Hayden on Christmas morning!

Hayden left some yummy cookies and milk for Santa along with carrots for the reindeer and a nice note. In return, Santa left Hayden a thank you note the next morning. He thought that was great!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, we hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! Things were lively here, Hayden was so excited he got up at 5:40am. We held him off til about 7 and then had to get up. By that time, he had woken up John b/c he kept coming in the room trying to get us up. Hayden had a great Chirstmas, adding more things to his Star Wars collection(as if he needed more)! Plus Legos, books and other little things. John got an excersaucer and few other little toys. He was more overwhelmed than anything and kinda crabby since he didn't get to sleep as late as normal. It was a good day and now we are trying to recover. There are still toys everywhere but that's okay. Now we get to look forward to Grandma and PaPa(my parents) coming next week!

John finally rolled over all by himself. He almost had it for a few weeks and would get stuck on his shoulder. Now that he has it, he rolls over all the time. But he can't roll back over, so then he gets mad!

We got a few inches of snow so Hayden wanted to try out his new sled. But the snow was too soft to sled in. A few days later, we had freezing rain and then the next day he was finally able to sled!

Hayden is really the only one who can get John to laugh most of the time. This is funny, but don't turn the volume up to much, Hayden is loud!

John in his new Bumbo seat. It helps him sit up so he can see what's going on! He likes it as long as we don't leave him in it too long!

Hayden and John with Santa!

Hayden loves to help Mommy bake holiday cookies. This time we were making gingerbread cookies! YUM!

I might like this!

First time eating rice cereal

Weeks 18, 19 & 20

We started John on rice cereal and although he was a little unsure at first he eats it up now. We've been preparing for Christmas and trying to finish getting the house decorated. It seems to be taking forever but Hayden loves helping. John also learned how to roll over from his back to his stomach and now turns over when we lay him down. He can't go anywhere which tends to make him mad after a minute or two.
Hayden had his Christmas party at school and had a blast and is now on Christmas break which he thinks is great. He is beyond excited about Christmas. Everytime a package comes, he can't stand it that he can't open it right then. I'm a sucker and give in sometimes (even though Heath gets mad!)
We also went to have Breakfast with Santa on post. Hayden has not really wanted to talk to Santa in the past. He's usually good with writing him a letter. He does not feel the need to sit on Santa's lap and chat. So I was surprised when he said he wanted to go. So we went. We had pancakes and then got in line. Hayden did good, he sat and took a nice picture and then we got one with John. But he wouldn't tell Santa what he wanted. He said "I already wrote you a letter." So he thought Santa should know. It was pretty funny! Anyway, I'm posting some cute video of Hayden making John laugh. John LOVES Hayden and thinks he's pretty funny. And we got video of John rolling over as well.

With Big Daddy and GG

John's first Thanksgiving

At the beach in N.C.

On Baptism day with PaPa

Laying under his activity gym. He started out laying directly under it and then turned himself to the side.

John and Daddy

Watching a Baby Einstein video, he'll watch for 5-10 min before getting tired.

Weeks 14-17/4 months

The past month has been busy. I didn't realize I was this behind on posting but that's life! I'm frantically getting ready for Christmas and trying to make sure everything gets done. Hayden is doing good in school and still likes it most days. He's learning how to write correctly and read. He even read several board books to John last week. He loves John and doesn't understand why he can't see him all the time even when John's sleeping! He excited about Christmas and loves helping me decorate and bake cookies!
John is a good baby if only we could get him to sleep by himself. He would much rather be snuggled up to Heath or I than alone in his crib. We are still working on sitting up, he's getting stronger but not there quite yet. And he did roll over from his stomach to his back but only twice. And he hasn't done it again. He's still working on trying to roll from back to stomach. He does move himself around on the floor when he's on his back. He throws his legs to the side and then somehow moves himself around. It's pretty funny! He also likes to move a lot now when he's having his diaper changed. He likes to put his feet down and push off so he looks like he's going to propel off the table. FUN! He's also making lots of sounds and noises. We do the raspberry thing to him and he likes it so now he's doing it back. He also "talks" too when he feels he's being ignored. He has to get his 2 cents in between all his brother's talking, who's rarely quiet! He's also gaining weight, 15.29 pounds at his last checkup. And the shots weren't quite as bad this time. We'll probably start some rice cereal soon.
The week of Thanksgiving, we went to North Carolina to visit Heath's parents and have John baptized. We had a nice ceremony Sunday afternoon and Big Daddy baptized John. My parents, sister and brother-in-law were able to come. Plus Heath's grandmothers, Aunts and Uncle and family friends were there. It was nice and John did pretty good. While we were there, we took Hayden to the Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores and he loved it. It was not too big and he really enjoyed it. We also stopped by the beach and walked out onto the pier and down on the beach. Hayden wanted to stay and play but it was cold and windy. I told him we'd come back when the weather was warmer. We had a nice quiet Thanksgiving and then had a crazy day getting back home. John got tired before we got on the second plane and wanted me to walk around. But I couldn't because we were taxing to take off. So he screamed for about 15 min before falling asleep. I felt really bad especially since I was in first class but there wasn't much I could do. Everyone was really nice but I still felt bad. Okay, here's several photos from the last month.

