Thanksgiving

I don't know why, but I have been terrible at taking pictures lately!  I only have a couple of Thanksgiving pictures this year.  We had such a great and memorable Thanksgiving this year in St. Louis, Missouri.  My cousin Becca and her husband Ben live there and it is about 5 hours from Indianapolis.  So we left Wednesday night and stayed until Sunday. On our drive out Hayden watched from start to finish her first motion picture film.  Can you guess which one? Shrek!  I tried to get her into movies like Beauty and the Beast but she loves Shrek. The Munsons were great hosts and we thoroughly enjoyed our time with them.  Hayden loved playing with their cute dog Khloe and loved the attention she got from all the new family members.  She is usually shy around new men, but absolutely loved my uncle Brooke.  He is a big kid at heart. 

We ate dinner around 2:30 pm with Becca, Ben, and her parents Brooke and Judee.  Hayden was taking her nap, so I actually got to eat in peace!  Becca did such a great job putting the dinner together, everything tasted great!  That night we went over to Ben's parents home and ate lots of yummy pies.  Hayden loved playing with their niece Aubrey who is in first grade, she was so good with her. 

The next day we headed out and went to downtown St. Louis.  It was freezing cold so we toured a lot from the car (while Hayden took a nap).  We saw the Arch, River Front, Cardinals Stadium, the LDS temple and much much  more.  We ate delicious pizza at Dewey's and then had root beer floats at Fritz's.  We seriously ate so much yummy food the entire weekend.  Then we walked around the Delmar loop and shopped.

Saturday we headed to the zoo which was FREE!  It is free year round which is crazy to me.  This was Hayden's 2nd zoo trip and she got a lot more out of it this time around.  She would get so mad when we left an animal until she realized we were on our way to see another one!  It got pretty cold near the end of our time at the zoo. That night we tried out Imo's pizza which has special St. Louis cheese on it! The Munson's were very good at introducing us to the St. Louis culture. 

All the monkeys were very active and Hayden was so fascinated by them.

Hayden is angry in this picture because Paul turned her away from the bear.  She was so upset!

 They were feeding the penguins fish so they got so close to us and Hayden thought it was great!

At night we played lots of games, our favorite game was speed scrabble, we literally played for hours.  We also had great talks.  Becca and I are the same age and were so close as kids.  In fact we were pen pals for a long time and I still have her mom and dads address memorized.  So it was so good to reconnect with her and to spend quality time with her husband Ben.  Wish I had more pictures to share! 

This is the only picture I took of Hayden at the Munson's home.  She always enjoys exploring new environments and their house was no different.  She had such a great time there.



Hayden slept almost the entire way home.  She was so tired.  She never sleeps as well when she is not in her own crib.  As always she was excited to be home and see her crib was still waiting their for her.  Wish we lived closer to family because it was so much fun for everyone. 

Free Shutterfly Christmas Cards

I have always loved the quality products that Shutterfly produces thus the reason I chose them when designing Hayden's baby announcements over a year ago.  This year for Christmas they are giving away 50 free Christmas cards to bloggers!  Please visit their website (http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards) to check out their amazing selection of Christmas cards and other amazing products.  Some of my personal favorites this year include: Merry Blossoms, Pine Cone Toile, Bright Blue Snowflake, Kaleidoscope Stars, and Christmas Letter. I also love their desk calendars, they  are a perfect holiday gift (http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars/desk-calendars).

Paul and I started the tradition of sending out Christmas cards our 2nd year of marriage and I think it is especially important since we do not live close to so many of our wonderful friends and family. It is also a great way to show friends and family how much Hayden has grown. I love receiving and giving Christmas cards!

End in Sight

One week after putting our offer in and the counter offers are finally complete as of yesterday!  The main problem was that the house is on a septic tank and a sewer line is available in the neighborhood.  It is illegal to sell a home on a septic tank if sewer is available and attaching the home to the sewer line is $6,700.  I feel bad for the seller, but happy that we will not have to pay this!  Each Realtor is paying $500 toward the sewer line for him to help move the property. 

So next is the home inspection.  Let's hope everything goes well. 

Indiana Pacers Game

Last night we got to go to an Indiana Pacers game because Paul's work gave everyone tickets!  Paul says the Pacers are horrible so tickets were probably cheap :)  But it was fun to get out and do something different after Paul got home from work.  Hayden has become so shy lately and burries her head into my shoulder when new people (especially men) try to get her to smile.  So she did not budge from my lap for the first quarter of the game.  Then at half time she realized there were stairs right next to her and it was all over!  Seriously, every time she sees stairs all she wants to do is play on them and then has huge temper tantrums when we remove her.  So we left at half time.  But for her first sporting event she did great! 

