Weeks 45-47

John eating his puffs. I gave him the container with the lid so he could play with it. Then I looked down and realized he had opened it and was having a snack. Too funny! And he didn't spill any!

Crazy Grace curled up on the couch. Heath pulled the blanket over her and she just sat there like it was where she belonged.

John "reading" a magazine. He turns the pages, sometimes one at a time.

Learning how to fly fish. Hayden is going to go fishing with Heath and his Dad in the mountains!

Hayden at British Challenger Soccer Camp. He learned a lot and had fun. And thankfully the weather was nice and mild that week!

Not much going on, just trying to stay busy. Hayden had soccer camp and has been playing with friends. Although the past week has been hard since most of our neighbors moved. His two best buds in the neighborhood moved so that was hard. Hopefully we'll have new neighbors soon who have boys his age! Hayden had a sleep over one day this week and was still playing most of the next day. That was great although I'm sure he would have stayed. I don't think he wanted to come home. The summer seems to be flying by even though we're not doing much. The weather is horribly hot and humid this week so we are cooped up in the house. We look forward to some cooler weather soon.

John learned to clap last week so now he does that all the time. He's still learning to walk. He goes really fast if you hold his hand but still only takes a few steps without holding on to anything. He can stand alone really well but is still unstable when he starts to move. I think he wants to go too fast. He just wants to run so he gives up and crawls. He goes really fast that way. Not much else going on, will update when we get back from home.

This proves how crazy Grace is. She basically turned herself into a pretzel to grab her tail. And then just sat there holding it. She's funny!!!

John in his highchair double fisted. He likes to have somthing in both hands now. And this could be anything from toys to paper. And when you try to take it away, he gets really mad. He's become really possessive!

Hayden lost his second tooth. He actually pulled it out himself b/c he was in his room in timeout and wanted to get out. Heath told him if his tooth came out, he could come out so he pulled it out! Crazy! Then the next morning, the tooth fairy forgot to leave his dollar and take the tooth. But then we found it downstairs under his placemat. Whoops!

This was how I got to see MT. Rushmore. We had to get right up under the mountain to be able to make out the faces. It was drizzling and cold. So it sucked! We will make the trip again b/c we didn't go around to see any of the other monuments b/c the weather was so bad. So not the best trip but at least Hayden really enjoyed it and learned something. It was defiantly an adventure!!

We finally made it to Mt. Rushmore Saturday night around 6:30. John was ready for bed so I stayed at the hotel while Heath and Hayden went down to Mt. Rushmore. They have a lighting ceremony at night and give a little persentation. Hayden really enjoyed this and learned a lot. He came back to the hotel telling me all the presidents on the mountain and even what number they were. I didn't even know that. Plus Heath got some great photos thankfully because the next day you could barely see it.

Mount Rushmore

This was just outside the visitors center at The Badlands

We stopped at the Badlands National Park on the way to Mt. Rushmore. It's about an hour east. Just really cool rock formations. Hayden enjoyed it and we got some cool pictures.

Hayden had field day at school. They went around to different stations and had fun. I was glad it was in the morning b/c it started getting hot. The kids were spent by the end but Hayden had fun. It was fun to watch!
Rolling a big ball around

Cup stacking-this was funny. I was impressed that the kids could do it!

The sack race

We got Hayden's old Leap Frog Learning Table out for John and he loves it!

John loves Hayden and thinks he's really funny!

John at Hayden's t-ball game. He's got a few more years ahead of him watching Hayden play ball.

Ready to hit the ball at a T-ball game!

John wanted some of my water and he loved drinking out of the glass! Now he tries to do that everytime he sees one of our glasses.

Heath put this picture in a frame for Mother's Day that said "I love my Mom" Cute. I had a good Mother's Day. Hayden made a ceramic heart that he painted at school and I got a bouquet of paper flowers with requests on them, like hug mommy or clean your room. Plus he made me a great card!

