Dear Hayden,

Happy 1st St. Patrick’s Day! You are quite a good luck charm!

Love,
Mama

AND:

Sitting…

…Almost! (Nice Catch, Dad!)

Dear Hayden,

On Monday, Great Grandma Pat will be 75 years old! She has seen a great many changes in the way people live, as well as seen many historic events transpire in her lifetime. Below you will find a comparison (click on the chart for a better view) between the year you were born (2007) and the year Great Grandma Pat was born (1933). I think you will find it fascinating. Nana and Papa threw a party for GGP today, too, so you will also find pictures of that below. You met some cousins, aunts and uncles who you’d never met before, so that was fun, too!

Love you,
Mama

1933 and 2007

Playing with Great Grandma Pat

Hanging out — What’s 75 years between friends?

Nana and Great Grandma Pat

Some Great Aunts and Uncles — Joe, Tonja, Trisha, Jim

Some of Your Dad’s Cousins — Your Second Cousins — Michael, Dyllan, Jamie, Katie

Borer Family (Some of them!)

Dear Hayden,

This morning you tried rice cereal for the first time! The texture freaked you out at first, but then I think you really liked it. Dad tried it and said it tastes pretty good! Soon you’ll be eating vegetables, too! Here are some photos!

Love,
Mama

Waiting to Eat:

First Bite:

Getting Used to Eating:

Dear Hayden,

Since you were born, I’ve been calling you “peanut” because you are such a sweet little thing. Dad likes this nickname much better than “princess” so that’s how it stuck. Anyway, we got you this onesie when you were a tiny baby and we thought it was SO big, but we knew it would fit you – someday. Well, you are growing very quickly and today is that day! Even when you are 40 years old, you will still be our little peanut!

Love you,
Mama

You are getting to be quite a sitter!

Dear Hayden,

Today, my dear friend Elizabeth had her baby! They named him Elijah. You and Elijah are sure to be friends because you will grow up together. I went to visit him tonight and here are some photos!

Love you,
Mama

Elijah’s Birth Announcement (Mama took the photo!)

Dear Hayden,

You and our cats usually just coexist. Neither of you pays much attention to the other unless you are crying. When that happens, Zoom will come and sit next to you. He doesn’t touch you or anything, he just kind of sits there as to say, “I know I can’t fix it, but I can at least sit beside you and be your friend.” Well today, Zoom was sleeping and Dad set you down next to him to practice your sitting up and you found Zoom and petted him! He hardly moved and you were so gentle — you smiled like crazy!

Love you,
Mama

You and Zoom!

Dear Hayden,

I decided to document our daily routine because someday it will be fun for you to see what we did together during this early time! So here is a day in your life:

You wake up:

You eat:

We go to Stroller Strides, or the grocery store, or to MOPS, depending on the day:

In Your Car Seat

(On a side note: Mama just donated a bunch of hair to Locks of Love — they make wigs for kids with cancer who need them!)

Stroller Strides

At the Grocery Store

We play at home:

You eat:

We read:

You nap:

Nap Time

You eat and then we play, go to a play group, or go for a walk, depending on the day:

Our Play Group (I am taking the picture, so you are with Erin!)

Daddy comes home and you have Daddy time — which is sometimes playing, sometimes reading your books, and sometimes you listening to him read fascinating MBA material like a case study from his Global Economics course:

Then we do the bed time routine: (Bottle, Bath, Book, Blessing, Bed)

Bath

Bedtime Book with Dad

Bedtime Prayer

Nighty – Night!

So, that’s our typical day. We’re having a good time!

Love you,
Mama

Dear Hayden,

Today at playgroup, you got kissed! I caught it on camera — so here it is. I told Dad when we got home — he’s not crazy about the idea of you hanging out with boys, but we agree that if it has to happen, Chet is a great little guy! By the way, while we were there, you rolled over back to front! Nice work!

Love you,
Mama

Dear Hayden,

There is a club that meets every Sunday evening — there are only 3 members, and you are one of them! On Sunday evenings, Dad and I sponsor the high school youth group at church. You spend this special time with Nana and Grandpa M. They love spending time with you each week — you are growing so fast and it’s fun for them to watch you change week to week!

Love you,
Mama

The Sunday Evening Club

Playing with Nana

Playing at Nana and Grandpa’s house