First Projects / Videos and Pics Galore

Look at my pettyyy



Here are Hayden's 2 projects from school. I also put on a few more videos.
In the first one you can hear Joey start clicking his tongue and then Hayden joining in. It is their special language.
The second one is just a funny one of Hayden jabbering for a second.
The third one is Hayden's official first meeting with Bud Saul (Joey's Cabbage Patch doll we found in a box this weekend). Joey said the meeting didn't go as he hoped. Bud fared well. He just suffered a kick in the groin, smack in the face and then a toss across some boxes. Hayden has no shirt on because he was drooling sooooo much this weekend I was in the process of getting him a new one. Notice how wet his pants are from a few minutes without a shirt on to catch the drool.
I also threw a picture of Hayden sitting on Monica's lap. I watched the neighbor kids last week for 2 hours and Hayden loved it. Monica says that Hayden is the perfect size for him and tries to pick him up and likes him to sit on her lap. Even though they weigh about the same. He usually goes along with it for a little while before he has had enough.
Oh and Hayden holding his new favorite toy pengy. He loves it. Uncle Johnny gave it to him when he was born and he just discovered it the other day. He calls it peetyy. For pengy. He also calls hid binky ptttteee and his toes pigggeeee. They all 3 sound pretty much the same but Joey and I can pick up on which one he is talking about.

Welcome Fall

Hayden's car aunt Ingrid customized for him

We have been enjoying the cool fall weather and taking advantage of it by getting work done outside. We have been busy raking the millions of pine needles in our backyard and Joey did some roof work out front. Today the weather feels a lot colder and the wind had picked up a lot. Just in time for my parents arrival back to Iowa!
We got a lot accomplished this weekend. We sorted and got rid of a lot of stuff in out basement. We each condensed our "memories" to one box and combined many other boxes to give us room. We also have a few more boxes to go to Goodwill and some things we can sell on ebay. Our neighbor gave us a couch so we have that set up in the basement and are getting a nice play space set up for Hayden down there. He did soooo good all weekend while we worked in the basement. He loved looking in all of the boxes and playing with all of the new "toys".
He started really walking a lot more this weekend. He loves to pick heavy things up and grunts and puffs and then stands and walks around. Now anytime he has something in his hands he walks around with it. I suppose it is easier for him to walk in the basement because it is one flat surface. Upstairs it is rug, to extremely slippery wood floor, to rug, to wood floor, to carpet. He gets hung up on the different floors upstairs but is getting a lot better. So I would say he is walking a little more than crawling. Unless he wants to get somewhere fast. Then he breaks out the speed crawl.
This week we are busy as usual. I just picked Hayden up from PDO and they said he had another great day. He even finger painted for the first time today. They sent us home with 2 of his Halloween projects. A ghost footprint and a bat hand print. We have music tomorrow and Wednesday. Thursday we have his 15 month Dr. appointment and then a friend is coming over for lunch. Friday we are going to walk the mall with another friend and then let the kids play in the play area.
Oh I keep forgetting to mention Hayden got his final molar last week so he officially has all of his teeth now. Right before his 15 month birthday. This last molar was a bear. We had a couple of rough weeks in the sleeping department but are hoping he will be back to sleeping well again soon! I honestly don't mind that much because I figure he won't ever be this small again and want to snuggle in the middle of the night with me for long. I am going to take it while I can.

Below is a video from this weekend. When Hayden looks back he is checking to make sure daddy is still good on the roof. The end was cut short because I had to hold the ladder for Joey.

Happy Halloween

We had a fun Halloween. We ended up going to Waterloo to help Joey's brother celebrate his birthday. Hayden went trick or treating to one house. Hayden hung out with Grandma and Grandpa and we took off. We ate at Rudy's (our favorite) and then went to a bar downtown and played shuffle board.
When we got back Grandma gave us a full report and it sounded like Hayden had a great time. He even got a bath and was sound asleep when we got back to pick him up. Since we were up there Hayden has been saying pigggsssseeee and grabbing his toes. Which I think is piggies because that is what he and grandpa play!

Halloween

Even though he doesn't look it Hayden was excited to go to the party. I just got done wiping his nose and he HATES it!


My feather- try not to be Jealous Kari!

We had a busy yet productive weekend. Friday I went out to dinner with the gals from my MOPS table. We had a great time and it was nice to chat with everyone. Saturday we worked outside all day. Joey caulked a portion of our roof and we raked a lot of pine needles. We took out the screens in the back porch and front door and put in the glass for winter. We also put in a few storm windows. Hayden took a long nap so we got a lot accomplished during that time.
Sunday we went to our friends home for a kids halloween/fall party. We had a great time and the kids did also. Hayden played with his friends Theo and Jerry. He also had fun playing with 2 new kids. We met some new people as well. Most of the people there live around us so it was fun talking "old homes" with everyone.
Hayden is a Lion this year. I must say he looks pretty cute! Hopefully we can get some better pictures Wednesday. He crawls around and says rarrrr. It is cute!
Sunday night I worked on our first family project for Hayden's school. We had to decorate a turkey feather for the bulletin board. Joey and I were excited to work on it, but when the time came both he and Hayden were napping. I didn't mind since I was excited to break out some of my new scrap booking things.
Today Hayden had PDO. He just got teary today when I left! No crying! Joey came home for a late lunch today so we both went to pick him up. When we got there he was looking out the window (they built a long stepstool so the kids can look out the window) and started crying when he saw us. They said he had an awesome day. WHEW! Joey and I looked around at some of the projects they have done with the kids. Hayden colored a pumpkin and made a ghost out of his foot print.
Hayden has been working on animal sounds lately. So far he can do a bee, bird, dog, and his favorite a monkey. He also loves to look out of the window every morning and say good morning to the tree, a squirrel (if we see one) and Nancy's garden.

