Minneapolis

We are getting packed up and heading out tomorrow morning to Minneapolis. We are meeting up with then Bellows and Shroyer families at a pumpkin patch. We went there last year for the first time and are hoping to make this a family tradition. Then we are heading up to the Bellows home to spend the weekend. We are excited to see everyone.
This past week was a busy one. Hayden made it the 4 hours at PDO. He cried for a while but warmed up eventually! At least he stopped crying this time. After I put Hayden to bed Monday I went over to Kari's house to help celebrate her birthday. Our friend Kelley came as well. We had an awesome time. We sat around and snacked and watched Dancing with the stars and the bachelor.
Last week Hayden had a follow up evaluation with the NICU doctors and therapists. They evaluate his development and hearing. It took him a few minutes to warm up (he is a little shy with new people now since I started leaving him on Mondays), but once he did he had fun playing with the ladies. The therapists said he is right on track.
I started a new hobby! I figured my husband has so many hobbies I need to catch up with him. I decided to start scrapbooking. A lot of my friends scrapbbok and get together often to do so. I am so excited to start! Tomorrow night Stacy, Kelli, and I are going to scrapbook for the evening!
Have a great weekend!

Attack Of The Molars and Cuspids

Hayden likes to go with out neighbor Nancy and look at all of her plants and butterflies in her yard.


Hayden started getting 2 of his first molars a month ago. Well now the official count is 3 molars and 3 cuspids. They have been flying in and he is sure feeling it! He has been clingy and cranky for 2 weeks now. Tuesday night we took him to the doctor because his voice has been hoarse for about 2 weeks and I wanted to make sure we weren't missing anything. After a strep culture the doctor told us that he has laryngitis and he thought the beginning of croup as well. He just said all we can do is still give him Ibuprofen and if he is not better in 1 week then come back in.
So Hayden and I stayed home from music Wednesday. He had a rough day at PDO Monday and MOPS on Tuesday.
My mom came down yesterday to watch Hayden while I went to the Doctor. He was a perfect angel while I was gone. They went on a 45 minute walk and he didn't make a peep! He loves walks!
On Monday Hayden started letting go of things and standing on his own for a few seconds. Then he squats down and stands back up and giggles. He thinks his new trick is soooo cool! He holds his hands way up over his head for balance. I tried to get a picture but didn't. He would see the camera, drop, and crawl over to grab it. Distractions, distractions! Wednesday he took 2 steps. Yesterday he is up to 3. He gets so excited then he starts trying to run and then falls. It is so funny he just giggles the whole time he walks. I knew it was going to happen as soon as he got the courage up to let go. When he is pushing his walking toy he picks it up to move it if he gets stuck or in a corner. He has had the balancing thing down for a while, so now he is discovering the letting go part it won't be long!

Long Time No Post

It has been a while since I had the chance to sit down and post. A lot has happened.
Last week my uncle passed away. So off to another funeral we went! Although it was sad, it was nice to see all of the relatives I haven't seen for a while.
After the funeral we went to the burial. My uncle was buried by my dad. When the burial was over a lot of people hung around for a while and talked. It was an absolutely beautiful day out. We sat Hayden down my my dad's grave and Hayden went right up to it and started talking to it. It was sooooo special. Everyone that walked by kept saying "You saying hi to grandpa?" and he would smile. Then he sat down by the stone an put his hand on it.
Then we went to my aunt Doris's house. My uncle Wilmer and his new wife stopped by as well. We are soooo happy the my uncle got remarried. My Aunt Dorothy passed on a few years ago.
Then it was back in the car and off to home. We stayed at my mom's for a while so Hayden could stretch and crawl around.

