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

Dear Hayden,

Today, you ate your first Tommy’s burger. This is momumental because Tommy’s is a family Tradition! In fact, 5 generations of McCauleys have enjoyed Tommy’s burgers! Tommy’s is a hamburger shack just down the block from Grams and Poppie’s house. They serve one-of-a-kind hamburgers piled with chili. You thought it was pretty awesome! We had to take some pictures of this rite of passage!

Love you,
Mama

Dear Hayden,

You are a very lucky girl because you get to live next door to three lovely young ladies, who you have become great friends with! This week I painted some stepping stones between the houses for you girls to walk on! Each of you has a stone with your monogram on it — you are all pretty excited about them!

Love you,
Mama

Your Stepping Stone

Walking Next Door

Sitting on the Porch Next Door

At Their Door, Ready to Play!

Dear Hayden,

For the first year of your life, you hardly went ANYWHERE without a bow in your hair. Then, you started pulling them out. This morning, you decided to leave this one in!! I am so excited!

Love you,
Mama

Dear Hayden,

Today, our friend “Meggy” came by to hang out with you. Then she went home and posted the most awesome entry to her blog. It was about you!

Here it is:

The small things in life… May 1, 2009
Megan @ 6:39 pm

Sometimes I wonder how it feels to be a momma. I have a few little ones in my life who I love more than the world itself and would do anything for. It makes my whole day better when I get to see or talk to them. When I hang out with Hayden, I always wonder how I could possibly love my own kids more than her. That has to be an incredible feeling as a mommy. I love Hayden so much and every little thing she does amazes me. She is labeling everything these days and it is so neat to watch her experience the world. I love a little peak into her head when she talks. She puts her little fingers on my face and labels my nose, eyes, ears, etc. and my heart just melts. That little girl could have anything she wants at that moment. It is also incredible for me to look at her and she how much she has grown. She is not a baby anymore, she is a little person. I never really understood why people say babies are miracles until I got to watch her grow. God picked her, gave her to Suz and Ryan, and blessed the rest of us with an opportunity to know her. She is so smart and beautiful! God is so awesome!

Hayden

We are so lucky to have so many people in our lives who love you. I couldn’t agree with Meggy more… You are smart and beautiful… God is so awesome.

Love you,
Mama

Dear Hayden,

Nana is a very crafty lady. She makes all kinds of things! You find this very fascinating — you love to wander into her bead room and start touching things and you like exploring her work area in the garage. I think you are going to love creating things with her as you grow older! Here is a picture of you working with her in the workshop!

Love you,
Mama

Dear Hayden,

We’ve had a great Easter morning! We ate resurrection buns (a cinnamon roll that is completely empty inside!), you had a little egg hunt and you found the basket that the sneaky Easter Bunny left for you! It’s fun watching you have a great time!

Love you,
Mama

Eating Resurrection Buns

Easter Egg Hunting

Dear Hayden,

Last year, you loved the Easter Bunny:

This year, not so much:

Maybe next year!

Love you,
Mama

Dear Hayden,

Lately, you LOVE cleaning. You like to pretend to wipe everything down with a paper towel, tissue or baby wipe and you get really excited when you get your hands on a mop or broom of any kind. You also like to wipe the food around on your plate or tray, kind of like you are cleaning it up, even though this usually makes a much bigger mess! Here are some pictures of all of this — best of all is your big smile when you have completed a cleaning spree — you step back, take a look and smile big at how well you clean everything! You are cracking us up!

Love you,
Mama