Great Weekend

We had such a great weekend! Hayden and I went to a baby shower for some friends on Saturday. He had a great time playing with Caleb and loved the attention from everyone. That night, we had pizza with "Toot Toot" (aka Aunt Beth) and "Mo" (aka Michael, Beth's fiance). On Sunday, we woke up to about an inch of snow. We opened the front door for Hayden to see the snow and quickly ate some breakfast so we could play before it all melted.

Here are some great pics of our snowy adventure. He got to ride on the snow shovel up and down the driveway with Brian pulling him. We had a hard time getting Hayden to come inside. He loved it!

(click to enlarge)

Here is a short video of Hayden sledding. Whiskey was even excited aboout it.

Last night we went to Nonna and Poppa's house to watch the Super Bowl. Hayden got to meet a new friend and the boys played like they were old friends.

Here is Sherri (Nonna's friend) holding Hayden and Aunt Beth is holding Caleb (Sherri's grandson). Aren't these some cute boys!!!

Uh Oh Spaghetti-O's

We've really been working with Hayden on using a fork and/or spoon with his meals. Instead of using plastic kiddie utensils, we've just given him our smaller silverware. The plastic spoons and forks don't really let them pick anything up with them being so shallow. I got brave last night and gave him Spaghetti-O's and let him figure it out himself. He'll let you show him once and that's it. He is so self sufficient (at least he thinks he is). These are a few pictures of the great job and mess that he created.

The video is dark (sorry about that) but you can hear how excited he is about eating like a big boy.

More Random Pictures

It looks like these pictures/video were taken between Christmas and New Years when everyone was sick and the house was a mess.

In this picture, Hayden and I were playing around with Daddy's new digital camera. It's not great by any means but fun to share.

Here is some video taken on Brian's camera of Hayden practicing his duck calls (on one of Brian's old calls). Hayden calls it his goose call. Between him calling and wiping his nose, it's a mess!

Random Things

It's been a while since we've posted anything. It seems we've been spending so much time playing and learning that we've not taken many pictures. Hayden is learning so much and is so smart. We are working on our ABCs and continuing to count to 5.

Here are a few pictures of him playing in his jammies one Saturday morning while I tried to clean the house.

He absolutely love his cowboy hat from Halloween. It's getting a little small but he continues to wear it.

If I remember correctly, he was a little upset with me in this picture for putting up the Christmas decorations. He loves the "noman" (snowman) and didn't want to see it go.

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Hayden and I were out shopping at Target with Nonna a few weeks ago when we stopped in at Steak N Shake. He loved the paper hat that they give to the kids. He put it on and off a million times it seemed.

He's a Genius

Recently we've been working with Hayden on his shapes, colors, sounds, animals, and counting. He is such a quick learner. His favorite color as of now is "green". Everything is green. You can ask him just about any normal animal and he'll tell you what it says.

At dinner the other night, we were counting. He is in such a hurry to get to 5 so that he can give you "5". Enjoy!

Christmas ** Updated**

We had a great Christmas despite Brian and Hayden both being sick. Here's a picture of the tree and gifts before Santa Clause came.


Voila! Santa came to town!!!!

As you can see, Hayden is the proud owner of a 4-wheeler. It took a little coaching for him to get on it but he definately knew what the button was for. I'm working on some adding some video of him riding it in the kitchen. Hilarious!!!

**Updated**

Here is the video from Hayden riding his 4-wheeler on Christmas morning.

Christmas Eve

We traditionally have Christmas with the Atkins' on Christmas Eve. Since Brian and Hayden were both sick this year, we had it at our house. Here are a few pics from the fun event!

Here is Hayden checking out T.J. Bearytales that his grandmother got for Christmas. He is very much like Teddy Rupkskin with his story telling and songs. Hayden absolutely loved him from the get go.

Here is Addison hugging the bear.

Here's Hayden after a hard day of playing and unwrapping gifts while being sick. Notice the cute outfit :)

Mr. Potato Head

One of Hayden's favorite things to play with now is a hand-me-down Mr. Potato Head. For some strange reason, he wants to wear the glasses.

Shouldn't Every Store Have These?!?

