Ok, I'm back now

Well, after I noted that Uncle Mike and Frankie were set to leave Monday, they decided that hanging out at a hotel in Phoenix didn't compare to family time, so they decided to stay until Wednesday! We have spent the past 2 days hanging out around the house, shopping and going to various local restaurants. It has really been nice having them here and we will all miss them, especially Hayden.

I sent the camera back to Canon yesterday, and I am really hoping to have it back soon. My guess is that it won't be back until mid-January which sucks because Jane's camera is downright terrible and the one I used the past 2 weeks was Frankie's...who is now taking hers back to England. I am not promising you will get any pictures of Hayden in the next couple of weeks, but I am hoping to find a camera to borrow, at least for Hayden's birthday party and Phoenix Zoo trip.

I haven't written anything about Hayden specifically lately, which is the purpose of this blog, so here are a few things.

We are entering the 3 year-old independence phase and he has decided he needs no help with anything what-so-ever and then gets frustrated and upset if he can't do whatever the task is. We are working through it by explaning it is ok to ask for help sometimes and he is responding to that very well. He doesn't get upset often, but I still want to give him the tools to work through his frustaration because life is full of it.

The last few weeks, Hayden is talking like a total adult and I am loving it. He has no idea what some of the words mean and most of them he understands perfectly, but it cracks us up to hear phrases like, "I appreciate your help" and "My, it's quite chilly out here today."

I was shopping for birthday party supplies with him last week and we were having a very in-depth discussion about pinatas, and a lady that was shopping near us stopped me and told me she's a speech therapist and she couldn't believe his speech at his age. I have always known that he is well-spoken and articulate, but it's nice to hear that from someone else too!

Hayden and Buster have also gotten even closer together the past couple of days. They have been cuddling every day and Hayden reads him his books. Today he told me, "Buster is like my brother, but I wish he could talk to me." I love that they are so close.

Our vacation together is going absolutely wonderfully. I am so happy to have this extra time together and I wouldn't change it for all the money in the world. Birthday party preparations are in full swing and we are very excited. I'll write about some of that this weekend. I will also post a Year 2009 post on New Years. Love to all!