Hayden's end of the year music program at school. Each child had a speaking part and they sang lots of songs. Hayden does not have my flair for performing, he was really shy and barely singing and barely doing the hand motions. Having an audience embarrassed him, too funny!

Hayden at T-ball. He was the pitcher this game. He had the most fun when he was pitcher or catcher or short stop. He wanted to be able to touch the ball a lot or he got bored!

Grace has gotten bigger, she's probably full grown now. Still a crazy puppy with lots of energy. She likes to be outside so she stays out a lot or in her crate.

Weeks 40-44/10 months

Okay, so I'm really not good at keeping up with this. I guess we've been busy. Hayden had T-ball in April and May. That was fun but two nights a week although it was over quick. Then the end of school and Memorial Day weekend. We made the long trip to South Dakota to see Mt. Rushmore. That was interesting, found out John is not the best traveler. He did okay in the car but not great in the hotel rooms at night. It was a quick trip and not time enough for him to adjust. So now, this summer I'll fly home with John and Heath and Hayden can drive. It will still probably take him a few days to adjust but at least we won't be in the car for 9 plus hours a day. John is very set in his schedule and it doesn't go well when we change that.
Hayden finished school and was actually sad he wouldn't get to see his teacher anymore. He's excited about being a first grader. We don't have a whole lot planned for the summer. He will do soccer camp next week and a lot of playing with his friends. Which suits him just fine. We've been to the pool once, the water is still a little cool but Hayden didn't mind. John even liked it after awhile.
John is growing like crazy. He's still not walking which is okay. He can stand alone great and he takes a few steps before either face-planting or falling on his butt. He's really good at cruising the furniture but he still would rather crawl than walk. It doesn't bother me, he'll walk eventually. He is talking more and still eating great. He now likes to turn the light on in his room. He can reach the switch from his crib. So in the middle of the night when he wakes up, he usually turns the light on. It's nice when he needs to go back to sleep. We are back in a normal routine now after our trip. He goes to bed around 7 and sleeps until almost 11, then eats and goes back to sleep until about 4, 4:30. Eats again and then usually back to sleep until around 6 or 6:30. Occasionally he gets up at 5 and won't go back to sleep. Those are fun days! He got his 3rd and 4th teeth and then two more on top finally came thru. He's eating some stage 3 foods now. I'm trying to get him eating independently b/c he would much rather feed himself. He loves these zesty tomato crunchies and also wagon wheels. Not much else going on, pictures to follow.

Week 39

Not much going on. John has a cold or could be allergies. He has a nasty runny nose along with an occasional cough. Plus he's getting 4 teeth in at the same time. So, I haven't really taken any pictures, will post more next week. Both Hayden and I are suffering from seasonal allergies but it's worse for me. John is standing now on everything and even stands alone for a few seconds. So walking won't be far off, which is way too fast for me. But oh well. Hayden has his first T-ball game soon so I'll post some pics of that next week.

John crawling across the floor

Hayden and John

John "reading" a magazine. Then he rips them apart.

John's loot from the Easter bunny

Hayden's loot from the Easter bunny

Our Easter picture, John was only dressed for the picture then I changed him.

This was Hayden's First Communion at church. He was embarrased to be the center of attention at the front of the church. It was nice though, he got a certificate and he own prayer book!

John likes to rip magazines, note the pile of destruction behind him!

Opening presents on his Birthday morning

With his main present from Mom and Dad, a Nintendo DS

Hayden with his new Nerf gun from Big Daddy

Hayden bowling at his party!

Hayden blowing out the candles on his cake

This is what John did after Hayden opened his gifts!

Week 36-38/ Happy Birthday Hayden!

