"Houston we have a climber!"

Here's Hayden trying really hard to get to the button to turn the tv off. When we went to the playground I didn't even think anything of him climbing the toys there...until we got home! He then started climbing all the boxes that he could and as you can see here climbing on other things too. I guess he takes after me because before I could walk I wheeled a kitchen chair over to the counter, climbed the chair, then got on the counter, and then somehow ended up on top of the refrigerator!

Eviction Notice

I am issuing 30-50 day notice for EVICTION. Tenant will have 30-50 days in which he can either gather his belongings and promptly vacate the premises, or wait until the final day. After which, he will be physically removed from the property.

He's being evicted due to breech of contract and destruction of property. Expansions only to the FRONT of the house, within reasonable limits, were discussed. Not only have these limits been exceeded, but additions to the back of the house were also made!

Remodeling and gutting of the home was never approved, nor was changing the initial layout and base structure. And due to property damage, there are now leaks in both the upper AND lower levels of the home. On top of which, the landlord has received numerous complaints about nightly disturbances.

After 30 (43 in our case) days from this day that he doesn’t comply with the notice will result in immediate and forceful removal at my discretion.

Someone posted this on Ava's birth club board and I thought it was pretty cute. We're just at 43 days left and I'm not feeling too terrible. I've had some lower back pain this past week, which comes just in time to move. She's still a very active baby and at night it looks like I'm carrying an alien with how much she moves. We never saw that with Hayden. We can't wait to get settled into our new home and we are excited to set up Hayden and Ava's rooms.

Hayden Happenings

Hayden with his Ugly Doll, "Big Toe", one of his favorites.

Hayden reached a couple big milestones over the weekend. Josh set up Hayden's baseball toy with the ball on the tee and Hayden was cruising the coffee table when he saw it and got super excited and took 2 super fast steps towards it before he dropped to a crawl. It definitely counts as first steps, but I wouldn't say he was walking just yet. On Sunday Hayden made several attempts to stand up in the middle of the room without holding onto anything and he did it! Josh and I cheered like crazy to which Hayden looked at us like we were the crazy ones. We were so proud of him. Hayden can also open all the doors so our sad attempt at babyproofing of just keeping them closed no longer works. Luckily we're moving next week to our house where the doorknobs can be easily babyproofed.

Baby Ava

This morning Josh and I went to get a 3D ultrasound done. Baby Ava had her legs folded up over her head for most of it. She did uncurl herself for a short time to let us get a couple different pictures of her. Hayden was waving to her on the tv it was so cute. Just about 7 weeks left until we get to meet her face to face!!

Fun with Hayden

Hayden was having fun playing outside with some of his birthday toys.
I think Hayden was looking at his reflection in the window. Josh was trying to get a picture of him when he was kissing the window, but of course he quit doing it after he grabbed the camera.

Hayden decided to take a short cut to the other side of the coffee table instead of walking around it.

Hi Mommy!

We had a little excitement here the last couple days. Yesterday morning Josh noticed a bird trapped in our fireplace. Since it's completely enclosed behind glass we weren't sure how to get it out so we called the property managers and they didn't know who to call either. Meanwhile I'm getting worried for this little bird as I think it had been there for awhile. While Josh was gone I remembered hearing really loud chirping in the living room, but I didn't think anything of it. After Josh spotted it it all came together. It was really hard to see the bird because it blended in with the fake logs. After my Dr. appointment and Josh got back from a meeting in Springfield, I started taking the fireplace apart because we still hadn't heard anything from the property managers. After removing a few pieces it was clear how to open the glass. The bird made it out safe and sound and met up with a couple friends. This morning the property managers called back and I told them we got it out ok. Just as I hung up the phone Josh called downstairs to let me know it was back. What?! So I went upstairs and I think this was a different bird because it was a bit bigger. Josh had to go to work and so they were going to send someone to take care of it. After Hayden ate his breakfast I decided to take matters in my own hands and got it out myself. A little later a maintenance man came over and checked outside and there was a nest with no mesh screen like the other units had so he took care of it and two birds flew away. As soon as I shut the door I thought I'd better check to make sure there wasn't another bird in there and sure enough there was. Here was go again. This bird was even more active than the first two, but I got it to the door and it flew away. Hopefully this is the end of our bird adventure.

Happy Father's Day

Josh came back from Florida on Saturday morning and that afternoon we all went mini-golfing. Hayden had a good time in the Ergo baby carrier just looking around and chilling out. Josh won by 6, but we both got one hole in one. Later we went to the houseboat and had dinner.

On Sunday morning I gave Josh his cards from Hayden and me and then we went out for breakfast. Then we went to Lowe's to pick out his gift. I gave him a grill, but I wanted him to be able to pick it out himself and he chose a charcoal/gas combo grill, which we will be setting up after we move. In the afternoon we went back out to the houseboat and Hayden just loved looking out at the other boats.

Last week Hayden had his one year checkup, but since he had a cold we'll be going back this week for his shots. The Dr. was pleased with all the progress he's made since his 9 month appointment. He weighs 25.5 pounds and is 31 and 1/4 inches. The little bumps on his arms and legs is a inherited condition called keratosis pilaris so the Dr. recommended a special lotion that will help exfoliate his skin.