Recipe Share

I started a new blog. I am on a quest for new yummy recipes! Please visit my new blog and share some of your favorite recipes with others.
We tried Jennie's marinade and it was sooo yummy! Can't wait to try more.
There is a link to the new blog on the side of this blog.
Below is the address if you want it!
Enjoy!
http://somethingnewfordinner.blogspot.com/

Fun on the Farm

Hayden's reaction to the Hawkeye's loss



Joey's tomato from the garden

Did I mention Hayden likes to sit on everything?
Hayden, Faith, and Sara


Yesterday we went visit Joey's sister and family to help celebrate Faith's 7th birthday. The weather was absolutely perfect and we had fun outside most of the day. Faith was surprised with a new horse for her birthday. She was so happy! She said to me "You have got to be kidding me! I got a horse for my birthday!) It was sooo cute.
Hayden had a ball playing outside and walking behind his push toy. He has started pushing everything he can and walking behind it.
Joey is working for a couple of hours this morning and then we plan to do some outside activities to enjoy this weather.
Hayden has school tomorrow and we have music on Wednesday. Not much planned this week yet but I am sure as usual it will book up. Have a great week!

Little Monkey

The fan wasn't laying down like this. he knocked it over so he could climb on it.
This is how I found him

He got a little help from Dad on this one.


Hayden is still showing little interest in walking, but his new skill is climbing everything! He also loves to push and walk behind anything he can move. Some of them include; dining room chars, clothes baskets, leapfrog table, walking toy, and stroller.
The other day Hayden was playing in his room and I could hear scratches on the screen in his room. I went on to find him standing on his new birthday present from Uncle Mike and Aunt Sherry. It is a plastic box that can hold hot wheels. he pushed it over under the window and was looking out. I laughed so hard! Pretty resourceful little guy! He still hasn't figured out a graceful way to dismount from the higher objects that he climbs so he does a stunt man/army roll to get back on the floor. I will try to upload a video that shows that it is pretty funny!
He is also saying a new word. Well he has been for a while now but I keep forgetting to post it. Uh-Oh is the new word. He says it all of the time and for the most part in context also. He also trues to imitate any word that starts with B. I have a feeling that most words are going to start with a B even if they aren't supposed to. He has started saying bup and lifts his hands up to be picked up.
Friday Jen, Sara and Noah came to eat at Red Robbin to celebrate Noah's 5th birthday. Bev and Johnny came also. We had a great time.
We had a great weekend in Waterloo at the Paricka's. We went up Friday evening so Joey could practice on the motorcycle because he decided that he needed to get his license. He took the test written here on Friday and failed by one point. On Saturday he passed the written and the driving portion so he is official. He and Johnny drove around town most of the afternoon Saturday. They weather was absolutely perfect Saturday! While they were out and about Hayden and I got caught up on some sleep!
The weather has really cooled down this week! It is awesome! Last night we grilled brats on Joey's new charcoal grill. He bought it from someone at work for $1. It is in perfect condition and they just used it once. Joey was so excited to find a bargain and is happy to have a charcoal grill.
We have Kindermusik today and nothing planed for the rest of the week or weekend. We are looking forward to spending some time outside.

It's Official Hayden Can Survive Without Me!

Monday was our first experience with unfamiliar people watching Hayden. We got into the PDO program (Parent's Day Out) at a church downtown. It is not a daycare but a program that appreciates parent's need for personal time. I will be taking Hayden for 4 hours every Monday. It think it is a great first step to leaving him with unfamiliar people. I was pretty nervous dropping him off on Monday because I didn't know how I was going to react and I wasn't sure how Hayden was going to react. When we walked in the room I set Hayden down and signed him in. He just st there for a minute with his back to me and then crawled away and started playing. I called 1/2 way through the day at 11:30 and they said he was fine for the first hour and then he cried off and on for a 1/2 hour after that. My first reaction was to run back there and get him, but I didn't. When I arrived at 1:30 to get him he saw me and burst into tears. I think it was just tears of relief that I actually came back and didn't forget about him. He was definitely happy to see me. Oh and also because at that same time he got hit in the face with a book by a kid going down the slide while Hayden was climbing up it! :(
The teachers said that he had a great first day and that it is normal for him to cry when he sees me. They also said that another child started crying before Hayden earlier so that may have set him off. Other than that he had a great time playing. They also said he ate an awesome lunch. He ate almost every bite I packed for him. Ham and cream cheese rolls, mandarin oranges, cheese chunks, cereal bar, applesauce, and milk. He also ate some of his peas and goldfish, and had a snack of puffs and milk. I only sent the applesauce, goldfish, and cereal bar along in case he refused to eat his ham and peas. I definitely thin he is going through a growth spurt.
Yesterday we had our first meeting of MOPS. I am really excited about it. I have a great table of ladies and can't wait for the next meeting. We meet every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month for 2hours. I was anxious about dropping him off in the nursery because I thought he might throw a fit. He sat right down and played. When I picked him up they said that he may not be feeling well because he kind of cried off and on for the 2 hours. Poor guy! That made me feel bad. The director of the children's ministry assured me that there would be a few "velcro" days, but he would adapt. The ladies all commented that the 1-2 year old room was very quite this year compared to last. Last year they had to shut the doors to the fellowship hall to muffle the cries. So we will see how it goes. I think it is great for me to trust extremely capable unfamiliar people with Hayden and good for him to be able to be without me. It was great for me also! I truly appreciated the 4 hours on Monday to fun errands and clean without interruption. I also loved the fellowship and time spent at MOPS.