First Dentist Appointment

Hayden's first dentist appointment was yesterday November 15, 2010.  I tried to get her in earlier but the dentists wife went into labor the day of her appointment.  Hayden thought everything in the room was so cool until it came time to do her exam and cleaning!  They had her lie on my lap with her legs on me and her head of a foam board.  I had to hold down her arms while the hygienist cleaned her teeth.  She was pretty terrified to say the least.  But the dentist said her teeth are looking great and gave her an excellent rating on her report card!  She has 10 teeth and 10 more to go.

She does have larger gum tissue between her front teeth which may have to be lasered off at some point.  My dad said that this is common in his family so we'll see if Hayden will need this done as well.  The dentist said that this can make breastfeeding more difficult as well, so I wonder if that was another part of the problem.  He said now that I am aware of it, when I have future children to look for that to be removed after birth to make nursing go smoother.  Glad I know that now! 

Hayden carried around her new toothbrush all day yesterday and was so mad when I took it from her after brushing her teeth at night to go to bed.  Glad I am getting her used to the dentist at an early age!

Again another fuzzy shot of Hayden carrying around her toothbrush and welcome bag

What Hayden's Been Up To

Our new computer monitor is broken, awesome huh!  Luckily it is covered under warranty and should have it back soon.  So pictures will come a little later.  But Hayden is 14 months today.  Here's what she's been up to:

• Experimenting with new styles of walking.  Her favorites seem to be the tippy-toes and walking with her head on her shoulder (this one really messes up her balance).
• Loves her crib and after she has been away from it for several nights she sprawls on her stomach and rubs her arms up and down over it.  I think she is trying to hug it!
• Hates getting in her stroller and screams the whole time I am strapping her in until we start walking.
• Started sharing her food and toys with us.
• Likes stacking things into her hands and seeing how many she can fit (sugar packets at restaurants, letters from her bath toys, etc)
• When we rub lotion/soap/shampoo on our palms to put on her she mimics the action
• Started organizing toys by placing them in buckets and then dumping them out and cleaning them up again (I like this one a lot!).  I also find crazy things in our laundry hamper on laundry day.
• LOVES her dads socks
• Roars when she sees lions
• Runs towards us instead of away when we try to chase her
• Started playing hide-and-go-seek with mom and dad
• Added "hi" and "up" to her vocubulary
• Will stand on anything to give her a little more height.  Seriously, she stands on my feet, books, blocks, anything.
• Still loves reading daily.
• When she dances she likes to twirl her hands in a circular motion and do the "half-clap" (she has her arms extended out to the side and then stops before she gets to the clap)
• Has 10 teeth (2 first molars)
• If she is eating something she likes (like a banana) and she sees you have other food to offer her now (like mac and cheese) she will spit out the last bight of banana in preparation for the new food! 

Last Day of House Hunting

It feels like we have been in this little hotel room for a lot longer than 5 days!!!  But we have done so much work and what a little trooper Hayden has been.  She loves the stairs in all the houses we have looked at, so we strapped her in the baby bjorn and she was then content just to look around.  She has been in a car seat everyday from 9am until 2pm and then usually at night too!  Her naps are all screwed up and I'm sure she is exhausted, but she really has been awesome for us this week. 

After looking at hundreds of houses online and about 40 homes this week, we think we have one that we will put an offer in on Monday!  There is lots that could go wrong so I am trying not to get to attached to the home just yet!  The only thing that I am kind of sad about is that I wanted some kind of granite counter top and they just recently replaced their counter tops with tile.  They do look nicer than I thought and our realtor keeps telling us how inexpensive granite has become these days and that the layout of the house is much harder to change than the counter tops. Anyway, that will be a purchase way down the road.  But it has a finished basement, 4 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths, eat in kitchen, dining room, family room and living room (which we will probably make into an office).  I really like the house so I hope it works!  We have some other backups, but would definitely have to fly out again to look at them.

There is one other house that is brand new and just a little out of our budget.  It is really tempting to buy a new home, but Paul and I decided it is really more than what we need and can afford right now.  It is 3,200 square feet and has an unfinished basement that is 1,800 square feet.  Anyway, a little extravagant for our first home, but so tempting!!!

We randomly got to meet up with Paul's brother Trent and his wife Darice in Atlanta last night.  They flew in to go to the Georgia vs Auburn game. It was their first time meeting Hayden.  We went to 6 Feet Under which had great sea food! 

Tonight we get to meet up with my friend Cameron and his family (friends from gradschool) so we are looking forward to that as well!  But we are excited to get back to Indiana and get Hayden back on her normal routine!!!

If everything goes well and they accept our offer we will have to come back next week for the home inspection.

These days all of our pictures of Hayden are fuzzy because she is never still!  Always on the go.  Hayden loved our hotel lobby and elevator.

This is a picture from the night we went out with the Mount family to Johny Rockets.  The server was so great to the kids.  Hayden loved her hat.