Extended Rear Facing

Yes Hayden is now a year old and he weighs 25.5 pounds, but we will not be turning our car seat around until he reaches the maximum weight for his car seat, which is 33 lbs. The law currently states that children must rear-face until they are one year AND 20 lbs., but in the next couple years we might see the American Association of Pediatrics change their recommendation to 2 years AND 30 lbs. Another mom posted this video on my birth board and the crash tests speak for themselves. I would rather listen to Hayden cry than risk an accident that could result in a tragedy.

Hayden's First Birthday Party

Hayden really enjoyed his first birthday party. He had so much fun playing with all the kids and his new toys. When it came time for cake, he really got a kick out of putting his hands in it and eating it, but most of it ended up in his lap. It was so nice how many people came to celebrate with us. Hayden really wore himself out because the next day he woke up with a cold that he's still fighting.

Happy First Birthday Sweet Hayden

Happy First Birthday Hayden! The day you were born our lives were complete. You have brought such joy to our lives just being here. From the moment I saw you on that ultrasound screen to seeing you face to face for the first time I loved you. Seeing your happy face when you get up in the morning just lights me up. Your sweet embraces melt my heart. While this first year has had its ups and downs just adjusting to being a parent I could not ask for anything more. I look forward to you growing up and seeing you discover everything for the first time. No matter how mature and grown-up you become, you'll always be our baby boy.

Play Date

Yesterday we met Lauren (from Babycenter) and her son Calvin in Springfield . Hayden and Calvin were born on the same day. It was interesting seeing them together. For the most part they were both off doing their own thing, but would come together a couple times. They both have 6 teeth and Lauren and I are both pregnant again. Hayden was really interested in the puzzle toys and crawling through the tunnels. "Hey, Mommy! Come and get me!"

Calvin and Hayden exploring

Hayden waving to Calvin

"But I'm not sleepy..."

Hayden still occasionally will go into his jumperoo, although these days it's for really short periods of time because he just wants to go go go. He still has fun bouncing around even though he's technically outgrown it. So this morning he was bouncing about and then started getting really tired. I think he eventually would have fallen asleep, but daddy came out and he was ready to go again.

Nope it's not torture!

This is such a sad picture of Hayden, but it's almost funny at the same time. Hayden had been having trouble not wanting to sleep with us in the middle of the night (ok actually we were having trouble not wanting to get up a million times) so after one too many nights of sharing our bed we went to battle with the sleep training. He actually did really well with it and only took a couple nights for him to get the hint that he's fine and just needs to go back to sleep. So initially I put him to bed and anywhere between 1 and 4 would wake up crying. We take turns on who goes downstairs each night just to make sure he doesn't have any arms or legs stuck or hasn't leaked through his diaper. Then we give him a hug and lay him back down and go back upstairs. This is where the fun begins. When this picture was taken he cried for about 5 minutes or so and then we heard nothing. Josh went down to make sure he was ok and just kind of peeked through his door and found him asleep sitting up. Poor Hayden just sat down and fell asleep. Since this picture was taken he now lays back down and falls asleep and all is back to normal with sleeping.

Happy 11 Months Hayden

Our sweet baby boy turned 11 months today. I say this every month, but where does the time go? He is changing everyday and more and more of his personality is showing through. He is lovable, cuddly, flirtatious, and spunky. He loves to wave, clap his hands, play peek a boo, give high fives, read books, look at other babies, and chase Charlotte. He's crawling and pulling up and has 4 teeth with a fifth coming down. The top two are still slowly coming in. I'm forever moving him away from trouble whether it's the vertical blinds, the speaker stand, the entertainment center, or the smoke detector the builder put at calf height (huh?). This would all be easier if the couch cushions weren't so deep. He loves to pull up on me and give me hugs and he likes showing me how his Roll-a-Rounds gumball machine works. He's sleeping well, but it's taking longer for him to fall asleep since as soon as we lay him down he rolls over and sits up. He might be going through a little separation anxiety because he can get pretty upset during this process. It's nothing a little rocking can't cure. He's only a baby for a short time and I do enjoy holding him. He's now slowly becoming more interested in table food and we're becoming more adventurous too. The new flavors bring some different expressions to his face. He likes to feed himself with the spoon, but it can be funny because as soon as it even gets to his lips he drops the spoon on his tray even if he didn't really get the whole spoon in.

In other news:
Josh got bit by a tick when he went hiking and he developed a rash and swollen lymph nodes. The Dr. suspects tularemia, but he's awaiting blood test results. He's on an antibiotic and will go back next week to hear the results. If it ended up positive, they will refer him to an infectious disease specialist who can monitor his recovery better and make sure the antibiotics are doing their job.

In baby Ava news:
I'm now almost 25 weeks and showing quite a bit already (some days more so than others). She is quite the kicker and I can't believe how much she moves about and kicks compared to Hayden. We might be in t-r-o-u-b-l-e!!! I'm just starting to have the fullness that comes along with pregnancy, but with Hayden my belly felt heavier a lot sooner. My energy level is pretty good right now as I start to round out the 2nd trimester. My next appointment I'll have the glucose screening test and then I move onto bi-monthly visits.

Daddy's Day Out

Josh, Andy, and Cliff

Josh and Cliff

Andy and Josh

Josh took a day off and spent the day with a couple friends and drove down to Arkansas to do some hiking. Afterwards they played some games at Cliff's house and hung out with another friend. I think he had a good time hanging out with the guys.