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The more we get together...

On Friday everyone, and I mean everyone, headed off to Laval to have lunch with our favourite 90 year old. Alexis and Dan met us there after celebrating their 2nd anniversary in Ottawa. Grandma and Grandpa were there, of course, as well as Papa's brother Mel and his wife Rose. Nai Nai and Yeh Yeh were also extended a special invitation from the old guy himself. A fun time was had by all at the Greek Restaurant. Hayden especially enjoyed his tzaziki.


Yesterday we went to Smiths Falls for a late Christmas Dinner with Alexis and Dan. We stuffed our faces full of delicious sweet potatoes and all the rest of the fixins. We tried to enjoy a game of cards after dinner but it was kind of hard with all of Uncle Dan's gloating and hissy-fitting. It sounded like the competitiveness continued back at our house. While Hayden and I tried to sleep last night, it sounded like a World War was breaking out over a Monopoly game between Dan, Scott, and Alexis. Hopefully no one got too seriously injured.


Hayden wanted me to wish everyone out there a very happy new year. Be safe and see you in 2007.

sicky bumbo

Poor, poor, Hayden. He's been so congested and yet, he still sports a smile. He's such a good natured kid. He'll have a bad outburst of coughing and then let out this little sigh because the coughing is such hard work. It's pretty darn cute. On Boxing Day, we went to the Szirtes Christmas party. That kid was handled by everyone there including cousin Kyle for a good hour.I hardly even saw him. We'd just cross paths at the spinach dip long enough for him to give me a high five. We've been laying low since then trying to get better. Today, Hayden tried out his Bumbo for the first time. I think it relaxes him. As soon as he sat down in it, he let out a big fart and a burp.

Merry Christmas!


Merry Christmas everyone! I'm very sorry for the lack of posts. We've been busy enjoying our first Christmas together as a family.

Heidi, David, Nico, and Georgie came down late last week. We celebrated the Tsao Christmas early because the Birch family were on their way to Vancouver to see Nico's Grandmama and Grandpa. We all slept under one roof because of the nasty weather. Nico has grown so much and is going through a bit of a bossy phase. She loves her Baby and Dodo (two stuffed toys). When we would take one and give it to Hayden, she would promptly say, "Mine!" and go and get it back for herself and then slam her babies down on the ground. It must have been punishment for leaving her for him.

We also celebrated with lots of friends like Jenny, Ray, Chris, Maria, Shawn, and Sara. We even went to Churchill to see the Christmas concert which was rockin'.



Today, all the grandparents came over to our house for brunch. Hayden has come down with a bad cough so he's been sleeping through most of his first Christmas. He must have caught it because of this new trick he's developped: sticking out his tongue. We told him that sticking out his tongue will make him catch germs like a frog catches flys.




Hayden has also found his thumb. He's been sucking on his hands for the past week or so but lately he has developped a much more refined palette preferring his thumb.

Hayden got all sorts of great gifts from Santa including a bookshelf with his name engraved on it. It's a perfect place to put his very own copy of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" which was a gift from Mommy and Daddy.

We hope Hayden feels better soon because he still has so much more Holiday fun ahead of him. Tomorrow, he'll be partying it up with the Szirtes family including all the cousins from Texas. Uncle Dan and Aunty Alexis are coming on the 29th and everyone, including Nai Nai and Yeh Yeh, will be heading to Montreal to see Great Grandpapa. Whew! It's enough to make the little guy pass out. We hope everyone had a great Christmas.

blog neglect


With all the excitement of the holiday season, our poor little blog is suffering from a bit of neglect. I'm sorry if the posts are a bit fewer and farther between these next few days. We're busy with all sort of visiting, shopping, baking, and general merriment. If you truly are suffering, you can check out these much more interesting blogs that I like to peruse:
loobylu.com and weewonderfuls.com

This weekend we went to TJ and Kerry's Christmas party. It was nice to catch up with some of the Smiths Falls gang. Incidentally, if you've ever had corn dip before, Heather gave me a great name for it. She thinks she's heard of it before and that it's called Cowboy Caviar.

We also went to cousin Becky's house and had a nice visit with her and Michael. A big Officer gathering is in the works but I won't ruin the surprise here.

It's going to be a busy week so Hayden is doing his duty by sleeping next to me right now. Let's hope it lasts longer than three hours...

