Picture Day

Hayden and I had picture day today! I got him a diaper cover a while ago so that I could take some pics of his "Hayden hips", as Uncle Troy likes to call them, but I am just now getting around to doing it! I always have these great intentions, but it just takes me so much longer to get things done these days. I guess better late than never! I also played around with all the editing features this time, so we have something other than just color photos!!

Sweetest little thing!

Am I a good sketch artist or what?!?

Hayden in action...look at that left foot!!

The aerial shot

Are we almost done?

Gotta love this chunky monkey!

It is getting a little easier to get pictures because he actually responds to his name a little better now. I think he might have selective hearing like his Daddy though, because he only responds half the time you call him!! He is definitely our child!

Nighty night and sleep tight...

Go to sleep baby Hayden! I have so many pictures of Hayden sleeping and I just had to share them. It is quite appropriate for me to be writing a post about his sleeping because he has been doing a lot more of it lately! Usually Hayden is a great sleeper at night, but not so great when it comes to nap time. Lucky for us, he has decided he not only wants to sleep good for us at night, but he also wants to take a couple of great naps during the day. Maybe it's a growth spurt?!? Whatever it is, we are so excited! He has been taking a long morning nap, a long afternoon nap and still sleeping through the night. I know this is pretty normal for most people, but it is quite a treat for us! The things I can get done during his 2 hour naps!!! My laundry is not piled up, the house is clean, the paperwork is done, and the list goes on... it is just great. Now the question is how long will this last?!? We are so happy with his new little sleeping pattern... even if it is only for a week!!! Don't worry, I'll let you know when the 30 minute naps are back! Here are some pics for you... some are from a few months ago, but I just had to include them!

About to rub his eyes or holding his imaginary mike
preparing to be the next American Idol???

Played himself right to sleep!

Daddy likes to call this "passed out!"

Dreaming away!!

We waited a little too late for the bath...

A good car ride puts him right to sleep!

Our little sweet pea!

He loves holding onto that tail!

Sleeping like a baby!

So sweet!

Sleeping lifesavers!!!

As you can see he sleeps in a variety of places, but I must say he does the best in his crib. We do have a collection of what I like to call "sleeping lifesavers" that we keep handy when a sleep crises occurs away from home, and actually at home also(they really do help!). When we see him showing signs of being ready for his nap(rubbing his eyes, fussing, etc.), and we are home, we now take him upstairs and put him in his crib. So far it is working for us and I sure hope it continues. The funniest thing occurs when he wakes up and is ready for us to come and get him. It is like his own little routine for waking. He begins with this pounding of his legs. It is so loud the monitor picks it up. After that begins, we know it won't be long before we will need to go and get him. It is so funny to hear his little legs making such a loud noise on the mattress! He usually pounds for a few minutes, then starts talking/mumbling, and if we still don't respond he will begin to cry. Usually we don't let it go to the crying stage, but he does make it there occasionally! I love being the hero that gets to go rescue him from his bed!

Hoppy Easter!

Hayden's first Easter!

Happy Easter everyone! We have had a very busy Easter weekend. Hayden and I spent Friday shopping with Auntie May and Gigi. We had so much fun and Hayden was good and tired by the time we got home! On Saturday we had a family gathering for Meghan's 23rd Birthday! We had a cookout, played games, talked and of course sang our beautiful version of Happy Birthday! Everyone had a great time and we were so glad we could help celebrate with Auntie May. On Sunday we got up early to see what the Easter bunny brought us and then we got ready for church. I put Easter pajamas on Hayden the night before and he was so funny about wearing them. They had little bunnies attached to the feet and he could not get enough of them. He kept kicking his feet up and talking to them... it was the cutest thing ever! I was a little concerned he may never make it to bed, but no worries, he did just fine... I guess the bunnies weren't too distracting after all. Both Sydney and Hayden were funny getting into their Easter baskets. Of course Sydney had to see what was in both of them! Hayden is really starting to pick up and play with everything in sight so watching him get into his Easter basket was so cute. Now the only problem is watching what he tries to put in his mouth... quite a task I might add! After we were all done with our baskets, Matt packed up the car and we headed to Jonesboro for Easter service at my parents church. We made it through about 10 minutes of the service before I had to leave for the first time! He actually wasn't fussy, he just had a dirty diaper. I was very excited because he was doing so great, but as soon as I took him back in after the diaper change it all went downhill. He didn't last 5 minutes before the fussing started. Needless to say, my Dad had to take him out for the remainder of the service. So, to sum church up, he was an angel for the greeting and singing(the part where he actually could have been fussy) and a fussy, hard to deal with boy for the preaching(the part where we needed him to be an angel)! After church we went to a huge family lunch. There was so much food and so many family members. It was great to see everyone and we had a really good time. Next year Hayden will even be able to hunt some eggs! Here are some of the many pics we took over the weekend...