2 Days Into House Hunting

We flew out on Tuesday night and Hayden loved the airport.  So many interesting people and things to look at.  She felt so grown up walking around our gate until we were ready to board.  Of course the seats we chose when purchasing our tickets did not have a window, so she kept trying to leap forward or backwards to get a view out the window.  She also kept switching back and forth from Paul's seat to mine, so that got a little old, but she really did a great job on the 1 1/2 hour flight.  The lady in front of us said that she forgot there was a baby behind her, so that made us feel good!

I was really worried about her sleeping in the hotel because she did not sleep well at all on the drive out to Indiana or when we went to see my friend in Louisville.  But this hotel had a crib (much smaller though) and I brought her sheets and bumper and she actually slept all night!!!  I really have to attribute this success to my Heavenly Father because I have been praying about what to do with all the traveling we are doing these next few months and got this inspiration. So glade I listened!

Hayden loves riding the elevators up and down and smiles big each time.  She loves walking in and out just like us.

House hunting is always stressful, but after 2 days we have 4-5 homes we really do like.  It is just hard I wish I could put all the things I love about all the houses into one, but it just doesn't work that way unfortunately.  So we'll see how it all goes.  There are tons of short sales here which we just have to pass on because of the long process.  So many of those homes are beautiful! Most of the homes we like and are in our price range are red brick and not very modern looking on the outside, but have beautiful hardwood and updates on the inside.

Anyway, that's all for now, hope the next 2 days go as well and we can put an offer in shortly.

Hayden at the airport playing with my camera case

My Girly Girl

Last night my friend from college Liz volunteered to babysit Hayden so that Paul and I could have a date night.  Let's just say it was a much needed night!  We haven't done anything just the two of us since early August.  We went to the Cheesecake Factory so that Paul could get his once yearly pumpkin cheesecake. 

Anyway, while I was getting ready I could see Hayden admiring my bracelet and I remembered that my sister-in-law Emily had given her one at my baby shower.  So I found it and attached it to her wrist.  She was so excited to have her very own bracelet and looked at it for hours!!!  Liz said that she would be walking around and then look down at her bracelet and just stop and stare at it for a bit and then continue on her way.  She was pretty sad when I took it off for bed time and it was the first thing she looked for this morning when we got her dressed for the day.  Too cute!  She even let me put a bow in her hair today which she has not let me do for months now.  Do I have a girly girl on my hands?  One things for sure, she does love the bling!

One realization I had last night is that Hayden as inextricably changed the way my mind works forever!  I will always have a small worry about her well-being in the back of my mind when we are apart.  Now I understand why my mom leaves this message for me when we haven't spoken in awhile: "Kristine I hope you are ok, I haven't heard from you..."  I knew she was in good hands, but I still was thinking of her from time to time hoping that she was being good and hoping that Liz knew what to do with her.  I guess most moms are always hoping the best for their children their whole lives.

Hayden last night checking it out

I tried all morning to get a good picture in her cute outfit and bracelet but she kept moving!  So I'm sorry for the blurred scary face!

2 Things

1.  Hayden started kicking her little soccer ball on Halloween!  It is too cute to watch her walk around the house kicking the ball.

2.  Paul got a call from his manager here in Indiana and he thinks that Paul is learning everything faster than anticipated, so we will most likely move to Atlanta mid January!  I am excited to get going with our lives out there and have our own furniture and space!  Although we were hoping to save some more money up while not paying utilities and internet and all that good stuff.  But I am so proud of Paul, he is such a fast learner with everything he does.  We are house hunting next week so wish us luck!!!

Halloween

Saturday night we all went to our first "trunk-or-treat."  Hayden loved being able to run around in the parking lot and swing her treat bag.  She liked holding the candy in her hand, throwing it, and then picking it up only to repeat again and again!

Hayden trying out some of her candy with dad

Trick-or-Treat



Hayden and Mom with the beautiful sunset



On Halloween night we went over to my friend Rachel's apartment.  She has a group of friends that get together each month and she invited us to come along this time.  Everyone dressed up, so reluctantly Paul and I also dressed up.  We usually don't get into Halloween that much, but I have to admitt we did have fun and Hayden thought it was pretty hilarious to see us with our makeup on.  Rachel made homemade chicken noodle soup (even the noodles) and other people brought rolls, veggies, homemade wassle, and we brought a sweet potato cheesecake.  It was a yummy dinner.  After dinner we played games.

 Paul still doesn't understand why we were all cats since we don't like cats very much, but Hayden's costume was so cute and cats are easy to do!

1st Haircut

Hayden got her first haircut on October 30th, 2009.  We probably could have tried this at home, but neither Paul or I were brave enough.  So I looked online and found the best price for a tiny trim at Trade Secrets.  Paul was very worried that she had a baby mullet going on so we decided it was time.  The hair stylist barely took any off, but it looks so much better!  Hayden was kind of scared and was glad to be on mom's lap, but she did a good job sitting still for her first haircut ever.