Christmas Tree-Part One


Christmas has taken on a whole new meaning with a little one around. Everything just seems a little more exciting. We even decided to get a Christmas Tree this year. We usually just skip it since we're not usually home for Christmas. We got a really huge one and I was excited to decorate it. Well, after dealing with tangled lights and sappy skin, I started feeling just a bit sleep deprived and frustrated. You can imagine how positive I was feeling when I figured out that we didn't have enough lights to finish. Still, I think it's looking pretty good so far. Hayden definitely enjoys the lights and doesn't even notice that it's only half done.


A note for all you OC fans... On tonight's episode, when Taylor thought she figured out that Marissa was still alive, Hayden uttered his first word: Coop! I swear I heard it. He's obviously still mourning her death. Poor little guy is feeling it worse than Ryan.

Birthday Bash


Last night we had a big birthday party for Hayden. There was a magician who cut Mommy in half and it didn't even hurt. The 75 guests were treated to a fantastic fireworks display. Someone even got a car in their lootbag. He really knows how to throw a good party. I wonder what he'll do for his 6 month birthday party. Happy quarter year birthday Hayden!

Weekend Visits


Hayden had a busy weekend of Holiday partying. He casually made an unplanned visit to Nai Nai's house as she was having a party. What a lucky coincidence! He also visited with his friend Ethan who gave him all sorts of tips on how to grow big and strong like he has.


Hello all blog readers it's the other man of the house, thought I would drop a line. To start, the last three weeks of no working have been a great way to really jump into fatherhood....I've definitely learned ways to calm Hayden in times of distress and enjoy the nice morning walks with the family. Look forward to seeing y'all in the much anticipated upcoming holidays.

Stinky Feet


The other day I was kidding around with Hayden telling him that he had stinky feet. I was tickling them and then went in for a big wiff of his "stinky" feet. The smell nearly knocked me over! Well, it wasn't that bad but they do stink. They have that sour stinky feet smell already. What's going to happen when he starts wearing shoes!

Attention!



Officer Officer is now on duty. I don't know if you can seem him because he is wearing his camo, but Hayden really digs these digs from Aunty Jaime. It is definitely an appropriate outfit as he really is in charge of this house now.


There's also a new video here. It's of Hayden chatting with his Mama. The funny thing about Hayden is that when there is a camera on him, he really can't take his eyes off the lens. When I try to take a picture of his smiling face, he'll just stare into the camera instead of my silly faces. I showed him this video and he stared at the screen. He started talking back to himself and smiling back too. It was pretty funny.

How Many?




How many Officers does it take to install a light fixture? It takes three. Thank goodness two Officers came over to help out our Officer yesterday so we had just enough to install our new dining room light.


You Growns Up




Here are some comparisons for you. These pictures are from 1 week to 7 weeks to 12 weeks. My baby's all growns up!

Weekend Warriors


We had a great weekend despite the stormy beginning. Lots of branches, including a really huge one, fell in our backyard. Thank goodness we got rid of that tree in the front yard. Jaime was home alone this weekend. Hayden told me I better call her Friday night to check in on her. I asked her if she had a plan in case the power went out. Two minutes after we got off the phone, her power did go off! She came over and we had a fun sleepover. She was even treated to Hayden's morning smile routine. Hayden also got to meet Jaime's sister Jessica...finally. He really likes to sleep through any kind of errand running. He falls asleep in the car and then doesn't like to get up until the shopping is all done. Since he went to Bayshore and Ikea on Saturday and slept through it all, it meant that he was still awake at 1:00am! Yikes. Today he came out again to buy a new lamp at EQ3 in the market. The lady told us that the floor sample of our lamp was gone because Debbie Travis had used it and taken it apart. She's filming the new season of her show "From the Ground Up" here in Ottawa. It's the reality show where she looks for a new assistant. They filmed an episode in the store and she used our lamp for something. Can't wait to see it.
There are a couple of new videos of Hayden practicing how to suck his thumb here.

Keeping Busy



Sorry for the lack of posts this week. We've been pretty busy. No, we haven't been Christmas shopping, doing our basement renovation, or getting to the million other things we had planned for Scott's time off. We've been over at Nai Nai and Yeh Yeh's house. Doing what? Well, on Tuesday, we spent nine fun-filled hours peeling, scraping, and prying wallpaper off the walls. Wednesday was spent patching up all of the scratch marks and dents that we made on Tuesday. Today, we finally finished by painting the front hall and living room. It looks pretty good if I do say so myself. We don't have any pictures just yet.

