Smarter than us all

Our little man is quickly becoming smarter than us, and it shows. He has figured out that if he tells one of us he can have something and we say no, he can turn around to the other parent and say "Mommy said I could have it" or "Daddy said to give it to me". How does a two year old understand how to pull off that kind of manipulation? He's just too smart already. We also don't help by laughing while we are being manipulated, we tend to turn things into a game around here...oh well, he's not printing fake ID's on the computer yet, so I guess we are ok for a couple more years :)

Renee's New Job!

Well, good news at our house today... I now have a new job working for the YMCA! I will be working at Wrightstown Elementary School in a classroom of 3-5 year olds. It will be just me and one other lady working from 7:30-2 and it sounds like a great job! Hayden will be able to go there in January when he turns 3, but for the next 5 months, he will be going to a home daycare run by the sister of one of my friends. Home daycare would normally make me nervous, but this girl seems nice and I know her through friends. I am excited because I will only be working 6 1/2 hours a day so we will have lots of time to still do afternoon activities. I am starting August 17th when TUSD School District starts. These two weeks will give us lots of time to visit the home daycare and get to know his new caregiver! That's all I've got for now!

Ten little things...

You know, given the past couple of months and the couple of stressful situations we have encountered, I am really just grateful for the small things that make us happy.

1. Getting woken up by Hayden licking my face and saying, "Hello, Time to Get Up because I love you!"
Who cares if it's 5 am and we want to sleep in. I'll never get that moment back...ever...

2. Watching Matt and Hayden make up elaborate rules to the car racing game they play.
All too soon, Hayden will think he's too cool to race cars across the living room with us.

3. Hayden asking 57 times a day where Mee-Maw is.
There is something very special between the two of them. Kindred spirits I suppose.

4. Getting to spend these precious few months staying at home with my little boy.
Losing a job is extremely difficult, but Hayden has made me feel far more fulfilled than any job I have ever or will ever have. Going back to work when I get a job will probably break my heart.

5. Chocolate pudding
Who knew a simple little cup of chocolate pudding could really put a smile on a child's face? When Hayden sits down and sees I have placed it on his little table for him, his eyes light up and he always says, "I love chocolate pudding Mommy, thank you!"

6. Reading the same book over and over and over again.
I will never forget one single word of "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish". I hope when I am 90 in a nursing home, my precious little boy will come read that book to me, as I did for him.

7. Hearing Hayden exclaim, "When my big, I go to work like my daddy"
Hayden wants to be just like his daddy in every way, and I know he is following a wonderful example because Matt is the best Father any mom could ask for.

8. Watching Buster (our miniachure pinscher) follow Hayden all over the house to make sure he is clean and happy.
It is so true that boys really bond with their dogs, no matter what size they are. Even a 10-pound dog can be so playful and protective. That dog would NEVER let anything happen to Hayden and that's a very special thing.

9. Laying in bed every night next to our kid, just listening to him breathe and snore.
There is no amount of money or success in the world that could replace that sound...it's priceless and it is pure success.

10. Seeing Hayden and his friend M throwing a single balloon across the room, laughing histarically, and throwing themselves on the floor.
Hayden is so loyal and is very thankful for his friends. I hope he never loses that.

Finally some outside time!

"Mommy, my hands are very colorful. They are a rainbow!"

Really cheesy smile!

So Cute!

Hayden thought this was great because he has learned to recognize his written name!

(I'm not a crazy parent who thinks my 2 year old reads, he really does read his name on EVERYTHING we have that says Hayden.)

Mommy can definitely NOT draw, but oh well!

Well, it has been a pretty scorching summer for us, which left little time for outside activities that didn't involve playing in water. This afternoon there were some great clouds and a slight breeze, which allowed us some much needed outdoor time. We went for a walk and Hayden rode his Thomas bike that he was too short for until recently. Then we threw rocks into the wash behind the house, one of our favorite activities. Finally, we went out back and colored the whole back patio with sidewalk chalk. We did it last night for a few minutes, but then it rained on us and Hayden proclaimed, "The rain is washing away my beautiful artwork!" So, of course we promised him we could do it today and he was very excited. Above are some pictures of our day!

Like Father, Like Son

These are some pictures of Matt when he was Hayden's age and a little older. It is absolutely uncanny how much they look alike! If you ask Hayden who the pictures are of, he says, "It's Hayden, silly Mommy!". He has no idea that they aren't of him. It's so cute to look at old pictures of Matt and know that his son looks identical to him. The only obvious differences are that Matt had lighter hair (Hayden's is getting lighter with every haircut) and Matt was bigger than Hayden is. I always thought people were just doing the typical "He looks like his daddy" routine when he was a baby, but the past 6 months, he has completely morphed into a little daddy clone. I love it! If any of you have pics of when Matt was little that we don't have, we would love for you to upload them here in a comment so we can save them.

Cactus, Pee and Motorcycle Racing!

Our poor old Agave plant just couldn't take the monsoons anymore. It had just bloomed and was about 40 feet tall, way above the top of our house. The poor thing got caught in the monsoon last Wednesday and toppled over. It's roots came straight out of the ground. I feel bad knowing that thing was old and there way before our house was built. Matt has since chopped it up and we have to slowly put some in the trash can each week until it is gone.

