Dear Hayden,

I came home to this the other day and had to steal a picture:

Love,
Mama

Dear Hayden,

Dad and I bought a new house that we’ll be moving to in October. We love it because it is a great size for you and your siblings to grow up and graduate from high school in. There are great schools right next to it, and it’s only 1 mile northwest of where we live now. Today we went out and walked the lot where it will be built. We can’t wait to watch you grow up there!

Love you,
Mama

The New Lot

Dear Hayden,

You love your Bumbo seat. Today, I got a cute picture of you in it! Enjoy!

Love,
Mama

Dear Hayden,

Today you are 4 months old! We went to the doctor and she said you are doing great! You are 25 inches long and you weigh 14 pounds! While we were there, I saw another mama with her 2 week old baby. The baby looked very tiny to me so I asked the mama how much the baby weighed. Do you know what she told me? She said, “Seven pounds even.” I was shocked because I realized how much you have grown! You are quite a lady! You are grabbing things, cooing, smiling A TON, and laughing so sweetly! I could cancel my cable because you are very entertaining… but I won’t because you go to bed at 8!

Love you,
Mama

4 Months Old!

Dear Hayden,

This weekend we traveled to Eagle Rock, California so you could meet your great great grandparents! Your Great Grandpa Rog came from Santa Maria, too, so that we could take a 5 generation picture! This was such a special and rare opportunity that very few people ever get! Your Great Aunt Kim and Uncle Jon came with your second cousins Ben and Madison, and your Great Great Auntie Jill was around for most of the weekend too! You were definitely the apple of everyone’s eye! They couldn’t get enough of you! There are over 200 pictures from this weekend, so you will find quite a few below!

Love you,
Mama

5 Generations

5 Generations, 1 Little Lady!

The Ladies

Family Photo with Nana and Grandpa

Hayden and Madison (Madison is the youngest of our generation, you are the oldest of yours!)

With Grams and Poppie — Your GREAT GREAT Grandparents!

Meeting Auntie Jill

With Auntie Jill

With Auntie Kim

Family Photo

With Nana and Grandpa

With Great Grandpa Rog

With Great Great Grams

With Great Great Poppie

Dear Hayden,

Today your cousins, Charlie and Alex, got a brand new baby brother, Oliver. He was born at 9:15 this morning to your Aunt Lisa and Uncle Ramsey! He weighs 9 lbs. 2 oz. and he is 20 inches long. It’s really exciting because the two of you are only 4 months apart in age, so you will have a special friend each time we visit… I can’t wait to get the 2 of you together! Here are a couple of pictures of him.

Love you,
Mama

Oliver Ramsey

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Dear Hayden,

You love bath time! Today I decided to take some pictures of you in your bunny towel because you are always in such a great mood after your bath. Here are a couple of them:

Love you,
Mama

Dear Hayden,

We had a pretty amazing weekend. We traveled to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas to see Uncle Darryl graduate from Air Force Basic Military Training.

You took your first airplane flight to get there, and the folks at Southwest Airlines awarded you a “first flight” certificate. Dad and I gave all the people around us on the plane “baby’s first flight” packs that we had prepared — a ziplock bag with a pair of foam earplugs and some chocolate. Dad handed them out and thanked the people in advance for their patience with you. The people thought they were great! You were so good on the plane — you let out only a few peeps the entire flight, and you were just as great on the way home!

Our weekend in Texas was awesome. To say that we are proud of your Uncle Darryl is a huge understatement! He endured and completed basic training and is a very different person. On Thursday, we watched him participate in the Airman’s Run and get his Airman’s Coin in the Airman’s Coin Ceremony. On Friday, we attended the BMT Graduation Parade and then we got to spend the rest of the weekend with Uncle Darryl. You wore a personalized onesie I made you that said, “I’m Here to Cheer for My Uncle: Airman Darryl McCauley!” to the parade. We asked him SO MANY questions — it was crazy — but he answered them all. It was such an interesting weekend because we learned a great deal about military life, something that we knew very little about because of our lack of experience with it. You were totally a trooper (no pun intended) because we took you everywhere, to every event for 4 solid days, and you hardly complained at all!

I was teary-eyed much of the weekend, Hayden. I was so overwhelmed by so many things. I am so proud of your uncle. I am so grateful to those who answer the call to defend our freedom and protect us. I am in awe, once again, of the awesome power of finding a structure in which we grow into the best version of ourselves. I am seeing that these years will pass so quickly, and someday, before we know it, you will be an adult, making your own choices, becoming who you are meant to be.

Love you,
Mama

First Flight

First Flight

First Flight Certificate

Airman’s Run – Uncle Darryl at far right

Airman’s Coin Ceremony

Graduation Parade — Over 600 Airmen!

Special Onesie

Lackland Air Force Base

You were in a great mood all weekend!

Napping in the sling — On the go!

With Uncle Darryl

On the Riverwalk

On the Riverwalk

Family Photo

Family Photo