Labor Day Weekend

We had my Aunt's funeral in Marshalltown on Saturday. The visitation was Friday night and we spent the night. It was a beautiful service and great to see all of the extended family. Friday after the visitation we went out to eat for authentic maxican. It was yummy. Then my cousin Dawn, her husband, and her old college roommate Maria, and I went out for a couple drinks. It was nice to reminisce about old times wen Dawn and Maria babysat my sister and me. It was also nice to reminisce with Dawn about her mom.
We had the funeral Saturday morning and then headed back home after lunch at the church.
Sunday we went to our friends cabin at Holiday lake. We had a great time! It was Hayden's first experience on a boat and with a life jacket. As soon as we got in the water Sara and I put the life jackets on Briar and Hayden and it was hilarious. They HATED the life jackets and cried and cried and cried. They we both standing in the middle of the boat staring at each other and crying. As soon as the boat took off they were both fine. I went to grab my camera to capture the momentus ocasion and discovered that I left the battery at home in the charger. Sara took some pictures so as soon as I get them I will post some. We had a great time cruising around the lake. We parked in a cove and dropped the anchor. Phil, Joey, and the girls went for a swim. Hayden loved it. It was a beautiful day. After they swam Joey went on the tube. It was sooooo funny! He had a great time and held on forever. His arms are still very sore.
After the afternoon of fun we went back to the cabin and made supper. Joey and Phil decided to try out the charcoal grill instead of the gas. The food tasted sooooo yummy on charcoal. It has been a long time since I ate grilled food on a charcoal grill.
After dinner we helped them pack up and we all headed out. Hayden was out by the time we got on the highway.
Monday I was feeling yucky! Joey and Haydn got up and I laid in bed until 9:00! When I got up I discovered Joey attempting to make french bread from scratch! We just hung out at home all day and I rested. I finally started feeling better yesterday.
We had spaghetti and Joey's french bread for dinner and it turned out great!
Monday night Johnny stopped by on his way back home on his motorcycle. He spent the night with us and left in the morning on Tuesday. Johnny and Joey went out and did some night fishing.
Yesterday we had music class. Hayden is enjoys it so much! He loves to clap and laugh through the whole class. Grandma Bev came down after that to watch Hayden so I could go to the eye doctor. I came home with contacts! I tried to put them in today but for some reason I can't get them in. I have anxiety about touching my eye! I just can't seem to do it. Hopefully if I continue trying I can get over that and get these stinking contacts in!
Hayden wouldn't lay down for his nap in the afternoon. After grandma left I tried again, but he wouldn't do it. I put him in his highchair and gave him a snack. I went in the kitchen and was talking on the phone and peeked out. He was asleep. This is a first! He rarely falls asleep anywhere besides his crib or car seat. He was even snoring.
Joey got a big chunk of his homework done, so hopefully we can get out together this weekend and enjoy the beautiful weather. I am anxiously waiting for the humidity to drop so I can get the windows open!