Daddy's Birthday Weekend

This past week, Jake turned 31. Happy Birthday!!! We spent his birthday at, where else, but Chuckee Cheese! Hayden enjoyed the pizza and his first bite of Chocolate cake. Hayden really enjoyed riding on the tractor and truck. With our 40 tickets, we purchased glasses w/ a moustache. Although, Daddy enjoyed them the most, we all laughed while we took turns wearing them home. Also this weekend, we visited Brookfield Zoo again. Hayden really liked the monkeys at Tropic World. His favorite thing to do was to just run around in the open areas (while Daddy chased him and Mommy took pictures :)) Hayden experienced fireworks for the first time too! He was such a good boy while we sat and waited. We put him in his p.j.'s before we left, and sat in chairs while playing with his truck toys. Once the fireworks began, Hayden really liked them, but seemed bored after 5 minutes. He then began to play peek-a-boo with the fireworks. During the grand finale, he put the blanket over his face!

Hayden loves Summertime!

Hayden seems to be enjoying his summer, especially since he is able to walk. His new thing is to get his shoes from the front door, walk to the back door, and point to his sandbox in the backyard. He LOVES to play in his sandbox. He also enjoys playing in his pool (after he gets use to it), and going to the park. Although, the park days tend to scare Mom. He is a little dare devil. He runs around, and climbs everything. He seems to enjoy it, so Mom will just have to get use to it.

Walking

For the longest time Hayden would cruise around furniture, walls, window sills, etc. without any help. Up until a few weeks ago he would walk provided someone gave him at least a pinky to hold onto.

As of this past week, he is able to walk unassisted. Granted he's a little wobbly and doesn't handle cornering well, but what do you expect after just a week!

It's the cutest thing seeing him learn to walk. He doesn't keep his arms at his side yet. He keeps them up high using them to help keep his balance. He also gets the silliest look on his face. A mixture of being happy, excited, scared, and proud all at once.

Both mom and dad have never been more proud of him. We both have never been more aware of his surroundings watching out for hazards. He's already bumped his head a few times, but that's to be expected when your learning.

On another note, Hayden continues his unprecedented growth. He's by far the biggest kid in his class at Gymboree. He's at least an inch taller than other children his age. We've read the growth rate slows down drastically after the first year, we'll see.

Hayden is ONE!!!

I can't believe our little man is one!!! This year has gone by so fast. I can still remember bringing him home. I don't think I have ever been so happy, excited, scared, and overwhelmed all in one day!! Just looking back at the blog posts and pictures, reminds me how much he has grown in this past year... he is no longer a baby :(. This month, Hayden has definitely become more aggressive in his crawling! The minute I turn around, he is in another room. He also loves to climb the stairs. He gets so excited, and turns around to make sure someone is watching him accomplish the climb! I think his favorite activity this month has to be using his walker. He has managed to control his speed with the walker by using his knees if it gets too fast. This is the first time, that if we take his walker from him, he will cry! He can't seem to get enough of the assisted walking. Jake and I think that the month of April is going to be the big one... walking... we shall see! A few other activities that Hayden has grown to like, are standing at the window, gripping the windowsill, while watching the cars zoom by. He also wants to point to everything. If we ask him where the balloon, tree, light, dada, or mama are, he will show us by pointing and grunting! His independence is beginning to show, especially during feeding time. He wants to use the spoon to "feed himself". He is moving on to eating many more table foods, his favorites being cheese/bread, yogurt, and pancakes. He is also down to two bottles a day. Mostly drinking whole milk and juice/water from his sippy cup. Although Jake and I are sad that his first year is over, we are so excited to watch him grow into toddlerhood :).

Happy 1st Birthday, Hayden!

Wow, I can't believe his first year has flown by so fast! :(  We had a fun family gathering to celebrate Hayden's first year.  After playing a Hayden trivia game, and adding what everyone brought to put in Hayden's time capsule, we enjoyed a Hayden picture cake. :) Hayden enjoyed his #1 smash cake that Jake and I made using applesauce!