The one of very few positive things about shopping at Kroger are these adorable baskets with the car in front. It is so much easier and faster doing the grocery shopping when you have a "driver"! He absolutely loves riding in there. He manages to drive both steering wheels (typical man) and honks the horn. He is very polite and says "hi" to EVERYONE in the store. He is very much the politician in the making. Remember: Vote Atkins!!!

Napping at Dinner

So it appears that our stimulating conversation at dinner last night bored the boy. Brian and I were talking and happened to look over at Hayden and he was fast asleep. His poor medicine makes him sleepy. This is by far the first time he has fallen asleep at the table.

We continued with our conversation but every few minutes, Brian would either cough loudly or clear his throat in an effort to wake Hayden up. Poor kid was getting his father's revenge for some of the times he's woken us up and I sent him upstairs to calm him down. Hayden would just sort of look at him and then close his eyes. Don't you like how he puts his hands behind his head. He looks so peaceful. He definately got the arm thing from his father!

I know this makes us bad parents but it was way to funny not to capture and share. I still giggle thinking about it.

Christmas Moose

Hayden had a good time playing with the Antler Headband last night. He would shake his head to hear the ornaments jingle. Needless to say, it was short-lived but I managed to snap a quick shot. Aren't those cheeks just to die for? I'm the lucky one that gets to kiss on them all the time :)

Tis the Season

We bought an artificial tree this year (with much disappointment) so that the new floor won't get ruined with a leaking tree stand or Hayden pulling it over. After only a few seconds of shopping, Hayden and I found the perfect tree. It is quite gorgeous!!! I put the tree up on Friday night so when Hayden got up on Saturday morning this is what he saw...

He kept saying "tree" and "pretty" and "lights" over and over. He was so excited to see it.

One Little Indian

Hayden's class made little indian headbands equipped with a feather. They are too cute!

Here's a short video of Hayden showing us what sound an indian makes...

18 Month Checkup

Hayden went for his 18 month checkup and got a good report as usual. He now weighs 26.2 lbs and is 33 inches tall. The doctor was very impressed with his speaking and knowledge of animals, sounds, and many other things he rambled off to her. Overall, he is growing and developing like a genius!!!

Contagious

There's something about a child's laughter that is contagious. Hope it brightens your day!

New Hat

Hayden has found a new hat - the Happy Meal Box! He puts it on his head and walks around saying "hat". It's too cute!

Happy 1st Birthday Addison

Addison had her first birthday party over the weekend. She was too cute and had a great time at her party. It was hard taking pictures so I only got a few. Here are some of her with her cake or what was left of it :)

Addison's mom and dad got her a great Radio Flyer Wagon. The kids had a GREAT time in it!

A plus side to the wagon is that both kids were still enough to eat some fruit and veggies!

Addison and her parents had a great birthday. It's amazing how fast these kids grow in a year. She is such a cutie and fun to play with. Happy Birthday little princess!!!!!!!

What Sisters are For

Beth and I are 4.5 years apart. We never really got along as kids due to our age difference and maturity levels (mom may disagree with that sometimes). Now, I can ask anything in the world of her and she would do it for me because she knows I would do the same for her.

When Hayden was born, Beth became a different person much like myself. No only was I now "mommy" but she became someone very special herself. You would think Hayden was her child most times. She loves him whole-heartedly. She was still in college while I was off on maternity leave. Like clock work, she would come by a few times a week to just hold him. I could leave him with her for a few hours and NEVER have to worry. She has such the motherly touch and will be great with her own children some day. I love her very much for the woman that she is becoming and also for the girl she already is.

This picture is from Hayden's "birth day". He was only a few minutes old and had already stolen her heart.

A little over a year later, this is them:

I'm not sure if I have mentioned it before, but she is a great photographer. She is great with kids and great with capturing moments when you are just being you! I often take advantage of her for Hayden's pictures and family pictures. Here's a little preview of some fun pictures taken this past weekend.

More Pictures

I love this one. It looks like he is chewing on a piece of hay.

Gotcha!!!!!

Here is Hayden with Uncle Justin and cousin Addison. Looks like they both want down to play!

Hayden pushing Addison

Isn't he adorable!!!

This is one of my favorite pictures of me and Brian.

Happy Halloween

Here is a pics of our Cowboy. Hope everyone had a great halloween!

**Apparently blogger is acting crazy and won't let me add anymore pictures for now. I'll try again tomorrow. Please feel free to leave a comment anytime you visit our site.**