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.

Go Cardinals!

Hayden and Fred Bird watching the game together

Just Hanging Out

Hayden being cuddly

Hayden's hair looking normal. Josh tried combing it from the other side. We're just not ready to cut it yet.

Shake your groove thing

What's New With Hayden

We put together one of his Christmas presents that we thought he'd now enjoy. He really liked sitting on it, but is not quite ready to walk behind it. We definitely have to sit right next to him in case he falls off.

Hayden is always really proud of himself when he stands up next to his toys.

Hayden being very vocal

Well we finally moved Hayden's crib mattress down since he can now sit up by himself. When he wakes up in the morning he sits up and talks until we get him in the morning. We love hearing what he has to say. He now weighs 26 lbs. and I definitely can feel it when I carry him up the stairs. What a workout! We're pretty sure this has a lot to do with him not being super mobile yet. He rolls and pivots and scoots everywhere and uses his head to help him sit up. When he's on all fours he puts his head down on the floor and scoots his arms back and sits up. He's getting better at it all the time and is super quick. We're enjoying him being a "baby" for as long as possible. One thing we've learned from Hayden is that he does things when he's ready. He still only has his bottom 2 teeth, but I see the top 2 trying to poke through. He still loves his baby food and has no real interest in table food except for his little snacks of the dried fruit, puffs, or cheerios, which he only gets after breakfast or dinner. He also pulls himself up to his knees, but isn't quite strong enough to stand up. He surprises us everyday.

Recent Videos

Playing with Daddy

The Last of Our Vacation Pictures

Finally on the way home.

Hayden's cool in Mommy's sunglasses

Hayden and his cousins Olivia and Emma

Emma was all about hugging Hayden and holding his cheeks in her hands. When he cried later Emma said to him, "I'll wipe your tears".

Group picture. Olivia had dance earlier so she made it in time to spend time with Hayden.

Our last day of vacation we went to Brookgreen Gardens, which used to be a plantation years ago. The house is no longer on the property.

There is a zoo on the property where animals are in their natural habitat. After seeing this baby alligator that was NOT in the zoo, but in the middle of a pond at the sculpture garden we opted to not go to the zoo. I was a little nervous that this baby had its mother nearby. Maybe she was in the zoo.

Hayden and I at the gardens. The bug netting for the stroller came in handy here.

Beautiful archways leading to another sculpture.

View from our balcony where we stayed in Myrtle Beach

There were 2 pools, a kiddie pool, 2 whirlpools, and a lazy river outside and another pool, lazy river, and whirlpool inside. We didn't get any use out of the pools outside since they were too cold, but they kept the water very warm in the pools inside for all 3 of us to enjoy.

Our attempt at a family picture with the timer. Whenever Josh came back to pose Hayden would look at him and we only had a short time to get him to look back at the camera. This is probably the best one.

Josh and Hayden at the beach

Hayden liked playing with the sand

Hayden was not too thrilled about the beach. We couldn't miss an opportunity to at least take some pictures of him, but there was no way we could get in the water. The most Hayden experienced was the tide coming in over his feet and he was pretty shocked. We basically walked down there, took a few pictures, and walked back. Since we were all dressed in our swimsuits anyway we took a dip in the indoor pool. It was really crowded, though, so we only stayed for a short time.

Vacation Pictures of Hayden

Hayden really likes moving over to the window to check out the ocean and all the people at the beach.

Hayden's hair has gotten some curl to it.

We kept trying to get some pictures of Hayden's hair, but he kept wanting to look at the camera.

Ready to go swimming! We went downstairs and the outside pools were way too cold so we went inside and Hayden practiced all the skills he learned at swim lessons. He was well rested and loved it. Silly mommy got his hat one size too small. It stays on at least. We then went outside to get some lunch and while Hayden stayed in the shade Daddy and Mommy were in the sun. I don't think we were out for more than an hour and Josh and I both got pretty red. I always put sunscreen on my face, but really didn't think being out for that short of time I would get that red everywhere else. The sun can be deceiving when the temperatures aren't that high.

Daddy came around from the other sliding door and sneaked up on him to get a picture. Hayden was pleasantly surprised to say the least.

There he is again looking out the window.

Vacation Part 1

Our vacation started on Friday morning with our first stop at the Wyndham Union Station hotel in Nashville, TN. The hotel was converted from a train station. It was really a unique place to stay.

The beautiful ceiling of the hotel

Lobby of the hotel in Nashville

Our next stop was Columbia, South Carolina and we went to the Riverbanks Zoo. The weather was really nice and the zoo was just big enough to have decent exhibits, but not too big for Hayden to get crabby.
These grizzy bears were our first stop and they were very playful with each other and both times we stopped by there was a big crowd

Hayden was really wishing he could pet the gorilla for real

Josh and Hayden in front of the elephant exhibit

Our last stop at the zoo, the carousel

After the zoo, we headed down to Charleston, South Carolina to the bed and breakfast. We were a little nervous about how Hayden would behave, but he was an angel. The owners commented how good he was and how we were so lucky. The other guests also couldn't believe when they finally did hear a little fuss out of him. We were extremely relieved that he was so good as it made things a lot less stressful for us.

Hayden loved the fish at the aquarium and let out little squeals of laughter as they darted by in front of him

View of Ft. Sumter from the ferry dock

Josh and Hayden next to the canon

Canons at Ft. Sumter

The Rose room where we slept during our stay

Battery Street in Charleston with the water to the left and the historic homes lined up on the right. Our first night we walked down to Fleet's Landing for dinner and headed back in time to relax for the evening. The next day we headed over to King's street for some shopping and to browse around the market. We watched the women making the sweetgrass baskets and took a Carriage tour of historic Charleston. We made it in time for dinner and afterwards we took a bike taxi back to the B&B. The second day we walked up to the Ft. Sumter tours and just missed us being able to go as they just had one ticket left. Instead, we headed over to the Aquarium until the next tour started. The Ft. Sumter tour books up fast so we made sure we had our tickets ready. After all the walking we did we took another bike taxi to dinner at Carolinas for some flounder and sea bass and walked back in time for social hour where we stayed. We had a great time at Charleston and would recommend going there and staying at a bed and breakfast. You just can't experience Charleston by staying at a hotel.

View down the side of the street we stayed. The rose colored front was our stop.

The streets are lined with old homes with beautiful gardens.

View down the other side of Church Street with narrow lanes and brick streets

The front of 15 Church Street where we stayed

Sitting on the piazza (porch) of the Bed and Breakfast right before we left

Bridge going over the Cooper River from Charleston