Happy Birthday Hayden!!

Arms Up!!

A year ago today at 12:36pm our little man was born! I really can't believe it. It has been the fastest year of my life. I can still see myself with that big belly waiting for him to come. So much has happened in a year. We were blessed with the happiest, smartest, most perfect son a parent could wish for. Hayden has grown and learned so much in just one short year. He has gone from 8 pounds, 8 ounces and sleeping all day when we brought him home, to about 21 pounds(I'll have to give you the exact weight after his 1 year appointment next week) and cruising all around the house at a year old! He has gone from newborn clothes to 9 month clothes, from 0 teeth to 11 teeth, from breastfeeding to "real" food, size 0 shoes to size 3 shoes and from 0 words to around 20 words! All the time he has stayed his sweet self!:) He is loving, kind, sensitive, inquisitive, analytical and headstrong all at the same time. He is a boy who knows what he wants and will do what it takes to get it! We are so proud of the things he has accomplished in a year and can't wait to see what this next year holds. It is kind of sad for me because he isn't really a "baby" anymore, but I know he is happy to be a big boy. I now know what everyone means when they say "They grow up so fast!" Here are some of the likes and dislikes of our big ONE year old!

What Hayden Likes:
- Clapping - Hayden just started clapping recently and he LOVES it. We will say "Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa" and he immediately starts clapping. So cute! He was really into it at his Birthday party when he was opening presents!:)
- Playtime - He has always and I think will always love this part of his day! He gets so into his toys... with you right there playing with him of course!
- Tissue Paper - He has always liked getting into paper, but he especially loves tissue paper... the type with presents underneath!:) He took nearly every single piece out of each bag while opening gifts at his party!
- Routine - Wake up, breakfast, playtime(toys, books, movies... basically everything he owns!!), nap, lunch, outside time(errands, walk, playground... whatever we feel like that day!), nap, snack, playtime/learning time, dinner, bathtime, storytime and bedtime! Magic happens if you do things in that order!!! It is his perfect day. BUT, beware if you get off course. He loves his schedule and you usually pay if you get off track!:)
- Cruising - Although he has taken a few steps here and there, he isn't quite walking on his own yet. He is however cruising EVERYWHERE! He will hold our hands or hold onto our pants and go everywhere we go... so cute! He also uses the furniture or anything else he can pull up on to get himself to his feet and start cruising around. The other thing that is hilarious to watch is him holding onto the walls and cruising. So funny!
- Attention - This has been on the like list since the very beginning! He NEEDS attention and is not afraid to let you know it! Sometimes it is a little overwhelming, but for the most part it is wonderful. He just loves us so much he can't stand it!!!:)
- Bathtime - Still loves it and makes the biggest splashes you can imagine. He is always smiling from ear to ear in the tub!
- Dogs - LOVES dogs! And I must add he does know the difference between Sydney and other dogs. I am no longer worried he thinks dogs are called "Sydneys"... he knows for sure they are called "dogs"!!! Each time he sees a dog he gets so excited and always wants to pet them! I'm sure he wishes he could give all of them treats like he gives Sydney... now that he REALLY loves to do!
- Taking Pictures - He really likes taking pics! 9 times out of 10 when I take out the camera he starts smiling for me. I'm sure the day will come when I won't be able to get him in front of the camera, but for now he does great! I'm hoping I can teach him to make different faces before he decides he doesn't like it. How cute would that be?!?
- Gymboree - We started this a while back and he really enjoys it. We go on Tuesdays and Thursdays and he gets to play with his friends and learn. It is fun for both of us!
- Storytime - Loves everything about it. Picking out the book, reading it, turning the pages, playing with it and even putting it up when we are finished. I hope this is something he always enjoys.
- Nicknames - I had to put this under likes because I swear he loves it when he hears one of his 19 nicknames! Over this past year we have called him many things. Hayden, Hayd, Booger, Haydey Fraidey, Booger Bear, Sweet Boy... and the list goes on and on. The funny thing is he responds to each and every name!!!