Hayden had a grand old time playing with Nai Nai and Yeh Yeh. He also had fun playing on his own. Scott bought him a great new toy to satisfy his love of lights. He's fascinated with it. The other night he was really fussy. We tried everything to calm him but nothing was working. Finally, Scott put him on the floor underneath his new toy and he quieted down right away and lay under his toy for half an hour with bright eyes and a smiling face. That's his other new pasttime. Hayden can be pretty smiley these days. He's pretty close to a laugh, I can feel it.

Papa







Hayden had a very nice visit with Papa today. We had lunch at Papa's favourite Greek restaurant with his friend Danielle. Hayden was a perfect gentleman during lunch. Papa says that Hayden has gotten much bigger, meatier, and cuter. We agree. It's so nice to have such a wise Great Grandfather. We left right after lunch because Hayden, Papa, and Mommy all needed a nap. You can check out a video clip of Papa and Hayden here.

Hayden is also crossing his fingers for his friend Janet. He hopes that her daughter has a speedy recovery and that he can visit with both of them soon. Good luck Anika. We are thinking of you.

Money Maker



Hayden was a busy money maker today at the Churchill Craft Fair. Our friend Jenny finally decided to go public with her beautiful jewelery and Hayden and I went along to help her out. I think his perfectly cute face was responsible for at least half of her profits. But seriously, Jenny's beautiful jewels were a hit just like we knew they would be. Hayden was such a good baby by sleeping for the first three hours of the sale and then smiling for the last hour and a half. He was ooohed and aaahed over quite a bit and he handled it very well.

Hayden's still a bit congested. We called Telehealth Ontario today just to get a peace of mind on everything. The nurse suggested a saline solution to help him out but told us there's nothing to worry about. What a great service.
Hayden met a potential girlfriend today. He went to Aunty Jaime's and met Ira and Vimi and their baby Maya. She is one month older than Hayden and has the most beautifully huge eyes. Unfortunately for Maya, it was Vimi that Hayden couldn't take his eyes off of. He really was enamored with her.

Clean Bill


Today Mommy and Dad said I was a very brave boy. I went to CHEO where they put a little tube up my "you-know-where". This hurt a little and I did cry a bit but then it stopped so I did too. Then, I had to pee, so I did and everyone seemed very happy. Six people were there watching me so I'm glad I was able to perform under such pressure. I don't know what it was all about but I think I did a good job because the doctors told Mommy and Dad that everything looked fine and that I didn't have reflux. Yeah for me!

Snotty T.O.



Toronto is full of snotty people...to be specific, Nico. Her nose was a constant flow of green boogers. Lucky for us, we are all snotty now too! Poor little Hayden is a bit congested but I think Scott and I got the worst of it. Oh well. It was still a lot of fun to visit with everyone. Hayden even hit the big city and did a bit of shopping. He stayed up late and played video games with Shawn and Scott. He had quality time with Sara and met Amy-Jo and Matt. Oh yeah, he even saw his first celebrity. While eating brunch, Hayden sat next to the Canadian Tire guy, you know, the one with all the cool tools. He was a little starstruck and could barely contain his excitement. All in all, he had a great time. He was also a great traveller in the car. He slept for almost the entire trip back except for a little snack half way home.

We're home now and can't wait for the next 5 weeks. Scott is taking his 5 weeks of paternity leave and will be home to play. We're looking forward to having a lot of fun and getting some projects done around the house.

Tomorrow our big project involves Hayden's kidneys. Before he was born, an ultrasound showed that they were slightly dilated. It should be nothing to worry about but we are going to do a procedure tomorrow to see if the dilation is due to something called reflux. You can read more about it here. If it isn't reflux, it's likely nothing major and he should outgrow it.

So, look forward to some posts from Hayden's Dad now that he's off and around during the day to play. I'm looking forward to using the opportunity to get some projects done including that quilt from way back when.

First Road Trip

Hayden decided it was time for his first road trip. He was pretty cooperative in the car and so far, he seems to really like the big city. He's having fun being ignored by his cousin Nico and fawned over by all his aunts and uncles. He can't wait to tell you all about it when he gets back home.

