Chipmunks and Camping

Today we enjoyed another day of fun activities while taking advantage of still being on Winter Break!  This morning we went and saw Chipmunks-- The Squeakquel.  It was a very cute movie, and Hayden REALLY enjoyed all the singing and dancing in it. 

Kerosotes Theater Enjoying Chipmunks

After his nap, we decided to light the fireplace and have dinner over the "campfire" :).  We roasted mini-hot dogs & marshmallows with the lights off and Hayden's little lantern on.  Mental note for next "camping trip"...  do not give Hayden marshmallow before bedtime.  He had so much energy, that he was literally jumping on the couches :).

Getting ready for "campfire" dinner

Jake Roasting Hot Dogs

Yummy Smores

Now the Sugar is Setting In :)

Pop Goes the Balloon

Today was a great start to the new year!  We had a family day of bowling and lunch at Red Robin. Hayden's interest in bowling has improved some since our bowling trip last winter.  He made it to Frame 8 this time, before becoming bored (last year it was Frame 4, I believe).  This year, he wanted to hold the ball himself and "throw" it down the lane (more like dropping it very hard while it slowly made its way to the pins), opposed to setting it down and pushing the ball like he use to do :).  I think he would have continued bowling, but seemed a little sleepy and hungry.


After finishing a yummy lunch, Hayden, of course, wanted a yellow balloon on our way out of the restaurant.  He was very content in the backseat playing with his balloon.... until it popped that is. :(  Jake and I prepared ourselves for the breakdown we knew would happen... 8-9 seconds of silence tipped us off that it would be a doozy.  Sure enough, Hayden was very sad to lose his balloon; tears, runny nose, and drool hanging out of his mouth (his first popped balloon).  He cried for about 10 minutes until we arrived home, then all was good again when he found his tow truck and Fumble when we walked into the house.

Glo-Bowl

Enjoying the Swivel Chair

Thank Goodness for Bumpers :)

Happy New Years!!

Hayden has been cooped up a little the past few days and was in major need of energy burning, so we took him to Airtastic.  His favorite bouncer was the train... he loved climbing through it and saying choo-choo!! :)


Later, to help ring in the New Year, Hayden's cousins came over to enjoy Fondue, play with some of his new Christmas toys, and enjoy Toy Story 2.  They seemed to enjoy themselves, but didn't make it to midnight.  Hayden was asleep at 10:00, Roary was down at 11:00, but Little Randy made it!!


Can't wait to see what 2010 has in store for our Family!!  Happy New Year!

Happy 1st Birthday, Fumble!

A year ago today, we were "crazy" enough to adopt Fumble, and welcome him into our home.  Although there are times that Jake and I question that decision, I don't think Hayden ever has.  For the most part, I think Fumble likes "tolerates" Hayden.  For example, when Hayden is in one of his hyper moods, and running around the house, Fumble will chase him and wack at/bite his ankles.  Fumble also lets Hayden play "wrecking ball" with him (taking a cat toy on a string that you are suppose to drag on the floor, and use to tease a cat, Hayden enjoys using it as a wrecking ball while Fumble is the building).


Some of Fumble's other past times are:
                                - Scratching the bottom of our box spring
                                - Standing on his hind legs, looking into the toilet after it has
                                   been flushed (don't ask)
                                - Chewing on Hayden's Foam bath toys
                                - Ignoring his brand new scratching post, and using the walls instead.
                                - Taking his cat toys and dropping them into his water bowl
                                - Kicking all of the litter out of his litter box
                                - Scrounging around Hayden's high chair, after dinner, hoping for
                                   leftovers
                                - Preying on Hayden's feet under his train table


Aside from that, Fumble seems perfectly content laying on his chair, or leisurely looking out the window in his home.

My Little Snow Bunny

Hayden loves playing in the snow! We took some of his sand toys; shovels, buckets, trucks, etc. outside to enjoy the snow. The cold didn't seem to bother him one bit. He would have spent all day playing outside with his trucks if I would have let him!

Yodelayheehoo!

Judging by Hayden's excitement of his "freshly organized" playroom, it seemed like Christmas morning all over again!  I unwrapped some of his Christmas presents, and rearranged some of his older/untouched toys, which are now like new toys to him.  His favorite toys this morning were his white board easel, which he immediately drew a dumptruck on ;), and his new hand mixer and "percolator"(word of the day for Hayden). 