Guitar Man

Time flies! This week we have been very busy and I can't believe tomorrow is Friday already.
Hayden is felling better now. He had roseola. His fever lasted 3 days and then he broke out in a rash all over his whole body. The rash would of freaked me out but the Dr. mentioned that he may get a rash because his fever was not accompanied by other symptoms.
This past weekend our friend Lomen came to visit. We had a great laughter filled weekend! Like always! Lomen played Joey's guitar all weekend and Hayden LOVED it! We all sang and acted like dorks all weekend and it was a blast. Hayden LOVES music and thought it was pretty cool to have his own personal concert all weekend. He even played a few tunes on the guitar himself.
We got a lot accomplished last weekend as well. We split the rental of a carpet cleaner with our neighbor and cleaned all of our carpets and rugs. We had to rearrange all of the furniture so our house seemed like a mess all weekend, but it felt great to get that task marked off of our list!
Monday Hayden had PDO. I was nervous since he missed the last 2 weeks, but he mad it the 4 hours! He cried when I left, but stopped shortly after I was gone. They said he had a much better day today and that made me feel good! I was stressing about it on Sunday night because I don't "have" to take him there and was feeling bad putting him through all of that stress, but it truly is good for him to be around other adults and children. It is a great break for me as well! I get a lot done in those 4 hours!
Tuesday we had MOPS. We made a get ready for bed chart that Hayden can use when he gets older. We also had a lady speak about organization. She had some great tips. Hayden did ok in the nursery. He had the 2 older gentlemen wrapped around his finger and somehow convinced them that they need to hold them the 2 hours we are there. When I dropped him off he was picked up right away by his friend, and when I picked him up he was getting rocked by his other friend.
Wednesday we had music class. It is neat to see how he is progressing and participating more as he gets older. He sings la la la and claps during the opening song. He also loves the drums and resonator bars. He grabs a hold of the mallets and beats on those things!
Today we went to Waterloo to pick up some things from Matt's parents we left in Minnesota and to visit Grandma Paricka. We met Grandma at TJ MAXX and she took Hayden and I had the rest of the afternoon to run errands! It was great. I even got to try on clothes and not be rushed.
Tomorrow I have a mother's night out with my MOPS table. Saturday we have a Halloween party to go to if we get costumes together. Sunday we have a kids Halloween party at a friends house. We are hoping to get some more things checked off our list on the home front this weekend as well!

Weekend at the Farm

We had a fun time at the Ciesielski farm. Joey left Friday to attend a horse auction with his family and Hayden and I hung around home. We left early Saturday to make it there in time to check out the city wide garage sales. It was a drizzly day but we managed to be outside most of the day enjoying the activities. We rode the 4 wheeler, rode the horses, had a fabulous supper, and enjoyed time around the campfire.
Hayden has been sick since Monday. We went to the Dr. Monday because Hayden had his first ever fever. Since he has the issues with his kidneys we have to go into the Dr. every time he has a fever to rule out bladder or kidney infection. After urine and blood tests they determined that he had a viral infection. So we came home and snuggled all of the day on Monday and Tuesday. He woke up on Tuesday with a 103.6 fever. So needless to say Hayden was feeling miserable. He has no other symptoms. Today he woke up with a slight fever, but is a little more active. Much less snuggling today. :(
Tonight Kari is having a few girls over and tomorrow I am meeting some new friends down the street for a few drinks! I am definitely looking forward to getting out of the house. This weekend we are going to hang around here and hopefully get some stuff done around the house.

Fun Weekend

Hayden loved the Sweedish Meatballs at Ikea

We had a great time in Minnesota. Friday we met the Shroyer and Bellows families at the pumpkin patch. It was all wet and muddy due to the rain, but we still had a great time.
Then it was off to the Bellows home to unload, get the kids settled in, and head out.
Kelli, Stacy, and I went to a local scrapbooking store for a night of shopping and srapbooking. It was my first experience scrapbooking and I loved it. We stayed there until midnight. When we got home the guys were playing the Wii so we stayed up longer and watched them.
Saturday we got ready and went shopping for a little while. Then we headed back and the guys got ready for their night out. They went to the Minnesota Wild hockey game. They got spoiled in the suite. Joey especially like the free beer and food.
Once the kids went to bed we hauled out all of the scrapbooking stuff again. We all agreed that we need to get together more often and scrapbook.
Sunday we headed out in the morning. We made a few stops on the way home. Outlet mall, Ikea, TjMaxx, and Stride Rite. Joey and I always try to stop at Ikea. We love Ikea which is a big deal since my husband does not like shopping at all. Hayden loves the bright lights and all of the people to watch.
Then we stopped in Waterloo to eat a quick supper with Joey's parents. We had a great time and are glad we were able to hook up last minute.
We had a great weekend with our "old" friends. It has been a long time since we have all been together. The kids had a great time playing all weekend. We can't wait to do it again!
This week I have been struggling to overcome my tiredness. I can not stay up until 2 a.m. and function the next day like I used to! I have been going to bed early all week!
Tonight we walked up the block to the Washington HS homecoming parade. The neighbor girls came with us. They got sooooo much candy the handles on their trick or treat bag broke off. When we got home I was talking to Joey on the phone and Hayden grabbed the sucker out of my mouth and shoved it in his before I knew what happened.
This weekend we are traveling to DeWitt to visit Joey's family. We are planing to attend a horse auction and garage sales. We are looking forward to it!

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!