In other news- Hayden, for the first time a few days ago, woke us up in the middle of the night and asked to go potty! We may be done with night time pull-ups sooner than we thought. I can't believe he has only been potty trained for a few months and is already recognizing in the middle of sleeping that it is time to go. He hasn't peed the bed for nap in a long time, but I just can't believe we are moving on to going at night as well. I'm so proud of him. Unfortunately this means Mommy will have to get up as well until the poor little guy is tall enough to get up there himself. :)

Also, Hayden is really enjoying his Valentino Rossi Racing Suit and is already talking about wearing it for Halloween! Here are some pics of that and also of him wearing my helmet from my car racing years.

Hayden's First 2 1/2 Years!

First time he held Daddy's hand- and still does it the exact same way!

(Great serious face!)

Two weeks old- Mommy demanded a break from the phototherapy lights and we got to spend a wonderful hour all together!


About ten minutes old- hungry and mad at the world!


Getting in trouble with the nurses for making grunting noises- They took him to the NICU a few minutes later.

Look at that massive 4 pounder! He liked that scale, he immediately stopped crying when they put him on it!

Ok, so I got a little carried away with the birth night pictures, I couldn't choose just one. After the top ones, there's a photo for every 3 months. Enjoy!

Sleeping the day away- 3 months old

First time sitting up on his own- 6 months

(All I had nearby was my phone so the picture is yucky)

Picking Pumkins at 9 months old!

Big 1 year old boy!

Hanging out with Mommy at 15 months!

Ruling the park at 18 months!

Passed out at dinner (so cute!)- 21 months old

Exploring the Children's Museum on his 2nd Birthday!

2 and 3 months!

Look at me now!

If anyone wants copies of the pictures, I can send them to Walgreens and they can be picked up in your city. For those of you in England, I can get you a photo cd if you want one, and just send it out. Let me know! The birth pictures were taken on a disposable camera we bought at the hospital because we weren't expecting Hayden to make his entrance and our battery was dead. I do have copies of those pictures here that I could send as well. Love to Everyone!

Getting close to 2 1/2!

Wow, just a few more days and Hayden will be 2 1/2. I can't even believe these past 2 1/2 years have gone by so fast. He is just such an amazing and intelligent kid and I am in awe of how fast kids grow up. He has progressed from sleeping, eating and pooping to talking, walking, singing, dancing, and he's even potty trained and giving us an attitude. I feel like the kindergarten monster is going to reach out at any time and whisk him off to school before we can think about it. People tell you "they grow up so fast" and it is just so true. This week I will post a photo timeline from the past 2 1/2 years. It is amazing! Hope everyone is doing well and avoiding the heat here and the rain in England!

Pictures from this weekend

Helping in the garden.
Beautiful A-Mountain Fireworks

Watching the Fireworks

At the baseball game. It was super hot outside still

Hayden had a helmet filled with ice cream and when he was done, he was so excited he could keep the helmet.

Chillin' on Daddy's lap

"I go to the baseball game. The guys catch my ball and throw it back for me."

"No Mommy, I wear my hat backwards like this!"

We had a wonderful weekend just hanging out as a family. I am really cherishing small things like watching the fireworks and making those necklaces we are wearing in the pictures. This little man is just growing up too fast for me! For those of you Hayden fans who don't get to see him much, or even the ones who do, I am working on a list of funny things Hayden says. I will send it to you all soon!

Happy 4th of July!

Today is 4th of July! We are trying to get a little piece of all of the fun 4th of July events we can find. We went to the Brandi Fenton Splash Pad and finally got Hayden to play instead of standing outside the fence pleading with him to just touch the water, only to have him run away scraming. He really enjoyed holding his head under one of the fountains and then ran for a half an hour in the grass with his friend that he hadn't seen in a while. It was a great time and felt like a 4th of July thing to do.

Next up, we are going to give him a BIG nap because this afternoon we are going to make 4th of July brownies and tonight we are going to the Tucson Toros Baseball game! I really am bringing my camera this time, so we will post pictures of all the fun. I know it will be hot and most likely rainy outside, and I'm sure Hayden will fall asleep on one of our laps before the game is over, but we really want to show him the fireworks afterwards. He is very excited and is convinced that "firemen make the fireworks and shoot them in the air".

We also have one fountain firework that our friend brought from New Mexico. I am so excited because I played with fireworks when I was little and I really want Hayden to at least get to see one go off. I think we will let Daddy shoot it off out back and Hayden can watch through the living room window. It seems like a very tame one that just makes smoke and a little popping sound, but those things are always exciting for small children! I'll have the camera ready for all the action. Happy 4th everyone!

Our 3rd Anniversary!

Well, Hayden was already on an adventure on our wedding day. I was about 10 weeks pregnant with him, so he was around for our wedding! I am sad Matt has to work today, but I took Hayden to a Moms Meetup 4th of July party and he met another new friend. It was lots of fun, just HOT as usual. Tonight we are going on an Anniversary trip to Chuck E. Cheese for an early dinner and games and then we will leave the little man with MeeMaw and go out for a coffee and our favorite thing, a drive! We went on LOTS of drives over the past 3 years, just chatting and checking out the scenery and it is just sooo relaxing. We haven't had much time lately to just drive for no reason so I am looking forward to it. Tomorrow we have Matt all to ourselves since he has an extra day off. I am very excited and so is Hayden. We will post pictures of whatever crazy things we get into!