Later in the afternoon, we took advantage of Jake using his last vacation day of 2009, by going to the library and lunch.  His favorite books that he checked out from the library are Winnie the Pooh (he loves Pooh, ever since he saw the Christmas special) and a Lobster book after Christmas Eve dinner.

We finished the night with a game of Candy Land, that Hayden modified to his liking, dancing to a few Jim Gill songs, and watching Toy Story 2.  I can't believe how much Hayden LOVED that movie!  As he was going to bed, he kept saying, "Yodelayheehoo!!"

Day of Organization and a Night of Family Fun!

Today we spent the day organzing Hayden's playroom and making way for all of his new Christmas goodies! Actually while he was napping we went through all of his old toys (to avoid tears); two bins packed up for the basement and a large bag for Goodwill, made a small dent in his mountain of toys. Of course after cleaning so many things out of the room, I realized the floor needed to be steamcleaned, so EVERYTHING was emptied out.

Then after Hayden went to sleep tonight, Jake and I added some of his new presents to his playroom, as well as rearranged some of his furniture. So it will be exciting to see his reaction in the morning when he sees his freshly cleaned/organized playroom. :)

Because the entire downstairs was full of his playroom, we went out to eat at a new restaurant called Choo-Choo Johnny's in Naperville. Hayden LOVED it, of course, considering dinner was served by a train. Even though we have been to a place like this already, you would never have guesssed it, because he stared in amazement everytime the train rolled by. The highlight of Hayden's day, however, was learning how to use a train whistle. It was very cute at first, because he was so proud of himself when he figured it out. But after a half an hour car ride home, it wasn't so cute ;)

The Day after Christmas

Today was the perfect day (considering the 6 inches of snow) to stay home in our pj's and play with all of the new toys! Hayden enjoyed playing with his new kitchen, monster trucks from Grandma, and racetrack from Grandpa/Grandma Rutherford. My favorite part of the day was Hayden playing with this trucks and singing... " I'm dreaming of a white dumptruck"... LOL!

Merry Christmas!

Today was a fantastic Christmas Day! Hayden was so excited to see if Santa stopped to visit our house! After waking up and seeing the tree, his smile said it all! After opening gifts, we had some family over for breakfast and open more gifts. After naptime, we went to my mom's house to celebrate with the rest of the family. Although, Christmas wasn't the same without Dad being there, we still followed through with traditions he started with us many years ago.

Before bed, Hayden asked to sit by the tree and "talk". Super cute! He said his favorite part of Christmas was being with Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, and Cousin Roary :)

Christmas Eve

It's Christmas Eve and Hayden is still not asleep. He is talking to his Wonder Pets in bed, very excited for Santa! Before bed we put out cookies and milk for santa, and carrots for the reindeer. Hayden also put his good boy chart in his stocking for Santa to see! The presents are wrapped and now under the tree, stockings are stuffed, and Jake is almost done with putting together Hayden's toy kitchen. I can't wait to see his face when he comes down the stairs in the morning!

New Blog

I am sooo excited that Hayden's blog is up and running again! Thank you, Jake :). My goal is to post a few times a week vs. a few times a year, but we shall see. Hayden is now 2 years and 9 months today! His speech is continuing to skyrocket. For example, this morning when we came down stairs he saw that the flowers on the kitchen table were starting to lose their petals. He said, "uh-oh, Mommy, the flowers are broken. Please fix them!" Too cute... he has a little zu-zu from It's a Wonderful Life in him :). He is also in the middle of potty training. He loves wearing his pull-ups with Lightening McQueen on them, and makes sure that he doesn't go pee-pee in them. We went to Gymboree last week and he picked out big boy underwear with diggers, firetrucks, and pirates on them. Mommy also picked up a new carpet cleaner to be prepared. We are going to try the underwear this week... to be continued! The biggest event obviously is Santa and Christmas! He did a great job visiting Santa a few weeks ago. We are starting many holiday traditions which is such a wonderful experience to see how excited he gets. Can't wait until Christmas morning to see the look on his face when he sees the presents under the tree!

Happy Halloween!!