Crawling is a Whole New World

Hayden is 11 months old and is officially a crawler. Now that he knows how to get around, I don't think he has stopped. He LOVES being chased and is a fast little guy. In a matter of seconds, he will move from the family room, to the kitchen, then into the living room. He is so curious about everything; the hard wood floors, the kitchen cabinets, the fireplace, the fake plants, basically everything we don't want him to be into :). Needless to say, Jake has been spending a lot of time babyproofing the house. Hayden is fascinated by lights. He has discovered a light in our bedroom that turns on by touching it. Once it turns on or off, he lets out a jolly laugh, it is so cute. He also gets excited when we let him turn the light switch off when we leave a room. This month, Hayden has tried an array of new foods. Knock on wood, he seems to like everything he has eaten. Although, he didn't seem to enjoy eating spaghetti noodles as much as we thought he would. I think more noodles ended up on the floor, then in his mouth. Hayden's new favorite seems to be Gold Fish crackers. He also seems to favor Gerber's Mac and Cheese, I think it makes his gums feel better. Speaking of gums, he has 8 teeth and two more making their way through. We think he might even be getting his first molar. Back to eating, he has shown interest in feeding himself. Hayden has been practicing how to eat with a spoon. He does a great job bringing it into his mouth, we just need to work on what happens after he takes it out. A few other favorites of Hayden this month, are watching us blow bobbles with gum, he tries to eat them. He also likes watching us snap our fingers. He will look at his fingers, but can't figure out how we do that. We also have a ball pit for Hayden and he will crawl in and out multiple times. His eyes are full of pride everytime he is able to make it in or out.

Adorable!?!

Hello everyone!

Please note that although the last post shows that I added the post, it was in fact written by "Mommy". Just to make sure no one thinks I am referring to myself as "adorable"...Yikes!!!

Our little man is 10 months old!

This month, Hayden has been working very hard with his mobility. He is getting sooo close to crawling. He still prefers to roll everywhere, but he is beginning to do the army crawl when his toys are out of reach. Every once in a while, he will push himself up on his hands and knees. A few times he crawled backwards a little, but then he went right back to rolling. Hayden's new fixation seems to be pointing at everything. He won't stop pointing until you have named every single item he points to. Another new past time of his, is mimicking our laughs. If you laugh like the Count from Sesame Street, he will copy you... pretty darn funny! My personal favorite, is after nap time when we go into his room to get him, he has learned to pull his bumper down and peek his cute little head over it. Puts a smile on our faces every time. This month, he also experienced his first ear infection. It started off as the sniffles, then turned into a horrible cold. We took him to see the doctor, and found out he had a mild ear infection. The doc. said we caught it just in time, but he wanted to put him on antibiotics just to be safe. If his ear infection wasn't enough, he also has two more teeth breaking through, which puts the grand total of pearly whites at seven. Hayden also received his first "big boy" haircut... by accident. I purchased a baby clipper set to try to tame his "crazy hair". Unfortunately, my first attempt went a little overboard which equaled a buzz cut. Although I miss his crazy hair, he looks more like his papa...adorable.

The Month of Many Firsts

This past month has been very busy! Hayden experienced his first Thanksgiving, first Christmas, and first snow experience...WOW, that's a lot of firsts. This month was also a big one, when it comes to Hayden eating food. He tasted his first teething biscuit and cereal puffs(which he can't seem to get enough of). He is now moving onto table foods. Jake and I are a little apprehensive about this, but we are also taking baby steps... so far he has tried crackers, pasta, and some veggies.

Hayden has been working very hard with his mobility. He continues to roll all over the house but is very close to crawling. He can push his upper body up very well, but is still trying to figure out what to do with his legs.

A few more teeth have been added to Hayden's mouth, which now equals five. He has two and a half on the bottom, and two on the top. He looks adorable when he smiles with his pearly whites showing.

Hayden's new favorite things to do are clap and wave hello and goodbye. He seems to be his happiest in the bathtub. He has become very fond of SPLASHING! Whenever you say, "all done", he begins to kick his legs around, which drenches Mommy and Daddy!

Clap your hands, everybody ready for a Barnyard Dance!

Two things Hayden likes lately, clapping his hands and the book Barnyard Dance.

Every Saturday Mommy or Daddy take Hayden to Gymboree. We sing and play and in the course of that clap hands. We used to clap for Hayden, but recently he'll clap on his own. Even at unexpected times like on the changing table. It's as if he's applauding us for finally changing his diaper. We love positive reinforcement!

Often it takes Hayden a little while to fully wake up from a nap. If you try and change him or play too soon he'll get grumpy. So, Mom and Dad have learned that sitting down with him and reading a few short (to us) books helps him calmly wake up completely. His favorite books right now are "When You Are Happy" and "Barn Yard Dance".