Big Boy!

Week 13/ 3 months

Wow, John's 3 months old. He is growing everyday. I had to take him to the clinic this week and he now weighs 14 pounds! I knew he was getting bigger but didn't know he weighed that much. He's gained over a pound in the last month. I have a pile of clothes already that he's too big for. We are working on trying to get him to sit up. He mostly just falls forward if you let go, he can only stay up for a second. And he's getting close to rolling over from his back. We have to be really careful on the changing table now. If he gets his foot right, he can almost push himself over. It won't be long. He doesn't like to sit still. He wants you to walk him around most of the time. He now likes his activity gym and will lay on the floor for awhile and look up at that. Plus Heath discovered that he'll watch the Baby Einstein videos now for a short time. He likes those.

Hayden and I went to see The Lion King on stage on Sunday and it was fantastic!! If you ever get a chance to go see it, it's worth it. He really enjoyed it. We were really close, the third row back from the stage so we could see everything great. We walked up to see the orchestra in the pit and he thought that was cool. We had a great time and John did good with Daddy! Just a few pics this time.

Coming down the sidewalk on his scooter. He must have done this 20 times, he was having a blast!

Hayden raking leaves with his friend. The weather's been beautiful and Hayden decided he wanted to make a leave pile to jump in. Then he got his scooter out and came down the sidewalk really fast and jumped in the leaves. He had fun!

Hayden will all his loot! Of course he wanted to try everything that night and had way too much but it was fun!

Hayden as a Recon Commando, he loved his costume!

John as a Pea Pod on Halloween. He wasn't really sure what was going on. I think he was confused that we were walking around in the dark. I put him in the stroller and he was happy as long as we were moving!

Week 11 and 12

Okay, so sorry I'm really behind. I've just been trying to keep up with everything and haven't had a chance to write. This two weeks were a little crazy as Heath was still gone and we were busy. Probably the most exciting thing was John reaching for a toy on the tray while in his swing. He even moved the rings up and down. I was excited so Hayden and I clapped for him and he smiled. He still doesn't do much else but it's a start.
Halloween was fun. Hayden was excited and John looked really cute in his Pea Pod outfit. We walked around the neighborhood and Hayden's bag got full. He informed me after we got home that his fingers were hurting from carrying the bag because it was so full. He got a lot of candy! Then we handed out candy and Hayden played with the neighbor kids. He had a blast. And the next day, Daddy came home so Hayden was really excited. We all glad he's home!!

Going down the slide, Hayden LOVED this! He and Conner must have gone down at least 20 times. We had a hard time getting them to leave!

"Fishing" with Conner and Erin

At Deanna Rose Farm with my boys(not that you can see John, I was trying to keep him out of the sun)

Looking at Whoozit

A little tummy time. I put the Whoozit on the floor so he would stay longer. He loves Whoozit, it's very bright!

Hayden decided to get under the activity center with John and show him how it worked. John was very interested after that. He enjoyed it!

Week 10

I've been trying to stay busy as Heath is out of town and I have my hands full. John is doing good, in the last month he's really learned how to hold his head up good. He doesn't really do the head flop anymore. He's found his hand and will try to put his whole fist in his mouth. But the nice thing is that he'll suck on his hand and sort of self-soothe himself. He hasn't really been sleeping all that great at night since Daddy's been gone. Fun for me! I keep hoping each night will get better.
Hayden really enjoyed the weekend. My cousin, Kyle and his wife Alison and son Hayes came to visit on Saturday. Kyle played Star Wars with Hayden who had a blast. And Alison and I sat and talked with the babies. It was very nice to have some adult company for a few hours!! We will miss them when they move to Connecticut!
And then on Sunday, we went to the Deanna Rose Farmstead in Overland Park. I invited our neighbor Amanda and her two kids, Conner and Erin to come with us. Conner is 4 and adores Hayden so they had a good time. The farm has animals and a playground and lots of different activities. Plus right now they have a Pumpkin Patch. So we rode the hay ride out to the pumpkin patch and had a lot of fun. They had pumpkins and carnival type games for the kids. It was a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon and wore the kids out!
I've included a few pics from the farm and then a few new ones of John. I'm not taking as many pictures of him. Sad!! I'm trying to do better!

Sitting with Daddy

One night when we were eating dinner, we looked outside and saw this doe and her baby in the back yard. So Heath ran to get the camera. I know it's not the best picture but it was cool to see!

