Dear Hayden,

You are 7 months old today, and just like your little sundress says, life is good! You are cutting 2 teeth on the bottom, and you are very close to crawling! You weigh 18.5 lbs pounds and you are 28.5 inches tall. You are growing so quickly!

Love you,
Mama

Dear Hayden,

Today you took Daddy’s phone right out of his hands and started pressing buttons on it just like he does! It was too cute not to take a few pictures. You are also starting to sprout two teeth on your bottom gums, which I will post pictures of just as soon as they are in enough to see! By the way, as I type this blog entry, Dad is reading you a section of Investment Portfolio Management. How excited are you for him to finish that MBA?! You and me both!

Love you,
Mama

Dear Hayden,

Today is the end of an era. Today we officially finished moving out of our house on Behrend. This is the first home Dad and I shared, and it is the home we brought you home to! We’re so excited to move into the next house, but we are a little sad to leave such a special place – a place where Dad and I discovered time and time again how happy we are that we chose each other to spend our lives with, a place where we regularly celebrated and shared special times with friends, a place where we have created holiday traditions and memories together, and most of all, a place where we prepared a special spot in our house and our lives for God’s greatest gift to us – you. Perhaps what causes us the most sadness is that you will not remember this place where we spent your first precious months.

I will always remember rushing into our master bathroom from the middle bathroom to let Dad know he was going to be a daddy… and the first night we spent with you here, not knowing what to do with you, honestly… and sitting on the couch in the living room – looking at your sweet little face, begging God to help me do right by you… and rocking you to sleep those first couple of months in the glider in your pink and green room… and your first Christmas here, hanging a third stocking, and including you in all of our traditions… and using our kitchen to make your first baby food… and sitting at this desk in our office blogging every new thing you do.

So, this house is a special place, because as a family we made it a home… which is what we will do in our new house, for sure! We sold this house WAY faster than we anticipated, so, you, Dad, Turbo, Zoom and I have moved in with Nana and Papa until our new house is finished in October. This means that 4 adults, 2 cats and 1 baby (that’s you) are sharing 1 roof (plus you’ve had the stomach flu since we got here!). Rock on. The time we spend here will be worth remembering, too!

Love you,
Mama

House on Behrend

Living Room

Kitchen

Mama and Dad’s Room

Your Room

Backyard

Our Family and Our Home

Sold!

Dear Hayden,

Today Dad had to come home from work early as a complication of his carpool. This meant he was home working on his computer all day. This was very fascinating to you! Some girls get to bang on their dad’s guitars. You, my love, will have a lifetime of banging on your dad’s computer.

Love,
Mama

Looking at Dad’s Computer

Keyboard Located!

Typing Away!

Dear Hayden,

Today you had your first swim lesson! You are a “Little Snapper 1” at a swim school near our house! It’s important for you to know how to swim — it is a life-saving skill. So, today we started! You really liked the water, but you are NOT a big fan of going under the water, even for a second. Your teacher says you will get used to it, but that was definitely your least favorite part of the lesson.

We got to the school and put you in your suit: (Mom is a little paranoid about sun exposure, so you wear a suit with a rash guard like a real surfer! This is less of an issue at swim school because it is indoors, but it’s a cute suit anyway!)

Then we got in the water and got used to it:

Then we sway-swam so you got used to moving in the water:

Then you went under the water for a nanosecond, which freaked you out, so here you are after you calmed down a bit:

Then we practiced floating:

Then we practiced swimming toward a wall (This is the best way to get out of a pool!):

Then we had 5 minutes of play time (Your favorite part so far!):

Then we got out and dried off:

On a side note, there is a very cute little guy in your class named Aristotle and today was his first lesson, too! Dad and I are very proud of our little snapper!

Love you,
Mama

Dear Hayden,

Last night, you had your first babysitters! Megan and Jeff came to spend the evening with you while we were at youth group because Nana and Papa were busy. Megan and Jeff are great with kiddos and we’re sure you had a great time!

Love you,
Mama

You with Meggo and Jeffrey!

Dear Hayden,

As you know, I love giraffes. Jackie got me this giraffe suit for you right after you were born. Had to share this sweet photo she took of you in it!

Love,
Mama

You in a Giraffe Suit

Dear Hayden,

I think you have found your motivation to crawl. Every time you see Zoom you reach for him. Sometimes he sees you and comes close enough for you to pet him, but most of the time he doesn’t notice you and he sits just outside of your reach. One of these days you’re going to start crawling just so you can get to him!

Love you,
Mama

Dear Hayden,

I wanted to share with you a special moment that happens nearly every morning now. When I hear you start “talking” in the morning, I come in and pick you up out of your crib and hold you close to me. As soon as I do this, you look up at me and put one of your hands on each of my cheeks, and then you look at me for a moment and smile. It’s only a second or two, but it’s my favorite part of the day. I can’t remember a time in my life when anyone was this happy to see me! It is such a cool thing to be your mom!

Love you,
Mama

Dear Hayden,

Happy 1st Easter! You have a special Easter basket this first Easter — there are little flip flops, plastic bibs, a hair bow and a hat in it! The Easter bunny sure knew what you like best! Looks like he planned to stick some books in there, too, but they didn’t quite fit! We went to church this morning and we had dinner tonight at Nana and Papa’s. Uncle Darryl is home on leave from the Air Force, too, so it was special for us all to be together! As you could probably guess, I couldn’t resist taking pictures of you in your Easter dress!

Love you,
Mama

Easter Dress

Easter Basket

Family Photo

Uncle Darryl and Andrea

Reading a new book from Nana and Papa