"When You Are Happy" is a self-help book for babies......just kidding! It's a nice colorful book that tells elaborately tells what we would do when he's in his different moods to comfort him. For example.."When you are cold, I will weave you a blanket from leftover sun".

"Barn Yard Dance" is a cool little song book with all of the bard yard animals dancing. His favorite part (at least Daddy thinks so) is "Take another spin with the Barn Yard Dog!!!"

Month 7

It has been a busy month for Hayden. He is getting so BIG. He is officially wearing 12 month clothes now. He just recently sprouted his third tooth. He has two on the bottom and one peaking through on the top. Hayden is also beginning to become more mobile. He seems to enjoy doing the log roll around the family room. He is now able to roll both ways, for a while he would only roll to his right. Because of Hayden’s fondness for rolling, he now favors his stomach when sleeping. The good news is that he is now sleeping 11-12 hours straight through the night. The bad news is now Mom is not sleeping through the night. I am constantly waking up making sure he is still breathing.

The little guy is becoming very tactile. He is picking up, pulling down, and throwing anything and everything he can get his hands on. His favorite activity seems to be making noises by hitting all sorts of things together. His new nickname is little drummer boy. He LOVES playing his new little drum set. Jake keeps calling him Big Ern (a la King Pin), but I’m not too fond of that, so I like Little Drummer Boy better.

This past month Hayden has also started a Baby Sign Language Class through Gymboree. So far, the only sign he has made is light, but Jake was proud when he did. I am hoping he will begin picking up the basic signs for feeding and bathing. Jake and I have also been busy transforming our office into a playroom for Hayden. I didn’t know it was possible to accumulate so much “stuff” in such a short amount of time.

Trick or Treat!

Hayden's First Halloween!!  Since, I always call him Buddy Bear, we dressed him as an adorable little Teddy Bear!! He looks so stinkin' cute, I just what to squeeze his little cheeks over and over!!  Can't wait for all of our future Halloweens!!

6 month update!

It’s been a while since we’ve posted, and a lot is going on!

Hayden’s first tooth has come in the past week. It’s a small little nub on his lower gum-line. He was in a bit of pain during this time and has not slept particularly well. Now that it’s broken through the gums he’s relaxed a little.

Unfortunately, he now has a cold and a lot of mucus built up in his nose/sinuses. We are hoping it is just a cold and not a sinus infection as we’ve heard they are notoriously difficult to diagnose in babies. This is because much of their sinus system is still developing (we had no idea!). He understandably won’t sleep in his crib longer than half an hour as the fluid build up gets to be too much. So, we either hold him or put him in his bouncy chair on an incline. We feel awful for him L

On a more positive note, Hayden is sitting up very well on his own. He occasionally tips over, but you can see he makes an effort to control his upper body. It’s really cute seeing him play his little piano (more like club it with his hand). He reminds us of Schroeder from Peanuts.

Another positive note is that Hayden can entertain himself for longer stretches. Up until the past few weeks he would become restless or bored after 10 to 15 minutes of any particular activity. Now he can go 20 to 25 minutes. That means actual sit down dinners for Mom and Dad together J

It's been a while...

It's been some time since our last post. Hayden is just about 5 months old now!!! He has grown so much. Crystal saw a 6 week old while attending Gymboree with Hayden this past week. She couldn't believe Hayden was ever that small.

Hayden has developed a lot recently. He's figured out how to roll from his back to stomach in the past week or so. We woke one night and found him completely sideways in his crib from moving so much. Even more surprising is that we have a wedge in his crib to keep him in a certain sleeping position (non-back). He managed his way out of that while rolling around!!!

He has a doctor appointment tomorrow (Saturday) where he will receive his next round of vaccinations. Last time he let out a silent scream when they inserted the needles into his legs. We expect this time his protests will be considerably louder. On the plus side, we now know to give him baby Tylenol after the shots to keep his legs from being so swollen and painful for him.

If someone were to ask me what the best thing is about having a baby so far I'd have two things. One, is coming home from work and seeing his face light up when he sees me. The other would be seeing Crystal mothering him.

Fast nipples, they don't make you suck!