Since Hayden's nickname, is Superman, we thought it would be fitting that he dress like Superman!  I must say he was the MOST adorable little Superman I have ever seen!!  He is starting to get into Halloween, and says "trick or treat" so adorable!  We celebrated Halloween and Grandma's birthday with the cousins!  They really enjoyed all the fun Halloween Games.  We also get to have little Chandler spend the night tonight.  He was a cute little Elvis, but didn't want to smile in his costume. :)

30 Months Old

Hayden is now 2 1/2 years old! He is growing into such an adorable little boy! We had an AWESOME summer! His favorite activity would have to be either playing in the sandbox at the park, or getting drenched with the sprinkler! Jake worked very hard at staining and putting together a swingset for Hayden, which he absolutely LOVES! He also learned how to pedal/steer his tricycle all by himself! He also went to a few movies this summer, and did a great job sitting "quietly" through the entire movie! He has also learned his ABC's and can count up to 14 (without skipping numbers :)) Aside from identifying his colors and shapes, he is becoming like his daddy and identifying types of cars... he can pickout Mustangs, Mommy's Car style, as well as Daddy's... I'm in trouble! The largest milestone this summer would have to be.... NO EAR INFECTIONS!!! We went the entire summer without being sick! That is huge compared to how many times he has had an ear infection or sinus infection this past year. LOVE the ear tubes! Hayden will be starting back at Ms. Donna's for daycare next week. The one thing that makes me feel better about returning back to work in the fall, is how much he enjoys it at her house. She does a great job with him!

Dump Trucks, Garbage Trucks, Fire Trucks, oh my!

Hayden is still LOVING trucks. Not only has he started peeing on the potty, that is of course a Dump truck, he also insists on having a truck to sleep with every night. A few other things that Hayden is enjoying would be his play set, a.k.a. "park" that Daddy built. He also really likes helping out. He wants to help when we are cooking, cleaning, or shopping. (hopefully it stays this way :)) Hayden had his 2 year wellness visit (a little late). I can't believe how big he is getting... Head-- 75th Percentile Weight-- 95th Percentile (34 pounds) Height -- Over 100th Percentile (37 inches)... he's a tall boy :) His speech has INCREASED incredibly since his ear tubes. He is beginning to talk in complete sentences and likes to repeat himself MANY times when he feels he isn't being listened to. I think my favorite thing to listen to is Hayden saying his prayers at night. He will say "Thank you Jesus for my tow trucks." Super Cute! Hayden also likes to help out with driving, by asking to go "I go that way, Mommy". One thing I have learned recently is to be aware of songs on the radio. The other day he started singing "Boom Boom Pow" and my not so favorite... "I Give You Hell"... yes, he was singing that song. Needless to say we have since been listening to his Elmo c.d. :) I can't wait to see what our summer holds for us!!

2 years old!

WOW! Our little guy is now 2 years old. It seems like just yesterday we were in the hospital having him. This year, he has changed so much... aside from his size... in between 2T and 3T clothes and almost size 10 shoes. He has also hit a lot of milestones... his new favorite is drinking from a straw. He is still "obsessed" with trucks, trains, planes, etc. His other new favorite is Wonder Pets. He is starting to become attached to his Ming Ming stuffed animal (little chick). He is doing a great job identifying his shapes, some colors and letters. We are hoping now that he had ear tubes put in a few days ago, that his language is going to take off, especially with pronouncing Dump truck correctly :)

He is also beginning to develop some fears, such as strangers(a good thing) and the dark(not so good thing). His new found independence is also showing, when it comes to not wanting to eat certain foods or do certain things... basically anything that he is told to do :). He is still learning what gentle means when it comes to the Diddy Dat... his hugs get a little rough. I never knew how much having a child would change our lives for the better. He makes us laugh, smile, sometimes cry, (on a daily basis)! I wouldn't change a thing!! I can't wait to see what his 3rd year brings!!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Hayden!!

This year for Hayden's birthday, we decided to go to Airtastic, since this is his new favorite place! :)  He had fun jumping around with his counsins (and aunts, uncles, and grandma).  Hayden also enjoyed opening ups his gifts, and his Train cake!! :)

Train Cake and Airtastic Party

 Since Jake's parents couldn't make the airtastic party, we had a 2nd party the following weekend! :)