A Little Purple Pride

We have to give a shout out the the Kansas State Wildcats and so Hayden got done up in his little outfit to show his pride in his potential future school. Just some cute pictures. Moms are allowed to get a little picture happy occasionally right? Occasionally means everyday right?

First Visit to the Zoo

Hayden and I went to the zoo this past week and I explained all the animals to him and he completely understood everything. Okay not really, but a lady with another older child had the nerve to make fun of me trying. Hey when my kid is smarter than your kid then we'll see who's laughing. Alright, maybe a little defensive but we get picked on a little more out here. Anyway, besides the comment it was fun and we were actually there for a birthday party for another little guy who was turning 1. All the kids attention spans were a little to none at all but it was fun for the mommies. Especially the mommies who got to eat their kid's cupcakes. Mmmm. Oh the picture on the left is in front of the polar bears (in the desert...poor polar bears) and if you look really close to the left of me you can actually see one and the picture on the right we are looking at seals. They were coming right up to the glass and Hayden actually saw them. I told him they were like the "Sadies" (labrador retrievers) of the sea since that is the only animal he really understands right now. Who knew...admission to the Sadie zoo is free and air conditioned.

Monster Baby

So, I wanted to share a little game we play with Hayden because he loves to stand all the time and this makes it a little easier on the arms. Its called monster baby and sometimes it involves me getting drooled on but it definitely keeps him amused. I have to use what Derrick calls my cartoon voice (though he has not perfected his cartoon voice yet,) and pretty soon, Hayden is imitating me. Its really cute, at least from my angle. Sometimes Sadie (the chocolate lab) wants to play too. I'll be sad when he doesn't want to play this little game anymore, or when he gets too tall and my arms can't hold him the same way though I can't picture doing this when he's 10.

Hayden's Dedication

Hayden was dedicated to God this week at our church. It was a large group of children each individually named and dedicated by their parents. This is different than what I grew up knowing occurred where baptism was favored for babies. We chose to dedicate Hayden to God and for God knowing that we are a steward of God in the raising of this child whom He has given to us to raise up for His glory. So we chose to formally proclaim our desire to obey the Lord in raising him knowing the One true God. When Hayden is old enough to understand who Jesus is and Jesus' sacrifice for him (and all of us) and to accept his gift of grace, mercy, and redemption, then he will have the opportunity to be baptized. We ask for your prayers that his heart would be soft to the yielding of the Holy Spirit and he would come to live all the days of his life for the Lord.

Hayden's First Visit to Kansas

This past week, Hayden took his first ride on an airplane (smooth for the most part and boy do I appreciate all the help you get traveling with a baby by the airline employees) and went back to Kansas for the first time. He got to meet a lot of of the family including 3 sets of great-grandparents, great aunts and uncles, his aunt and uncle and new baby cousin Colton. He also got to see his grandmas and grandpa. We spent a week there running all over the place to introduce Hayden to as many people as we could and still didn't have enough time. As Hayden's personal assistant, let me say we will now be taking appointments for his next visit. I mean it...I'm actually going to put it in a planner. It took my little guy 3 days to get back in his groove because of my over-scheduling (novice mom) because he just hasn't figured out how to run on my schedule. Though we did fit in one day of rest because I came down with the flu...don't worry not the H1N1 (swine flu)...just the good old fashioned stomach flu. We also got to try and teach Hayden the color green. We have mainly focused on the color brown since that is what we have the most of here... brown houses, brown bushes, brown dirt, so much brown. It was so green in Kansas it hurt my eyes. He also had a growth spurt while we were there growing almost a pound in a little more than a week. Must be all the fertilizers they use leaching into the water...and then through me...to him. Interesting theory...I'll have to run a few more studies on that one. Anyway, we had a really good time seeing everyone and wish we could do it more often. Though we do have some open floor in the living room of our condo. The invitation is open to those who don't mind a mattress on the floor for a little one-on-one time with Hayden.

Standing Man

Hayden has always loved to stand on his own two feet and never been much for time on his belly. Who can blame him? The view is better. He's getting really strong and can even stand completely on his own for twenty seconds before we have to re-balance him or let him rest. He'll be standing here before we know it. This video was taken when Hayden is a little less than 3 1/2 months old. He's a cutie!

Giggling...

So Hayden has started giggling now and we finally caught it on the camcorder. He actually has times where he will look you in the eye and give you this ornery look and laugh, then shield his ribs to the right because he want to get tickled and giggle. Its the funniest thing. I can't wait until he finds more things funny because his laugh is great! He also does a little bit of his version of conversating at the end of the video.

Our Weekends

We mostly lounge around on Saturday but occasionally make outings where we (all of us) have to get our shades on to handle this extremely sunny place.

Easter Sunday

Our little family got a picture before church on Easter Sunday (and before we could be covered in spit-up.) I'm so excited to explain what Easter means to Hayden and what a joyous day it is - celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord and God willing, Hayden's Savior someday soon when he can make that decision. It was a blessed Sunday as he slept through the service almost until the end so I actually got to listen and sing! Whoo hoo!

Stay-at-Home Mom

This month I also decided to not return to my job as a pharmaceutical representative. My company offered extended leave up to 3 years and I decided to take them up on it. Its a really great opportunity to be there for my son and also keep my connections to the business world. I'll miss a lot about my job, but there's something a job that allows you to show up in your pj's with no makeup on and where the one person you work with all day greets you with a smile from his crib and is happy that you came despite your appearance.