What Hayden Dislikes:
- "No, No" - I have posted this before, but it is still a huge dislike of his so I just had to post it again! He absolutely hates to be told "No". As soon as it comes out of one of our mouths the pout and tears are immediate!
- Outfit Changes - Loves the camera and even performs for the camera, but can't stand if I want to change his outfit. I guess I don't blame him... who wants to change clothes multiple times in a day?!?

What Hayden is not sure about:
- Table Food - We have been giving him table food more and more, but he is just not crazy about it all the time. There are days he loves it and days he won't eat a bite of it. I think it is the texture thing, but who knows! Right now his favorite thing to eat is yogurt. Yo baby vanilla or banana to be exact! If he doesn't want anything else, I can always get out one of those and he will chow down!:)
- Loud Noises - For some reason he could sleep through a train going through his room, but he gets startled when a loud noise erupts when he is awake. Something gradually getting louder doesn't seem to bother him, but when everything is quiet and then there is a loud noise he usually cries. He really doesn't know what to think about a group of people clapping or cheering. The lip comes out and the tears start to flow! This was a bit of a problem at his birthday party, but we made it through it!!!
- "Strangers" - Well, I didn't know how else to put it, but it's not really even strangers. Basically if anyone tries to take him from us he gets that little sad face like he doesn't want to go. The strange thing is that it doesn't happen all the time. I guess sometimes the separation anxiety is full force and other times he is ok with it.

Once again I have way more likes than anything else. We have ourselves a happy little one year old! Here are some 1 year pictures for ya! I will post pictures from his party along with all of the party details soon... too much for this one post!!:)

So much fun!

I love these old time pics!:)

So cute!

Here comes The Cat in the Hat!

Hold on Big Boy!

Am I in trouble?!?

Our big one year old!

Mid army crawl...

Isn't this too funny?!?

To celebrate his actual Birthday today, we took him to Imaginations at Play and Build-A-Bear. He had such a great day. We did all kinds of playing at Imaginations at Play and then brought Moosey to life at Build-A-Bear. It was so much fun. Imaginations at Play is a small indoor play center in Buford and boy did we ever play! Hayden seemed to enjoy the Big City Dig and the Musical Tree the most. At the Big City Dig we were able to conduct trains around a huge track. There were even little crawl through spaces that Hayden was able to get into so he could get extra close to the tracks. Of course, Daddy crawled through also so he could be a little closer!:) Looks like we'll be getting some sort of a train track around here sometime soon!!! In the Musical Tree Hayden was able to play with tons of different instruments, the piano being his favorite! He was a mini Beethoven! At Build-A-Bear we helped Hayden bring Mr. Moosey to life. Hayden chose his own animal, picked out his heart, chose a song for him to play(Happy Birthday of course!), helped stuff him, washed him, got him a cute Happy Birthday shirt and then printed his birth certificate! Mr. Moosey was born exactly one year after Hayden... pretty cool huh?!? I really didn't think Hayden would care too much about making this animal(I just thought it would be something fun for us to do each year), but boy was I wrong. He had a great time. Maybe it's the fact that Moosey plays music and lights up, but whatever it is, Hayden loves him! Today was a perfect day for Hayden. We had such a great time celebrating with him. Here are a few pics from our day...

Playing in the Big City Dig with Daddy!

He was determined to get something!!!:)

Trying to figure this thing out...

Choosing his animal...

Learning how to use the cash register...

Helping to stuff Mr. Moosey!

It's never too early to learn how to grill!!!

Climbing out of the tree...

The first time he saw Moosey stuffed... look how excited!!

He had to get on his tippy toes to reach the track!!!

Future Beethoven?!?

Giving Moosey his first bath!

Shopping at the Farmer's Market!

Mr. Moosey!

Happy Birthday Hayden!

Although we let him open most of his gifts at his party,
we had to leave some for today!

Happy 1st Birthday Hayden! We love you more than you can imagine!