taught him to stuff the eggs in his jacket. A bit top heavy Hayden quickly learned which eggs were keepers. The Easter bunny seemed to have come into some money so some of the eggs had coins instead of chocolate.
Hayden started shaking eggs and those with the sound of nickels and dimes would be tossed back for the older ones to find. After all the hard work of hunting he was able to enjoy his treasures and eat one piece of candy before going to see grandma Hamilton and picking a toy from her box of treasures. It was a nice day spent with family and next year we'll be sure to bring a basket.

Long Time No Post

Sorry to all our blog followers for the one month absence of posts. As most, if not all of you, know we are expecting an addition to our family. Like the first pregnancy, I have not been feeling my best and this time having an eighteen month old to care for on top of all my nausea and vomiting leaves little time for blogging. Again, my apologies to all of you but now you must bear with me as I unload all my stored photos from the digital camera and get you all caught up on the happenings around our house for the past month.