8 Happy Months!

This picture is for you Auntie Tiz!

This one's for you Gigi!

Hayden turned 8 months today! He is still changing so much and it is an absolute blast to watch. He is such a happy baby... we are so blessed. Most of our days are spent laughing and smiling! We play all day long, well in between eating, shopping, napping and taking pictures of course, and we both have so much fun doing it! On Daddy's off days he even joins in on the fun! Here are some of Hayden's new likes and dislikes.

What Hayden likes:
- Playing - So this has officially taken over the #1 spot on Hayden's "likes"! He absolutely loves to play with his toys... and surprisingly enough he has started to do some independent play. He still prefers for us to play with him, but he will entertain himself for a little while now! The funniest thing to watch is him "playing" with the laundry while I fold it. He doesn't even need his own toys, he is quite content sitting right by me and playing with the unfolded laundry until I get to it!:)
- Eating - He still loves to eat, but it has been overtaken by the playing. He is officially done breastfeeding and has finally mastered all the stage 1 baby foods. We are venturing on to the stage 2's and have even had some puffs!! He still isn't crazy about the baby food, but he LOVES his bottle! Most of the time he drinks it to the very last drop!! His favorite baby foods seem to be carrots, sweet potatoes, prunes, oatmeal, bananas, green beans, and of course... PUFFS! We usually give him a little afternoon snack that consists of a small bottle and some puffs, and I can tell he is always looking forward to getting those puffs! We have tried the sweet potato and banana ones, and he likes them both, and I just got some apple cinnamon so we'll see if he likes that soon! The foods he seems to spit back in my face(aka highly dislike) are peas and pears. If we give him one of those we are most definitely going to get spit on! Now we are trying some of the mixed baby foods and he seems to be okay with all of them. One thing is for sure, when Hayden is done eating he WILL let you know. Most of the time he tries to steal the spoon from you and throw it! He will also close his mouth and poke out that bottom lip... no more food for him!
- Talking - His first official word was "Hey" followed closely by "Num" which is his word for food. Next was "Momma,""Dada,""Buh-bye,"and "Muh"(more). He is still trying to say new words everyday, but these are the most recognizable. I have really tried to get him saying everything on video, but it is SOOOO hard. He never wants to do it when the camera is on! His favorite word right now is "Dadadadadadada" so that is pretty easy to get on tape, but the others are much harder. Hopefully I can compile something soon so you can hear them all!
- Toys - He loves his block set... he can almost put the shapes in the correct holes without help, but not quite. He is working on it, but gets frustrated when it doesn't go in the first time and ends up throwing them!! He still plays in his jumper some and loves using his walkers. He also loves any type of ball. We will sit down together on the floor and throw them to each other... too cute!
- Making music with his hands - His Daddy taught him how to bang on his highchair and he LOVES to do this. He will bang, bang, bang and I like to call it making music! It really is cute because Matt will bang his hands on it and then Hayen will copy him, same hand and everything!
- Water - His swimming lessons are officially over, but we are still going to be swimming a little more this summer, and he always loves the bath water of course! He is so good at kicking his feet... he just kicks, kicks, kicks like he is never going to get tired of doing it! He doesn't move his hands quite as much as his feet, but he is starting to splash much more in the bath so I am sure that will transfer to the pool as well!
- Storytime - Most of the time he tells ME the story! He turns the pages so fast I can barely read them... I guess he is just super excited!
- Movies - We have gotten a few more Baby Einsten DVD's so he can have a little variety, and he really likes them. We don't watch them everyday, but a few times a week we enjoy one! He is just like us... loves a good movie!
- Bedtime - He still goes to bed around 8pm and seems to be excited to be going to sleep! I have never known of a child to just lay in the bed and not make a peep, but Hayden does it nearly every night... it is bazaar. I think he is just thinking, "I need to go to bed so tomorrow can get here and I can play!"
- Sydney - He absolutely LOVES her! The funniest thing is I think he thinks dogs are called Sydneys! If we are around another dog he never responds to the word dog, but if I say Sydney he looks right down at the dog! Needless to say, I have started telling him that Sydney is a DOG!!

What Hayden dislikes:
- Cold Water - I guess because we always give him a warm bath, he is not fond of cold water. We always have to do a little warm up period before getting all the way in or else we have a little melt down!
- Having his face cleaned - I mean he cannot stand for you to wipe his face after he has eaten. I guess he just wants to be dirty... how uncomfortable! He doesn't like it being washed any better when he is in the bathtub, but I just tell him it is a part of life!!! If this is our biggest worry right now, I am pretty excited... but it is a pain when he pitches a fit!

What Hayden is not sure about:
- Crawling - So I kind of thought he would be crawling by now... but NOPE! He really just doesn't seem too interested in it. When he first started pushing up, it seemed like he would be doing it in no time, but now he just seems like he will remain in the sitting position for an eternity! Sometimes he seems to try a little harder than others, like he is trying to decide if he wants to or not, but for the most part he is content with just sitting or rolling!!:)
- Signing - Thanks to my friend Kimmie and my sister Elizabeth's advice, I have tried to start signing with Hayden, but he doesn't seem into it. Kimmie said she was trying it with her daughter Ellie and Elizabeth does it with some of her clients, so I thought I would try it too... give us something new to do! He will wave hey and bye sometimes, shake his head no-no(he does this pretty good and appropriately) and occasionally act like he is going to sign for milk or more, but doens't have any of them down pat. Maybe it just takes a while... we'll see! One thing he does do is give you a high five.... does that count?!?
- New faces - He is so funny about when a new face enters a room. He will bury his head in my shoulder and act shy. Maybe he is just letting me know he doesn't want to be passed off to anyone new, but I think he is just being a little stinker! He usually warms up to them after a little while, but those first few minutes are always up in the air... you never know how many times he might bury his face!
- Nap time - I think he KNOWS he needs one, but he just doesn't always want to give in and take one... he might miss something! If you catch him at the right time you can just lay him down, but if you miss the window... it is OVER. The nap must be his idea and on his terms for it to be a happy napping process!!

As usual, I have listed more likes than dislikes... I guess that is why I like to call him my Happy little Hayden! Here's the little man at 8 months...

Happy Hayden

A basketful of Hayden!

Pretending we're back at the beach!

Little Dude

Walk, walk, walking...

Loving his puffs...

Love these boys!!!

How cute is it when they sleep on their sides?!?

Look at my tongue Momma!

He NEEDS that Coke!!!

Trying on Gigi's glasses...

These are our BIG smiles!

I gotta get that crab...

Look... I got it!!

Playing outside!

Quit taking pictures... I'm trying to read!

Family pic

Mom and I were trying to take a
picture... Hayden was fishing!

Just showing off my teeth...

Cutie pie

Silly boy!

Crazy face

So Sweet!

Big blue eyes...