Alright, here's my big confession. Hayden can finally sit for a significant amount of time unassisted. There, I've come clean. Up until today Hayden could only topple and wobble before faceplanting or falling back onto his head. But teeter no more young Hayden! Today I watched as he pushed himself up into a sitting position from his belly. He sat firm and strong and then looked at me and smiled in relief and joy.
Things are pretty busy around these parts. We're all pitching in to get ready for Scotty's big 30th birthday BBQ par-tay. Hayden's been busy mowing the lawn and folding the laundry...I wish.

BFF

Here are a couple of pictures of Hayden and his friend Julian. Julian and his Mommy Adele go to all the same classes as us and Hayden and Julian like to get up into all sorts of trouble together.

Thank You Patrick!

First of all, Hayden wants to give the biggest thank you to Patrick and his family. Patrick has very generously handed down lots of his toys and gadgets to lucky Hayden, including a load of toys for Hayden to play with in the yard. Hayden feels so lucky to know friends like you.

Poor Hayden is suffering from a bit of a spring cold. On Saturday night he had a really bad fever and was up with a bad cough and what sounded like a sore throat. In true Hayden style, he was in good spirits throughout and never complained too much. He's feeling a little better today and is happy that his fever is gone.

Luckily, his sickness hit after all the good stuff from the weekend. Cousin Nico came down because Aunty Heidi and Uncle David were running in the big race weekend. What gazelles! Aunty Heidi ran the 10K in a little over an hour and Uncle David ran his best marathon in just over three hours! Looks like Nico will inherit the genes to outrun Hayden when he learns to chase her.

Hayden also came along with me to the Great Glebe Garage Sale. It was way too busy and we didn't go very far but we stayed long enough to score a wicked VHS of Fraggle Rock.

GO SENS GO!!!

Uh Oh

Two things happened yesterday that have caused some concern around these parts.

The first involves Jessie's discovery of Hayden's recent love for self-feeding. She hasn't left his side since. Yesterday's dinner was particulary messy.

The other event has even louder alarm bells ringing. I had some laundry to put away yesterday evening so I placed Hayden in his crib to play. I had my back turned for a good couple of minutes and when I turned around, this is what I found:

Yikes. It's all over for me now isn't it. Here is a video clip documenting the end of my somewhat restful existence.

The End

empty

This is a picture of Hayden all packed and ready to go to his first day at Daycare. He took a lunch bag packed with his milk, sunscreen, a change of clothes, diapers (Laura even said she'd stick with the cloth diapers!), a blankie from home, and his horse.

Laura said he seemed a bit overwhelmed but had a good time. He spent most of the morning in her arms but also played on the floor with the kids and had a snack. He fell asleep and she put him down in the crib.

I kept myself busy by cleaning up around the house. It's amazing how much you can get done when you aren't playing the role of entertainer at the same time.

He only spent the morning there and next week he'll go back for a little longer.

Dirty Ho

This weekend I got in a fight with a dirty ho and the dirty ho won. We took advantage of the beautiful weather this weekend to do some gardening. Unfortunately, I ruined our day by stepping on our garden ho. It's a good thing Scott and Nai Nai were there to help me and that Yeh Yeh was around to look after Hayden while we went to the hospital for a tetanus shot. No stitches necessary. We didn't even have to wait at the hospital for very long because of our very resourceful Nai Nai who told the staff that my breastfed baby was at home starving. Actually, I think he was stuffing his face with a banana. I couldn't bare to look at the little old lady who had been waiting for 2 hours as we sped out of there in less than 45 minutes.


Luckily we got home in time to enjoy most of the game. Go Sens Go!

As I hobbled around the rest of the weekend, Scotty played hard and worked hard. Hayden just came along for the ride and ate whatever he could get his hands on. Before

After

During

During

I thought you said you'd beat Perth this year.

Yum

Probiotic acidophilus bifidus creamy yum!

$45

What can you get for $45 these days. Not much, you might say. A couple of grande caramel macchiatos, a sock from LuLu Lemon, a bowl full of peas (like the ones Hayden is munching on here) a movie night minus the popcorn and the gas to get you there...