Geek


This is about the geekiest thing I've done as a Mom so far. Hayden and I are dressed the same today. It's a bit hard to tell in the picture but we're both wearing green henley shirts and jeans. I know, I know, kill me now.

Fresh

We got our paws on some pictures that Aunty Jaime took the night Hayden was born. Here is just a sample.

The Big Apple


I don't know how many apples tall Hayden is now but it's enough to stick some kicks onto the bottom of them! Check out these super cool shoes Aunty Jaime bought for Hayden. On a whim, I decided to check and see how much longer it would take for Hayden to fit into them and whaddya know, they fit! They're still a bit big in the toes but they certainly don't fall off.

Gleep Glop Crew


Whew...We just got back from a last minute whirlwind visit. Dad's friend Peter called to say that two of Dad's good friends were in for a visit. So, we packed up and headed over to see Dad's oldest friend Marco and his good friend Jay Kelly. Mommy says that Dad used to live with them in the dirtiest house she's ever seen but that they had a lot of fun together. They even invented a fun ball game that dad promised to teach me some day called Gleep Glop. He warned me not to play with a book of matches in my pocket though. I wonder how he figured that out...

Two Months!


Waking up Sunday Morning


Today is Hayden's two-month birthday. Happy Birthday Hayden! We celebrated with the ladies of Churchill Alternative who threw us a shower at the lovely Michele's house. It was a lot of fun to smell and guess at the contents of dirty diapers and to bob for cotton balls with our greased up honkers. I guess you had to be there. Thank you to all who came, and for those that stayed away, no Guiness cake for you.

Hayden also visited Brock and Christina, a high school friend of his Mama's and his very artistic wife. Mama saw how handy Brock was and it made her nag Dad about fixing up our bathroom.

Guess what's in the dirty diaper

Pipe Dream


Well, Scott's pipe dream about the pipe is a pipe dream no more. We finally bit the bullet and got our clogged pipe replaced. This means that the pipe won't be able to get clogged up with roots anymore and cause back-up in our basement. That's the good news. That's right, there's bad news. The roots are growing through our weaping tile. The guys said they've never seen such large roots in a weaping tile before. Now, this problem isn't going to cause us any immediate problems. It hasn't been a problem so far and it's not something that can go from a "no problem situation" right away to a "problem situation". Who knows with our luck though.

At least Hayden's not getting his knickers tied in a knot about it.

Sweater Buddies


Yeh Yeh bought Hayden a great cardigan today. He looks a little like an old retired man in it. We spent the day with Nai Nai and Yeh Yeh at the craft fair today. Hayden slept through the entire trip. Last night, Hayden went to sleep at around 8:30. Feeling kind of tired, I thought I'd take advantage and went to bed at around 9:30. I woke up at 11:00 and wasn't too worried because I was pretty sure Hayden would get up soon to eat. Well, I waited and waited. I couldn't fall asleep for some reason. Well, wouldn't you know it, Hayden didn't get up until 1:30! Just when he decides to finally sleep longer than 3 hours during the night and I can't sleep to take advantage of it. Oh well.

Last Visit


Hayden and I just returned from our last visit with our midwives. I'm happy to report that everything looks just swimmingly.
Hayden weighed in at a very healthy 9 lbs 15 oz! They were quite astounded. Here are our two midwives: Tobi Lyn and Eloise. Hayden's sure going to miss all their fussing.

Belated


Happy Belated Birthday Grandpa Doug! We hope you had a good time celebrating your birthday with Uncle Dan and Aunty Alexis. We wish we could have been there too.
We had a pretty relaxed weekend. Hayden's been a bit fussy these past couple of days so we tried to take it easy and stay close to home.

The Blues


Even though Hayden is wearing his very first blue jeans, he's still feeling a little blue. He doesn't think he can wait the whole eight hours until his Dad comes home to play with him. He knows the weekend is just around the corner when he can hang out with his Dad all day long and he's not feeling very patient. Can't wait to see you Dad! We love you!

Sizing Him Up


I heard a good idea the other day. We are going to take a picture of Hayden each month, next to the same objects, to help track his growth. Here is installment number one. Please note that he is wearing his first pair of cords courtesy of crazy Aunty Isabel (aka Pi Dan).