I love Easter!

Here comes Hayden cottontail!

What are these bunnies doing attached to my feet?

Waiting to see the Easter bunny!

Auntie May's party... is Hayden a ladies man or what?!?

Easter morning...

Easter basket fun!!

What a beauty!!!

Family fun...

Time Flies

I absolutely cannot believe it was 4 months ago today when Hayden was born. I have always said time flies, but never knew it could go by this fast. It seems like just yesterday I was in the hospital giving birth. Hayden has changed so much over the past 4 months and I know it is just going to keep getting faster. Sometimes I have to remind myself to slow down and take it all in. He will be a "big" boy before we know it. He had his 4 month check-up and shot set yesterday at the pediatricians office. He weighed a whopping 15 pounds, 2 and 1/2 ounces and measured 25 inches. He is growing so fast... for those of you wondering, he is in the 50-75% range for his age! I am still nursing only, so it is actually pretty amazing he is still so big. The pediatrician told us we could start giving him cereal with his milk and work our way up to step one foods at our pace, so I might start doing that in a couple of weeks. We thought we would give you a little update on his likes and dislikes since he has grown a whole month older!

What Hayden likes:
- Meal time - still his #1!
- His jumper - it plays music and does a little light show(he loves the bright lights) when he jumps so he gets really excited when he makes it work!
- The mirror - he loves seeing his reflection
- Sitting up - although he can't do this on his own yet, he sure does love to try(he has one of those Bumbo seats and it is a big help!)
- His ocean play mat - the best part about this mat is when he plays with one of the toys attached to it he gets so tickled that he finds himself laughing out loud(he then turns his head in my direction to see if it is funny!)
- Strolling - he loves being outside and it is so much nicer now that it is warming up
- Talking - the actual conversation part that is, he doesn't want to mumble to himself, he wants you to talk back!
- Mornings - still a morning person!
- Bath time - he has started splashing which is so funny to watch
- His Lovie - what a lifesaver!!
- Sydney - he now loves her to get right up in his face, he is always smiling at her and laughing when she comes around him
- Smiling/laughing
- Being held - he just loves you to hold him, I guess it is part of the whole "I need attention" thing!
- Kicking - he loves to pound his little legs on the floor, mattress, anywhere he can pound them actually... he thinks he is doing something really great!
- His thumb - when he gets himself in a crying fit he seems to find it
- Car rides - he must like the change of scenery!!

What Hayden dislikes:
- Nap time - #1 dislike, he is just really not much of a napper
- Tummy time - we have not gotten anywhere with tummy time, he still doesn't like it and doesn't seem like he will anytime soon!
- Burping - maybe he'll never like this?!?
- Being in a room alone - I still don't really like to be by myself, so this may never change... and I have no problem giving him the attention he wants(well most of the time!!)
- Having a dirty diaper - he hasn't changed a bit on this one

What Hayden is not sure about:
- His swing and bouncer - he used to love these things, but now I think he is starting to associate them with napping so he isn't sure about them anymore
- Bedtime - he always liked bedtime until recently, now he fights it a little bit more
- Being buckled into his car seat - he really hated this at first, but now I think he knows it means we are going somewhere so he doesn't fight it as much

Although time is going by really fast, we are enjoying every minute of it! We can't wait to watch him grow even more. Here are some pictures of him at 4 months.

Am I cute or what?

So happy!

Is anyone listening to me?

I'm done taking pictures now!!!