Big Daddy and John, Uncle Ian, Heath and Hayden

Big Daddy holding John with Uncle Ian and Hayden

John and GG

John meeting GG for the first time

Weeks 8 & 9/2 months

Wow, we've made it to two months. It's going really fast. John is becoming more animated and stays awake a little longer now. He makes some funny faces that remind us of Hayden. In the past few weeks, he's smiling more and sort of laughing. And he's also started recognizing us. We picked Hayden up from a playdate on Friday and when John saw him, he got a big grin on his face. It was really cute! Hayden was excited. Making fish faces at John also gets a big smile. And he likes to talk with us as well. We coo, and ooh and ah and he does it back, it's funny! He finally likes the swing for short periods of time. And has even started trying to reach out to the toys on the tray. He's not crying quite as much at night which is nice but he gets really crabby if he doesn't get enough sleep. So we usually have at least one bout of screaming at some point during the day. He sleeps like a champ if you sit and hold him the whole time. But that doesn't happen very often.
We had visitors last week when GG and Big Daddy(Heath's parents) came to meet John. Uncle Ian also came over from St. Louis for a few nights as well. They loved John of course and he enjoyed being held a lot. Hayden enjoyed having his Grandparents and Uncle here for a few days. He even got to go turkey hunting with the boys on Saturday morning which was great fun for him. He had a good weekend. We had a nice visit! Plus Hayden got a new bike which he needed. He learned how to ride his bike this summer and had outgrown the old one. Now he has a big boy bike and he rides it all the time!
Then on Monday John had his 2 month checkup. He is doing good, growing like a weed. He's now 12lbs, 8oz and 23 in long. He's in 3-6 month clothes now. He was doing really good at his appt. until it was time for his shots. He had to get 3 shots and 1 oral vaccine. He was not a happy camper. So, then the rest of the day he was miserable. I don't think he slept more than 10 minutes at a time even being held. He just could not get comfortable. Thankfully by Tuesday he was back to normal. He slept a lot that day making up for Monday. Needless to say, I'm not looking forward to the 4 month checkup when we have to do it all over again!
Okay, I think that's all for now, here's a few pics from the last few weeks!

Happy Baby!

Hayden and John in their matching PJ's

More smiles!

Weeks 6 & 7

So I'm a little behind on pictures. John is smiling more and talking more. He does lots of oohs and aahs and funny noises. He likes to be held most of the time and he's really fussy at night which is why I haven't updated this in a few weeks. Most nights he screams for awhile before he can go to sleep. He must think he's going to miss something by going to bed. But once he's asleep, he'll usually sleep for 5-6 hours. So it works out okay.

The other reason I'm a little behind is that Hayden was sick again and out of school for a couple of days. He's better now and back in school. We've also been getting ready for the big post wide yard sale and Heath's parents coming for a visit. So it's been a little crazy. I'm ready for everything to slow down for awhile before the holiday craziness. Here's a few more photos from the past few weeks.

In our attempt to get a good pic for the birth announcement we got some good shots of the boys together!

Sitting in the swing

Before the Clemson/Citadel football game. A house divided with Hayden and Heath in Citadel shirts and Heather and John in Clemson shirts. Hayden wanted John in his Citadel shirt too but I got to him first! And thankfully Clemson redeemed themselves from the pitiful game against Alabama! Go Tigers!!

Week 5

Wow, John is still growing and doing new things weekly. This week his neck is getting even stronger and he finally starting smiling a little. This was exciting for us. Finally we are getting something back. He's making cute noises and he does something that sounds like a sigh. It's usually when he wants something and we aren't getting it fast enough. It's pretty funny!

Hayden is doing good. Last week they had a Freedom Walk for Patroit Day(Sept. 11) at school. They taught the kids the National Anthem and we were singing that night before bed. Hayden kept saying Hosea. So I asked him what he was talking about. He said "Hosea can you see." So we had a good laugh over that. So of course since I laughed, he continues to do it! Pretty funny!

That's about it for now. Just trying to keep up with both kids while Heath is out of town. It's been a little crazy but we're still here. He'll thankfully be home soon!

Sleepy baby

Mommy and her boys ready for football!

Laying on the Boppy pillow

Looking up at Daddy

One Month Old

Wow, John's a month old now. Time is flying. He is doing good, working on holding his head up and trying to move. He likes to be outside and he likes riding in the car. We are still trying to figure out a schedule but most days we do okay. He's also gaining weight. I took him yesterday and he weighed 10lbs. Two weeks ago he was only around 8 and a half lbs. He's eating good.
Hayden is enjoying school and he's learning a lot. He especially likes art, music, P.E. and the library, where he can check out a book each week. I'm including some pics from the last week or so. We took a picture with our Clemson hats on before the game last Saturday which was fun. John's is a little big and he liked staring at the orange bill. We tried to cheer the Tigers on but it didn't help! Hopefully this week will be better. But we'll be a house divided with Clemson playing The Citadel. Hayden says he's pulling for The Citadel. We'll have to see about that! I'll post more later!