Dear Hayden,

Here is an awesome picture that Meggy took of you:

Hayden Eva

Love,
Mama

Dear Hayden,

We are having some awesome summer days. This morning, we got up and played outside a little bit while it was still cool. Our backyard is still just dirt, so when you go out there to play, you pretty much check on your garden, ride the truck on the patio and then call it good. You sure love checking on that garden, though.

Love you,
Mama

Heading Out to the Garden

Checking on the Zucchinis

Dear Hayden,

You have a special friend named Hannah Jane. You ask for her all the time, even when she’s nowhere in sight. You say, “Annah, Annah!” When the two of you are together, you play and have a generally good time. Randomly, throughout your time together, one of you will say, “Hug!” and then you both stop what you are doing and hug each other. I asked Erin for her camera at the beginning of playgroup today because I knew it would happen and I wanted to get a picture! So, here’s a snap shot of you hugging your good friend Hannah Jane.

Love you,
Mama

Hannah Jane and Hayden

Dear Hayden,

Today we made an Ouchy Pouchy for each family in our playgroup! You had a great time helping me fill each pouch with rice! We are lucky to have such awesome kiddos and mommies in our playgroup, so this is a fun way to let them know we appreciate them!

Love you,
Mama

Ouchy Pouchy

Making Ouchy Pouchies

Ouchy Pouchy

Dear Hayden,

Last night, after you went to sleep, I sewed you a dress out of a pillowcase! Today, you are wearing it!

Love you,
Mama

Dear Hayden,

Summer is underway and you are having a great time. Yesterday, Maddy, Kylie and Alex invited you over to Slip-N-Slide with them. You had a fantastic time! This is just the first of many fun things we’ll get to do this summer!

Love you,
Mama

Slip-N-Slide with Kylie

Having Fun!

Dear Hayden,

I have been busy sorting our pictures. Here are some pictures that really should have been on the blog sooner because they are so cute, but somehow they got missed. Enjoy!

Love you,
Mama

9.24.07

10.1.07

10.25.07

10.31.07

11.12.07

2.7.08

10.1.08

10.11.08

10.31.08

11.8.08

12.7.08

2.1.09

2.15.09

2.17.09

3.10.09

4.10.09

4.13.09

4.25.09

5.10.09

Dear Hayden,

Today is my second Mother’s Day as a mother. I think the most amazing thing about becoming a mother is that you realize how very loved you have been your whole life… and you realize that you never even realized it because you hadn’t experienced it for yourself. It’s truly amazing.

Love you,
Mama

Nana, Hay-go, Mommy

Magah, Hay-go, Mama

Reading a Story with Nana

Reading a Story with Grandma

Dear Hayden,

We spent today celebrating the life of your Great Great Grams. She was a remarkable lady whose legacy is 4 generations of people who love her. It has been said of Grams that the harshest words she ever spoke about anything or anyone were, “It just misses.” That’s pretty remarkable! She was faithfully married to your Great Great Poppie for 75 years and is remembered fondly by everyone who knew her. For your dad, Grams was a person who loved him unconditionally, with no suggestions for things he could improve, no advice for who he should be, just unconditinal love for him, just as he was and is, in it’s purest form. You should know, too, that you were the apple of Grams’s eye. In fact, the last time we were there, I tried to take a picture of the two of you together, and Grams would not look at the camera — when I asked her to, she said she could not and would not take her eyes off of you! So, my dear, although you will not remember her, I pray that she will live on in you… that you will inherit the grace with which she approached others and embody the spirit of love that she showed everyone she knew.

Love you,
Mama

Grams and Poppie’s Spot

The cemetary is beautiful… rolling hills of green grass.

Cousins!

Playing Piano with Madison

Dear Hayden,

Today you took your first trip to Disneyland. To say that you loved it is such an understatement! You were wide-eyed the whole time we were there! You loved every bit of it — the Dumbo ride, Peter Pan’s Flight and everything else! You totally loved the Tiki Room, too — which is further proof that birds are by far your favorite animal! They gave you a “First Visit” button when we arrived and you wore that around the park. I’ve been to Disneyland many times, but this trip surpasses them all, because I got to share it with you.

Love you,
Mama