Dear Hayden,

Today you went to Flagstaff for the first time. We took a day trip with Kristi to visit Shannon. Kristi and Shannon have been dear friends of mine since college. They are great ladies — just being around them makes me a better person. It was so fun to take you to Flagstaff, too, because it is such a special place for Dad and me — in fact, it is one of our favorite places. It’s so beautiful and green, and it is where we found each other! I know we’ll be up there a bunch of times as a family, and today was a nice introduction for you. It was a beautiful day and you had a great time!

Love you,
Mama

In Flagstaff with Shannon and Kristi

Dear Hayden,

You are SO close to crawling! You’ve been scooting around, and you can move a few feet on your hands and knees, so you just need to put it all together and you will be in full forward motion! You sure look cute trying!

Love you,
Mama

Dear Hayden,

Today you are 8 months old! I cannot believe it! You have 2 teeth, you can stand up as long as there’s a hand to hold, and you are within days of crawling (I think)! You weigh 19 pounds and you are 29.5 inches long. Happy Monthday!

Love you,
Mama

Dear Dad,

I miss you very much! Talking to you on speaker phone just isn’t the same as having you here to wrestle with each night after work. Hope you are enjoying your class in Washington, DC, but come home soon! We miss you!!

Love you,
Hayden

Dear Hayden,

This afternoon you took your first outdoor swim at Grandma and Grandpa’s house in Tucson. The pool was 92 degrees, and we were in the shade so it was a pretty sweet set of circumstances for your first outdoor swim! In other news, you have discovered that you can roll your tongue over completely, so we happened to catch that in the swim pictures, too!

Love you,
Mama

Ready to Jump In!

Cool Shades

Floaty Frog

With G and G

Sitting on the Edge (And the Tongue Roll!)

Drying Off

Ready to Crawl Away!

Dear Hayden,

Many Tuesdays we eat dinner with Kim, Lily, Chet, Elizabeth and Elijah. This works out great because Dad is at MBA class, and Jon and Tony are often working, so it’s a time for Kim, Elizabeth and me to hang out. This means you get to play with the kiddos and you have a great time! We took some pictures of you all together so we could remember this special time!

Love you,
Mama

Tuesday Kids!

You and Eli

Dear Hayden,

Thanks for making me a mother.

Love You,
Mama

9.21.07

9.24.07

10.21.07

11.29.07

12.24.07

5.7.08

Mother’s Day 2008 – 5.11.08

Dear Hayden,

Today I put you in your U of A onesie — and it barely snapped! I knew I had to get some photos for your grandpa (the most loyal U of A fan ever!) because you probably won’t wear this one again!

Love you,
Mama

Little Wildcat!

Dear Hayden,

This morning Dad and I tried to get some pictures of your tooth, because it’s starting to actually show now! Needless to say, we took a bunch of pictures, and there’s only one that shows the tooth, and I had to blow it up to the size of our entire computer monitor to see it! Anyway, I’ve posted the infamous tooth picture below, as well as some others that were cute. You also play a “flying” game with Dad, so I got some pictures of that too! You smile and laugh while Dad holds your “wings” out so you can fly!

Love you,
Mama

Tooth!

Flying!

Flying!

Dear Hayden,

For the last several weeks, a hummingbird has been nesting in the palm tree in front of Nana and Papa’s house. This is totally amazing to me, because it gives us the opportunity to see nature so intimately. Seeing this bird every day has made me realize a couple of things that I know now because of you. I know now that little things like this are worth stopping to look at — there are so many little amazing things that happen that I can’t wait to tell you about and show you! This bird has also reminded me of the lesson I’ve learned about how a mother’s love is never ending. No matter how windy, hot, or scary it gets around that little nest, that bird is there for her little eggs.

Love you,
Mama

Mama hummingbird in her nest!