Well, Hayden was able to find the best deal of all for $45. How about daycare FOR A WEEK!!!! Yesterday we met with the lovely Laura who runs a licensed daycare out of her home in Aylmer. She has her two kids (a boy and a girl) and a pair of sisters and they go on lots of field trips. She has a lot of help from her mom, sister, and cousin. They live in a huge house that is about a 10 minute drive away. It was hard to pass on Heidi as I knew she would have been a great daycare provider but who could pass on $9/day. My son: the Bargain Hunter. Not quite as exotic as a Crocodile Hunter but the life insurance is much cheaper.

Wee wee wee all the way home

We're back from our fun-filled weekend in Toronto. Hayden was a great little visitor and didn't overstay his welcome. We didn't take too many pictures as we were too busy having fun but here are a few shots of our weekend:Here is Hayden keeping himself busy with a snack in the car on the way down.

Here is Nico loving her cousin Hayden.

Here is Nico having enough of grabby cousin Hayden.

Here is Hayden getting a little too close for cousin Nico's liking.

These are Sarah and Kyle's beautiful twin girls Adelaide and Stella. They are so tiny that I was nervous to hold them.

What we didn't take any pictures of were Shawn and Scott taking care of Hayden and Jessie all on their own. All the ladies were busy at the spa enjoying an invigorating water circuit treatment including Nico's Grandmama Dianne and Sara. The boys were able to keep Hayden busy, happy, and sleepy! Hayden says he and Jessie are sorry that they weren't able to help you boys pick up the ladies on your walk. Better luck next time.

We love visiting everyone in Toronto. Shawn and Sara are so great at opening up their place to all of us, including Jessie. We can't wait to visit them in their new place and play at the big park!

Can't Beat the Heat

It's hot. Dang hot. Maybe it won't be so hot in Toronto. We're off tomorrow to visit with all of our Torontonian family. Hayden says he'll see you on the flip side. Until then, enjoy a nice cool snack of toe jam.

ps Good luck with the BBQ Aunty Jaime!

Swinging Into Action

Here is Hayden's first time on a swing! We were at the park with Heidi. No, not that Heidi. Today we visited with Heidi the probable new caregiver. We went to the park with her, her son, her foster daughter, and the one other baby that she looks after. Hayden had a great time and so did the other kids. They loved Hayden and wanted to push him on the swing. Heidi is very down to earth and you can really tell how much she loves kids. She speaks Spanish and French so Hayden will hopefully be trilingual by the time he goes to school!

Weekend Warriors

What a beautiful weekend! Hayden started the weekend off right with a night in with Daddy. Mommy took off to see the Churchill School of Rock. She had a rockin' night and so did Hayden and Daddy. They've both requested that I go out more often and leave the men alone. Saturday was a great day for a BBQ and a Sens game with our good friends Ray and Jenny. As per usual, Daddy and Ray put their heads together and concocted a plan for a new project. Sure enough, Sunday morning, they got right to work digging holes and mixing cement for a new fence next to the house. If it weren't for Ray, Hayden would be growing up in a ramshackle old hut.

Milestone Comparisons

I tried to take some of the comparison shots where Hayden is next to his football and Spherey. What I got instead are some shots that show how much he's grown developmentally.

This was taken back in November:

Here are the shots from Today. As you can see, Hayden's no longer content to lie still and pose for Mama. He can however, show you that he can roll over nicely and grab for his toys. This week, he's been working on getting up onto his knees. I think he may also have some front teeth coming in!

We hope everyone gets out there and enjoys the nice weather this weekend!

Tight Squeeze

Here is another "Tight Squeeze" picture set for all you "Half 'n Half" Diehards.



Last night Hayden and I went for yummy fajitas at Aunty Debbie's. Hayden was extra happy to go and visit because Jessica and Sam were home too. At dinner, he got fussed over by all of them including Papa and Mama. After dinner, he had fun watching the game on HD with Uncle Peter. He sure got all kissed out. Enough so that he actually slept in his crib for an entire two and half hour stretch!

And Still Growing

It's that time again!

The Day Has Come

Hey Grandma Elaine...Remember when we thought fitting into these PJs would be such a long way away? That day has come.