Well, Hayden did really well with his tonsillectomy. He had one bad day on Wednesday. He just wanted to lay around and didn't eat much at all that day. By the next day, he was ready to play outside with his friends. We held him off until Friday and then he had a friend over to play. He didn't even need the pain medication at that point. I think on Thursday he ate pizza! Then Easter Sunday night he woke up screaming that his throat was hurting. I gave him some pain med and then again the next morning and he's been fine ever since. You could barely tell he had surgery. The amazing resilence of kids!!! The hardest thing that week was John who had a cold, running nose, cough, etc. So he was a little fussy plus he's teething again.

We had a good Easter. John and I didn't make it to church b/c he didn't get up from his nap in time but Heath and Hayden went. We had a nice quiet day and Hayden was excited about what he got from the Easter bunny. Although, he did ask if I put the stuff in his basket or the Easter bunny. I quickly said no, Mommy didn't do it while Heath hid his face b/c he was laughing so hard. He'll have it figured out soon!

John has learned how to pull up to a standing position and has even stood alone for a few seconds. This is happening way too fast and I know he'll be cruising along the furniture and then walking soon. He's also talking more, he says ba, ga, sometimes da and ma. He actually sounds like he's trying to say something and that's new. He's happy most of the time and a pretty good baby. He likes to rip magazines now as you'll see in the pictures and he's pretty fast when crawling. He loves the dogs and laughs at them a lot plus Freckles is now parked under the high chair at meal time and John thinks that's funny. He likes to feed himself and is now eating wagon wheels and fruit puffs and cheerios. He eats some and then grabs his sippy cup and drinks and then puts it down to eat more. It's funny. He doesn't want help. He's even started grabbing the spoon when we're feeding him. Hopefully he'll have some more teeth soon, the gums are really white and swollen and he's been off and on fussy and not sleeping great some nights.

This past weekend was nuts with Hayden's Birthday. We took a cake to school on Friday and then his Birthday was Saturday. We had the yard sale that morning then T-ball pictures at noon and Hayden's party that afternoon. It was a little crazy. We had the party at the Bowling Alley which was fun. But imagine 12 or so 5-6 year olds bowling plus parents and some siblings. It was nuts but the kids had fun and no one got hurt!!! Hayden had a good Birthday and I can't believe my first born is 6 years old. Where did the time go? It seems like just yesterday he was that little guy attached to me constantly!!! I've included lots of pictures from the past few weeks. Enjoy!

Week 36

Hayden had his tonsils out today and did really well. He even wanted to eat when we got home. He wasn't happy that he couldn't eat a hot dog for lunch. He didn't just want jello and ice cream. Although he's eaten a ton of that and popsicles. So far, so good. His throat is hurting but not too bad and it doesn't seem to bother him that much. We kept having to tell him to sit down and just watch TV today. Who knows what tomorrow will bring, but today went well. I'll update again later in the week!

One of Hayden's favorite things to do this time of year-dye Easter eggs!

Playing on the floor with Daddy

Weeks 33-35

I haven't posted in a few weeks because there's not a whole lot going on. I've only taken a few pictures of John and then of Hayden dyeing Easter eggs last night. The weather has been crazy, in the 70s for a few days and then cold again. We even had snow last weekend but thankfully it melted the next day. It was a wet snow and messy and then even messier as it melted. The backyard hasn't been dry in weeks.
Here's a quick update, John is really crawling now and all over the place. Which is kinda of a pain. Now I can't just sit him down and have him stay put, he moves. But on the flip side, he can entertain himself a little better. I just have a watch his every move b/c of course he goes for everything he shouldn't. He's talking more and he has his second tooth. Probably more on the way soon b/c the drooling is out of control! He's eating great and likes to feed himself. He enjoys having the teething biscuits and wagon wheels at the end of his meal. We tried yogurt yesterday morning and he seems to like that too.
Grace is still growing and almost full grown. She was spayed about a week ago and did okay. It was nice b/c she was out of it and really calm for a few days!!! She's back to normal now and back to digging up the yard and eating poo!
Hayden is doing good, he's on Spring Break this week. But since Heath is not on break, Hayden is having his tonsils out on Monday. So wish us well and I'll let you know how it goes!

On the move!