So, now that Hayden is 3 months old we've read we should, or rather can, start using faster nipples for bottle feeding. Well, so far it isn't working out so well! While it used to take Hayden about 15 minutes to eat a 6-7oz. bottle (with burping), it now takes him about 5 minutes! "What's the problem!?!" you ask? The problem is that he becomes wicked crabby afterward. We think it's due to gassiness, but we can't be sure. He does not spit up, but as we said he's crabby and wants to be held non-stop.

So, we're thinking the slow nipples are still cool after all (don't you say otherwise!!!). In a few weeks/months when he starts eating rice cereal, baby food, steak (huh?) we'll see how things go.

College funds for our boy!

Parents can invest in 529 plans which are essentially mutual funds dedicated toward saving for a childs college. You contribute money after taxes, so you get hit there. However, so long as any withdrawal made by the beneficiary is made for the purpose of attending college, you are not taxed on any earnings.

We are contributing to a plan through Fidelity for Hayden. I set the account up before he was born, and so I was the initial beneficiary. Now that our boy has his own Social Security number (we'll see if that's around when he retires!), we've switched the beneficiary to Hayden. He's just over 3 months old and already has his own investment account, sweet!!!

As an aside, I also started investing in an IRA since my current companies 401k does not allow me to participate until I've been here a year (boooo!!!). What I did not realize is that I had to manage the funds myself since I did not think I could invest in a mutual fund (requires a large initial investment). I called today and found that because I contribute at least $200 a month, they waive that requirement. So now the monies are invested directly into a mutual fund! Vahoooo! Me picking my own stocks to invest in, and with a $19.95 commission, is not an equation for a healthy retirement fund!!!

Ah-gooooooo!

Hayden is becoming quite talkative in the past few days. He's been saying "ah-goooooo" for the past few weeks. But now, he not only says that more emphatically, but he's expanding his vocabulary by making funny new noises as well.

Mommy has noticed that when changing Hayden in his nursery he will talk to his stuffed giraffe. He also enjoys just looking at Mommy and I while we change him.

If you'd like to book Hayden for any speaking engagements, please give his mother a call!

Shots, they're not cool!

Poor Hayden has his first round of shots to vaccinate him against some nasty viruses this past weekend. The doctor and nurse did a tag team approach both giving him a shot in each thigh at the same time.

Hayden didn't know what hit him. He immediately tried to scream/wail but instead his face turned beet red while he took in a very deep breath for a scream that never really materialized. Mom and I felt absolutely horrible for the "not so little anymore" guy.

Later that evening, Hayden finally let us know how he felt about the ordeal. He started crying inexplicably as if he was in pain. We discovered that his thighs were swollen and very sensitive from the shots. If we so much as touched his thighs with too much pressure he would immediately cry. We unfastened the buttons on his jumper outfit and made sure to hold him to avoid this problem.

Hayden still looks a little pale from the vaccinations, but his temperment and sleeping patterns are back to normal.

His first portraits, awwwww!

Hayden had his first portraits taken a few weekends ago and the results are in. If you'd like to check them out, and even order a few, here is the information you'll need:

To get started, click below and enter your Customer Name (Crystal Rutherford): https://www.smilesbywire.com/home.asp?AC=LTP25002083009JCP or go to http://www.smilesbywire.com and enter the following: Customer Name: Crystal Rutherford Access Code: LTP25002083009JCP

1 month check-up, and more...

Hayden had his 1 month check-up yesterday with his new pediatrician. His growth looks good. He is 22 and 1/4 inches long and weighs in at 10lbs. 4oz. That's a 2lb. weight gain since birth!

We had a slew of questions for the pediatrician regarding things we've noticed with Hayden. Top on our list was his grunting. Based on the description we gave the doctor, he says Hayden appears to have a bit of reflux. This is something common in some babies and usually goes away after a few months. The doctor provided us with a soy based formula to use in lieu of a cow's milk based formula. This is supposed to help with his gassiness, etc. It takes a few days to kick in, so we'll see.

On a more positive note, Hayden is starting to make occasional cooing sounds now. He does it more often around his mother, but once in a while I get lucky.

The dogs are still adapting to the change in routine at home. Louie enjoys being outside much more than he ever has in the past. He will sometimes be outside for hours waiting for an unsuspecting person to walk by so he can bark at them incessantly. Guinness on the other hand likes to stare at us now as if she's waiting for us to fall asleep so she can work up some nastiness.