Fun in the Sun

Hayden this week has decided that certain activities that he enjoys may only be done with certain people. I was informed today that "Mommy can not take me on my bike, that is for daddy" and yesterday it was "Mommy makes brownies and pizza with me. I sit on the counter and Buster and Daddy don't come in the kitchen." It just cracks me up that he, at this age, has preferences for who does what, and is so bossy about it. He's just hilarious.

We all wish it wasn't so hot outside, but we are making the best of it. Today we went to check out a playgroup called "Tucson Moms Meetup" and it seemed pretty cool. We met them at the Brandi Fenton Splash park at 9, and it was already over 100 degrees outside. Oh well, Hayden met a very nice little boy who was almost 4. They ran in the sun for an hour and a half and I finally had to make Hayden leave because his face was just too red. We cooled off a little by going to story time which is proving to be a good activity for him. They alternate between books and songs and it seems to work out well. We have swim class tonight which will be nice because the clouds are already rolling in. Hayden hates when the sun shines off the water and makes his eyes squint. We tried to put his sunglasses on him in the pool but he says that "Sunglasses are for the car and the zoo. Then he throws them to the bottom of the pool and says "get them Mommy".

Hayden and Meemaw have always done this little rhyme together and it is just so cute because he inevitably gets really excited and ends up in a tickling war with her.

Ah, Saturday!

Well, Saturday didn't exactly work out the way it was supposed to, but it's a good thing. We were supposed to go to Breakers all day today, but late last night, a bird hit our kitchen window and shattered it. We covered it with cardboard and called several glass places last night, none of which could come until Monday. Then, a family friend said we could take the wondow off ourselves and take it to Ace Hardware and they could replace the glass. Well, Matt got out the tools and did the whole thing on his own. We ended up exploring the hardware store for an hour with Hayden while they fixed it and found lots of fun things, including the train that runs along the roof at Ace. It was also great for Hayden to watch Matt fix the window and he was so proud of daddy afterwards. So, that took all morning and we decided to just hang out today instead of making the long trek to Breakers this afternoon. We have all summer to go there. When Hayden wakes up, we are going to look at bikes at the motorcycle shop, one of Hayden's favorite activities(oh, and Matt's too!). We are going to narrow down what kind of bike Matt wants once I get a new job. Tonight, we are going to a BBQ party down the street with some old friends. Here are some pictures from last week when Hayden was playing golf with Matt. I need to enter the one of Hayden far away in a photo contest or something! Tomorrow we are going to watch the young kids doing BMX racing down the street, another new favorite activity of Matt and Hayden's!

Water Fun and Independence

It seems every day now we are battling the heat by doing some sort of swimming activity, and it seems to really be keeping us busy. Yesterday we just went to Edith Ball and sat in the zero entry part of the pool, watching the wild big kids. Today we met Hayden's friend at Breakers for the "Mom Morning" for 2 hours and it was great. Hayden wasn't really into the slides but he will definitely get the hang of it tomorrow when we go back and he can slide with daddy.

We also are really enjoying swim classes 4 days a week. Hayden's swim instructor is a really nice, young blonde girl, the typical lifeguard, but she is just fantastic with small children. She is very hands-on and knows just how far to push the kids, and also knows where to stop and back off. I am very impressed considering we paid $8 for the whole summer.

This week, Hayden has gotten very independent at home. He usually requires Matt or I to accompany him to one activity or another throughout the house, and wanted to come along for boring tasks like dishes and cleaning. The past few days, however, he has started to show that he can go on his own and get a bucket of toys off his shelf and play nicely by himself for 15 to 20 minutes. It's helping me be able to get things done around the house and is paying off when we leave him. Last night, he stayed with Meemaw all night while we went on a date with no tears!

I will post some pictures of our day at Breakers tomorrow!

Our first post!

Welcome friends and family, who I have just inundated with emails to check out our new blog! I will mostly post stories about Hayden, cool things we have done, and I will try to post pictures as often as I can. Most of you are thousands of miles away and don't get to see Hayden (or us) much, so it will be nice to stay in touch this way.

Today was an exciting day for our little man. He opened his car door, set his little Thomas backpack down on the backseat, and crawled up into his car seat all on his own. He had such a glimmer of accomplishment in his eye, I couldn't help but cheer like a crazy woman in the parking lot. Little things like that just show you that 2 1/2 is such an amazing age. He discovers something brilliant every day!

Also, yesterday, we got a little plastic wagon to pull our things around in and to use in the garden as well. Hayden has affectionately named it his "Flaggin" and asks Buster every 5 minutes if he would like to ride in the "Flaggin" to get ice cream at the ice cream store. It's quite funny and I have to hide my face when he says it.

Thanks for reading our first post and I hope you all visit often to stay on top of our silly family adventures!