Funny Story

So, here's a fun fact about Hayden: if you put him in his crib in only a diaper, he will almost always tear that diaper off in seconds. Here's the proof:

That's a fun fact that I probably should have shared with Laura, Hayden's daycare lady.

As she always does (because she's some kind of freak of nature), Laura put Hayden down to nap in the afternoon and didn't hear a peep out of him for the next hour and a half. Because it was warm, she had put him down in just a t-shirt and his diaper. That's the moment of the story that she would probably like to take back. When she heard him playing quietly after his nap (again, freak of nature type behaviour for the daycare only), she went to get him only to find him covered in his own poop. She said it was everywhere: in his hair, all over the crib, everywhere. She promptly bathed him and promised herself that she would never put him down without pants on again.

Oh yeah, I'm pretty sure Hayden says Mama now. He hurt himself at Laura's this week and as she picked him up and cuddled him, she said he was crying out, "Mama, Mama, Mama." Then, when I got home from work one day, I picked him up to hug him and then handed him off to Scott so I could visit the little girl's room. He immediately started crying out again for, "Mama, Mama, Mama." Lucky me...I have a name now.

Have a great weekend.

Wii!!! What a party!

This weekend we had Hayden's first ever birthday bash. Hayden had no idea what was about to happen as he played quietly that morning. Before he was able to finish the important business of moving all of his beads, both sets of grandparents, Aunty Jaime, and Ray and Jenny showed up at our door bearing gifts and food galore. We ate delicious potato salad and, in true Chinese tradition, noodles to ensure a long life. Hayden also had his first ever birthday cake. Not just any birthday cake though. This little monkey was a 4 hour labour of love and just look at how Hayden disrespected all of that effort. After we ate, Hayden got down to what mattered most...the gifts. He loved the toy box from Grandma and Grandpa and the rest of the thoughtful toys, clothes, and books. The first thing he did when he got up on Sunday morning was to go look for all of his new toys that were so conveniently tidied up. Mommy and Daddy gave Hayden the best gift of all...a Wii! Now, it may take him a few years to appreciate this gift but we'll make sure to take care of it for him until that time comes. Nai Nai, Ray, Jenny, Mommy, and Daddy all made sure that it was going to be fun enough for Hayden by testing it out for him. Hayden of course, partied so hard that he passed out an hour past his bedtime. Lucky for him, he didn't wake up with a hangover on Sunday.
We love you so much Hayden and we're oh so proud of you. We hope you had the bestest birthday bash ever because you deserve it!

Birthday Boy

Then

Now

Birthday Boy-eee!

Wow...the big birthday blog. It's a lot of pressure. What can I write to match the enormity of this occasion. My little half 'n half is one year old. We're very proud of everything that Hayden has accomplished in a year: learning to crawl and climb, charm the ladies, being able to eat his toes (I mean his thumbs...I mean his toes), growing, starting proper investment strategies, and so on. Why, just today, he spoke his first word! Check out the video...

When I think back to a year ago, I find myself wishing that I could do it all over again. Yes, even the labour part. It was a great first year for me and I know that the years to come will be just as fantabulous.

Hayden's peeps from daycare


Dental hygiene is oh so important for growing boys

Purple PJs then

Purple PJs now

Happy birthday Hayden. Mama and Daddy love you oh so much.

Workin' 9 to 5

What a week. I'm pooped. It really feels like there is never a chance to just sit and catch one's breath. Hayden's feeling the pressure of work too...

Thank you to Nai Nai and Yeh Yeh. Laura, the daycare lady, had to go out of town for a funeral so Hayden spent the day with them. He told me he had a great time and especially loved the meatballs they gave him for lunch.

Hayden's getting much better grades for sleeping these days. Most nights he wakes up crying several times but is able to put himself back to sleep. On Wednesday night, it was a different story. He woke up crying and wouldn't let up. We were both up for quite some time. I think I was only able to bank 4 hours of sleep that night and those weren't even consecutive hours. I can't quite remember much about the next school day. I know I was there because the next morning I woke up with a whistle around my neck and a coffee cup in my hand.

I'm pretty stoked about the weekend and we hope yours is as fun as ours is going to be.

First Day Blues

Well, the first day is over with. Now comes the hard part...the rest of the school year. Today wasn't bad, until people asked me how much I was missing Hayden or when they asked me how sad I was. My favourite was the lady who told me that she could never do what I was doing because she could never bare leaving her children. That was fun.

Here is Hayden sporting the new backpack I made him. I can't show you too many detailed pics because then you'd see all the horrible mistakes I made. Hayden doesn't care, as long as it holds his beverages of choice, his diapers, his iPod, and of course, his cheezies. Thank you to Aunty Heidi who bought me the fabric for my birthday.

The Party Is Over

Well, that's it. My time is up and it was great while it lasted. I loved every minute of staying home, including the minutes that I felt exhausted and frustrated. I'm feeling pretty down about it being over but I'm told I'll get over it. Meanwhile, Hayden is being completely unsympathetic and is going about his business as if we're not about to go through our biggest transition yet. What a meany.

We tried our best to forget about all of our blues this weekend. Daddy got down and dirty working on our driveway. He turned our previous single drive into a beautiful double drive. It also comes complete with a new layer of beautiful stone. Pictures will be posted when the project is completed in the next week or two.

Just in time for school to start, Hayden's sleeping woes have took a turn for the better. Lately he has been consistently going to bed at around 8:00. He still wakes up crying every couple of hours but if left alone, can eventually go back to sleep on his own. That is until about 4:00 when he's really angry at which point I still have to go in and feed him. Still, progress is progress and we're happy with any baby steps we can get on the sleeping front.

We also managed to fit some fun in this weekend including a jaunt to the market and a picnic on the beach.

Hayden and Daddy chatting while Mommy shops

Hayden and I have so loved everyone that checks in with us on our blog. We are not going to stop blogging but our posts may be a bit fewer and farther between. We hope that ya'll keep checking in on us. We'd also love it if you could post a comment so that many moons from now, Hayden can see who all the crazy people were who showed an interest in his daily, mundane goings on.

Until the next post...good luck to everyone going back to school and see you all very soon!

Hayden and Mommy walking off into the sunset...